A nation's industrial development begins with junior engineers.

woo~~~

The train whistle rang out in the night sky.

The newly built train station, commemorating its tenth anniversary, is still brightly lit.

The escalator at the entrance was still moving tirelessly, and several children, fighting off their sleepiness, rode it again and again out of curiosity.

On the freight platform a little distance from the passenger hall, Jiang Xia stared blankly at the smoke rising from the steam locomotive.

"Hey, what are you thinking about!"

Li Tiejun, who was with Jiang Xia, nudged him.

Jiang Xia pointed to the front of the car: "Doesn't it look like a kitchen steamer?"

"Hmm, it's a pity there are no steamed buns inside."

The two looked at each other and smiled bitterly. Anyone would be in a bad mood if they were notified in the middle of the night that they had to go on a business trip.

Fifty tractors are setting off tonight. The original plan was for veteran engineer Ma Zhendong to accompany them, but unfortunately, he tripped and fell.

I didn't feel anything at the time, but when I got home and was packing my things, I realized that the pain in my chest was getting worse.

When I got to the hospital, oh dear, I had three fractured ribs.

Unfortunately, according to relevant requirements, given the significant importance of this transport, an engineer must accompany the shipment to ensure that every tractor delivered is intact.

Poor Jiang Xia had just fallen asleep when people from the factory came to his door and dragged him all the way to the train station.

Fortunately, Li Tiejun was with her, otherwise Jiang Xia, who had never traveled far from home before, would have been quite flustered.

It's important to know that this train needs to go directly to Erenhot for Jiang Xia's mission to be considered complete.

Once they cross the border, another engineer will take over. Xiao Jiang isn't at a high enough level to be eligible to go abroad.

Perhaps there's another reason: someone doesn't want him to go out...

Jiang Xia looked at the train in front of him. The locomotive had been connected to the carriages. Behind the six enclosed carriages, there were more than ten long flatbed cars, on which were the 50 sets of "small cannons".

Each of the "little steel cannons" was secured at all four corners with steel cables, and relevant personnel from the railway authorities are inspecting them one by one.

Under the flatbed cart, there was a man wearing a miner's headlamp and holding a small steel hammer, walking along the cart and tapping as he went.

A burly man dressed in an oil-filled uniform walked over and shook hands with Jiang Xia: "Hello comrade, I am the driver of this car, Zheng Aiguo."

"You'll be sitting in the driver's cabin, but don't wander around and disturb our work!"

He then hurriedly walked away and began inspecting the locomotive on his own.

"Driver's building!" Li Tiejun's eyes lit up, and he grabbed Jiang Xia, his eyes brimming with excitement.

The two climbed up the railing onto the locomotive.

You wouldn't know until you climb up; this steam locomotive is at least one story high.

Upon entering the driver's cab, I found two other people inside.

After another introduction, one was Liu Hongqi, the co-driver, and the other was Zhao Weiguo, the stoker.

Liu Hongqi carried two small, dark wooden stools and handed them to Jiang Xia.

Jiang Xia didn't care at all. After taking it, he placed it behind the driver's seat, plopped down, and began to examine it.

Compared to the massive steam locomotive, the entire cab appeared rather cramped. Inside, everything in sight was made of steel.

Even the driver's seat in front is no exception.

Ring ring ring~~, the alarm clock sounded on the small dashboard.

Zheng Aiguo climbed over the coal truck at the back and into the driver's cab, then slapped the alarm clock down.

"Stoker, start the fire!"

"Operation! Start the fire!"

Master Zhao, holding a shovel, stood at attention and shouted a command.

Then he took a lunge, stepped out with his right foot, and shoveled down at the coal cart behind him. Then he turned around and slammed his right foot down on the furnace mechanism.

The front cover of the train's furnace splits open to the sides, and coal from the shovel is poured into the furnace.

As flames leaped up in the furnace, the engine compartment was instantly filled with smoke.

Zheng Aiguo stared intently at a barometer, and after a moment, he turned to the co-driver Liu Hongqi: "The pressure is good! Co-driver, keep watch!"

"Order! Keep watch!"

Liu Hongqi leaned half his body out of the window next to him:

"Reporting to the driver, the lights and signals are normal!"

"Dispatch flag normal!"

Departure command is normal!

"The train is ready to depart!"

"Duplicate! We can depart!"

"The driver understands!"

Zheng Aiguo gently pushed the handle while simultaneously pulling the valve.

The whistle on the front of the car would emit a long blast at any moment.

"Cool~~~~Cool~~~~"

The train began to move slowly like a long dragon. Just as the locomotive was about to pass the end of the platform, Zheng Aiguo sounded the whistle again.

"Waaaaah~~~~~~~~~"

The co-driver, Liu Hongqi, was hanging directly from the car door when he took a round snare from the hand of a man in a dark blue uniform.

There was also a small leather sheath underneath the trap.

"Driver, the route permit has been obtained, and dispatch is proceeding normally!"

"Driver understands. The locomotive has passed the station. Speed ​​up!"

Following Zheng Aiguo's instructions, Master Zhao began frantically shoveling coal into the furnace, shovel after shovel, the coal chunks forming a dark shadow that kept pouring into that fiery red mouth.

Cool check cool check~~~

The steam engine, belching endless white smoke, sped along the dark railway, pulling more than twenty carriages.

The headlights on the train illuminated the railway tracks as if it were daytime.

Inside the cab of the locomotive, only the monotonous sound of Zhao Weiguo shoveling coal remained. However, the frequency had decreased considerably, and Jiang Xia tilted her head, leaning against Tie Jun's shoulder, and fell asleep.

The three people in the driver's seat didn't disturb them and silently went about their own business.

Tie Jun was very excited, but he just kept looking around with shining eyes and didn't dare to speak rashly.

Twenty minutes later, the train pulled into a small station.

The three people in the driver's cab tensed up again: "Comrade Driver! We're heading to the supply station immediately, please get ready!"

As he spoke, he leaned out again to look ahead.

Fortunately, the headlights were bright enough, otherwise it would have been difficult to see in the pitch black night.

"The driver understands! Distance!"

Listening to the distance figures reported by the co-driver, Zheng Aiguo slowly pulled the air valve, and the huge wheels made a slight squeaking sound, indicating that the train's speed had obviously decreased.

"Driver! Signal clear! Enter through three lanes!"

Zheng Aiguo repeated: "Signal open! Three channels in! Understood!"

The three of them finally breathed a sigh of relief when they arrived at the station. Next came the refilling of water and coal.

Water is easy to obtain; there's a large water tower in front of the small station. Just turn the outlet around, pull the valve, and the water gushes straight into the water tank.

Coal is different; it has to be shoveled up by hand.

Tie Jun shook Jiang Xia awake, and the two of them, with flashlights on, took the opportunity to check all the steel cables on the flatbed truck.

The three people in the driver's seat were huddled together smoking, and they nodded in approval at Jiang Xia and the others for their voluntary actions.

"Looks like this young man is really energetic and enthusiastic about his work!"

"Hey, Lao Zheng, I'm wondering too. Why would the higher-ups allow outsiders to go up to the driver's quarters? Didn't they used to stay on handcarts?"

"Hey, I'm surprised too. This was brought up by the dispatcher. I thought they'd be difficult to deal with, but it seems they're not so bad now!"

"Bake a couple more steamed buns later, young man, you've had a tough time!"