A Tale of Two Cities Supporting Xinjiang

Han Jidong squatted down and touched the wall; the icy coldness penetrated his skin.

He stared at the raised sign, his mind racing: "Chen Ming, take two people to the warehouse to find antifreeze glue and waterproof tape, and get a few buckets of hot water to melt the ice on the wall first!"

Sun Bing, go and write down all the labels with curled edges. Pay special attention to the cotton farmer's passageway; if any of these are missing, the verification process will definitely fail!

Just as the two were about to leave, they saw a familiar figure limping towards them in the distance—it was Lao Xue!

Han Jidong was taken aback for a moment, then quickly walked over: "Why are you back? Didn't the doctor tell you to stay at the hospital for observation?"

Old Xue, wrapped in a thick coat with snow still clinging to his trouser legs, saw the peeling sign on the wall and his eyes reddened with anxiety: "I heard at the hospital that there was a problem with the sign, how can I sit still?"

I brought these materials back myself, we can't afford to fail at this stage! I'll help reinforce them; I know the properties of these materials well!

As he spoke, he reached for the glue in Chen Ming's hand, but as soon as he bent over, he winced in pain as blood seeped from the gauze on his toes.

Han Jidong quickly pressed him down: "Your foot is still bleeding, hurry back to the hospital! We've got you covered here, you don't need to interfere!"

What does "meddling" mean?

Old Xue was so anxious his voice rose, "These materials were carried back by my brothers through wind and snow, how can I let them fail? I know how to glue them most securely, let me try!"

"Try what?"

Han Jidong also got angry and forcibly dragged Lao Xue to the rest area, saying, "If you keep messing around, your foot will really be left with sequelae. How will you work in the future?"

I know what's going on with the materials. If you trust me, just go back and recover!

Old Xue was being dragged along, but he kept looking back at the sign. "Director, it's not that I don't believe you, I just... I'm just not willing to accept this. The brothers have been freezing all the way here, we can't let them fail because of this!"

"I know! Don't worry, Chen Ming and I will keep an eye on it and make sure the signs are reinforced. We won't let your hard work go to waste."

"You just stay here and rest, help us with the procedures, and don't move around, okay?"

Looking at Han Jidong's determined eyes, and then glancing down at his bleeding toes, Lao Xue finally breathed a sigh of relief, but still took out his phone: "Then I'll send you the reinforcement techniques the seller mentioned before. When sticking signs on at low temperatures, you have to thaw them first, and leave expansion joints, otherwise they'll easily crack!"

Han Jidong nodded and was about to turn around to get back to work when Lao Xue stopped him again: "If we don't have enough glue, I'll call the supplier and have them send some over."

"No need, we'll try it first, and if it's not enough, we'll trouble you."

Watching Han Jidong turn away and busy himself, Lao Xue quickly took out his phone and typed a message, sending Han Jidong the reinforcement details the merchant had mentioned, one by one. He then sent a message to Xiao Zhang: "Keep an eye on Brother Han. His blood pressure isn't good, don't let him push himself too hard!"

On the other side, Chen Ming and his men had already boiled water and were wiping the ice off the walls with cloths.

Han Jidong held the antifreeze glue, applying it while shouting, "Apply a thick layer, press it for a while, and wait for the glue to dry completely before wrapping with tape!"

As soon as Aikberjan reached the airport entrance, he saw the herders he had managed to calm down earlier gathering again, with several young cotton farmers grabbing the security guard's arm and trying to force him inside.

"If we're allowed in, will the sign fall off again? Will the departure be delayed?"

"Everyone, please don't act rashly!"

Aikberjan quickly spread his arms to block the crowd, saying, "It's just a few signs that are peeling off. We're fixing them right now, so it definitely won't delay the cotton transport."

"Repair? How do you repair it?"

An uncle wrapped in a thick cotton-padded coat pushed forward, his tone full of anxiety: "I have 30,000 catties of cotton piled up in my warehouse, and if I delay for another two days, it will get damp and moldy."

If you postpone the start of the flight, my entire harvest for this year will be gone!

The moment these words were shouted, the crowd erupted in chaos.

Some people were filming with their phones, saying they wanted to keep evidence; some were ramming into security guards, trying to force their way into the construction area; and others were shouting for Han Jidong to come out and demand an explanation.

Aikberjan suddenly remembered the Kazakh uncle he had helped persuade last time, and quickly took out his phone to call him: "Uncle, come to the airport entrance quickly! Everyone's panicking, please say a few words for them, they'll believe you!"

Before long, the Kazakh uncle rushed over. Aikberjan, as if grasping at a lifeline, quickly went to meet him, briefly explained the situation, and then took out his phone to show photos of Lao Xue's frostbitten toes.

The uncle took the phone and held it up to the crowd. "Everyone, take a look. This is Brother Xue, who went to deliver the qualification labeling materials for us. In order not to delay the departure, his feet were frostbitten like this. He is still in the hospital worrying about the labeling repair."

The crowd fell silent instantly, and even the cotton farmers who had been arguing the loudest moments before had flushed faces.

"Director Han and his team have been working through the night for several nights in a row, carrying their blood pressure medication with them in their pockets. Do you think they can fool us?"

The man continued, "I just came from the construction area and saw them wiping the walls with hot water, applying thick layers of glue, and wrapping them tightly with tape. They were taking even better care of the walls than we would of freshly picked cotton!"

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Aikberjan stepped forward, grabbed a newly reinforced sign, and tugged hard with both hands, but the sign did not budge.

He shouted to the crowd, "Look how sturdy it is! It won't fall even in a strong wind. The voyage will definitely start on time. Let's not cause trouble here; let them concentrate on their work so the cotton can be transported out as soon as possible!"

The young cotton farmer who had led the charge scratched his head and lowered his voice: "Wouldn't it have been better if we had just explained things clearly earlier? We were just confused because we were in such a hurry."

At this moment, a man wearing a felt hat stepped forward and said, "Everyone, disperse, don't crowd around. Aikberjan and I will guard the entrance and prevent anyone from barging in, so they can focus on the repairs!"

Others chimed in, and the chaotic scene quickly calmed down.

Seeing that Han Jidong and the others were still busy, Aikberjan quickly grabbed the thermos next to him and ran over: "Director, have some water to warm up. Everything at the door is settled, everyone has stopped making trouble, and they're even helping to maintain order."

Han Jidong took the kettle and took a sip.

He looked up and saw Chen Ming doing what Lao Xue had said, leaving expansion joints for the signs. Sun Bing covered the signs with waterproof cloth and weighed the corners down with stones. He finally felt half relieved.

Han Jidong shouted towards the construction team: "Keep up the good work! The verification team will be here in two hours. We can't let the herders' cotton wait."