Chapter 24: The Exam

The train driver's examination was divided into two parts.

The written exam was held in the main workshop's large conference room.

Once the paper was in his hands, Li Aiguo first scanned through the questions.

The question types included fill-in-the-blanks, multiple choice, single choice, summaries, and essays, followed by several Russian translation questions at the end.

Seeing that he knew how to answer all the questions, Li Aiguo felt reassured. He picked up his pen and began to answer unhurriedly.

Li Aiguo was highly experienced in taking exams.

In his previous life, he had been a proper university graduate.

From primary school to university, he had undergone countless examinations.

The most important thing in an exam was to have neat handwriting.

The patience of the graders was often limited; if they couldn't read something clearly, they would mark it wrong immediately.

Secondly, the paper needed to be tidy to create a pleasant impression on the reader.

As for exam "hacks"—such as "if there are three long and one short, pick the shortest; if there are three short and one long, pick the longest; if there are two long and two short, pick B; if they are of equal length, pick A; if they vary, pick D; and if they are all over the place, C is useless, so rely on copying or guessing"—Li Aiguo, a perfect-score driver, had no need for them.

Li Aiguo felt the exam was going very smoothly this time; his only grievance was the fountain pen.

Having grown accustomed to ballpoint pens in his later life, he found the sudden switch to a fountain pen somewhat awkward.

Furthermore, since the exam papers were printed with ink on relatively thin paper, the nib of the pen occasionally tore the paper at the beginning.

Once he adjusted, his writing became instantly fluid.

*Swish, swish, swish...* He quickly finished the preceding questions, leaving only the final essay question.

The essay question was similar to the open-ended thinking questions of his later life. The prompt presented a currently unsolved problem without a standard answer, allowing the examinee to propose a solution based on their own understanding.

When he saw the essay question, Li Aiguo hesitated slightly.

It wasn't that the question was too difficult, but rather that it was too simple—it was practically common sense.

【When trains run on tracks during rainy days, especially on uphill sections, the rails become slippery, causing the wheels to slip and spin in place, which can sometimes lead to derailment. How can this situation be avoided?】

That's it? Isn't this common knowledge in the future?

Li Aiguo looked closely at the point value to confirm the paper hadn't been misprinted.

After a moment of thought, he had an epiphany.

Trains in this era were still very rudimentary and were tasked with the heavy responsibility of transporting goods.

When designing trains, engineers focused primarily on maximizing load capacity; they had not conducted extensive research into these safety-related issues.

Moreover, the safety equipment on modern trains was not something engineers dreamt up in their offices; it was a process of gradual improvement based on practical experience, not something achieved overnight.

For example, to prevent wheel slip, sandboxes were installed next to the chimney on top of the boiler during manufacturing.

After contemplating for a moment, Li Aiguo wrote seriously: "I suggest installing a device on the train that can scatter sand at any time. When the train is climbing a slope, sand can be sprinkled onto the rails to increase the adhesion generated by the wheels pressing against the tracks, which helps prevent the wheels from slipping and spinning. The specific design diagram is as follows..."

Li Aiguo picked up his pen and, based on the "sandboxes" from his previous life, drew a diagram.

Because the paper was small, he only drew a portion of the diagram.

After checking it for accuracy, Li Aiguo glanced at the clock beside the proctor; there were fifteen minutes left until the end of the exam.

Thinking about the practical exam in the afternoon, he decided to hand in his paper now so he could take the opportunity to seek practical experience from the Chief Driver, Cao Wenzhi.

Li Aiguo turned his paper face down on the desk, stood up, and left the examination hall.

Upon exiting, he realized he wasn't the only one who had finished; many examinees were gathered around their respective section leaders, discussing the exam.

"Erfeng, how was the difficulty this time?"

"Sis, don't worry. Aside from that last big question, I'm confident I got all the rest right."

"The last question is basically a bonus. Even the engineers can't solve it, so it's normal if you can't. Don't take it to heart."

Liu Erfeng and Liu Chunhua were talking animatedly about the exam. Seeing Li Aiguo emerge, they instinctively shut their mouths.

He hadn't said it out loud in front of an outsider, but more than half of the questions on the paper had been within the "key points" Liu Chunhua had arranged for him to study.

Furthermore, he had pre-planned his answer to the final essay question.

He was certain he would win this written exam.

Whether they were top scholars or exam failures, the first thing every examinee did upon leaving the hall was go to the restroom.

At this moment, many examinees were already standing in front of the urinals, discussing the questions in high spirits or dejection.

Li Aiguo unbuckled his belt.

The restroom instantly fell into a deathly silence.

The other examinees could no longer continue urinating; eyes were fixed straight on Li Aiguo.

"Tsk tsk, what did this guy eat to grow up like that?"

"Is he part donkey?"

"This is bullying, pure bullying!"

*Sigh, he pulled it off again.*

Li Aiguo shook himself off, adjusted himself, and, amidst a sea of astonished gazes, straightened his chest and walked out of the restroom with measured steps.

When he reached Zhang Dahua, she put down her steamed bun and looked up. "Li Aiguo, how did you do?"

Seeing that Zhang Dahua's canvas bag had become significantly lighter, Li Aiguo couldn't help but swallow hard.

*She didn't spend the whole exam munching on steamed buns, did she?*

Seeing that Li Aiguo didn't respond, Zhang Dahua raised her voice and asked again.

"Ah."

Li Aiguo snapped out of it and smiled. "Let's put it this way: I think I can get at least a hundred points."

"Hmph, not humble at all!" Liu Chunhua, standing with Liu Erfeng, curled her lip.

Just then, a bureau official happened to pass by.

Liu Chunhua's expression shifted instantly. She swayed her hips as she walked over.

Tossing her hair, she wore a smile that made her aura even more enchanting and seductive, her eyes filled with flirtatiousness.

"Director Wang, I am Xiao Liu from the Education Office of the Front Gate Locomotive Depot. I was very interested in your speech at the last general bureau meeting. I felt your words were visionary and accurately captured the high-level policy guidelines. Listening to you was like hearing a thunderclap; I felt refreshed and my ideological awareness has improved significantly. If we could promote and study your ideas in our depot, it would surely improve the morale of all our employees. Do you have a moment? There are two key difficulties I would like to consult you on."

The masters and examinees nearby all curled their lips in disdain.

Cao Wenzhi pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration.

*This woman is embarrassing us in front of the entire main workshop. I really don't know what Old Liu sees in her!*

Li Aiguo felt goosebumps rising all over his body.

He turned to Zhang Dahua. "Dahua, there's the practical exam this afternoon. Why don't we go ask Cao Wenzhi for some practical experience?"

"Sure." Zhang Dahua gave a simple smile, then suddenly whispered, "Two steamed buns."

"What?"

"Don't think I don't know what you're planning. Cao Wenzhi is my dad's apprentice. If we ask him together, he won't dare hold anything back." Zhang Dahua's dark eyes darted around.

*I underestimated her; this woman isn't as simple as she looks.*

"Fine, it's just two steamed buns. As long as I can squeeze the real secrets out of Master Cao, it's worth it."

Seeing that she would gain two more steamed buns, Zhang Dahua was grinning from ear to ear. She grabbed Li Aiguo's arm and headed toward Cao Wenzhi.

"Master Cao, hurry up and tell us all your secret techniques!"

Cao Wenzhi: "..."

***

Main Workshop Education Section.

The tables were covered with exam papers. Seven or eight clerks sat upright, grading the exams.

Deputy Section Chief Wang Xiangrui paced around with an enamel mug, occasionally stopping to remind the clerks to grade carefully.

"What you hold in your hands are not just exam papers, but the futures of those young people."

The clerks all nodded in agreement.

At that moment, the Director of the Education Section entered with several bureau leaders.

"Old Wang, how is the situation?" the Director asked with a smile.

"The difficulty this year is similar to previous years. However, for the final big question, we followed the suggestion of Engineer Dong from the Sifang Plant and used an open-ended question to see if the students could solve problems encountered during train operation."

Wang Xiangrui spoke bluntly in front of Vice Director Wang. "In my opinion, Engineer Dong is just messing around. If their engineers can't figure it out, how can these student kids?"

"And look, the examinees' ideas are all over the place."

He picked up a paper, making it rustle loudly. "This examinee named Zhang Dahua actually suggested that when a train encounters slippery rails, they should use ten oxen with harnesses to pull the train from the front. I think we should just turn our workshop into a cattle ranch."