A nation's industrial development begins with junior engineers.

"what happened?"

Jiang Yuanchao waved his hand, "I guess the crew over there is thinking of blasting the rocks apart! But I doubt it, seven or eight tons of rocks, and they're using a cheap hand grenade from a small notebook, how annoying!"

"This can't go on. The K3 locomotive is absorbing a lot of coal. They've been stopped for two hours now!"

"More than that! It's been three hours. Luckily it's nighttime, otherwise the Russians in the carriage would have started making a ruckus long ago." Jiang Yuanchao said, getting up.

"However, this explosion has probably woken everyone up. We need to notify the department immediately and have them send a rescue vehicle!"

As I was talking, I remembered putting on my shoes.

Liu Hongqi pressed him down, "Just stay put. It's going to be tough waiting for the train from the section to come! Don't forget we're right between Jining and Erenhot stations."

Zheng Aiguo frowned: "We still need to notify them. Although the travel permit only lists two of our vehicles, there's no guarantee that there won't be any special missions scheduled for us."

"Okay, Lao Zhao and Tie Jun go to the rest room and dig out the radio transmitter."

"Old Liu, you and Jiang Xia go check the situation ahead. Yuan Chao and I will stay behind at the locomotive!"

At the command, everyone dispersed.

After everyone had gone far away, Zheng Aiguo went back to the sealed carriage and tapped it hard with a small hammer.

The carriage door was opened a crack, and Zheng Aiguo explained the situation with a feeling of guilt.

"We may not be able to arrive on time!"

Unexpectedly, a soft laugh came from the carriage: "That doesn't count. Catching up with K3 counts as being on time! Special circumstances, request verification of the code!"

Zheng Aiguo stood at attention: "Now check the task codes!"

A voice inside the carriage read out a series of numbers, which Zheng Aiguo checked against the numbers on the lead seal.

"Verification confirmed!"

After saying that, he took a hammer and smashed open the lead seal, then looked at the large iron lock.

"Wait a minute, I'll go find a pipe wrench."

The sounds inside the car stopped him; with a creaking sound of metal, the carriage was pulled open.

Four or five men with buzz cuts, dressed in railway uniforms, crawled out of the carriage.

Looking at the twisted iron lock, Zheng Aiguo's lips twitched.

After getting off, one of the leaders looked at the road and tried to walk along the railway tracks.

Zheng Aiguo grabbed him: "I don't want to ask about your mission, but if the target is K3, you'll have to wait!"

"It's stuck halfway up the slope right now, and it'll roll back if we make even the slightest mistake! We can't rush it!"

The crew-cut man nodded to show he understood, and led the group along the winding railway tracks until they disappeared into the snowstorm.

Zheng Aiguo sighed. He had wanted to ask them if they had any explosives, but seeing how lightly they were traveling, he decided against it.

Back at the front of the car, Jiang Yuanchao was in much better spirits.

They were fiddling with the telegraph machine that Tie Jun and his men had dug out.

Old Zhao frowned at Zheng Aiguo: "When we went there, the shed wasn't buried by snow yet, but the telegraph machine was crushed under the wooden beams. It's probably not going to make it."

Zheng Aiguo peered at the machine at the top, which had been flattened: "Yuanchao, is it still usable?"

"Yes! I can fix it! It's just an antenna, no big deal!"

Old Zhao had already dragged the repair tool kit to him, but looking at these rough and bulky pipe wrenches and oversized spandex, Jiang Yuanchao's face, covered in red spots, showed worry for the first time.

"There is a situation!"

The group lay down, and Zheng Aiguo's Czech-made shirt peeked out from the stairwell, pointing diagonally forward.

In the wind and snow, three people, bent over and supporting each other, appeared before everyone.

"Old Liu! Little Jiang!"

Zhao Weiguo climbed out of the driver's cab and pushed the three men into the driver's compartment.

"Old Hu! What's going on!" Before the three of them could even land, Zheng Aiguo looked at the familiar figure and asked anxiously.

Hu Muyuan, the chief driver of the K3 chartered bus team.

Hearing Zheng Aiguo's persistent questioning, he opened his mouth wide, and blood beads oozed from his parched lips.

"Old Zheng, the situation is urgent. A large rock has fallen in front of the K3 truck. We originally decided to wait for rescue."

"But the wind is too strong now, and some loose stones have already hit the carriage! Just now another stone landed at the back of the carriage, so the K3 is now stuck!"

"I just risked using a grenade to blow it up, but unfortunately it only cracked and I can't move it!"

Zheng Aiguo frowned as he looked at Hu Muyuan's hands. Although they were wrapped in strips of cloth, drops of blood were still seeping out.

"groove!"

Zheng Aiguo was in a state of utter confusion. He knew that everyone on K3 was an international person, and if something went wrong, it could really cause chaos!

"However, this young comrade proposed a solution, which I think is feasible!"

Zheng Aiguo's gaze shifted to Jiangxia.

Jiangxia succinctly summed it up: "Crossing the river head-on!"

He then took out his drawings, flipped them over, and quickly began to draw in the blank space.

"The K3's cab and trailer were uncoupled, and a bollard was attached to push the rocks away!"

"Our 131 locomotive also detached, so we went up and carried those sections of the carriage to prevent it from rolling away. We'll come back to pick us up after the K3 locomotive breaks through the rocks!"

Zheng Aiguo's eyes lit up as he listened, and he looked at Liu Hongqi.

Liu Hongqi nodded: "It's a classic case of 'crossing the river by pushing against each other,' except there's an extra step of bumping into a rock."

“Yes, and I’ve checked the cracks in the stone. If we just adjust the impact angle by 5 degrees, we can definitely pry it open!” Jiang Xia added, her face pale but her tone firm.

This wasn't something he made up; it was something he said while checking the situation ahead.

He had a sudden inspiration to treat the scene as a mechanical simulation, and the scanner reliably provided the corresponding data.

After multiple simulations, the optimal solution has been determined.

Of course, the price was Jiang Xia's rapidly thinning body, hidden under his coat.

Zheng Aiguo stared into Jiang Xia's eyes, "Okay! I trust you! I'll drive the K3! Old Hu?"

Hu Muyuan patted Jiang Xia on the head: "Good! Just for this title, I'll step down and give way! After all, you have experience in this matter!"

Jiang Xia was frustrated, and the large bump on his head started to hurt again as Hu Muyuan slapped it.

Why do you always pat someone's head when you're praising them? Can't you just lift them up high?

Wait, no! The hat? The driver was complimenting the hat I was wearing!

An inquiring gaze drifted toward Liu Hongqi, who understood and moved closer to Jiang Xia, making a "two" gesture.

Uncle, what's with the riddle?

Are you saying "Yeah!" or "Two"?

……

There's no time to lose; now that we have a plan, we must implement it immediately.

The longer it drags on, the more dangerous it becomes. In order to maintain the brakes of the compressed air control shoes, half of the reserves in the water truck have already been used up.

This was only possible because the stoker was experienced and used the "pressing bed" method.

Because the K3 uses a heavy-duty FD series locomotive made by the Russians, it does not have that triangular obstacle clearance device.

But the old horse in the stable still has 131!

Moreover, Zheng Aiguo's 131 is a feat that he has a proven track record of.

If we followed the Air Force's approach, we'd have to draw two tanks on the front of the 131 vehicle, one at a higher elevation.

Start a fire! Let's go!

After traveling another two kilometers, 131 slowly came to a stop. The dark green body of the K3 train came into view.

A thin layer of snow had already piled up on the roof of the vehicle. A strong wind blew, and the thud of stones hitting the car reached everyone's ears. At the same time, the sounds of noise from inside the carriage could be faintly heard.

Zheng Aiguo peeked out and looked around, and couldn't help but feel a little anxious.

"Hurry up! The obstacle clearer weighs almost a ton. Hu Muyuan, have a few people from your crew come down and lend a hand!"

"Okay!" Hu Muyuan immediately prepared to jump out of the car.

Jiang Xia tugged at Zheng Aiguo's sleeve: "Uncle, have you forgotten how the coal from No. 131 was transported?"

Hu Muyuan looked curious, while Zheng Aiguo burst into laughter.

The "little powerhouse" engine, still running on the flatbed trailer, vibrated slowly, making a "putt-putt-putt-putt" sound.