Chapter 609: Thrilling
In less than an hour, Zhoujiazhuang loaded two trucks, filling the entire carriage with vegetables.
Zhou Yimin walked around the carriage with his arms folded, and suddenly stopped in front of the tire. His red, frozen fingertips tapped the interlaced anti-skid chains: "Da Fu, it seems that you have a good sense of safety."
The white mist he exhaled condensed into tiny ice crystals in the cold air. I didn't expect Chow Tai Fook, who had just been promoted to a full-time employee, to have such safety awareness. It is indeed worthy of praise.
Zhou Dafu's ears instantly turned red, and his toes under his overalls curled up unconsciously.
He opened his mouth, his Adam's apple rolling up and down, but he could only squeeze out a few fragmented syllables: "This is actually..."
Just as he was scratching his head, Master Wang jumped out of another truck, brushed off the snow on his body, and shouted loudly, shaking the snow off the roof: "Chief Zhou, it's not Dafu who has a good sense of safety, it's Captain Li who has a good sense of safety."
These words were like a handful of snow, splashing onto Chow Tai Fook's hot cheeks.
Master Wang was completely unaware, rubbing his frozen hands and continuing, "Captain Li told us this before we set out. He insisted on seeing that we installed the anti-skid chains before letting us go."
He gestured as he spoke, his fat palms drawing exaggerated arcs in the air: "You also said that the icy mountain road is more dangerous than a knife blade."
Zhou Dafu froze in place, wishing he could bury himself in the snow.
He secretly glanced at Zhou Yimin, only to see that he was stunned at first, then smiled, raised his hand and gently tapped his chest: "You!"
Zhou Yimin said: "Captain Li is a careful person!"
The cold wind blew up the cotton curtains on the eaves, making rustling sounds.
Zhou Yimin restrained his smile, and his eyes swept over the two people's frozen purple lips and frosted eyelashes, and his tone suddenly became serious: "Be careful on the way back!"
He pointed to the fully loaded carriage and said, "It came empty, but now it's loaded with cargo. The braking distance will be at least three times longer. Honk the horn in advance when you encounter a sharp turn."
Chow Tai Fook and Master Wang stood at attention quickly, and the frozen cotton brims of their hats swayed.
"knew!"
The two spoke in unison, their voices carrying the embarrassment of having their "little secret" exposed, as well as the solemnity of being cautious about the road ahead.
When the truck started, the "clicking" sound of the anti-skid chain rolling over the snow was heard again. Zhou Yimin stood in the wind and snow and watched the tail lights disappear.
Then he left and walked towards home.
The howling north wind carried snow particles, which hit the windshield of the truck like fine sand.
Chow Tai Fook gripped the steering wheel tightly, glancing at the rearview mirror from time to time to make sure that the truck driven by Master Wang was following closely behind.
The anti-skid chains on the tires rubbed against the icy road surface, making regular "clicking" sounds that echoed on the silent mountain road.
Suddenly, the light in the rearview mirror began to shake violently.
Zhou Dafu's heart tightened and he slammed on the brakes.
Amid the harsh sound of brakes, he saw Master Wang's truck skidding out of control on the curve behind him, the body of the truck lying across the road at a strange angle, the headlights drawing messy arcs in the snow.
"Not good!" Chow Tai Fook quickly pulled the handbrake, grabbed a flashlight and jumped out of the car.
The biting cold wind instantly blew into his collar, and he rushed towards the accident vehicle in the wind and snow.
I saw that half of Master Wang's truck was hanging on the side of the road, the rear wheels had sunk into the soft snow, and the front of the car was still shaking slightly.
Master Wang opened the car door with a pale face and said in a trembling voice: "Da Fu, the steering wheel suddenly stopped turning!"
Zhou Dafu squatted down to check and found that the wheel was stuck between the raised ice ridges and one section of the anti-skid chain was loose.
"It's okay, I just got stuck on an ice ridge."
He comforted her, the white breath he exhaled condensed into frost flowers in the cold air.
The two men picked up the shovels carried in the car and began to shovel the snow vigorously.
The cold wind was like a knife, cutting my cheeks and causing pain, and my fingers soon lost feeling.
But they didn't care about that and cleared the snow and ice around the wheels shovel by shovel.
"Come on, try to see if you can pour it out!"
Zhou Dafu shouted loudly. Master Wang restarted the truck, and with the engine roaring, the wheels finally slowly got out of the predicament.
After checking the condition of the vehicle and confirming that it was just a false alarm, both of them breathed a sigh of relief.
"Thank goodness I installed snow chains, otherwise I would have been in trouble today."
Master Wang said with lingering fear. Zhou Dafu helped him fix the loose anti-skid chain and patted him on the shoulder: "Let's go, and drive slower next time when you encounter a curve."
The truck started again and rolled over the snow, the "crunch" sound still regular and firm.
Zhou Dafu gripped the steering wheel tightly, his eyes more alert. This sudden accident made him more awed about the journey home in the snow, and he also understood the importance of Captain Li's advice.
Finally, around ten o'clock in the morning, I finally returned to the steel plant.
Zhou Dafu's eyelashes were already covered with frost, and his fingers gripping the steering wheel were slightly numb from being tense for a long time. When the outline of the factory gate finally pierced through the snow mist, he heard Master Wang beside him exhale heavily, and the white mist instantly condensed into tiny ice crystals in the cold air, falling on the faded work pants.
Two trucks rolled over an icy railway track, and the anti-skid chains made a sharp sound when they collided with the rails.
In the open space in front of the warehouse, workers wrapped in military coats were already waiting with flashlights in their hands. The beams of light cut out swaying paths in the snow.
"You're finally back!" The unloading foreman trotted over, his breath blurring his goggles.
When Chow Tai Fook jumped out of the car, his legs were so frozen that he could hardly bend them.
He forced himself to walk towards the carriage, the chill of the metal guardrail running down his palms and into his spine.
"Be careful."
He gave orders in a hoarse voice, and the beam of his flashlight swept across the neatly stacked vegetable baskets in the carriage.
"Unload the green peppers and tomatoes first, and then the cabbage stalks last."
Before he finished speaking, more than a dozen workers had already lined up in a long queue tacitly. The sound of hemp ropes rubbing against each other and bamboo baskets colliding suddenly exploded in the empty factory area.
Master Wang squatted beside the truck chassis to check it. With his purple fingers, he used a wrench to tighten the anti-skid chain buckle.
"Da Fu, the chain on the right rear wheel is badly worn." His voice was interrupted by the noise of loading and unloading.
Zhou Dafu bent down to check and found that the place where the iron chain rubbed against the ice surface had become frayed, which looked very much like the traces of their thrilling journey.
Chow Tai Fook leaned on the truck tire, looking at the workers' backs gradually going away, and then he realized that his back molars were aching slightly from excessive tension.
Master Wang handed over a half pot of ginger tea that had already gone cold. The two of them took turns drinking it from the spout. The spicy warmth dispelled some of the biting cold.
A dull roar came from the blast furnace in the distance, as if marking the final chapter of this transportation journey across the wind and snow.
The incandescent lights in the warehouse cast a pale halo on the snow. Zhou Dafu and Master Wang drove the truck slowly into the transportation department garage with heavy steps.
The turned-off engine was still emitting residual heat, mixed with the lingering aroma of food in the car and the pungent smell of diesel in the garage.
Master Wang untied his frozen scarf and suddenly ran towards the duty room, his cotton shoes slipping on the icy ground.
"Captain Li." Master Wang pushed open the wooden door of the duty room, and the cold wind blew snow particles into the warm room.
Li Feng was drinking ginger soup from an enamel pot when he was startled by the shout and started to choke and cough.
Before he could react, Master Wang rushed forward, holding his hands tightly with his rough hands, his lips trembling from the cold and turning purple: "Captain Li, it's a good thing you asked us to install the anti-skid chains, otherwise I might not be able to come back safely."
Li Feng was confused by this sudden action. Looking at Master Wang's red eyes and ice on his eyelashes, he felt a little uneasy.
"Don't be impatient, take your time."
He pulled his hand away and added a spoonful of hot water to the enamel pot; the steam blurred the lenses.
Master Wang sat on an iron stool next to the coal stove and recounted the thrilling experience of his truck skidding on the mountain road and its wheels getting stuck in icicles. When he talked about how the truck almost slid off the cliff, his voice choked up unconsciously.
After listening to the story, Li Feng's tense shoulders finally relaxed. He exhaled heavily, and the pipe bowl of his pipe made a muffled sound on the edge of the coal stove: "It's good that he is okay, it's good that he is okay!"
In the halo of the kerosene lamp, his bloodshot eyes swept across the mud stains on Master Wang's overalls and Zhou Dafu's tired face.
"The end of the year is the peak season for transportation. Every truck and every driver in our department cannot be delayed." He stood up, took out two bags of brown sugar from the drawer and stuffed them into the two men's hands.
"Make some ginger and sugar water to drive away the cold, and have a good rest tomorrow, because there are still tough battles to fight."
The snow was still falling outside the window, and the coal stove in the duty room was crackling, casting the shadows of the three people on the mottled wall.
Zhou Dafu looked at the newly grown white hair on Li Feng's temples and suddenly realized that the lights in the duty room that were on late at night and the repeated instructions before departure were all the heavy responsibilities that the old captain carried on his shoulders.
The morning mist had not yet dissipated, but steam from the steel plant cafeteria had already burst through the roof.
As the news spread through the clanging tools and work clothes covered with iron filings, the workshop suddenly exploded.
Old Zhang, who was feeding the blast furnace, straightened up suddenly, and the iron shovel made a crisp sound when it hit the hopper: "Really? There are fresh vegetables?"
The young apprentice beside him wiped the coal dust off his face, his eyes brightened surprisingly: "I heard there are green peppers, tomatoes, and juicy lettuce!"
As soon as the lunch bell rang, the cement road leading to the cafeteria was crowded with workers.
Old Li was running at the front clutching a stainless steel lunch box. The zipper of his army green cotton jacket was not even zipped up, and the white breath he exhaled condensed into rime in the cold wind.
"Run slower! You can't afford to pay for breaking a plate!"
The cafeteria lady laughed and scolded through the window, but the wok in her hand never stopped. The sizzling sound of rapeseed oil entering the wok mixed with the aroma of chopped green onions drifted into the noses of the people in the queue through the crack in the door.
“Give me some stir-fried cabbage with green peppers.”
"Add more tomatoes and eggs!"
The shouting that came one after another in front of the window made the glass tremble.
The master chef waved a long-handled wok, and the meat slices and green peppers in the iron pan flew red and green. Oil splashed on the hot stove, and bursts of white mist with a burnt aroma rose up.
A worker was squatting in a corner, holding a plate full of lettuce, wolfing it down. The crisp and tender leaves made a "crunching" sound when he bit them, which surprised him so much that he put down his chopsticks and smacked his lips: "It tastes so delicious, I thought I was eating delicacies from the land and the sea!"
The crisp sound of porcelain spoons colliding, mixed with the constant exclamations in the cafeteria, made the entire steel plant immersed in a long-lost fresh atmosphere.
Even Lao Zhou, the usually silent boilerman, burped with his empty lunch box in his hands and squinted his eyes in satisfaction: "Finally I don't have to eat cabbage stalks every meal!"
At this time, the aroma of freshly cooked food wafted through the cafeteria, and the chef stood at the window and shouted, "There is only one pot of tomato and egg left. Come quickly if you want more!"
The workers responded, laughed, and pushed each other as they ran towards the window. The noise once again filled the entire cafeteria.
The snow was still falling outside the window, but the house was warm as spring. The workers at the steel plant were eating fresh vegetables and talking about the thrilling experience of transporting the vegetables. Laughter and exclamations came one after another, dispelling the severe cold of winter.
After lunch, the steel plant was shrouded in a thin layer of mist, and the cold wind blew snow particles across the empty factory area.
Master Wang held the enamel pot in his hand, looking at the tea in the cup that was gradually cooling down, his fingers unconsciously stroking the rim of the cup. Although he returned safely in the morning, the thrilling scene of the truck skidding on the mountain road still felt like a thorn in his heart.
"Lao Wang." Li Feng's voice came from behind, with unquestionable decisiveness.
When Master Wang turned around, he saw the captain holding a notebook in his hand, with snow still lingering on his military coat.
"I'll take care of the afternoon's dispatch mission, you stay in the Transportation Department to inspect the vehicles."
Master Wang opened his mouth and his Adam's apple moved: "Captain Li, this..."
He was interrupted before he could finish his words.
"Don't be so long-winded."
Li Feng slapped the notebook on his shoulder and said, "I'll feel relieved if you check the vehicles, especially the one that had problems today."
He also knew that Master Wang had just encountered such a thing. If he continued to force himself to drive, it would be troublesome if he really had some psychological barriers.
The sunlight poured in through the mottled glass windows of the Transportation Department, casting tiny shadows on Li Feng's military coat.
Master Wang looked at the other person's bloodshot eyes and suddenly remembered that when he set out in the early morning, it was these same eyes that repeatedly checked whether the anti-skid chain was secure in the wind and snow.
His throat tightened, and he nodded vigorously, reaching out to take the notebook: "Okay! I promise to check every car thoroughly!"
Master Wang also understood why Li Feng did this, and he was very grateful to Li Feng, at least it gave him some room to relax.
For the rest of the afternoon, there was a constant clanging sound in the Transportation Department's garage.
Master Wang, wearing oily gloves, carefully checked the tires and brake systems of each truck with a wrench, and occasionally lay on the cold ground to check the chassis.
The roar of Li Feng starting the truck could be heard in the distance. Master Wang looked at the car lights gradually going away, and a tense corner of his heart quietly relaxed.
Master Wang did not slack off, but checked all the trucks. If he encountered any problems that could be solved by one person, he would solve them.
If one person can't handle it, he can only solve it after everyone gathers.
In this way, Master Wang was busy in the transportation department for the whole afternoon.
Finally, just before the bell rang for the end of get off work, Li Feng and Zhou Dafu drove the truck back to the transportation department.
When Master Wang saw the two people return safely, he finally felt relieved.
(End of this chapter)
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