Tales of Ferrymen

By Zhang Shasha

There is an old Chinese saying， “Heroes emerge in bad times.” Since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus disease（COVID-19）， tales of heroic acts are heard from all corners. Medical workers are fi ghting at the forefront， deliverymen shuttling from place to place and community staff inspecting from door to door. They are not of iron and steel， but ordinary people who have their own feelings and fears. But when they are needed， they rose to become plebeian heroes， reassuring the country in the midst of trouble.

There are also people running across streets and lanes， from remote villages to overseas， collecting and delivering supplies for the people， who have been termed the “ferrymen”in the epidemic. Their jobs may be ordinary， but their contribution is not， and they are as deserving of laurels as a hero.

No help is too small

At the entrance of a village in Pingjiang County， Hunan Province in central China， loudspeakers mounted on a pole continuously remind villagers not to visit their relatives and friends or gather together during this special period of epidemic.

However， in the afternoon of February 3， dozens of mask-wearing villagers carrying their farming tools gathered at a farm to perform a special “task”—collecting vegetables for the hardest-hit city of Wuhan， Hubei Province in central China.

The task was initiated by Li Zengliang， a staff member with China Railway 20th Bureau Group Co. Ltd， a subsidiary of China Railway Construction Corp.， a central state-owned integrated construction group. Li learned from the news on January 27 that Wuhan was in short supply of daily necessities as many supermarkets and markets were shut， and citizens had nowhere to buy vegetables.

“Its my responsibility and obligation to make efforts for our country during this key period of epidemic control， even if it is modest，” Li said. He contacted a Communist Party of China cadre from his hometown and offered to pay from his own pocket to purchase vegetables for Wuhan. With the help of the cadre， Li， together with four high school classmates， visited several families and purchased 50 tons of vegetables at the lowest price.

Other villagers volunteered to lend a hand. They put on masks and formed groups to collect， package and load the vegetables， working overnight so that people in Wuhan could get the vegetables as soon as possible. On February 4， the fi rst batch of 10 tons was transported to the destination， which could reach the dining tables of Wuhan residents the same night.

Subsequently， four trucks of vegetables were sent to the headquarters of the Huoshenshan Hospital， a hospital built specifi -cally for patients infected with COVID-19 in Wuhan. On February 8， Li， together with four of his colleagues， sent another 12 tons of food supplies including eggs， cabbages and carrots to Huanggang， one of the hardest-hit cities in Hubei， in the name of their company.

Li is not alone， as nearly 20，000 employees of the bureau have also donated to the frontline.

Across the ocean

Like Li， another group of people were making efforts on the other side of the globe.

In Saudi Arabia， workers of an affordable housing project directed by China Railway Tunnel， a subsidiary of China Railway Group Limited， another central state-owned enterprise engaged in infrastructure projects abroad， were looking forward to going back home to celebrate the Spring Festival， as most of them had not gone home for two years since 2018， when the project started.

However， the outbreak of COVID-19 upset their plans and some canceled their travel plans to lower the risk of infection.

On January 26， the company received a notif ication seeking assistance for the epidemic-hit areas which were in short supply of medical supplies. Having the advantage of an international network， the company leveraged its overseas presence to purchase the materials.

When the Saudi housing project team received the notification， they formed four groups and allocated responsibilities for identifying sellers， purchasing， transporting and communicating with the Chinese Embassy. An action plan was drawn up but the fi rst problem was lack of money. The team did not have any emergency purchase fund， so they had to use their own money to buy the supplies.

Then there was a shortage of goods. The team originally asked their Saudi colleagues to identify several stores， but when they reached those stores they found the goods had been sold out due to panic buying. Prices had soared， and what was left in stock did not meet the standard. Then someone reached out to a Chinese basketball group， which fi nally helped them buy the goods.

But that was not the end of the trouble， as transportation became another headache. As per the local requirements， goods need to be delivered through an intermediary agency and a great number of documents and procedures are needed. By the time they were ready， it was the weekend， and they had to wait for another two days before they could declare the goods to the customs.

“The goods were at the terminal of the airport but could not be delivered. It was a case of so near， yet so far，” Zeng Jie， a team member， said.

A total of 40，000 masks， 1，000 protective suits， 15，000 pairs of gloves， 6，000 protective hats and 1，200 N95 masks finally arrived in Wuhan on February 5， which marked the completion of their action plan， symbolizing the love of compatriots thousands of miles away.

Overcoming obstacles

Yu Weis Spring Festival holiday also revolved round all kinds of supplies.

From masks and disinfectants to reinforced concrete and explosives， Yu looks after their transportation to the engineering camp of the Baihetan Hydropower Station in the border area between Sichuan Province and Yunnan Province in southwest China.

The second largest hydropower station in China， Baihetan， constructed by China Three Gorges Corp.， a central state-owned clean energy group， is expected to start impoundment this year and its fi rst generating units are scheduled to be operational in 2021， so 2020 is its peak construction year. More than 5，000 construction workers continued to work even during the holiday.

Yu is responsible for the transportation of supplies during the epidemic. His first priority was to bring in protective supplies for the workers. The company was able to purchase 50，000 masks from their long-standing medical equipment supplier.

But while masks and other medical supplies were provided to the frontline workers， construction materials became a big issue.

On one hand， concrete and powdered coal were in short supply， while on the other， transportation of materials faced various obstacles. One of the roads is included in the key control and prevention area， so Yu had to fi nd an alternative route. Besides， the supply of hazardous goods like explosives has strict requirements. Yu had to prepare health certifi cates for drivers， apply for traffi c permits， and communicate with local authorities.

“To pass the checkpoints smoothly， we also thought of other measures such as preventing drivers from leaving the vehicles，” Yu said. He and his colleagues also had to collect information of drivers and goods to report to the local headquarters of epidemic control.

“However， as the process of work resumption progresses， things are getting better，” Yu said.