The train driver in the courtyard

Xu Damao ran all the way to the Nantongluo Lane Street Office.

When Director Wang of the Sub-district Office learned that a collapse had occurred at the Xiaoxishan construction site and support was needed, he immediately arranged for the Sub-district Office staff to notify the residents of each compound.

"Comrade Xu Damao, you will be the one to notify the Siheyuan."

"Don't worry, Director."

Xu Damao accepted the task and without even taking a breath, he ran all the way back to the courtyard.

At this time, the third uncle was carrying a fishing rod and a tin bucket and preparing to go fishing.

"Yan Laokou, stop busying yourself. Hurry up. There's an accident over at Xiaoxi Mountain. Call everyone and let's go and rescue them."

When the third uncle heard that something had happened, he hurriedly threw his fishing rod under the eaves and followed Xu Damao to notify the residents in the compound.

The silent courtyard suddenly became lively.

The first aunt, the second aunt, Zhang Gangzhu's family, and even Aunt Liu came out of the house.

Huang Sen wanted to hold Aunt Liu back: "Mom, you are old, don't go."

"Look at what you are talking about. This is a matter of life and death. Even though I can't move stones, I can still deliver water to the people. One more person means one more force."

Of course, there are also people who hide at home and don’t come out.

This person is Jia Dongxu from the Jia family.

Hearing Xu Damao shouting outside the door, Jia Dongxu hesitated for a long time before he opened the door, holding his stomach and sticking his head out from the crack.

"Oh, I'm so sorry. I have to go to save people no matter how busy I am."

"But you can see that I have a stomachache and can't even walk."

Xu Damao frowned: "Jia Dongxu, let me tell you"

"Ouch, I'm sorry, my stomach hurts, ouch."

Xu Damao was about to tell Jia Dongxu the news that Qin Huairu was trapped.

Jia Dongxu slammed the door shut.

Xu Damao was so angry at that time that he wanted to raise his fist to smash the door.

"Da Mao, almost everyone has gathered, let's set off quickly, otherwise it will be dark soon." The third uncle rushed over in a hurry.

There was no other choice, Xu Damao and the third uncle could only take the residents out of the compound.

Inside Jia's house.

Jia Dongxu lay on the bed, smoking leisurely, with the corners of his mouth slightly raised.

"This matter has nothing to do with me. It's wishful thinking for you to ask me to save people!"

*****
The construction site at Xiaoxishan.

With the arrival of supporting residents and comrades from the Qianmen Locomotive Depot rescue team, the rescue work officially began.

Li Aiguo handed the task of digging the tunnel to the rescue team captain Liu Qingsong.

"Brother Liu, when digging, the most important thing is to prevent secondary collapse."

"Don't worry." Liu Qingsong nodded.

He was not bragging. As the first regular rescue team on the railway, the Qianmen Locomotive Depot Rescue Team has developed a series of complete rescue plans, and the members of the rescue team have also undergone rigorous training.

The railway soldiers were responsible for the cleanup work in the periphery, and the hundreds of residents who rushed over were mainly responsible for transporting the stones to a distant place.

"Everybody, stay safe!"

“Rescue begins!”

With Li Aiguo's order, the rescue work officially began.

The comrades of the rescue team wore safety helmets and picked up shovels and worked hard in the tunnel. When they encountered stones that could not be shoveled, they moved them with their hands or carried them on their shoulders.

Sweat slid down their cheeks and soaked their clothes, but no one stopped what they were doing.

When the railway soldiers were clearing the periphery, they found that part of the mountain showed signs of loosening, and they quickly used professional tools to reinforce the loosened mountain.

The residents who came to support were not to be outdone. They spontaneously formed a long queue and passed the stones cleared from the tunnel.

The old wives and young wives brought clean water.

Time passed by minute by minute, and the rescue work was carried out in a tense and orderly manner.

Suddenly, a strange noise came from deep in the tunnel.

Liu Qingsong's heart tightened and he immediately signaled to his team members to stop what they were doing.

He approached cautiously, put his ear to the stone, and heard a cry for help from inside.

"There are people, there are people inside, they are still alive!"

Li Aiguo clenched his fists suddenly and became excited.

Liu Guozhang and Commander-in-Chief Zhou both breathed a sigh of relief.

As long as there are no casualties, the accident is not considered a major accident.

"Hurry up and save people!" Li Aiguo rushed into the tunnel first.

The light spots of flashlights flickered on the inner wall of the tunnel, and everyone dug quickly following the cries for help.

Soon, the rubble was cleared.

A huge stone was placed in the corner, forming a triangular area.

Seeing Li Aiguo through the cracks in the rocks, Captain Chen breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Aiguo, hurry up, save me."

Li Aiguo couldn't see the situation inside clearly, so he asked, "Old Chen, how is Qin Huairu?"

"I, I'm fine." Qin Huairu's weak voice came from inside.

Liu Qingsong stepped forward to look at the stone and frowned: "Aiguo, the stone is huge and difficult to move with human power alone. If you pry it rashly, it may cause a secondary collapse."

"Go and bring a jack, notify the railway troops, and ask them to come in and reinforce this area first." Li Aiguo nodded.

While waiting, the team members used shovels to clear away the nearby debris.

An old lady somehow got the news and staggered in.

"Huai Ru, are you okay?"

"Auntie, it's dangerous here, you should go out first." Liu Haizhong followed her closely, trying to pull her out.

But at this time, the old lady's emotions were out of control, and she tried her best to get closer to the stone.

Li Aiguo stood in front of her and said, "Auntie, if you don't want Qin Huairu to be killed by the stone, go over now."

The aunt was yelled at by Li Aiguo, and Liu Haizhong took the opportunity to grab her arm and said, "Sister-in-law, Aiguo is here, nothing will happen, and you will only cause trouble if you stay here."

When the old lady heard this, she had no choice but to follow Liu Haizhong out.

At this time, the deputy captain of the railway troops brought people in to reinforce the area around the boulder.

Liu Qingsong directed the team members to place the jacks and crowbars accurately under the boulder. As the hydraulic jack slowly rose, the boulder began to loosen.

Li Aiguo and other team members immediately used their hands to dig through the rubble and expand the rescue channel bit by bit.

Thanks to everyone's efforts, the boulder was finally successfully moved away.

Captain Chen successfully climbed out of the rescue passage. Qin Huairu was already limp at this time and couldn't move a step.

Captain Chen had no choice but to turn around and reach out to pull her out.

"Take the people out, everyone evacuate the tunnel." Li Aiguo ordered.

When Li Aiguo led Captain Chen and Qin Huairu out of the tunnel, cheers broke out at the scene.

"Victory, we are victorious!"

"Thank God, nothing happened."

Yi Zhonghai stood not far away, hesitated for a moment, and finally gritted his teeth and walked over.

"Aiguo, thank you so much for saving Qin Huairu this time." Yi Zhonghai said to Li Aiguo somewhat stiffly.

Qin Huairu also looked at Li Aiguo with gratitude.

She had never encountered such a thrilling thing in her life.

After the tunnel collapsed, she thought she was going to die.

I never thought I would see the light of day again.

"I saved her not because she was Qin Huairu, but because she was buried in the tunnel." Li Aiguo looked at Yi Zhonghai and said lightly.

Yi Zhonghai blushed on the spot, but he didn't dare to get angry.

"No matter what, I should thank you on behalf of Dongxu."

Speaking of Jia Dongxu, Qin Huairu looked around but did not see Jia Dongxu.

"Uncle, where is my Dongxu?"

Yi Zhonghai didn't know how to explain it for a moment.

After all, all the residents in the entire block and compound had come, except for Jia Dongxu.

Xu Damao came over and said sarcastically, "I notified Jia Dongxu. Guess what that thief Jia Dongxu said? He said he had a stomachache and couldn't come to save people."

Xu Damao did tell Jia Dongxu that someone was buried, so it was not considered as a deliberate deception to the residents.

After saying that, he raised his head and shouted, "Tell me, what kind of person would not even save his own wife!"

The residents also knew Jia Dongxu's character and did not expect him to come to the rescue.

But, is he still a human being if he doesn’t even save his own wife?

At that time, several young wives looked disdainful.

Qin Huairu's body shook violently, as if hit by a gust of wind.

The discussions of the people around her were like sharp needles, piercing her heart again and again.

Once upon a time, she contributed silently to this family, doing housework, and taking care of the old and the young. Even though life was hard, she never complained, and was looking forward to working together with Jia Dongxu to support this family.

But now, when her life was at stake, Jia Dongxu actually ignored her on the pretext of having a stomachache.

A strong sense of sadness surged from the bottom of her heart, and she felt that all her efforts over the years were a joke.

The rescue work had been completed at this time. After Li Aiguo inspected the scene, he saw that there were still so many people gathered here.

"Everyone, go back. We'll be back tomorrow to continue the cleanup."

The incident involving Jia Dongxu was just a minor episode. Everyone was in a good mood after rescuing the people, and they dispersed while chatting.

Li Aiguo asked his railway comrades to temporarily block the entrance to the tunnel to prevent anyone from entering and getting into danger.

It was already seven o'clock and the sky had completely darkened.

Liu Guozhang raised his wrist to check the time and frowned: "Why hasn't Director Chen from the Engineering Bureau arrived yet?" The tunnel project belongs to the Engineering Bureau.

After Li Aiguo launched the rescue, Liu Guozhang asked Deputy Commander-in-Chief Zhou to report to the Engineering Bureau, but Director Chen was attending a meeting in the ministry and was unable to arrive in time.

On the dark road, a car drove up from a distance and stopped at the construction site.

Director Chen opened the car door and got out. He held out his hand to Liu Guozhang from a distance and said, "Brother Guozhang, thank you so much this time. If you hadn't helped me in time, something terrible would have happened."

"Old Chen, you're too polite. It was because you informed me in time that I wasn't caught by those idiots."

Before liberation, Liu Guozhang and Director Chen had printed some things together and organized several activities together. They had a very good relationship.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Liu Guozhang pointed at Li Aiguo and said, "The one who really saved people this time is Aiguo, my student."

He waved to Li Aiguo, called Li Aiguo over, and introduced the two to each other.

"This is Lao Chen, an old comrade and one of the five members of the subway team."

Hearing this, Li Aiguo immediately perked up.

The Five-Person Subway Group was a leadership group composed of five people drawn from various departments by the Beijing Planning Committee (established in February 1955) to build the Beijing subway.

Together with the business advisor Professor Ostrovsky, there were a total of six people responsible for the construction of the Beijing Metro.

Director Chen came from the Railway Corps, his rank is only one level lower than that of the minister, and he is still a member of the Railway Corps.

"Hello, Chief!" Li Aiguo saluted Director Chen with a standard military salute.

"Comrade Aiguo, you were able to step forward and resolve the crisis. On behalf of the Engineering Bureau, I would like to thank you!" Director Chen stepped forward quickly and shook Li Aiguo's hand tightly.

There is nothing wrong with what he said.

Once there are casualties, the Construction Bureau will have reason to take action.

By then, the Engineering Bureau will be in a passive position and shallow burial may become the only option.

"This is what I should do."

Li Aiguo chatted with Director Chen for a while, only discussing the rescue process, and did not express any opinions on the tunnel project.

"Director Chen, this time the Nantongluo Lane neighborhood was able to gather a large number of residents to provide assistance in a short period of time, which helped a lot."

Director Chen turned his head and looked at the assistant behind him and nodded: "Xiao Wang, write it down and then submit a commendation in the name of the Engineering Bureau."

"Yes!"

After learning about the rescue situation, Director Chen called Commander Zhou and Engineer Dong to the tent next door and asked them to explain what happened.

The dim flame of the kerosene lamp flickered, making Commander Zhou's face appear dim and bright.

After hesitating for a moment, he stood up and explained the whole story in detail.

"Director, the responsibility for this incident lies entirely with me. It was because I did not follow Comrade Li Aiguo's suggestion and did not strictly control the project that this incident happened."

"I have committed the error of empiricism and lax discipline. The root of my erroneous thinking is that I am too eager for success and only want to make meritorious contributions. I apologize to you and am willing to accept any punishment."

The words fell.

It was quiet in the tent.

Director Chen's face looked a little ugly.

He knew very well that this incident actually had little to do with Commander-in-Chief Zhou.

If someone else were to take on the role of general commander in an emergency, they would make the same choice.

However, things have already happened and it is impossible not to hold someone accountable.

Director Chen glanced at Liu Guozhang and said, "Director Liu, your Railway Technology Research Institute is also involved in the project. How do you think this matter should be handled?"

Liu Guozhang understood that he was trying to protect him, and after a moment of contemplation, he said, "Xiao Zhou did make a serious mistake this time, but considering that we are currently hiring people, we cannot ignore the actual situation. I think we should wait until the project is completed before dealing with it."

With Liu Guozhang's words, Director Chen said, "Director Liu's suggestion is very good. Let's put it this way, Comrade Zhou Shiqian, you have made a serious mistake in your work. You will be punished with a major offense, one year's salary will be deducted, and your position as the chief project commander will be temporarily removed. You will be replaced by Engineer Dong. You will return to the bureau and wait for processing."

Commander-in-Chief Zhou had already prepared himself to be fired or even removed from his post, but when he heard the decision, he stood up excitedly.

"Director, don't worry, I promise not to let you down."

Although the serious warning has ruined his future, waiting for the case to be dealt with does not mean that the matter is over.

However, Commander-in-Chief Zhou was not directly fired after all, so this was all Director Chen could do.

After dealing with Commander Zhou, Director Chen turned his attention to the new Commander-in-Chief, Engineer Dong: "Comrade Xiao Dong, when can the tunnel project be restarted?"

Engineer Dong looked a little embarrassed: "Director Chen, considering the geological problems here, I suggest suspending the project and waiting for the railway troops to come up with a relatively safe plan before continuing the excavation."

As soon as these words were spoken, Director Chen's expression suddenly changed.

"No, we must complete the tunnel excavation work in the shortest possible time to prove the feasibility of deep burial."

Engineer Dong stood up and said firmly: "You can remove me now!"

"You, do you really think I don't dare?" Director Chen slammed the table and stood up.

Li Aiguo was stunned.

Director Chen has such a hot temper. No wonder Commander-in-Chief Zhou insisted on digging the tunnel even though he knew it was dangerous.

However, Engineer Dong is not General Commander Zhou.

"Then please fire me now so that I can go back to the Railway Technical Research Institute and continue my research on steam engines."

Seeing Engineer Dong's calm face, Director Chen was stunned for a moment, then sighed and asked, "Is there really no way to continue?"

"There's nothing we can do. I'm sure you've read the geological report and you know that with the current level of technology, if we continue digging, there will definitely be another collapse."

"The geological conditions in our capital are very similar to those here. Does that mean we can only adopt the shallow burial method suggested by the Russians?"

This is what Director Chen cannot accept.

He was a veteran who had experienced life and death moments on the battlefield. He knew very well what the Russians holding the big mushroom meant to our side.

Before we grow our own big mushrooms, the shelter buried deep underground becomes our greatest support.

Even if Big Brother can still be called Big Brother, we still have to be on guard.

This is determined by the independent and autonomous strategy we adhere to.

It is precisely this strategy that enables us to no longer be controlled by others and rise rapidly after we have overcome the difficult period.

Those who place their hopes on others, even if they seem to be living a wealthy life, can actually be brought back to their original state with just a little trick from the other party.

The tent fell into silence in an instant.

At this time, Liu Guozhang coughed twice: "Director Chen, I have a solution, but I'm not sure if it will work."

"Old Liu, this is urgent. If you have any solution, please tell me right away." Director Chen said excitedly, "I still have two boxes of foreign trade Moutai. I will send them to your home later."

"If you want to give it as a gift, you should give it to Aiguo."

Liu Guozhang smiled at Li Aiguo and said, "Aiguo, tell Director Chen about the idea of ​​the tunnel boring machine. Be careful, Old Chen is a rough man with no education, so don't use professional terms."

"How could you, Old Liu, forget that I also studied when I was in the base area?"

If it were in the past, Director Chen would definitely have had a good talk with Liu Guozhang, but now he couldn't wait any longer.

"Comrade Patriot, what exactly is this tunnel boring machine?"

Tunnel Blower Li Aiguo thought for a moment and thought Director Chen probably had never seen a shipworm, so he changed the subject and said, "Have you ever seen a pangolin?"

"I've seen and eaten pangolins. When we were fighting in Hengbao, the villagers caught several pangolins and sent them to the troops. They are quite famous, but the taste is average."

Director Chen seemed to remember the taste of pangolin and clicked his tongue twice.

Li Aiguo: "."

He felt that he was asking unnecessary questions.

Director Chen was from the Fourth Field Army. He led a large army to sweep through Yunnan and Guizhou, and pangolins were the specialty of that place.

"The characteristic of pangolins is that they can dig holes, so I designed a machine that can dig holes based on this characteristic."

Li Aiguo briefly explained the shield machine.

Director Chen's eyes lit up when he heard this: "This is a good thing. It's efficient and safe. It's just right for digging subway tunnels."

Liu Guozhang interjected, "Old Chen, don't be too happy too soon. The shield machine is a large machine. Even if our Railway Technology Institute works hard to develop it, it will take two months, which is longer than the time given by the Construction Bureau."

"Leave it to me in time." Director Chen looked at Li Aiguo and said, "Comrade Aiguo, I'll leave this matter to you."

"Commander, don't worry!" Li Aiguo nodded heavily.

After the meeting, Director Chen decided to suspend the Xiaoxishan project, and then hurriedly drove into the lake.

No one knows what happened in the lake.

But two hours later, the Construction Bureau received a notice from Haizili.

"Because of some minor incidents at the Xiaoxishan construction site, the project will be delayed for two months."

Chief Engineer Zhou Xinke of the Construction Bureau had already known about the tunnel collapse at this time, and he assured over the phone that he would follow his superiors' decision.

After hanging up the phone, Zhou Xinke hesitated for a moment, then shook the phone again and dialed a room in the Friendship Hotel.

"Teacher, I'm Zhou Xinke. I have a situation I want to discuss with you. Do you have time?"

"There's no need for us to meet. I'm a business advisor now. It will have a bad impact if someone sees me with you." Professor Ostrovsky's voice came from the other end of the phone.

"Yes, yes, teacher, this is what happened." After Zhou Xinke explained Haizili's decision on the phone, he said with some concern: "Teacher, now the situation is very clear, some people in Haizili are protecting the Engineering Bureau.

Two months of construction time is really too long, I hope you can come forward and do some work. "

After he finished speaking, there was silence on the other end of the phone for a moment.

Zhou Xinke's heart tightened and he was about to explain when he heard Ostrovsky's voice on the phone.

"Zhou, don't worry. We have already explored the geological conditions of Xiaoxi Mountain. In fact, the reason why we chose to dig the experimental tunnel in Xiaoxi Mountain was that we had already anticipated what would happen."

Halfway through his words, Ostrovsky seemed to realize something and quickly said, "Zhou, of course, we have no other ideas. We are all thinking about you. After all, if we bury it deep, the cost is too high. You are not having a good time now."

"Teacher, I understand this." Zhou Xinke was moved.

In order to help this side, Professor Ostrovsky insisted on shallow burial, which is indeed the style of Big Brother.

Ostrovsky continued, "The geological conditions in Xiaoxi Mountain cannot be changed, which means that no matter how much time the Engineering Bureau spends, it will be in vain. This is also the reason why I didn't ask you to make trouble after I learned about what happened.

What we have to do now is to wait for the higher-ups to change their decision and accept the shallow burial plan due to the pressure of reality, understand?"

"Teacher, I understand. Don't worry, I will follow your decision."

After hanging up the phone, Zhou Xinke felt relieved.

The one on the other side is Big Brother.

It's hilarious that you people want to fight Big Brother.

(End of this chapter)