Siheyuan: Starting from a Truck Driver

"Master, don't worry. I understand all these principles." Niu Meng replied.

Wait a minute, I'll drive, your skills are almost there. Practice more and I'll take you on a few long trips, then you'll be eligible to take the driver's license test, and then you can graduate and become a master. Li Weidong's words made Niu Meng, who should have been excited, hesitate. Graduating means she can no longer be with Li Weidong like she is now. She doesn't want to leave him.

Seeing Niu Meng's silence, Li Weidong thought she was afraid of taking the driver's license test, so he didn't ask further. The two of them didn't talk much on the way. As soon as the truck entered the city, a chubby figure waved on the side of the road. That person was Fatty Yu. Li Weidong had already sent someone to bring him a message asking him to wait here.

Those pomegranates cannot be brought back to the steel plant, where there are too many people and eyes, and if they are not careful, there will be problems. After parking, Li Weidong and Fatty Yu chatted nearby while Pengzi and others were unloading. "Brother-in-law, what did you collect this time?" Fatty Yu asked.

"More than 500 kilograms, all pomegranates." Li Weidong replied.

"Pomegranates? They're great. They're in great demand in the market right now. I can sell them for 1.5 cents per pound!" Fatty Yu jumped onto the truck bed, opened the bag, and stared with his eyes wide open. "They're this big. They're better than the ones sold at the food station. I don't need a fruit ticket. I can sell them for 2 cents per pound."

He bought them for five cents and sold them for twenty cents. He could earn seventy-five yuan from more than five hundred kilograms of pomegranates. After deducting the 20% commission given to Fatty Yu, he made a net profit of sixty yuan. This business was still worth doing. Li Weidong reminded him, "Pay attention to the price when selling. Don't set it too high. Sell it in batches."

"Don't worry, leave it to me." said Fatty Yu.

"Okay, let's stop talking nonsense. On Friday night, invite your father to my house for dinner. I have already talked to my father-in-law and mother-in-law." Li Weidong invited.

Fatty Yu's eyes lit up: "Is there something good?" Li Weidong smiled and said, "Last time we brought back a pig from Nanshi Commune, the leader gave me the pig intestines as a reward. Add some cured meat, and our family will have enough to eat."

"Okay, I'll go tell the old man about it later. He'll definitely be happy when he hears about Dachang!" After the two men had discussed it, they parted ways.

Although pomegranates have a long shelf life, their fragrance is strong and difficult to hide, so they have to be sold quickly. Back at the steel plant, Li Weidong asked Niu Meng to wash the car clean, and he took the list to the fleet lounge to report to Niu Yong. As soon as he entered the door, he saw the factory director Yang and Niu Yong smoking. Seeing Li Weidong, both of them brightened up, as if they had reached some consensus. Niu Yong waved and said, "Weidong, you're here at the right time. The factory director and I are discussing who to send to Jiangliao Province."

Li Weidong was stunned: "Jiangliao? Why is it so far away? Aren't we mainly responsible for tasks around Beijing?" Director Yang took over: "This is what I said. The machinery factory in Jichun has developed a new steel rolling mill. I took a lot of effort to apply for it. The machinery factory is not responsible for transportation, so we need to send someone to pick up the machine."

Li Weidong smiled bitterly and said, "This is too far."

"It's really far, so we need a driver who is skilled and reliable. The factory manager and I both like you, what do you think?" Niu Yong asked. Faced with such an arrangement, Li Weidong had no choice because the leader had already given the order.

Disobeying orders will have serious consequences. Li Weidong held his head high and said, "I will follow your instructions!" Director Yang said, "Okay! Go back and prepare now. I will arrange an assistant for you when we set off tomorrow. After all, the journey is long, so it's better for two people to take turns driving." Li Weidong immediately refused: "Director, I can take Niu Meng. Her skills are already very good, but she lacks experience. This long journey is just right for her to exercise." Seeing Niu Yong nodded in agreement, the director agreed. "Okay, be careful on the road." "Make sure to complete the task!"

Coming out of the team lounge, Li Weidong sighed. Isn't Zhou Rong from Jichun, Jiangliao Province? This is a good opportunity to send her home and earn some gas money.

After Li Weidong made up his mind, he ran to the parking lot to find Niu Meng who was washing the car and told her about going to Jichun. Niu Meng was stunned for a moment, then smiled brightly. Going to Jichun would take at least a few days, which was a good opportunity for her to deepen her relationship with her master.

Li Weidong looked at Niu Meng, who was grinning foolishly, with her canine teeth showing, and felt a little confused. For outsiders, this was undoubtedly a difficult task. The economic conditions in the north were much worse than those in the south, and women's thoughts were really inexplicable.

Although Li Weidong didn't understand Niu Meng's idea, he decided to help wash the car. The master and apprentice worked together and soon washed the car clean.

After washing the car, Li Weidong asked Yu Li: "Why did you suddenly go to Jichun? How long will it take?" Although Li Weidong tried his best to explain, Yu Li was still a little unhappy. They had just married and the frequent separations were hard for her to accept. Although she had long known that marrying a truck driver meant less time together and more time apart, she still had some resistance.

Li Weidong explained patiently: "This is the arrangement from above. I have no choice because I have the best skills." Yu Li was not ignorant of the reason. She was just complaining just now.

"Then I'll pack a few more clothes for you. It's much colder there than in Beijing." "Okay, take my two cotton-padded jackets with you, too."

Li Weidong watched Yu Li pack her luggage, then turned around and glanced at Zhou Rong, who pretended to sleep as soon as she came back. "I remember you are from Jichun, right?" Zhou Rong was asked this question, so she had to put down her bowl and chopsticks and nodded awkwardly: "Yes, I am from there, Guang Zipian."

"You can take a ride back this time and earn some money." Zhou Rong was a little confused when she heard this. She really didn't want to go back so soon. She hadn't figured out how to face her parents and brothers. She was even more afraid that Feng Huacheng's story would spread and she would become a laughing stock in Guangzi Film. She was so proud, how could she endure it?

Her attitude now is to delay as much as possible, and it would be best if she didn't go back. "I don't want to go." "Don't want to go?" Li Weidong looked at her in surprise, "Don't you have a place to live in Beijing?" Zhou Rong stammered, "I can pay the rent."

Li Weidong rolled his eyes at him and said, "Don't do that. If your father finds out, he might sue me for child trafficking." While it was still early, they quickly packed up and set off early tomorrow morning. Zhou Rong saw that Li Weidong was firm in his attitude. Although she felt wronged, she did not dare to object. She gradually understood Li Weidong's character: he would not be persuaded by soft or hard tactics, and a head-on confrontation would only make him drive her away mercilessly. She had no choice but to start packing reluctantly.

Thinking about going back to Ji'an tomorrow, facing the reproaches from her parents and brothers, as well as the strange looks from her neighbors and classmates, Zhou Rong tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep. Until late at night, just as she was about to fall asleep, a strange sound came from Li Weidong's room again. This time they were apart for a longer time, and Yu Li was holding back a strong desire in her heart to completely satisfy Li Weidong.

It is said that truck drivers, especially long-distance drivers, often meet all kinds of women. Zhou Rong must not let those women with bad intentions take advantage of her. So the next morning, Li Weidong woke up with dark circles under his eyes, while Yu Li was still asleep, and she probably had to take a day off.

After washing up, Li Weidong woke up Zhou Rong and found that she also had dark circles under her eyes and a resentful look. Li Weidong understood what was going on and felt a little embarrassed. He deliberately coughed twice and urged her to eat breakfast and get ready to leave. Zhou Rong's movements became slow because she had to go home. Even though Li Weidong urged her, she took more than half an hour to drink a bowl of porridge. After dinner, washing the dishes took up some time. If she was not afraid that Li Weidong would be angry, she would have dawdled for a while.

After dinner, Li Weidong drove Zhou Rong to the steel mill. Along the way, the rate of turning back was particularly high. Zhou Rong's figure and face were slightly better than Li's, and such a combination naturally attracted the eyes of many passers-by. Li Weidong didn't care about it and let people look. However, Zhou Rong felt uncomfortable. After being nearly insulted in a strange city, she was inexplicably nervous and always felt that people were laughing at her. As her only acquaintance, Li Weidong naturally became her support. She couldn't help but get close to him, even almost sticking to him. In this regard, although Li Weidong didn't like Zhou Rong, he still enjoyed her outstanding appearance and figure.

Well, there are indeed a lot of potholes on the road.

When arriving at the parking lot of the steel rolling mill, Niu Meng had already started the car and was quietly waiting for Li Weidong to arrive.

When he saw Zhou Rong following closely behind Li Weidong, Niu Meng's little face wrinkled instantly.

Why is this woman following me?

Confused, Niu Meng asked directly: "Master, why is this woman here?"

"Oh, aren't we going to Ji'an? She's from there, so we can take her back along the way." After saying that, Li Weidong paused, then leaned close to Niu Meng's ear and whispered, "She will pay for the taxi."

Niu Meng understood immediately, and her eyes softened towards Zhou Rong. She realized that Li Weidong didn't like Zhou Rong very much, and they probably wouldn't meet again in the future. Thinking of this, she felt much better.

However, after getting on the bus, Niu Meng still chose to sit in the middle, keeping a distance from Li Weidong and Zhou Rong. Zhou Rong was a little unhappy at first, but immediately became docile after being glared at by Niu Meng.

The three of them began their journey to Ji'an.

When passing by a bookstore, Li Weidong got off the car and bought the latest map, because the map provided by the fleet was a version from a few years ago, and who knew if the roads had changed over the years.

In the days before navigation, the key to long-distance driving was a sense of direction and the ability to read maps.

Li Weidong spent some time studying the map and quickly improved his skills with the help of his experience with plug-ins.

He also bought some dry food. Unlike later generations, there were no highway service areas where people could stop and eat at any time.

Even at night, they often need to spend the night in the car, and if they are unfortunate enough to find themselves in the wild, they have to be prepared to deal with wild animals.

Not to mention wolves, tigers are not rare animals here either.

Before setting off, Li Weidong received some self-defense weapons from the security department in case of emergency, in case he was attacked by wild beasts.

Car windows are very fragile, and even wolves may not be able to resist. A tiger's palm may break the car window. Fortunately, these animals are quite smart. In the past, drivers were attacked by tigers when they stopped to rest in the wild. When rescuers found them, only the driver's head was left.