Chapter 1258
Two Hours! A Dual Realm of Ice and Fire, the Bridge is Lowered, and the Idea of the W
The night on the Yangtze River begins at 10:30 pm.
Water vapor rises and forms a thick layer of white fog on the river surface, which even searchlights cannot penetrate.
After Li Aiguo jumped into the river to begin his operation, Captain Xiong Meng kept his eyes fixed on the river surface, his eyebrows twitching slightly.
After spending most of the day together, he had come to regard this young man as a like-minded brother.
Now that his good brother was about to put himself in danger, he felt an indescribable worry.
The fact that the speedboat didn't explode means that his buddy had succeeded.
However, the situation on the river is chaotic, with strong winds and high waves, making a safe return not an easy task.
"Fire this way."
The bright searchlight swept across the river repeatedly, but found nothing.
Time ticked by, and Xiong Meng's heart was in his throat.
Suddenly, a head popped out from under the gunwale, its face covered in river water, and it was smiling at him.
Who else could it be but Li Aiguo!
Xiong Meng was unusually excited: "Comrade Aiguo, you're back!"
But he froze halfway through his sentence.
Because he saw that the other person was carrying something in their hand.
That wasn't a thing, because it was so big that it had arms and two legs.
Xiong Meng instantly recognized that it was a person!
Li Aiguo was like someone carrying a wad of garbage, which he threw directly onto the deck through the railing.
With a "pfft!" sound.
The man slammed heavily onto the deck like a lump of water-injected pork, river water gushing from the corners of his mouth.
The surrounding noise subsided considerably, and then, in a flash, countless eyes turned toward them, accompanied by faint gasps of surprise.
"This is?"
"Hey, a little Japanese guy, we caught him on the back of the speedboat, I think his name is Kenichi Sato or something, anyway, he came from the Japanese side."
Once his feet were back on the deck, Li Aiguo didn't feel tired, but the river water felt a bit cold.
"Did Zhou Ke and his men succeed?" Li Aiguo asked again.
Zhou Ke was also stunned at this moment. He only realized what was happening after his name was called and hurriedly ran over.
"The man and woman have been apprehended and are now in custody."
Zhou Ke looked at the water-injected pork spitting out water on the deck and asked in surprise, "You've already figured out his name?"
"Yes, Mr. Kenichi Sato was very cooperative. He only drank a lot of water and then threw it all up."
Zhou Ke looked at Sato Kenichi with some pity. Heaven knows what this guy had just gone through after falling into Li Aiguo's hands.
Li Aiguo nodded: "Where is the telegraph room? I need to report to the command post."
"This way, please." A staff officer stepped forward to lead the way.
Beep beep beep, tap tap tap...
Radio waves travel through the night sky over the Yangtze River.
Inside the command post at Xiaguan Station, Lao Mao received a telegram, raised his wrist to check the time: 11 p.m.
He suppressed his excitement, picked up the secure phone, and reported the situation to the farmer in Beijing.
"The operation was launched at 11 a.m., and the person was caught at 11 p.m., exactly twelve hours. They also completed the initial interrogation. Well done, train driver!" The farmer had been waiting for news from here and hadn't rested yet.
"According to the telegram, Kenichi Sato is a Japanese soldier. I will report the details after the train driver returns."
After the other end of the phone hung up, Lao Mao stood up and opened the window. The city of Beijing appeared exceptionally peaceful under the night sky.
The gunboat Yangtze returned to the Xiaguan ferry dock at 3 a.m. Zhou Ke escorted the three Dieters off the ship, and Li Aiguo's gunboat journey came to an end.
"Comrade Li Aiguo, I look forward to meeting you again next time."
Captain Xiong Meng stood at attention and gave him a standard military salute.
The young train driver in front of him could talk about warships and even ocean-going equipment like arresting gear on aircraft carriers. Although Xiong Meng thought it was all nonsense, he loved talking to him about the navy.
Li Aiguo stood at attention and returned the salute: "Goodbye, Captain."
He turned and steadily walked down the gangway, his figure quickly blending into the night scene along the river.
Xiong Meng watched his figure disappear, then turned to face the bridge and ordered: "Attention all stations, prepare the vehicles, cast off the mooring lines, and return to port! Upon returning to the ship, immediately begin intensive training. The superiors' inspection is imminent, so all personnel must remain on combat readiness!"
With a short, sharp whistle, the Yangtze River slowly departed the dock and once again sailed into the deep night.
The weather station took the matter very seriously because it concerned a visit.
When Li Aiguo returned to the security section of Xiaguan Station, Lao Mao had already set up the interrogation room.
Old Cat and Zhou Ke took Sato Kenichi directly into the interrogation room to begin preparations. Where was Li Aiguo?
I definitely need to change my wet clothes.
Inside the interrogation room.
Old Cat sat behind the interrogation table, a half-smoked cigarette between his fingers, staring intently at Kenichi Sato across from him.
Kenichi Sato was soaking wet, looking like a drowned rat, with his hair plastered to his scalp.
But he kept his head down, his eyes closed, and his body rose and fell slightly with his breathing; otherwise, he remained completely still.
"Name."
silence.
"Code name".
There was still a deathly silence.
Old Cat frowned slightly, thinking to himself: This guy's tough.
As a veteran investigator, Lao Mao could tell at a glance that this person had received extremely rigorous counter-interrogation training.
This "playing dead" posture, seemingly passive, is actually the most efficient form of defense.
He was shutting off external pressure by shutting down his senses, while simultaneously weaving lies in his mind, or simply waiting for the interrogators to lose patience.
This person is not easy to deal with.
The old cat stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray and was about to try something else.
The iron door to the interrogation room opened.
Li Aiguo changed into a crisp white shirt, carrying an enamel mug, and strolled in leisurely.
He didn't look at Old Cat, nor at Zhou Ke who was in charge of taking notes, but walked straight up to Kenichi Sato.
He first kicked Sato Kenichi's still dripping trouser leg with his toe, then turned to Zhou Ke next to him and said, "Look, this old guy has soaked our floor. The security guards who are cleaning up are going to start cursing again."
Zhou Ke was taken aback for a moment, then immediately understood and smiled in a very cooperative manner:
"What should we do then? Should I take him outside and let him dry before interrogating him? It's windy outside, he should be completely dry in half an hour."
"No, no, no, that's too easy on him. I have something fun."
Li Aiguo pulled up a chair, sat down in front of Sato Kenichi with an air of authority, unscrewed the lid of his teacup, blew on the steam, took a sip of tea, and then slowly began to speak.
"Old Sato, stop pretending. Didn't you drink enough in the river just now?"
Upon hearing the name "Eri," Kenichi Sato's tightly closed eyelids trembled violently, and he finally slowly opened his eyes.
The look in his eyes as he looked at Li Aiguo was filled with a fear that came from the depths of his soul.
He was genuinely scared.
The seemingly refined young man in front of me is nothing short of a devil in human skin!
Just an hour ago, on the rolling river, this guy pushed him into the water without saying a word, and even kept time while looking at his watch!
That suffocating despair, the excruciating pain as if my lungs were about to explode...
"Are you going to tell me everything now, or do you want me to take you for a swim in the river a couple more times and pry your mouth open?" Li Aiguo put down his teacup, his tone as calm as if he were asking a neighbor if they had eaten.
Kenichi Sato shuddered and instinctively shrank back.
“You are disciplined, you can’t…” he began to ramble on.
"Snapped!"
Li Aiguo slapped Sato Kenichi across the face, the sound crisp and loud, instantly silencing his words.
"Stop talking nonsense with me." Li Aiguo pulled out a pack of Daqianmen cigarettes from his pocket, knocked one out, and put it in his mouth.
I struck a match, and with a hiss, a flame shot up.
He took a deep breath, exhaled a smoke ring, and looked at Kenichi Sato through the smoke.
"I'm not a professional, I'm just a train driver, I don't know anything about discipline."
I usually enjoy doing repairs and tinkering.
If any part of this train doesn't behave, I'll take a hammer and smash it.
If that still doesn't work...
I dismantled it and threw it into the furnace to smelt steel.
Li Aiguo suddenly lowered his voice and leaned close to Sato Kenichi's ear:
First, they'd throw you into the river until you were soaked through, frozen solid like an icicle. Then they'd pull you out and toss you directly into a steel furnace at thousands of degrees Celsius. Your flesh would instantly char and crack, the fat would sizzle, and your bones would slowly turn to ash under the intense heat… Do you know what that's called?
Kenichi Sato shook his head blankly, but his teeth were chattering violently.
Li Aiguo laughed, a particularly bright laugh, and uttered five words, one after another: "Ice and Fire, Two, Heavens!"
When Kenichi Sato looked into Li Aiguo's unwavering eyes, his mental defenses completely crumbled.
Kenichi Sato wasn't cowardly.
In fact, the fact that he was able to escape unscathed and be valued by the bereaved families meant that he was already considered an elite among the Japanese.
but.
He knew this man was a madman—he was someone who did what he said!
"I'll tell you... I'll tell you everything! Please stop hitting me, please..."
The old cat sat in the back, watching this scene. A hint of surprise flashed in its eyes, which then turned into admiration.
This kid has unconventional methods, but they work!
Zhou Ke was a little confused. Something was wrong. His brother Aiguo had talked to him about the extremes of ice and fire before, but this wasn't the case!
"Name?" Li Aiguo flicked his cigarette ash.
“Lin Jian… uh, no, his original name was Sato Kenichi.” Sato Kenichi blurted out, “I came to Nanjing with the military in 1939, using ‘Boda Trading Company’ as a cover to engage in import and export trade, while secretly gathering information for the military…”
"Du Juan was one of my subordinates back then."
"After the liberation, I didn't leave. The higher-ups ordered me to go undercover and become a 'spy.' This time, I was ordered by the Bereaved Families Association to devise a plan to cause trouble during the visit."
Li Aiguo sneered: "With just a few scattered soldiers like you, where does the Remnant Clan get their confidence?"
Kenichi Sato hesitated for a moment, but under Li Aiguo's cold gaze, he gritted his teeth and confessed: "The most crucial thing is... Langley is providing financial support behind this. The Bereaved Families Association has already colluded with Langley."
Upon hearing this, the air in the interrogation room froze once again.
The old cat suddenly stood up, his expression serious.
Although the investigation into the missing wagons at the Chicken Street Locomotive Depot had revealed a connection between the bereaved families and Langley, it was limited to gathering information within that area. This time, however, the operation would take place during a visit, making the implications entirely different.
This is a deadly attack!
Li Aiguo's heart skipped a beat, but his expression remained unchanged. He took a puff of his cigarette and said:
"What else? Don't spit it all out at once like squeezing toothpaste."
"And...and..."
Kenichi Sato sighed and said, "In the basement of Warehouse No. 3 at Shimonoseki Wharf... there's a secret compartment there."
What's inside?
"It's a secret ammunition depot. It contains miniature radios, codebooks, and... a batch of carbines and grenades."
Old Cat took a deep breath and realized that the seriousness of the problem far exceeded his expectations.
He looked at Li Aiguo, his eyes full of approval. If it weren't for this kid discovering the problem with the rollers and arresting Pei Yihuai, not only would they not have been able to catch Sato Kenichi, but the tour might have also gone wrong.
After the interrogation, Old Cat immediately reported to the farmer at the weather station.
On the other end of the phone, the farmer, after hearing the report, was also shocked by the joint operation of the orphanage and Langley, and felt a little scared.
Then came a steady and powerful voice: "Good! That was a brilliant battle! Li Aiguo is indeed a skilled fighter, a genius!"
"I will send a special agent to Xiaguan to escort him. Remember, it must be kept secret!"
Old Cat hung up the phone and relayed the farmer's instructions to the task force.
Zhou Ke was still a little puzzled: "Why keep such a big case a secret?"
Li Aiguo and Lao Mao exchanged glances but neither answered his question.
****
The next morning, the fog on the river had not yet dissipated.
The Shimonoseki Wharf had already been sealed off by heavily armed security officers.
Li Aiguo personally led the team straight to Warehouse No. 3.
"This is it, break it open!"
With several loud bangs, the hidden partition in the basement was forcibly broken open.
When the beam of the flashlight illuminated what was inside, everyone present gasped.
Old Cat, along with the meteorologist and security officers, investigated the entire case to ensure nothing was overlooked. Now they were just waiting for the escort to arrive.
Li Aiguo also had some free time, so he studied ships with Zhao Qingyang.
Now that the repairmen are cleared of suspicion, they have all returned to their posts, and Zhao Qingyang also plans to return to Jiangnan Shipyard soon.
The following day, Director Zhao of the Yangtze River Navigation Administration kept his promise and prepared a whole fish feast in the small canteen.
The table was filled with fresh fish, all caught from the Yangtze River and prepared on the spot, each dish fresher than the last.
Steamed ribbonfish, braised catfish, shad braised with scallions, pan-fried bream, and a few other fish that Li Aiguo didn't recognize, probably small catfish from the Yangtze River.
Director Zhao carried a jug of local liquor and served food to the two men one by one: "Try it, it's all fresh from the Yangtze River, you can't usually find such authentic food!"
Li Aiguo was starving, and he ate his fill of fresh river delicacies, sweating profusely, and kept saying how satisfying it was.
"Aiguo, we've investigated the case of the little yellow croaker thoroughly," Director Zhao said after a few rounds of drinks, as the dinner table became lively.
"That fat man is called Pan Sui. He is indeed from the commune, but he is an idle fellow who often makes a living by reselling fish. This time, he was entrusted by Zhou Cai, the former owner of Huimin River Shipyard, to deliver the small yellow croakers. The man has been arrested now."
Huiminhe Shipyard. That's the shipyard where the speedboat went missing. Everything makes sense now.
According to Xu Wentao's confession, the Huiminhe Shipyard was in disarray after the public-private partnership was established, because the original owner, Zhou Cai, was causing trouble. It seems that Zhou Cai had wanted to run away for a long time.
"This is one of the biggest cases that our Yangtze River Navigation Administration has cracked this year. Come on, Comrade Aiguo, let me toast you."
After the two clinked glasses, Director Zhao said, "Our Yangtze River Navigation Administration has only been established for a short time, and we lack experience, especially in dealing with smuggling. We are planning to send someone to your Qianmen Locomotive Depot to learn from them. What do you think?"
"Of course you're welcome," Li Aiguo said with a smile. This kind of learning was very common in those days, and the locomotive depot would definitely approve it.
After eating and drinking their fill, and seeing that it was getting late, Li Aiguo took Zhou Ke out of the Yangtze River Navigation Bureau and strolled towards Xiaguan Station.
The next day, Tang Zhi and Zhou Xiaoqiao held their wedding, and Li Aiguo, as the officiant, attended with Zhou Ke.
On the third day, Li Aiguo borrowed a boat from the Yangtze River Navigation Administration and took Zhou Ke on a cruise on the Yangtze River, where they also visited the construction site of the Yangtze River Bridge.
The bridge project has only just begun; even the foundation cages haven't been laid yet.
"What's wrong, patriotism?" Zhou Ke asked curiously when he saw his eyes fixed on the construction site.
"The Jinling Yangtze River Bridge should be built higher."
Not long after, Li Aiguo returned to Beijing by train.
Everything in the courtyard remains the same.
Xu Damao was still going door-to-door building relationships in preparation for his upcoming promotion.
Yi Zhonghai still needs crutches to walk, and when he saw Li Aiguo return, his face turned as black as ink.
Li Aiguo divided the pickled fish he brought back from Nanjing into several portions and gave them to Cao Wenzhi, Liu Guozhang, and the farmer.
Chen Fangxuan was coming over that evening, so Li Aiguo drove his SUV to pick up Chen Xueru and the children before heading to the tailor shop.
"Aiguo, your cooking skills are pretty good." Dinner was stewed fish, which Li Aiguo helped make.
“You don’t need to tell me that. Now the whole locomotive depot knows that Brother Aiguo is very skilled.” Chen Xueru said after hearing this.
"Girls are outgoing, girls are outgoing!" Chen Fangxuan said, picking up a piece of fish and eating it as he spoke.
After finishing their meal, Chen Fangxuan led Li Aiguo to the control room.
He then changed the design of the clothing.
"How about it?"
"I think it's about time." Li Aiguo looked at it; it looked pretty good.
Not only is it grand, but it also has a rich cultural heritage.
Chen Fangxuan was also very happy and handed over the sample garment and pattern to Li Aiguo.
"I'll leave the rest to you." Chen Fangxuan looked at Li Aiguo with eager eyes.
For Chen Fangxuan, this kind of clothing was no longer designed to make money, but to achieve his life goals.
Which old tailor doesn't hope that his designs will sell well all over the world?
It's still this kind of traditional clothing with a distinctly antique feel.
Absence makes the heart grow fonder, and Li Aiguo, as usual, watched the fashion show that evening.
The next morning, Li Aiguo got up early and went to the Qianmen Locomotive Depot workshop.
As soon as I entered the office, the untrained repair expert pushed open the door.
"Patriotism, all those textbooks have been compiled. Shouldn't we report them to the authorities?"
On his way back, Li Aiguo was still thinking about the teaching materials, but he didn't expect to get them sorted out so quickly.
"I'll make a phone call to the Education Department."
The leaders of the Education Department were delighted to learn that the textbooks had been compiled and sent someone to deliver them to the ministry.
After review, the textbooks were quickly printed and sent to major railway colleges across the country.
"Editor-in-Chief, Li Aiguo," a newly enrolled student at Tangshan Railway College asked, somewhat puzzled.
Who is this person?
"Li Aiguo, you don't even know him?! He's a national model worker, the pride of us train workers." An older student lectured his younger schoolmate.
"Wow, this person is really amazing."
In no time, Li Aiguo's name spread throughout the railway education system.
Of course, whether those students will curse the editor-in-chief after failing the exam is unknown.
The textbook issue is now largely resolved, and the subsequent work can be handed over to the professors in the compilation team.
On Monday, as soon as Li Aiguo arrived at work, Section Chief Xing came to his office.
"The excavators will also be exported next year." Section Chief Xing was a little depressed again.
Since the excavators went into mass production, Section Chief Xing and the Qianmen Locomotive Depot have put in a lot of effort to increase production. Now that they can just meet domestic demand, they are going to export them again.
Next, the Qianmen Locomotive Depot will expand its production scale again.
"Will you pay me?" Li Aiguo was worried about some ungrateful people.
"They've already transferred the deposit to the foreign trade department's account. This time it's a few small businesses from Eastern Europe."
Section Chief Xing paused for a moment and said, "The Ministry of Machinery Industry wants you to further optimize the excavator and adjust some parameters according to the conditions of different countries."
That's why Section Chief Xing came here.
That's easy to handle.
The Qianmen Locomotive Depot workshop has now mastered excavator technology and has even developed several models of excavators.
Li Aiguo readily agreed.
After Section Chief Xing left, Li Aiguo called over a wild repair expert and entrusted the matter to him.
Li Aiguo, holding the book, pondered what to do next and what direction the Qianmen Locomotive Depot workshop should take.
The stronger the locomotive depot's workshop becomes, the more resources Li Aiguo can utilize, and the greater his strength will be when undertaking major tasks in the future.
Li Aiguo plans to transform this place into a super-organization integrating research and development and production.
However, we still need to carefully consider which direction to take next.
"Let's build the large transport plane first," Li Aiguo thought for a moment.
The small aircraft workshop is now fully operational.
All kinds of technical personnel are ready, and the equipment is also available. A group of aviation experts, including Engineer Liu, can also provide support.
Because of the small aircraft, the Aviation Industry Bureau could provide support at any time, and the workshop also established connections with several domestic aircraft factories and research institutes.
Such favorable conditions should definitely be taken advantage of.
We will definitely develop large civilian aircraft in the future, as well as large warships.
Xiong Meng is still waiting to sail a large warship, and the Red Star Pioneer Company's fleet also needs escort.
Metal ores are brought in, and large aircraft are sold, creating a virtuous cycle.
First develop large aircraft, then large warships.
"Should we build a wind tunnel laboratory?"
"Back then, we borrowed Harbin Aircraft Industry Group's laboratory for the small aircraft. That thing was an open-circuit low-speed wind tunnel, which was fine for testing small aircraft, but not so good for large aircraft. We could also train a group of talents along the way." Li Aiguo felt that we should proceed step by step.
With a laboratory, many technologies can be developed from the laboratory.
Otherwise, directly showcasing those groundbreaking technologies would be too conspicuous.
Cough
"Didn't Engineer Liu from the small aircraft workshop always want a wind tunnel laboratory? This time it's finally built." Li Aiguo picked a cucumber in the greenhouse and took a bite.
(End of this chapter)