Siheyuan: Starting from a Truck Driver

Half an hour later, a plate of steaming fried pork with dried bamboo shoots was ready.

With Li Xiaodong's rich cooking experience, this dish was delicious and Yu Li almost swallowed her tongue while eating it.

Her heart was filled with happiness. This man was not only handsome, but also able to earn money to support the family and was such an excellent cook.

She was determined to hold on to this happiness.

She seemed a little reserved and did not lean against the wall to leave, which made Li Xiaodong feel a little disappointed.

...

After dinner, Li Xiaodong sat at the table and drew the design.

Yu Li washed and dried the pots and pans, and took the opportunity to pour tea to get closer to him.

She had intended to take this opportunity to say a few words, but the complicated symbols and intricate lines discouraged her.

Yu Li, who graduated from junior high school, had never seen such professional-level design drawings.

When Li Xiaodong stood up and stretched his body, she opened her red lips and asked in a low voice: "Brother Dong, what are you painting?" At the same time, she handed him the hot tea.

Seeing his wife's eagerness to learn and curiosity, Li Xiaodong explained without reservation: "This is a central support structure. Look, these are ball bearings, bearing seats, rubber rings, brackets..." Faced with the complex lines on the drawing, Yu Li was confused and didn't understand how these elements were related to ball bearings.

Suddenly, she had a deeper understanding of her husband. It turned out that he was a great designer! Yu Li's young face showed innocence, and Li Xiaodong couldn't help but lower his head and peck her lightly.

"Don't do this, don't..." Yu Li was so embarrassed that she almost jumped out of the house.

For the next half hour, she moved a stool and stared at Li Xiaodong from a distance. Her cautiousness made Li Xiaodong feel helpless. She had intended to take this opportunity to show off, just like the Ferrari in her previous life, which almost became her daily means of transportation to and from the hotel. But he underestimated the innocence of girls in this era.

As the night deepened, Li Xiaodong had no choice but to put away the drawings and escort Yu Li home. On the way, warm company was indispensable.

After seeing Yu Li off, Li Xiaodong returned to the courtyard late at night. He picked up the kettle, washed up and prepared to go to sleep. However, Yu Li's figure made him feel uneasy and he tossed and turned.

Golden dragon coiled around a pillar?

Hey~ back off!

In the early morning, the warm sunlight shone through the window onto Li Xiaodong's face, waking him up. Without a watch, he relied on the position of the sun to judge that it was about eight o'clock in the morning.

Oops, I might be late for work tomorrow?

Li Xiaodong quickly put on his clothes and put on his canvas bag. He pushed his bicycle out of the house and pedaled as hard as he could, finally arriving at the steel mill before the security guards closed the door.

He originally planned to go straight to the motorcade, but when he saw Section Chief Zhou standing at the door, he immediately changed direction and walked towards him.

"Brother Zhou, are you free to play cards with me tonight?" he asked.

"No, my wife's cousin is here to visit and I can't get away." Section Chief Zhou lit a cigarette and answered slowly.

"Then I feel relieved." Li Xiaodong said with a smile.

"Huh?" Section Chief Zhou was puzzled.

"The weather is getting colder and it's easy to catch a cold while working the night shift. I just care about you," Li Xiaodong explained.

"Thank you for your concern." said Section Chief Zhou.

"You're welcome. It's our responsibility to care about our colleagues." Li Xiaodong had already found out that the police station usually draws personnel from the security departments of various factories when they go to the pigeon market. There are at least a thousand people at the pigeon market, and it is difficult to maintain order without enough manpower. At the steel rolling mill, Section Chief Zhou is usually the team leader. He has practical experience, so Section Chief Zhou's absence means that the pigeon market tomorrow morning will be relatively safe.

Due to the delay, when Li Xiaodong arrived at the convoy, Niu Yong had already started the morning meeting.

Niu Meng was standing on the outskirts of the crowd, looking nervous. When he saw him running towards him, he quickly asked, "Master, why are you so late?"

"Oops, I overslept."

"Go ahead, I'll take over the bike."

Although there is no fine for being late, it is a matter of reputation after all, and if it is strictly pursued, you will most likely be blamed.

Of course, there is no need to worry for Niu Meng.

Therefore, Li Xiaodong did not pretend. He handed the bicycle to Niu Meng and rushed straight into the crowd.

Just as he stood firm and had no time to catch his breath, he heard Niu Yong calling his name.

"Here!" Li Xiaodong raised his hand high in response.

Niu Yong nodded and announced loudly: "Comrade Li Xiaodong from our team plans to improve the long drive shaft, so he will not participate in the transportation task in the next two days. This part of the work will be temporarily taken over by Comrade Meng Jian..."

This was followed by the specific arrangements for the transportation tasks.

The main mission of the rolling mill fleet is to transport steel components to factories all over the country. Some are local aid projects, such as delivering food to communes and medicine to pharmacies.

After the assignment was completed, everyone sang the Shaanxi folk song "The East is Red" in unison as usual. The singing was loud and clear, and everyone's face was glowing red under the morning sun. Li Xiaodong was also infected by this solemn atmosphere. He remembered a sentence from his previous life: If faith has a color, it must be Chinese red.

"Okay, everyone go about your business and be safe."

When the song ended, Niu Yong clapped his hands and the drivers began to prepare to set off.

Since there was no task, Li Xiaodong naturally planned to go to the lounge to continue drawing the blueprints.

After walking a few steps, Shan Xiaolin stopped him and said, "Wei Zi, I'm going to Tianjin to deliver goods today. Do you want me to bring anything with me?"

Drivers often help their friends carry things. Li Xiaodong thought for a moment and replied, "I heard that the rice there is very famous. Can you carry 100 kilograms for me?"

In his previous life, Li Xiaodong was used to eating rice, but the capital city mainly ate pasta, and due to the material distribution system, the price of rice was extremely high.

"Okay!" Shan Xiaolin left humming a tune.

Li Xiaodong has demonstrated his strength since joining the team, so his promotion is just around the corner. It is always helpful to build good relationships in advance.

...

In the team lounge.

Li Xiaodong was lying on the table, concentrating on drawing the design.

Outside the door, Li Zheng and Niu Meng looked at each other, their eyes full of dissatisfaction.

Since Li Zheng reported Li Xiaodong's improvement plan to FAW, after in-depth discussion, the senior management of the design department believed that the chassis plan had reference value and the water tank modification plan was highly practical, so Li Xiaodong's name became known within FAW.

Therefore, when Niu Yong reported to FAW that Li Xiaodong wanted to design a long central support structure for the drive shaft, it immediately attracted great attention from senior management of the design department.

The basic model of the Jiefang truck is the ZIER 150.

While the Jiefang truck inherited the advantages of the ZI-150, it also inherited some design problems. The most troublesome of these for FAW was the long drive shaft, which was prone to failure.

FAW has obtained authorization for the improvement plan of the Likhachev Automobile Plant.

However, this central support structure, jointly developed by the Likhachev Automobile Plant and Volvo, requires some imported raw materials, and the country's foreign exchange reserves are quite tight.

Therefore, FAW's design department is actively looking for ways to design a domestically produced central support structure, but progress is slow due to problems with the design concept.

After learning about this situation, they were ecstatic and immediately sent the ninth-level engineer Li Zheng to come, hoping to get new ideas from Li Xiaodong.

Li Zheng came to the team with great enthusiasm and was about to enter the lounge when he was stopped by Niu Meng, who explained that his master had told him not to disturb his working hours.

Of course, she was mainly worried that Li Zheng would poach Li Xiaodong because the master was indeed an honest man who not only provided meals but also taught driving skills in person.

Li Zheng was naturally unwilling to accept this. As an engineer who could receive a salary of more than 100 yuan a month, he believed that a young female worker should not stop him. After a few arguments, the two had a conflict, which ended in the engineer's failure.

At this time, Niu Yong happened to go to the factory for a meeting. Li Zheng had no way to appeal, so he had to stand at the door and shout loudly.

Li Xiaodong was drawing a blueprint at a critical point, and was interrupted by the noise. When he opened the door, he saw his apprentice and a man who came for unknown reasons. He was immediately furious and taught them a lesson.

Both sides put the blame on the other.

After completing the design of the ball bearing, Li Xiaodong felt relieved. According to the domestic technical level, this kind of ball bearing can be produced. The next step is to calculate the specific parameters and mark them on the drawing. The task is almost done. Only then did he let the two people in.

Li Zheng no longer paid attention to the dispute with Niu Meng. As soon as he entered the room, he went straight to the table and studied the drawings carefully. He was an expert in automobile design and understood it at a glance. He was amazed at the sight and muttered, "This... can ball bearings be designed like this?"

"Only by designing the ball bearing into four components, namely the ball, inner ring, outer ring and retainer, can the force be dispersed to the greatest extent. High-chromium steel with a Rockwell hardness of 61 or above can be used, and..." Although he was dissatisfied with Li Zheng's unauthorized intrusion, Li Xiaodong explained his design ideas in detail. He knew that making a central support structure as soon as possible would reduce the risk for drivers when driving outside.

At present, China's industry is almost starting from scratch. If everyone cares about returns, when will China's rise be realized? Li Zheng nodded repeatedly and praised.

Niu Meng's little face was also filled with smiles. She secretly felt lucky that her master was really good and that the engineer was just a fool. Drawing the blueprints was a difficult task, especially considering the level of material manufacturing in China at that time. Li Xiaodong focused on this task all morning.

Seeing that it was almost noon, Li Xiaodong decided to go back to the courtyard because Yu Li said she would come to clean today, and as the head of the family, he had to go and visit her.

He gently patted Li Zheng's shoulder who was studying the blueprints, and said, "I need to go home occasionally. I'd like you to take my apprentice to eat at noon. We don't have to go to a restaurant outside. We can just eat in the cafeteria."

Li Zheng looked up at Niu Meng. How much could a skinny girl eat?

"Don't worry, your apprentice is my apprentice. I will make sure she has enough to eat."

Hey, just take advantage of me with your words!

Li Xiaodong smiled slightly, and with his back to Li Zheng, he made a chopping gesture to Niu Meng.

Niu Meng nodded in understanding.

Master, please rest assured!

...

the other side.

Although she had agreed to help Li Xiaodong clean the house at noon, Yu Li arrived early in the morning.

Anyway, I'm idle at home, so I can do more work if I come early.

Waiting for Li Xiaodong to come back and give him a big surprise.

Thinking this in her mind, Yu Li's enthusiasm immediately increased. She first cleaned the house thoroughly, and then wiped every piece of furniture with a rag.

In the old Yu family, Yu Li is the only one who does not have a job, and she is responsible for almost all the daily housework.

Since she had no income, she developed a frugal habit and was reluctant to use even hot water.

Soon, Yu Li's bangs were wet and stuck to her forehead, and her hands were red from the cold.

Grandma San was cutting leeks in the backyard. When she saw this scene, she couldn't help but feel heartbroken.

In her opinion, Yu Li is the most ideal daughter-in-law.

Noticing that Li Xiaodong was not at home, she mustered up the courage to walk into the house and said with an awkward smile: "Yu Li, why bother? Li Xiaodong has no support from his elders and his family conditions are poor, why did you choose him? He just treats you as a free servant!"

Yu Li stopped what she was doing and shook her head, "Third Grandma, Xiaodong is not what you think. He takes good care of me, and I am happy to help him with the housework."

The third grandmother was secretly angry and didn't know what kind of drug Li Xiaodong had given Yu Li.

After the third grandmother left, some old women and young daughters-in-law would often pass by Li Xiaodong's house.

It was the first time they had seen such a diligent girl who had been busy the whole morning, even cleaning the windows until they sparkled.

In such a cold day, who would clean the windows?

At noon, an old lady finally couldn't hold back anymore and walked into the house.

Yu Li was eating. Looking at the black steamed bread and boiled water on the table, the old lady couldn't help but speak:

"Yu Li, if Li Xiaodong forced you, just tell me. This is a new era, and feudal customs are not allowed. Don't worry, my uncle and I will do justice for you."

Yu Li didn't know whether to laugh or cry. She was doing things sincerely, but these people always thought of it in the wrong way.

"Brother Xiaodong treated me very well. I don't eat much and I have to work, so I didn't cook."

"Still need to work? You've been busy all morning!"

The old lady felt sad that this young man Li Xiaodong really didn't take his wife seriously.

The old lady walked out of the house and told the other women under the old camphor tree what she had seen.

The old ladies and young daughters-in-law all gasped in surprise. They had only heard of mothers-in-law abusing their daughters-in-law, but had never seen a husband be so attentive.

"Li Xiaodong has good vision and married a virtuous wife."

"Hey, Yu Li used to be such a smart girl, how come she became so stupid after following Li Xiaodong?"

"That's right. I never expected that she was also born in an old Beijing alley. The Yu family also has face to face others. How could she be as hardworking and uncomplaining as a country girl?"

"Country girl? Qin Huairu is also from the countryside, and I've never seen her be so diligent."

"With such a daughter-in-law, Li Xiaodong will enjoy a happy life, but the Yan family will suffer a great loss."

...

They didn't notice that the third aunt and Jia Zhang were standing by with bowls in their hands.

Hearing these discussions, the two men's faces instantly turned gloomy. They exchanged glances and then hurried home.