"Then we cannot put it into operation in September." The experts reminded him.
"I'll catch up with the schedule by economic means." He called deputy general manager Guo Xuefeng of Gansu Power Transmission and Distribution Engineering Company， pointed to the 200，000 yuan cash that the accountant had just withdrawn from the bank and said to Guo， "You tell the workers my words. I give you one month to finish all the work including the demolition and installation. You are responsible for all the overtime pay and the rework costs. If you can finish the work ahead of schedule， I will give 10，000 yuan for each day before the deadline. I hope you can take away the 200，000. But I have a prerequisite. You must guarantee the quality of the project. The experts will check to see if it is OK."
Guo Xuefeng shook his head， "General Manager Li， your idea is tricky."
Li Weidong smiled， "Anyway， I believe there are always brave men before big rewards. Are you in？"
"I'm in！" Guo Xuefeng did not bargain over the price.
Then， he reported to SGCC the problems of the protruded cable wires of the online monitoring cabinet system， which attracted the attention of SGCC. An overall examination began.
Workers on the online monitoring cabinet systems construction site of "Project 750" worked 24 hours in three shifts a day. They finished the task ahead of time. One of the systems only took 17 days to be installed， which was the fastest speed ever.
However， Li Weidong was delighted for only a few days after he saved the cabinet systems. Later， the installation of the transformer bushings almost threw him into a hopeless situation.
Li Weidong had a habit. Every morning， he would go to the construction site to check on the progress. He saw that the Gansu Power Transmission and Distribution Engineering Company workers did not rest after their working time. They continued to install the ascending flanged base of the transformer bushing. Li called Guo Xuefeng， "The workers are too tired. Change to another work group to continue. The bushings are too large， be careful when hoisting them."
Guo Xuefeng said， "Please be at ease， General Manager Li. The workers are accustomed to such a heavy workload. It's OK to work overtime. The installation will not be influenced by this."
As a result， the hoisting operation was abnormal and a corrugated pipe was broken.
Guo Xuefeng called Li with a trembling voice， "General Manager Li， a big accident happened."
"What happened？"
"A corrugated pipe in the bushing was broken."
"Guo Xuefeng. Guo Xuefeng！ What did I tell you？"
"Please punish me."
"It's not a big thing to punish you. But you did a bad thing to 'Project 750'."
Li Weidong hurried to the construction site. The installation of the bushings had stopped. He asked the experts from Xi'an Switch Factory there， "What can we do with the broken corrugated pipe？"Experts from Xi'an Switch Factory said， "The corrugated pipe was imported from Sweden. It takes four months to book another one and finish the installation."
God kills me. This was the first time Li Weidong felt his dream of returning to his hometown south of the Yangtze River would die in the cold mountains and remote places of the northwest. This was his dream when he took over this task. That dusk， he walked alone along the fields of the county in the sunset. Looking at the setting sun in the west， he seemed to see the sun of his offcial career also setting.
He made a phone call to general manager Liu Bencui， "General Manager， the corrugated pipe was broken. I did a poor job in organization. I contacted the foreign manufacturer. It will take four months to book another one from Sweden， wait for the production and logistics and finish the installation. It is impossible to put the project into operation this September. I'm destroying the image of Northwest Grid. Please punish me."
Men do not easily shed tears， but Li Weidong could not help choking with sobs when he said those word.
"You damn Li Weidong！" Liu Bencui cursed with the accent of Fujian. "How can I punish you？ Stay there！ I will shoulder the responsibilities if there are any problems."
The setting sun above the green mountains became warm. His words warmed Li Weidong's heart. At that time， he found he was not alone. Behind the green mountains was Chang'an city， where he could find the staunchest support. Also， the leaders of SGCC in Beijing were supporters of his career.
The next morning， Li Weidong came to the construction site as usual. The five experts were there， waiting to report to Li. The experts said at the morning meeting， "General Manager Li， do not worry about the pipe. It's not a big deal. We can repair it."
"Really？"
"There is no jesting in war. We will not fool you."
"Good！ I'm relieved to hear this." Li Weidong then asked， "How will you manage it？"
"We will invite Swedish experts to repair it."
Li Weidong patted his head， "Yes！ Why didn't I come up with this idea？" Therefore， he told Lü Shirong of the Department of International Affairs of "Project 750" to make a phone call to the Swedish expert. The expert was on holiday.
"Though he was on holiday， we must find him. We will pay for the airline tickets， accommodation fees and overtime pay."
"OK， General Manager Li. Please be at ease. I will find the expert even if it means digging up the world，" Lü Shirong said.
Just as Lü Shirong was seeking the Swedish expert， Gansu Electric Power Company decided to dismiss Guo Xuefeng from his post as punishment. They asked Li Weidong for advice.
"Forget it！" Li Weidong shook his hand and said， "Though Guo Xuefeng made some mistakes， he also did some good things.
We can let him atone for his 'crimes' by doing good deeds. If he continues to make mistakes， we can punish him together."
"OK！ Since General Manager Li is so generous. We will forgive Guo this time."
"Thank you！"
"It is us who need to thank you."
The Swedish expert was spending his holidays near the Mediterranean Sea， but Doctor Lü Shirong， director of the Department of International Affairs of "Project 750" found him. With tools and glue， he came to the transformer substation in East Lanzhou， Gansu. Looking at the broken corrugated pipe， the pressed brows of the expert extended.
Li Weidong was good at observing the facial expressions of others. Seeing the facial expression of the Swedish expert， he let Doctor Lü Shirong translate his words， "Can we repair it？"
"Yes！" The Swedish expert answered in English.
"Is it possible for him to conclude that this pipe will not influence the quality of the 750-kilovolt transformer substation as a prototype？"
Lü Shirong translated Li's words.
"No！" The expert shook his head and said he did not have the authorization to make any such conclusion.
Li frowned and came up with an idea. Li Weidong said to his secretary， "Let the TV journalist of Gansu Electric Power Company send a video camera here."
"General Manager Li， what will you do with the video camera？""It's a secret. I will tell you when the TV journalist comes."
The Swedish expert worked for a whole night， but he did not allow the Chinese to watch his work. He said it was to protect intellectual property rights. After a night's hard work， the corrugated pipe was repaired. Then it started to be dried. The next morning， the pipe would be installed into the bushing.
The next morning， the cameraman came.
Li Weidong let them stand near him and said， "When we install the corrugated pipe， please shoot the whole process. In particular， please catch every detail when I talk to the Swedish expert."
"I see， General Manager Li."
Then， Li Weidong led the cameraman to the construction site.
After being dried for half a night， the corrugated pipe processed by the Swedish expert was dry. It could be installed into the bushing.
When the corrugated pipe was lifted before the bushing， Li Weidong sent an eye signal to the cameramen. They started shooting. When the last step of the installation was finished， the corrugated pipe was successfully installed. The foreign expert raised his head， sighed with relief. He stretched out his thumb and said， "OK！"
"Take a snapshot！" Li Weidong said to the cameraman.
"General Manager Li， we have taken one."
"Very good！"
Then， Li Weidong suddenly threw a question to the expert， "How do you evaluate your work this time here in China？"
"Good！"
"Good！" Li Weidong started to sing. It is perfect to have "OK"and "Good" from a Swedish expert.
The ancient Chinese wisdom won over the culture of North Europe.
Li Weidong was quite proud of his masterpiece， and he did not avoid being egoistical. However， he was after all an ordinary human being who also felt tenderness and soft emotions. This was not only reflected in his dream of returning to his hometown south of the Yangtze River， but also in his care for his subordinates.
Zuo Yuanzhong came to the construction site as the secretary of the general commander of "Project 750." In his eyes， the most important work as a secretary was to take care of the physical health of the general commander.
However Li Weidong wanted Zuo to be in charge of things related to publicity. Li asked Zuo to learn about the situation on the construction site and produce a bulletin every two weeks to report to SGCC and Northwest Grid Corporation.
Half a month had passed， but Zuo hadn't handed over the bulletin.
That night when Li Weidong was driving home， he said， "Zuo， fifteen days have passed， but I did not see the bulletin I asked you to make on my table."
"General Manager Li，" Zuo Yuanzhong said in an earnest way， "I came to 'Project 750' to take care of your health. I don't think it's my responsibility to do publicity-related things."
"Zuo， I tell you now，" Li Weidong's facial expression and tone of voice suddenly became serious. "I am the general commander. You will do whatever work I make you do. I am quite aware of the state of my health. I asked you to make the bulletins. If you cannot do this， you can go back to Xi'an."
Zuo Yuanzhong did not expect General Manager Li， who had always been gentle to him， to say such heartless words to him. Tears flowed down his face.
That night， Zuo Yuanzhong edited the bulletin. At the same time， he wept. The light of his room， which was diagonally opposite to the room of Li Weidong， did not go out until 4 o'clock in the morning. When Li Weidong woke up during the night， he saw the light and figure in Zuo's room. Usually， Li would go to Zuo Yuanzhong's room and ask him to sleep early. However this time， Li wanted to test his working competence.
Early next morning when the sun shone in the east sky， Li Weidong went downstairs. Li's footsteps made noise and Zuo Yuanzhong was awakened. Zuo followed Li Weidong and ran downstairs. When the driver opened the door for Li Weidong， Zuo Yuanzhong handed the bulletin to Li. Li Weidong took the bulletin and got in the car， his tears streaming. He wept， "Zuo， am I too strict with you？"
"No！" Zuo Yuanzhong kept shaking his head， but he said nothing more.
Men do not easily shed tears. I sat in the offce of the general manager of Fujian Electric Power Company in the gentle autumn， listening to Li Weidong telling this story of friendship between two men. I also wept.
. . .
Now the 750-kilovolt grid hangs above the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Li Weidong has realized his dream. He not only returned to the southern part of the country， but was also promoted to be the general manager of Fujian Electric Power Company of SGCC for his devotion to "Project 750". His family and he are all happy and his wish to go to the south is finally realized.
That afternoon， the autumn sunshine came into his offce. I tasted the Anxi Tieguanyin tea and listened to his story of "Project 750". Three hours passed quickly. He had to catch a flight from Fuzhou to Shanghai at 5 o'clock so I had to stop our interview.
His story was wonderful. I said， "General Manager Li， you know so well what story I needed."
"Haha！" Li Weidong laughed. "It was you who asked the right questions. But I have a question for you， since you have almost visited all the branch companies of SGCC. What are your comments on the general managers of these companies？"
"You are all heroes that can accomplish big things，" I said earnestly.
IntheRemoteGuanting
Zhu Yue was looking at the clouds of Qinghai. The west sky was painted by the setting sun. Several rays of sunshine shone through the rifts in the clouds like gold needles that have been burnt red. Behind the thick clouds， he still could not hear the roaring sound of the planes flying through. The flight from Beijing to Xining was late. Zhu Yue looked at his watch anxiously. Luan Jun， chief engineer of SGCC， came to attend the comprehensive debugging of "Project 750". That night， Luan planned on going to Guanting， home to the Tujia ethnic group near the Yellow River in Qinghai. The mountain road was winding. Even in the daytime， driving on these roads is as diffcult as reaching the clouds， not to mention driving at night. It would be more dangerous.
However， even if there were mountains of swords ahead of him， Zhu had to accompany chief engineer Luan Jun to Guanting that night. Otherwise， the discharge test of the transformer the next day would be impossible.
Dusk was falling. The plane from Beijing finally tilted down and landed softly on the runway. Finally， Luan Jun arrived. He didn't stay in Xining， capital of Qinghai Province. Instead， he immediately got into the car to Guanting. Guanting is more than 100 km away from the airport. Along the winding road are thousands of mountains. On the one side of the road， there are cold mountains as high as the sky， while on the other side， there are cliffs along the Yellow River coming from nowhere. Wherever the car lights shone， the scenery was frightening. However， the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau was under their feet. Numerous stars were twinkling in the sky. The deep starry sky was like a coordinate inset with the ideals and pursuits of the people in SGCC generation after generation.
Luan Jun exclaimed， "I know the mountain road in Sichuan is dangerous. But I think it is less dangerous than the road here in Guanting."
The starry sky was left behind. On the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau， the weather would change after passing a mountain. In front of their car were dark clouds and lightening. The lightening was like a golden snake dancing in the winds and tearing the night apart."It's raining heavily in Guanting，" Zhu Yue said. He was too familiar with the mountain road here. In the early summer of 2005， he led a team here as the director and the secretary of the party committee of Shaanxi Electric Power Research Institute (Shaanxi EPRI). In the daytime， they proceeded with the construction. At night， they had classes aimed at furthering their education. He was accustomed to the winding mountain road here as he had often walked on the road.
However the most dangerous part of the road is not between Xining and Guanting. As Yi Lidong， one of the "Four Diamonds"of the Offce of "Project 750"， said to Zhu Yue， the most dangerous part is on the mountain slope of the Yellow River Crossing Tower when the line stretches out from the Gongboxia Gorge.
Because Zhu Yue said this， I asked Dr. Yi Lidong when I interviewed him， "You said the Yellow River Crossing Tower of the 750-kilovolt line is the most dangerous. How dangerous is it？ Could you please tell me with some short stories？ "
Yi Lidong muttered to himself for a while. As a PhD student graduated from Russia， he has a quick mind. "Because I was responsible for the high voltage， I frequently went to Tiger Leaping Gorge. Every time， my heart raced. After returning home， my legs were still trembling. Even today， when I think back to the danger I faced， I am still frightened."
"What frightens you？"
Yi Lidong said， "I was frightened by the feeling of looking at the Yellow River from the summit. The winding Yellow River， our Mother River， was like a red thread thrown on the cold mountains of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. From the mountain foot to the mountain top， there are nearly a thousand meters. The two mountains on each side are tilted. The river flows through them. High cliffs are along the river bank. The higher you go， the farther the distance between the mountains will be. On the mountains is withered and yellow gravel that has rotten. We did not dare sound the horn. Once we pressed the horn， loess would go down. We needed to be very careful when we drove down the mountains. If we had slid， we would have rolled into the Yellow River and died. ""Is it really so dangerous？" I asked.
"Of course，" Yi Lidong said， "One day when I went down the mountain， I accidentally fell. Fortunately， I landed on my bottom. My hands strove to grasp anything that I could find. I slid for dozens of meters. When I finally stopped， I found all the stones my body had pressed became ashes. And all the stones I had grasped became gravel."
"How did you carry the materials needed to build the tower to the top of the mountain in such an environment？"
"We relied on small donkeys."
"The materials weigh dozens of tons. How many times did the donkeys go up and down the mountain to carry all the materials？"
"I could not count. I have a story to tell you about the donkeys."
"The donkeys we used to carry the materials were like men. They also had limits. They carried the materials day after day， month after month. They made a detour from the narrow pass， up and down， back and forth. The donkeys sometimes couldn't bear it. Sometimes they raised their heads and shouted to the sky， but no one cared for them. Finally， some donkeys couldn't bear it any longer. They chose to kill themselves."
I was shocked. "The donkeys could kill themselves？"
"Yes. When the donkey had no energy to carry the materials， it couldn't climb the mountain. It then chose to jump into the Yellow River and end its life."
"This is an exaggeration. Did it slip and fall into the yellow River？" I asked.
Yi Lidong shook his head and said， "At first， I also thought it was an accident. The donkeys slipped and then fell into the Yellow River. But one day， I really saw the situation on the mountain slope. I saw a donkey no long climbing up the mountain. There were desperate tears in its eyes. It shouted to the sky and then jumped into the Yellow River. It rolled down to the gorge that was several hundred meters deep and was then taken away by the river."
I was amazed. "This is the most extraordinary story I have ever heard. Now that the donkeys were not willing to carry the materials， how did you carry the materials？"
"The workers of Gansu Power Transmission and Distribution Engineering Company and other power transmission and distribution companies bid for the project."
Hearing this story， I was suddenly filled with admiration for the builders of "Project 750". Also， I was filled with respect for the experts and engineering technicians of Shaanxi Electric Power Research Institute who participated in the debugging of the project. According to Zhu Yue， that night when he picked up chief engineer Luan of SGCC， it began raining not long after they drove out of Xining. The cold rain made the road even more dangerous. Zhu Yue had been on the road many times， but he still remembered the first time he came to Guanting to debug the Guanting transformer substation.
Back then， Zhu Yue was the director and the secretary of the party committee of Shaanxi Electric Power Research Institute. In July 2005， he led a team to Guanting. He let deputy director and chief engineer Song Dawei take charge of the general technological work and senior worker Guo Wei take charge of the logistic support. On the team of more than 40 people， the eldest was Wang Liying， a Tsinghua graduate who had taken part in the "Liu-Tian-Guan" 330-kilovolt project. The youngest one was just married. The children of some of the female engineers were very little. They left their children with their parents and hurried to the construction site of "Project 750" in Guanting.
It seemed that the experts of Shaanxi Electric Power Research Institute were used to the summer in the Xi'an city. They lacked the experience of living on the plateau when they first came here. In the morning， there were cold winds. At noon the sun was hanging high in the sky， with ultraviolet rays coming down. The snowy wind and sunshine took off a layer of skin. At night when the experts need to work overtime， the temperature went below zero. The experts all huddled up together.
Noticing this situation， Zhu Yue recognized that if they could not protect the experts from the cold weather at night， the experts would catch a cold. Then they would lose much labor force. The debugging of "Project 750" would be impossible.
The next day when Zhu Yue got up， he found Guo Wei and said to her， "You let the driver go back to the county right now and buy all the clothes we can. Tonight we need to wear more clothes to keep warm."
Guo Wei nodded. She called the driver and went to the county in a minibus. When they arrived in the county， the supply and marketing cooperatives were not yet open. Guo knocked at the door of each cooperative and awoke the salesmen. Guo asked the salesmen to search their storehouses. Finally， they found more than forty pieces of cotton and woollen clothing produced in the 1970s. Though these clothes were old-fashioned and had a musty smell， there was wool inside the clothes， which could keep people warm. Guo Wei was quite happy about this. She brought back the salesgirl of the supply and marketing cooperative to the construction site of Guanting. The minibus became a temporary fitting room. All the men and women on the construction site were asked to try the clothes on in the minibus.
With clothes to keep warm， workers could bear the cold even if they had to work overtime until one or two o'clock in the morning. Looking at the backs of the workers who went to the construction site with thick clothes， Guo Wei felt sorrowful. Tears appeared in her eyes. Life there was indeed too painful. Because of the high altitude， rice could not be fully boiled and steamed buns were sticky.
However Guo Wei still came up with new ideas to make the workers eat more. She asked the cook to make noodles and send the noodles to the construction site. The workers coming from Shaanxi had not had Shaanxi-style noodles for a long time. They were very excited， but they did not have enough bowls on the construction site. Some workers took off their red electrician helmets and put plastic bags in the helmets. They placed the noodles in the helmets and started to eat， with the helmets in their hands. Such a manner of eating became a common sight on the construction site in Guanting.
One day， it rained and the workers could not go out to work. Guo Wei suggested to Director Zhu Yue， "The workers haven't had a nice dinner for a long time. Let's make dumplings together."