A nation's industrial development begins with junior engineers.

"It's so cold!" Jiang Xia looked at the frost on the glass, turned to the side, and brought her back close to the stove.

"Haha, if I hadn't said 'cold back and wet clothes,' you'd understand now, kid!"

Jiang Xia nodded and smiled wryly: "Uncle, where are we? It's only ten degrees Celsius in Beijing, but it must be below zero here!"

"We've arrived in Jining. Come on, let's go to the rest room for a bit. There's a lot of uphill road to Erlian Station later. We can't use second-grade coal!"

As they spoke, the group climbed down from the driver's cabin.

A train was slowly passing by in the adjacent lane; it was all green, but the carriages were slightly larger than usual.

The sign below reads "Пeknha дo mockвa"

Liu Hongqi put his arm around Jiang Xia's shoulder: "See this? This is the train from Moscow to Beijing. It's all sleeper berths! The carriages were built by the Germans!"

"It's a pity you missed it; there's only one bus a week. Otherwise, I could have let you experience it on your return trip!"

Jiang Xia wrapped his cotton-padded coat tighter around himself; it was something his teacher had insisted on giving him before he left.

Following Liu Hongqi and Zheng Aiguo, they made several turns and arrived at a single-story house.

As soon as I opened the door, a strong smell of sweat mixed with engine oil hit me.

"It's a bit simple, but make do with it for a nap. It'll take quite a while to get the coal ready." As he spoke, Zheng Aiguo brought in a coal stove, placed a large kettle on it, and opened a window at the back.

Li Tiejun had been shoveling coal all day and was exhausted. He took off his coat, crawled onto the single bed, and soon started snoring. He curled up into a ball after just a short nap.

Old Zhao moved the coal stove closer to him, found a bed, and began snoring.

Zheng Aiguo couldn't sleep yet; he still needed to go to the maintenance room to implement the next dispatch instructions and road conditions one by one.

Jiang Xia couldn't sleep; the clanging of trains was still echoing in his head.

If you can't sleep, just draw a picture. Draw the smoke and dust capture device I mentioned earlier.

Jiang Xia drew an oversized, bottomless spittoon-like object, stuffing it with a Martian net and a weak nozzle.

After thinking about it, I added a reflector. The reflector is connected to a motor.

When the time comes, we can connect the motor to the train headlight wiring and control the opening and closing of the reflector.

When you need to suppress black smoke again, you can simply move a button in the driver's seat.

As for the Mars net, it's basically a mesh-like thing, or rather, a wire mesh with small openings. But it's quite effective at capturing and preventing Mars from escaping, and it's not difficult to make; hundreds can be made a day using a punch press.

Moreover, the addition of a power nozzle allows high-pressure steam to generate a certain amount of suction force when it is discharged through the nozzle, which helps to draw air out of the firebox and thus improve the boiler's combustion efficiency.

Higher combustion efficiency means increased locomotive traction. Multiple benefits in one fell swoop, how wonderful!

The connecting device below can be made into a lock, so you can just snap it on and it's done, simple and convenient.

Consider this a tribute to our predecessors.

A cold wind had started blowing outside the window, making Jiang Xia's fingers stiff.

A slight chill extinguished the flames of the coal stove by a third.

"Bang!"

Zheng Aiguo pushed open the dormitory door forcefully. "Get up! Emergency!"

Old Zhao and Liu Hongqi jumped up in one swift motion and quickly lined up in a row.

"Assembled, awaiting instructions!"

"The communications room says a heavy snowstorm has hit Erenhot Station! It will affect train operations! The K3 ahead has already departed, and we must catch up! The driver at Erenhot Station isn't going to be kind enough to wait for us!"

"Old Zhao, go check on the supply situation. Old Liu, you go warm up the engine. I'll go to the dispatch room to request instructions!"

Having said that, he left first.

Jiang Xia quickly woke Li Tiejun up, but by the time Tiejun got back up, quite some time had passed.

Seeing Tie Jun pull out the "Pleasant Goat" plush toy from his backpack and hug it tightly, Jiang Xia slapped his forehead, realizing he had forgotten about this good thing.

Having robbed the Iron Army of their supplies, Jiang Xia also took out a dozen or so from his spatial storage and put them into his satchel. Good things should be shared, right?

The vanguard of the blizzard had arrived at Jining Station, and fine snowflakes were already falling from the sky.

A dozen or so coal delivery workers carried large baskets back and forth between the coal piles and the train.

Avoiding the bustling crowd, Jiang Xia and Tie Jun jumped onto the cart and began inspecting the steel cables securing the tractor.

It's pretty good; apart from a few parts being slightly loose, the rest are intact.

But~~

"Hey bro, won't our car freeze if we just leave it out here?"

"It's alright, it's not made of wrecked iron, it's not that easy to break. But we should have wrapped the engine with straw before setting off."

I still lack experience!

By the way, did you drain the engine oil completely? We didn't add any antifreeze to the one we used!

"Um, should we check it again?"

"Okay!"

After another flurry of activity, everything was fine. However, looking at the exposed cylinder, Jiang Xia was still worried that the sudden drop in temperature might crack the cylinder block.

Hurry up and find Master Zheng to see if he has any extra straw. After all, once this carriage passes Erenhot Station, it will be part of the chartered transport service on the other side.

Considering the older brother's rough and tough style, he should be nicer to his own son.

When I got to the enclosed carriage at the front, hey, what a coincidence! A group of comrades in uniforms were laying straw in one of the carriages.

Jiangxia peeked out and, good heavens! A whole train carload of eggs. No wonder they were packed up; if they froze, the Russians definitely wouldn't want them.

I chatted with a comrade for a while, and then he handed me a large Qianmen cigarette.

The comrade pointed to a warehouse: "There's a pile inside, but you'll have to move it yourself, we can't handle it all!"

This isn't someone being arrogant; Jining Station, as an important stop before trains enter the Inner Mongolian Plateau, is always bustling with activity.

Not to mention the passenger station a bit further away, even the freight station was full of other trains. Everyone was racing against time, and there was really no free time to do anything for the time being.

Jiang Xia looked at the warehouse a kilometer away and felt a stomachache.

This distance isn't too far, not too close. If Tie Jun and I went empty-handed to carry it, it would probably take ten round trips to cover all the machines.

The items aren't heavy, but it's a waste of time, isn't it?

But can a living person die from holding their pee?

Jiang Xia remembered that the loading list from the steel rolling mill included several barrels of diesel fuel and engine oil. These were for testing the tractors upon arrival at the station.

Untie the steel cable of a vehicle and fill it with engine oil and diesel fuel.

Tie Jun bent over and started cranking the handlebars. This is where the advantage of a single-cylinder, two-stroke engine comes in – great force can produce miracles!

As long as you shake it fast enough, the "Little Cannon" won't disappoint you!

Listening to the "humming" sound of the small cannon, and looking at the Jiefang truck with the fire burning on the ground next to it, Tie Jun raised his eyebrows proudly.

The large flatbed was still some distance from the platform. Jiang Xia visually estimated the width, and it was no problem at all. Those 50 centimeters were nothing for the little powerhouse that had been fitted with wider tires!

Without even pressing the accelerator, the little hot hatch, like a robust young man, lifted its leg slightly and stood on the concrete ground of the platform.

Tie Jun climbed onto the truck bed, and Jiang Xia pulled the accelerator and drove towards the warehouse where the straw was stored.

"Holy crap! Is this little thing really that powerful?"

The comrade who had just accepted the cigarette opened his mouth in surprise.

He then took off after them.

"Comrade, help us transport a few truckloads too!"