I worked as a bricklayer in the Antarctic

When it comes to bricklayers, almost everyone thinks it is a difficult job to succeed in. However, Cui Kunming, a bricklayer in Baoying County, Jiangsu Province, with only junior high school education, made it to the South Pole and became the first bricklayer in the world to do so. With his excellent skills, he not only completed the task but also became the target of many European and American countries with an annual salary of 260,000 dollars.

Self-improvement, perennial "foreign work" skills

Cui Kunming was born in Jinghe town, Baoying County, Jiangsu Province. Due to his poor family, he dropped out of junior high school after graduation and worked with his parents on the land. Three years later, to earn more money, he came to Jinghe Town Zhan Feng foreign construction labor export Company, as a mason.

After working for some time, Cui felt that there was no future in being a bricklayer and that he could hardly get a wife, so he decided to change his career. But his father said to him, "There are three hundred and sixty lines in the world. There is no superiority or inferiority in doing anything. The key is whether you can learn the real technology." To ease his mind at work, his father had a girlfriend set up for him. Cui Kunming got on well with the girl and they soon got married and became a family.

Cui's construction company is affiliated with China Railway Group and often has the opportunity to work abroad. In March 1994, the company undertook a dam construction project in Tanzania. Because Tanzania is a poor country with poor conditions and low income, many people are reluctant to go there. Thinking that he could learn something new by working abroad as a bricklayer, Mr. Cui asked to go to Tanzania and was quickly granted permission.

Due to the poor skills of masons in Tanzania, Cui became a "master" when he arrived there. He taught local craftsmen hand in hand and worked on the site for more than ten hours every day. During this time, he not only accumulated experience in tropical areas but also learned to manage foreign construction. Slowly, he became a skilled and managerial man among the bricklayers. Since then, Cui has been sent to Israel, Algeria, India, Britain, Norway, and other places to do the bricklayer, and thus accumulated construction experience.

In THE MIDDLE OF September 2007, China'S NATIONAL SCIENTIFIC EXPEDITION TEAM PLANNED TO carry OUT THE 24TH SCIENTIFIC expedition to the South Pole and complete the construction of some projects listed as national key projects in the South Pole. The state assigned the task to China Railway Group, whose leaders deliberated that Mr. Cui was the only one sure of the task and asked him to lead a 12-member construction team that included himself.

Upon receiving the notice, Cui Lunming almost jumped for joy, because up to now, the world has never sent special construction personnel to the South Pole. In doing so, he became the world's "first crab" mason. After careful selection, Cui Lunming organized a 12-member construction team and made a detailed construction plan in advance. On November 3, 2007, Cui Kunming and 12 other scientists joined the expedition team to board the Xue Long, a research ship bound for Antarctica.

The best job in the Antarctic is a bricklayer

On December 29, 2007, Cui Lunming and his party had no sooner arrived in Antarctica than the harsh local climate gave them a shock. At the time, their ship was in the sea near Yuanyang Island, near the Rathmann Hills in Antarctica. When we were ready to get off the ship, a wind of more than 10 class suddenly blew, the great ship in the Antarctic ocean like a leaf tossed for a day and a night, and all the people vomit a dark sky. It happened to be the day of the day, 24 hours of daylight, coupled with the snow against the background, the intense ultraviolet rays of people have a splitting headache, very uncomfortable. It was not until more than 30 hours later that the ship was frozen to the ice due to the cold.

The main task of Choi's delegation is to construct A large-scale project of 10 logistic support projects, including A scientific research office building, A waste treatment center, and A sewage treatment center, in the "Dome A" area deep in Antarctica. Due to the special strategic position of the "Dome A" area, it has become the only one of the four points of contention for the Antarctic expedition. The United States, Germany, and France are among the countries that have clearly shown signs of building sites. According to International Law and the Antarctic Treaty, Antarctica knows no borders and has no sovereignty. In other words, "who takes, who gets". So they had to get ahead of other countries.

After the wind stopped, Cui and his workers finally arrived at Dome A, 806 kilometers away from Zhongshan Station, after A nine-day trek. Then he noticed that there was no soil at all and that the ground was nothing but snow and mountains of stones. You can't drive piles without soil, and piling is the first step in construction. To carry out the plan smoothly, Cui thought of a way to drill holes in the rock, then embedded steel bars, and finally added irrigation, to make frozen treated concrete, which solved the construction problem.

Unexpectedly at this moment, several American research team members came over. One of the Americans said, "You are occupying our place. You must leave quickly, or we will take you to the International Court of Justice!" It turned out that, on the principle of "who takes what", although the Americans had not yet built A research station at Dome A, they had already fixed it with rocks in all the places they thought were good. Because of international concerns, the team's leaders told Mr. Cui and others to suspend construction.

Cui Lunming never expected that there would be "international disputes" in such a desolate place as Antarctica. But time waits for no one, the construction period is so short, how to delay the time? That night, he was so anxious that he could not sleep well. When it was almost light, the wind blew outside again. Heaven sends opportunity, it is this gust of wind to help Cui Lun Ming et al.

The next morning after the wind stopped blowing, Cui Lunming went outside and saw the Americans hurriedly picking up stones to "put the stone enclosure" again. It turned out that the stones put by the Americans a few days ago had been blown away by the wind of the night before, and they still wanted to reclaim the site, while the steel bars they buried in the borehole the day before were fixed by the concrete they poured in, and the steel bars remained intact. Cui Lunming had an idea. He took two men with cameras and went forward to take pictures. Then he said to the Americans, "We have already built a pile here and just took a picture. This is our territory now, please leave at once, or we will take you to the International Court of Justice!" Seeing this, the American realized that he was wrong and left in bad humor.

In the Antarctic construction, no waste can be left behind, even urine and feces must be brought back to the ship, and shipped back to China for disposal. When he was in the field surveying the terrain, he suddenly had to urinate in a plastic bag. Because of the cold weather, he watched the urine leave his body, quickly frozen together, by the time the urine was finished, the plastic bag had turned into a hard lump. Despite the difficulties, Cui Lunming can ignore them. To beat the time, he took his workers and worked more than 15 hours a day. Due to overwork, he suddenly lost eight kilograms of weight and his face was sunburned purple.

After hard work, Cui Lunming and others finally laid the ground foundation, the next need was to lift the building on the ground. Buildings generally weigh dozens of tons, and because the wind in Antarctica is especially strong, the building lifted by the crane is spinning in the air, which can not be set into the ground screw hole. There is no way, Cui Kunming had to drill under the building, while doing manual correction, while directing the crane. Fortunately, he was bold, careful, and accurate in command, otherwise, if the building fell, he would be crushed into a meat pie.

Winds at the South Pole often reach force 20 or above. When the wind blows, the big stones of the basketball will be blown by the wind, it is impossible to construct, and people must return to the indoor shelter. On January 19, 2008, Cui Kunming and his team were working on the project when a strong wind blew. He thought ahead and pulled a wire rope between the construction site and his home. Everyone immediately grabbed the rope and groped toward the residence. Suddenly, a stone of more than half a kilo hit Cui Kunming in the chest. It hurt so much that he almost let go of the rope. He knew that if he let go of the rope, he would be blown away and his life would be in danger at any moment.