Chapter 39: Traversing the Qinling Mountains

The cold mountain stream water seeped slowly through the outer layer of the quilt. He Yuzhu’s hands were pressed against the cold bearing housing as if welded there, locked tight onto every faint change in stress within the precision steel components inside.

"Stop!" He Yuzhu’s voice was hoarse as he raised his hand.

Ma Hua immediately ceased pouring. He Yuzhu’s fingers moved rapidly across the surface of the quilt-wrapped housing, sensing the temperature differences as the internal stress field began to stabilize. "Change spots! Left rear corner! Pour!" Ma Hua immediately directed the icy water to the spot indicated by He Yuzhu’s finger.

Zhao Tiezhu and Wang Meng stood by the truck, not daring to breathe, their eyes fixed on He Yuzhu’s figure in the rain and his constantly moving fingers.

Time seemed frozen by the frigid rain; every second felt agonizingly long.

Finally, He Yuzhu’s tense body suddenly relaxed, and he let out a long breath of white mist. "It’s done! The stress has stabilized! Keep it wrapped! Let it return to ambient temperature naturally!"

The group’s suspended hearts finally settled.

Ma Hua collapsed into the mud, gasping for air. Zhao Tiezhu and Wang Meng leaned against the cold truck body, the freezing rain sending shivers down their spines as their sweat-soaked shirts turned ice-cold.

"No resting yet!" He Yuzhu’s voice cut through their brief moment of relief. "Check the truck chassis and tires! The impact earlier caused significant damage! Reinforce the bearing housing again! Master Wang, you have the experience—see if the truck can still make it to Hongling!"

Wang Meng gathered his strength and crawled under the truck. The beam of his flashlight swept over the muddy chassis components. "The drive shaft support is deformed! The bottom leaf of the rear right leaf spring is cracked! The hub… thankfully, the bearings aren't damaged!" He climbed out, his face smeared with a mixture of rain and grease. "It can… it can hold on for a while! But if the mountain roads are any rougher, it could break down at any moment!"

"Let's move!" He Yuzhu did not hesitate. "Every minute earlier the bearings arrive is one less minute the production line stays down! Master Zhao, lead the way with the Jeep, keep the speed down!"

"Master Wang, follow closely! Ma Hua, Xiao Wang, get into the truck bed! Watch the ropes and buckles securing the bearing housing the whole way—reinforce them immediately if they loosen! Report at once if you see water leaking into the box!"

In the darkest hour before dawn, the two vehicles started up again.

The Jeep’s headlights were like two sharp blades, struggling to cut through the curtain of rain and darkness.

The truck followed behind; every jolt made the hearts of those on board tighten.

Ma Hua and Xiao Wang huddled beside the tarpaulin-covered bearing housing, their hands clutching the binding ropes, not daring to relax for an instant.

As the first light of day appeared, they finally cleared the foothills of the Taihang Mountains and entered the edge of the Loess Plateau.

The rain eased slightly, but the road became even more muddy, and the truck’s chassis emitted an agonizing metallic grinding sound from time to time.

Wang Meng gripped the steering wheel, veins bulging on his forehead.

"Stop!" He Yuzhu shouted over the walkie-talkie.

He jumped out of the car, walked to the truck, and knelt to inspect it closely. "The crack in the leaf spring has widened! The drive shaft support is even more deformed—if we keep going, the drive shaft will snap off!"

Everyone’s heart sank. With no village or shop in sight in this wilderness, where could they find repairs?

"Replace it!" He Yuzhu’s voice was resolute. "Take off the spare tire bracket! Use the jack to support the main frame! Master Wang, unscrew the drive shaft support bolts! Ma Hua, Xiao Wang, help me unload the spare tire! Master Zhao, keep watch!"

With no service vehicle and no repair shop, they began this field repair right there on the muddy roadside, relying on the crude tools they had on hand.

He Yuzhu knelt half-deep in the mud, using a crowbar to pry the deformed support into place while working with Wang Meng to remove the bolts.

"Lift!" He Yuzhu growled. Together, they forced the heavy spare tire bracket into the position of the original drive shaft support and managed to secure it with bolts.

It was crude, but it would at least temporarily support the drive shaft!

"Get in! Let's go!" He Yuzhu wiped his face, his hands covered in mud and grease.

Relying on this makeshift fix, the truck groaned its way along until it reached the foot of the Qinling Mountains' foothills before dark.

The entrance to the mountain road marked on the map was completely blocked by massive boulders and fallen trees!

"Damn it!" Wang Meng slammed his fist against the steering wheel, looking at the blocked road in despair.

"Detour!" He Yuzhu immediately spread out the map, his fingers moving rapidly across the complex contour lines.

An abandoned logging road, marked only by a faint dashed line, caught his eye, winding deep into the mountains.

"This road! It can get through!" He Yuzhu pointed at the map. "The map shows it circles behind the main road!"

"A logging road? No one has walked it in decades! Who knows how much of it has collapsed! The truck won't make it!" Zhao Tiezhu looked at the steep contour lines on the map and shook his head.

"There is no other way!" He Yuzhu’s gaze was sharp as a knife. "Take the logging road! The Jeep scouts ahead, the truck follows! Slow! Must be slow!"

*Ding! Suitable location detected: Ancient Qinling Logging Road. Sign in?*

"Sign in!"

*Sign-in successful! Obtained: Primary Geological Path Risk Perception (one-time use). Skill activated.*

An intuition for the stability of geological structures flooded his mind.

He Yuzhu jumped out of the Jeep and walked to the entrance of the ancient path, which was swallowed by weeds and brush.

He knelt down, grabbed a handful of soil to test it, and carefully observed the texture of the rock walls and the grip of the vegetation roots.

"Follow me!" He Yuzhu got back in the car. "Master Zhao, listen to my commands! Stop when I say stop, go when I say go! I will point out the direction!"

The Jeep surged into the ancient path first, its tires crushing the overgrown weeds and loose gravel.

He Yuzhu leaned half his body out of the window, scanning the road ahead and the mountains on both sides, his geological perception skill operating at full capacity.

"Turn left! Stick to the inner rock wall! The outer soil is too loose!"

"Stop! Three meters ahead, there’s a hidden gully! Fill it with rocks!"

"Turn right! Go around that fallen tree! The roots have been hollowed out by the rain!"

Zhao Tiezhu was fully focused, the steering wheel spinning rapidly in his hands.

The truck followed behind. Wang Meng’s heart was in his throat as the tires rolled over the path the Jeep had just cleared, with loose stones occasionally tumbling into the deep valley.

Relying on He Yuzhu’s almost miraculous pathfinding, the two vehicles carved a way through the long-abandoned logging road!

When the headlights finally pierced the darkness and illuminated a familiar road marker on the main path, everyone collapsed in their seats.

In the early hours of the third day, as the first hint of gray light appeared in the sky, the two exhausted vehicles finally broke through the obstacles. Covered in mud and scars, they roared through the gates of the Hongling Machinery Plant, nestled in the mountains!

The sharp sound of brakes was jarring in the morning silence of the factory grounds.

Having already received notice, Chief Technician Lao Zhou of the Hongling Plant, who had been waiting in front of the office building, rushed over with several technicians like an arrow released from a bow.

"Where are the bearings?! How are the bearings?!" Lao Zhou’s voice was hoarse, his bloodshot eyes fixed on the back of the truck.

He Yuzhu was the first to jump out. His cotton-padded jacket was torn in several places and stained with mud and grease, his face etched with exhaustion. He tore open the truck’s canvas cover.

"Comrades from Hongling Plant! The Rolling Mill has fulfilled its orders to deliver the replacement bearings! Please inspect!"

Lao Zhou and the technicians rushed to the side of the truck bed, carefully untying the ropes and lifting the wet quilt.

The cold outer shell of the bearing housing was revealed, but it did not feel piercingly cold; it was at a temperature suitable for the environment!

"Quick! Open the box! Inspect it!" Lao Zhou’s voice was urgent.

The wooden crate was carefully opened.

Inside, several sets of precision bearings, shimmering with a cold, hard metallic luster, lay undisturbed amidst the oil-proof paper and desiccants, completely intact!

A young technician tremblingly picked up a pair of calipers and measured the key parts of the bearings repeatedly. "Zhou… Engineer Zhou! The precision… the precision is fully up to standard! It meets the installation requirements perfectly!"

Lao Zhou grabbed He Yuzhu’s mud-stained hand, shaking it vigorously, too excited to speak coherently. "Comrade! Thank you so much! You’ve saved our entire production line! You’ve saved the livelihoods of thousands of people in this plant! This… this is nothing short of a miracle!"

He Yuzhu’s nerves, taut for three days and three nights, finally relaxed, and a tired, relieved smile appeared on his face. "I am glad to have fulfilled my mission."