Chapter 26: The Laid-Back Railroad Man!

Chen Laohan talked until his mouth went dry, only to turn and see Chen Shi staring wide-eyed out the window, completely zoned out.

He itched to smack him, but after a glance at Grandma Chen outside the door, he suppressed his anger and tugged at Chen Shi. “I’ve been talking for ages. Did you remember any of it?”

Chen Shi snapped out of his daze. His shock earlier came from realizing that, unlike his past life as a slacker, his memory in this life was sharp. Much of what Chen Laohan explained—difficult for this era’s exams—was actually common knowledge in the future.

Even if you weren’t in the industry, anyone with a passing interest in steam trains would know this stuff!

“Dad, are your exams easy?”

Chen Laohan glared. “You call this easy? Fine, let’s test you. What do the different colors of train signals mean? I just explained this!”

Chen Shi rattled off without hesitation:

Red: Stop or do not proceed.

Yellow: Permits entry or departure but requires reduced speed or caution.

Green: Full clearance to proceed at normal speed.

Blue: No shunting allowed.

White: Shunting permitted…

Chen Laohan gaped.

Back in his day, he had spent hours memorizing these signals. How had this brat picked them up so fast?

Chen Shi smirked. “Dad, you forgot—two years ago, we slept on the same kang. Every time you had an exam, you’d recite notes under the blanket until my ears bled. And you still couldn’t remember half of it!”

Chen Laohan’s face reddened. “…Since you already know the basics, take Youchu to her parents’ place first. When you get back, go to literacy class. I’ve arranged for the teacher to prioritize railroad-related characters.

“You don’t need top marks—just nail the fill-in-the-blanks and multiple-choice. Leave the essay questions empty if you don’t know them.”

Chen Shi nearly cheered. Having family pave the way for you was amazing!

In his past life, he’d scraped into a third-rate college and asked his parents what major to pick. Their answer? “Just study hard and find a good job after graduation.”

Clueless, he chose Business Administration—only to realize too late that it was a jack-of-all-trades, master-of-none degree. He couldn’t compete with finance or accounting grads, and even civil service exams had no slots for his major.

After graduation, he’d floundered like a headless fly, job-hopping until he ended up in manual labor—no pension, no savings.

But now?

Illiterate as he was, Chen Laohan had hustled to secure him a shot at the Railways Ministry. Most couldn’t even get an exam slot, but thanks to his dad being a fireman, Chen Shi could take the test.

Better yet, while others struggled to guess what might be on the exam, Chen Shi had Chen Laohan’s cheat sheet—decades of experience, past questions, even insider knowledge about the Fengtai Depot.

He didn’t need to grind himself to the bone this time. Just follow the steps, and bam—a coveted “Iron Rice Bowl” job.

No wonder people romanticized this era!

Chen Laohan added, “Don’t stress too much. The reason they’re relaxing requirements is that firemen are in short supply.

“It’s brutal work—nonstop shoveling coal into the boiler, hauling out slag during stops. You need stamina, tolerance for filth and exhaustion. Half my army buddies assigned to the railways refused this job.

“But if you score decently, you’ll get in.”

Chen Shi’s eyes gleamed. True, firemen were looked down on, but he wanted this.

The pay was solid—extra 15 jin of grain rations and 100,000 yuan monthly stipend. Plus, promotion to assistant driver or full engineer meant even fatter paychecks later.

So what if it was tough?

He’d be a railroad man—a laid-back one at that!

Chen Laohan continued, “You’ll still need training. The physical test is key—unloading two tons of coal from a truck in five minutes. Pass that, and you’re a probationary fireman. Full status takes a year.

“That’s why I brought you to your grandparents first. We’ll take back chickens and pork. From now on, eat meat and fine grains daily—build up your strength.”

Chen Shi finally understood the job. Harsh? Absolutely. But it was temporary hardship with lifelong rewards.

This era thrived on suffering with hope.

“Little Laoshi, ready? Time to head to Youchu’s family!”

“Coming!”

“Wait! Take these cakes for the road!” Grandma Chen fretted over her grandson braving the cold and thrust two egg cakes at him.

Chen Shi broke one in half and handed the pieces to two kids clinging to his legs.

“Whose kids are you?”

“Uncle Sixteen, I’m Gousheng—Second Chen of Chen Laodai’s family!”

“Uncle Sixteen, I’m Goudan!”

Ah. Chen Laodai was Chen Shi’s fourth uncle. These two were his second cousin’s grandsons.

Damn, did people in this era have nothing better to do at night?

He remembered his second cousin already had grown nephews. These must be the new batch.

The post-liberation baby boom was no joke.

Chen Laohan was Chen Datan’s late-life son, much younger than his four brothers. Combined with his undercover work delaying marriage, Chen Shi’s oldest cousins were already grandfathers by the time he wed.

The generation gap was ridiculous.

Goudan and Gousheng wolfed down the cakes, prompting a swarm of kids to tackle them.

“YOU ATE WITHOUT SHARING? FIGHT US!”