Chapter 95

With a stern expression, Director Ma was taken aback when Xiaoyuan Hang addressed him as Teacher Ma. He carefully scrutinized Xiaoyuan Hang’s smiling face and immediately recognized him. His expression softened as he said, "It’s Xiaoyuan Hang, when did you start working at the train segment?"

Director Ma, whose full name is Ma Shoucheng, was Xiaoyuan Hang’s homeroom teacher from third to fifth grade and also served as the school’s head counselor. At that time, Xiaoyuan Hang was the class study committee member, excelling academically and deeply favored by Ma Shoucheng. In fifth grade, when Ma Shoucheng got married, Xiaoyuan Hang led over twenty boys from the class to move the desks and chairs from Class 1 and Class 2 to his home, where they were arranged into a dining table for the wedding banquet. After the wedding, they moved the desks and chairs back. This deeply moved Ma Shoucheng.

At graduation, Xiaoyuan Hang was one of the seven students in the entire school to receive an outstanding graduation certificate. After entering junior high, he had little contact with Ma Shoucheng. Later, he heard that Teacher Ma won a major award at a railway speech contest and was selected to represent the railway in a national tour, which caught the attention of the railway bureau leadership. He was then transferred to work at the railway bureau, though Xiaoyuan Hang was not sure which department. Today, it seemed he was working at the bureau’s railway conduct office.

Xiaoyuan Hang smiled and said, "Teacher Ma, I took over my father’s position at the train segment in 1983, and it’s been more than two years now."

"Ah! Why did you take over the position? With your excellent academic performance, it’s a pity you didn’t go to university!" Ma Shoucheng felt a deep sense of regret that his favorite student did not pursue higher education but instead took over a position.

Xiaoyuan Hang explained, "After entering junior high, I became a bit playful, and my academic performance wasn’t as good. I barely made it into the fast track class in high school. Later, when the railway was processing the final batch of position transfers, I took over the position after being persuaded by my family."

Ma Shoucheng glanced at the train conductor’s armband on Xiaoyuan Hang’s arm and said, "You’re only 18 this year, right? To become a long-distance train conductor after just two years of work is quite an achievement. Work hard, and you might do just as well as going to university."

Ma Shoucheng stood at the door of the compartment, talking to Xiaoyuan Hang, while the six people inside waited silently, clearly indicating that he was the leader of the group. Xiaoyuan Hang judged this in his mind and smiled, "Thank you, Teacher Ma. I will work hard."

At this point, Ma Shoucheng remembered the purpose of their trip and said to Xiaoyuan Hang and Zhang Yaping, "Wait here for a moment. We’ll brief you on the issues after our meeting."

Xiaoyuan Hang gestured for them to enter the compartment and said, "Teacher Ma, please go ahead with your work!"

As soon as the compartment door closed, Li Xin Hong, the business officer of Class A, who had been peeking at the door of the soft sleeper compartment, urgently beckoned Zhang Yaping. It was clear she had important information to report. Zhang Yaping quickly walked over, and after a moment’s hesitation, Xiaoyuan Hang followed. As the train conductor of this class, he needed to be aware of any situation.

At the junction of the carriages, Li Xin Hong glanced at Xiaoyuan Hang, hesitated for a moment, and then reported to Zhang Yaping about Lin Zhigang’s private carriage of three ticketless passengers, which had been discovered by the bureau’s railway conduct office. She knew that since the issue had already been uncovered by the conduct office, there was no need to hide it from Xiaoyuan Hang.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Yaping felt as if she had fallen into an ice cellar, her heart turning cold. This was exactly what she had feared! There was no doubt that such an incident, once discovered by the bureau, would be classified as a railway conduct issue. The consequences for the responsible person and the train conductor were severe, and the repercussions were clear. What should she do? She was at a loss.

Xiaoyuan Hang also felt a heavy weight in his heart. Someone like Lin Zhigang deserved to be fired, but if the bureau classified this as a conduct issue, it would affect the youth team, the Guhe train segment, and even the Tongshui railway division. If the division and segment were punished, would the leaders spare those below them? He could ignore Zhang Yaping’s fate, but he couldn’t ignore his own future. Even if he wasn’t punished, being transferred to a small line would likely end his career as a train conductor!

Thinking that Teacher Ma might be a leader in the bureau’s conduct office, Xiaoyuan Hang asked, "Conductor Zhang, what does Ma Shoucheng do in the conduct office?"

Zhang Yaping, hearing Xiaoyuan Hang call Ma Shoucheng "Teacher Ma" repeatedly, realized he had not been in contact with him for a long time. She knew Ma Shoucheng from when he inspected her train class and knew he was originally from Guhe and had been a teacher at the railway second primary school. Having dealt with him before, she knew he was a tough person to talk to, with a strong sense of principle. As a former student who had not been in contact for a long time, Xiaoyuan Hang would not get any special treatment. She needed to find another way!

"Ma Shoucheng is the deputy director of the bureau’s conduct office," she replied to Xiaoyuan Hang and then turned to Li Xin Hong, "Quickly, take a thousand yuan from the ticket money!"

Xiaoyuan Hang, seeing Zhang Yaping use the ticket money, understood that she intended to bribe Ma Shoucheng to resolve the issue. He had been young when he was a student and had not been in contact with Ma Shoucheng for many years, so he did not know what kind of person he was. He had no idea if Ma Shoucheng would give him any special consideration. Since Zhang Yaping was taking this approach, he had no better plan and decided to see if she could resolve the issue. If not, he would consider other options.

In Compartment 9, the meeting convened by Ma Shoucheng to discuss the inspection results had concluded. He had a reason for leading this surprise inspection of Train 292. The bureau’s conduct office had received multiple complaints from passengers about being charged extra for sleeper berths on Train 292. Although the office had sent people to investigate, the passengers could not provide credible evidence, only insisting that they had been charged.

Through the investigation, while there was no concrete evidence, the conduct office believed the complaints were true. Due to the lack of evidence, they did not alert the Tongshui railway division or the Guhe train segment. Instead, they decided to send two inspection teams to conduct a surprise inspection of Train 292. The conduct office’s director, Li, led one team, and Deputy Director Ma Shoucheng led the other. According to the meeting, the teams inspecting the sleeper cars and the crew car found no issues. They separately questioned the dozen or so passengers who had purchased sleeper tickets on the crew car, and these passengers either claimed they had contacted division leaders or Guhe train segment leaders, which was a common practice and not considered a violation.

Ma Shoucheng did not expect this outcome. They had not found the issue they were looking for but had instead uncovered the private carriage of ticketless passengers by Lin Zhigang. Although this was a serious conduct issue, it had a smaller impact compared to the more serious issue of charging extra for sleeper berths. Since their main objective had not been achieved, Ma Shoucheng carefully considered his options and made a decision.

Ma Shoucheng looked at a young man sitting across from him and said, "Xiao Zhang, call the on-duty train conductor in. I need to brief them on the issues we found."

The inspection team, which included Ma Shoucheng and He Changqing from the conduct office, had only a few members. The other five were temporarily assigned from various segments to assist. The "Old He" Ma Shoucheng referred to was the formal conduct inspector, the middle-aged man with a dark face who had inspected the crew car. The others were experienced officials in charge of conduct at their respective stations. Upon hearing Ma Shoucheng’s instructions, they all stood up and left the compartment.

Ma Shoucheng was pleasantly surprised to see his former student, Xiaoyuan Hang, who had become a train conductor at such a young age. When he inspected the train, the conductor he met was Zhang Yaping, and he knew she was the on-duty conductor. He had a protective instinct towards Xiaoyuan Hang, so he instructed Xiao Zhang to only call in the on-duty conductor, Zhang Yaping.

As soon as Zhang Yaping entered the compartment, Ma Shoucheng gave her a stern reprimand, pointing out the serious conduct issue of Lin Zhigang, the water supply attendant, who had privately carried ticketless passengers and accepted money. He informed her that the bureau would issue a notification to the entire system and hold the relevant personnel accountable.

Zhang Yaping was already aware of the severity of the situation. If the notification was issued, everything would be over. Ignoring the presence of He Changqing, she took out a thousand yuan in an envelope and placed it on the table in front of Ma Shoucheng, saying, "Director Ma, this is all my fault. I failed to educate and manage my team. If the notification is issued, the segment leader will not spare me. Please, give us a chance to correct our mistakes. I promise to strengthen the education of the crew and ensure this never happens again!"

"Don’t try to pull me into this. Take this away!" Ma Shoucheng’s face turned stern when he saw Zhang Yaping attempting to bribe him. He said sternly, "You committed a mistake and now want to drag me down with you. Your thinking is seriously flawed. With a conductor like you, how can the crew be any good? I will report your behavior to the entire system and instruct the Tongshui division to handle it seriously!"

Hearing this, Zhang Yaping fell to her knees, tears streaming down her face. She said, "Director Ma, please, give me one more chance. I’ve worked in passenger service for 12 years and been a train conductor for 8 years. This has never happened before. It was due to my poor management that the crew took advantage of the situation. My mother has a serious heart condition, and my husband is unemployed. If this is reported, my life will be ruined. Please, give me a chance!"

"Get up, get up! What are you doing?" Zhang Yaping’s tactics were to cry, make a scene, and threaten to hang herself. She could cry on command and even kneel and bang her head on the ground. Ma Shoucheng had seen people plead for leniency, but he had never seen a woman kneel and bang her head on the ground, refusing to get up. It was a shocking sight, and he was momentarily at a loss. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, please subscribe and support it. Your support is my greatest motivation.)

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