The train driver in the courtyard

early morning.

The tender golden sunlight shines on the black motorcycle, adding a touch of oil painting-like beauty to this cold, powerful behemoth.

The station was full of people.

Section Chief Xing, section leaders, Director Zhang of the maintenance workshop, and more than a dozen veteran workers were all present and the scene was very lively.

Yan Jiecheng had been working since five in the morning and had just finished adding coal to a locomotive.

While wiping his coal-dust face with a towel, he asked quietly, "Master, why are there so many people on the field today?"

"You don't know. You've always been at the switchboard in the wild stream."

Master Zhang, cigarette between his lips, explained, "Driver Li has come up with something good again. Today we're going to start the road test. Everyone is here to watch the fun."

"Good stuff?" Yan Jiecheng stopped, looked up, and stared at it for a long time but couldn't figure out what it was.

He scratched his head and said: "Master, the train is almost the same as before, where is the good stuff?"

Before he finished speaking, with an order from Li Aiguo, the train track crane parked on the track lifted a large box and placed it steadily on the train deck.

Then came the second big box and the third big box. Soon all the big boxes were "stacked" onto the truck.

"Thirty minutes and twenty seconds!" The comrade in charge of timing pressed the stopwatch.

There was a burst of cheers from the crowd.

Yan Jiecheng was even more confused: "Master, isn't this just putting the box on the train? Is this also called technology?"

"What would you think if I told you that each box contained fifteen tons of cargo?"

After hearing this, Yan Jiecheng opened his eyes wide in surprise and couldn't close his mouth.

The train has a total of twenty-three carriages, each carrying fifteen tons of cargo, which means that in just thirty minutes, three hundred and forty-five tons of cargo were loaded using container technology.

As a coal porter, Yan Jiecheng can now carry 200 kilograms of cargo each time. It takes him five minutes to get on and off a train, and eleven days to complete the loading work.

Now Li Aiguo only has 30 minutes
Not only Yan Jiecheng.

Even Secretary Chen, who was in charge of the transportation of materials, was shocked by the loading speed and couldn't help but gasp.

"If we use manpower to load the truck, it will take at least four or five hours."

Li Aiguo nodded and said, "The operators are not yet proficient in the operation, and the crane is not a special crane for lifting containers. If containers are promoted on a large scale, the loading speed will be compressed to less than 20 minutes."

"Great stuff! Driver Li, I'm looking forward to this material transportation job." Secretary Chen said as he walked forward and directed the workers to put seals on each container.

He is a specialist in the Materials Department of the Railway Material Supply Bureau, and this time he will be carrying out road tests with the container.

At this time, the dispatcher issued a dispatch order and the train was ready to depart.

Li Aiguo shook hands with Section Chief Xing and Director Zhang one by one, and boarded the train with Zhou Qigong, Liu Qingquan, and Lao Zheng.

A clear whistle sounded, and the train started slowly with black smoke coming out, running along the rails towards the distance.

It was not until the train disappeared at the end of the track that Xing Duanchang and others slowly withdrew their gaze.

Everyone is looking forward to this container road test.

They have realized that once container technology is widely promoted, it will change the way railways are transported.

******
As the train loaded with containers was rushing towards Tianjin, the passenger terminal of Tianjin's Tanggu Port was already bustling with people.

Hundreds of passengers stood on the dock, looking anxiously into the distance.

The passengers became anxious as they hadn't seen the ship for a long time.

"What's going on? Didn't the Dongfanghong set out at 8 o'clock? It's already 8:30 and the ship hasn't docked yet."

"Yes, my daughter is getting married tomorrow. What will I do if I can't get back in time?"

"If I had known this earlier, I wouldn't have taken the ship to save that little money. It's much more comfortable to take the train."

"No, we can't wait any longer. Let's go and ask what's going on."

In the crowd, a young man wearing a duck-spoon hat and a Zhongshan suit jumped up and down, encouraging the passengers to come to the Maritime Administration Office.

He stretched out his big hand and banged on the window. "Where's your ship? What's going on? Did you collect the tickets and leave us here?!"

"Comrade, please wait a moment. I will help you make the connection."

Upon seeing this, the staff of the management office immediately picked up the phone and contacted the Tianjin Port Authority.

After a moment, the clerk hung up the phone, opened the door and walked out. He put his hands down and said, "Everyone, be quiet."

After the passengers quieted down, the officer continued, "We just received a notice from the port authority that the Dongfanghong is still in the dock for repairs due to a mechanical failure."

"Then what should we do? No, if you don't give us an explanation today, don't blame us for being rude." When the man in the duck spoon hat heard this, his reaction was much greater than that of the ordinary passengers. He waved his fist with a flushed face.

The officer glanced at him and said slowly, "Don't worry, everyone. We have already contacted the Tianjin Materials Factory Wharf of the Railway Ministry's Materials Bureau.

They have a passenger and cargo ship ready to depart for Hankou today, and most of its route overlaps with that of the Dongfanghong.

There are 400 seats on the ship. Passengers who have bought tickets for the Dongfanghong ship can board the ship. "

When the passengers heard that a new ship was arranged at Tianjin Port, they suddenly became quiet.

It doesn't matter which ship it is, as long as it can get them to their destination.

but.

The man in the duck spoon hat was still jumping up and down and said, "We agreed to use the Dongfanghong, how can we change it to another ship?"

The officer felt that this person was a troublemaker.

But considering that this was indeed Jincheng Port's mistake, he could only suppress his anger and said, "Comrade, if you don't want to, you can refund the ticket."

"I" the duck spoon hat is still clamoring.

A middle-aged man in a gray Zhongshan suit pulled his arm and winked at him: "Meng Tukun, let's go."

"Brother Gao."

"Shut up, you've been noticed by the people at the port."

The man in the duck-spoon hat named Meng Tukun saw a few security officers looking over here from the corner of his eyes and immediately shut his mouth.

He followed Gao Ma towards the corner of the dock.

There was a young man waiting in the corner at this time.

The young man had a large bamboo box at his feet and a small box in his arms and was smoking.

Seeing the two people coming, the young man quickly threw down his cigarette butt, stood up and asked anxiously: "What's the situation? Meng Tukun, is the boat coming?"

"Gaodian, it's over. The Dongfanghong broke down and the port has replaced the ship. I think we should give up this operation." Mengtukun said unhappily.

"Then how can we hijack the ship?!" Gao Dian was startled and his voice suddenly became louder.

"You're killing yourself! Keep your voice down."

Gao Ma was startled and covered Gao Dian's mouth with his hand. He looked around and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that no one was paying attention to this side.

"You guys want to send me in?"

Gao Ma was still angry at this time.

He grabbed Gao Dian by the collar and pushed him into the corner.

He pulled out a dagger from his waist, pressed it against Gao Dian's neck, and pushed hard.

Gao Dian's neck was pressed against by a dagger. He turned pale with fear and raised his hands high: "Brother, brother, I know I was wrong!"

Gao Ma gritted his teeth, glared at Gao Dian, and cursed in a low voice: "You stupid guy, is it so easy to hijack a ship?

It's such a critical moment, and you still dare to shout loudly, are you afraid that others don't know that we are plotting something bad here!"

Seeing Gao Ma cleaning up Gao's shop, Meng Tukun hurried forward and grabbed Gao Ma's arm, anxiously advising: "Brother Gao, Brother Gao, calm down, we can't fight among ourselves now.

This matter is already difficult enough. If we make a fuss and get discovered by the port authorities, it will be the end of us.”

Meng Tukun pulled the two apart and said anxiously, "The supply and marketing cooperative's security department's arsenal will count the warehouse before leaving get off work every day, and they will find that the weapons have been stolen. If we don't leave today, we have to find a way to hide first."

"Let's go! Why not? Even if we change boats, it won't affect our actions." Gao Majiang inserted the dagger into his waist and lifted his clothes to cover it.

"But we don't know the situation of that new ship. What if something happens?" Mengtukun said timidly.

"Anything? As long as we bring this thing on board, if the captain dares not listen to us, we will let the whole ship be buried with us."

Gao Ma sneered twice, squatted down and opened the big box, which was full of clothes.

He carefully lifted up his clothes, revealing a gray-brown oil paper bag with a gunpowder fuse on it.

"Brother Gao Ma, we really have to use this thing." Meng Tukun looked at the oil paper bag with some fear, fearing that the thing would explode if he wasn't careful.

"Don't worry, Lao Meng, I'm just trying to scare those people."

Gao Ma noticed Mengtukun's abnormal behavior and looked down on him, but he still needed Mengtukun's cooperation at this time.

He packed the oil paper into the box, wrapped it with clothes, and closed the box again.

Then he stood up and patted Meng Tukun on the shoulder: "When we sail to the island, we will enjoy endless wealth and glory. If you stay here, you may not be able to hide for a few days before being caught. You should think it through."

Mengtukun already felt a little regretful at this time.

If he had known that things would develop to this point, he should not have listened to the Gao brothers' nonsense.

This story began half a year ago. Meng Tukun was a salesman at the Lingquan Supply and Marketing Cooperative in Tianjin. Lingquan was a suburban area of ​​Tianjin.

Although it is not a supply and marketing cooperative in the city, the salary is not low.

As a salesperson, Meng Tukun can get a salary of more than 30 yuan per month, and also has additional benefits. He also has a high social status and can be regarded as a leader among young people.

But Mengtukun has a problem, which is that he likes to play cards.

Meng Tukun’s card skills are terrible. Every month after he receives his salary, he loses it within a few days.

Moreover, he owed others a large sum of money.

Those who were collecting debts found the supply and marketing cooperative.

The leaders of the supply and marketing cooperative talked to Mengtukun several times, hoping that he could be more restrained.

Not only did Mengtukun fail to correct this bad habit, but it became even worse.

He even stopped going to work and spent all day hanging out with that group of gamblers.

The supply and marketing cooperative had no choice but to report to its superiors and suspend Meng Tukun from his job and salary after talking to him several times without any results.

Only after Mengtukun lost his source of income did he realize the seriousness of the problem.

The creditors also found him and forced him to pay back the money.

Meng Tukun knew that those people were capable of doing anything, and if he didn't pay back the money, he might be thrown into the sea.

Just when Mengtukun was at his wit's end, the two Gao brothers found him and said they could take him to the island.

The two Gao brothers have been old friends of Meng Tukun for many years, and now they both work in a northern Chinese noodle restaurant in Tianjin.

Before liberation, the two Gao brothers were minor clerks in the enemy's government.

After liberation, the city of Tianjin was particularly lenient and did not hold them accountable. However, Meng Tukun knew that Gao Ma was not just a clerk.

He also served as a direct communications officer for the enemy's Jincheng Station and was stationed in Tanggu on weekdays.

Gao Ma reports directly to the stationmaster Wu Jingzhong and is considered one of the core figures in the station.

It’s just because Gao Ma is in charge of special intelligence and is not a prominent figure.

In addition, Wu Jingzhong burned the files when he escaped, so they were able to be hidden.

Gao Ma escaped the disaster, but he still felt uneasy.

He knew very well that there was a mole in Jincheng Station, and that this mole might have also retreated to the island.

If the mole got the list of those secret agents through Wu Jingzhong, then there would be only one ending for him.

Therefore, after liberation, Gao Ma has been trying to find a way to go out to sea.

However, the situation was tense at the time and control on the sea was very strict. Gao Ma and his brother Gao Dian tried several times, but not only did they fail, they were almost discovered, so they gave up.

So Gao Ma set his sights on the passenger ship.

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Gao Ma knew very well that a small fry like him was of no value, and even if he was lucky enough to make it to the island, he would not be able to live a good life.

If you want to be entertained by someone, you have to give them a big gift.

Gao Ma can't fly a plane and has no chance to get close to the airport.

So, they came up with the evil idea of ​​attacking the passenger ship.

The main thing is to hijack the passenger ship. Then when we reach the island, won’t we be able to get a huge bonus?

His younger brother Gaodian was used to a life of debauchery before liberation and could no longer stand the current hardship.

After learning about Gao Ma's idea, he immediately agreed with both hands.

There are two reasons why Gao Ma found Mengtukun.

One was that Meng Tukun could get the boat tickets, and the other was that the supply and marketing cooperative had a large arms warehouse.

Facing the situation of being fired from the supply and marketing cooperative and being harassed by creditors, Mengtukun readily agreed at the thought of being able to eat and drink well on the island.

So, the three of them sneaked into the supply and marketing cooperative's arsenal, stole a large number of weapons, and prepared to attack the Dongfanghong today.

Who knew that the Dongfanghong would break down?

Seeing that Mengtukun was still hesitating, Gao Ma's face darkened.

"The old stationmaster once said, 'Time is like a wild donkey, it never stops once it starts running.'

We all seem to be being pulled by the wild donkey of time, unable to stop.

Now that we are here, there is no possibility of getting off the ship."

Meng Tukun was shocked to see Gao Dian had already drawn the dagger, and quickly patted his chest to assure: "Brother Gao, don't worry, I will definitely listen to you."

"That's right! Tomorrow, we can go to the island to drink fine wine and enjoy the company of beautiful women."

Gao Ma winked at Gao Dian, signaling him to put away the dagger, and then patted Meng Tukun on the shoulder: "You will thank me later."

Mengtukun turned his head to look at the turbulent sea without responding.

*
*
*
The train sped all the way, through the Beijing-Tianjin Line, and arrived at the Tianjin Materials Factory of the Materials Bureau of the Ministry of Railways (the predecessor of the Tianjin Materials Company of Tiewu).

This is also one of the railway’s material storage and transportation bases in North China.

The comrades at the materials factory had received the notice from the ministry long ago. When they saw the train approaching, they directed the train along the tracks to the materials factory dock.

Thanks to the coordination within the department, the ship at the dock was already waiting and ready. When the train stopped, the comrades in charge of lifting at the material factory became busy.

Secretary Chen was in charge of handling the shipping procedures and followed the leader of the materials factory into the office.

Li Aiguo took advantage of this time to board the cargo ship and prepare for the lifting work.

This is a cargo ship named Passenger and Cargo Ship No. 1955. It was built by Jiangnan Shipyard in . It is the first coastal passenger and cargo ship designed and manufactured by China.

Passenger and cargo ships mainly carry passengers and also transport some cargo.

The ship is 80 meters long, can carry 500 passengers and 700 tons of cargo.

Apart from the twenty-three containers brought by Li Aiguo, there were only some accompanying crew members and no passengers on this transport.

Secretary Chen had completed the shipping procedures. Li Aiguo was just about to ask the workers at the dock to lift the carriage when a leader from the materials factory came over in a hurry.

He introduced himself to Li Aiguo and Secretary Chen: "I am the dispatch director of Jincheng Materials Factory, my last name is Bai."

"Hello, Director Bai." Although Li Aiguo was not sure about the other party's purpose, he still greeted him warmly.

Secretary Chen has been working in the Materials Bureau for many years and has a more straightforward personality. He frowned and asked, "Director Bai, we have completed the shipping procedures. Do you have anything to do?"

Director Bai rubbed his hands and said a little embarrassedly: "Just now our material factory received a request for help from Jincheng Port. One of their offshore passenger ships bound for Hankou had a mechanical failure and more than a hundred passengers were delayed.

Tianjin Port hopes that we can pick up those passengers along the way."

Upon hearing this request, Secretary Chen frowned and said, "Director Bai, the purpose of our voyage this time is to experiment with container technology. It would be inconvenient for us to help pick up passengers, right?"

Director Bai looked embarrassed: "Tianjin Port is indeed very anxious. They are all serving the passengers, and our material factory has agreed to the request of Jincheng Port."

His voice became smaller and smaller, finally turning into the hum of a mosquito.

Passenger and cargo ship No. 10 does not belong to the materials factory, but is a ship of the Railway Supply Bureau. Moreover, this time it is a special ship for special use. The materials factory's actions have exceeded its authority.

"Your materials factory is so bold that you actually reached a cooperation with the local authorities without our consent?" Secretary Chen was immediately furious.

Director Bai also realized that the materials factory's actions were excessive, and he kept complaining in his heart about Director Zhang, who was responsible for communicating with the local authorities.

But now he could only bite the bullet and persuade her.

"Tianjin Port has been of great help to our material factory terminal over the years, and we often transfer goods to each other on weekdays."

Secretary Chen is very clear about this.

Sometimes cargo ships cannot be fully loaded and sometimes they cannot carry enough cargo, so cooperating with local cargo ships can save a lot of costs.

However, this time the transportation department refused to allow the railway to use their dock for road tests, which made Secretary Chen very angry.

After Director Bai's repeated persuasion, Secretary Chen's anger gradually subsided.

However, the final decision on this road test does not lie with the Material Supply Bureau, but with researchers in container technology.

Secretary Chen turned his head and looked at Li Aiguo: "Driver Li, what do you think?"

“If the ship carries passengers, it will indeed have a certain impact on the road test and increase the loading time.

However, many ships now carry a mix of passengers and cargo.

Only with passengers can the advantages and disadvantages of using container technology for transportation be more truly reflected.”

Li Aiguo was not willing to get involved in the dispute between the Material Supply Bureau and the local authorities, and only analyzed the pros and cons of the passengers from a technical perspective.

Zhou Qigong was originally in a dilemma.

Tianjin Port Authority is his mother's home, and now it is in trouble, he can't just ignore it.

However, because of the road test, the railway and transportation authorities have already become strained.

He also couldn't bring himself to ask the railways to help with transportation.

Now, seeing that Li Aiguo had no objection, Zhou Qigong immediately raised his hand to show his approval: "Please rest assured, this ship can carry 400 passengers. Now there are only more than 100 passengers on board, which will not have much impact on the test."

After hearing this, Secretary Chen finally relaxed.

"Please inform the Tianjin Port that we can take passengers with us, but we cannot affect the loading and unloading of containers."

"understand!"

Director Bai breathed a sigh of relief and quickly returned to the office to communicate with the Jincheng Port.

On this side, Li Aiguo also began to direct the loading of containers.

At this time, the crew on the ship were very curious about the containers on the train.

In order to prevent accidents during lifting, Li Aiguo sent someone to invite Captain Zhou of the No. 10 passenger and cargo ship, and asked him to send someone to let unrelated people enter the cabin first.

"This is easy." Captain Zhou is an experienced captain with more than 20 years of sailing experience, but it was his first time seeing boxes being hoisted onto a ship, and he inevitably felt a little nervous for a moment.

He personally brought it to the crew members who had come to join in the fun.

"We are loading a special cargo today. We will use a crane later. Everyone please go in first to avoid being bumped."

When the crew heard the captain's words, they all went into the cabin, but still leaned on the windows to watch the excitement outside.

"How do you get such a big box from the train onto the ship?"

"Silly, you must open the box and then hang it."

At this time, Li Aiguo and Zhou Qigong, with the cooperation of Captain Zhou, had already planned how to place the boxes.

He gestured toward the shore. After receiving the signal, Director Chen nodded to the staff of the material factory and said, "Start lifting."

The huge tower crane extended four steel ropes and tightly grasped the container, like a big hand, picking up the container, and then under the guidance of Li Aiguo, placed it on the deck of the ship.

The crew members couldn't help swallowing when they saw this.

"Wow, even the box is hoisted up, this thing is pretty powerful."

"Yes, our ship is often loaded with cargo, and it takes a lot of effort every time."

The lifting was so fast that it was completed in the blink of an eye.

At the dock, Secretary Chen stopped the stopwatch.

He looked at the number and nodded: "Twenty minutes in total. It's at least five times faster than normal loading and unloading.

It seems that loading containers onto ships is easier than loading them onto trains.”

The containers were loaded on the ship, stacked four layers high, about seven or eight meters.

Li Aiguo and Zhou Qigong pulled two steel wire locks at the place where the side of the container was connected to the ship.

By tightening these ropes, a secure fit is achieved.

Captain Zhou made a suggestion: "Driver Li, these boxes are stacked too high. If there is a big storm on the sea, they might be thrown into the sea.

Should we add a few more steel ropes to tie up all these boxes?"

It took a lot of effort to tighten the ropes. Li Aiguo stood up, wiped the sweat off his face, and said, "Two ropes on the sides are enough. There are grooves of equal specifications under our containers, and we can use these grooves to carry out the arrangement.

Once neatly arranged, the foot locks here lock the containers from top to bottom to ensure they don’t shake.”

Following Li Aiguo's finger, Captain Zhou indeed saw the groove under the container.

"This thing looks like an iron box, but I didn't expect it to have so many twists and turns."

Captain Zhou was an experienced man. He immediately realized the benefits of this regulation and finally felt relieved.

"sail!"

(End of this chapter)