Crossing the Western Tianshan Mountains

The foreman involved in the midday brawl was Si Yugang, a veteran of Wu Yongjie's team and a skilled blaster. Construction of the West Tianshan Tunnel had already involved several blasting operations, nearly ten kilometers in, and Si Yugang had typically been responsible for most of them.

He considered himself an authority in blasting, and no one in the entire work team could compare to him.

Today, an important blasting was to be carried out. He had already made the blasting design the day before and determined the location of the blasthole based on the geological conditions of the face, rock properties, cross-section size and other factors.

He has full confidence in his profession and skills, but when those people sitting in the offices in the technical department suddenly jump out and say that his direction is wrong, how can he not get angry?

Although the technical department had data support, they were, after all, "pretty boys" who sat in the office all year round. There was a difference between them and the actual operators. After Si Yugang argued with the technician for a few words, the other party actually shouted with a red face, "This is a human life! This is a human life, you know? If you hit it like this, this place will collapse, and how many lives will be lost!"

The other party's sudden loss of composure made Si Yuguang lose all face.

As a veteran blaster in the engineering team, his position is somewhat detached. When there is no blasting work, he usually just checks and maintains the blasting equipment, ensuring the condition and quantity of the blasting equipment, and that it is stored safely. The workload is actually not small, but it is just worrying. Others think that they, the blasters, are actually relatively idle and their work is also relatively high.

Being praised by the workers and supported by the leaders, Si Yuguang always felt very good and thought that he was a more prestigious person in the engineering team. However, this time, he was interrupted several times during work by the technician and was yelled at. Si Yuguang got angry and punched the other person in the face, knocking off his glasses.

This caused a huge mess, and a chaotic fight broke out almost instantly...

There had been fights and disturbances among workers in Wu Lao Hu's team before, but this was the first time it had gotten so serious. The staff of the blasting team and the technical department were fighting like crazy and could not be persuaded.

After the incident, although Ling Fengxi and Wu Lao Hu had an argument, they had a rare tacit understanding and neither side tried to teach the person involved a lesson.

Wu Yongjie ran to the medical room, lit a cigarette, and smoked with a look of grievance on his face.

Fang Ya said, "Your anger with Secretary Ling just now was completely unnecessary. He's not the protagonist today. The protagonists are your workers."

Wu Yongjie said softly, "I know."

Fang Ya added, "But it's okay. Ling Fengxi isn't such a petty person. He knows your temper. He's changed a lot recently and doesn't care about many things as much as before."

Wu Yongjie said, "This is not right. None of this is right."

"What's wrong?"

Wu Yongjie lowered his voice even more. "Yaya, I suspect that my workers are out of their minds. They fought like this over such a small matter. And Ling Fengxi is also out of his mind. I said such words, but he didn't say a word. This is too abnormal..."

Fang Ya burst out laughing. "You're the one with the problem. Although workers fighting is not good, it's not impossible. Hasn't it happened on construction sites before? And Ling Fengxi, he's just like that. When he's arguing, he tends to get quiet. He doesn't like to talk."

"Yaya, this is really wrong, but I don't know how to describe it..."

Seeing that he was serious, Fang Ya's eyebrows knitted involuntarily. Suddenly, she thought of something, and her expression became serious. "You mean... hysteria?"

Wu Yongjie didn't know what hysteria was. He just said, "I've heard before...ah, I just heard that some people who work in a special environment will collectively go crazy. You didn't see the fight they had today. They were really like crazy people. Even I couldn't hold it in. I was punched a few times..."

He touched his chest and said, "It still hurts."

Fang Ya hurriedly asked, "Why didn't you tell me earlier? Are you okay now?"

Wu Yongjie was delighted to see that she cared about him and said, "I'm fine now, but I'm really worried that the workers might be going crazy."

Fang Ya thought for a moment and said, "Working in a special working environment brings many stressors, especially in this kind of enclosed space deep underground, which can cause workers to feel depressed and anxious. The high-intensity workload and long periods of isolation from the outside world can also lead to more complex mental illnesses. Mental disorders are usually caused by psychological factors, life events, inner conflicts, suggestion or self-suggestion."

Wu Yongjie asked, "What should I do? Yaya, can you doctors treat mental illness?"

Fang Ya was a little worried. Although she could be considered a general practitioner, she had no experience in psychiatry. What she had learned so far was just a little bit of what she had learned during her studies, and there was no way she could apply it in actual practice.

She then advised, "Maybe it's okay."

Wu Yongjie shook his head. "There's definitely something wrong. I don't know why, but I feel really uneasy."

At this moment, Ling Fengxi suddenly walked in. Perhaps he had been listening at the door for a while, because he continued immediately after entering, "Why don't you take a few days off? Ever since you came back from the exploration after the New Year, you've been working non-stop until now, all the way to the glacier zone, and it's almost May now."

It’s been a long time since I had a holiday.

However, it makes no difference whether there is a holiday or not in Western Tianshan. Even during the holiday, people still work hard in the dormitory. Even if Gulinar is still passionately making milk tea, she cannot save the lifeless feeling in the camp.

Ling Fengxi said, "Let's not talk about the other things for now. Let's invite some professional barbers to come over and give the workers a good scrub first. They've all become hairy thieves."

Wu Yongjie said: "Hey, this is a good idea!"

That afternoon, Wu Yongjie announced that all the workers in the front-end "excavation team" and the middle "support team" would have three days off. Workers in other departments would also have three days off in a row during the following week.

The workers really had no interest in it. At most, they thought they could sleep well again.

But the next morning, all the tables in the cafeteria were moved to the sides and squeezed together, and most of the empty seats were left for the barbers. Ten barbers came at once, pushing their barber tool carts, holding hair cutting scissors and hair dryers, and also set up simple large mirrors. The workers were excited when they heard the news.

Wu Yongjie personally watched the scene as groups of people came in and left. The floor of the cafeteria was covered with hair, and the air was filled with the smell of haircuts, hairdressing, and hair washing. The atmosphere gradually became lively from the initial routine, and finally felt bustling. Wu Yongjie watched while chewing the naan bread in his hand...

This was a gift from Gulinar. She said with a smile, "Captain Wu, I want to cut it too. Look at how my braids have grown, and my bangs are almost covering my eyes."

In fact, it is impossible for Gulinar to be gloomy under the influence of love. She always dresses herself as beautiful and bright as the morning sun.

She just wanted to join in the fun...

Wu Yongjie said, "Gulinar, you know what? We have a saying in this city: No one can walk out of a barber shop smiling. Do you really want to try?"