Apocalypse Rebirth: 3000 million won at the beginning

Qing Province.

Southern part of Golmud.

Kunlun Mountains Tunnel Railway.

A sustainable helicopter slowly descended from the sky.

As it landed, the propellers kicked up dust from the ground, which filled the air.

On the ground, Shan Zimo was squatting by the roadbed, holding a handful of gravel in his hand. He rubbed it between his fingers, then stood up, dusted off his hands, and looked at the helicopter landing not far away.

"Chief Engineer Shan, He Chuan and the others are here." Lu Jingci walked over and said to Shan Zimo.

Shan Zimo nodded: "They've come at the perfect time. I hope these experts from the Van Yuan Three Guardians Alliance can play a role on the Qinghai-Tibet Railway..."

Lu Jingci scratched his face and said:

"According to information from headquarters, this He Chuan was a senior designer of XX infrastructure projects and an expert in permafrost engineering before the apocalypse. He was also the chief of the city construction department of the Fan Yuan Three Guardians Alliance."

"They must have some skills."

"Oh?" Shan Zimo raised an eyebrow. "That's good. Let's go and greet them."

With that, the two walked toward the helicopter.

When the two walked to the helicopter, the people inside had already come out.

Pilot Luffy pointed at He Chuan and addressed Shan Zimo, Lu Jingci, Lü Song, and the others:
"General Shan, Engineer Lu, Engineer Lü, this is He Chuan, our expert in permafrost engineering in Dazhangshu. He used to be with the Fanyuan Sanshou Alliance. You should have received the news."

After saying that, he introduced Shan Zimo and the others to He Chuan:
"Engineer He, this is Chief Engineer Shan Zimo, the head of our Railway Transportation Department, and these two are Engineer Lu and Engineer Lü."

After the introduction, he stood aside and said nothing more.

While he was speaking, Shan Zimo carefully examined He Chuan.

He Chuan was not tall, looked to be in his fifties or sixties, and was quite ordinary-looking.

He Chuan extended his hand, "Chief Engineer Shan, I've heard so much about you. I'm He Chuan, please give me your guidance."

Shan Zimo shook his hand, a warm smile on his face, and said:
“Our railway transportation department is in dire need of experts like you in permafrost engineering. It’s perfect that you’ve come. Come, come, come with me and take a look around here.”

He Chuan was stunned for a moment, not expecting to be in work mode so soon.

He followed Shan Zimo south along the railway embankment for two hundred meters, until they arrived at the tunnel section known as "the toughest nut to crack".

Inside the tunnel, large amounts of snow and sand had accumulated.

Shan Zimo pointed to the Kunlun Mountain Tunnel and said:
"The altitude here is nearly 5000 meters. The snow and sand inside are relatively easy to clear, but the permafrost outside is a different story."

"We've tried two methods these past few days, but neither has been very effective."

The first method is to heat and melt it, but after melting, the water vapor seeps into the rock layer, and it freezes again the next day.

The second method is blasting, but blasting will loosen the surrounding rock walls, requiring more time for reinforcement afterwards.

Do you have any good ideas?

He Chuan did not reply immediately after hearing Shan Zimo's words.

He squatted down, picked up a handful of frozen, hard rock dust, rubbed it between his fingers, stood up, walked into the tunnel entrance, and shone his flashlight on the cracks in the tunnel wall to examine them carefully.

He put down the flashlight, turned around, walked back, and dusted off his hands.

"Chief Engineer Shan, in this situation, we need to perform a deep grouting and then apply an insulation layer."

The grouting material should be fast-setting cement with antifreeze, and it must penetrate into the rock strata to fill all the cracks and prevent water from seeping in.

After grouting is completed, an insulation layer must be applied to the surface of the rock wall.

Shan Zimo stood at the tunnel entrance, looking at the frozen and cracked rocks, and frowned, saying:
"If we follow your method, the process will probably be quite complicated, and it will require a lot of materials. This area is uninhabited, so all the materials can only be transported from outside, which will put a lot of pressure on transportation."

He Chuan nodded and said:
“This is the only way. When I came here, I looked at the Qinghai-Tibet Railway route. The railway line from Golmud to Xining is located in the Gobi Desert and semi-permafrost section. The frost damage is not serious, only some wind erosion. The overall preservation rate has reached 80%.”

"Although I haven't been to the section from Golmud to LS yet, this route is located at a high altitude and is also in the core area of ​​permafrost. I'm afraid there will be many problems with the roadbed, tunnels, and even the track."

Shan Zimo looked at him with some surprise. He had been investigating this route for more than a week.

Indeed, what He Chuan said was true.

The section from Xining to Golmud is relatively easy to repair, and the repair difficulty is not high. After all, the western region has not experienced as many major natural disasters as the eastern region in recent years, such as frequent floods.

However, the section of road from Golmud to Lhasa is snowy every winter, and the temperature difference between day and night is extreme.

Sometimes it even snows in the summer.

High altitude, low oxygen, and low temperature.

The railway had not been maintained for ten years, resulting in a high degree of damage to this latter section and making repairs more difficult.

Shan Zimo nodded slightly and said:

"Yes, the situation is roughly as you described. How long do you think it will take to repair this railway line? Can we complete the repairs?"

The reason I asked this question was because Shan Zimo himself was also a little apprehensive.

He had previously been in charge of railway lines in the east, but the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau railway line presented extremely high technical challenges.

Heat pipes, insulation layers, antifreeze linings, and specialized drainage systems cannot be properly constructed by simply relying on manual labor.

He Chuan remained silent, and Shan Zimo did not urge him, quietly waiting for him to think.

After a long while, He Chuan spoke:

"Chief Engineer Shan, the Qinghai-Tibet Railway can be divided into two sections. One section is from Golmud to Sala, which is 1142 kilometers long, and the other section is from Xining to Lanzhou, which is 1956 kilometers long."

"Based on the current situation, the main maintenance problems are track corrosion, loose fasteners, sand accumulation in the track bed, roadbed settlement, water seepage in tunnels, weeds along the entire line, and landslide cleanup."

"I think we can definitely fix it, but how long will it take before answering that question."

I'd like to confirm one thing: is this route urgently needing repair? Also, what kind of support can the large camphor tree provide?

As Shanzi listened to his methodical reply, her impression of He Chuan grew increasingly positive.

He nodded solemnly and said:

"Opening up the Qinghai-Tibet Railway is imperative and extremely important."

"To connect the entire snow area with other branch bases, relying solely on road transport is absolutely not enough; the restoration of the railway is certainly important."

"The headquarters in Dazhangshu attaches great importance to the opening of this route and provides strong support! They can definitely meet our requirements in terms of materials and personnel."

"As for whether we're in a hurry to get it connected? Of course we are, the sooner the better."

"I see," He Chuan stroked his few graying whiskers, pondered for a few seconds, and replied:
"I think it can be completed in 80 to 100 days, or about three months."

"However, several conditions must be met to complete the repair work at this time."

Shan Zimo's eyes widened in surprise as he looked at He Chuan. After all, he had been investigating the railway line repair project on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau for a week and, to be honest, he was still unsure about it.

He didn't even know how to solve some of the permafrost problems in tunnels.

Each profession has its own expertise. The restoration of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway is not the same concept or difficulty as that of other railways.

"What are the conditions?" Shan Zimo asked.

He Chuan raised his index finger and replied:

"First, there are at least 20 railway maintenance workers."

"Break down these 200,000 people, carry out the operation across the entire line, and spread it out at multiple points."

"And they are uniformly divided into clearing and roadbed teams, responsible for clearing obstacles, dealing with landslides and weeds, and leveling the roadbed, requiring 80,000 people."

"The track and bridge team is responsible for tasks such as track relocation, fastening fasteners, and bearing maintenance, and requires 7 people."

"The electromechanical and communication team is responsible for restoring power, overhead contact lines, signal lights, and dispatching systems, and requires 30,000 people."

"Station repairs are also needed, including guardrails and drainage, which will require 20,000 people."

He Chuan paused, pondered for a moment, and then continued:

"We must carry out construction in sections and at the same time, dividing the entire railway line into hundreds of work sections, with multiple points along the line starting work simultaneously."

"In that case, I think the repairs should be completed within three months."

After listening to his words, Shan Zimo's eyes flickered.

The solutions He Chuan mentioned were actually similar to the methods he used when he urgently built the oil city to the northern border: breaking down the tasks and coordinating them uniformly.

If we calculate it this way, 200,000 people are definitely not enough to meet the demand.

Two hundred thousand is just for the repair workers. We will definitely need logistics support personnel and material transportation personnel, which will add up to at least tens of thousands.

Currently, there are only tens of thousands of people working on the railway construction site from the Qinghai base to Wuyuan Mountain.

but
When the railway line was urgently constructed, the number of people working on it at the same time exceeded 150,000.

However, after the railway was completed, a small number of people were incorporated into the railway transportation department, while most of the other workers were laid off.

The headquarters has already given him a notification.

Tell him to complete the repairs as quickly as possible, and to feel free to make any requests.

According to He Chuan's plan, a large amount of manpower and resources will be mobilized in a short period of time, and it is unknown whether the headquarters in Dazhangshu will approve it.

Thinking of this, he said to He Chuan:

"Tell me more about the overall project plan."

coming!

When He Chuan heard Shan Zimo say that, he knew that the proposed plan might be implemented; otherwise, he wouldn't have asked about the planning.

If his plan can be implemented, his first appearance in Dazhangshu will be very impressive, and he may even become a key figure in the entire transportation department.

He said excitedly:

"It is divided into three stages."

"In the first phase, we will clear all obstacles and establish simple pathways. If we work simultaneously at multiple points, it will only take 10 to 15 days."

"The second phase involves the repair of the track and roadbed to meet the standards for opening to traffic, which will take 40 to 45 days."

"The third phase is the full restoration of electromechanical, signal, power, and battlefield functions, which will take about 30 to 35 days."

"The overall time is about 80 to 95 days."

"Hmm," Shan Zimo nodded slightly, pondering the feasibility of He Chuan's plan.

If it can be achieved within three months as He Chuan said, then the leaders will definitely commend and praise the Ministry of Railway Transportation.

This involves the deployment of over 200,000 people, a scale that would be considered an ultra-large-scale construction team. Even before the apocalypse, it would have been difficult to achieve such a manpower density.

After pondering for a moment, Shanzi said to He Chuan:

"How about this, you come with me to the headquarters to report to the chairman in person."

"Okay." He Chuan nodded.

More than ten hours later, Shan Zimo brought He Chuan back to the headquarters.

After the helicopter landed, he took He Chuan, whose eyes were bloodshot, straight to the administration building.

On the way back, He Chuan conducted in-depth research based on the photos and data taken by Tian Shanzimo during his inspection of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway. He spent more than ten hours developing a more detailed plan.

Despite not sleeping all night, He Chuan was still somewhat excited.

Because he knew that this was a rare opportunity.

They followed Li Honghui, the president's assistant, to the outside of the president's office.

Knock knock—

"President, Shan Zimo has arranged to talk to you about the Qinghai-Tibet Railway today."

"Come in," Uncle's voice came from inside.

Shan Zimo, He Chuan, Lu Jingci, and Lü Song went inside.

After seeing them, the second uncle said to Shan Zimo:
"You told me yesterday that the Qinghai-Tibet Railway will be completed in ninety days, is that true?"

He knew very well that it had taken several months to build the route from the big camphor tree to the oil city.

Moreover, the Qinghai-Tibet Railway is even more challenging and longer.

Shan Zimo stepped forward and nodded, saying:

"I'm 80% sure, but there are quite a few requirements."

"Many requests? No problem, just say the word!" Uncle waved his hand. "As long as this railway line can be completed sooner, the transportation of crystals will be more convenient, and the inflow and outflow of various materials will also become more portable."

Shan Zimo looked at He Chuan, signaling him to speak.

He Chuan quickly handed over the computer, which contained the detailed plan he had spent more than ten hours writing.

Uncle looked down at the computer while He Chuan simultaneously explained the plan.

As the second uncle looked at it, his brows furrowed.

"Of the 200,000 workers, we also need 80,000 support and transportation personnel."

"Railway vehicle, cleaning machine, shaping vehicle, rail changing vehicle"

"Supply system, platform vehicle, grinding vehicle, flatbed vehicle"

"Estimated cement volume: XX tons; steel rail volume: XX tons."

The further he looked, the more shocked he became.

She suddenly looked up and exclaimed, "So many materials are needed? Do they all need to be transported over in such a short time?"

“Yes.” He Chuan nodded.

My second uncle leaned back in his chair.

He rubbed his temples and asked, "Shan Zimo, how many workers are there on the construction site right now?"

"fifty thousand."

"I remember the peak number was around 15, right?"

"Correct."

"Then how do we replace the remaining people?"

"The remaining slots can be allocated to positions that don't require much technical skill, like cleaning the road."

My second uncle suddenly sat up, opened his eyes, and said:
"In that case, I agree."

"I can do my best to meet your needs in terms of personnel, equipment, and materials."

"Now that the battle against India is over, and there's no major infrastructure construction at the various sub-bases recently, there's plenty of surplus labor, so you can take them all away."

Has the Qinghai-Tibet Railway renovation project been officially approved?

Shan Zimo nodded and said, "It's established."

My second uncle thought for a moment and said:
"Write another emergency response application form and I'll approve it, so that all departments can fully cooperate with you."

Shan Zimo was overjoyed upon hearing this; with this note,
He could then have the mission hall help him find workers and have the steel mill at the Northwest Base produce rails for him.

Ask the highway transport department to send a vehicle over to him.

They handle things on a case-by-case basis, without going through any procedures, maximizing efficiency.

"Thank you, Chairman. I'll go back and write it now."

"Go on, hurry up." Uncle waved his hand, urging him on.

"Alright." Shan Zimo bowed slightly and led He Chuan and the others away.

After leaving the office, he was completely energized.

This project is absolutely the largest project to date.

The number of construction workers, transportation, logistics, and other personnel involved is at least 300,000.

Three hundred thousand people doing one thing together.

That would be a huge spectacle.

(End of this chapter)