Chapter 50: Reporting to the Maintenance Department

Monday morning.

The noise of children bickering, the clatter of pots and pans, and Liu Guangtian's crying crowded into Li Aiguo's ears, jolting him awake from his slumber.

With his eyes closed, he reached for his phone on the nightstand, but his hand met empty space.

Li Aiguo snapped his eyes open.

The dark ceiling, the bright red characters on the old calendar on the wall, and the worn-out furniture in the room all told him that he was still living in those years of passionate struggle.

Li Aiguo let out a soft sigh of relief.

Having been in this era for a while now, he had transitioned from initial maladjustment to actually enjoying it.

Compared to the aimless, mediocre, and hedonistic yacht life of the future, he preferred this era of fierce striving.

Who cares about club models when you can change the course of history!

Li Aiguo's gaze turned determined. He threw off the quilt, got out of bed, and tossed five or six books from his nightstand into a canvas bag.

He had borrowed the books from the women's cultural and sports store.

Of course, according to the bookstore's regulations, one library card could only borrow three books.

However, that wouldn't stop Li Aiguo.

Ding Qiunan had a library card too.

Borrowing hers wasn't something to be ashamed of!

Donning his father's old railway uniform, Li Aiguo carried a washbasin to the courtyard to wash his face.

Just as he stepped out, he saw Liu Guangtian running past the door like a little black whirlwind, barefoot.

Chasing behind him was Second Uncle, brandishing a fire poker: "You little brat! Who told you to jump with both feet!"

Liu Guangtian ran even faster.

Xu Damao was standing at the doorway brushing his teeth, muttering, "Beating a child first thing in the morning... Second Uncle certainly has a way about him."

Seeing Li Aiguo, he spat twice to clear the toothpaste foam, stepped closer, and gave him a thumbs-up. "Aiguo, I'll have to call you 'Brother' today."

"What you did yesterday was incredibly efficient."

"With Shazhu going in this time, he'll probably be stuck in there for a few years."

Li Aiguo looked up and saw a crack in the door of the deaf old lady's room. He chuckled and said loudly

"Shazhu did it of his own volition. If he confesses who the mastermind was, he probably won't be in there for long."

"Exactly! How could Shazhu be so stupid?" Xu Damao said, looking amazed.

Xu Damao hadn't understood why He Yushui wanted to sever ties with Shazhu, even going so far as to trouble Director Wang to hold a meeting.

But after returning home and asking his neighbor, Wang Gangzhu, his jaw had nearly hit the floor.

To take the fall for someone else, he was even willing to abandon his own sister.

If he had a brother like that, he would have drawn a line in the sand eight hundred years ago.

"He's been hoodwinked by those folks in our courtyard."

Seeing a dark shadow flicker through the crack in the door, Li Aiguo smiled and said, "Brother Damao, I can't chat much longer."

"Right, right, you have to report for duty today. I won't hold you up."

Inside the room.

The deaf old lady heard the conversation outside perfectly clearly.

Sitting in her chair with a grim expression, she muttered under her breath, "Yi Zhonghai has gone too far. To protect Jia Dongxu, he actually harmed my grandson!"

"This matter cannot be let go just like this!"

Li Aiguo bid farewell to Xu Damao, washed his face at the courtyard sink, and returned to his room.

Breakfast was a simple meal of fried dough sticks and twisted crackers, accompanied by a bowl of thin porridge and a small dish of pickles.

He ate a light meal.

He slung his canvas bag over his shoulder, gathered his documents, and rode his tandem bicycle toward the locomotive depot at the front gate.

The black-on-white nameplate of the locomotive depot shimmered under the golden sunlight.

The employees entering and exiting the depot all wore expressions of pride.

In this era, the locomotive depot offered good benefits and high status, far beyond anything in the future.

Reaching the entrance, Li Aiguo tightened his uniform buttons, braced himself, and pedaled his bicycle forward.

Entering the depot, dense tree shade gave way to a complex arrangement of low-rise gray brick houses and red brick apartment buildings.

Cracked cement roads linked the buildings and houses together.

Following the original owner's memory, he rode his bicycle toward the office building.

Just as he rounded a corner, a figure rushed from the side and plopped down onto the bicycle's rear seat.

"Li Aiguo, I heard long ago that you got yourself a four-wheeled bicycle."

"It's so comfortable to sit on!"

Li Aiguo felt the tires suddenly deflate under the weight. He turned his head to look at Zhang Dahua.

"Get off. Don't you know how heavy you are?"

Zhang Dahua hopped off the bike reluctantly, pouting. "So what if I'm fat? It's not like I'm eating your family's grain. My mother says I'm just 'sturdy,' and that I'll have healthy babies when I marry."

"Those girls who are thin as sticks might look good, but they're completely useless."

Li Aiguo: "..."

Li Aiguo often hung out with Zhang Dahua, and he was utterly helpless against her unfiltered mouth.

Zhang Dahua seemed quite satisfied with having the upper hand, smiling as she asked, "Are you reporting for duty today?"

"Yeah, I just don't know which crew I'll be assigned to," Li Aiguo nodded.

A "crew" was the smallest collective unit on the railway.

It consisted of the engine crew (driver, assistant driver, stoker) and the service crew (conductor, attendants, water carrier) of the same train, along with the railway police.

They rose and fell together.

"Cao Wenzhi has already taken you on as an apprentice. He's the head of the engine crew for Train 131, so you'll definitely be going with him."

At this, Zhang Dahua's face filled with envy.

"Train 131 is a direct express. It goes from Beijing to Tianjin in just over five hours. A round trip is only ten-plus hours, so you'll still be able to come home for a proper sleep."

"I heard my dad say that the thing train crews fear most is not getting enough sleep."

Li Aiguo chuckled. "I'm just a brick; I'll be moved wherever I'm needed."

"You! You're just acting coy after getting a good deal!" Zhang Dahua pouted.

The two chatted as they entered the locomotive depot.

Zhang Dahua had already reported for duty yesterday.

She had been assigned to the 352 regular express, a train running from Beijing to Nan'ning.

A round trip took four days and three nights, which explained her resentment.

*Sigh, as expected, those who rely on their own hard work will be the elite in any world.*

After parting ways with Zhang Dahua, Li Aiguo went to the Labor and Personnel Department located on the second floor of the main office building.

Several clerks were sitting in the main hall of the department. He knocked on the yellowish wooden door and asked, "Excuse me, I'm a new worker reporting for duty. Who should I report to?"

The clerks were all busy with their own tasks, acting as if they hadn't heard him.

A young man looked up from a stack of files and pointed toward a small room inside. "Deputy Section Chief Wang is in charge of this."

After nodding in thanks, Li Aiguo entered the inner room.

Hearing footsteps, a thin old man sitting at a desk looked up. "Did you bring your documents? Where were you transferred from? Who authorized this?"

During this period, the locomotive depot was not conducting large-scale external recruitment.

The appearance of this young man meant he was either transferred from another depot or was a "connection" hire from a leader.

Li Aiguo understood this. He handed over the documents and said with a smile, "I am taking over my father's position. My father was a train driver."

"Even when taking over a position, you have to start as a stoker. Why does the position on these documents say 'Train Driver'?" The thin old man looked puzzled.

"If you flip through the pages below, you'll see my driver's license. It was personally issued by Section Chief Xing."

Li Aiguo wasn't bluffing.

The driver's license had indeed been handed to him personally by Section Chief Xing.

That counted as being personally issued.

As soon as he said this, several gazes from the outer room turned toward him.

The clerks who had been buried in their work just moments ago now looked surprised.

They hadn't expected the young man to have connections with the leadership; had they known, they would have been much more welcoming.

The thin old man, however, remained unfazed.

There were plenty of train drivers in the locomotive depot; there was no way Section Chief Xing would personally issue a license to a mere junior driver.

*This kid is young and likes to talk big; he might have the temperament for being a driver, though.*

It wasn't until he flipped through Li Aiguo's file and the letter of introduction that his attitude shifted.

He had just turned eighteen and had achieved perfect scores on his exams.

He had invented sandbags, which had earned high praise from engineers at the Sifang Plant and garnered attention from the General Depot.

He had also joined the Organization while still in school.

This young man's future was limitless.

In the locomotive depot, it was not uncommon for people to rise from train driver to depot leadership.

The thin old man's attitude underwent a 180-degree turn.

"Heh, not bad. Proficient in business, excellent political standing, good background, and a firm stance. A fine talent. Our locomotive depot needs excellent people like you."

"Come, come, sit down and let's talk."

The thin old man adjusted his glasses and shouted toward the outside in a loud voice, "Cuihua, pour some hot water!"