Siheyuan: Starting from a Truck Driver

If the mission is successfully completed, a strong mark will be left in his file, and the political significance is self-evident. No wonder the assistant to the factory director came to the fleet to deploy the mission in person.

Li Xiaodong left the office and looked up at the sky. It was covered with dark clouds, indicating that heavy rain was coming.

"Let's go, set off now! If it rains hard and the road becomes slippery, we'll be in trouble!"

He stuffed the dispatch sheet into his pocket and hurried toward the truck, hurrying along.

Arriving at the truck, he ordered Niu Meng: "Niu Meng, go heat up the oil pan."

"Ok!"

Niu Meng quickly crawled under the car and lit a bonfire. The preparations were complete.

Li Xiaodong walked around the truck, checking the tires, the bottom beam, the fuel tank and the water tank...

After confirming that everything was correct, he raised his butt and started the truck engine.

Because there is no warehouse inside the steel mill, the grain needs to be loaded at a nearby grain station.

After getting in the car, Li Xiaodong stepped on the accelerator, drove straight to the grain station, and soon arrived at the door of the grain station.

At this time, the grain station had not yet opened, and the two black doors were firmly locked with a rusty iron lock.

There was a long queue outside the door, people hunched over, chatting and squinting their necks while waiting for the grain station to open.

During this era, grain at grain stations was graded. The demand for coarse grains was high but the supply was limited. People who arrived late might not be able to buy them and could only choose more expensive fine grains.

Li Xiaodong raised his hand to look at his watch, frowning: "It's almost half past eight, why haven't the people at the grain station opened the door yet?"

Niu Meng couldn't hold back and honked the horn twice in succession.

The people waiting around turned around to look at them. The honking was a bit harsh, but when they saw the steel mill logo on the car body, everyone chose to remain silent.

Just when Li Xiaodong's patience was about to run out, the door of the grain station opened from the inside, and a thin young man wrapped in a cotton coat walked out slowly from the grain station.

He pulled a match and a cigarette from his pocket, lit it, took a leisurely puff, then exhaled a cloud of smoke and looked at the people in line.

Then, he turned his gaze to the truck in front of him and said with disdain: "Oh, you're using a government vehicle for personal purposes? You're quite capable! But it's a pity that you've worked in vain. The grain station is out of stock today. Come back tomorrow!"

Dare to be arrogant when driving a truck? When he arrived at the grain station, even Long had to be controlled by Chu San.

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Faced with Chu San's ridicule, Li Xiaodong really wanted to step forward and teach him a lesson.

But given the urgency of the mission, Li Xiaodong did not argue with Chu San.

He held down Niu Meng who was about to vent his anger and reminded him, "Nantai Commune is still waiting. We can't delay."

Hearing what his master said, Niu Meng glared at Chu San fiercely and put down the crank in his hand.

After witnessing Li Xiaodong dealing with those slick elements so cleanly and efficiently, Niu Meng's mind suddenly became clear.

This crank is undoubtedly a practical tool. It is heavy and it hurts unbearably when it hits your body.

The most important thing is its portability! As a truck driver, it is reasonable to carry a crank with you!

After comforting the apprentice, Li Xiaodong jumped off the car, handed the dispatch form to Chu San, and said, "Brother, we are not deliberately making things difficult for you. This is emergency food, and there are instructions on it. Please issue a receipt."

Logically speaking, Li Xiaodong has shown mercy. If there is no deep hatred, most people will choose to cooperate. Otherwise, they will delay their work and bear the consequences themselves.

However, Chu San seemed to have taken the wrong medicine today. He resolutely confronted Li Xiaodong. He ignored the dispatch form handed over, pushed it back, and shouted: "Everyone's food is life-saving! Only you are special? Hurry up and find a cool place, don't get in the way here!"

"Hey, that's quite interesting!" Li Xiaodong was amused by Chu San's attitude. He pointed at the piles of sacks at the grain station and asked, "What's in those piles of sacks?"

Li Xiaodong knew very well that the people in the supply and marketing cooperative and the grain station thought highly of themselves and liked to put on airs, but he never expected that they would go to the extent of telling lies with their eyes open.

Chu San no longer concealed his feelings and stomped out his cigarette butt: "Others can buy food, but you can't. You'd better get out of here!"

His arrogant look almost made Li Xiaodong laugh.

The grain station is supposed to provide food to the people, and the employees' duty is to provide service. But now they are taking advantage of their power to bully others. Isn't this not service but abuse of the people?

Li Xiaodong never took a hard line. He had already given face. If the other party didn't appreciate it, forget it! He turned around, took the crank from Niu Meng, and directly pressed it against Chu San's throat: "Boy, I was polite to you, but you took advantage of me? Do you believe I will teach you a lesson today? You have to give this food, whether you want to or not. You have delayed important things. With your small body, can you bear the responsibility?"

Facing Li Xiaodong's provocation, Chu San almost couldn't breathe. He quickly stepped back, covered his neck and pointed at Li Xiaodong and shouted: "Okay, you threatened me and hit me, you don't know how powerful I am! Let me tell you, if you can take away half a grain of food from here, I will change my surname!"

"That counts as fighting?"

Li Xiaodong sneered and handed the crank to Niu Meng: "Apprentice, let this guy see what real action is!"

"understand!"

Seeing Chu San's asking-for-a-beating look, Niu Meng was already eager to give it a try, so he took the black crank and rushed towards him.

Although she is a woman, her strength far exceeds that of an average man, and she swings the black crank with great force.

Chu San was just a show-off, his face was pale, and he ran into the grain station with his head in his hands, even losing one of his safety shoes.

"Boy, don't even think about running away!" Niu Meng was still not satisfied and chased after him.

After Chu San stepped into the grain station, he slammed the door shut and shouted through the crack in the door: "Don't run if you dare, I'll call someone to deal with you!" Although everyone had already hidden in the house, his arrogance caused the uncles and women waiting to buy grain to burst into laughter.

"Chu San, relying on his seniority as a grain station official, is usually arrogant to everyone. This time he has reaped the fruits of his own labor." Niu Meng tried to push the door, but found that it could not be pushed, so he turned back and excitedly suggested to Li Xiaodong: "Master, do you want us to drive the car directly into the door?"

Hearing this, Li Xiaodong looked helpless. His apprentice had a hot temper. It was one thing to teach Chu San a lesson, but if he really knocked on the door, it would be equivalent to attacking the unit, and the consequences would be serious.

Just as he was about to enlighten Niu Meng, a bicycle bell sounded in the distance. Li Xiaodong looked back and saw an old man in a gray Zhongshan suit riding a bicycle towards him. There were obvious patches on his elbows and collar, and he was smiling, obviously a kind person.

The old man saw that the door of the grain station was closed and muttered in dissatisfaction: "What's wrong with Chu San? He hasn't opened the door yet at this time." Then, he smiled and said to the people in line: "Everyone wait a moment, I will open the door soon, and I won't delay your purchase of grain."

An enthusiastic middle-aged woman interrupted and said, "Stationmaster Liu, the door may not be opened. Chu San was beaten and is hiding in the grain station." Only then did Stationmaster Liu notice the presence of Li Xiaodong and the truck.

He thought for a moment, and his face suddenly changed. He walked over quickly and asked, "Are you the comrades who came to the steel plant to transport grain?"

Before Li Xiaodong could respond, the gate of the grain station opened, and Chu San rushed out wearing only one shoe, pointing at Li Xiaodong and saying, "Stationmaster, this guy beat up our people at the grain station, you have to find the police to take him away!"

Humph, the grain station is of great importance, and the leaders' rations must pass through here. Chu San is usually familiar with the section chiefs, so it is no problem for him to deal with a small driver. Unexpectedly, Stationmaster Liu did not call for help, but took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and handed one to Li Xiaodong.

"Comrade, the staff of our grain station made a mistake. I will deal with it. Let's load the grain quickly and don't delay important matters." Li Xiaodong took the cigarette and helped Stationmaster Liu light it.

Stationmaster Liu secretly breathed a sigh of relief. The driver was reasonable and did not make a scene. This batch of grain was disaster relief supplies, but the grain station said there was no grain to sell. If the news leaked out, the higher-ups would definitely send someone to investigate. The amount of grain transported was recorded. If it was found that the report was false, he, as the stationmaster, would probably not escape punishment.

Stationmaster Liu received the dispatch instruction, walked into the office, issued the relevant documents, and then quickly ran out.

He wiped the sweat off his forehead, held the document in his hand and said to Li Xiaodong: "Come on, I will personally take you to load the food."

Chu San looked at him in surprise and stammered, "Oh, Station Master, then I was bullied for nothing, right?"

Stationmaster Liu's face darkened. He was lucky that the other party did not pursue the matter. But he jumped out. Was he looking for death?

Li Xiaodong smiled, thinking about what happened just now, and came up with an idea. He smiled and said, "I see that this young comrade is full of energy, so he can help load the food later, so as to make up for the delay."

"Well... yes, yes!" Stationmaster Liu understood Li Xiaodong's intention and glanced at Chu San's thin body helplessly. He used to think that this young man was quite smart, so why was he so confused today?

The key at the moment is to calm the matter down and avoid angering Li Xiaodong and causing the problem to escalate.

Chu San was completely stunned when he heard the conversation between Li Xiaodong and Stationmaster Liu.

"No...no...I'm an invoice clerk, how can I do the work of carrying things?" Chu San believed that he could only carry 100 kilograms at most, and asking him to carry a 300-kilogram sack would undoubtedly kill him.

Seeing that Chu San still didn't understand, Stationmaster Liu whispered to him, "This batch of food is disaster relief supplies. The order came directly from above. You kid, ah..."

As he spoke, he pointed upwards. In a place like the capital, how many so-called "above" are there?

I just wanted to scare him and stop him from doing anything wrong, so as to avoid disaster. Chu San's expression changed drastically after hearing this, and his whole body trembled, and he didn't even notice that his pants were wet.

If Stationmaster Liu hadn't shown up, he would have been sent to the outskirts of the city and shot. Everyone had seen what had happened, so he couldn't shirk responsibility. Li Xiaodong almost stuck the dispatch sheet in his face. It was all his fault, so there was no point in finding an excuse.

Looking at the dazed Chu San, Stationmaster Liu suddenly smelled a sour smell. Looking down, he saw a pool of water under Chu San's feet.

After glaring at Chu San with disgust, Stationmaster Liu was too lazy to pay any more attention to him and turned around to arrange for other workers to load grain.

...

The truck stopped at the door of the warehouse, and seven or eight porters were carrying bulging sacks and walking towards the truck.

In the cold winter, they only wore tattered clothes with patches on their shoulders and towels of indecipherable color around their necks.