On the way Su Bei and Wu Yan left, Wu Yan received a call. He apologized and said that he had something urgent to do and had to rush back.
By chance, there was a bus stop in front of him, so Su Bei planned to take a ride on a means of transportation that he had not experienced in many years.
He walked over and looked at the route and found that there happened to be a bus going back to Xinglong Street, so he sat there and waited for the bus.
A few minutes later, the bus came.
After Su Bei went up, he used WeChat to exchange change with the honest-looking middle-aged driver. He found a seat in the middle and sat down.
After sitting on the bus for nearly an hour, Xu Nuo finally returned to the old city.
Many people came on and off as the bus started and stopped, and it didn't take long for the bus to be full.
Does everyone like to take the bus at night?
At this time, the bus stopped at a stop, and an old man walked in from outside.
Unexpectedly, that old man Su Bei actually knew him as Uncle Wu who lived on Xinglong Street.
Uncle Wu would often come to Ming shop to buy paper money. Su Bei felt comfortable chatting with him, and the two gradually became familiar with each other.
I saw Uncle Wu trying to take coins out of his pocket after getting in the car, but after taking them out, his expression suddenly changed.
There was a hole underneath the pocket, and it was immediately hollowed out when you touched it, and there was nothing inside.
Unforeseen circumstances can happen, and who would have thought that the clothes they have worn for many years would have a hole in them without making a sound. The key is that all the wallets inside disappeared with the hole in front of their eyes.
Uncle Wu originally wanted to turn around and get out of the car to look for him, but when he realized that it was getting late and there were still people waiting for him, he didn't want to waste too much time.
Sighing, a trace of embarrassment appeared on Uncle Wu's old face. He whispered to the middle-aged driver in a very sincere manner: "Master driver, I accidentally lost my money. Can you please be accommodating and let me sit down?"
Get off the bus. I won’t take more rides, just go to Fengxiang Road, which is six stops later.”
The old man in front of him had short, fine white hair, and wrinkles full of stories appeared on his aged face.
Although time has mercilessly eroded his once strong body, his eyes that are not cloudy make him look very energetic.
It's just that at this time, he felt a lot more awkward and uneasy, and his slightly hunched appearance easily reminded people of his old father, who had worked hard for most of his life.
The middle-aged driver's father had passed away many years ago. Looking at Uncle Wu's plainly dressed appearance, he suddenly felt very uncomfortable, so he was not ready to ask the old man for two yuan for the fare again.
However, some people didn't think so. When they saw that the middle-aged driver had not spoken for a long time, some of them spoke in a bad tone.
"Driver, it's only two yuan, why are you arguing with an old man? If he wants to sit, just sit for him." The speaker was a neatly dressed young man holding a black briefcase.
There was a sense of confidence in his tone.
After he finished speaking, someone else immediately picked up the conversation.
"Yes, driver, look at how hard it is for this old man to get old, why do you still charge him two yuan?" A seemingly kind-hearted aunt also joined in the persuasion.
"Driver, two yuan is enough to buy two buns, so why do you have to ask this old man to give it to you?" The uncle with his round belly echoed.
Su Bei, who was about to stand up and pay for Uncle Wu, felt funny when he saw this scene. He sat down again and looked coldly at the group of well-meaning people who kept persuading the driver to pay two yuan for Uncle Wu.
The middle-aged driver didn't reply in time. He just took out a water bottle with tea from the side and took a big sip.
"Oh, it's me who didn't get the money. It has nothing to do with the driver. Don't talk about it. I'll get off the car and look for change."
Uncle Wu was already embarrassed because he didn't bring any money. Now that he saw so many people talking about the middle-aged driver, he felt even more embarrassed. So, he turned around and walked under the car.
At this time, the middle-aged driver unbuckled his seat belt and walked out of the driver's seat. He grabbed Uncle Wu and said in a kind manner, "Uncle, don't get out of the car once the car is up."
"Master driver, I really lost my money, otherwise I wouldn't have refused to pay. Today is the first time in seventy years that I got on the bus without any money. Master driver, you have to believe me..."
Uncle Wu explained with a somewhat anxious look on his face that he had been doing the right thing in his life and naturally he didn't want to be misunderstood when he got older.
The middle-aged driver smiled kindly and looked at Uncle Wu as if he were an old father. He nodded and said seriously, "Well, uncle, I believe you."
After hearing the middle-aged driver's words, Uncle Wu felt a little more at ease.
After soothing Uncle Wu, the middle-aged driver turned to look at the many passengers who had said that they were just and upright. He looked calmly and said calmly, "Two yuan is indeed not much, and the elderly are indeed in special circumstances. I didn't take it seriously.
You have to charge money.
But we need to make things clear first. These two dollars are not my business. This is a matter stipulated by the company.
Just like when you go to the supermarket to buy something without paying for it, and the cashier gives it to you privately, I would like to ask, does this count as the cashier stealing?"
The well-dressed young man frowned and replied impatiently: "What's the point of mentioning the two yuan thing to stealing? If you don't want to pay the two yuan, just say it straight away. You have to beat around the bush so much."
What?"
Hearing this, the middle-aged driver was not angry. He still said kindly, "I say this because I want to be principled.
If you want to do good things outside of principles, you can, then you can pay for it.
Since you are not willing to pay, then don't say anything. I would like to advise everyone, never use the kindness and good intentions in your mouth to tie up other people's morals.
By the way, if you want to be this good guy but don't want to help pay for this uncle, then please keep your mouth shut. Because I will provide the money and I will be the good guy myself.
You keep saying kind words, but I want to ask, how did you address me in what you just said?
Driver, just two words.
Listen again to what this old man called me from the beginning to the end after getting in the car?
Master driver!
Because the word "master" is added at the end, I will pay for it, so I won't bother you to worry about it."
After finishing speaking, the middle-aged driver asked everyone again with an expressionless face: "I wonder if there is any kind person willing to give up his seat to this old man."
Su Bei didn't say anything. He stood up with a smile and walked towards Uncle Wu, half-jokingly saying, "Uncle Wu, why didn't you see me when you got in the car? Are you all looking at the driver?"
"Why did you come out when you weren't in the store?"
Uncle Wu also noticed the awkward atmosphere in the bus, so he had no choice but to follow Su Bei's words to divert everyone's attention.
"It's not like I just calculated that you were going to be in trouble and wanted to come to the rescue, but fortunately, Uncle Wu, you have a noble person beside you to help you, hehe."
Su Bei smiled and asked Uncle Wu to sit where he was sitting before.
After the middle-aged driver finished speaking, many passengers in the car fell silent. They were teased by Su Bei and stopped talking.
The middle-aged driver was not unreasonable and started driving after seeing Uncle Wu sit down.
Nietzsche said that forcing people to follow morality is itself immoral. This indifferent current world is filled with too many constraints on the moral high ground. True morality does not require forcing others to do it, because you can do those moral things yourself.