Chapter 34

Xiao Yuanhang hurriedly raised his hands and joked, "You are all valiant women, not someone like me can handle. The world is full of dangers, if it doesn't work, just retreat!" As he said this, he raised his hands, bent his waist, and ran out of Tang Jing's room. Only after running out did he let out a long sigh of relief...

Xiao Yuanhang raised his hands in a surrendering gesture to attract Tang Jing's attention, to avoid her seeing the embarrassing changes in his lower body. The gesture of raising his hands and bending his waist was also aimed at this goal, and fortunately, it successfully attracted her attention. Otherwise, he would have been in a very embarrassing situation!

From the second day on, the training officially began. Even the local contestants from Tongshui had to stay in the guesthouse at night and were not allowed to go home. All living and washing supplies were provided free of charge by the branch, with the sole purpose of allowing the contestants to fully study and understand the rules and regulations during this period, to achieve good results in the railway bureau's technical performance competition.

The branch's training was far more systematic than the so-called closed training organized by the head of the education office of the Guhe train section, Tian Fen, for political achievements. The branch's training was very systematic, with a detailed training plan. It focused on passenger-related rules and business knowledge, supplemented by technical regulations, operational regulations, accident regulations, and other related rules. The instructors were engineers Qiu Zhi from the passenger department and Liang Daren from the vocational education department. Both were well-educated and explained things systematically and in an easy-to-understand manner, always ready to answer questions, which greatly benefited the contestants!

The branch's training was called fully closed, and the local contestants from Tongshui were not allowed to go home at night. However, in reality, they were not confined to the guesthouse. In the morning, you could go out for a walk or exercise, as long as you returned before 6:30 for breakfast. After dinner, from 6:00 to 8:00 PM was free time, during which you could go out for a walk or shopping, but you had to return by 8:00 PM for roll call and were not allowed to leave the guesthouse afterward.

During the training period, since only Xiao Yuanhang and Zhao Bingnan were male, they spent the most time together. They went out for a run in the morning and took a walk after dinner. Although the branch provided good food and accommodation, alcohol was not allowed. When they wanted to drink, they bought alcohol and ready-to-eat food and brought it back secretly. They locked the door and drank a few cups before going to bed.

The ten-day training quickly came to an end. On that afternoon, the branch gave the contestants a day off, and they were to take the 8:40 AM train the next morning to report to the Songjiang Railway Bureau. The local contestants from Tongshui could go home for one night, but the six contestants from Guhe and Linquan could not return home, as the round trip would not fit into the time available.

To prepare for the technical performance competition, the branch's passenger department made a lot of efforts. They gave each contestant a new set of railway uniforms as competition attire and a pair of black leather shoes, which they had to wear when they set off the next day.

The three local contestants from Tongshui, after receiving their uniforms, were eager to return home. All three were mothers, and although they had been running home every day during the ten-day period, they only had about an hour each time. Not being with their children every night made them miss them a lot, so they were eager to reunite with their husbands and children.

Xiao Yuanhang and Zhao Bingnan, along with the other four, had to continue staying in the guesthouse. The passenger department arranged a special banquet for them in the evening to comfort them. The head of the passenger department, Sun Hai Ping, personally came to drink with them and promised to speak to their unit leaders after the competition to give them more days off.

The next morning, after meeting the three local contestants from Tongshui on the platform, the head of the passenger department, Sun Hai Ping, personally led the team, with engineer Qiu Zhi serving as the team coach. They boarded the train from Tongshui to Songjiang. The journey from Tongshui to Songjiang took 8 hours and 12 minutes, arriving at 4:52 PM, which was a regular express train within the jurisdiction of the bureau.

The head of the passenger department from the branch and the deputy section chief in charge of passenger services from the Tongshui train section, Bai Xiao Hua, personally boarded the train to accompany them. The nine contestants were all arranged in lower berths, and the dining car prepared special meals for the leaders, with a refined and sumptuous lunch at noon.

After lunch, Xiao Yuanhang saw that the upper berth was empty and climbed up to take a nap. Ordinary passengers usually prefer the lower berth for convenience, but people like Xiao Yuanhang, who work in passenger services, prefer the upper berth because it is quiet and undisturbed, making it easier to fall asleep and rest well.

When Xiao Yuanhang woke up, it was already 3:30 PM, with less than an hour and a half left until they reached Songjiang. He got down from the upper berth, tidied up his personal belongings, and then chatted with Tang Jing and Song Chunli. The hour passed quickly in conversation, and the train attendant came to change the tickets and remind them that they would arrive at the final station in 20 minutes.

Upon arriving in Songjiang, Xiao Yuanhang and his team checked into the Songjiang Railway Bureau guesthouse. The 45 contestants from the five branches, along with their team leaders and coaches, as well as the staff from the bureau's passenger department, filled a large bus. The Songjiang Railway Bureau's technical performance competition was traditionally dominated by the Songjiang branch, which had the advantage of being in the bureau's location. Even on the bus, they maintained a distance from the contestants from other branches, displaying a sense of superiority and pride.

Xiao Yuanhang glanced at the contestants on the bus. They were the elite of the Songjiang Railway Bureau's passenger system. If it were purely a technical competition, everyone should be on the same level. However, the technical performance competition was never just about technical skills. There were many other factors involved. The Songjiang branch's contestants had long dominated the bureau's technical performance competition, mainly because of their deep connections within the bureau. The competition was not as strict as a university entrance exam, and they could get some of the questions beforehand!

The large bus quickly entered the campus of the Songjiang Railway Bureau's staff university. The contestants lined up by branch and entered the examination room. The examination room was a large classroom that could hold 100 to 200 people. The train conductor group, business staff group, and train attendant group were seated in different areas, making the large classroom look sparse. Xiao Yuanhang looked at this gathering of elites and the hopeful faces, and he knew that most of these people would take leadership positions in the passenger system over the next ten years!

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PS: The railway communication network is really frustrating. I couldn't log into the author's backend all morning, so I had to update this chapter at an internet cafe. If I can't log in tonight, I'll have to go to the internet cafe again. I apologize to everyone and continue to ask for your support in terms of collection, clicks, and votes!

{Piaotian Literature}