A Tale of Two Cities Supporting Xinjiang

One person couldn't help but exclaim in frustration, "How are we supposed to do this? We clean it up, then cover it up again, and the tools aren't enough. We can't possibly finish!"

Zhai Hongjun wiped the snow off his face. "Divide into three groups! One group will continue clearing the main track, using ice axes to first crack the ice layer and then shovel it."

The second group kept an eye on the snow-blown area, covering and clearing it at the same time, and laying burlap sacks on slippery areas.

The three teams took their injured colleague to the infirmary and, while they were there, grabbed some rope from the warehouse to wrap around the shovel handles to prevent slipping!

He picked up the broken shovel, tore off his scarf and wrapped it around the broken piece: "If the tools are no good, we'll use our own people. As long as the flights can take off and land, we haven't lost."

Seeing Zhai Hongjun still desperately removing the ice, no one dared to complain anymore.

Four hours later, as the sun rose high in the sky, the thick layer of ice was finally cleared away, and the runway was restored to its original smoothness.

Zhai Hongjun slumped to the ground, his cotton shoes frozen solid, impossible to remove. Pus on his ears had formed a layer of ice, but watching the test flight slowly approaching in the distance, he grinned, revealing two rows of teeth white with cold: "It's done! Didn't delay anything!"

Han Jidong handed over a bottle of warm water. "Chairman Zhai, we admire your dedication. The snowplow broke down, the ice was harder than iron, and then there was the blizzard making things worse. Anyone else would have given up long ago!"

Zhai Hongjun took the water, took a sip, and said, "We're here to support Xinjiang, to do practical things and take on tough tasks."

I immediately applied to the company to not only replace the de-icing equipment with brand new ones, but also to stock up on snow chains and spare tools. We absolutely cannot let everyone suffer like this again!

One month after its opening, Shihezi Garden Airport has seen its passenger traffic increase daily, with operational data so impressive that top management is beaming with joy.

According to custom, a new official always has to make some big moves when taking office, either by launching new policies or by adjusting personnel to establish authority.

But Zhai Hongjun always carried a small notebook with him, running around the airport, spending more time on the front lines than anyone else.

He could stand motionless at the security checkpoint for an entire afternoon, his eyes like a scanner, watching every move of the security personnel.

When the maintenance team went out for inspections, he silently followed them the whole way, without saying a word, just keeping his head down and taking notes in his notebook; he even thoroughly inspected every nook and cranny of the fire exits that no one paid attention to, leaving no stone unturned.

Zhai Hongjun plunged into the front line of the investigation and within a few days uncovered a host of potentially fatal problems, each one sending chills down his spine.

The "double inspection" rule at the security checkpoint, though called a core system, is actually just a facade for superiors to see.

He stood by and observed, and several times he saw one security guard frantically rummaging through luggage and putting it through the machine, while the other was either overwhelmed by passengers' questions and had to help direct the queue, or simply leaning against the wall scrolling through short videos without even glancing at the security scanner.

Passengers put their suitcases on the conveyor belt, and the screen has barely flashed halfway before they raise their hands to indicate "pass." Some don't even remind you if the suitcase zipper isn't closed properly. Safety is like a joke to them; they don't take it to heart at all.

Zhai Hongjun randomly picked up a few ledgers from the fire control room, flipped through them, and almost laughed out of anger.

Many of the dates on the records were added later. The previous page was written in neat regular script, but the next page was written in messy cursive script. The handwriting didn't match at all, clearly indicating that they were added at different times.

Some pages are even worse; the signatures are exactly the same, and anyone with a discerning eye can tell that they were signed by the same person. They couldn't even be bothered to put in the effort to imitate.

Holding the ledger, he asked the security guard in charge of patrolling, "Did you check all these records yourself?"

The security guard stammered for a while before vaguely saying, "Most...most of the checks are done according to the rules. Occasionally, when we're too busy, we...we just add a few more entries."

"Occasionally? This entire book is signed by the same person, and the dates span half a month. You're telling me it's just occasional?"

The security guard was speechless when questioned, and finally told the truth: "Mr. Zhai, we are really short-staffed. We also have to keep an eye on the order of the terminal. The fire-fighting facilities have never had any problems, so we thought we would just make do for now and fill in the records later."

Zhai Hongjun accompanied the maintenance team on their inspection tour. Many of the equipment's maintenance dates had long passed, some parts were rusted, and some indicator lights were not working, yet no one had taken any action to fix them.

He pointed to a faulty indicator light and asked the squad leader, "How long has this been broken? Why haven't you reported it for repair?"

The squad leader scratched his head, looking helpless: "General Manager Zhai, we're really too busy! There are so many flights lately, and just dealing with runway cleaning and equipment debugging is enough to keep us busy. We're just thinking of making do with these minor problems for now and fixing them when we have more free time."

"A minor problem?"

Zhai Hongjun pointed to the indicator light, "This is a crucial piece of equipment for guiding flights to land. If it's not visible at night, and the plane deviates slightly during landing, it could be a fatal accident. Is this some kind of minor problem?"

Another maintenance worker chimed in, "It's been like this before. We've made do with it for a while without any problems. Besides, if we really need to fix it, we have to apply for parts, which is a very troublesome process. It's better to just make do for now."

Zhai Hongjun felt a chill in his heart. These people ignored the rules of regular maintenance and treated safety as a joke. If an accident really happened, no one could bear the responsibility.

These are issues that Su Nan, the head of the Safety and Quality Department, had been keeping an eye on for a long time.

He submitted three rectification suggestions, each time which were rejected by the operations department, with the same two reasons: "We must ensure operational efficiency and not delay passengers' travel."

"We're short-staffed and can't spare anyone to make the changes."

Su Nan was so anxious that her mouth was covered in blisters, but she was completely helpless until she heard that Zhai Hongjun was in charge of security, and then she saw a glimmer of hope.

As soon as she arrived at work that day, Su Nan barged into Zhai Hongjun's office with a thick list of questions in her hand.

"Mr. Zhai, please take a look at this! If these security vulnerabilities aren't plugged soon, something terrible will happen sooner or later!"

Zhai Hongjun picked up the list and carefully flipped through it page by page, his expression growing increasingly grim.

"Setting sail is not the safe end!"

Su Nan became more and more agitated as she spoke: "Operational efficiency is important now, but we can't sacrifice safety, can we?"

If an accident really happens, none of us can afford the responsibility!

Zhai Hongjun placed the list on the table, tapped his fingertips on the surface, and said in a resolute tone: "You're right, safety is the bottom line, and it can't be touched."

"Pass down the notice: a special meeting on operational safety will be held in half an hour. All department heads must attend; not a single one can be absent!"

The atmosphere exploded the moment the symposium began.

Zhai Hongjun didn't beat around the bush; he directly laid out the problems he had found and Su Nan's list, getting straight to the point: "The airport may seem to be operating smoothly now, but it's actually full of hidden dangers; these are all ticking time bombs."

My opinion is that we must thoroughly review all safety procedures, rectify all potential hazards within a specified timeframe, and no one should be allowed to compromise!

No sooner had he finished speaking than Wang Lei, the operations manager, exploded on the spot, slamming his fist on the table and retorting, "President Zhai, this won't do!"

"The operations are going well right now, and passenger traffic is stable. Wouldn't making major changes to the process at this time just create more chaos?"

"That's right, Mr. Zhai!"

Another operations manager chimed in, "If the process is disrupted, security checks and guidance will be affected. If the passenger experience suffers and operational metrics decline, who will be responsible? When higher-ups hold people accountable, who will take the blame?"

Su Nan stared at Wang Lei and retorted, "Adding trouble? What do you mean by adding trouble? These loopholes are fatal."

If we don't rectify this now, and something really goes wrong, not only will our operational indicators be ruined, but the reputation of our entire airport will be destroyed.

"Can you shoulder that responsibility when the time comes?"

"Manager Su, you're just exaggerating!"

Wang Lei also got angry: "Nothing happened for a month after the flight started, how can it be as exaggerated as you say? If we really changed it according to your plan, how many fewer passengers would we lose every day? Who would compensate for the losses?"

Can safety issues be measured in terms of losses?

Su Nan wouldn't back down an inch. "You think everything's fine today, but if an accident happens tomorrow, no amount of loss can be recovered. You'll have nowhere to cry then."

The two argued back and forth, their faces flushed and spittle flying everywhere.

The people in the meeting room instantly split into two factions: those who supported Su Nan's safety process optimization, slamming their fists on the table and shouting that safety comes first and rectification is necessary; and those who followed Wang Lei's conservative approach of stable operation, constantly worried about disrupting the pace and resolutely opposing major changes.