The train driver in the courtyard

The ocean-going freighter arrived at the port on August 13.
Li Aiguo and Huang Jing drove two grain transport trains and arrived at the Tanggu operation area of ​​Jincheng Port in advance.

At this time, because the cargo ship was about to dock, a lot of people gathered in the operation area.

The port authority staff and truck drivers who came to support the transportation mission were busy coming and going, making it quite lively.

Li Aiguo saw Representative Zhang again here. He was training the members of the grain unloading team.

The whole team was huge, with more than a thousand people.
They held high the bright red flags and shouted slogans loudly. Their uniform movements and high momentum looked quite spectacular.

Representative Zhang stood at the front of the team, shouting commands energetically: "One, two, one, turn right, turn left, stand still..."

The team members performed various standardized movements according to the commands, which attracted cheers from the surroundings from time to time.

Huang Jing was a little puzzled: "Master, they are comrades in the grain unloading team, right? Why are they practicing the formation?"

Maybe Huang Jing's voice was a little louder.

Or maybe Representative Zhang’s ears are particularly sensitive.

He actually heard these words.

Representative Zhang turned his head, frowned slightly, and looked at Huang Jing. He said, "Female train driver? That's rare."

"What's wrong with being a lesbian?" Huang Jing has always hated it when people bring up gender as an issue.

She usually does the same work as male drivers, but because she is a female driver, she often receives some special "privileges".
In her opinion, this was really unfair.

No matter how Huang Jing objects, people are still very tolerant towards female drivers.

Representative Zhang rarely frowned, but pointed at the marching team and said seriously: "Discipline, do you understand?
If we want to complete the task successfully and achieve final victory, we must have a team that can always strictly abide by discipline! "

Huang Jing wanted to argue a few more times, but Li Aiguo waved at her and said, "Disciple, let's go get the meal tickets."

Zhang finally met a female train driver and was about to show off in front of her.
As a result, Huang Jing was called away by Li Aiguo, and he was really depressed.

"This guy seems to be the train driver who looked down on our local personnel a few days ago."

He stared at Li Aiguo's back and narrowed his eyes.

There were suddenly more than a thousand mouths to feed at the Port Authority, and the original large cafeteria was no longer enough.

Fortunately, the yard is big enough.

The chefs in the kitchen had no choice but to bring a group of helpers with them to busy themselves with building stoves in the yard.

The food at the Port Authority was quite sumptuous, including cabbage and tofu soup mixed with refined white flour.

And everyone can also get two plump white flour buns.

This big pot of rice tastes especially delicious.

Li Aiguo was so full that he couldn't help burping. Then he took Huang Jing and the others back to the train.

At this time, the comrades in the grain unloading team had also completed their training.

Those young and strong men gathered in front of the stove, ready to eat.

"Xiao Zhou, pack this bun and take it back when the mission is over."

After Chen Dapao received the white flour buns, he kept one for himself.

He handed the other one to a thin young man next to him.

"Brother Dapao, one steamed bun is not enough for me. I don't want it. I have already saved one."

The young man waved his hands again and again, refusing to take it.

"I told you to take it, so take it. If you keep nagging me, I'll beat you to death!"

Chen Dapao was particularly rude and unreasonable, and he forced the steamed bun into the young man's arms.

Then he turned around and walked over with the lunch box.

Seeing Li Aiguo staring at him, Chen Dapao grinned and said, "Comrade driver, what are you looking at?"

"Of course it's because I see someone doing good deeds. Otherwise, why would I be standing here, starving?" Li Aiguo laughed.

"Who did good things? Only my grandson did good things. You are mistaken."

Chen Dapao, such a big and strong man, was so embarrassed at this moment that he was like a girl. He ran away with his lunch box.

"This guy is really interesting..."

Li Aiguo smiled and shook his head, then took Huang Jing and the others back to the train.

In those days, the Tanggu operation area was relatively remote.

Don't even think about having a state-owned hotel, and there are not even many extra private houses.

The Port Authority originally arranged for Li Aiguo and several others to stay in the warehouse for one night, but Li Aiguo refused.

In his mind, the train driver's building is the best "hotel" for train drivers.

I don’t know how many mosquitoes and fleas there are in the warehouse!
Night gradually fell.

Huang Jing helped to spread the bedding in the coal truck and even opened the side window.

In this way, the cool sea breeze can blow in slowly, making people feel particularly comfortable.

In order to meet the challenges coming tomorrow, Li Aiguo plans to rest early.

But at this moment, there was a sudden knocking sound outside.

Li Aiguo pushed open the side door and saw Chen Dapao standing under the locomotive, looking up with his honest face.

"Driver Li, you haven't rested yet?" asked Chen Dapao.

"What's wrong with you?"

Aiguo always felt that there was a hint of cunning in this guy's eyes.

"I want to treat you to some roasted sweet potatoes."

talking.

Chen Dapao was afraid that Li Aiguo would not believe him, so he hurriedly unbuttoned his clothes, revealing four or five fist-sized sweet potatoes in his arms.

"You may not know this, but I respect you train drivers the most.

So, I brought some sweet potatoes from home... and thought I would give them to you guys."

Well, don’t hit the person who gives you a gift.

Although Li Aiguo always felt that this guy was not as honest as he appeared, he still reached out and pulled him into the driver's building.

Lao Zheng and Liu Qingquan were arranging the bedding. When they saw the guests coming, they came over.

The furnace of a steam locomotive is usually not extinguished. Li Aiguo opened the furnace, picked up the sweet potato with tongs, and gently threw it in.

In a moment, the fragrant roasted sweet potatoes were out of the oven.

"Oh my, this thing is so convenient, even more convenient than the coal briquette stoves in the city..."

As Chen Dapao spoke, he reached out his hand impatiently to grab the sweet potatoes.

Before Li Aiguo could remind him, he had already grabbed the sweet potato in his hand.

Regardless of the fact that the freshly baked sweet potatoes were very hot, he peeled off the skin and started to eat them ravenously.

When Li Aiguo saw the way he ate, he couldn't help but look at Lao Zheng and Liu Qingquan.

Then no one took the remaining sweet potatoes.

"Chen Dapao, you didn't have dinner?
That shouldn’t be the case. Although there was no cornmeal porridge at night, everyone got two large white flour buns.”

Old Zheng frowned.

He also came from a difficult life and knew very well that people would not eat like this unless they were extremely hungry.

Especially when the food is piping hot sweet potatoes.

You know, after the sweet potatoes are baked, the temperature inside is much higher than the outside.

It is easy to burn your mouth and get blisters if you are not careful.

"I ate it. Damn it. I don't like eating white flour buns. I only like eating sweet potatoes."

Chen Dapao originally wanted to make up an excuse to fool people.

But when he saw the looks in Li Aiguo and the others' eyes, he knew he couldn't fool them, so he could only laugh, as a way to save face.

Li Aiguo could guess without asking that this guy must have distributed his share of sweet potatoes to the other members of the commune.

At night, I was so hungry that I remembered that there was a furnace on the train, so I thought of borrowing the fire to roast sweet potatoes.

After figuring out the cause and effect of the incident, Li Aiguo and his companions naturally stopped touching the remaining sweet potatoes.

Chen Dapao wolfed down a sweet potato and at least satisfied his hunger.

Only then did he start to slow down and chat with Li Aiguo while eating sweet potatoes.

After a few casual conversations, Li Aiguo learned that Chen Dapao was the militia captain of the nearby Chenjiazhuang Commune.

Both of my parents passed away before liberation. Now I’m thirty years old and still unmarried.

Chen Dapao had become friends with Li Aiguo at this point, and he did not hide anything: "To be honest with you, life in the commune is not easy right now.

There was only watery soup in the canteen, and the bark of the trees behind the village had been stripped clean.

In addition to being an honor to come here to unload grain, each person also receives a subsidy of ten kilograms of grain per day.

In order to join the grain unloading team, several young men in the commune wrote blood oaths.

Some members of our commune suffered from emaciation. The barefoot doctor said that the best medicine was white flour buns.

If you bring those white flour buns back home, they might save your life."

Chen Dapao's voice was very low, and when his voice fell, the driver's building fell into silence.

Lao Zheng and Liu Qingquan's faces turned ugly.

Life on the railway is not easy nowadays, but there is still enough steamed corn bread.

Li Aiguo took a puff of his cigarette and looked at the distant sea: "Aren't you afraid of danger?"

"Dangerous? Isn't it enough to just have strength to unload the food? What's the danger?!"

Chen Dapao felt that this was a bit negative, and added: "I am not afraid even if there is danger.

My father sacrificed his life fighting the Japanese invaders. He is a great hero and I am not a coward.

None of the members of our Chenjiazhuang Commune are cowards."

Li Aiguo smoked a cigarette without responding, his eyes fixed on the sea in the distance.

The sea was pitch black.

The night is getting darker.

Chen Dapao was also a very talkative person. He stayed in the driver's building until after ten o'clock before he got up and left.

Li Aiguo and his companions cleaned up the furnace, closed the side door, and spent the night in the coal truck.

Early the next morning.

"Hello, dear listeners!
It is now 8:00 a.m. on August 13, 1959. Welcome to this weather forecast. I am the announcer Xia Chunjie.

"The capital is cloudy and turning overcast, the temperature is 31 degrees, and the wind force is level 3.

Heavy rain in Fengtai. Heavy rain in Tianjin. Heavy rain in Tanggu"

clap clap!

Inside the grain train, just as the weather report for Tanggu was about to begin, the radio went dark.

A big slap hit the radio case several times.

Hey, it really works. It cures all diseases instantly.

Immediately, the announcer's slightly distorted voice came from the radio: "Zizizizi... Heavy rain in Tanggu Port, wind force seven... Zizizizi..."

"A force seven gale!" Upon hearing this, Li Aiguo quickly retracted his palm and his face suddenly became solemn.

He had read a book on sailing to earn points. A force 7 gale on the sea surface, with wind speeds between 28 and 33 knots and waves between 4 and 5.5 meters high, was more powerful than a force gale on land.

Lao Zheng retracted his hand from the side window: "Report to the driver, it's windy."

In an instant, a strong wind swept in with a roar.

The level 7 gale was like an invisible sharp blade, fiercely cutting everything between heaven and earth.

In Tanggu Port, the originally calm sea surface suddenly surged with huge waves.

The wave crests rose high and then crashed down heavily, with the waves flying wildly in all directions.

The ships in the harbor were shaking violently in the waves, and the hulls were creaking.

Lightning flashed through the clouds from time to time, followed by deafening thunder.

Inside the command center of the Port Authority, bright light from lightning shone through the windows, making the face of Director Liu, the commander-in-chief of the Port Authority, look extremely pale.

He first stood up suddenly and looked out the window, then stared at several crew members and asked, "How long will it take for the Amazon to dock?"

Just then, the red telephone on the table suddenly rang.

The team member quickly picked up the phone, listened carefully for a while, and then gave a definite answer.

"Commissioner, the Amazon is already offshore and will drop anchor in the afternoon!"

This should have been great news.

But the team members in the office all looked very serious.

The sea is currently very rough, even if the Amazon reaches the shore.

Under such bad weather conditions, there is no way to unload food from the ship.

"Contact the Bureau of Meteorology immediately and ask how long this severe weather will continue."

Director Liu looked out at the rough harbor and issued new orders.

The team member called the Tianjin Meteorological Bureau: "Hello, is this the Meteorological Bureau? This is the Tianjin Port Authority.

There is a strong wind blowing here now. How long will it last?"

"What, cyclone? Abnormal weather? That's not what we want to hear. Just tell us the exact time. OK, OK, I understand."

After hanging up the phone.

The team member looked at Director Liu with a depressed expression and reported: "Director, according to the comrades from the Meteorological Bureau.

The strong winds will last for at least three days, and there may be heavy rains afterwards."

"Three days. If the ship waits at the dock for three days, the cucumbers will get cold."

Director Liu sat back in his seat and glanced at the leaders of the working group: "Because of the sudden change in the weather, we will hold a general meeting immediately and ask the leaders of each group to attend the meeting."

The team leaders braved the strong wind and came to the Port Authority's conference room, and soon the room was filled with people.

Everyone saw the waves on the sea, and there was a tense atmosphere in the air.

Because there were too many people, the commander-in-chief, Director Liu, had to climb onto the table and shout to the people below with a metal microphone.

"The Amazon will dock in the afternoon.

According to the original plan, as soon as the ship docked, we would start unloading the grain.

There are strong winds and waves on the sea now, and it may be dangerous to unload the grain.

I have gathered everyone together today to discuss what to do about this matter."

After the words were spoken, the conference room suddenly became quiet.

All the leaders present lowered their heads and remained silent.

After all, the sea is now very rough and the spiral staircase cannot be set up at all, making it almost impossible to unload the grain.

Director Zhang of the Jincheng Railway Branch stood up and said, "We have installed lifting equipment on the train that is transporting grain this time.

This was designed by train driver Comrade Li Aiguo, and can be used to hoist grain..."

Before he could finish his words, Zhang, the representative in charge of unloading the grain, interrupted him rudely: "Director Zhang, you railway officials are overreaching.

It is our job to unload the food, why do you want to come and grab it?"

Director Zhang was interrupted and quickly explained: "It's windy now, we took it into consideration."

Representative Zhang interrupted him again before he could finish, “We have heard about your overbearing style of the railway.

But this is Tianjin Port, not your Ministry of Railways!"

Seeing this, Chief Commander Liu quickly waved his hand and said, "Lao Zhang, we are gathered here to complete the task of unloading grain, no matter where it is or on the railway."

After being criticized, Representative Zhang calmed down a little: "Installing a lifting device on the train, is it really useful?

Can you guarantee it?
Don’t you think so?”

Most of the leaders below have never heard that a crane can be installed on a train.

After hearing what Representative Zhang said, everyone nodded in agreement.

"Train crane? Is this thing useful?"

"Yes, this grain unloading mission is of great importance, and we must not be careless."

"If we fail to complete the task, we will all be criticized."

Most leaders were skeptical about the train crane.

However, it is hard to say whether they really doubt the train crane itself, or think that the railway is trying to steal their honor.

Director Zhang opened his mouth and wanted to explain a little more, but Representative Zhang didn't give him the chance.

Representative Zhang turned his head to look at the commander-in-chief, Team Leader Liu, and raised his voice: "Team Leader, I believe that no matter how strong the wind and waves are, they can't stop our comrades in the assault team.

I suggest that once the ship docks, our comrades in the grain unloading team should immediately start unloading the grain to avoid wasting time. "

Director Zhang was anxious: "Old Zhang, the sea is too rough and it is easy to have an accident.

Even if no lifting equipment is used, we do not intervene on the railway.

I still suggest you wait a little longer.”

"What's so great about wind and rain, Director Zhang? Don't the higher-ups always say that we can only practice our true skills when we are at the center of the storm?"

Representative Zhang slammed the table, straightened his body, and said angrily: "If we start to retreat when we encounter difficulties, how can we defeat imperialism!"

Seeing that Representative Zhang started to talk big, Director Zhang was helpless: "It's windy now, and it's too dangerous on the sea."

"Dangerous? Can it be as dangerous as a battlefield? Let me tell you, this grain unloading operation is a war, and a war we must win!"

Representative Zhang turned to look at Director Liu and said earnestly, "Team Leader, we can't waste any more time!
I request that the commandos go out and ensure that all the food is unloaded, not a single grain is missing."

Representative Zhang was extremely excited at this moment. The veins on his neck were trembling and his eyes were as big as copper bells.

Director Liu was in a dilemma at this time. After hesitating for a moment, he said, "How about this, Representative Zhang, you organize a small team to try it first. If it doesn't work, don't do it recklessly."

He paused and added, “Remember, all members of the commando team must sign up voluntarily.

Once you have organized the team, give me the list of personnel."

Representative Zhang looked down on Director Liu's fussy work style.

But Director Liu was the team leader and was in charge of the grain unloading work, so he had no choice but to agree.

"Everyone, just watch. Our commando team will unload the food now. Even strong winds and waves cannot stop us from winning."

Representative Zhang straightened his collar, said something, and strode out of the meeting room.

Several leaders in the conference room who had not spoken looked at each other and shook their heads helplessly.

They were not unaware of the dangers of unloading grain on windy days.

But once the task from the superior is given, the task is an order.

Secondly, Zhang represents a hot temper.

If I tried to stop him, he would probably accuse me of something, so I could only let it go.

Inside the driver's building.

Li Aiguo kept his eyes on the sea and saw that the wind and waves were getting stronger and stronger. He felt that it was impossible to unload the grain manually.

I plan to put up the lifting frame and familiarize myself with the operating environment first.

He just went down to the train in the strong wind.

Then he saw Director Zhang of the Jincheng Branch rushing towards him.

The strong wind at the dock made Director Zhang stagger. Li Aiguo quickly stepped forward and pulled Director Zhang to the leeward side.

"Director Zhang, why are you here? When will the ship dock? Should we prop up the crane first?"

Director Zhang said: "The use of the crane was rejected.

The work of unloading grain is under the charge of Representative Zhang.

I am here to inform you that once the ship docks, food will be loaded onto the train first.

You train drivers must cooperate with the loaders and do a good job of loading the train."

Hearing this, Li Aiguo's eyes widened: "In such a strong storm, are you asking the stevedores to work?"

Director Zhang looked a little embarrassed: "Oh, patriotism, this is a local matter, let's not get involved."

"No, I have to talk to the grain unloading team."

Before Director Zhang could react, Li Aiguo turned around and rushed into the strong wind, running towards the warehouse.

"This guy is going to cause trouble!" Director Zhang stamped his feet and hurriedly followed behind.

Li Aiguo has never liked to meddle in other people's affairs, but the actions of the grain unloading team have exceeded his tolerance limit.

This is not unloading food, but playing with the lives of those team members.

Coming from the future, he has always attached great importance to safety in production and cannot accept this situation.

In particular, the train track crane he developed may be able to avoid danger.

At this time, in the warehouse.

"This mission is both glorious and extremely difficult. We must not fear sacrifice or difficulties or obstacles..."

Representative Zhang's passionate voice is echoing.

He had already selected a commando team.

At this moment, he was doing pre-war mobilization and propaganda work for the team members in high spirits.

When Representative Zhang saw the train driver from yesterday rushing in in a hurry, his face suddenly darkened.

"Comrade driver, this is a material warehouse, not your railway. What are you doing?"

Li Aiguo took a deep breath and said, "I think it is inappropriate to use manpower to unload the ship on a windy day. It even violates the safety production regulations."

"Comrade driver, let me repeat myself, this is the job of our grain unloading team and has nothing to do with your railway." Representative Zhang frowned.

Li Aiguo heard this and knew that Representative Zhang didn't listen to him, so he said slowly:

“Comrade representatives, although we belong to different units, our ultimate goal is the same.

All of this is to ensure that this batch of grain can be unloaded safely and securely, and then delivered smoothly to the hands of the working people.

Look at the howling wind outside now. The wind is so strong that it is really dangerous.

We should shoulder our responsibilities to everyone and there must be no unnecessary sacrifices.

We must not allow this precious food to be stained with blood."

After the words were spoken, silence fell in the warehouse.

(End of this chapter)