Chapter 47

The 291st passenger train returning from the Yellow Sea to Guhe arrived at 7:10 AM. The crew finished their duties and returned to the depot around 7:30 AM. Xiao Yuanhang arrived at the depot at 7:00 AM and saw Captain Lin Yan in the dispatch room. Lin Yan said, "Xiao, you're here. Wait in the team office for a moment. I'll go to the platform to meet the train. After Zhang Yaping and the others return to the depot, I'll arrange for you to take over."

Xiao Yuanhang replied, "Okay, Captain." He followed Lin Yan out of the dispatch room. Lin Yan went to the station to meet the train, while Xiao Yuanhang went to the office of Passenger Team One.

The other leaders of the team hadn't arrived yet, but only "Little Teacher" Lu Yujian was mopping the floor. Seeing this, Xiao Yuanhang stepped forward and said, "Sister Lu, let me do it."

"Little Teacher" is a term used in the train depot for personnel who assist in the team. In larger teams, there is usually one team leader, one to two deputy leaders, and one party branch secretary. In smaller teams, there is one team leader and one secretary. Passenger Team One originally had one leader, one deputy leader, and one secretary, with nearly 300 people in the entire team. These few leaders couldn't manage everything, so they applied to the division and got another deputy leader. Even so, they were still busy, so each team had one to two assisting personnel. They were neither leaders nor workers, but rather workers who did writing and calculation tasks for the team. Because they had good writing skills, they were called "Little Teachers."

Lu Yujian is 32 years old. Three years ago, she was assigned to help the team after publishing a communication in the Songtiedao Workers' Newspaper. She has been doing this job for three years. Although she is not a leader or a worker, this job has an advantage: when the depot needs leaders, she can be transferred to a leadership position, and if conditions are right, she can smoothly become a leader. She works very hard, arriving at the depot around 7:00 AM to clean the office.

Lu Yujian blocked Xiao Yuanhang's hand and said, "Just a bit more, and I'll be done. Xiao, you sit down for a moment."

Xiao Yuanhang saw that the floor was almost clean, so he found a cloth, washed it in the basin, and started wiping the desk. Lu Yujian didn't stop him this time, finished mopping the remaining area, and went to the washroom to clean the mop.

With Xiao Yuanhang's help, the cleaning was quickly finished. Lu Yujian poured him a cup of hot water and sat down to chat. Soon, they heard the sound of footsteps in the corridor. Xiao Yuanhang knew that Captain Lin Yan and the others had returned, so he stood up to greet them.

Lin Yan and the regular train conductor of the first crew, Zhang Yaping, walked over. Seeing Xiao Yuanhang, Lin Yan said, "Xiao, He Hongwei is waiting for you in the dispatch room. Go and take over from her first, and we'll talk later."

"Okay, I'll go right away," Xiao Yuanhang replied, then greeted Zhang Yaping and quickly walked to the dispatch room.

All the crew members were waiting in the dispatch room to go to the team study room after their shift. The first crew was the team Xiao Yuanhang had worked in for over a year, and everyone was very familiar with him. When they learned that he had become a train conductor, they greeted him warmly, and Xiao Yuanhang smiled in response.

Li Guiying pulled Xiao Yuanhang over and asked, "Xiao, I heard you won the technical championship of the railway bureau and were promoted to train conductor. Is that true?"

Xiao Yuanhang smiled and said, "Of course, it's true. I'm here to take over from Conductor He." Li Guiying was Xiao Yuanhang's mentor when he was a train attendant and had taken good care of him. They worked in the same carriage, with Li Guiying in the A class and Xiao Yuanhang in the B class, and they cooperated very well.

Hearing that it was true, Li Guiying was very happy and said, "Conductor He is over there. Go over quickly, and we can chat later."

He Hongwei, who had just returned from her shift, was very happy to be transferred to the eighth crew as the regular train conductor. She had been the deputy conductor under Zhang Yaping in the first crew for over two years. Zhang Yaping was very domineering, making He Hongwei feel suffocated. Zhang Yaping took all the good opportunities, and He Hongwei was left with the difficult tasks, leaving her with no place to vent. Being transferred to the eighth crew to replace Tang Jing as the regular conductor finally gave her a sense of achievement.

Seeing Xiao Yuanhang walk over, she quickly greeted him, "Xiao, congratulations on becoming a conductor!"

Xiao Yuanhang smiled and said, "Thank you, and congratulations on your official promotion, Conductor He!"

"Congratulations, congratulations!" He Hongwei said happily. "Captain Lin just told me to hand over to you. There's not much to hand over, just the keys to the two spare item boxes. I just checked, and everything is in order. Come and take a look."

Xiao Yuanhang and He Hongwei went to the spare item storage, opened the two large boxes, and checked the items. After confirming everything was correct, they locked the boxes, and Xiao Yuanhang put the two keys on his keychain. The handover was complete. He Hongwei led the crew to the study room, and Xiao Yuanhang went to the team office.

Captain Lin Yan had already finished talking with Zhang Yaping. Seeing Xiao Yuanhang, she said, "Xiao, I've already discussed the work with Zhang Yaping. You and she will go to the study room together, and I'll announce the change in conductors. You should consult her more about the team's work."

"Okay, Captain Lin!" Xiao Yuanhang replied, then turned to Zhang Yaping and said, "Conductor Zhang, I'm young and have been on the job for a short time. I have a lot to learn, so please guide me more in the future."

Zhang Yaping nodded and said, "Captain Lin has already told me. If you have any questions, just ask me directly. Let's go to the study room."

In the study room, the crew had already finished their shift and were seated. The crew had been away for three days and three nights. Previously, they would study the next day after returning, but because some lived far away, it was inconvenient, so they now study immediately after returning and then take five days off. On the day of the shift, they report to the depot five hours early, attend a roll call, and then clean the train before it leaves the depot.

Soon, Captain Lin Yan and Party Branch Secretary Zhang Ying arrived and announced Xiao Yuanhang's appointment. Xiao Yuanhang officially appeared before the crew. After Lin Yan and Zhang Ying gave some official words about teamwork and supporting Xiao Yuanhang, they left.

Zhang Yaping led the study session, which included summarizing the previous shift, planning the next shift, and conveying and studying higher-level documents and telegrams. The session lasted about an hour. She didn't say much to Xiao Yuanhang, only telling him to come early on the shift day and then left for home.

During these days at home, Xiao Yuanhang didn't go anywhere. He just stayed home and studied the train conductor's procedures. Although he was an excellent conductor in his previous life, it had been a long time, so it was necessary to familiarize himself with the procedures. He worked hard and, after a few days, knew the procedures by heart.

Although he really wanted to see Jiang Shan before his shift, he remembered how she had been scared like a frightened rabbit after their kiss. He didn't know what she was thinking, so he decided it was better not to see her for now. He would let her calm down and see her after his shift.

On the day of the shift, Xiao Yuanhang dressed neatly and arrived at the depot early. After waiting in the dispatch room for a while, the regular train conductor, Zhang Yaping, also arrived. After filling out the duty report, Zhang Yaping handed it to Xiao Yuanhang and said, "There are no changes in our crew. The A and B classes remain the same, and they will still work in their original carriages. Take a look at this report; you'll be filling it out from now on."

Although Xiao Yuanhang was very familiar with the duty report, he humbly took it and read it carefully. The duty report at this time was very simple, unlike the more complex ones in the future. After reading it once, he knew how to fill it out.

The crew members arrived one by one. After the roll call and the dispatch officer's instructions, the crew lined up and went to the depot's passenger car storage to find the 292nd train they would be operating. They boarded the train, found their assigned carriages, and started cleaning...

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PS: Brothers, you're too awesome! In less than a day, you've pushed Lao Qu to sixth place, and the position is very stable. Xiao Yuanhang's first shift as a conductor has begun, and he's already set sail. Brothers, let's set sail with Lao Qu too!!!

{Piaotian Literature}