My first flood control tour was on March 23 this year. At about 6 o'clock in the evening, after a day of work, I was tired and had dinner, so I lay down in the dormitory bed early to rest. Suddenly, the strong wind roared outside the window, and the heavy rain poured down in an instant. I walked to the window and watched the big raindrops falling to the ground wrapped by the strong wind. I thought: It's such a heavy rain that I won't go on patrol tonight.

"Put on your raincoat and shoes, and bring the lamps to the workshop immediately, ready to go on patrol." Sometimes it is really "what you want". At 19:00, Li Yun, the monitor, said on the phone.

"Yes, I'll be there right away." I replied hurriedly, hung up the phone and began to pack up.

In December 2022, I was transferred to the Lingling Line Workshop of Guilin Public Works Section of China Railway Nanning Bureau Group Co., Ltd. to inspect and analyze the work area. This was my first flood control tour as "Mengxin" after entering the road. I felt nervous and doubted whether I could complete the task.

At 19:20, Li Yun, the monitor, arranged a team led by Li Chang and I to patrol the line K335-K340 of Yizhan Railway. On the way to the target line, the rain mixed with the wind hit Li Chang and me on the face. Even though we were wearing rain caps, we were still hurt and couldn't open our eyes. In this case, we are afraid to walk five kilometers.

Yang Bo in line inspection Photographed by Wang Biao

"Follow me!" Li Chang's voice drew my thoughts back, and I hurried to follow his footsteps.

"Brother Chang, is there a branch leaning on the slope in front?" Li Chang and I checked from left to right. A few oleander trees were leaning on the slope in front of our headlights when the wind blew them. I called Li Chang to run over with a sickle.

"Boom!" A thunder accompanied by lightning suddenly split down, and I was scared.

"Bo ah, you are a monkey, jumping very high." Li Chang dragged oleander out of the fence, looking at me and said with a smile.

"No experience, no experience." After dealing with this dangerous situation, we continued to move forward. The rain was falling, and I got wet through my raincoat. The soaked clothes cling to my body, and my body temperature is constantly taken away by the evaporated water. Occasionally, there are stone ballast on the shoulder under my feet, which makes it difficult to walk. By 22pm, after patrolling, my legs were swollen and my body was still shaking.

"Yang Bo, go back and take a hot bath, don't catch a cold." The masters told me, at this time, a warm heart rose. When I returned to the dormitory, took a bath and lay down, I finally recovered.

Later, I recorded this experience in my diary. This tour made me understand the hardships of the lineman's work, and because it was my first tour, I was very impressed. When I opened my diary, every frame of the tour came into view one after another.

(Oral: Yang Bo; Li Guoxing; dubbing: Liu Yi)