Crossing the Western Tianshan Mountains

Hanati actually still wanted to find Ling Fengxi for a drink, but after asking several people, he couldn't find anyone. So, when everyone was enjoying their meal, he shouted, "Everyone, I'm now the secretary of the herdsmen's new village... What does a new village mean? It's a newly established village, not merged into another village, it's an independent village. This new village, in your terms, is a natural village, and now it has a secretary... I thank you all for your support! Enjoy your meal today!"

Hanati did bring some wine, but both the workers and the leaders collectively refused his wine and replaced it with milk tea.

Because the project has really reached the most difficult, critical and most error-free moment. A single error may cause a huge disaster.

No one dared to be careless, let alone drink and make mistakes at such a time.

Hanati actually understood completely. After seeing that no one was drinking, he even asked the "brothers" he brought with him not to drink either. His original words were, "We are now facing a group of qualified, ambitious, and responsible people. From now on, we must also become qualified, responsible, and ambitious people. Drinking too much will cause trouble. Secretary Ling and Captain Wu are doing big things now. We should not cause them trouble. Today, there will be plenty of meat, milk tea, and naan, but let's not drink!"

Although no alcohol was consumed, the atmosphere was still lively.

I don’t know who brought out the speakers and amplifier, but someone took the microphone and sang a passionate song, “Blood-stained Style”.

Hanati and others kept dancing for everyone and invited everyone to dance together. Everyone spent their lunch time in an atmosphere of singing, dancing and eating.

...Of course, no one forgot to congratulate Hanati.

"Hanati, I wish you continued success and a higher position."

"Hanati, you are the first official in our new herdsman village. We all obey you."

"Hanati, you are the best official in Western Tianshan!"

……

Hanati was delighted by the praise, but he didn't get carried away. Instead, he felt a surge of responsibilities, plans, and expectations. He said with some emotion, "My position as an official is a gift from everyone. I've thought about it. Drinking and eating meat on a daily basis isn't a big deal. Anyone can do that. What I want next is to lead everyone to prosperity!"

"Once the tunnel in the western Tianshan Mountains is built and the economy between the north and the south is unblocked, we can sell some furs, dried meat, and our own sour milk dumplings! When we have money, we can go to Beijing, Shanghai, or even Kazakhstan and go shopping!"

Everyone thinks Hanati is bragging, but who doesn't hope that this day will really come?

Everyone nodded, even Ling Feng and Wu Yongjie nodded silently, thinking that Hanati's speech was good and he was indeed a "material for being a secretary."

Hanati’s promotion to the new village secretary has truly entered the construction of the glacier zone and is the biggest happiest and most relaxing thing that has happened in recent times.

After this brief period of happiness, everyone had to officially face the construction of the tunnel in the glacier zone.

When the tunnel face was confirmed to have entered the glacial zone, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, yet at the same time, their nerves doubled. The tunnel face's arrival and entry into the glacial zone indicated that the route they had discovered through the glacial zone, as determined by their survey, had been correct. Furthermore, the construction baseline had accurately aligned with that route, effectively marking the tunnel's successful entry into the glacial zone.

The technical team compiled an image using data from various instruments. It showed that the current tunnel face was about ten meters into the glacier zone, while about fifty meters beyond it lay the hollow glacier zone...

Without this tunnel, they would be as small as if they were standing in a vast glacier.

This glacier picture also makes people feel very scary.

They are now buried at a depth of more than two thousand meters.

If the mountain collapses, all of them working in this tunnel will be swallowed up by nature in an instant.

Wu Yongjie took one look and felt his heart tighten... "Old Ling, this is strange. Our tunnel has already reached the seven-kilometer mark. We've been working at depths of over a thousand meters for a long time. But why do I suddenly feel like I can't breathe when I see this picture?"

Currently, the tunnel is nine kilometers long and buried at a depth of two thousand one hundred meters, which means they are in the center of the mountain. They have drilled into the heart of the mountain like a giant marmot, at a depth of more than two thousand meters.

If this is a tomb, it's also the deepest tomb in the world...

How can I avoid suffocation?

Ling Fengxi was actually feeling uncomfortable, even frightened, but his mind remained clear. He spoke to Wu Yongjie and said, "The current data and drawings should not be leaked or circulated among the workers. The technical department needs to ensure confidentiality to avoid causing unprecedented psychological pressure on the workers."

Compared with those who are sensitive to data, the workers are actually in good emotional and psychological condition. From the first time they opened the face and dug a mouth for the tunnel to now when the construction length has reached nearly ten kilometers, they are so familiar with this tunnel that they feel as familiar with it as if it were their own home.

The entrance to the tunnel is actually at the lower end of the mountain, on a slope, so from the entrance, the tunnel is not very deep. Now it is ten kilometers deep and the depth has reached two thousand meters. However, in the minds of the workers, their standard view of the tunnel depth is based on the depth at the tunnel entrance.

In other words, they didn't think it was very deep.

In other words, they have become accustomed to the illusion of depth given by the cave entrance, so they are used to it and do not feel panic.

Moreover, the psychological pressure and depression caused by working in a dark, closed and deep underground space for a long time may cause the workers to suffer from anxiety and depression. If they know these data and drawings, I wonder if they will be driven crazy.

This is also one of the reasons why Ling Fengxi asked the technical department to keep the drawings and data confidential from the workers.

All the people involved in the construction of the West Tianshan Tunnel are working together and united to accomplish something extraordinary. This tunnel may very well be the deepest highway tunnel in the world and is destined to be remembered in history.

But before you can accomplish it, you still need to be as innocent and brave as a child to overcome this hurdle.

Wu Yongjie understood it very well. He completely agreed with Ling Fengxi's opinion, "Yes, keep it a secret and charge forward blindly."