Hangzhou River Beautician wearing a gas mask

“Lao Li, come down, here is blocked!” greeting a few words, 46-year-old Li Jianchun skilfully jumped into the river bed and put it into dredging work.

In Hangzhou, there are numerous river courses, many of which are buried underground. If these dark rivers are blocked, a large area of ​​sewage and water will accumulate in the city. In Xihu District, there is a construction team that manages underground rivers and large-scale culverts. They are called “drain dredging and excavation teams”. Li Jianchun from Anhui Lixin is a member of the team. , engaged in river dredging work for 9 years. Li Jianchun said that the outsider seems to be both dirty and dangerous, but for him, as long as he or she does it step by step, there will be no trouble. Yesterday, the reporter saw this “desilting team” at the intersection of Tianmushan Road and Gucui Road.

Put on a gas mask to work in a silt pile

There is a lot of sewage in the depth of the river

Yesterday at 1:30 pm, Li Jianchun and his coworkers started the dredging work of a 250-meter dark river between the Fengjia River and the mountain river. This dark river has a cuboid shape and has not been cleared for 10 years after its completion.

Wear a waterproof suit , bring a gas mask , helmet and headlights, pick up the oxygen bag, and Li Jianchun walks into the dark river with his team. Even if the river water is drained, there are workers who have assessed the topography of the river in the early stages, but the dredging team must play a 12-point spirit, or it may be life-threatening.

The dark river environment is harsh, and the silt can reach the waist. The mud is mixed with dead branches, stones, abandoned household items and other garbage. All these can only be cleaned up with tools for dredging purposes. What is even more dangerous is the presence of poisonous gas (hydrogen sulfide) in the dark river. There may also be oxygen deficiency in the depths of the river. The large amount of sewage flowing from the pipeline from time to time will also cause inconvenience to their work. It is difficult to imagine how to clean up a 250-meter dark river in such a difficult environment.

“When you go in seven or eight individuals at a time, two or three batches, one hour is less than a round, and once you pull out a few cars silt and garbage, the silt will be lifted to the ground with a crane, transported away at night and cleared daily. Garbage can carry 10 trucks. However, in the course of the day, the progress is actually very slow. There was no cleanup in 10 years and the situation was a bit harsh.” Mr. Xu, who supervises the project, is now willing to do the dirty work of river dredging. There are not many people. The average age of this construction team is around 40. Most young people do not want to do it. "They are all working on the body. They really earn hard-earned money. They are bitter and very tired." As for remuneration, there are only 300 yuan a day. Even if they work overtime in the evening, they have only 500 yuan in wages.

Almost an hour later, Li Jianchun and his coworkers pushed a few cars out of mud and garbage.

The taste was heavy but the patience passed

Fear of family members worrying not to mention their work

Taking off his overalls , Li Jianchun has become an ordinary middle-aged man. “When I first started training at the bank, I was trained for a long time. Now I have protective measures. I don’t think it will be an accident.” In Li Jianchun's view, dredging is just an ordinary job, but it still depends on the tacit cooperation between teams. In the dark river, the squadron of nearly 10 people has a clear division of labor, controlling switches, watching pipes, and picking up trash, and they perform their duties. “Using high-pressure water guns to flush silt, and then using a mud pump cannot be completed by one person and must be divided.” Li Jianchun said that due to poor communication, someone will communicate with the colleagues on the riverbed to adjust and schedule work.

After finishing the work, his boots were still covered with mud and his body was emitting a lingering odor. "Now the mud is only half of the boots. It was just in this position at the beginning." Li Jianchun gestured a bit on the waist. "It's very hard to get into the taste, but the endurance will pass."

Speaking of the experience of digging mud, Xu Jianchun said frankly that he wanted to be a construction worker at first, but later found that despite the hardships, the wages were higher, and that he was a company that was very stable and did not need to change places frequently.

“Hangzhou is very good. My wife and children live with me and I don’t care about it. I may not return to my hometown later.” Talking about his family, Li Jianchun smiles. Although the whole family basically relied on him to feed him, Li Jianchun was content with life. He had three children. The eldest daughter has already married in Hangzhou. The two youngest sons are now also studying in the primary school in Zhoupu.

In Li Jianchun's opinion, the dredging of the river channel is a bit tired and even dangerous, but he is still willing to do it. However, even when he had been dredging for 9 years, Li Jianchun was still reluctant to mention his work to his family. "I'm still afraid that they will worry."

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