Chapter 20: The King of Verbal Sparring

Li Aiguo slung his canvas bag over his shoulder and walked into the front yard, just catching sight of Yan Bugui squatting at the doorway with several children. They stretched their necks and took deep breaths, their faces radiating innocent happiness.

“Hey there, Third Uncle, has the household run out of food that you’re taking the children out to breathe the northwest wind?” Li Aiguo teased.

Yan Bugui rolled his eyes but said nothing. He was afraid of wasting time and losing the faint scent in the air, so he kept inhaling deeply. The children from the Yan family imitated him faithfully: inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale...

Looking at this row of green frogs sniffing the air for the scent of eggs, Li Aiguo understood the situation well enough. He gave Yan Bugui a thumbs-up. “Third Uncle, if there’s a prize for knowing how to get by, you’d be the champ in our courtyard.”

Yan Bugui’s small eyes blinked as if he wanted to reply, but he was unwilling to interrupt his breathing rhythm. The disruption made his face turn crimson, his eyes bulge out, making him look even more like a frog.

“You keep going...” Li Aiguo said, genuinely worried the old man might harm himself and quickly turned away.

Outside the courtyard, the clanging of bicycle bells, the calls of pan repairers and kettle fixers, the sizzling sound of scissors sharpening knives, and the noisy bargaining of children trading maltose for toothpaste wrappers all buzzed noisily into Li Aiguo’s ears.

Under the gentle sunlight, the pedestrians along the road looked pale and thin, but on their faces was a unique vigor and spirit characteristic of the era.

Li Aiguo tightened his collar and stepped forward, merging into the crowd as he headed toward the Locomotive Depot.

The railway system was a complex network, with various departments coordinating together.

On a passenger train, the crew was divided into three groups: the service team, the vehicle team, and the train police team.

The vehicle team fell under the management of the Locomotive Depot and consisted of one chief driver, one assistant driver, three firemen, 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.

The service team handled passenger services and was managed by the Service Department—Wang Cui’e worked there.

The train police team was responsible for security and fire and explosion prevention, usually under the Railway Police Station.

Of course, in later years, there would be separate departments for engineering, vehicles, electrical work, power supply, and communications.

But in this era, trains were few, railway mileage limited, and many tasks were combined. The engineering, vehicle, and electrical departments were temporarily merged into the Locomotive Depot, which made it the largest of the three main departments.

Besides driving trains, it was also responsible for their maintenance, repairs, and even production design.

For example, the Sifang Factory, which produced the “August First” locomotive, had ninth-level engineers stationed at the depot to identify and solve issues during vehicle operation.

The Qianmen Locomotive Depot, where Li Aiguo was headed, was a subdivision of the Beijing Locomotive Depot, located near Qianmen Railway Station.

Crossing the square in front of Qianmen Station, turning down a couple of alleys, and circling behind the station, the depot lay just ahead.

Qianmen Locomotive Depot was neither large nor small; bathed in golden sunlight, its old and worn buildings took on a distinctive charm.

Li Aiguo stood at the gate, eyes narrowing slightly.

...

The education office was on the second floor of the depot.

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

Liu Chunhua, the head of the education office, saw Li Aiguo and a shadow of displeasure flashed across her eyes.

She quickly composed herself, forcing a strained smile.

“Comrade Aiguo, I heard you were ill; I thought you wouldn’t participate in this year’s exam.”

“Thank you for your concern, Director. I’ve recovered and have been diligently reviewing to strive for a top-three ranking in the exam, to bring honor to our depot,” Li Aiguo replied politely, handing over his documents. “I’m here for the review; please process the paperwork.”

Though his words were courteous, his tone lacked any trace of respect.

Liu Chunhua ground her teeth in frustration but refrained from showing it. She had heard Wang Cui’e from the Service Department criticize her for mistreating the orphans of veteran workers whenever she passed by the station.

If she made a scene now, the depot chief might hold her accountable. Even with Old Liu’s protection, explaining herself would be difficult.

Still, achieving a top-three spot was no easy feat.

There were four to five hundred candidates from the entire depot taking the exam.

For this test, Liu Erfeng had hired a vocational school teacher for cultural lessons and a veteran driver from the depot for practical training.

Other strong candidates had similar advantages, all from railway families receiving extra tutoring.

Especially Zhang Dahua, whose cultural knowledge was slightly lacking but whose grandfather was a senior bureau official, earning her some leniency even from the leadership.

Li Aiguo’s advantage lay only in his cultural knowledge; without a foundation, he would likely struggle during the practical exam.

As he pondered this, Liu Chunhua swiftly completed the paperwork, returning it with a stern expression. “Young man, you must be down-to-earth and not aim too high.”

“Heh...” Li Aiguo took the documents, smiling. “Director Liu, have you been reading the newspapers recently?”

“I’m the head of the education office; I study the major policies daily to improve my ideological awareness. Of course, I read the papers,” she said proudly, pointing to a tall stack on her desk.

Among all the departments in the depot, the education office had the most and most comprehensive newspapers. Sometimes even the depot chief would consult her for the latest speeches.

But what was this boy getting at?

With a puzzled look, Liu Chunhua watched as Li Aiguo rifled through the papers.

“Found it.”

He spread the newspaper on the table and pointed at the bold black headline, teasing:

“You young people are like the morning sun at eight or nine o’clock; hopes are entrusted to you.”

“This is a speech from Moscow University, intended to encourage us young people to aim high and strive forward.

“Director Liu, just now I said I wanted to be in the top three, and you hastily accused me of aiming too high and dampening my ambition.

“That seems to contradict the spirit of the speech.”

The stark black headline caught Liu Chunhua’s eye, sending a chill from her feet to the back of her head.

Sweat beaded densely on her forehead; her throat was dry and itchy, and she swallowed hard.

That wretched boy was too skilled at escalating matters!

The crucial point was, even if Liu Chunhua were a hundred times braver, she wouldn’t dare contradict the spirit of the speech.

Once haughty, she now had to force a smile.

“Well... Comrade Aiguo, I only meant it as a joke out of goodwill.”

Li Aiguo towered over her, as if looking down from three stories high.

“You can be careless with your food, but not with your words. Director Liu, I hope you learn from this experience and focus your energy on improving your professional skills instead of disparaging your fellow comrades.”

“Yes, yes, yes...” Liu Chunhua wiped her sweat and clenched her teeth.

First round: the king of verbal sparring wins!

After giving Liu Chunhua a small lesson, Li Aiguo hummed a tune as he headed to the Armament Section.

Zhou Tihu was already waiting outside and, seeing Li Aiguo arrive late, asked curiously, “What happened? Did Director Liu give you a hard time?”

“No, nothing like that. I just spent a little time discussing major policies with her,” Li Aiguo replied.

A trainee discussing policies with the education office director?

Zhou Tihu eyed him suspiciously but did not press further and led him inside the Armament Section.

With Zhou Tihu accompanying him, and as the son of a veteran worker, the comrades in the Armament Section were quite warm toward Li Aiguo.

A few officers quickly processed the paperwork and led him into an adjacent room.

Once Li Aiguo settled on the bench, Officer Liu’s expression turned serious.

“Comrade Li Aiguo, I now represent the organization to review your situation. Please cooperate and don’t feel burdened.”

Li Aiguo nodded calmly. “I will cooperate fully.”

...