And not only road bandits—there were also thieves, people stealing goods, stealing fuel, and even those who would secretly peel off truck panels at night to sell for scrap. There were always things happening that you simply couldn’t imagine.
Zhao Huai’an thought to himself: So the older generation really was tough and bold.
But this also made him more alert. They would be transporting goods back and forth later, so they had to be careful. People nowadays did things with a kind of ruthless edge. His life was still his own, and he planned to keep it—he still wanted to grow old together with his wife.
Fortunately, he could rely on his identity as a driver to handle exchanges of supplies and come into contact with legitimate people. If he really went to the black market, with his limited skills, he might not be able to handle those people at all—especially in the capital’s black market, where everyone had powerful backing.
Zhao Huai’an followed Uncle Bao to the first county town and even ran into some colleagues.
“Oh? Bringing coal back?”
“Ah, don’t even mention it. This trip wore us out. We’ll take a break, eat lunch, and then head back to the capital later.” A slightly older, soot-covered man pulled out a pack of cigarettes and handed one to Uncle Bao, then looked at Zhao Huai’an behind him. “Who’s this young guy?”
“A new guy. Smart. Learned driving and repairing cars in no time,” Uncle Bao said briefly.
The supply and marketing cooperative and the guesthouse shared the same courtyard for parking, so everyone met there. After Zhao Huai’an greeted them briefly, he didn’t interfere with their reunion and instead walked around the coal trucks.
He thought to himself that he hadn’t checked in today yet. He originally planned to change locations, but wondered—could he get coal if he checked in next to a coal truck?
He decided to try it.
“Check in!”
“Congratulations, Host, you have obtained 100 jin of high-quality coal.”
Yes! Although he wasn’t sure how long 100 jin would last, the words “high-quality coal” made Zhao Huai’an feel very satisfied.
The transportation company’s assigned dormitory for young workers was extremely simple—far worse than Uncle Bao’s small courtyard house. It had only a window and a small door, not even a heated kang bed. Inside was just a stove, and they had to provide their own coal. The only advantage was a bit of privacy, but the space was so cramped that even standing another person inside would make it feel crowded.
While they were talking, the supply cooperative staff came out to check and unload goods. Uncle Bao told Zhao Huai’an not to stand idle and get to work.
With someone helping unload, Uncle Bao took the waybill, slung a small bag over his shoulder, and went into a side room with the cooperative director to “check the goods.” Whether they were really checking or not, who knew? After a while, both of them came out looking pleased. Uncle Bao’s small bag was now empty, tucked under his arm, making it impossible to see what had been inside.
“Xiao Zhao, stop just carrying things. Bring your lunch box. We’re going to get food!”
Uncle Bao was in a particularly good mood as he called out to Zhao Huai’an. According to regulations, when they were on business trips, meals were provided. Even in remote areas, there were food allowances, so there was no need to worry about expenses.
Zhao Huai’an checked the time. Lunch already? It felt early—but when he arrived, he understood why. Some dishes had to be served and portioned in advance. He saw the coal transport workers earlier; someone was even helping them get food, with fatty meat piled so high it almost overflowed.
“Kid, don’t get greedy. Getting a bit of meat is already good enough. That’s specially prepared by the guesthouse for them. No one knows how much they’ll make on this run, but they’ve earned it. Long distance routes come with risks,” Uncle Bao said vaguely.
But Zhao Huai’an quickly understood. Drivers privately exchanging goods was something most people turned a blind eye to. Because of these relationships, their meals were better.
In this county, they could still eat a hot meal. At the next county, there would also be food, but the timing wouldn’t be ideal for eating, and they would have to rush back to the capital. Most of the time, they would just pack the food and leave, reheating it after returning to the city.
Meanwhile, at noon on the other side, He Suqin came home.
“Stop lying around. Come with me to the neighborhood office. Your employment certificate is out. We need to go explain it so you don’t have to go down to the countryside.”
He Qiutang rolled over and got up to put on her clothes. “So fast?”
“Of course. The closer it gets, the tighter production quotas are. They’re short on workers everywhere and need to hire quickly. Your daily chemical factory already has a lot of work lined up.”
He Xiuchang (her sister) just nodded to whatever she said. After changing clothes, she took the employment certificate from her sister’s hand, looked at it, and happily kissed it. “Third production group, quality inspector at the daily chemical factory.”
The two sisters happily went to the neighborhood office, only to find it unusually crowded at this hour.
The street committee director, Aunt Su, was extremely frustrated. People had been coming all morning to report issues, mostly trivial family gossip. The only somewhat serious rumor was that the youngest daughter of the He family had abandoned her childhood sweetheart to avoid going down to the countryside and instead found a burly truck driver.
Aunt Su thought: Nonsense. I must have rocks in my head to believe that. Shen Lanxiang was so proud—she would never let her daughter marry someone like that just to get out of going to the countryside.
But honestly, according to policy, their family really should have at least one person going down to the countryside. These gossiping women were just jealous of how well the family was doing.
Just as Aunt Su was about to send them all home for lunch, she saw He Suqin bringing He Qiutang into the office.
“Oh, Suqin, what brings you and your sister here?”
Great. These people weren’t leaving anytime soon—because the main subject of their gossip had just arrived.
“Director Su, it’s like this. My sister has been accepted as a worker at the daily chemical factory. Here is her employment certificate. We came to report it to you today.”
He Suqin didn’t know what had been happening here. She pulled He Qiutang inside and handed the certificate to Aunt Su.