Crossing the Western Tianshan Mountains

Moreover, we are currently at the critical moment of crossing the underground glacier zone, so we have to keep it secret, otherwise the workers will be defeated by their inner fear.

The busiest departments now are still the technical department and the survey department. The construction of tunnels through the glacial belt requires advanced geological forecasts, which means that geophysical detection methods must never stop. It is imperative to use technologies such as geological radar and transient methods to ascertain key information such as the location, scale, and water content of the glacial belt in advance. This is to provide the construction team with more accurate data of various types.

The second is that the construction process must be adjusted.

In particular, the geological survey recently provided by Li Jianguo showed that hard rock layers such as granite needed to be blasted. Because of their hard and dense texture and high compressive strength, this type of rock can withstand greater stress.

This is also the reason why Li Jianguo and Yan Zhuoyu chose such areas to cross the glacier belt, because they are strong and dense enough.

But at the same time, it brings difficulties to excavation. Such hard rock layers cannot be excavated by ordinary machinery, and only high-energy explosives can be used to break the rocks. Moreover, the stones produced after the blasting will be relatively large and numerous.

For sedimentary rocks such as shale, the stratification is obvious and the strength is relatively low. They may become soft when exposed to water and easily break during blasting. However, another situation arises. If the rock layer is excessively broken, it will cause over-excavation or uneven tunnel walls, and may even destroy the cave structure of the glacial zone, causing major safety accidents.

In other words, the mountain they are currently facing is the one they have selected after going through untold hardships as a mountain that can cross the glacier belt, but at the same time there are also huge construction difficulties and dangers.

This poses an unprecedented test to the construction technology, and it is imperative to adjust the construction technology according to the actual situation at any time.

In order to prevent such incidents from happening, controlled blasting technology needs to be used during excavation to reduce disturbance of the surrounding glacier rock mass and prevent glacier melting or collapse caused by excessive vibration.

The most important thing is to strengthen the initial support measures, such as using a combined support system including steel arch frames, anchor rods, and shotcrete to improve the stability of the tunnel under glacial geological conditions.

Next is the drainage system. A complete drainage system will be built to promptly drain the accumulated water caused by glacier melting to prevent the accumulated water from soaking the bottom structure of the tunnel and affecting its stability. The discharged water will also be monitored to prevent it from causing adverse effects on the surrounding ecological environment.

All these things that need to be paid attention to and built in advance have increased the workload of the workers, and it is also necessary for the various technical departments and surveying departments to communicate more closely with the construction workers.

At this time, a new test arose. The workers were not convinced by the participation and management of technicians and surveyors... The two sides had several conflicts in a very short period of time.

This gave Wu Yongjie a headache. He was so distressed that he kept hitting his head with his fists. He had no mood to eat. Fang Ya looked at him like this and silently put the chicken leg in her bowl into his.

Wu Yongjie's eyes lit up, and he stopped knocking his head and immediately started to eat the chicken leg happily.

Seeing this, Ling Fengxi, who was sitting at the same table, rolled his eyes at him coldly, while Gulinar excitedly whispered to Ye Minglang, "Did you see that? Captain Wu still needs Doctor Fang to coax him when he eats. I envy him. Captain Wu is really good at it..."

Ye Minglang silently took the chicken drumstick from his bowl and stuffed it into Gulinar's mouth, silencing her. Their actions naturally attracted the attention of several of the leaders, and Ye Minglang chuckled awkwardly, "Let's, let's go eat over there!"

Then he took the bowl and pulled Gulinar to another table.

Ling Fengxi finally spoke, "Captain Wu, the workers at the face are about to plant explosives today, and someone from your technical department came over and said the direction is wrong, this is wrong, that's wrong. This is a huge blow to the comrades in charge of blasting. Blasting really tests the psychological quality of the staff. When they are working diligently, suddenly someone gives them blind advice, which has a huge impact and may even cause some mistakes."

Wu Yongjie couldn't swallow the chicken leg anymore. "Ling Fengxi, don't talk nonsense if you don't understand. We're already in the glacier zone. The technical and survey departments have accurate data and sufficient knowledge of mechanical traction direction. Although the workers are experienced, under these special conditions, we can't do it without the cooperation of the technical department."

"But did they cooperate? No, and they almost got into a fight..." Ling Fengxi became annoyed when he thought of what happened at noon. Not only did the first blast into the glacier zone fail, but several workers even got into a fight with technicians. Isn't that ridiculous?

I've worked on so many projects, but this is the first time I've seen such a desperate fight within a construction team. They even ended up stabbing each other with steel drills...

If Ling Fengxi had not arrived in time and controlled the situation, several people would have collapsed today and been carried to the medical room covered in blood.

Wu Yongjie said, "They're not cooperating because they don't understand the seriousness of the situation. You know this is a special construction project, the most special of the special! There's no precedent in the world for blasting over 2,000 meters underground. This is no joke, even if it means a fight. I didn't think today's blast would succeed."

"You—" Ling Fengxi stuttered. The two of them ate a few bites in silence. Ling Fengxi then said, "I understand what you said, but as the team leader, you failed to coordinate the relationship between them, which is also a dereliction of duty."

Wu Yongjie glanced at Fang Ya. Although she lowered her head and ate silently, trying to reduce her presence as much as possible, Wu Yongjie still felt that his face was damaged.

"I've neglected my duty, so what? Why is Leader Ling still going to deduct my salary?"

Ling Fengxi didn't say anything, and the atmosphere became even more awkward.

Wu Yongjie threw down his chopsticks and said, "I'm afraid Leader Ling doesn't have the authority to do that." He pulled Fang Ya up and said, "Stop eating. We, the little people, are not qualified to sit at the same table with Leader Ling."

Only then did Fang Ya realize how smart Ye Minglang was, and that he had already taken Gulinar away.

Fang Ya shook off Wu Yongjie's hand and said, "I'm full and want to go back to the medical room. You guys can eat by yourselves."

Wu Yongjie was so angry that his nose was crooked. He turned around to look at Ling Fengxi and found that his face was calm and he looked as if he would not move even if Mount Tai collapsed in front of him. This made him, Wu Lao Hu, look a little childish.

Wu Yongjie suddenly slammed the table. "Ling Fengxi, you don't have to worry about the engineering team's affairs! We each have our own responsibilities. If you interfere with the engineering team's affairs again, don't blame me for being rude."

His behavior surprised Ling Fengxi. He looked up at him but didn't say anything.

Wu Yongjie was no longer in the mood to eat and said to the workers, "Eat quickly and then go take a rest. Isn't it nice to watch the hustle and bustle?"