In the cold winter of the 1980s, Chen Gang, a technical secondary school graduate, took a long-distance bus to Qaidam, Qinghai, with his registration card. In the bumpy wind and snow for three days and two nights, the painted bus carried oil workers, silent herdsmen and a few women wrapped tightly in scarves, passing through the snowy fields of the Riyue Mountain and the yellow sand of the washboard road, and finally arrived at Xinghuo Town deep in the Gobi.
This is the edge of the industrial territory of New China - the ticking telegraph machine in the plateau cable machine room, the work unit network strung together by tremolo telephones, program-controlled switching, optical fiber communication and mobile communication and other modern communication construction jointly weave a picture of an era in which technical youth have taken root. Chen Gang will take over the enamel cup from the old master here. During the apprenticeship period with a salary of 44 yuan, he will face the buzz of faulty equipment, the important task of national defense optical cables, and a group of lively people: the lively and enthusiastic local girl Li Ya, the anxious Shandong instructor, the soft-spoken Chief Yuan...
They rang the phone with their rough palms and spliced optical fibers with their frozen fingertips. Under the windy sand and stars of Kunlun Mountain, they guarded the sound to the outside world. This is a story about employees in the communications industry, technological dreams and the temperature of the times - when a small individual collides with the majestic mountains and rivers, the light it emits is brighter than the stars.
I would like to write this article to pay tribute to all those who have lived seriously in the depths of the years.
Reader comments
The first five chapters use delicate and simple writing to construct a vivid picture of the Northwest Post and Telecommunications Bureau in the 1980s. Chen Gang's joining process is not only the beginning of personal growth, but also a microcosm of the era of a generation of technical youth - from the confusion of long-distance bumps, to the interpersonal warmth in the aroma of roasted sweet potatoes, to the industry urgency of "robbing people" in communication stocks, every scene is flowing with the true blood of the times. The attention to detail is particularly outstanding: the whine of the crank phone, the wolfberry stains on the enamel cup, and the precise figure of the 44 yuan salary stated by the leader, together weave a picture that combines the flavor of life with the depth of history. The characters are vividly and three-dimensionally created. Secretary Lu's thoughtfulness, instructor Sun's impatience, and Li Ya's agility are all revealed naturally through dialogue and actions, injecting human warmth into the technical narrative. Overall, this is a sincere work rooted in the soil of the times, allowing people to hear the pulse of the times in the communications equipment room under the Kunlun Mountains. [Like][Like][Like]
The first five chapters use delicate and simple writing to construct a vivid picture of the Northwest Post and Telecommunications Bureau in the 1980s. Chen Gang's joining process is not only the beginning of personal growth, but also a microcosm of the era of a generation of technical youth - from the confusion of long-distance bumps, to the interpersonal warmth in the aroma of roasted sweet potatoes, to the industry urgency of "robbing people" in communication stocks, every scene is flowing with the true blood of the times. The attention to detail is particularly outstanding: the whine of the crank phone, the wolfberry stains on the enamel cup, and the precise figure of the 44 yuan salary stated by the leader, together weave a picture that combines the flavor of life with the depth of history. The characters are vividly and three-dimensionally created. Secretary Lu's thoughtfulness, instructor Sun's impatience, and Li Ya's agility are all revealed naturally through dialogue and actions, injecting human warmth into the technical narrative. Overall, this is a sincere work rooted in the soil of the times, allowing people to hear the pulse of the times in the communications equipment room under the Kunlun Mountains. [Like][Like][Like]