Chapter 1266
The Voice-Controlled Device Has Caused a Big Trouble, Chapter Electric Pioneer Li Aiguo
Yi Zhonghai stood frozen in front of Li Ai's house for a full five minutes before turning around and going to Liu Haizhong's house.
"Old Liu, about the deaf old lady..."
Liu Haizhong interrupted him directly: "The person has already been sent to the police station, so it should be handled according to the rules."
"Old Yi, we're the heads of the compound, so we must handle things impartially and not show favoritism!"
Yi Zhonghai wanted to persuade him again, but one of Liu Haizhong's apprentices came in with a bottle of good wine, calling him "Master" repeatedly with excessive respect.
Ever since Liu Haizhong was promoted to workshop director, his apprentices have become increasingly eager to curry favor with him.
When Yi Zhonghai thought of his good-for-nothing, unreliable apprentices, his heart felt so heavy that he almost fainted.
They turned around and went to Uncle San's house.
“Old Yan, you’re an educated man, you understand things. The old lady is so old, how can she endure being in a police station? You can’t be like Li Aiguo, with a black heart!”
They started by using moral blackmail.
But the old man now is not the same as before.
"Old Yi, I have to hurry up and go fishing, or all the good spots will be taken. We can talk about it later!"
The old man quickly picked up the tin bucket and fishing rod and ran off in a flash.
If I can't afford to offend them, can't I at least avoid them?
Yi Zhonghai stood in the courtyard, his teeth itching with anger: "Liu Haizhong, Yan Bugui... you've all been bought off by Li Aiguo!"
He returned home with a dark expression, and gulped down a mug of cold tea in an enamel cup to barely calm his anger.
"That damned Li Aiguo is trying to kill the deaf old lady!"
"Sigh, Lao Yi, that deaf old lady really went too far. She's smashed a lot of other people's windows over the years. Glass is so expensive, she should have been taught a lesson long ago."
An older woman also couldn't stand the deaf old lady's strange and sarcastic manner.
"What do you, a woman, know!"
Yi Zhonghai slammed his hand on the table.
How could a selfish person like Yi Zhonghai possibly want to be the son of a deaf old lady? He must have already planned it all along.
The deaf old lady has a lot of good things left over from before the liberation, which she wants to leave to Sha Zhu in the future. Sha Zhu is a bit silly, so they will definitely end up in his hands.
What if the deaf old lady spills the beans at the police station? Wouldn't all his plans over the years be for nothing?
More importantly, the deaf old lady had a close relationship with Director Yang of the steel rolling mill.
Now that Director Yang has been reinstated, he's hoping to use this connection to climb the ranks.
"Director Yang, that's right! How could I forget Director Yang! We can ask Director Yang to step in." Yi Zhonghai's eyes lit up.
"Can Director Yang control Li Aiguo?" an older woman asked in surprise.
"Are you stupid? The deaf old lady smashed Xu Damao's window. All Director Yang needs to do is put pressure on Xu Damao." After saying that, Yi Zhonghai felt that something was not right.
Could this be a trap set by Li Aiguo for him?
No, no, even if Li Aiguo is very smart, he would never have thought that he would ask Director Yang to intervene.
Besides, Li Aiguo is from the Qianmen Locomotive Depot. It's a joke that he could manage their steel rolling mill.
I must be overthinking things.
Yi Zhonghai now feels like he has developed Li Aiguo phobia.
Li Aiguo doesn't care about these things because he's currently busy having children.
Now that Xiaoming is in daycare and can run around everywhere, according to the rules, we should hurry up and make the next one.
As for where the rules came from, of course, Miss Chen learned them from her sister-in-law.
Under the dim light, young Ms. Chen, dressed in the latest ethnic costume, walked over with light steps.
As for her ethnicity, Li Aiguo couldn't tell either, because the girl, Xiao Chen, only had one belt on her body.
The night was quiet.
The night was bustling with activity.
The next morning, Li Aiguo drank a large bowl of turtle soup, slung his canvas bag over his shoulder, and went to the Qianmen Locomotive Depot workshop.
The workshop's current focus is on manufacturing voice-activated devices. Zhou Gaoyuan, holding the improved blueprints for the parts, directed the workers in the workshop to begin manufacturing the components.
Once these parts are made, they will be delivered to the family production team.
The head of the supplies department yawned as he delivered the supplies, which reeked of alcohol; clearly, he had been drinking most of the night before.
Li Aiguo continued to work on the drawings, trying his best to optimize production costs without compromising quality.
This thing will definitely be mass-produced in the future. Even if the cost is reduced by just one cent, it will still amount to a lot.
Experts from the Ministry of Water Resources and Electric Power were also discussing the blueprints brought back from the Qianmen Locomotive Depot workshop, and the leaders asked the power bureaus in various districts of Beijing to report the situation.
These factors include a lot of information, such as the difficulty of installing the voice control device, whether it is rainproof, the failure rate, and of course, the most important factor is the energy-saving effect.
The Ministry of Water Resources and Electric Power has also been planning ahead, and has formulated many energy-saving initiatives in recent years.
"Production first, life second"—the lighting schedule for government offices, shops, and residential buildings is uniformly controlled.
Turn off the lights when you leave a room.
25W and 15W low-wattage light bulbs are generally used in government offices and dormitories; high-power lighting is prohibited.
Make full use of natural light during the day and strictly prohibit turning on indoor lights.
Each department, workshop, and even large courtyard has designated an electricity supervisor to check the lights being turned off daily.
and many more.
Some of them have achieved relatively good results.
However, once these advocacy efforts are reduced, the energy-saving effects rebound rapidly.
Voice-activated devices are different; they don't require human intervention and can automatically turn off the lights.
A single light bulb can save you a few cents on your electricity bill over a week.
There are hundreds of thousands of lights in Beijing. How much can be saved? There are tens of millions of lights across the country. How much can be saved?
Even if it's just installed in places where long-term lighting isn't required, this is still a huge number.
Experts from the Ministry of Water Resources and Electric Power first counted the number of lights, then conducted experiments to test the energy-saving effect, and finally wrote a report.
This was a major national issue, and the Ministry of Water Resources and Electric Power was unable to make a decision on its own, so it was sent to higher authorities.
When the superiors saw the report amidst their busy schedules, they were somewhat surprised. Could this voice-activated device really save so much electricity?
Before the higher-ups could even inquire, the Ministry of Railways' report arrived.
This is more detailed than that of the Ministry of Water Resources and Electric Power. The Beijing Railway Bureau has now completely replaced all its equipment with voice control devices, achieving remarkable results.
Of course, the shortcomings were also pointed out: the production capacity of voice control devices is too low, and it is currently impossible to supply them to other railway bureaus across the country.
"What does this voice-activated device look like?" the superior asked with great curiosity.
The Ministry of Water Resources and Electric Power was prepared in advance, and they produced the blueprints and a sample unit with a light bulb attached.
"Sir, this is a voice control device made by the workshop of the Qianmen Locomotive Depot. There's no need to change the light bulb; just connect it directly to it," a leader from the Ministry of Water Resources and Electric Power explained to his superior.
"Not bad, thrift and frugality." The higher-level leader, seeing the example set by the Ministry of Water Resources and Electric Power, understood what was going on.
"Is it true that using voice-activated devices can save 10% of electricity?" This is what the higher-ups are concerned about.
During the First Five-Year Plan period, the construction industry experienced explosive growth, resulting in a huge power shortage. Power outages and rationing, with power rationing and shutdowns occurring every three days or four days, became the norm.
Even Factory 221, which is manufacturing new types of mushroom eggs, has encountered problems with its shortcomings.
Conventional weapons factories in Northeast, North, and Southwest China operate on the premises of having electricity, and wait when there is no electricity.
Needless to say, the new third-line production lines relied on natural light during the day and gas lamps at night, with a mix of manual and semi-mechanical production.
The higher authorities have been paying close attention to these situations.
Ten percent may not seem like a large number, but when considered on a national scale, it represents a significant amount.
"More than expected."
“Great! A voice control device can save 10 percent. If we think of other ways, we can overcome the difficulties quickly.”
"Your Ministry of Water Resources and Electric Power did a good job; you have a great overall perspective and are very astute."
"The Ministry of Railways has done a great job. We shouldn't be bound by rules and regulations when it comes to good things. We should mass-produce them when necessary," the superior leader said approvingly.
Upon hearing this, the Ministry of Railways leaders immediately said, "We will immediately notify the locomotive depot's workshop to plan the production workshop as soon as possible."
"Was it Li Aiguo who orchestrated this?" The superior flipped through the report he hadn't finished reading and, sure enough, saw Li Aiguo's name at the end.
"Isn't Comrade Patriot building transistor radios?"
"Sir, this is just an incidental study." The railway ministry leader brought out the same line that Section Chief Xing used.
"Cough cough cough," the superior also coughed several times in a row.
"Comrade Aiguo is not only a genius, but also a polymath. He has a very quick mind and can discover new results from research, which is something that many researchers cannot do."
After a moment of contemplation, the superior smiled and said, "I don't know why, but I suddenly feel like writing large characters today. Bring me the brush and ink."
The assistant acted quickly, setting out the pens, ink, and large sheets of paper.
The superior wrote a few words, and after they dried, he handed them to the leaders of the Ministry of Railways.
"Please pass this on to my patriotic comrade!"
"Yes."
"Furthermore, those who participate in the research project should not be neglected; they should be rewarded accordingly."
"Yes!"
Li Aiguo was still busy in his studio when he saw leaders from the Ministry of Railways and Section Chief Xing walk in.
"Comrade Patriot, congratulations, this is for you." The ministry leader took out a box.
Li Aiguo opened it; inside were large characters, rolled up.
"Quickly open it and take a look." The ministry leaders and Section Chief Xing were both quite excited.
Zhou Gaoyuan and Lao Kong were initially puzzled, thinking, "It's just a calligraphy piece, why make such a big fuss?"
Seeing the solemn expressions on the faces of the leaders, they couldn't help but feel uneasy and crane their necks to look.
Li Aiguo seemed to realize something, his expression turned serious, and he carefully laid the scroll flat on the table and slowly unfurled it.
The four large characters "self-reliance" came into view.
The ministry leader pointed to the words and exclaimed, "The higher-ups said that the research done by Comrade Aiguo is a model of 'self-reliance' on our railway front! This is a call for our entire system to learn from you!"
Although Section Chief Xing already knew that Li Aiguo had received the calligraphy, seeing those four characters in person still excited him just as much.
Li Aiguo works at the Qianmen Locomotive Depot. With the "Self-Reliance" plaque hanging above Li Aiguo's head, it's as if it's hanging above the entrance of the Qianmen Locomotive Depot, bringing him, the depot leader, a sense of pride.
"Patriotism, this is a priceless treasure, you must cherish it." "Understood, leader." Li Aiguo put the large characters away, placed them in a box, and planned to frame them like last time.
The ministry leaders reluctantly withdrew their gaze.
At this moment, a leader from the Ministry of Water Resources and Electric Power coughed twice and said, "Comrade Aiguo, in view of the outstanding energy-saving performance of the voice control device you developed, the Ministry has decided to award you the honorary title of 'Energy Saving Pioneer'! We hope you will continue your efforts and make more contributions to the power industry!"
As he spoke, Leader Zhao took out a bright red certificate and handed it to Li Aiguo with both hands.
This certificate is clearly custom-made; the lettering is in gold foil, and it has a red stamp from the Ministry of Water Resources and Electric Power at the bottom.
Li Aiguo accepted the gift with both hands, stood at attention, and saluted: "Thank you for the organization's trust! I will certainly remain humble and continue to work hard!"
In addition to the certificate, there was a 20 yuan bonus and an enamel mug with the words "Energy Saving Pioneer" on it.
Zhou Gaoyuan and the other colleagues in the studio also received collective praise and a ten-yuan bonus and an enamel mug.
Zhou Gaoyuan is one thing, he made contributions in Project 116 before, so he can be frank about it.
The three men, including Lao Kong, who came from the Railway Technology Institute, had their faces visibly flushed red.
It should be noted that they had been working at the Railway Technology Research Institute for many years but had never received any honors. However, they received a collective commendation less than a month after arriving at the Qianmen Locomotive Depot.
After announcing the commendations, the leaders from the Ministry of Water Resources and Electric Power were about to leave, but were stopped by Section Chief Xing and the leaders from the Ministry of Railways.
"Leader Zhao, this voice control device is a great success! Our section has prepared some light drinks for a celebratory banquet. You absolutely must come and join us for some fun!"
Leader Zhao laughed heartily: "Great! I've long heard that you railway brothers have good food and live a prosperous life. Today, I, Old Zhao, have come to plunder a bit!"
In fact, the power sector has long been known as the "power tiger" these days, and every factory and organization has to treat it with respect.
Although the Qianmen Locomotive Depot doesn't have to worry about power issues, it's always good to maintain good relationships.
Section Chief Xing had the canteen prepare a simple meal, not many dishes, but all meat dishes, which were served in enamel basins and brought to the workshop.
The beer was produced by the Qianmen Locomotive Depot's collective factory, two bottles per person.
After several rounds of drinks and several dishes, the atmosphere quickly became lively.
Li Aiguo was deliberately positioned between the leaders of the Ministry of Railways and Leader Zhao, making him the undisputed protagonist of the day.
Leader Zhao, also a former soldier, drank directly from the bottle and clinked glasses with Li Aiguo.
"Comrade Aiguo, I heard that you designed the circuits for your Qianmen Locomotive Depot and even set up a backup generator set?"
"That's true. The main problem is that the lines coming in from outside are overloaded, which sometimes causes malfunctions."
"Frequent power outages are a big problem," sighed Leader Zhao, putting down his wine bottle.
"You're quick-witted, do you have any ideas on this? How can we completely solve this problem?"
Li Aiguo did indeed have some ideas.
The studio plans to build more factories in the future, which will require electricity.
just
Li Aiguo laughed and said, "Sir, I'm just a researcher and a train driver. I don't know anything about electricity."
"Being able to design a complete circuit is already quite remarkable. Today, we're all having a good chat after some drinks, so please feel free to speak your mind," said Leader Zhao.
The leader of the Ministry of Railways, who was picking up a piece of braised pork, put down his chopsticks upon hearing this and chimed in, "Yes, Aiguo. Of all the locomotive depots under our ministry, your Qianmen depot has never had any problems caused by a power outage."
Don't keep your secrets to yourself; share them so everyone can learn.
Li Aiguo then spoke up, "Actually, there's no secret to it. We just connected our own generator set to the original main power grid to form a small backup power grid."
"Electric grid?" Leader Zhao was stunned.
"Tell me, what exactly is this 'electric grid'?"
Li Aiguo raised his glass, toasted Leader Zhao, and said seriously, "Leader, this 'electric grid' is actually nothing new."
Simply put, it's an integrated management system encompassing power generation, transmission, transformation, distribution, and consumption.
During the meeting, one of the accompanying power experts couldn't help but chime in.
"Isn't this just the same old system of power plants generating electricity, power lines transmitting electricity, and users consuming electricity? It's just a change of name with a few new terms."
Li Aiguo smiled and didn't rush to refute.
Leader Zhao glared at the expert and shouted, "Is it just a new term? Do you even understand what 'integrated management' means?"
Currently, power plants in different regions are operating independently, creating a chaotic mess. Has this been resolved? Patriotic comrades are offering suggestions, but instead of humbly learning, they're finding fault first. Huh?!
The expert shrank back after being reprimanded and dared not utter a word.
Leader Zhao perked up and looked at Li Aiguo, asking, "Comrade Aiguo, your concept of the power grid is quite interesting. Could you elaborate?"
"Boss, this is what I'm thinking."
Li Aiguo began by saying, "The current situation is that power plants in various places are isolated islands with chaotic circuit connections."
Shanxi has abundant coal and electricity, but it can't transmit it all.
Shanghai is an industrial city with a developed economy, but it cannot operate due to power shortages.
In the south, hydropower is wasted during the flood season, while in the north, coal and thermal power are in short supply during winter.
What is this called?
This is called the coexistence of 'storage power' and 'power shortage'.
Just like our railway.
Previously, scheduling was difficult for various railway bureaus. Even if there were goods and cars, there was no track, so the trains could only stand by and wait.
Later, we built a nationwide railway network with unified dispatching, and transport capacity immediately increased.
I was thinking, could electricity be like railways?
To establish a nationwide 'national power grid'.
Connect power plants across the country like train stations, coordinate their operation, smooth peak flows and fill valleys, and send surplus electricity to the areas most lacking power!
The expert was about to say that this was wishful thinking and the project was too massive, but he was silenced by a sharp glare from Leader Zhao.
Leader Zhao stared intently at Li Aiguo; no wonder the higher-ups called him a genius.
After a long silence, he slammed his hand on the table: "Good!"
"Bringing electricity to where it's most needed! What a great power grid!"
Leader Zhao stood up excitedly, raised the wine bottle, and said, "Comrade Patriot, you used the word 'net' brilliantly! This toast is for you! To this 'electric net'!"
Li Aiguo picked up a bottle of liquor and clinked it with his superior.
In this era, power generation is prioritized over power grids, and the power grid has long lagged behind.
The power sector has recognized the problem with power transmission and has conducted extensive research.
Li Aiguo simply stood on the shoulders of later generations, allowing him to see further and higher.
Whether it will work out or not is another story.
But today, this seed has been planted.
As for the small thermal power plants and small boilers of that era.
In hindsight, this can be seen as a flaw, but it also has its practical aspects.
It's impossible to build the Three Gorges Dam right away.
After a hearty meal and drinks, the guests were all very happy.
Li Aiguo returned to the courtyard house at eight o'clock in the evening.
As soon as I entered the courtyard, I saw that the Third Uncle's house was dimly lit, and I could hear the Third Uncle coughing from time to time.
"Old Yan, stop making trouble. Let Yan Jiecheng generate the electricity."
"Yes, Dad, I've been working on my homework for most of the night and I still haven't finished."
"Sigh, never mind, never mind. I was hoping to save some electricity, but it seems that generating our own electricity is the most economical. Jiecheng, stop chatting with your wife and hurry up and ride your bicycle."
Seeing Yan Jiecheng walk out looking dejected, Li Aiguo smiled and shook his head.
With the approval of higher-level leaders, the Ministry of Railways and the Ministry of Water Resources and Electric Power began to allocate resources to the Qianmen Locomotive Depot.
Various raw materials were delivered quickly, a level of efficiency that the head of the materials department could not match by coordinating things over drinks.
The Qianmen Locomotive Depot workshop quickly established a small collective factory, mainly producing spare parts, while the actual assembly work was handed over to the family production team.
"Patriotism, the metal shell in the parts, this thing is technically easy to make, but the structure is complicated and too labor-intensive. Why don't we send it to another factory to make?"
Li Aiguo was planning mass production when Zhou Gaoyuan raised his hand.
The contract manufacturing of parts at the Qianmen Locomotive Depot workshop has now become a standard practice. Except for some essential parts, other parts can be outsourced to domestic factories.
Considering that most of those factories were under the jurisdiction of the First Ministry of Machine Building, the locomotive depot submitted an application to the First Ministry of Machine Building.
The Ministry of Machine Building selected several qualified factories, and taking into account the good cooperative relationship between the Qianmen Locomotive Depot and the steel rolling mill, the steel rolling mill's name was placed first.
When the list was sent to the studio, Li Aiguo glanced at it, picked up his pen and crossed out the steel rolling mill, then added the machinery factory on top.
Director Yang of the steel rolling mill only learned of the news the next day.
Inside the office, Director Yang hung up the phone, his face as black as ink.
"I, Yang, don't even consider a small OEM project a big deal. But isn't this going too far?"
“The factory manager is right,” Secretary Bai immediately leaned in, her voice very low.
“When Deputy Director Yang was in charge of the work, whenever there was a good job in the locomotive depot, we were always the first choice.”
Now that you've been reinstated, they're just throwing us aside. It's clear they don't care about you at all.
Secretaries know best how to win a leader's heart.
Director Yang is a stubborn and self-willed person who is very concerned about his image and likes to put on airs.
Back then, conditions at the steel rolling mill were so harsh that the workers couldn't even afford steamed buns made of white flour. In order to show off, they were able to hire Sha Zhu as the head chef and make Dongpo pork knuckle.
It tastes somewhat like braised carp with noodles.
At this moment, Director Yang's lips curled into a sinister smile: "Since they won't give us face, then don't blame me for being impolite."
"Factory manager, the Qianmen Locomotive Depot is currently riding high..."
"Standing in the limelight?" Factory Director Yang scoffed.
"Taking care of the Qianmen Locomotive Depot is a piece of cake for me, isn't it?"
He picked up the phone and dialed the logistics department directly, speaking slowly:
"Have those materials sent from the Qianmen Locomotive Depot been put into storage? Hmm, I understand. Starting today, the Logistics Department will conduct a comprehensive warehouse inspection. The rules must be strict, there can be no ambiguity, understand?"
After hanging up the phone, Factory Director Yang looked at Secretary Bai: "Is there anything else today?"
Secretary Bai flipped through his notebook and said, "Comrade Yi Zhonghai from the project team wanted to see you, but you were in a meeting at the ministry at the time, so I had to turn him down."
Upon hearing Yi Zhonghai's name, Director Yang didn't pay much attention; a mere team leader wasn't worth his concern.
"Get off work, prepare the car."
(End of this chapter)