A Tale of Two Cities Supporting Xinjiang

He squatted down and said, "Girl, don't worry. Last time you helped your mom find her lost lamb, you searched for three hours in the grass, and you finally found it, didn't you?"

"These security scanners are like finding lambs; you have to figure out their temperament. I'll teach you a method that's guaranteed to work."

Han Jidong took out a piece of paper from his pocket and handed it over. The paper had the button functions of the security scanner labeled in Chinese. "Look, red is power, green is confirm, and yellow is cancel. I've written it all down for you. Stick it on the machine and practice using it first."

He picked up the cotton wadding again and broke it in half: "Don't rush when you're sweeping. Sweep the top half first, then the bottom half. It's like you're digging through grass to find a lamb. Go layer by layer, and you'll definitely find it."

Aikberjan chimed in, "Ma Xiaoyan, when I first started learning to sell mutton, I didn't even know how to use a scale. It took me half a month to get the hang of it. You're smarter than me, so you'll definitely learn faster."

Ma Xiaoyan looked at the broken cotton wadding, slowly stood up, and said, "Then... I'll try again."

Han Jidong smiled and nodded, helping her stick the note on the device: "Don't be afraid, I'll be watching from the side. I'll remind you if you make a mistake."

Ma Xiaoyan took a deep breath, pressed the red power button, and waited for the screen to light up before slowly scanning the upper part of the cotton wadding with the instrument.

"Beep beep—" The alarm sounded, and she stopped. Following Han Jidong's instructions, she carefully parted the cotton wadding, and her fingers finally touched the replica knife!

"I found it! I found it!"

Ma Xiaoyan excitedly raised the knife and shouted, her tears still wet, but a wide grin spreading across her face.

Han Jidong clapped his hands: "Isn't that settled? We all need time to learn new things; no one is born knowing everything. Here's what we'll do: every morning, I'll come half an hour early to teach you how to recognize the English keys. Let's get past this hurdle first."

Seeing that Ma Xiaoyan had succeeded, the other trainees also breathed a sigh of relief. "Director Han, I also want to come and learn as soon as possible. I don't know all the English either."

"Okay! We'll meet here at nine o'clock tomorrow morning, and I'll teach you one by one. I make sure you all learn!"

Old Xue leaned close to Han Jidong and whispered, "Director Han, look at Ma Xiaoyan, she searched for such a big replica knife for ages. What will she do with the dangerous items that are hidden deep inside once she's actually on duty?"

This job requires meticulous attention to detail, and her personality might not be suited for it. It's better to let her go sooner rather than later, so as not to delay her subsequent training.

Han Jidong shook his head: "Old Xue, I know you're concerned about the quality of security checks, but we can't condemn you outright."

It's normal for her to be nervous since she's new to this. Give her a chance to try it out, and we'll see if it works.

Even so, Han Jidong was not sure. If imitation knives are considered large items and they were missed in inspection, wouldn't it be even more difficult to inspect smaller items like lighters and wires in the future?

He turned to Aikberjan and said in a serious tone, "Aikberjan, starting tomorrow, the training difficulty needs to be increased."

Don't just hide large items. Stuff lighters into the cuffs of sweaters, roll wire into the layers of naan bread, and find some old cotton wadding bags to simulate passengers' luggage filled with cotton, so they can practice layered scanning.

The standards were set high from the beginning to avoid problems later.

Aikberjan paused, scratched his head, and said, "Director Han, isn't this too difficult? They haven't even learned all the English keyboard layouts yet."

"Even if it's difficult, we have to practice!"

Security checks are the first line of defense at an airport; even the slightest mistake can be unacceptable.

Think about it, if we allow dangerous goods on the plane because of our low standards, who will be responsible if something happens?

Aikberjan nodded: "Okay, I'll change it tomorrow and make sure they practice properly."

Han Jidong glanced at the date on his phone. "No way! There are only a few days left before the departure date. Even counting down the seconds is too slow. How can we wait until tomorrow?"

"We'll start increasing the difficulty this afternoon. Aikberjan, you go prepare the props now. Hide all the small items like lighters and wires in concealed places so everyone can practice searching hidden corners!"

Aikberjan was about to say that there were still basic classes in the afternoon when Han Jidong's gaze stopped him. "The basic classes will be made up tonight. The priority now is to practice practical skills. If we can't get past the security check, then opening the ship is just empty talk."

That afternoon, the training room was transformed.

Aikberjan disassembled his luggage into pieces, stuffing the lighter under the insole, wrapping the knife in thick wool, and even making a slit in the naan mold and stuffing it with wire rolled up to the same color as cotton wool.

Ma Xiaoyan held the security scanner, her hand trembling with soreness. Even on the fifth scan, she still missed the wire in the naan bread.

She threw the equipment on the table. "I really can't learn this! This thing is harder than taming a wild horse, I'm just not cut out for it!"

The trainees next to him panicked as well. "Director Han, this is too difficult! The wire is the same color as the cotton wool, how are we supposed to find it?"

Just as Han Jidong was about to speak, Sheng Lixiu squatted down next to Ma Xiaoyan and took out a rag doll from her bag, a birthday gift from her daughter.

She hid the wire in the folds of the doll's dress and handed it to Ma Xiaoyan. "Girl, look at this doll. If it were your niece's, what if she got pricked by the wire on the plane?"

"For us security guards, the equipment we use is our line of defense. Even a slight lapse could lead to a major incident. Please practice one last time with me, just one last time, okay?"

Looking at the doll, Ma Xiaoyan first broke the naan bread into pieces, then exclaimed, "Sister Sheng, I found it! I really found it!"

Han Jidong is even more ruthless to himself than he is to others.

In the office, the operations manuals that Han Jidong brought from Dalian were piled up higher than the chair, with the margins covered with dense correction marks.

When his colleague Lao Xue passed by, he noticed the bloodshot veins in Han's eyes were spreading to the corners, and the whites of his eyes were even turning yellow. He couldn't help but knock on the door and advise, "Director Han, why don't you rest for half an hour before making the changes? Even if you're made of iron, you can't withstand this kind of strain!"

"If this continues, your health will collapse. By the time the manual is revised and you're gone, the voyage will still be impossible!"

Han Jidong didn't even look up; the cursor was still flashing in the emergency procedure document. "We can't rest. Every day the manual is delayed, the start of operations is delayed. Have you forgotten what happened to the Ma family last year?"

He suddenly stopped typing, his voice deepening, "Old Ma's twenty acres of cotton were all moldy because of a three-day delay in transportation. They were all black and rotten, it's heartbreaking to see."

His wife came to us crying, begging us to help her find a market. In the end, they lost so much money that they didn't even recoup the cost of this year's seeds.

We absolutely cannot let this happen again this year; the manual must be revised on time!

Old Xue continued to persuade him, "But you can't trade your body for it!"

"Don't worry about me. Just double-check the list of security equipment you're in charge of. Make sure there are no mistakes in the screw types or instrument parameters. Launching the ship is a big deal, and none of us can afford to mess it up."

Old Xue shook his head and left. This Director Han is a stubborn person who sticks to his principles. Once he's made up his mind, nothing can change it. He doesn't even care about his own health.