early morning.
The young golden sunlight shines on the dark motorcycle, adding a bit of oil painting-like beauty to this cold, powerful behemoth.
The station was full of people.
Duan Chang Xing, the leaders of the department, Director Zhang who was reorganizing the workshop, and more than a dozen old masters were all gathered together, and it was particularly lively.
Yan Jiecheng has been at work since five o'clock in the morning and has just completed adding coal to a locomotive.
While picking up a towel and wiping his face covered with soot, he asked in a low voice: "Master, why are there so many people on the stand today?"
"You don't know. That's right, you have been on the other side of the Yexi crossing. ”
Master Zhang With a cigarette in his mouth, he explained: "Driver Li has come up with something good again. The road test starts today. Everyone is watching the fun."
"Good thing?" Yan Jiecheng stopped and looked up. , I didn’t see why after looking at it for a long time.
He scratched his head: "Master, the train is almost the same as before. Where are the good things?"
Before he finished speaking, with Li Aiguo's order, the train track crane parked on the track lifted a large box, and the box was placed firmly on the train board.
Then there was a second big box and a third big box. After a while, all the big boxes were "coded" onto the car board.
"Thirty minutes and twenty seconds!" The comrade in charge of timing pressed the stopwatch.
The crowd burst into cheers.
Yan Jiecheng was even more confused: "Master, isn't this just putting boxes on the train? Is this also called technology?"
"What would you think if I told you that there are fifteen tons of goods in each box?"
As soon as these words came out, Yan Jiecheng's eyes widened in surprise and his mouth couldn't close.
The train has a total of twenty-three carriages, each carriage carries fifteen tons of cargo, which means that in just thirty minutes, 345 tons of cargo were transported using container technology. Loading work.
As a coal loader, Yan Jiecheng can now carry two hundred kilograms of cargo at a time. It takes five minutes to get on and off the train and eleven days to complete the loading work.
Now Li Aiguo only has thirty minutes
Not only Yan Jiecheng.
Even Director Chen, who was specifically in charge of material transportation, was shocked by the speed of loading and could not help but gasp.
“If we use manpower to load the truck, it will take at least four or five hours.”
Li Aiguo nodded and said: “The transport workers are not yet skilled in the operation, and the crane is not designed to lift containers. Dedicated crane if the container gets large With large-scale promotion, the loading speed will be reduced to less than 20 minutes."
"Good stuff! Driver Li, I am full of expectations for this material transportation work," Director Chen said as he walked up. In front of the container, he directed the workers to put seals on each container.
He is a specialist in the material section of the Railway Material Supply Bureau, and this time he will conduct road tests with the container.
At this time the dispatcher issued a dispatch order and the train was ready to depart.
Li Aiguo shook hands with Duan Chang Xing and Director Zhang one by one, and boarded the train with Zhou Qigong, Liu Qingquan, and Lao Zheng.
The crisp whistle sounded, and the train started slowly with black smoke, running towards the distance along the railway track.
It wasn’t until the train disappeared at the end of the track that Duan Chang Xing and others slowly withdrew their gaze.
Everyone is looking forward to this container road test.
They have realized that once container technology is promoted on a large scale, it will change the mode of railway transportation.
******
Just as the train full of containers was running towards Jincheng, the passenger terminal of Tanggu Port in Jincheng was already bustling with people.
Hundreds of passengers stood on the pier, looking anxiously into the distance.
Not seeing the ship for a long time, the passengers were already anxious.
"What's going on? Didn't the Dongfanghong depart on time at eight o'clock? It's already half past eight and the ship hasn't docked at the dock yet."
"Yes, my daughter tomorrow What should I do if I can’t get back after getting married? "
"If I had known better, I wouldn't have saved so much money by taking the train. It's so comfortable."
"No, we can't wait any longer, let's go, guys. Go and ask what’s going on.”
In the crowd, a young man wearing a duck spoon hat and Chinese tunic suit jumped up and down, encouraging the passengers to come to the Maritime Management Office.
He stretched out his big hand and slapped the window loudly: "Where is your ship! What happened? Could it be that they collected the tickets and left us here?!"
< br>"Comrade, wait a moment, I will contact you."
Seeing this, the officers of the management office quickly picked up the phone and contacted Jincheng Port.
After a while, the clerk hung up the phone, opened the door and walked out. He pressed his hands down: "Everyone, please be quiet."
After the passengers calmed down, the steward continued: "I just got a notification from the port management that the Dongfanghong is still being repaired in the dock due to mechanical failure."
"Then what should we do?! No , If you don’t give us an explanation today, then don’t blame us for being rude.” When Duck Spoon Hat heard this, his reaction was much greater than that of ordinary passengers, his face turned red and he waved his fist.
The officer glanced at him and said slowly: "Don't worry, everyone, we have contacted the Jincheng Materials Factory Terminal of the Materials Bureau of the Ministry of Railways.
They have a passenger and cargo ship ready to leave today. Going to Hankou, most of the routes overlap with the Dongfanghong.
There are 400 seats on the ship. Passengers who have purchased a ticket for the Dongfanghong can board the ship. ”
When they heard that Jincheng Port had arranged a new ship, the passengers suddenly became quiet.
It doesn’t matter which ship it is, as long as it can deliver them to their destination.
But.
The duck spoon hat still jumped on his feet and said: "We have agreed on the Dongfanghong, how can we change it to another ship."
The officer felt that this person was a thorn in the side.
But considering that this time it was indeed Jincheng Port's mistake, he could only suppress his anger and said: "Comrade, if you don't want to, you can refund the ticket."
"I" Duck Spoon Hat kept shouting.
A middle-aged man in a gray tunic suit pulled his arm and winked at him: "Meng Tukun, let's go"
"Brother Gao."
"Shut up, you have been noticed by the people at the port."
From the corner of his eye, the duck-hat man named Meng Tukun saw several security officers looking this way, and he immediately closed his mouth.
He followed Gao Ma towards the corner of the dock.
There is a young man waiting in the corner.
The young man had a huge bamboo box at his feet and a small box in his arms. He was smoking at this time.
Seeing the two people approaching, the young man quickly threw down his cigarette butts, stood up and asked anxiously: "How is the situation? Meng Tukun, is the boat coming?"
"Gaodian, it's over. The Dongfanghong broke down and another ship was replaced at the port. I think we should give up this operation." Meng Tukun said angrily.
"Then how can we rob the ship?!" Gao Dian was startled, and his voice suddenly became louder.
"You're dying! Keep your voice down."
Gao Ma was startled and covered Gao Dian's mouth. He looked around and saw no one was paying attention, then he was relieved. .
“Do you want to send me in?”
Gao Ma was still angry at this time.
He grabbed Gao Dian by the collar and pushed Gao Dian into the corner.
Smoothly pulled out a dagger from his waist and pressed it on Gao Dian's neck, hitting him hard.
Gao Dian's neck was pressed against the dagger, and his face turned pale with fright. He raised his hands in the air: "Brother, brother, I know I was wrong!"
Gao Ma gritted his teeth and glared fiercely. He glanced at Gao Dian and cursed in a low voice: "You idiot, is it so easy to hijack a ship?
What's the point of this, and you still dare to shout loudly? Are you afraid that others won't know that we are here to hold back our misfortune? "
Seeing Gao Ma clean up the Gao shop, Meng Tukun hurriedly stepped forward and took Gao Ma's arm, anxiously persuading: "Brother Gao, Brother Gao, calm down, we can't fight in a nest now.
This matter is already tricky enough, but if a commotion breaks out and someone from the port discovers it, it will be all over. "
Meng Tukun pulled the two people apart and said eagerly: "The supply and marketing cooperative's security section weapons depot will check the warehouse before get off work every day, and it will be discovered that the weapons have been stolen. If we don't leave today, we have to find a way to hide first. "
"Let's go, why don't you go! Even if the ship is changed, it will not affect our actions. "Gao Ma inserted the dagger into his waist and lifted up his clothes to cover it.
"But we don't know the situation on that new ship. What if something happens?" Meng Tukun said timidly.
"Something happened? As long as we bring this thing on board, if the captain dares not to listen to us, we will let the whole ship be buried with us."
Gao Ma sneered twice and squatted down. I came down and opened the big box, which was filled with clothes.
He carefully opened his clothes, and inside was a gray-brown oil paper bag with a gunpowder fuse on the paper bag.
"Brother Gao Ma, we really, really want to touch this thing." Meng Tukun looked at the oil paper bag with some fear, fearing that the thing would explode accidentally.
"Don't worry, Lao Meng, I'm just scaring those people."
Gao Ma noticed Meng Tukun's strange behavior and looked down on Meng Tukun a little, but he still needed Meng Tukun at this time. Cooperate.
He packed the oil paper into the box, wrapped it in clothes, and closed the box again.
Then he stood up and patted Meng Tukun on the shoulder: "When we drive the boat to the island, we will enjoy endless glory and wealth. If we stay here, I won't be able to hide for a few days. You will be caught, you have to think clearly."
Meng Tukun already regretted it at this time.
If he had known that things would develop to this point, he should not have listened to the Gao brothers' deception in the first place.
This matter started about half a year ago. Meng Tukun was a salesperson at Lingquan Supply and Marketing Cooperative in Jincheng. Lingquan was a suburb of Jincheng.
Although it is not a supply and marketing cooperative in the city, the treatment is not low.
As a salesperson, Meng Tukun can earn a salary of more than 30 yuan a month, with additional benefits and a high social status. He can be regarded as a leader among young people.
But Meng Tukun has a problem, that is, he likes to play cards.
Meng Tukun's poker skills are terrible. After his monthly salary is paid, he will lose within a few days.
Furthermore, he still owes others a large amount of money.
Those who wanted to pay went to the supply and marketing cooperative.
The leaders of the supply and marketing cooperative talked to Meng Tukun several times, hoping that he could restrain himself.
Not only did Meng Tukun fail to get rid of this bad habit, he actually worsened it.
He didn't even go to class and just hung out with those gamblers all day long.
The supply and marketing cooperative had no choice. After talking to him several times with no results, it could only report it to its superiors and suspend Meng Tukun from work and without pay.
Meng Tukun realized the seriousness of the problem only after he lost his source of income.
The creditors also found him and forced him to pay back the money.
Meng Tukun knew that those people were capable of anything. If he didn't pay back the money, he might be thrown into the sea.
Just when Meng Tukun was desperate, the Gao brothers found him and said they could take him to the island.
The Gao brothers have been Meng Tukun’s old friends for many years, and they both now work in a northern pasta restaurant in Jincheng.
The two Gao brothers were clerks in the enemy's government before liberation.
After liberation, Jincheng was particularly lenient and did not hold them accountable. Meng Tukun knew that Gao Ma was more than just a clerk.
He also served as a correspondent directly under the enemy's Jincheng Station and was stationed in Tanggu on weekdays.
Gao Ma is directly responsible to the webmaster Wu Jingzhong and can be regarded as one of the core figures of the site.
It’s just because Gao Ma is in charge of special line intelligence and is not a figure on the surface.
In addition, when Wu Jingzhong escaped, he burned the files, so he could hide them.
Gao Ma escaped, but he still felt uneasy.
He knew very well that there was a mole in Jincheng Station, and this mole might have retreated to the island.
If Mole gets the list of these secret agents through Wu Jingzhong, then he will have only one ending.
So, after liberation, Gaoma has been trying to find ways to go to sea.
It was just that the situation was tense at first and the control on the sea was very strict. Gao Ma and his younger brother Gao Dian tried several times, but instead of succeeding, they were almost discovered, so they gave up.
So Gao Ma set his sights on the passenger ship.
Gao Ma knew very well that a little guy like him was of little value, and even if he was lucky enough to get to the island, he would not be able to live a good life.
If you want to be entertained by the other party, you have to give some big gifts.
Gao Ma can’t fly a plane and has no chance to get close to the airport.
So, the crooked idea of a passenger ship came up.
The main thing is to hijack the passenger ship. Then when we get to the island, wouldn't we be able to get a large bonus?
His younger brother Gaodian was accustomed to living a life of debauchery before liberation, and he could no longer stand the poverty he was living now.
After learning Gao Ma’s idea, he immediately raised his hands and agreed.
There are two reasons why Gao Ma found Meng Tukun.
One is that Meng Tukun can get the ship tickets, and the other is that the supply and marketing cooperative has a large arms warehouse.
When Meng Tukun was faced with the situation of being fired from the supply and marketing cooperative and being forced by his creditors, he readily agreed at the thought of being able to go to the island to enjoy the popular food and drink.
So, the three of them sneaked into the arms warehouse of the supply and marketing cooperative, stole a large number of weapons, and prepared to attack on the Dongfanghong today.
Who knew that Dongfanghong would break down.
Seeing that Meng Tukun was still hesitant, Gao Ma's face darkened.
“The old webmaster has a saying, ‘Time is like a wild donkey, it doesn’t stop when it runs’.
We all seem to be pulled by the wild donkey of time, Can't stop.
Now that we are here, there is no possibility of getting off the ship. "
Meng Tukun was startled when he saw that Gao Dian had drawn out the dagger. He quickly patted his chest and assured: "Brother Gao, don't worry, I will definitely listen to you. ”
“That’s right! Wait until tomorrow, we can go to the island to drink wine and play with beauties. "
Gao Ma winked at Gao Dian, signaling him to take back the dagger, and then patted Meng Tukun on the shoulder: "You will thank me in the future. ”
Meng Tukun turned his head and looked at the rough sea, without answering.
*
*
*
The train rushed all the way, passing through the Beijing-Tianjin line, and came to the Jincheng Materials Factory of the Materials Bureau of the Ministry of Railways (the predecessor of Tiewu Jincheng Company ).
This is also one of the railway’s material storage and transportation bases in North China.
Comrades from the materials factory had already received notification from the ministry. When they saw the train approaching, they directed the train to follow the tracks and arrive at the material factory dock.
Due to the coordination within the ministry, the ship on the dock was already waiting. When the train stopped, the comrades in charge of hoisting in the material factory became busy.
Director Chen was responsible for handling shipping procedures and followed the leader of the material factory into the office.
Li Aiguo took advantage of this time to board the cargo ship and prepare for the hoisting work.
This is a cargo ship, named Passenger and Cargo Ship No. 10. It was built by Jiangnan Shipyard in 1955. It is the first coastal passenger and cargo ship designed and manufactured by China.
Passenger and cargo ships mainly carry passengers and also carry some cargo.
The ship is 80 meters long, carrying 500 passengers and 700 tons of cargo.
For this transportation, except for the twenty-three containers brought by Li Aiguo, there were only some accompanying crew members and no passengers.
Director Chen had completed the shipping procedures, and Li Aiguo was preparing to greet the workers at the dock to lift the carriage, when a leader from the materials factory hurried over.
He introduced his identity to Li Aiguo and Director Chen: "I am the dispatching director of Jincheng Materials Factory, my surname is Bai."
"Hello, Director Bai." Although Li Aiguo didn't know the purpose of the visit, he still greeted him warmly.
Director Chen has been working in the Materials Bureau all year round and has a more straightforward temperament. He frowned and asked: "Director Bai, we have completed the shipping procedures. Do you have anything to do?"
Director Bai rubbed his hands and said with some embarrassment: "Just now our material factory received a request for help from Jincheng Port. They have an offshore passenger ship bound for Hankou. There was a mechanical failure, and more than a hundred passengers were delayed.
Jincheng Port hopes that we can take those passengers there.”
Hearing this request, Director Chen immediately frowned. He raised his eyebrows and said: "Director Bai, the purpose of our voyage is to experiment with container technology. Isn't it convenient to help carry passengers?"
Director Bai's expression became awkward: "Jincheng Port is really in a hurry. They are all serving passengers, and our material factory has agreed to Jincheng Port's request."
His voice became louder and louder. The smaller it becomes, the more it turns into a mosquito.
Passenger and cargo ship No. 10 is not owned by the material factory, but is a ship owned by the Railway Supply Bureau, and this time it is a dedicated ship. What the material factory has done is already beyond its authority.
"How courageous is your material factory to reach a cooperation with the local government without our consent?" Director Chen suddenly became furious.
Director Bai also realized that the materials factory had gone too far, and kept complaining in his heart about Director Zhang, who was responsible for communicating with the local government.
But now he can only force himself to persuade.
"Jincheng Port has been of great help to our material factory terminal in recent years. On weekdays, the two sides often allocate goods to each other."
Director Chen knows this very well.
Sometimes the cargo ships cannot be filled, and sometimes they cannot be loaded, so cooperating with local cargo ships can save a lot of costs.
But the transportation department refused this time for the railway to use their terminal for road tests, which made Director Chen very angry.
After Director Bai's repeated persuasion, Director Chen's anger gradually subsided.
However, the final decision on this road test does not lie with the Material Supply Bureau, but with the researchers of container technology.
Director Chen turned to look at Li Aiguo: "Driver Li, what do you think?"
"If the ship takes passengers, it will indeed have a certain impact on the road test and increase the number of shipments. Time.
But now many ships carry a mix of passengers and cargo.
With passengers, the advantages and disadvantages of using container technology for transportation can be more truly reflected. ”
Li Aiguo was not willing to intervene in the dispute between the Material Supply Bureau and the local government. He only analyzed the advantages and disadvantages of taking passengers from a technical aspect.
Zhou Qigong was originally in a dilemma.
Jincheng Port Authority is his natal family, and he cannot ignore it now that it is in trouble.
However, there is already a stalemate between the railway and transportation due to the road test.
He couldn't say anything about how to help transportation on the railway.
Now, seeing that Li Aiguo had no objection, Zhou Qigong immediately raised his hand to express his approval: "Don't worry, this ship can carry four hundred passengers. Now only more than a hundred passengers are on board, which will not have much impact on the test. . ”
Hearing this, Director Chen relaxed.
“You inform Jincheng Port that we can carry passengers, but we cannot affect the loading and unloading of containers.”
“Understood!”
Director Bai breathed a sigh of relief and quickly returned to the office to communicate with Jincheng Port.
On this side, Li Aiguo also began to direct container loading.
At this time, the crew on the ship were very curious when looking at the containers on the train.
In order to prevent accidents during hoisting, Li Aiguo sent for Captain Zhou of the No. 10 Passenger and Cargo Ship and asked him to send someone to let unrelated people enter the cabin first.
“This is easy to handle.” Captain Zhou is an old captain with more than 20 years of sailing experience, but this is the first time he has seen a box being lifted onto a ship, and he was inevitably a little uneasy for a while.
He personally brought it to the crew members who were joining in the fun.
“Today we have to load a batch of special cargo. We will use the crane later. Let’s go in first to avoid being touched.”
After hearing the captain’s words, the crew members all I walked into the cabin, but still leaned on the window to watch the excitement outside.
“How do you lift a box as big as the one on the train onto the ship?”
“Silly, I must open the box and then lift it.”
At this time, Li Aiguo, Zhou Qigong and others, with the cooperation of Captain Zhou, had planned how to place the boxes.
I saw him gesturing towards the shore. After receiving the signal, Director Chen nodded to the staff of the material factory: "The hoisting begins."
The huge tower crane stretched out Four wire ropes grabbed the container tightly, like a big hand, grabbing the container, and then placed it on the deck of the ship under the guidance of Li Aiguo.
The crew members couldn't help but swallow their saliva.
“Good guy, even the box is hoisted up. This thing is pretty awesome.”
"Yes, our ships also load cargo frequently, and it takes a lot of effort every time."
The hoisting speed was too fast, and it was over in the blink of an eye.
On the pier, Director Chen stopped the stopwatch.
Looking at the numbers above, he nodded: "Twenty minutes in total. At least five times faster than normal loading and unloading.
It seems that loading containers onto ships is easier than loading onto trains. ”
The containers are loaded on the ship, stacked four levels high, and are seven or eight meters high.
Li Aiguo and Zhou Qigong pulled two wire locks on the side of the container where it connected to the ship.
By tightening these ropes, a fixation can be achieved.
Captain Zhou made a suggestion: "Driver Li, these boxes are stacked too high. If there is a big storm on the sea, they might be tossed into the sea.
Should we continue? Add some wire ropes to block all these boxes.”
It took a lot of effort to tighten the ropes. Li Aiguo straightened up, wiped his sweat, and said: "Just two on the sides are enough. There are grooves with equal specifications under our containers, and they can be listed through these grooves.
After being arranged neatly, the foot locks here lock the containers from top to bottom to ensure that they will not shake.”
Looking along Li Aiguo’s fingers, Captain Zhou saw what he saw under the containers. groove.
“This thing looks like an iron box, but I didn’t expect it to have so many twists and turns.”
Captain Zhou was an experienced man and immediately realized the benefits of this regulation method. I finally felt relieved.
"Set the ship!"
(End of this chapter)