A Tale of Two Cities Supporting Xinjiang

Just a few days after Shihezi Garden Airport opened, Han Jidong was hospitalized due to an acute attack of high blood pressure.

Old Xue suffered from a lingering ailment after his toes were damaged by frostbite during the last time he worked on materials. He would writhe in pain whenever the weather was bad, and he would walk with a limp.

Zhou Mingyu was extremely anxious and frustrated by the mess at the airport. He needed to find a leader who could coordinate the overall situation.

He actively liaised with Dalian Airport Group, calling and messaging them every day, communicating repeatedly until the group finally made a decision: to send Zhai Hongjun to serve as the chairman of Shihezi Airport, fully responsible for the work related to aiding Xinjiang.

Zhai Hongjun went straight to the airport as soon as he got off the plane, without even having time to put his luggage down.

Han Jidong had just been discharged from the hospital and returned to his team. When he saw Zhai Hongjun coming to provide support, he quickly went up to him and said, "Chairman Zhai, we've been waiting for you."

The biggest problem right now is the lack of professional de-icing equipment. The weather is getting colder and colder; I'm really worried that flights might be delayed!

No sooner had the words been spoken than a red temperature drop warning popped up from the meteorological observatory: in December, the temperature in Shihezi will plummet to -32℃, with gusts reaching level six and localized blowing snow.

The next morning, Han Jidong rushed over and knocked on Zhai Hongjun's office door. "Chairman Zhai, the runway is iced over, about 5 centimeters thick. Today's flights are probably in jeopardy!"

Without saying a word, Zhai Hongjun walked towards the snowplow garage. "Let's see the snowplows. Why carry around equipment when we have it all?"

When they arrived at the garage, the snowplow was parked there, but Liu Bing was squatting next to it, looking worried. When he saw Zhai Hongjun coming over, he quickly stood up and rubbed his hands together.

"Liu Bing, drive the car to remove the ice."

"Chairman Zhai, I'm a little hesitant to drive it!"

"Why don't you dare to drive it?"

"Look at this instruction manual, it's all in English, I can't even read it all, it's like a foreign language."

Liu Bing pointed to the instruction manual on the driver's seat, her tone somewhat apprehensive, "This is imported equipment. If I operate it incorrectly and break it, I can't afford to pay for it, and it will cause even more delays!"

Han Jidong, who was standing next to him, chimed in, "It's not just the instruction manual. I tried to start it once before, and there were so many buttons that I couldn't figure out what each one did. I even accidentally pressed the emergency switch, and the alarm went off like a horrible blast."

Zhai Hongjun didn't rush to get angry. He took out his phone and dialed the number of an experienced technician at Dalian Airport, and started a video call: "Master Zhang, could you please demonstrate the operation details of this snowplow remotely for us? No one here knows how to use it."

After the video call connected, the experienced technician explained everything step by step on the screen, from the startup process to the button functions, making sure everything was clear.

He even specially compiled key operations such as "de-icing fluid spray" and "snow wiper speed adjustment" into a mnemonic: "Don't rush to start with the red button, wait three minutes for the blue button to warm up."

Adjust the snow brush speed according to the ice layer: slower speed for thin ice, faster speed for thick ice; press the green button for de-icing fluid to dispense small amounts evenly and avoid waste.

Liu Bing took notes and repeatedly imitated the actions from the video.

Zhai Hongjun then handed him the Chinese version of the operation manual that Han Jidong had stayed up all night translating: "Equipment is inanimate, but people are adaptable. We can't always rely on manual labor. You take the lead in mastering this snowplow, and we'll rely on it for ice removal from now on!"

"Don't worry, Chairman Zhai, I will definitely study hard!"

When Liu Bing started the snowplow for the first time, the snow wipers accidentally brushed against the edge of the runway, and he was so startled that he quickly stepped on the brakes.

"It's okay, everyone's like this the first time they practice, don't panic. Remember how it felt, just adjust your direction next time, and try again!"

With Zhai Hongjun's encouragement, Liu Bing gradually let go of her psychological burden and became more dedicated to her training.

He gradually figured out the "temperament" of the snowplow, knowing that the oil pipes needed to be preheated half an hour in advance on cold days, otherwise they would easily freeze.

Knowing that if the ice layer is less than 2 cm thick, use the slow speed snow brush, and if it is more than 3 cm thick, switch to the fast speed; it can even precisely control the spray range of the de-icing fluid according to the icing conditions in different areas of the runway, so that nothing is wasted.

But on that very day, trouble struck again: the runway was covered in thick ice once more.

Liu Bing quickly started the snowplow, but after a lot of effort, the de-icing effect was not ideal.

Upon hearing the news, Old Xue rushed over. "The ice is too thick, and the temperature is too low. The snowplow's fuel lines are frozen, so the de-icing fluid isn't spraying out, and the engine can't power the snow wipers. This truck is just for show!"

Zhai Hongjun walked to the car, kicked the cold tires, looked at the runway covered in ice in the distance, gritted his teeth and shouted, "Everyone assemble! De-icing by hand! If we don't have equipment, we'll dig with our hands! We absolutely cannot let the flight be delayed!"

Han Jidong, Lao Xue, and others immediately followed suit, and the whole group took shovels and ice axes and went onto the track.

In the -32℃ low temperature, the breath we just exhaled instantly turned into ice crystals, and before long, everyone's hands lost feeling.

Zhai Hongjun swung his shovel and shoveled at the ice, but the ice was as hard as a cast iron plate. Each shovel stroke left only a white mark, and the impact made his hands go numb.

What's worse is that gusts of wind keep blowing, and as soon as a small section of the track is cleared, it freezes over again in less than ten minutes.

Old Xue stood on tiptoe, his frostbitten toes throbbing painfully as he stepped on the ice.

He noticed that Zhai Hongjun's ears were frozen purple and black, and he was still smashing the ice with all his might. He couldn't help but shout, "Chairman Zhai, your ears are frozen like this. Go to your office and warm up for a while. We'll cover for you."

"The ice is too hard; trying so hard won't help, it'll just freeze for nothing."

"What are you resting for!"

Without looking up, Zhai Hongjun switched to an ice axe and smashed it down hard. "So many cotton farmers have their cotton piled up in warehouses, hoping that the airport will open and ship it out. If this ice isn't cleared, their harvest will rot in their hands, and a year's hard work will be wasted. No matter how hard it is, we have to chisel it out."

For more than three hours, they worked in the wind and snow. Everyone's arms were so sore they could barely lift them, and many had blisters on their palms that were excruciatingly painful to the touch.

Pus began to drain from Zhai Hongjun's ear, flowing down the auricle and freezing into thin icicles, causing him to wince in pain.

Han Jidong rushed over and grabbed Zhai Hongjun's arm. "Chairman Zhai, your lips are all frozen purple. If you keep trying to tough it out, something terrible will happen. We'll chip away at this ice slowly. If necessary, we can ask the airline for a flight delay!"

"We can't be late!"

Zhai Hongjun struggled to break free, shouting, "The more the flight is delayed, the more losses our fellow villagers suffer. I'm the chairman; if I leave first, how can anyone have the energy to work? This ice must be cleared today; there's no turning back!"

He wiped the ice shards off his face and continued cleaning.

Just as he broke through a block of ice, the stone under his feet suddenly slipped, and he fell heavily onto the ice. His back ached terribly, his vision went black for a moment, and his ice axe flew several meters away.

Han Jidong rushed over to help him up, but Zhai Hongjun waved his hand, gritted his teeth, and struggled to his feet. His fingers, numb with cold, barely managed to grip the ice axe as he continued smashing. "This little injury is nothing," he said.

To make matters worse, just then, Xiao Wang, who was in charge of de-icing the edge area, suddenly shouted: "Chairman Zhai, Director Han, the section of the runway that we just cleared has been covered with a thin layer of ice by the snow, and a colleague of mine accidentally twisted his ankle."

When everyone turned around, they saw that the two hundred-meter-long track that had just been cleared was now covered by a blanket of white snow, and the ice surface had become smooth and glaring again.