radicalducati Chapter 33: Tens of thousands of people rushed to the front lines to repair the railway!
Chapter 33: Tens of thousands of people rushed to the front lines to repair the railway!
Fourth, our workers need livelihood guarantees and we need more manpower.
Zhang Tiechuan's voice lowered.
"In today's end-of-glacial period, the working environment on the front lines is an extremely cold hell with temperatures tens of degrees below zero, no different from being in Antarctica, and it is very easy for people to die!"
Our workers need the highest-grade electrically heated winter clothing, portable insulated barracks, and an uninterrupted supply of hot food and water.
There must also be sufficient supplies of medicines, especially those for preventing frostbite and hypothermia.
In addition to logistical support.
We need even more manpower. To complete the national mission within fifteen days, we need at least another... 50,000 skilled engineers!
Lu Yi fell silent upon hearing the number.
Mobilizing 50,000 skilled engineers from across the country in a short period of time is no easy task, even for a university with a mature industrial chain like Dongda University.
Most importantly, it depends on whether people have the courage to leave their warm shelters and head to the extremely cold front lines where their lives may be in danger.
But he nodded anyway, indicating that he would provide Zhang Tiechuan with manpower.
Zhang Tiechuan then continued:
"Fifth, and also the most variable, is the current issue of coordination and scheduling."
Zhang Tiechuan raised his head and said somewhat anxiously:
"This is not about repairing one line, but about simultaneously opening up five main lines on a railway network that has been paralyzed by extreme cold and freezing temperatures."
This requires ensuring that they meet the passage requirements within the same time window.
The progress of each stage, any unexpected events encountered, and the consumption of resources must be summarized in real time and dynamically adjusted.
Our communication system is extremely unreliable in blizzards and low temperatures, and is prone to signal loss.
"On many occasions, your military may need to use helicopters or other equipment to deliver messages manually."
Lu Yi put away the recorder and then nodded.
"Director Zhang, your list has been received."
Starting tomorrow, for fifteen days, totaling 360 hours, the nation will fully support your mission.
Zhang Tiechuan seemed to be infected by Lu Yi's seriousness as well, and he nodded and said:
"I know that what we need to repair is not just the railway tracks, but the lifeline of the nation. There is no turning back, only moving forward."
"I will strive to fulfill the nation's mission!"
Lu Yi gave Zhang Tiechuan a military salute. After the salute, he didn't linger and turned around with Li Xiaming beside him, striding out of the conference room.
Both of them are very busy with work.
As per Zhang Tiechuan's request, they next needed to mobilize various underground shelters and organize tens of thousands of experienced engineers and workers to go to the front lines.
In addition, they had to travel to various factories and do their utmost to produce all kinds of equipment and tools needed to repair the railway.
And at this moment, it's not just the railway bureau.
On a remote coast, the gleam of welding lights shines brightly in a huge shipyard, where gantry cranes shuttle back and forth.
Shipyard workers are urgently installing a specially made icebreaker bow and reinforced steel plates on the existing hull.
Cargo ships originally used for transportation are being transformed at an astonishing speed into pioneers capable of tearing through solid ice.
At this moment, the pulse of the entire nation is beating violently at the same frequency.
Every individual and every link in the chain has been united into an unbreakable force, and the eyes of the entire nation are focused on the same goal:
That is to safely deliver the nuclear reactor, which carries light and hope, to where the people need it!
……
……
At the Xishan City Third Shelter.
Chen Dahe, who lives in the dormitory of the shelter construction team, doesn't open his eyes as soon as he wakes up in the morning; instead, he reaches out and touches his chest.
He looked down and saw that the stiff oilcloth bag in his hand was still there, and immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
Chen Dahe opened the oilcloth bag, looked at the photo inside, and revealed a simple and honest smile.
This photo was taken last spring, when the ice on the riverbank had just melted, and it was a family portrait they took.
The wife smiled under the willow tree in spring, while the daughter, who had just turned five, had cream on her face.
Chen Dahe pressed the photo to his heart, closed his eyes for three seconds, and then sat up.
Seeing this, a roommate from the construction team laughed:
"Dahe, are you missing your wife and kids again?"
"Of course you want to! Last night we finally got a signal, and you cried while chatting with your family. Did you think I wouldn't know you were crying in the bathroom?"
My roommate tilted his head sheepishly, remained silent for a moment, and finally said:
"I really want to go back to my hometown to see them, but unfortunately the roads and trains are closed now, so I can't go back at all."
"If I had known, I wouldn't have worked away from home last year. I would have gone straight back to my hometown. Although I earn less money there, at least I can be with them now..."
Chen Dahe nodded in empathy, and sighed:
"Besides not being able to go back to them, what I'm most worried about... is their safety."
Although shelters have been built back home, I've heard that they always have trouble getting electricity and heating, and even in the shelters, there are frequent power outages and heating shutdowns... My daughter is so young, and she's most afraid of the cold.
Seeing the cold glint in Chen Dahe's 1.85-meter-tall eyes, his roommate silently shook his head and patted him on the shoulder.
"Alright, stop thinking about such sad things. Trust the country; the country will definitely solve the heating and electricity problems! Let every one of our compatriots get through these three years of ice age safely!"
"Um……"
Chen Dahe responded and got up with his coworkers to start a new day's work.
However, as soon as he entered the lobby, he saw a bolded headline on the most prominent announcement screen:
Notice on the Emergency Recruitment of Personnel for Railway Repair Project.
Chen Dahe squeezed into the crowd and read it word by word.
"Those with experience in heavy industry, welding, and machinery operation will be given priority. Applicants should be between 18 and 50 years old, in good health, and able to work in extreme low temperatures."
Families of frontline workers will receive increased subsidies for medical care, food, and education at shelters; those who complete their missions will also be awarded a certificate of national service.
"The purpose of this emergency railway repair is to provide heating and electricity to people in remote provinces and cities in the Northwest, Northeast, and Southwest as soon as possible, so that they can be free from the suffering of severe cold."
Reopening lifelines and bringing warmth to the border regions—every drop of sweat you shed warms the people for a whole winter… Northwest, Northwest!
My hometown is in the Northwest!
Chen Dahe's eyes lit up; he saw hope.
"Once the railway is repaired, my daughter and wife won't have to worry about power shortages or the cold anymore!"
Chen Dahe hurriedly went to the registration office to sign up. He thought there would be very few people signing up this time, since it was about leaving the shelter and going to the extremely cold surface, where there was always a risk to his life.
But when Chen Dahe arrived, he found that the place was already packed with people.
He couldn't help but feel annoyed. Why did I get up ten minutes late today? Now I can't even get a turn to help out!
"I want to go!"
At the very front of the registration line, a young man who looked to be in his early twenties, with a youthful air still lingering on his face, spoke.
He said to the registrar:
"My name is Li Rui, and I am a third-year student in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at a university of science and technology."
I can read blueprints, operate a lathe, and... I can even use CAD!
The registrar looked up at him:
"You haven't graduated yet, you're a student. Do you know where you're going? Do you know what you're doing?"
"Know."
Li Rui straightened his back and said seriously:
"They were going to repair the railway, which was life-threatening."
But my parents are in a shelter in their hometown, where the power went out for an hour last night. How cold must it be in a shelter when the power is out at night when the temperature is tens of degrees below zero?
How could I bear to watch my family's lives be threatened by the cold? The government said that once these railway lines are completed, the whole country won't have to worry about power or heating shortages, so I have to go!
The registrar looked at him for a moment, then wrote his name on the form: "Go over there for your medical check-up."
"Me! I used to operate excavators on construction sites! I'm skilled at operating machinery, choose me!"
"I've been a welder for ten years; I can even weld high-pressure pipes!"
"I'm thirty-eight. I don't have any advanced skills, but I'm strong and can handle logistics and stuff. Let me go too!"
People crowded towards the registration table, their voices overlapping, vying to sign up, afraid of not being selected.