Huang Limin's life was in great danger. The whole morning， doctors were trying to save him. Blood was continuously spit from his month. Sometimes， he spit a basin of blood if he lowered his head. The doctor gave him a blood transfusion and an injection to stop the bleeding. In the afternoon， he was a little more conscious. The doctor said， "Tonight is very crucial. If he doesn't make it through the night， there is nothing we can do."
Then Huang Limin returned to a status of semicoma. Only his mouth moved a little.
Dusk came. The sun was a bloody red， hanging above Lishan Mountain. The sunshine was yellow and warm. Huang Limin was suddenly revealed by the last rays of the setting sun. He said to his wife and the other three "Diamonds"， "Let everyone go home. Do not stand here . . ."
At that time， Yi Lidong held Huang Limin's head and placed his head on the pillow gently. In just five minutes， Huang felt a sharp pain. He wanted to say something， but he couldn't. He spit blood for the last time. The bed sheet became red . . .
The night came， driving away the splendor of the sun. Huang Limin passed away. He left us with the splendor of his life.
"Limin . . ." Zhu Yaqing called her husband， her heartbroken voice coming from the hospital room.
The clock turned seven. Two dozen people from Northwest Grid Corporation and Shaanxi Electric Power Research Institute came. They stood in the hospital room and along the corridor， crying together.
. . .
Maybe it was at that time that Zhu Yaqing， who was born and raised in Xi'an， started to feel Xi'an was no longer her Xi'an. The warm sunshine， the happy gathering in festivals， the colorful fireworks set off during Spring Festival and the delicious smell of dumplings in this city no longer belonged to her and her child because Huang Limin left them and went to the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.
She could not bear the pain of losing her husband. She chose to escape. She escaped the city she was familiar with. She did not dare to look back to the light when every family reunited during Spring Festival. She had watched that light of family reunion from the ancient city walls ever since she was a little girl.
During the Spring Festival of 2005， she took his son to Shen-zhen . . .
During the Spring Festival of 2006， she took his son to Chengdu . . .
During the Spring Festival of 2007， she took his son to Egypt . . .
Another autumn came， and the Spring Festival of 2008 was not far away.
I asked Zhu Yaqing who sat opposite to me， "Where are you going this Spring Festival？"
Zhu Yaqing wiped the tears in the corners of her eyes and said， "I haven't decided. But it must be a place far from Xi'an. The farther， the better."
"Xi'an is the place where you were born and raised."
"It is also the place that arouses my deepest pain."
"You will not spend Spring Festival in Xi'an in the future？"
"Never."
"But your parents are in Xi'an. You could spend the holiday with them."
"No！" Zhu Yaqing shook her head and tears fell. She said， "I cannot bear it. Every family is happy in reunion. Only mine is not."
I nodded and I wept too.
Wine Celebration： Everything Lies in Silence
After Li Weidong was appointed general commander of "Project 750"， general manager Liu Bencui was thinking about sending a capable assistant to him. This idea persisted in Liu's mind.
Looking at Northwest Grid Corporation， who was the fittest to fight in the frontier？
Ding Yongfu， the short deputy chief engineer with a round face. Liu thought of this man.
Yongfu was always blessed. This was not only because his name literally means "being blessed forever"， but also because he was a capable man. Three years have passed since "Project 750" started. It was right to choose Ding to be the director of the offce. Ding arranged the work of the "Four Diamonds" properly and made each of them give the full of their talents. Every detail was exactly what the leaders and the party committee of Northwest Grid Corporation wished for.
Now， Liu Bencui decided to give Ding Yongfu another task.
In 2001， not long after Ding Yongfu was appointed deputy director of the Department of Production of Northwest Grid Corporation， he became the director of the Offce of "Project 750". His classmates of Xi'an Jiaotong University were confused. They said， "Why did you quit the position of deputy chief engineer and to study in the freezing rain for 'Project 750'？"
Ding Yongfu laughed， "There is something you do not know. I stayed in the Electronics Industry Company of Rhein， Germany for a year. During that year， I learnt something from the most advanced countries in the world. 'Project 750' is above the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau where freezing rains and icy conditions are routine. I'd like to put what I learned abroad into real practice and help to solve the problem of freezing rain for China's first EHV project by reducing the freezing rain's disturbance to the 750-kilovolt line."
His old classmates acclaimed， "Yongfu can always find an opportunity to shine."
Ding Yongfu gave a quite smile， "It is not that I find an opportunity to shine， but that I cherish every opportunity given to me by fate."
This was true. In terms of his background， Ding Yongfu， who was born in a farmer's family in Guanshan Town， Yanliang District， Xi'an， did not have any advantage in studying. He stammered. He went to primary school and middle school in the village， where the teachers were only high school graduates. However， with persistence and the self-study spirit of farmers' children， Ding Yongfu entered Xi'an Jiaotong University in 1978 at the age of 17. He scored 98 in physics， which was the second highest in his county. His total score were 65 points higher than the passing level of Shaanxi Province. His major was electrical power system and its automation. Though all the students in twelve grades who entered the university after national exam started up again[9] were in the same class， Ding Yongfu， the youngest one in the class， studied quite well.
Ding was always among the best students in the university. When he graduated， his teacher asked him many times to stay at the university， but he refused because of his stammer. Finally， he was arranged to work in a basic-level unit of Xi'an Power Supply Bureau. Three years later， the 24-year-old Ding Yongfu was promoted to deputy director of power transformation in Xi'an Power Supply Bureau. He was the first middle-level cadre of Xi'an Power Supply Bureau who had graduated from university.
When one becomes a cadre， one will face the task of delivering a speech in front of people. Because of his stammer， every time Ding spoke in front of others， his face would turn red. However， now， whether his face turned red or not， he had to deliver speeches before others. When there was an opportunity to speak， the former director， the chairman of the party committee and the chief engineer always gave the opportunity to Ding. The first time Ding delivered a speech， he stammered， which made people laugh at him. Though his face turned as red as a flower， he calmed down with his perseverance. Though the first time， his words were not logical， it was a victory for him， as he finally did speak out.
He felt much pressure. After often practicing in front of the mirror and in front of his wife， Ding Yongfu finally could deliver a speech in front of an audience. With many people seated in front of him， Ding could talk fluently and logically. Even the director and the chairman of the party committee who sat beside him nodded to him as a kind of approval. Thinking of his past experience， Ding Yongfu realized a truth： our biggest enemy is not anyone else， but only ourselves.
A man who dares to defeat himself can walk towards success. With such confidence， Ding Yongfu was promoted to be the deputy chief engineer of Xi'an Power Supply Bureau in 1991 after five years of hard work as the deputy director of the work area of power transformation. He became a young turk.
A man should be independent at the age of thirty. Thirty-year-old Ding Yongfu was already in a department-level leadership position， but he knew in his heart that his theoretical level still lagged far behind that of the experts of advanced countries. He longed for an opportunity to go abroad for further study. At that time， China International Trade Promotion Association had a scholar exchange program with Germany. They needed young experts who worked in industrial and mining enterprises with work experience to go to Germany as visiting scholars. Xi'an Power Supply Bureau introduced Ding. After strict selection in Beijing by electric experts from Germany， Ding luckily got the chance. Then， he stayed in Beijing for a year to learn German. The year after， he went abroad. He first worked as an intern for two months in German Electric Power Company. He went to all 11 sectors of the company one by one， closely following the work procedures of Germany's advanced electric network. He focused his efforts on the blackout of their network and the adoption of advanced technologies. He then wrote an analysis report from a professional perspective， which amazed the German experts.
Though Ding was amazing， the German experts did not know his research had an origin. The origin was Ding Yongfu's pain. When Ding was the deputy director of power transformation in Xi'an Power Supply Bureau， he experienced the blackout of Xi'an. Then， half of the city went out. The first blackout was on February 17， 1987. That day， Xi'an was covered by continuous mist. The pollution flashover of the water mist caused the short circuiting and explosion of the electrical insulator of a transformer substation in Xianyang， which then led to the blackout of the area south of East Street. Half of the city's power and water supplies were cut off. Ding Yongfu was the first to arrive at the site. He saw ceramic chips on the floor. The blackout was caused by an equipment explosion due to the pollution flashover. Then he arranged the reparations. Workers checked and changed the equipment for 24 hours without having a rest. When half of Xi'an once again lit up， Ding fell asleep in a room. His driver did not wake him. Instead， the driver sat beside him and slept for more than ten hours. The blackout made Ding recognize that the impact of natural disasters on the electric system and the consequences it would have for society could not be neglected. Later， the Department of Electric Power (now SGCC) sent some experts to check the system. In regards to the pollution flashover， they proposed solving the problem using advanced electric technology.
Ding Yongfu kept thinking about this after that accident.
The second blackout was on December 21， 1989. The lightening rod was destroyed because of the swelling after ice and snow melted. Half of Xi'an city was black for a second time. The two blackouts made Ding Yongfu recognize that there was a wide gap between the homemade electric equipment and foreign one. The quality of the equipment was one of the major hidden dangers for electric safety.
Ding experienced three other blackouts in his life.
One， two， three . . . The three major blackouts were deeply rooted in Ding Yongfu's memory. He decided to study the freezing rain which caused the blackout of Xi'an city.
After the internship in German Electric Power Company， he went to Rhein-Westfalen Electric Company in Germany to study for 8 months. As the deputy director of the Technology Department， he went to the offce with German experts and learned from them on a one to one basis. He spent his last 3 months in Germany in the control center of the State Grid Corporation in Cologne， thus having a clear understanding of the grid covering northern Europe.
Such experiences in Germany were essential for Ding Yongfu's growth in Northwest Grid Corporation. After coming back from Germany， he served as deputy chief engineer of Xi'an Power Supply Bureau for five years. He became chief engineer in 1997. In 1999， he became deputy general director. Then he was appointed to be deputy director of the Department of Production of Northwest Grid Corporation.
When "Project 750" was launched， general manager Liu Bencui felt satisfied with Ding Yongfu's experiences in basic level positions and his overseas background. Liu appointed Ding to be the director of the project's offce. Later， Ding was promoted to be the chief engineer and director of Northwest Grid Corporation， and then the general manager's assistant and director. He was in charge of the coordination between R&D， construction， debugging， inspection， production and operation.
After visiting China Electric Power Research Institute， Nanjing Automation Research Institute， Wuhan High Voltage Research Institute， Tsinghua University， Xi'an Jiaotong University and other scientific research institutions and universities， the final technical route was determined. The most satisfying job Ding did was that he， together with deputy general manager Shao Dongren， adopted the shrink method to build the load flow calculation model when they tried to solve the problem of linking the 1000-kilovolt project of SGCC to the 750-kilovolt project of Northwest Grid Corporation. He calculated it again and again using the theoretical mathematics he learnt in Germany and they finally approached a result.
In April 2004， when deputy general manager Li Weidong of Northwest Grid Corporation became the on-site general commander of "Project 750"， general manager Liu Bencui asked Ding Yongfu to come to his offce. Liu asked Ding to be Li Weidong's assistant. Before he went to work， an accident happened to his family. It seemed as if everything had been predetermined. Ding's parents gave him his name hoping that God would bless him， but when he approached mid-age， he was to give blessings to a broken family.
It was a Sunday. Ding was preparing to go to Beijing from Xi'an the next day. Suddenly he received a call from his brother's wife. His sister-in-law said with tears， "Brother， something terrible happened to the family."
Ding Yongfu was horrified. He asked， "What happened？"
"Jianguo was in a car accident. He is now in hospital. He knows nothing now." His sister-in-law was crying.
"Ah！" Ding Yongfu's heart seemed to be cut apart when he heard the news. He trembled.
His sister-in-law kept crying in the phone-piece.
"Don't cry. I'll be there very soon." Ding Yongfu was at a loss. He comforted his sister-in-law and called a friend in Xi'an Power Supply Bureau. "Drive home right now."
"General manager Ding， where are we going？"
"Back to my hometown， Yanliang."
They hurried to the Yanliang County Hospital in the suburbs. The doctor had already done the craniotomy. The operation was quite successful. He thought his brother was in no danger， but when his returned to Xi'an on the second day， his sister-in-law called again. "Jianguo is in trouble."
"What trouble？"
"Come here and I will tell you."
Ding hurried to his hometown at night. When he waited for the car， he kept calling. He asked Wang Baoxue to drive the car and contacted three experts of the affliated hospital of the Fourth Military Medical University and the Railway Hospital. He asked the experts to come with him for a consultation. He did not believe in the hospital doctors， but he did believe in experts. After the three experts saw his brother's situation， they shook their heads and said， "The vital signals can still be tested， but his brain has died. It's not hopeful. He will die sooner or later."
Hearing what the experts said， Ding Yongfu was stunned. He knew his brother would never wake up. He could not live on as a vegetable. His sister-in-law was just 35 years old. If his brother passed away， the sky of the family would fall.
However， the car accident was cruel indeed. The warm hands of his beloved did not stop the death of his brother. His brother left them and went far away with the flow of the Wei River.
The accident made Ding feel like heaven and earth were crumbling， but he bore it by himself. His family kept crying. Ding Yongfu became the backbone of his family. He invited his uncle and aunt to comfort his parents and his sister-in-law.
After his brother's funeral ended， he asked Wang Baoxue to drive him to the river bank of the Wei River. He cried there for two days. He cried for the early death of his brother and the falling of his family's sky when he was at a key stage of "Project 750". At the same time， there was an endless sky in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau that was attracting him.
Heal the wound！ No matter how bitter life is， men should heal wounds by themselves. This was for himself and for his brother. In the daytime， Ding could not bear staying at home. Every night when his son fell asleep， he would sit aside and weep in silence. Though men should not shed tears easily， he had a soft heart. After a week， his wife Jin Ling said to him， "Yongfu， listen to me. We living ones cannot afford any more accidents. Your brother has passed away. No matter how we cry for him and how we call him， he will not return. This family relies on you. If anything happens to you， this family will be at a loss."
His wife's words made Ding Yongfu come to his senses. Yes！ If he continued to be buried in sorrow and not shake it off， it was not good for himself， nor for his family， nor for his career.
A week later， he spoke with general manager Liu Bencui. "I couldn't stay at home. Let me go to the 'Project 750' construction site."
Liu Bencui said， "Yongfu， this is also a good choice. Go to the construction site of 'Project 750' and see the sky and water of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Maybe in this way your sorrow of losing your brother will be reduced. If your family needs anything， please let us know."
Ding Yongfu nodded. He went past the Zhuque Road and west to the cold mountains. He went to the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau shaped like city walls and left his brother's daughter and his own son in seventh grade with his wife.
He stayed there for more than seven months.
The first week upon arriving in Guanting， general commander Li Weidong didn't give him any tasks to complete， knowing that his family had gone through a hard time. Li just asked Ding to walk around the construction site and read some documents. Then， for the next seven months， he travelled between East Lanzhou and Guanting， responsible for comprehensive debugging and electrical testing before the project was ready to be put into operation.
September came and the temperature started to drop. "Project 750" proceeded to the last stage. That day， he accompanied Li Weidong to Guanting to attend the connection debugging of GIS (Gas Insulated Switchgear) of the 750-kilovolt transformer substation. The equipment was co-produced by Shenyang Switch Factory and Hyosung Company of Korea. After repeated tests done by technical personnel from Shaanxi Electric Power Research Institute led by director Zhu Yue and Song Dawei， success was achieved.
When the handing over and acceptance procedure ended， it started to rain. Electric tests could not continue. The temperature fell sharply. Li Weidong said， "We have achieved partial success. I will reward you."
Therefore， in the farmer's courtyard which Shaanxi Electric Power Research Institute rented， Guo Wei asked the cook to prepare some steamed stuffed buns (which were very good food there)， several dishes of cucumber and two dishes of peanuts. Also， they carried three boxes of locally produced liquor. They poured the liquor into paper glasses. That day they decided to have a good drink. Lü Shirong came to accompany Ding Yongfu. Ding toasted the others one by one. The liquor was regarded as a reward for their success. At the same time， it would warm them. They drank late into the night. Li Weidong was drunk， so was Ding Yongfu. This was the drunkest Ding had been since his brother had passed away in the car accident.
That night， Ding Yongfu drove back to East Lanzhou with general commander Li Weidong. It was pitch black. The car light was like a fire worm. The mountain road was winding. Having drank a lot， Li Weidong felt like throwing up and Ding Yongfu wanted to shout out. Therefore， the drunken general commander and assistant forgot their positions. Ding Yongfu said， "General manager Li， you throw up， and I'll shout out loud. Every time you throw up， I will shout."
"Ding Yingfu， I know who you want to call."
"Who do I want to call？"
"You know it and I know it."
Li Weidong got out of the car and threw up liquor for the first time. Ding Yongfu shouted to the faraway green mountains， "Hello . . . Hello . . . "
"Ah . . . " A response came from the faraway valley.
The response was like Ding's brother.
At that time， Ding Yongfu wept.
The night was long. The road was long. That night， Li Weidong threw up four times and Ding Yongfu shouted to the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau four times.
Call to the mountains and call back the souls. Ding Yongfu was calling his brother who had gone to heaven.
He finally shouted out his long-hidden heartfelt pain of losing his brother.
On September 20，2004，"Project 750"was putinto trial operation. The three machine sets in Gongboxia Gorge Hydropower Station were put into operation with a 900，000-kilowalt load. Northwest Grid Corporation was arranged in two groups. Li Weidong and Ding Yongfu were in Guanting and Chen Feng， chairman of the board， was in East Lanzhou. They were welcoming general manager of SGCC Liu Zhenya cutting the ribbon at the opening ceremony. The trial operation that day was a huge success. Li Weidong lived up to his promise of finishing the project in September.
After the trial operation with a load succeeded， chairman of the board Chen Feng decided to host a banquet in the headquarters for those who had contributed to the project in the East Lanzhou transformer substation.
At dusk， when Li Weidong and Ding Yongfu returned to the Haitian Hotel of Lanzhou， chairman of the board Chen Feng drove there and asked those in the Guanting transformer substation to go to the banquet. Everyone was seated， only Ding Yongfu was absent.
Just as Ding Yongfu was about to go downstairs to the dining room where all the leaders were waiting for him， he received a call from his wife Jin Ling in Xi'an. He had left home seven months ago. His wife wept before speaking. After their son entered the eighth grade， the school divided the classes according to the performance of students. Their son's performance had dropped from the level of the first two classes to that of the last two classes. If this trend continued， it would be impossible for him to enter college.
"It's impossible. When I left home， his performance was good.""After you left， no one monitored him. When I come back from work， he locks himself in his room and plays games."
Their son had lied to him and his wife.
"Don't worry. Don't worry. 'Project 750' is about to be put into operation. It will not be too late to care about his studies when I return to Xi'an. The eighth grade has only just begun." Ding Yongfu comforted his wife.
His wife cried， "What do you mean 750？ Can it guarantee that your son will be able to get a place at university？"
After comforting his wife for a while， Ding Yongfu hurried downstairs. All the people were waiting for him. Seeing Ding come
late， Li Weidong was not happy， "Ding， what were you doing？ All of us were waiting for you to have a drink together."
