Chapter 37

Xiao Yuanhang finished answering both the theoretical and practical sections of the exam and checked the time. There were still 20 minutes left before the exam ended. He finally breathed a sigh of relief and glanced at the other contestants. Some were hunched over their desks, writing furiously, some were scratching their heads in anxiety, and others were sweating profusely, looking at their papers in despair.

Xiao Yuanhang felt he had done quite well, but he did not dare to be complacent. He followed the procedure and began to check his answers, mainly to see if he had answered the wrong questions, if there were any missing sentences, if there were any typos, and if the punctuation was correct. After checking once, there were no major issues. Xiao Yuanhang found two typos and immediately corrected them. He wanted to check again, but time did not allow it. He could only check if the unit, position, and name were correctly and completely written. After confirming there were no errors, the time was up, and Xiao Yuanhang placed his exam paper on the table, signaling that he was done, and got up to leave the examination room.

The contestants who walked out of the examination room did not look relaxed. Many were dejected and sighed all the way. Xiao Yuanhang was an exception; he walked out of the examination room with a smile on his face and a light step. When Section Chief Sun Hai Ping saw him come out, he hurriedly asked, "Xiao, how difficult were the questions? How did you do?"

Xiao Yuanhang smiled and replied, "Section Chief Sun, the questions this time were not too difficult, but there were many obscure questions. I answered most of them, but I can't guarantee if they are correct!"

"Many obscure questions? What kind of obscure questions? Tell me," Sun Hai Ping, of course, had some understanding of the exam questions and asked Xiao Yuanhang.

Xiao Yuanhang said, "There was a question like this: In the use of the emergency brake valve, there is a rule that 'on long downhill slopes, you must first check the air pressure gauge. If the pressure has dropped by 1 kilogram, you must not use the emergency brake valve again.' The exam asked why you cannot use the emergency brake valve in this situation."

"Ah?" Sun Hai Ping's expression was very surprised, and he could not help but exclaim. To be honest, such a strange question even he, as the head of the passenger service department, did not know how to answer. This was not just an obscure question but a very obscure one. Who set this question? It's not reliable at all!

The contestants from Tongshui Branch Bureau who walked out of the examination room gathered around and echoed, "Yes, we just follow the rules. We don't need to know why we can't use it in this situation; that's the responsibility of the vehicle department. Asking such a question is just making things difficult for us!"

"Stop, stop, stop. Wait a moment before you continue," Sun Hai Ping, seeing everyone talking at once, quickly raised his hand to stop them and asked, "How did you all answer?"

When Sun Hai Ping asked this, the contestants who were just talking all shut up, and no one was willing to answer first. Sun Hai Ping pointed to Wang Xue, the business officer from Tongshui Train Section, and said, "Wang Xue, you answer first. How did you answer?"

Wang Xue, being called out by the section chief, had to answer, "Section Chief Sun, I thought that on long downhill slopes, the air pressure has already dropped by 1 kilogram. In this situation, even if you pull the valve, the brakes might not work, so you are not allowed to pull the valve. That's how I answered."

Sun Hai Ping nodded continuously. Although he did not know the standard answer, based on his rich experience in passenger service, Wang Xue's answer should be correct. However, the expression was too direct and not in written language, but it could still score some points. He looked up at Xiao Yuanhang and asked, "Xiao, how did you answer?"

Xiao Yuanhang said, "I answered the same as Wang Xue. I said that due to insufficient air pressure, the train cannot safely stop on long downhill slopes and may cause more serious consequences."

"Hmm!" Sun Hai Ping nodded and said, "Your answer is closer to the standard answer!"

They discussed for a while, and the staff from the passenger service department called them to get on the bus. Since grading the exam papers would take some time, the organizing committee arranged for everyone to return to the guesthouse for lunch and free time in the afternoon. The competition results would be announced at 8:00 AM the next morning at the staff university, along with the naming and commendation ceremony.

On the bus back to the guesthouse, the contestants were all discussing the exam questions, asking each other how they answered. Since the standard answers were not announced, everyone could only rely on their experience to judge who was on the right track, but no one was sure. The three champions from the Songjiang Branch Bureau from the previous year sat in silence, looking dejected, clearly having done very poorly this time!

At 8:00 AM the next morning, the naming and commendation ceremony for the Songjiang Railway Bureau Passenger Service System Technical Performance Competition was held on time at the Songjiang Staff University. Since Deputy Director Du Changming, who was in charge of passenger service, was in the capital for a meeting and had not returned, Deputy Director Yu Wenhai, who was in charge of transportation, attended on his behalf. The Publicity Department of the Railway Bureau Party Committee and the Songjiang Railway Workers' Newspaper also sent representatives to attend the meeting.

The meeting was still chaired by Wang Xiaopeng from the Passenger Service Department. Director Zhang Jianguo's speech was brief, mainly reaffirming his commitment to fairness and impartiality in the competition. The grading and marking work had been completed by the staff of the Passenger Service Department and the teachers of the staff university. Deputy Director Wu Chuanting would announce the final results shortly.

Next, Deputy Director Yu Wenhai gave a speech. Since he was not in charge of passenger service, he was not familiar with this area and only spoke for about 10 minutes based on the outline provided by the Passenger Service Department. Then came the most tense and important part for the contestants: the announcement of the results!

Wu Chuanting loudly announced, "The first place in the Train Conductor Group goes to Zhao Lina from the Chun Cheng Branch Bureau, with a total score of 186 points! The second place goes to Tang Jing from the Tongshui Branch Bureau, with a total score of 182 points! The third place goes to Zhao Bingnan from the Tongshui Branch Bureau, with a total score of 178 points!..."

Applause broke out repeatedly. In the top three of the Train Conductor Group, there was not a single contestant from the Songjiang Branch Bureau, which had always been the dominant force. Instead, the Tongshui Branch Bureau unexpectedly took two of the spots!

Wu Chuanting continued, "The first place in the Business Officer Group goes to Li Shuzhen from the Yang Cheng Branch Bureau, with a total score of 183 points! The second place goes to Liang Jingyan from the Songjiang Branch Bureau, with a total score of 180 points! The third place goes to Wang Xue from the Tongshui Branch Bureau, with a total score of 177 points!..."

In the Business Officer Group, the name of a contestant from the Songjiang Branch Bureau finally appeared, but this Liang Jingyan was not the champion from last year. Like Xiao Yuanhang, she was a newly selected contestant. The Tongshui Branch Bureau once again took one of the top three spots!

"Finally, I announce the results of the Train Attendant Group!" Wu Chuanting looked at the list in his hand and loudly said, "The first place in the Train Attendant Group goes to Xiao Yuanhang from the Tongshui Branch Bureau, with a total score of 196 points!"

As soon as this score was announced, the entire venue erupted in thunderous applause. This meant that Xiao Yuanhang, with a score 10 points higher than the first place in the Train Conductor Group, Zhao Lina, had become the first technical champion of the Songjiang Railway Bureau Passenger Service System!

Among those clapping, the happiest person was not Xiao Yuanhang but Section Chief Sun Hai Ping. This time, the Tongshui Branch Bureau not only took the top three spots in all three groups but also secured the first place in the overall team score of the technical performance competition. This was a significant achievement for him!

Xiao Yuanhang could be described as a rising star, winning the triple crown in the technical performance competition in his first year, and he was only 18 years old!

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PS: With Xiao Yuanhang's triple crown, Section Chief Wu Fengshan will fulfill his promise to promote him to train conductor. Brothers, please vote to support him!