The train driver in the courtyard

Li Aiguo never expected to meet Zhang Erhei's friend in Daqing.

After exchanging pleasantries, they learned that Section Chief Lao Zhou had almost been captured by the enemy before liberation, but was saved by Lao Hei's timely tip-off.

“We were having a meeting in enemy-occupied territory, there were five of us. Old Hei was shot when he broke through the enemy's blockade while trying to deliver a message.”

“That’s typical of Lao Hei.” Li Aiguo nodded, recalling the scar on Lao Hei’s face.

Seeing that it was getting late, Section Chief Xu reminded him, "Comrade Aiguo, you've been traveling for several days. Why don't you rest first? We can do any work tomorrow."

Since Lao Zhou had already arranged for security officers, Zhou Ke only needed to have one team member guard the truck, while the rest were arranged by the technical department to stay in a place called Zhou Family Compound in Daqing.

Many shacks have been built here, and because they are surrounded by walls, the living conditions are much better than those in the mud-brick houses outside.

The small shed contained five cots, leaving barely any room to put your feet down. You could see the stars in the sky when you looked up.

This was the first time the "wild car expert" had lived in such a place, so he was inevitably a little frustrated.

“We’re here to help, so why can’t they even arrange a guesthouse for us?”

Li Aiguo was used to it; back in the Northwest, the accommodations were even worse than here.

As he made the bed, he said, "Daqing was originally a small town, but tens of thousands of people have come here in just a few years. Being able to live here is already a privilege."

“Hey, that’s absolutely right.” A middle-aged man in blue-black overalls lifted the curtain and walked in, looking around: “This dormitory is the best in the compound. Wow, even the legs of this cot are all there.”

When Li Aiguo saw a guest arrive, he stood up, offered him a cigarette, and exchanged a few pleasantries.

This man's name is Qi Desheng, the captain of the third drilling team. He came here to learn from the captain of the second team who lives next door.

But then the Second Brigade went to the Seventh Row of Sartu to dig a well. They only came over to say hello when they saw the lights on here.

"You're all team leaders, why did you come here specifically to learn?" the wild car expert asked with some curiosity.

Qi Desheng pointed to the next room: "That man's surname is Wang. He's a drilling pioneer from our Daqing Oilfield!"

Upon hearing this, Li Aiguo's eyes widened in surprise. Good heavens, he was going to be neighbors with a drilling pioneer!

Although the drilling pioneer had not yet made it into the national newspapers, he had already received praise from above and was a well-known figure in the petroleum system.

Even the most seasoned automotive experts, who had heard of the drilling pioneer's reputation, fell silent upon seeing this.

Such progressive figures live in these shacks, what else can you say?

Li Aiguo, on the other hand, was looking forward to meeting the drilling pioneer and having a big drink with him.

Qi Desheng stared at the cot for a few moments, and seeing that there was no chance to move it, he chatted briefly before leaving.

Before leaving, he reminded them to go to the cafeteria early the next morning, otherwise there would definitely be no soy sauce left.

"Soy sauce? Do they use soy sauce for breakfast here?" Li Aiguo asked, somewhat puzzled.

It wasn't until the next morning, when I arrived at the cafeteria with my lunchbox, that I understood what had happened.

The canteen only offers one staple food: cornmeal porridge and cornbread, which are unlimited and can fill you up.

But there were no vegetables, not even a single scallion.

Salt was sprinkled into the cornmeal porridge, and the cafeteria chef would add a little soy sauce to give it some flavor.

This dish is called braised seafood eight-treasure rice, which can be considered as oil workers finding joy amidst hardship.

Li Aiguo took a few sips and was able to eat, but the two technicians couldn't take it anymore.

Fortunately, we had prepared more than a dozen boxes of instant noodles before the trip, and each of us got a pack. We ate them with eight-treasure rice and had a delicious meal.

After breakfast, Li Aiguo led Zhou Ke and the technicians to the compound where the technical department was located, where Section Chief Xu was already waiting.

The group unloaded the box together. Section Chief Xu had already selected a wellhead not far from the State Farm. As long as the two-headed donkey-like insect was installed and the well was tested for five days, Li Aiguo would have completed his task.

"Section Chief Xu, the General Farm has invited you to a meeting." Section Chief Xu was about to contact the well site when he received the notification from the General Farm.

Section Chief Xu left quickly and returned quickly.

Li Aiguo was still applying lubricant to the parts when he saw Section Chief Xu walk back with a gloomy face.

"What's wrong, Lao Xu?"

"Don't even mention it. We were originally scheduled to go to the No. 2 well site, but now the higher-ups have changed their minds and are sending us to the No. 5 well site for installation and testing. They're drilling wells there right now."

"Aren't the No. 2 and No. 5 well sites both well sites? What's the difference?" Zhou Ke asked curiously, offering a cigarette to Section Chief Xu.

“The difference is huge.” Section Chief Xu smoked a cigarette and explained the whole story.

The No. 2 well site is located near the main well site and is also a major oil-producing area. The wells there are the best in the oilfield in terms of both standardization and underground oil production rate.

The No. 5 well site is located near Hongji Horse Farm, where the oil yield is low. The drilling teams there come from all over the country and their skill levels vary, resulting in wells of far lower quality than those here.

The output and stability of an oil pumping unit depend not only on its own performance but also on the quality of the well.

"Comrades Aiguo, you came here to help us, but things have turned out like this. I'm really sorry." Section Chief Xu felt a little embarrassed.

There was something he was too embarrassed to say.

The reason why the State Farm General Farm made this decision was because Leader Zhang and several other leaders raised objections at the meeting, worrying that the Technical Section and the Qianmen Locomotive Depot would collude to tamper with the test.

Therefore, the headquarters decided to temporarily select a well site as the test location.

Despite the strong insistence of Section Chief Xu and some leaders, they were unable to change the decision.

After Zhou Ke understood, he angrily said, "This is clearly a sign of distrust!"

The wild car expert and the two technicians were also very angry and started shouting.

Although Li Aiguo was unaware of what had happened at the conference, he had some idea of ​​what was going on.

Even ten fingers aren't all the same length. With a state-owned farm as large as this, it's normal for some people to have their own little schemes.

Li Aiguo stopped them and said calmly, "Perhaps the leader is worried about the quality of the pumping unit? We technicians must strive for perfection. Section Chief Zhang, we can conduct the test at the No. 5 well site, and the test will be conducted in accordance with the agreement between the two companies."

The meaning of this statement is quite clear: this time, to give Section Chief Xu some face, the test well can be replaced.

But if anyone dares to cause trouble again, the railway authorities are not to be trifled with.

Section Chief Xu was afraid that Li Aiguo would take the equipment away in a fit of anger.

Seeing this, he breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Comrade Aiguo, the State Farm General Farm will absolutely not conduct any destructive experiments."

This means that Li Aiguo was told that the change of the test site was the opinion of some leaders, not the decision of the top leader, and that Li Aiguo should not worry about the work ahead.

After chatting for a few minutes, Section Chief Xu hurriedly headed towards the No. 5 well site to personally supervise the drilling work.

Zhou Ke was still angry. As a railway police officer, he was used to taking revenge and would shoot the enemy directly when he encountered them.

"This is clearly bullying us."

The expert on unlicensed vehicles, however, noticed something amiss. He offered Zhou Ke a cigarette and asked, "If we take the equipment away now, who will be the happiest person?"

“Of course, it’s those people who don’t want the two-headed donkey to enter Daqing.” Zhou Ke answered subconsciously, but his expression changed as soon as the words left his mouth.

"You see, Comrade Patriot's decision was the wisest one." The wild car expert smiled.

“Working is not like arguing. If you get angry, you can only get angry again and make the enemy happy. What we need to do now is to do our job well and slap those guys in the face.”

Zhou Ke nodded silently.

The two technicians got excited: "Slap them in the face!"

Li Aiguo couldn't help but look at the wild car expert with new respect; this guy was becoming more and more sophisticated.

Just as Li Aiguo was leading his team to maintain the spare parts, in an office of the State Farm General Farm, Leader Zhang picked up the phone to report the situation.

"Professor, is what I did inappropriate?"

Selyov's voice came from the other end.

“Old Zhang, the oil pumping unit is an important piece of equipment that is related to the oil field’s output. It must withstand layers of testing. What you’re doing is to strictly control the process.”

Hearing this, Zhang's doubts gradually disappeared. After all, if the elder brother had said so, how could he be wrong?

"You need to hurry up with the blueprints too."

Leader Zhang nodded repeatedly: "Professor, please rest assured, I have already come up with a solution."

"Old Zhang, you are the most optimistic comrade I have ever met. We are indeed at a disadvantage now, but don't worry, the situation will change soon."

"Yes Yes Yes"

After hanging up the phone, Director Zhang took a few deep breaths to suppress his excitement.

He picked up a document and glanced at it.

"Wells 1-13, Fourth Route, Fifth Well Site, Drilling Team 3012, from the border region, Team Leader Ma Lanhua, Drilling Worker Wang Kun, from a similar family background."

Leader Zhang put down the materials and picked up the phone.

"I want to meet with the comrades from the fifth squad of the 3012 drilling team."

Because the new well at the Fifth Well Site is still being drilled, Li Aiguo needs to wait a few more days at headquarters.

These past few days have been quite happy.

Besides maintaining those parts, there was nothing else to do. Li Aiguo often drove his jeep, which was used to protect Kelaozhou, around the agricultural reclamation area to admire the magnificent oilfield battle.

If there's anything I'm not satisfied with, it's the food.

Thanks to the import of grain from overseas, Daqing is not short of food. However, due to its remote location and the influx of a large number of workers in a short period of time, it lacks vegetables.

After eating instant noodles with soy sauce for several days in a row, Li Aiguo couldn't take it anymore and drove his jeep to the supply and marketing cooperative at Sartu Railway Station.

This is the only place in the entire state-owned farm that provides "snacks".

It's basically just a few potato slices skewered on a stick, sometimes smaller than an egg, and the cheapest ones cost more than a dollar.

This food was referred to as "wild food" by the third team leader, Qi Desheng.

Qi Desheng works at the well site. He's off work these past two days. He's not married, so he just comes over to join in the fun all day.

"My hometown is in the Jiangnan region. We have all kinds of vegetables here this season. It would be great if they could be transported here," Qi Desheng said while munching on a potato.

These words reminded Li Aiguo.

Given the transportation capacity at that time, it was entirely possible to transport vegetables from other places to the State Farm.

In winter, greenhouses can also be built.

This will definitely solve the problem of difficulty in finding vegetables.

However, this matter involves the State Farms General Farm, the local government, and the railway department, so it needs to be considered carefully.

Time passes day by day.

Early in the morning, Li Aiguo received a notification from Section Chief Xu.

Because a specially designed oil well is required, information on how to drill the well and how deep it should be needs to be provided by Li Aiguo.

Li Aiguo has been feeling bored and restless these past few days.

Upon receiving the news, they immediately had the wild car experts load all the parts onto the truck and drive all the way to Wujingchang.

Qi Desheng happened to be off duty and was going to work at the No. 5 well site, so I gave him a ride.

Wujingchang is located north of Hongji Horse Ranch. You can often see ranch workers herding horses by the oil wells as you pass by.

Zhou Ke asked curiously, "Isn't this part of your Daqing Oilfield? Why are there people grazing livestock here?"

"This place was originally a horse farm. After the oil was discovered, the oil field and the horse farm negotiated to share the land, which was approved by higher authorities," Qi Desheng explained.

As they spoke, a tall drilling rig appeared in the distance, with red flags fluttering on it and hundreds of people working around it. Even from afar, one could feel the enthusiasm for production.

Li Aiguo knew that the 1-13 well on the fourth road had arrived.

Sure enough, the truck leading the way slowly came to a stop, and Section Chief Xu walked towards them with a middle-aged man.

"Comrade Patriot, welcome to Well No. 1-13 on Route 4. This is Zhang Shanlin, the captain of Drilling Team No. 3012."

"Captain Zhang, this is Comrade Li Aiguo from the railway, and these are his colleagues."

Section Chief Xu gave a brief introduction to both parties.

"Our 3012 brigade is about to start its third phase of operations. You can make your requests now."

Like many veteran oil workers, Zhang Shanlin was a man of few words. He briefly introduced the current situation in just a few sentences.

Building an oil well is a complex process that requires three drilling phases and three solidification phases. The first two drilling phases are drilling through shallow, stable formations and drilling into deeper formations.

When it comes to the third drilling, a smaller diameter drill bit will be used to drill through the target oil layer and form a production wellbore.

Li Aiguo has read so many books, including some related to oil extraction, so he naturally understands these things.

Li Aiguo extended his hand and shook hands with him: "We are working together to complete the mission."

Li Aiguo asked the wild car expert to take out the blueprints, place them on the ground, and weigh them down with small stones.

In fact, the new drilling method is not much different from the old drilling method; it's just that the wellhead location needs to be specially treated.

“Captain Zhang, look, the old-style pumping unit is connected to the production casing with a single snap-fit ​​device. Our double-headed donkey pumping unit has been replaced with a double snap-fit ​​device because of its greater pumping force. Also, the drilling platform is larger.” Zhang Shanlin nodded when he heard this and said, “This falls under the category of solid work, and our team’s fifth captain is particularly proficient in it.”

Zhang Shanlin straightened up and asked someone to call the fifth team leader over.

Several sounds came from afar, and soon Li Aiguo saw a figure climb down from the drilling rig and run towards them.

Because of the distance, Li Aiguo couldn't see the other person's face clearly, but the two small whips pointing upwards looked familiar.

"Comrade Malanhua?"

"Train driver? What are you doing here?" Ma Lanhua was also surprised to see Li Aiguo.

“Oh, so you know each other. That makes things easier.” Zhang Shanlin, who disliked idle chatter, interrupted Ma Lanhua: “These are comrades from the railway. They’ve invented a new type of oil pump. Our well needs to be modified, so this task is entrusted to you.”

Did they manufacture an oil pumping unit?

Malan was startled, because the oil pumps used in the border regions were all bought from the Russians.

Researchers at the oil field spent years trying to build a new pumping unit, but to no avail.

But now it has been created by the train driver in front of me.

Could it be that the wooden crates in the wagon originally contained oil pump parts, which is why the train driver was so cautious? Ma Lanhua's doubts were finally answered.

"Comrade Ma Lanhua?" Seeing that Ma Lanhua was still in a daze, Zhang Shanlin called out again.

Ma Lanhua finally realized what was happening and reached out her hand to Li Aiguo: "Comrade train driver, we can finally fight side by side."

Li Aiguo also extended his hand.

The two hands were clasped together.

As the captain of the fifth team, Ma Lanhua was originally responsible for directing the team's work on the drilling rig, but now she has to hand over the command authority to the deputy captain.

She climbed onto the derrick and relayed the captain's orders.

"What? Those railway workers we met on the road actually built an oil pump?" The young workers were just as surprised as Ma Lanhua.

"I don't know the specifics, but what the captain said can't be wrong. You guys do your jobs well and don't cause me any trouble!"

Ma Lanhua was about to leave after giving a few instructions when she saw Wang Kun sitting on the derrick in a daze. She reminded him, "Wang Kun, your mission is very important. Be smart."

Wang Kun was startled awake and nodded with a somewhat flustered look in his eyes.

Ma Lanhua felt that he was acting strangely. Ever since he had a private meeting with the leaders of the State Farm, Wang Kun's spirits had been off.

Although it was a very subtle thing, Ma Lanhua, who had worked with Ma Lanhua for three years, still noticed it.

She had been wanting to talk to Wang Kun, but hadn't found the opportunity.

Wang Kun is a proud man who doesn't like to listen to other people's opinions. This might backfire, which is a real headache.

"Once this mission is completed, I need to have a serious talk with Wang Kun."

As Malanhua pondered, she nimbly climbed down from the drilling rig and ran towards the camp not far away.

Wang Kun watched Ma Lanhua's retreating figure, his eyes narrowing slightly: "It was indeed Li Aiguo who built the oil pump. The information provided by Professor Chekhov is correct. But how should I decide?"

"Comrade Ma Lanhua, I never expected you to be such a master craftsman." Inside the shack, Li Aiguo nodded repeatedly as he looked at the renovation plan Ma Lanhua had proposed.

The techniques involved in these methods are not difficult, but they require a great deal of experience.

Being able to manufacture something and manufacturing it well, saving manpower and resources, are two different concepts.

The modifications made to Malanhua both met the needs and saved costs.

“I told you I’m an excellent drilling team leader. But I still have to thank you; if you hadn’t reminded me of the problem at the wellhead, I would have made a mistake.” Ma Lanhua smiled, revealing her dimples, her two pigtails bobbing back and forth.

As she said this, she was also filled with doubt. Even she had overlooked something, yet the train driver had noticed it at a glance.

"Let's stop flattering each other and get back to work." Li Aiguo didn't offer any further explanation, stood up, and walked outside.

Considering that we have now entered the third phase, we need to change the original plan immediately. Ma Lanhua and Li Aiguo reported to the captain.

After studying the plan, the captain also agreed to carry out the modifications accordingly.

"Captain Ma, since you came up with this plan, your fifth team will be responsible for the drilling work from now on."

"Yes!" Malanhua was very excited.

There are eight teams in total at the drilling site, and the fact that they are able to undertake the most important drilling work is enough to show the importance that the team attaches to the fifth team.

In the evening, the drilling work was completed, and the members of the fifth team returned to the camp. Malanhua told the team members about the new task.

The team members were all happy, and some even rolled up their sleeves, raised their fists, and shouted slogans.

"This drilling operation has very high requirements for the drill operators. Master Chen and Wang Kun, your tasks are the most important."

Master Chen immediately stood up and made a promise.

Wang Kun also stood up unsteadily and nodded.

"Captain, don't worry. You know my skill level. I'm more than capable of being a senior driller right now."

"Wang Kun, your skills are good, but you're prone to arrogance. You need to get rid of this bad habit. After the meeting, come to my shack and I'll hold a study session for you."

"Yes"

After the meeting, the team members began preparing for tomorrow's work, and Malanhua returned to her shack.

A short while later, Wang Kun lifted the curtain, carrying an iron can in his hand.

"Orchid, these are biscuits my friend got from Russia. They're delicious. The food here isn't good; you've lost weight lately."

Wang Kun presented the tin can to Ma Lanhua as if it were a treasure. Just as Ma Lanhua was about to refuse, Zhou Ke's voice came from outside.

"Captain Ma, Brother Aiguo would like to talk to you about something."

"Wang Kun, I have to go to work now. We can talk about the study session later."

If other comrades can persevere, so can I.

Take these cookies home, and don't do this again.

Malanhua gestured for Wang Kun to leave, but Wang Kun's hand froze in mid-air before he finally withdrew it and left the shack.

Seeing Malanhua follow Zhou Ke toward a shack not far away, Wang Kun kicked a stone on the ground.

Li Aiguo invited Ma Lanhua over to study the work after the oil pumping unit was installed.

According to the drilling plan in Daqing, a rammed earth heating furnace will be built next to the drilling rig to heat the oil, maintain its fluidity, and ultimately transport the oil to the transfer station via pipeline.

The "rammed earth" heating furnace is actually just a large furnace with a flue separator installed. It is considered an open flame and is quite dangerous.

Li Aiguo remembered that the Karamay oil field used a method called the "Baronin process," but he couldn't recall the specific technical details.

The iris flower came from Karamay, and upon hearing Li Aiguo's question, it immediately explained.

This is a crude oil gathering and transportation process used by the Russians, which employs steam pipelines to insulate the oil pipelines, with two pipelines running in parallel.

Steam boilers are used for heating crude oil, and crude oil is metered using gear flow meters or tipping bucket separators.

Upon hearing this, Li Aiguo immediately rejected the proposal.

This process requires the installation of a large number of boilers and the laying of a large number of pipes.

If this process is adopted, nearly a hundred boilers and thousands of tons of small-diameter pipes will be needed in the 22-square-kilometer production test area in the central part of the oilfield.

Even if we were in a period of economic hardship and the Ministry of Petroleum Industry were short of funds and simply couldn't afford to buy so many boilers and pipes, the Russians wouldn't sell them to us, no matter how much money they had.

Most importantly, the viscosity of oil in Daqing is far greater than that in Russia, so this method cannot solve the problem.

As the two were chatting, Section Chief Xu came in from outside carrying a shovel.

Why isn't there a fire burning in front of this shack?

It wasn't cold at night, so there was no need for a campfire to keep warm. Li Aiguo was wondering about this when Section Chief Xu pointed to the distance and said with a smile, "There are a lot of wolves over there."

Upon hearing this, Li Aiguo immediately stood up and grabbed a shovel.

Starting a campfire here is very simple. Just find a simple tin bucket, put crude oil in it with a shovel and light it. That fire can burn all night.

Around the crude oil campfire, Section Chief Xu asked what the two men had been talking about.

Ma Lanhua gestured with her chin toward Li Aiguo: "Comrade Aiguo is asking about the Russians' method of heating crude oil."

Section Chief Xu shook his head: "Forget about it. Patriotism. Back then, our technical department also wanted to use the old Russian method. We even went to Karamay to consult Professor Vishev, an old Russian expert in oil and gas gathering and transportation."

The top leader led dozens of experts and technicians to a symposium, but ultimately only got one result; this method was completely useless.

Later, we came up with the idea of ​​using a rammed earth heating furnace.

This method, while failing to completely isolate the fire source at the well site and causing some accidents, was the only remaining option.

Malanhua nodded: "Unless we move Daqing to the equator, we can only use a heating furnace."

Li Aiguo did think of a way, but he couldn't remember the specific details and needed to plan it carefully.

It's not winter now, so heating isn't the key issue, and Li Aiguo decided to put it aside for now.

After the two left, Li Aiguo yawned and was about to return to his shack when he saw Zhou Ke stuffing an iron box under his cot. He asked, "Have you checked it?"

"There's nothing wrong with the drawings."

This time, because we need to install an oil pump, we need to use the blueprints, which are stored in a metal box.

One of Zhou Ke's jobs was to keep the iron box safe.

"have a rest."

Li Aiguo yawned and collapsed onto his cot.

I slept until dawn, and only got out of bed when I heard shouts coming from outside.

Li Aiguo ate a steamed bun and then led the wild car expert to the well derrick.

At this point, drilling operations had commenced according to the revised plan.

Ma Lanhua was holding a meeting with the team members when she saw Li Aiguo coming over. She smiled and said, "Comrade Aiguo, you can leave this to us."

The drilling skills of the fifth team were quite good. Li Aiguo stood by and watched for a while. Seeing that there were no problems, he stood by and chatted with Ma Lanhua.

"Captain, the drill bit is going too fast. It seems to have hit a saltwater layer," the driller shouted to Ma Lanhua.

"Pull up the drill string and prepare for grouting!" This was a frequently encountered problem, and Ma Lanhua made a decision instantly.

While operating the machine to reduce its speed, the chief driller called out to Wang Kun, who was not far away, "Comrade assistant driller, start drilling in two minutes."

Wang Kun was staring at Li Aiguo and Ma Lanhua when he heard the driller's shout. He was momentarily distracted and subconsciously raised the drill bit.

The moment the high-speed rotating drill bit was lifted, it collided with the well wall, and the violent vibration caused the well wall to collapse instantly.

The drill bit was blocked by the well wall, and the huge reaction force caused the drilling rig to shake violently.

Several workers were busy on the derrick when they were nearly thrown off, but thankfully they were all wearing safety ropes.

"Quickly lower the drill bit back!" Seeing the derrick shaking violently, Ma Lanhua realized something was wrong and hurriedly shouted to Wang Kun.

Wang Kun then came to his senses and quickly pushed down the handshake.

But it was too late; the drill bit was stuck firmly against the well wall and couldn't be lowered at all.

"I...I can't push it!" Wang Kun was so anxious he almost cried.

At this point, the swaying of the drilling rig had exceeded safety standards, and several workers swayed off the rig and were caught in mid-air by safety ropes.

"Cut off the power!" Ma Lanhua hadn't expected the accident to escalate to this point, and made the decision instinctively.

But as soon as she uttered the words, she knew it was an impossible task.

Because the diesel engine responsible for providing electricity was five or six hundred meters away from the drilling rig, even if they arrived, it would be too late.

Malanhua seemed to have already seen the scene of the drilling rig collapsing. Her blood seemed to sink to the bottom of her feet, and even her fingertips felt cold and numb.

Malan felt as if she had sunk to the bottom of the sea. Her ears were ringing and she couldn't hear anything. All she knew was that a voice in her heart was shouting, "Don't collapse!"

My throat tightened from shouting, but even I knew it was all in vain.

Sudden.

The roaring sound disappeared.

The derrick actually stopped shaking!

Malan felt as if she had been pulled from the seabed by a pair of large hands and thrown into the sunlight.

She turned her head and saw a burly figure standing next to the diesel engine, smiling at her.

That man was a train driver.

(End of this chapter)