Chapter 20: King of Trash Talk

Carrying a canvas bag, Li Aiguo walked to the front yard and happened to see Yan Bugui squatting by the door with several children.

They were stretching their necks and inhaling deeply, their faces brimming with innocent happiness.

"Oh my, Third Uncle, is the family so broke that you're bringing the kids out to eat the north wind?"

Yan Bugui rolled his eyes but said nothing.

Fearing that the scent in the air would dissipate if he wasted time, he simply kept inhaling.

The Yan family children were doing the same.

Inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale...

Watching this row of "frogs" sniffing the scent of eggs in the air, Li Aiguo understood most of the situation.

He gave Yan Bugui a thumbs-up: "Third Uncle, if we're talking about knowing how to live, you're the best in this courtyard."

Yan Bugui's small eyes blinked rapidly; he seemed to want to speak, but he was unwilling to interrupt his breathing.

His breathing rhythm was disrupted, and he held his breath until his face turned crimson and his eyes bulged, looking even more like a frog.

"Please, continue..."

Li Aiguo was genuinely afraid the old fellow might suffer a medical emergency from holding his breath, so he quickly left with his hands behind his back.

As he exited the courtyard, the ringing of bicycle bells, the shouts of peddlers mending pots and bowls or sharpening knives, the rasping sound of whetstones against blades, and the noisy chatter of children surrounding a candy peddler to trade toothpaste wrappers for maltose all rushed into Li Aiguo's ears.

Under the faint sunlight, though the pedestrians on the road were thin and sallow, they possessed a unique vitality characteristic of later generations.

Li Aiguo tightened his collar and merged into the crowd, walking toward the Locomotive Depot.

The railway system was a complex network where various departments cooperated and collaborated.

On a passenger train, the crew was divided into three parts: the service crew, the rolling stock crew, and the railway police crew.

The rolling stock crew fell under the management of the Locomotive Depot, consisting of one chief engineer, one assistant engineer, three stokers, three maintenance workers, and five support staff.

If Li Aiguo passed the exam to become a train driver, he would belong to the Locomotive Depot in the future.

The service crew was responsible for passenger service and fell under the management of the Passenger Service Depot; Wang Cuie was a staff member of that department.

The railway police crew was responsible for train security, fire prevention, and explosion prevention, generally belonging to the railway police station.

Of course, in later generations, there would also be departments for track maintenance, rolling stock, signaling, power supply, and communications.

In this era, the number of trains was scarce, the railway mileage was limited, and many tasks were merged.

The track, rolling stock, and signaling departments were temporarily merged into the Locomotive Depot.

Thus, the Locomotive Depot was the largest of the three major departments.

In addition to operating the trains, they were also responsible for train maintenance, repairs, and even the production and design of locomotives.

For instance, the Sifang Plant, which produced the "August 1st" locomotive, stationed ninth-grade engineers at the Locomotive Depot to identify and solve problems during train operations at any time.

The Qianmen Locomotive Depot, which Li Aiguo was heading toward, was a branch of the Beijing Locomotive Depot, located near the Qianmen Railway Station.

After crossing the Qianmen Railway Station plaza and turning through two alleys to go around the back of the station, the Qianmen Locomotive Depot was right before his eyes.

The Qianmen Locomotive Depot was neither massive nor tiny, but under the golden sunlight, the ancient and weathered depot radiated a unique color.

Standing at the main gate, Li Aiguo narrowed his eyes slightly.

The Education Office was located on the second floor of the depot.

Li Aiguo knocked lightly on the door; hearing an echo from inside, he pushed it open directly.

When the Director of the Education Office, Liu Chunhua, saw Li Aiguo appear, a shadow of gloom flashed in her eyes.

She quickly composed herself and forced an unpleasant smile onto her face.

"Oh, it's Comrade Aiguo. I heard you were sick and thought you wouldn't be participating in this year's exam."

"Thank you for your concern, Director Xie. I recovered long ago. I've been working hard on my studies lately, striving to rank in the top three to bring honor to our depot."

As he spoke, Li Aiguo handed over his documents: "I am here today for the background check. Please process the formalities for me."

Li Aiguo spoke politely, but there was not a hint of respect in his tone.

Liu Chunhua gritted her teeth in anger, but she couldn't lash out.

When she was on her way to work and passed the station, she had heard Wang Cuie from the Passenger Service Depot cursing her for bullying the orphan of an old worker.

If she pushed him now and the Depot Manager investigated, even with Old Liu shielding her, she wouldn't be able to explain herself.

However, becoming one of the top three wouldn't be so easy.

There were four to five hundred candidates participating in the exam for the entire depot.

For this exam, Liu Erfeng had specifically hired teachers from technical schools to teach academic subjects and veteran drivers to provide practical training.

The situation for the other top candidates was similar; they all came from railway families and had received private tutoring.

Especially Zhang Dahua—that girl's academic skills were a bit lacking, but her grandfather was a veteran of the Bureau, and even the Bureau leadership had to give him some face.

Li Aiguo only had better academic knowledge; without a background, he would surely struggle during the practical exam.

With these thoughts, Liu Chunhua briskly processed the paperwork. With a stern face, she handed it back to Li Aiguo: "Young man, you must be down-to-earth. Don't be overly ambitious."

"Heh."

Taking the documents, Li Aiguo smiled: "Director Liu, I wonder if you've been reading the newspapers lately?"

"As the Director of the Education Office, I study government policies every day to improve my ideological awareness. Of course I read the newspapers."

Liu Chunhua pointed proudly at the tall stack of newspapers on the desk.

In the Locomotive Depot, the Education Office had the most and most complete collection of newspapers; sometimes even the Depot Manager had to consult her for the latest speeches.

But what did this kid mean?

Under Liu Chunhua's suspicious gaze, Li Aiguo rummaged through the stack for a moment.

"Found it."

Spreading a newspaper on the table, Li Aiguo pointed to a bold black headline and said mockingly

"...You young people are the sun at eight or nine in the morning; our hopes are pinned on you. This is a speech from Moscow University, intended to encourage us young people to aim high and strive for the top. Director Liu, I only said I wanted to be in the top three, yet you were so impatient to criticize me for being overly ambitious and to dampen my drive. This seems to contradict the spirit of the speech."

As the vivid black characters met her eyes, a chill ran from the soles of Liu Chunhua's feet straight to the back of her head.

Beads of sweat broke out on her forehead, and her throat felt dry and itchy, forcing her to swallow hard.

*That damn brat, he's really trying to turn this into a political issue!*

The key was that even if Liu Chunhua had a hundred times more courage, she wouldn't dare go against the "spirit of the speech."

The once-haughty Liu Chunhua could now only manage a forced, sycophantic smile.

"Well... Comrade Aiguo, I was only acting out of kindness just now. It was a joke."

Standing there, Li Aiguo looked down on her from his metaphorical height

"One can eat anything, but one shouldn't say anything recklessly. Director Liu, I hope you will learn from this experience and focus your energy on improving your professional skills rather than criticizing other comrades."

"Yes, yes, yes..." Liu Chunhua wiped her sweat, gritting her teeth.

Round one: The King of Verbal Combat wins!

After giving Liu Chunhua a small lesson, Li Aiguo arrived at the Armed Forces Section humming a little tune.

Zhou Tiehu had been waiting outside. Seeing Li Aiguo arrive late, he asked curiously, "What happened? Did Liu Chunhua give you a hard time?"

"Not at all. I was just discussing government policies with her for a while, which took some time."

*You, a trainee, discussing government policies with the Director of the Education Office?*

Zhou Tiehu gave Li Aiguo a suspicious look but didn't press further, pulling him into the Armed Forces Section.

With Zhou Tiehu accompanying him, and given that Li Aiguo was the child of an old worker, the comrades in the Armed Forces Section were very welcoming.

Several officers quickly completed the formalities and led Li Aiguo into the adjacent room.

Once Li Aiguo was seated on a long bench, Officer Liu's expression turned serious, and he said in a deep voice, "Comrade Li Aiguo, I am now representing the organization to conduct a background check on you. Please cooperate and do not feel pressured."

Li Aiguo nodded calmly: "I will certainly cooperate."