Twenty years ago, it was an ordinary early summer morning.
A few years ago, he was imprisoned for picking quarrels and provoking trouble. Zhao Zhiguo, who had just been released from prison last year, took his nephew Zhao Hui, who had just turned 18, to drive a Jiefang brand light truck that his family had recently bought, loaded with goods, from his hometown in Ontario to Hainan, Fujian Province.
city.
Zhao Zhiguo's parents bought this truck in order for their son to have a serious career. They not only used the pension money they had saved for years of frugality, but also shamelessly asked relatives and friends to chip in a lot of money to buy this truck. It can be said that,
This car truly embodies the family's last hopes and efforts.
Today's transportation is the first transaction that Zhao Zhiguo has taken on with his own truck, so he is naturally happy.
"Zhiguo, how much money do you think we can make this time?" Zhao Hui, who was sitting in the passenger seat, asked curiously as he looked at the scenery flashing past quickly outside the window.
From the moment he could walk, Zhao Hui stumbled around following Zhao Zhiguo. At that time, Zhao Hui's parents had gone to work in other places. Apart from his eldest grandparents, there was only one uncle, Zhao Zhiguo, who was only seven years older than him.
.
At that time, in small courtyards in rural areas, you could often see a little kid with a snotty nose following a half-year-old boy to fetch eggs from the chicken coop one day, climb trees to pick fruits the next, and carry half a broom the next.
Playing with the goose.
From childhood to adulthood, the two of them have naturally had a deep relationship. If it weren't for their seniority, to outsiders, they would look like two real brothers.
Zhao Zhiguo, who was holding the steering wheel with both hands, smiled heartily: "No matter how big or small, call me uncle! You kid, you have been thinking about this since you came out of the house. Don't worry! I will definitely buy you a mobile phone when you come back this time, just like last time
What kind of mushroom are you talking about?"
"MOTO!" Upon hearing this, Zhao Hui suddenly turned around and stared at his little uncle, his eyes shining brightly.
"Yes, it's this mushroom. I'll take you to the county to buy it when I get home." Zhao Zhiguo freed up his right hand and patted his nephew's thin shoulder proudly.
Zhao Hui grinned and laughed, with a look of anticipation on his face. He immediately reacted and patted his thin chest loudly: "Uncle Zhao Zhi, please be at ease on this journey.
I must keep an eye on our fuel tank to make sure not even a mouse can steal our fuel!"
In the early years, when there were more goods and fewer vehicles, it was relatively profitable for individuals to buy a truck for logistics and transportation. At that time, apart from trucks, a barrel of oil was the most valuable cost at that time. According to the calculation of 2 yuan/liter, an ordinary semi-trailer once
It cost at least one to two thousand to fill it up, which was not a small amount at the time.
So some people keep an eye on the oil drums of these trucks. They either sneak into the highway service area in the middle of the night to pry open the truck's fuel tank and drain it with a pipe, or they stop the truck halfway on the national highway and rob it directly.
A truck driver's hard work day and night for several days is not worth the few minutes a gas guzzler steals oil. Tempted by huge profits and the cost of crime is low, in the millennium era, oil stealing is a real crime.
Very rampant.
"I want it." Zhao Zhiguo, who had just picked up the new car and hit the road, waved his hand with great satisfaction, "I'll pick one of these mushrooms for your aunt later. It's not easy for her to give birth to a baby this time.
"
Zhao Zhiguo couldn't help but smile when he thought of his wife's happy appearance when she received the gift. He is an ordinary man. After he was released from prison last year, he married his childhood sweetheart who had been waiting for him for many years. At the beginning of this year, he gave birth to a chubby baby.
Xiao Nizi.
Although the family expenses suddenly increased a lot, he also borrowed a lot of money from relatives to buy the truck this time. But just as he had expected, he could pay off the debt within a year after completing the transportation business.
If you save some money, you can probably save some money.
Next year...next year will be better and better!
The days are truly promising.
His parents' unremitting trust, his wife's constant expectations for several years, and the new life just born last week, all this not only made Zhao Zhiguo feel the heaviest pressure since his birth, but also made him full of enthusiasm for life.
and hope, giving him unlimited motivation at the same time.
"I will never be confused again..." Zhao Zhiguo held the steering wheel with both hands and drove on Sunshine Avenue, swearing secretly.
Just after driving on the provincial highway, Zhao Zhiguo stopped the truck at a temporary SARS checkpoint and picked up a young girl who was asked by his friend who drove a taxi in the same county to help him take the truck.
This little girl's name is Wang Xia. She is pretty, about the same age as Zhang Hui, and is wearing a floral dress. This time, because she was going to Dongzhou City to join her sister, she and Zhao Zhiguo took a ride on the truck.
After saying goodbye to his friends, Zhao Zhiguo hummed a song and drove the truck to his destination in a happy mood. Zhao Hui was also very happy because there was an extra girl of the same age on the journey. This unexpected joy made the two chat and talk along the way.
Laughing and chatting non-stop.
At about 11 o'clock in the evening, Zhao Zhiguo drove the truck into the service area. He originally wanted to invite Wang Xia to have some supper together. Maybe because girls are shy, Wang Xia did not follow him, so he sat in the car and ate some dried tofu to deal with it.
.
Time passed quickly, and they arrived at the Dongzhou-West Expressway hub at about two o'clock in the morning that night. Wang Xia borrowed Zhao Zhiguo's mobile phone to call her brother-in-law and asked him to pick him up. However, it happened that her brother-in-law had to work overtime at night, so she asked him to come and pick him up.
She took a taxi to the Third Dongjiang Bridge to meet her sister.
When Zhao Zhiguo heard this, he was worried that a little girl was taking a taxi at a sparsely populated highway intersection in an unfamiliar place in the middle of the night. Out of good intentions, Zhao Zhiguo continued to take her to the Second Dongjiang Bridge, which was closer to the Third Bridge. Later, because he was in a city where trucks were prohibited,
District, Wang Xia was put down.
Then the uncle and nephew made a U-turn and got on the highway from the Second Dongjiang Bridge and continued on, driving all the way to Fujian Province.
After Wang Xia, Zhao Zhiguo and Zhao Hui parted ways, they stood on the roadside and hailed a taxi.
"Master, please take me to the Third Dongjiang Bridge." Wang Xia, who was sitting in the back row, closed the car door and said crisply.
"Okay. Little girl, why are you going out alone so late?" The driver turned his head, glanced at the passengers in the back seat, and asked with concern.
The driver wore rimless glasses and looked gentle and frail. Although he was smiling and speaking with concern, his eyes were cold and cold. Even though the temperature was sultry in early summer, it still made Wang Xia shudder.
"Go find my sister..."
"Oh, go find sister. I see you just got off that truck with an Ontario license plate. Are you from Ontario?"
The driver turned around, stepped on the clutch, and the car slowly drove onto the road with a shudder.
The night is very deep.
The road was completely covered by a pure black sky.
The faintly bright taillight behind the taxi left all the way, and then slowly merged into the darkness until there was no more light.