The train driver in the courtyard

The next day.

When Li Aiguo arrived at the locomotive depot on his bicycle, the station yard was already full of people.

Several leaders from the Railway Bureau's Maintenance Department and Vocational Education Department, leaders from the Maintenance Depot, and Director She from the Education Office were all present.

Huang Jing stood in the middle of the crowd, looking somewhat isolated and helpless.

Li Aiguo rode his bicycle over without getting off. He put his feet on the ground and asked Huang Jing, "Disciple, what's going on? Didn't you pass the theoretical test? Why haven't you started the road test yet?"

Huang Jing breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Li Aiguo and trotted over to explain.

Director Chen of the Railway Bureau's Maintenance Department stepped forward and said with a smile: "Li Dache, the road test rules on our railway have been changed. From the previous fixed-point and fixed-section tests, we have changed to running 'small-circuit tests'."

After Director Chen's explanation, Li Aiguo finally understood why Huang Jing was so nervous.

In fact, since last year, the Ministry of Railways has decided to formalize the assessment of train drivers and use running "small routes" as the assessment content.

The so-called "small route" refers to a railway route with a single distance of no more than 100 kilometers and no stops along the way.

Damn, isn’t this just the third subject in later generations?

The road test environment is complex and tests the train driver's ability to respond, so the assessment is more difficult.

After Director Chen finished explaining, he added: "Li Da Che, this is the department's regulation. We also know that Huang Jing is a female train driver and her training time is relatively short. If you object, I can report it to the higher-ups and ask them to relax the assessment standards."

Director Chen has bad intentions. He tries to offend us right from the start.

Li Aiguo turned his head and saw that several young train drivers looked a little strange.

"Apprentice, what do you think?"

"Master, I am a lesbian, but once I get on the train I am the train driver! There is no distinction between men and women. I want to drive the 'small route'!"

Huang Jing was a little timid at first, and when she felt looked down upon, she immediately spoke out loudly.

"Well, this is what women can do to hold up half the sky."

Li Aiguo looked at Director Chen and said, "You guys arrange the exam, but as the master of Huang Jing's apprentice, I hope to go with her."

Director Chen's face changed when he heard this and he wanted to object.

At this time, Section Chief Xing came over and said, "Old Chen, I have already promised you that you can choose the boiler operator and assistant driver for the assessment.

Now Li Dache is following the car as a mass supervisor, there is nothing wrong with that, right? "

Director Chen wanted to object, but then he noticed that several train drivers were already angry, so he nodded hurriedly and said, "Yes, yes, that's what we should do, but I hope that Li Dache won't interfere with the assessment."

Li Aiguo agreed immediately.

Huang Jing began to prepare for the trip, including signing, familiarizing herself with the route, etc.

Director Chen also held a short meeting with the "examiners".

"Today's candidate is the first female driver of Qianmen Locomotive Depot. You must open your eyes wide, be fearless of pressure, and handle your work impartially."

The examiners all agreed verbally, but they were somewhat puzzled in their hearts.

Director Chen has been as excited as ever since the railway branch received the application from the Qianmen Locomotive Depot.

Not only did he take the initiative to request to serve as the "chief examiner" of the assessment, he also reminded the examiners several times to be serious and rigorous.

These examiners are all experienced people, and they can see that this guy is deliberately targeting Huang Jing.

Li Aiguo also noticed it.

Generally speaking, he would not bother to argue with such people, but for the sake of his apprentice, he still felt that he should be cautious.

"Duanchang, did you dig up Director Chen's ancestral grave?" Li Aiguo said to Duanchang Xing.

Duan Chang Xing: "."

He was silent for a moment, then explained, "Director Chen used to be the deputy chief of our Qianmen locomotive section. We worked together as a team, and there was some unpleasantness."

Director Xing did not continue to explain, Li Aiguo already understood.

After Director Chen was squeezed out of the Qianmen Locomotive Depot, she felt like an abandoned woman, and her love for the Qianmen Locomotive Depot turned into hatred.

I am usually dissatisfied with the Qianmen Locomotive Depot.

What's more, Qianmen Locomotive Depot is now going to train its first female train driver.

Naturally, we have to find a way to disgust the Qianmen Locomotive Depot.

These evil spirits are really troublesome.

"Aiguo, you'd better be careful later. Director Chen is not that easy to deal with. He likes to stick to dogma." Section Chief Xing was a little worried. The level of the Railway Bureau's Maintenance Department is very high. If the matter is brought up, it will be a big commotion.

Li Aiguo said, "Don't worry, Section Chief."

By this time, Huang Jing's preparations had been completed.

The route of the "small route" is from Qianmen Locomotive Depot to Langfang, with a total length of 55 kilometers and a round trip of 110 kilometers. It is carrying a truck carrying logs.

Cao Wenzhi also came over and frowned and said, "This route is a famous 'labor reform line'. How can it be used as an assessment route?"

Director Chen said with a straight face: "This route is a short-distance route and meets the assessment regulations of the Ministry. There is no problem in choosing this route."

"You" Cao Wenzhi wanted to get angry, but was stopped by Li Aiguo: "Master, leave this matter to me."

Cao Wenzhi sighed helplessly.

He knew that Director Chen was now using the banner of abiding by the department's regulations, which was equivalent to holding the imperial sword.

The train drivers who were watching also noticed it now.

But they also had no choice but to worry about Huang Jing silently.

The fireman and the assistant driver are important assistants to the train driver. Director Chen picked two of them from the Qianmen Locomotive Depot seemingly at random.

Cao Wenzhi's face turned even darker. Both of them were well-known lazy people.

The assistant driver's nickname is "No Eyes" and the boiler operator's nickname is "Two Taels of Coal".

There are only wrong names, no wrong nicknames. You can tell their professional level by listening to their nicknames.

Train No. 2137, which was transporting logs, was parked at the battlefield of Qianmen Locomotive Depot. Huang Jing inspected the train with the assistant driver and the fireman.

Seeing that Huang Jing had done a good job of inspection, Director Chen did not say anything, but nodded and said, "Get in the car, don't waste time."

Li Aiguo got on the car with Huang Jing and others. He did not sit on the stool, but came into the coal truck with his hands behind his back.

He pointed at the coal and said, "Director Chen, please replace these Fengfeng coals."

Director Chen frowned and said, "Li Da Che, it's too late now. Besides, Fengfeng coal is also coal, why can't we use it?"

"According to the ministry's regulations, trains carrying more than 3,000 tons must use lump coal. You don't even know this basic system, do you?"

Li Aiguo glanced at Director Chen.

Director Chen is a cadre with a background in political work and he really doesn't understand the technical details.

"It's too late now, so let's just make do with this job." Director Chen still didn't give up.

Li Aiguo frowned: "Director Chen, this is the department's rule. Do you want to break it?"

Director Chen was hit by a boomerang and had no choice but to agree to replace the coal.

At this time, the workers of Qianmen Locomotive Depot had become as united as one.

After learning that the coal needed to be replaced, Yan Jiecheng actually took the lead and picked up the coal basket.

Dozens of workers worked together and it only took half an hour to replace the Fengfeng coal with lump coal.

Section Chief Xing nodded frequently as he watched. The heat released by burning lump coal far exceeded that of Fengfeng coal, and it was very effective for climbing long slopes on the train. Li Aiguo was prepared for a rainy day.

"Can we set off now?"

"lets go."

Looking at Li Aiguo sitting on a stool and smoking comfortably, Director Chen smiled bitterly in his heart, wondering who was the chief examiner.

"The assessment has begun, students please get started!"

Following Director Chen's order, Huang Jing followed Professor Li Aiguo's experience and first observed the dashboard before blowing the whistle and starting the train.

Woo woo woo. Eating, eating, eating like crazy. The locomotive pulling more than 3,000 tons of logs roared along the black railway track.

Director Chen had been keeping a close eye on Huang Jing's operations since the start of the journey, but no matter how careful he was, he could not find any irregular operations.

He slows down in time, steps on the pedals as required, and communicates with the co-driver from time to time to understand the situation ahead. This is a standard train driver.

Director Chen also asked the examiners to assess Huang Jing's rules and regulations.

Huang Jing had memorized several thick volumes of rules and regulations by heart, and she even remembered the location of each punctuation mark.

The examiners could only give full marks on the mark sheet.

However, Director Chen was not in a hurry. Driving was different from fixed-point assessment. Accidents were particularly easy to happen on the road. He just needed to wait patiently.

Sure enough, after passing Caiyu Station, the train entered a tunnel.

As the saying goes, the two biggest pains of driving are the heat in summer and the choking sensation of passing through a tunnel.

Every time passing through a tunnel, with the three sounds of "dong dong dong" from the air valve, the driver's cab would always be covered with steam and coal smoke, and the driver, co-driver and fireman would be choked to the point of being unable to breathe.

Not only did he turn into an "African friend", but his clothes were also stained with coal dust and sweat and turned into "grease bags".

So this line is nicknamed the "labor reform line" because it has three consecutive tunnels.

It is difficult for most male train drivers to bear, let alone female drivers.

Director Chen kept his eyes on Huang Jing and recorded anything that affected Huang Jing during the process.

Unfortunately, he was disappointed again.

Huang Jing has driven so many trains with Li Aiguo that she has long been accustomed to the hard life of a train driver.

After passing through three tunnels in succession, her originally fair face was covered with coal dust, but her whole energy was still focused on driving.

Director Chen also began to wonder if targeting Huang Jing this time was a bit too much.

At this time, the co-driver reported: "Comrade driver, please pay attention, there is a long uphill section ahead."

Huang Jing stared at the dashboard.

When the train is running, the boiler pressure should be maintained at 14-15 kPa and the water level should be maintained at 70%.

Now we are only halfway through the long uphill section, and the boiler pressure has dropped to 13 kPa and the water level has dropped to 50%.

Huang Jing ordered: "Comrade assistant driver, help the stoker to shovel coal. Comrade stoker, please increase the amount of coal you shovel."

He was used to being lazy with the two taels of coal. He carried the coal shovel and shoveled coal into the furnace one shovel at a time. Even after hearing Huang Jing's order, he was still lazy.

Seeing this situation, the ignorant people just picked up the coal shovel and pretended to be busy. The fire in the furnace never started and the speed of the train became slower and slower.

Huang Jing didn't know what to do for a moment.

Director Chen was delighted. If the train slipped on the long slope, Huang Jing's assessment would definitely fail.

"Disciple, watch out, I will teach you one last lesson."

At this time, Li Aiguo stood up and rushed to Erliangmei, grabbed the collar with one hand and the belt with the other hand, twisted his waist and did the "Erlang Kangshan" move, throwing the man to the ground with his legs spread out.

"Pfft!"

Two ounces of coal were thrown and made me dizzy.

After more than ten seconds, Erliangmei shook his head, came to his senses, struggled to stand up and was about to fight back.

Li Aiguo raised his leg and kicked two taels of coal toward the side door, hitting his head on the handrail.

There was another "plop" sound.

At this moment, everyone standing or sitting in the driver's building opened their eyes wide and remained silent.

It is common for firemen to be lazy, but this train driver really dares to beat him.

Li Aiguo slowly walked to Erliangmei who was lying on his back at the side door, stepped over his head, turned around, grabbed his collar and dragged him inside.

Director Chen wanted to go over and stop them, but for some reason his legs couldn't move.

Li Aiguo dragged two taels of coal to the furnace, kicked the coal shovel with his foot and stuffed it into his hand.

"Shovel coal!"

Now Erliangmei was looking really miserable. There was a black footprint on his chest, his nose was bleeding, there was a big bump on his head, his shoes had fallen off, and he was standing in the cold carriage wearing only socks with his toes exposed.

Li Aiguo didn't even look at him and turned back to his stool.

Cough slightly.

Erliangmei shuddered, picked up the shovel and shoveled the coal.

The blind man suddenly came to his senses, shuddered, and picked up the coal shovel without waiting for Li Aiguo to say anything.

The examiners were in a dilemma now.

Is this considered a violation?
It seems to count, right? After all, he hit someone?
But who said that train drivers cannot hit assistant drivers and firemen?

no?
But when they saw Li Aiguo's huge fist, they all turned their heads away and pretended not to see it.

Director Chen winked at them repeatedly, but it was useless. He could only sit back angrily.

Huang Jing looked at the two firemen and assistant driver who were shoveling coal desperately, and seemed to understand something.

Erliang of coal and the assistant driver took turns, using all their strength to add coal to the furnace. The train finally passed the slope smoothly without causing any slope stop accident.

Huang Jing issued an order for the first time as the chief driver: "Comrade co-driver, return to your post immediately and be responsible for lookout."

The serious voice echoed in the driver's building. Huang Jing was not a lesbian, but a real train driver.

"Yes!" He agreed without hesitation. He leaned out of the side window, his eyes as big as light bulbs.

"Comrade stoker, please keep adding coal!"

"Yes!" Er Liang Coal shoveled several shovels of coal in a row and finally had time to wipe the blood from his nose.

He felt a little depressed. If you wanted him to do some work, you could just give him an order. Why did he have to hit him?
This Li Aiguo is a bandit.

After seeing Li Aiguo's methods, the examiners all perked up.

The atmosphere in the driver's building fell into a dull atmosphere, and the only sound could be heard was the sound of wheels hitting the rails.

Woo woo woo, eating like crazy, eating like crazy, the train gradually approached Langfang Station, and the assistant driver notified early to enter the station and wait.

Huang Jing slowly pulled down the gate, sparks flew from the friction between the train wheels, and the speed gradually decreased.

Sudden.

There was a clicking sound from the back of the train. Although it was loud, it was very vague in the noisy environment.

Director Chen and the examiners didn't notice it, but Huang Jing just said very clearly.

"Reporting to the examiner, there may be an accident in the rear carriage, please handle it."

"Director, take care of it." When Director Chen heard that the train had broken down, he broke out in a cold sweat and quickly agreed.

Huang Jing opened the side door and jumped off the train, running along the carriages carrying logs. She soon discovered that the hook of the fifth carriage was broken and the train was separated into two parts.

She did not panic or delay, but quickly ran back to the locomotive and shouted to the assistant driver, "Quick, find a spare hook."

There was a tool box at the back of the coal truck, which contained a lot of accessories. I took out the spare hook from it without thinking and pulled it to the side door.

"Comrade Zheng, let me go. You are a lesbian."

"Comrade deputy driver, please stick to your post according to the regulations."

The spare hook weighed dozens of kilograms. Huang Jing carried the hook on her shoulder, got off the locomotive, and ran backwards at the speed of a 100-meter sprint.

He watched Huang Jing's thin figure running wildly below, turned his head and kicked Er Liang of coal.

"Don't look at me. The female drivers are working so hard, and you are still lazy. Do you have the nerve to do that? Are you still a man?"

"I'm used to being lazy." Erliangmei finally reacted, picked up his tools and followed closely.

When they reached the broken hook, Huang Jing, with the help of two taels of coal, quickly replaced the hook with a new one and then returned to the driver's building.

Erliangmei sent a signal to Huang Jing using a signal flag.

Huang Jing slowly backed up the front half of the train and stopped it at the appropriate position, and Erliangmei quickly connected the new hook to the front carriage.

An accident that almost caused a train delay was avoided.

The examiners nodded one after another.

She is fearless in the face of danger, considerate, and acts in accordance with rules and regulations. This girl is indeed a potential driver.

Director Chen sat there with a stern face, and no one knew what he was thinking.

******
Two o'clock in the afternoon.

There were a lot of people gathered at the Qianmen Locomotive Depot yard.

Cao Wenzhi stood in the crowd and looked into the distance from time to time, waiting for the sight of a freight train.

"I don't know what happened to Huang Jing."

"Master Cao, he is Li Dache's apprentice, not yours. Why do you care about him?"

"Li Dache is my disciple, and Huang Jing is my grand-disciple. What's wrong with that? It's wrong for me to care about my grand-disciple."

Cao Wenzhi said with a straight face: "Besides, this is the first female train driver in our Qianmen Locomotive Depot. How can I not care?"

After this was said, no one dared to object.

The train drivers are very united. Huang Jing has become familiar with them in the Qianmen Locomotive Depot over the past six months and they have long regarded her as one of their own.

"It's obvious that Director Chen has bad intentions. It's very likely that Huang Jing will not meet the assessment standards this time." said a train driver.

The other train drivers nodded.

The standards set by the ministry are very strict, and if you are targeted again, it will become even more difficult to pass the assessment.

At this moment, there was a sound of wheels hitting the rails suddenly coming from the distance.

Seeing the freight train coming, all the train drivers fell silent, and Section Chief Xing also appeared in the station yard with his hands behind his back.

The train stops.

The first to get out of the car were Director Chen and the examiner.

"Congratulations! Comrade Huang Jing from your Qianmen Locomotive Depot has passed the assessment with full marks."

Director Chen shook hands with Director Xing and said with a smile.

"Full marks?" Director Xing was a little surprised and looked at Director Chen in disbelief.

Driving a "mini bus" may encounter various situations, and it all depends on the performance of the train driver. The lack of a system means that the examiner can deduct points based on subjective impressions.

Did Director Chen take the wrong medicine? How could he give Huang Jing full marks?
Director Chen hesitated for a moment, then nodded heavily and said, "Comrade Huang Jing is indeed a qualified train driver. Old Xing, you misunderstood me. I am not the kind of person who likes to target people."

Director Xing looked at Director Chen and said, "Old Chen, come to my house for a drink tonight."

Director Chen was stunned for a moment, then said, "I am the leader of the railway bureau and cannot accept a private banquet from the subordinate locomotive section unless I bring my own wine." Then he turned around and walked away with his hands behind his back.

Looking at the arrogant figure, Director Xing smiled bitterly and shook his head.

"This old Chen is still as stubborn as he was back then."

Four years ago, Director Chen was transferred from the ministry to become the deputy section chief of the Qianmen Locomotive Depot, responsible for the daily work of the depot.

Director Chen used to be a political worker. He was very old-fashioned in his approach to things, and all he talked about was "rules" and "regulations."

He really has no selfish motives in his work.

However, the Qianmen Locomotive Depot had just been rebuilt, and the rules and regulations were in chaos. It was also under tremendous transportation pressure. If we just followed the regulations, our work would not be able to proceed.

At that time, Section Chief Xing was the deputy section chief, and he led a group of workshop directors to oppose this practice.

Director Chen also received support from seven or eight cadres with a political work background, including former Deputy Director Huang of the Trade Union and Deputy Director Wang of the Education Office.

Mr. Duan was too old to take care of things, and the two sides often quarreled at work.

Later, one incident completely intensified the conflict between the two sides.

A switchman in his 50s was taken to hospital after being hit by a railcar while working.

According to the regulations of the ministry, injured switchmen can have their medical expenses and food and lodging expenses during hospitalization reimbursed.

Director Chen used this regulation as an excuse and only reimbursed the old switchman for half a month's expenses, a total of two dollars and fifty cents.

However, Section Chief Xing learned that the old switchman's entire family had died in the war, and he was alone with no one to take care of him, so he sought help from people in the same village when he was hospitalized.

After being discharged from the hospital, I stayed at home for a full month, and the nursing fees and living expenses were also not a small expense.

The two dollars and fifty cents in compensation from the section could not cover the old switchman's losses at all.

Section Chief Xing made a suggestion to Director Chen, hoping that the section could give some more compensation to the old switchman.

But Director Chen insisted on sticking to the dogma and rejected Director Xing.

Director Xing was young and hot-tempered at the time. He could not bear to see the grassroots workers being bullied, so he picked up a coal shovel and wanted to break Director Chen's legs. He made him stay in the hospital for half a month and only gave him half a month's salary.

Director Chen was so frightened that his face turned pale, but he still wanted to insist on the rules.

The workers in the section found out about this and stopped him.

They left only after Director Chen showed them the regulations.

Director Chen was now at a loss.

Where is such a rule?

There was no other way, Director Chen could only hold his nose and give the old switchman another five dollars.

The Railway Bureau learned about this and, considering that Director Chen's actions had intensified conflicts at the grassroots level, they transferred Director Chen back to the Railway Bureau.

After learning the whole story, Li Aiguo commented: "Duanzhang, Director Chen is the kind of person who studies regulations and makes people stupid.

The purpose of the above regulations is to ensure fairness and to ensure the smooth progress of railway work.

It’s not about regulation for regulation’s sake.”

"Your insights are getting higher and higher. I have been thinking about this principle for so many years, but I still can't figure it out.

I'll have to talk to Lao Chen about this when we drink tonight."

Director Xing turned around and prepared to leave, but suddenly turned back to look at Li Aiguo.

"No hitting allowed next time."

"I will never hit anyone again unless I can't help it."

"."

The railway is a disciplined department, and the driver team is also a disciplined team. As a train driver, you must be able to manage this team.

For those old hands, fists and feet are more persuasive than any words.

Even the experienced ones can only swallow the bitterness after being beaten.

Huang Jing originally thought that Erliang Coal would cause trouble for Li Aiguo after getting off the car, but this guy kept his mouth shut.

Someone asked him how he got his head injured, and he said he hit it on the furnace.

"Master, thank you for giving me this last lesson."

After Huang Jing got the train driver's ID, she ran to Li Aiguo and bowed deeply to him.

"From now on, if you concentrate on driving, my efforts will not be in vain." Li Aiguo helped his apprentice straighten his collar and asked a few more questions.

I learned that in a few days the locomotive depot would organize a 38-driver team consisting of a female driver, a female assistant driver and a female fireman to undertake the passenger transport mission from Beijing to Zhengzhou.

Li Aiguo also breathed a sigh of relief.

Although this route is a little farther, it is a main line, the tracks are in very good condition, maintenance is kept up, and the accident rate is low.

"Work hard, and when you start driving, the master will see you off."

"Master, I would like to invite you and your wife to dinner. How about Donglaishun?" Huang Jing said.

"Wait until you get your first month's salary as a train driver."

Li Aiguo rejected Huang Jing's request.

I pushed my bike back to the studio, studied hard for a while, and then prepared to go to the Railway Research Institute to monitor the progress of the signal processing team.

As soon as I went out, I heard a voice.

"Li Da Che, I have something to report to you."

Turning around, I saw Er Liang Coal hiding in the corner next to me.

He looked around as if he was afraid of being discovered.

"What's wrong?" Li Aiguo walked over and asked.

Erliangmei lowered his voice and said, "Deputy Director Wang of the labor union wants to harm you!"

"what?"

"Deputy Director Wang seemed to know that I was injured by you. He found me privately and asked me to go to the Railway Bureau to file a complaint against you. He would help me get justice."

Erliang Coal patted his chest and said, "Although I am lazy, I am not a bad person. How could I do such a dirty thing?"

He laughed twice and scratched his head: "Besides, I did make a mistake at that time. If you hadn't kicked me awake, the train might have slipped."

Li Aiguo narrowed his eyes and said, "I know about Deputy Director Wang of the labor union."

(End of this chapter)