Siheyuan: Starting from the driver

Chapter 699 A Deep-seated Greed
Outside the emergency backup coal storage area in the third workshop.

"one two three."

Several workshop workers were chanting as they struggled to open the huge iron door of the spare coal storage area.

The iron gate was rusty at the edges, and each pull was accompanied by a tooth-grinding, slow and heavy "creak-creak-creak" sound, like rusted bones rubbing together.

The thick iron plate seemed to be fused to the door frame. With a final, forceful pull, accompanied by a piercing metallic screeching sound, the door finally opened wide!

boom!
A muffled gust of air surged forth.

In an instant, a storm carrying industrial dust and the smell of old coal rushed in, filling the mouths and noses of everyone at the warehouse entrance.

"Cough cough!"

Jin Lijing, who was standing at the front, was caught off guard and coughed violently. Tears welled up in his eyes instantly, and his throat felt unbearably itchy.

But he didn't bother wiping it; he just anxiously looked into the doorway.

The scene behind the door instantly swallowed up all the noise and discomfort.

In the dim light, a silent sense of oppression pressed down heavily.

As far as the eye could see, there was a colossal structure resembling a black mountain range—coal piled up like a castle!

Various kinds of coal, coal powder, and coal slag.
The surface of the coal pile reflected an eerie, varying shades of black luster under the dim beams of light streaming in from the doorway.

"Hiss—" A series of clear gasps came from behind Jin Lijing.

The workers were astonished to see so much coal; they hadn't expected there to be so much coal here.

Judging from the appearance, there must be at least twenty or thirty tons, which is much more than the dozen or so tons that Jin Lijing had guessed. Obviously, there is a lot of high-quality carbon in it.

"Dong Dong~"

Jin Lijing suppressed the pounding in his chest and tried his best to keep a straight face.

"well!"

But the barely suppressed flame of excitement in his eyes suddenly burned even brighter.

"With so much coal, I estimate it can last for another ten or eight days."

An opportunity! A tremendous opportunity!

Jin Lijing's thoughts surged through his spine like an electric current.

"If we can handle this crisis well, we might be able to secure our position!"

As long as we can handle this coal transportation crisis well, ensure uninterrupted production, and stabilize the situation, we can succeed.

Then it is highly likely that his position as "temporary" workshop director will be removed from the list of "temporary" positions!
"Director Yang is truly amazing; this achievement was given to me for free."

"Following the right person is indeed the most important thing!"

Looking at so much coal, Jin Lijing felt a surge of confidence that instantly dispelled his anxiety.

"Cough cough!" Jin Lijing coughed twice, attracting everyone's attention.

"Stop looking around, get to work! Clear the supplies, clear the roads, and get the loading equipment ready! Time is of the essence!"

He waved his hand and began issuing orders!
On the path leading to the main entrance of the backup coal depot, various miscellaneous items were scattered about: scrap parts, broken tools, old wooden crates stained with oil, and scrapped lathe parts.
These "junk" items, which are usually piled up haphazardly, have now become a troublesome barrier blocking the entrance to the coal storage area.

"Clear the road! Move everything that can be moved to both sides! Don't pile it up in the middle of the road and get in the way! Put up warning lines on both sides so that the transport trucks can back in smoothly!"

Jin Lijing's shouts sounded somewhat weak in the vast space, but they could not be ignored.

"Li Dequan! Take a few men, dismantle those broken wooden crates, and drag them away!"

"Zhang Dali! Go find a handcart and a crowbar! It's hard work! Don't be stingy with your strength!"

"Safety officer! Is the safety officer in place?!"

The workers sprang into action quickly, like soldiers going into battle.

Old Wang immediately called out to several strong young men, who then worked together to push an exceptionally heavy iron block covered in oil stains.

The immense friction caused it to make a screeching, ear-piercing sound on the ground, and it only moved a few inches.

The young men were so engrossed that their faces turned red and their necks bulged, and beads of sweat rolled down their foreheads like streams.

"Director Jin! These things are too heavy. Why don't we bring the overhead crane from the warehouse over here and lift these big guys away? That would be much more efficient!" a worker said.

Driving?

"Okay, hurry up and get someone to drive it over," Jin Lijing shouted.

He didn't notice that the atmosphere at the scene froze almost the instant the word "driving" appeared.

The workers who were busy clearing the roadblocks suddenly stopped and all eyes turned to the vehicle.

Several veteran workers who were away from the crane instinctively took a step back.

"Stop! Stop! Stop the crane!" an old worker suddenly shouted. "That crane! Nobody is allowed to move it! Leave it there! Stop it! Don't start it!"

Upon hearing that someone dared to give orders, Jin Lijing glared at him angrily: "What are you doing?! Who told you to stop?!"

The old worker wasn't afraid of Jin Lijing and retorted, "Director Jin, have you forgotten that a car killed someone at the beginning of the year?"

Then, pointing at the crowd in the warehouse, he said, "With so many people in the warehouse, what if a vehicle suddenly crashes and kills someone?"

Upon hearing this, Jin Lijing immediately recalled a worker who died at the hands of a crane earlier this year.

Since the steel rolling mill didn't have any walls that prevented ventilation, news of what happened in Workshop 1 quickly spread throughout all the workshops, and everyone was afraid that something bad would happen to this guy.

They were all afraid of following in Jia Dongxu's footsteps.

Looking at all the people in the warehouse, Jin Lijing knew that if another safety accident happened at this critical juncture, not only would his "temporary" position not be promoted to a permanent one, but he would probably lose his official post immediately!
He can't afford to pay the price of being a second Jia Dongxu!

"Stop the vehicle!"

He preferred to rely on manpower rather than risk an accident, even though it was far less efficient. But compared to safety and his own future, efficiency was insignificant.

"Get to work! Don't dawdle! Pry what you can with a crowbar! Push what you can push! Two people per group, look out for each other!" Jin Lijing shouted the order again.

"Safety officer! Keep a close eye on everything! Watch all work sites, especially anything with sharp edges! Make sure all your work clothes and gloves are on tight! Watch your step! Be careful of those screws and metal filings under your feet!"

Two young safety officers wearing red armbands that read "Safety Inspector" looked as nervous as raw recruits about to go into battle.

Rumbling--

A deep, powerful roar began to become clear.

Everyone stopped what they were doing and turned their gazes toward the entrance to the workshop warehouse.

One by one, trucks of various colors and different front ends were slowly driving in.

It eventually stopped at the warehouse entrance.

The door to the cab of the lead truck slammed open.

Zhang Jinwu jumped off the vehicle and looked at the workers staring at him, his face expressionless.

Zhang Jinwu approached Jin Lijing and spoke in a businesslike manner:
"Director Jin, in response to an emergency order from the factory, I have brought all the best vehicles and the most skilled drivers that the factory could get here."

He gestured to the drivers standing beside the trucks and casually introduced them: "This is Mr. Zhao, the driver of the lead truck. He's been working for over ten years and is highly skilled."

“That Master Wang knows the Northwest route better than his own home. He’s got the best of everything – people, skills, and vehicle.” With that, Zhang Jinwu fell silent, watching Jin Lijing quietly, waiting for his orders.

Jin Lijing understood the subtext: "The people, vehicles, and technology are all top-notch; the transportation team has the strongest transportation capacity available to us."

"Next it's your turn. Don't blame our transport team for not doing their best if you don't do a good job. Don't try to shift the blame when you do it."

Jin Lijing is in charge of the overall mission, and Zhang Jinwu wouldn't cause him any trouble for no reason.

It is still possible to distinguish what is more important.

As the workers in the workshop watched Zhang Jinwu arrive, the air in the warehouse seemed to freeze for a moment.

The warehouse is mostly filled with workers from the third workshop, and their conflict with the transportation team has not yet subsided.

It's really illogical that they're able to go all out now. Shouldn't we make things difficult for them a bit?

Jin Lijing felt a surge of heat rush up from the base of his neck, and his cheeks burned.

However, Jin Lijing is no ordinary person, as he was able to become the workshop director and keep the workers at ease.

He calmly greeted them, "Captain Zhang, you've worked hard! And the other workers have worked hard too!"

"Please wait a moment, the road will be cleared soon, and we'll trouble the drivers to drive in shortly."

After saying that, he turned to the workshop workers and yelled, "Comrades, give it your all! Is this road clearing work slower than a woman embroidering?!"

"Engineer Wang, take some men and get crowbars and ropes right now! There are some in the back corner of the warehouse! Bring as many as you can! Even if you have to carry them on a shoulder pole, you have to pry this open today!"

"Li, organize people to gather all the usable flatbed handcarts and single-wheeled dump trucks in our warehouse and bring them to the entrance of the coal depot!"

After saying that, Jin Lijing picked up a bent and deformed crowbar from the ground and joined the clearing team.

He gripped the crowbar tightly with both hands, lowered his body slightly, found a fulcrum, and with a muffled "thud," all his strength exploded in an instant as he desperately pried at a piece of scrap metal that was almost half his height.

"One! Two! Three!" Upon seeing this, the workers nearby perked up and shouted in unison, bending down to join in.

"Hey! Keep it up!"

"To the left! A little to the left!"

Watch your step!

The chaotic yet desperate shouts rose and fell.

Engineer Li and a group of people had already brought over seven or eight creaking flatbed carts and wheelbarrows.

Two safety officers were running around nervously, constantly reminding people, "Watch out for slipping!" "Don't prick your hand! Watch out for the hooks!"

On the contrary, the drivers brought by Zhang Jinwu got out of the driver's seat one after another. Some leaned against the car door to smoke and squinted at the chaotic scene, while others gathered together and talked in hushed tones.

"You know what, Jin Lijing really knows how to put on an act. I couldn't help but join in."

"What? You want to join in?"

"Dream on. Me, a driver, doing this job? Besides, I'm not without my quota. If I do this job for a while, who's going to drive? Just watch."

Master Zhao asked Zhang Jinwu, "Old Zhang, what should we do? Just stand by and watch?"

Zhang Jinwu said indifferently, "Just watch. We also have our own tasks. Just do your own tasks well and don't worry about anything else."

He adhered to the principle of handling matters strictly by official procedures and would never participate in any work that was not part of the transportation team.

Master Wang's eyes glanced towards the silent, towering coal mountain deep inside the warehouse.

“If we keep delaying, will we still be able to finish unloading, loading, and transferring? Don’t let it cause production problems and then blame our transportation team.”

Zhang Jinwu leaned against the truck, arms crossed, not saying a word, but his eyes were fixed on the busy and chaotic crowd in the warehouse, especially on Director Jin, whose figure was almost blending into the workers in work clothes, looking disheveled and giving orders.

He never expected that Jin Lijing's willingness to put in so much effort would leave him looking disheveled.

However, if this emergency is resolved smoothly, he will definitely be rewarded for sharing the hardships with the workers.

After what seemed like an eternity, the factory workers finally cleared a path, allowing cars to drive in.

"Phew~" The workers breathed a sigh of relief, wiping the sweat from their foreheads; many of them had their backs soaked with sweat.

Seeing this, Jin Lijing nodded in satisfaction. The most difficult obstacle removal was over, and the next step was to load and unload the coal.

This job is much simpler. Once it's loaded onto the truck and delivered to various locations and blast furnaces, his job is done.

All that's left is to wait for the rewards and recognition of merits, and then the word 'temporary' can be removed.

On the contrary, the transport team will be busy next.

The thought of this filled Jin Lijing with excitement.

"Captain Zhang, could you please let the drivers drive in? We'll load the coal right away."

Zhang Jinwu looked at Jin Lijing's barely suppressed smile, said nothing, and simply nodded.

Then he turned to the group of drivers and said, "Don't just stand there, get to work!"

Then, with a wave of his hand, the drivers quickly started the trucks and carefully reversed them into the warehouse, trying to get as close as possible to the coal pile.

Jin Lijing waved his hand and said, "Everyone, let's give it our all one last time and finish this so we can rest. Let's keep pushing!"

"it is good!"

With victory in sight, the workers were instantly filled with energy.

The workers were divided into several groups, with one group holding a large iron shovel with a long handle and struggling to plunge it into the coal pile.

Another team worked together to push a flatbed handcart and a creaking single-wheeled cart, waiting for shovels to fill the cart's bucket with the black "gold".

Several other people were responsible for helping to stabilize and level the coal pile next to the vehicle to prevent spillage.

"Hey-yo!"

"Keep it up!"

The rough shouts rang out again, mingling with the clanging of shovels, the splashing of coal as it fell into the truck bed, and the creaking of the wheels.

The air inside the warehouse became even more polluted.

Coal dust billowed and rose like a thick black fog, and even though the workers tried to keep their heads to the side while working, violent coughing could still be heard from time to time.

However, Jin Lijing didn't care about all that. His gaze swept over the vehicles queuing at the warehouse entrance, then looked at the coal pile in the emergency warehouse that was gradually shrinking, and he quickly calculated in his mind.

As long as this efficiency is maintained, and the coal is transported to a few key locations to solve the urgent problem of the blast furnace running out of fuel, that will be enough.

That will be the time for him to reward those who have made contributions.

Zhang Jinwu remained standing in the shadows in the corner, arms crossed, watching.

He let out a barely perceptible sigh as the first truck loaded with coal roared to life.

"Master Zhao, take it to the blast furnace first!"

Jin Lijing watched the truck leave the warehouse and couldn't help but clench his fist and wave.

"This time it's safe!"

The next step was simply to complete the loading and unloading tasks step by step, which was not difficult at all.

(End of this chapter)