Chapter 68

Xiao Yuanhang quickly wrote down the detailed account of the incident. Wu Yue glanced at it and then called the party office of the branch. They turned on the phone recording, and Wu Yue read it out directly. Thinking that the *People's Railway* would do a special report on this matter, Xiao Yuanhang provided another piece of information, asking Wu Yue to tell the party office of the branch that Tang Wanjun, the Xinhua News Agency correspondent in Liaodong, had taken many photos at the time. If needed, they could contact her.

Wang Haisan, after receiving the report from the Songjiang Railway Bureau, initially felt that a mere text report lacked the necessary impact. He hurriedly called Tang Wanjun, who selected five photos and sent them over. Wang Haisan was overjoyed and immediately replaced several articles in the current issue of the newspaper with the five photos, and sent them to the printing factory.

Xiao Yuanhang was called by Secretary Ma to discuss the situation. Since the good deed of the Guhe Train Section was featured in the *People's Daily*, Ma Dezhi's face was also brightened. After encouraging him, he let Xiao Yuanhang go home to rest, and the follow-up matters would depend on the reactions of the railway bureau and the branch.

Xiao Yuanhang went to the train team and reported the situation to Captain Lin Yan. The achievements of the Passenger Team One not only made it to the *People's Daily* but were also about to be featured in the *People's Railway*. Lin Yan was very appreciative of how Xiao Yuanhang handled the situation. As a new train conductor, he managed to handle such an emergency so well, which made the experienced Lin Yan very pleased. After encouraging him, she let him go home.

Xiao Yuanhang left the train section before 11 o'clock. He thought for a moment and then headed to the Guhe Station. He had to leave on a train the next day and wanted to go to the ticket office to check the ticket sales for the 292 train the next day. One reason was to understand the overloading situation, but more importantly, to check the soft sleeper ticket sales.

In this era, soft sleeper tickets were not fully open to the public; you couldn't just buy them with money. Only county-level or higher officials, i.e., department-level or higher, could ride in the soft sleeper. To buy a soft sleeper ticket at the station, one had to present an introduction letter from their unit; otherwise, it would not be processed. This provided Xiao Yuanhang with a convenient way to check which leaders were traveling. If a leader of a certain level was traveling, he could prepare the reception in advance.

Since the Guhe Railway was directly under the Tongshui Railway Branch and had no affiliation with the local government, a strict barrier had been formed over the years. Local government orders could not enter the railway domain. For any matters, one had to negotiate with the railway branch; the grassroots stations and sections had no such authority. There was a sense of complete estrangement. Only provincial or ministerial-level leaders would receive special arrangements from the railway when traveling. For city-level leaders, the railway would simply do its job, and the leaders would take their trains according to the railway's regulations, with at most a better attitude.

Over the years, a certain atmosphere had formed in the Guhe Train Section: local leaders traveling were generally ignored. Since they couldn't manage the railway, even if the mayor of Guhe traveled, it would be the same. Xiao Yuanhang, with his experience from the future, did not think this way. He knew the importance of maintaining good relations with local government leaders. Living in this city, one had to abide by various constraints. Xiao Yuanhang wanted to make a big move in his career, and without the support of government leaders, it was unrealistic. Now, the pine nut business was just starting, and to grow and expand into other fields, having connections in the local government was essential.

Entering the ticket office, Xiao Yuanhang glanced at the ticket windows and saw his high school classmate Wu Yujian sitting at the third window. She had joined the workforce the same year as him and was assigned to the Guhe Station Passenger Service Workshop. After working as a passenger service officer for a year, she became a ticket seller. He walked over and tapped on the window glass, saying, "Old classmate, you're on duty?"

Wu Yujian looked up and saw Xiao Yuanhang, smiling, "Yes, Xiao Yuanhang, what brings you here? Are you buying a ticket?"

Xiao Yuanhang said, "No, I want to find out the ticket sales for tomorrow's 292 train."

Wu Yujian said, "Xiao Yuanhang, you're overstepping, aren't you? The train section is managing the ticket office now!"

Xiao Yuanhang laughed, "How dare I? I'm taking the 292 train tomorrow and want to know in advance if it's overbooked and by how much, so I can plan my work accordingly."

Wu Yujian said, "Xiao Yuanhang, are you the train conductor? Why are you managing everything?"

Xiao Yuanhang smiled, "If I weren't the conductor, I wouldn't care about this!"

"Ah!" Wu Yujian looked at Xiao Yuanhang in surprise, "Xiao Yuanhang, you really became a train conductor?"

Xiao Yuanhang said, "Yes, I've been a conductor for not long. I just want to do my work well in advance, so I have to trouble you, old classmate. If there's anything in Huanghai, just let me know."

Wu Yujian said with great admiration, "Xiao Yuanhang, you're amazing. You became a train conductor after just two years of work, and on a major line too. I would need at least three to four years to become a ticket supervisor!"

Wu Yujian quickly checked the ticket records and said, "Tomorrow's 292 train has all the sleeper tickets sold out, and all the hard seat tickets are sold out as well. Over 80 standing tickets have been sold, and with a day left, I estimate another 100 standing tickets will be sold. The overloading isn't too severe."

Xiao Yuanhang nodded, "Old classmate, can you check how many soft sleeper tickets have been sold?"

Wu Yujian checked and said, "One soft sleeper compartment has been sold, and the other two are reserved for the Liaocheng Station."

The 292 train had a total of 9 soft sleeper compartments. Except for compartment 9, which was reserved for the train, 8 compartments were sold to the public. The Guhe Station had 3 compartments with 12 tickets, and the other 5 compartments were reserved for major stations along the route.

Xiao Yuanhang said, "Can you check which department the soft sleeper compartment was sold to?"

Wu Yujian looked and said, "It's registered to the Guhe Municipal Party Committee Organization Department, with Minister Xu and three others."

"Um, noted, thank you, old classmate!" Xiao Yuanhang knew that the position of Minister of Organization was significant, a key figure in Guhe City. Guhe City was a county-level city, and only the Party Secretary, Mayor, People's Congress Chairman, and CPPCC Chairman were at the department level. Deputy positions like the Deputy Secretary, Minister of Organization, Minister of Propaganda, and Deputy Mayor were at the deputy department level. Since Minister Xu bought a soft sleeper ticket, he must be the head of the department, as the deputy minister's level was not sufficient.

Xiao Yuanhang inquired about the soft sleeper ticket sales with the intention of building a relationship with local leaders. Whether he could gain their recognition would depend on the opportunity. If a city leader was traveling and he didn't approach them, they wouldn't approach him. Opportunities are created by people, and they are also left for those who are prepared.

Wu Yujian smiled, "We're old classmates, no need to be so formal. If you need anything in the future, just come to me."

Xiao Yuanhang smiled, "I'll definitely trouble you in the future!"

After saying goodbye to Wu Yujian, Xiao Yuanhang walked while thinking about how to receive Minister Xu and his group the next day. A routine reception wouldn't do; he had to leave a special impression!

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ps: There might have been a keyword issue when uploading this chapter, so the chapter needed to be reviewed. Lao Qu checked and added some spaces to re-upload it.

Thank you to the readers "Wuli Kan Hua Fei Hua" and "Zong You Chong Ming" for your support!

{Piaotian Literature}