1988: Back to the human world for a few years

Chapter 68 Non-Traditional Channels

There are three major transportation hubs in North China - Zhengzhou, Shijiazhuang and Dezhou.

However, what is rather embarrassing is that unlike the first two which serve the whole country and receive billions of passengers every year, Dezhou, which is only 60 kilometers away from Linyi County, has a main passenger flow from Shandong and Qilu people - there is no way, because the only north-south Beijing-Guangzhou line in the country does not pass through here.

Fortunately, DZ City is located here, and it is the only way for Qilu to other provinces. It can even be said to be the only window to other provinces. Therefore, although the passenger flow is far from comparable to Shijiazhuang and Zhengzhou, it is definitely not to be underestimated.

There is a saying that goes, people from all over the world are from Qi and Lu!
In this era when the province's industrial supporting facilities have not yet been upgraded and the greenhouse vegetable planting industry has not yet developed, the number of people who go out to explore the world and work outside the province every year in Qilu Province, which has a population of over 100 million, is quite large.

However, thanks to the fact that DZ City, which is only 60 kilometers away from Linyi County, is "the only window of Qilu to other provinces", its medium and long-distance passenger transport has been extremely developed from the s to the end of the millennium.

Even in the late 1980s, there were quite a few medium and long-distance buses here... Isn't this nonsense? With the rise of the wave of migrant workers in the past two years, more than 80% of the people from Qi and Lu who travel to other provinces have to transfer by train in Dezhou. How can this business not be prosperous?
........................

“Thump, thump, thump!”

With a series of sounds very similar to those of a tractor motor, a blue long-truck Jiefang truck with slightly peeling paint made a small turn and stopped in a small yard not far from the road.

"We haven't arrived yet... We've only been on the train for less than two hours, why did it suddenly stop?"

"Where is this? It doesn't look like Jinan, nor does it look like Tai'an!"

"It looks like there's no village in front and no shop behind. Could it be...?"

It was obvious that many of the people on this bus were travelling far away for the first time. Seeing that the long-distance bus they had taken in order to save money suddenly stopped in such a place, they could not help but mutter to themselves nervously.

Two men even stood up, took down the luggage bags on the shelf, and quietly reached in.

There's no way. The world is so chaotic nowadays. If you go out alone, anything can happen.

The driver saw the reactions of the twenty or so passengers in the car through the rearview mirror. He didn't say anything. He just opened the door and said in a muffled voice, "Take a fifteen-minute break. The car needs water. If you need to go to the toilet, go quickly. There is a public toilet in the yard. If you want to buy something to fill your stomach, go buy it yourself. There is a small shop in the yard!"

With that, he left the cab with a clang, opened the front of the car, and began to check it carefully.

Oh ~
It turned out that they wanted to add water to the car and let us go to the toilet!
Some passengers suddenly realized.

That's right, this old car must be more than 20 years old. It makes a lot of noise when driving on the road. If the engine is not inspected and water is not added from time to time, it will probably be scrapped halfway.
Since it was not a robbery, the passengers naturally breathed a sigh of relief, and then they got off the bus in groups of three or four, carrying their luggage, to go to the toilet.

………………

five minutes later.

The driver, who didn't find any problems with the engine, lowered the hood, took a long breath, took out a cigarette, and leaned on the hood to smoke.

The wind in early March was still quite chilly, and in a short while it had blew a red tinge on the driver's rough face. But he seemed not to notice, and just stood there, cigarette in his mouth, staring blankly into the distance.

After a while, the co-pilot came over, took out a cigarette from his bag and lit it, and the two of them leaned on the hood side by side.

"How is it?" The driver asked casually as he put away a pack of Puteng cigarettes that cost 1.5 cents each.

"Fuck! It's still the same as always. The restroom is crowded, but there's no one at the convenience store... I don't even go over to take a look!" The passenger cursed in a low voice.

The driver didn't show any surprise on his face: "This is quite normal. Nowadays, people value not showing off their wealth. Nine out of ten people who come out have their money sewn into the corners of their clothes or underwear, as if they will be robbed if they hold a dollar in their hands..."

"Besides, people don't have much money these days. People who are willing to walk 500 to 600 meters to get into an old car like ours just to save a dollar and a half, they have even less money... Is it possible for you to ask them to go to the store at the water filling station on their own initiative?"

The co-pilot sighed, "Damn it, what should we do... Boss Shen has assigned us a task, if we can't complete it... from now on, let's not even think about picking up passengers at the train station, and don't even think about stopping at the water filling stations on the roads to Jinan, Tai'an, and Liaocheng."

The driver's eyelids couldn't help but twitch when he heard this.

………………

As the saying goes, cats have their ways and snakes have their lairs. No matter what time you go out to make a living, you can't avoid some causes and effects, and you can't escape some constraints.

Although domestic transport capacity is in short supply at present, old cars like the long-headed Jiefang, which were produced in the 1960s, are not allowed to carry passengers for medium and long distances according to regulations.

In fact, no passenger transport company was willing to operate such an old car that could break down at any time, and the car did not have an operating license - in the words of later generations, it was a black car.

Fortunately, as more and more people have gone out to work in the past two years and transportation capacity is tight, some things are often turned a blind eye to.

Therefore, relying on tickets that are 2-5 yuan cheaper than regular buses, and the co-pilot who plays several roles in one and works tirelessly to solicit passengers at the entrance of the train station, their lives have improved slightly in the past two years - as the saying goes, money is earned on the bus and spent on the bus, and after saving for another one or two years, they will be able to buy a new bus and get an operating license, so they don't have to be so nervous all day long.

But the problem is, before you change your car, everything still has to follow the rules - although the relevant departments currently have no intention of making a major rectification, but in other aspects, for those who can control you at any time, you still have to show filial piety when you should show filial piety, and act like a grandson when you should act like a grandson.

For example...that Boss Shen.

Boss Shen was not an official from the relevant department, nor did he work for the passenger transport company that they needed to take care of at all times; he was actually just a security captain who was responsible for maintaining order at the train station.

However, this security captain who is in his thirties is a little different... He is very good at dealing with people, has a very good relationship with his colleagues, and his words are very effective.

Unfortunately, the so-called county magistrate is not as good as the current manager. If black cars like them that cannot park at the bus station want to pick up passengers and survive, they'd better not offend the small security guards who can drive them away at any time.

But more importantly, Boss Shen and the owners of the water filling stations on the roads in Jinan, Tai'an and Liaocheng are all in the same boat - they are all fellow villagers from neighboring villages, all from Shuanglin Village in Linyi County.

You know, for old cars like theirs that are close to being scrapped, the most feared thing is problems along the way, so it is normal to inspect the engine every hundred or eighty miles - in fact, it's not just them, most of the black cars in Texas nowadays are severely aging cars that are about to be scrapped.

But the unfortunate thing is that these days water filling stations and maintenance points are integrated into one. The water filling station is also the bus maintenance point. If they are not allowed to enter the water filling stations along the way, unless you don't drive this route in the future, otherwise your classic car will be scrapped after driving two or three hundred kilometers!
Think about it, the most important things like customer acquisition and maintenance are controlled by others. Do you dare not listen to that boss Shen?

No matter how weird their requests are or how unbelievable they seem, as a black car driver like them who relies on others for survival, you have to do as they say!
………………

Thinking of Boss Shen's strange order, the driver was puzzled: "Lao Zhao, you usually hang around the train station entrance, tell me, what's wrong with Boss Shen? He actually forced us drivers to sell those things... I heard that because of this, Boss Shen has offended a lot of people, even some water station owners are unhappy... Isn't this angering the public!"

The co-pilot shrugged. "It is said that Mr. Shen's father was persuaded and forced to agree to this... Actually, Mr. Shen was not happy about it at first. After all, this matter was somewhat offensive and thankless, but later..."

As he spoke, the expression on the co-pilot's face began to get weird: "You didn't see it at the time. The old man who was almost 60 years old was chasing Boss Shen with a three-barreled gun without gunpowder... There was also a group of people blocking the way, and it was said that they were all Boss Shen's relatives... Even the leaders of the train station were stopped outside and stared blankly, and no one dared to say anything... Boss Shen was about to cry at the time, and he almost knelt down on the spot to beg for mercy from the old man!"

After briefly sketching the scene, the driver's eyes couldn't help but twitch.

Since the Liberation War, they have experienced all kinds of unspeakable events. The fathers of these people are extremely tough and are also very ruthless when it comes to teaching their children a lesson. Not to mention chasing and beating with this three-barreled gun, when he gets angry, he dares to load gunpowder into the three-barreled gun and shoot the people who are trying to stop the fight. And even if the people in Qilu have a thousand problems, there is one thing you have to admit - the people here now regard the word "filial piety" as more important than heaven.

Nowadays, even if you kill people or burn things, no one may say anything about you. But if you are labeled as "unfilial", you will be drowned by spit and even the street thugs will spit at you in disgust!

Now that the old man has stepped in, there is no doubt that Boss Shen will have to give in.

Thinking of his miserable childhood, the driver sighed slightly: "I shouldn't say this, the old man is confused... Even if someone asks the old man for help, this matter concerns the reputation and future of Mr. Shen... Why would he sacrifice Mr. Shen's reputation for his own face?"

Upon hearing this, the co-pilot sneered: "Sacrificing one's substance for the sake of appearance? Do you really think the old man is confused? People of our older generation have experienced ups and downs throughout their lives. They have seen all kinds of storms. Do you think they are stupid? They are very smart!"

The driver looked surprised: "What do you mean?"

The co-pilot chuckled and lowered his voice a little: "You may not know that Boss Shen gets a share of the profits from this matter, and it is said that the proportion is not low... Otherwise, how can he deal with his colleagues, how can they accept that Boss Shen eats all the food without getting jealous?... Think about it, these days, the prices of goods change every day, what can you do with that little salary? Without money, no matter how glorious you are outside, to put it bluntly, you are just a donkey's egg with a shiny outside!... The old man sees this clearly!"

"Hey, I heard that after the old man returned, he parked a car with two 21-inch color TVs outside Boss Shen's door the next day, and Boss Shen also got on the van... Boss Shen already has a TV at home, so what are these two large color TVs used for? I don't need to say more, right?"

"In fact, it's not just Boss Shen. All the water filling station owners along the line get a share... If it weren't for this relationship, even if the elders came to us one after another later, do you think these water filling station owners are really that easy to talk to?"

Share?

Not low?
The driver looked at the passenger seat in astonishment. "Old Zhao, we've seen that stuff before. It's very cheap. How can you give us a share of the profits?... Even if you can give us a share of the profits, how much money can keep these water station owners in peace?"

The co-pilot smiled smugly, "You are so ignorant, aren't you? Although the food is cheap, it is said that they are directly supplied by the factory, so the cost is lower... You use the market price of the materials to measure their cost, which is not comfortable... Although I don't know how much profit they make, it's not low anyway. We can definitely give a sufficient proportion to Boss Shen and the owner of the water station."

"As for the fact that this thing is sold at such a low price, is the money enough to keep these people in line... Tsk tsk, are you driving out of your mind?"

Seeing the co-pilot making fun of him, the driver snorted: "MD, if you have something to say, just say it quickly, if you have something to fart, just fart quickly, why are you beating around in circles!"

The co-driver shrugged, "That's easy. Although there are only about 20 people on our bus, we can't sell much each time... But don't forget, there are enough black cars running this route in Texas!... These old cars have to give face to Boss Shen, and they have to stay at these water filling stations... According to the minimum standard of 40 people per bus, our mid-distance passenger transport must run at least round trips a month... You can calculate it yourself, how many can we sell!?"

Looking at the number indicated by the co-pilot, the driver gasped.

Yes, there are at least 100 illegal taxis running on these routes. Assuming a minimum of 20 people per taxi, a trip would cost 2000 yuan... Based on the minimum standard of 40 round trips per month, that would be 8 yuan... Even if half of the money is distributed, it would still be 4 yuan in income.

4~!

That’s a revenue of nearly 50 a year!

This, this is simply robbery!

This is an era when there are more illegal taxis than official buses. This means that Boss Shen and his people have limited abilities. They cannot handle the water filling stations on other routes, and they can't communicate with the passenger transport company. If they can handle half of them, the monthly sales will at least increase seven or eight times, and will only increase more and more - even a fool can see that in the next few years, more and more people from Qilu will go out to work.

Seeing that he was frightened, the co-driver shrugged again: "Don't think that this is a lot of money. The business on these lines is said to be just a small part... But I heard that they are planning to open stores in front of the passenger station in Linyi County, in the square of Dezhou Railway Station, and in front of the passenger station in Jinan... With the population density over there, as long as the store is opened, with the cheapness and deliciousness of that thing, won't there be people queuing up every day?... But I heard that this thing has a unified price and is not allowed to increase the price anywhere!"

The driver was shocked again. The flow of people in these places was astonishing. Although people usually bring their own dry food when going out these days, people have a herd mentality. Plus, there is the simple truth that "people are cheap when they leave their hometown, and money is scarce when they go out". Opening a store in these places will definitely make a lot of money.

And haven't you heard that this thing has a uniform selling price, which means that no matter where you go, it's one dollar per piece... This price is simply unique in places like train stations and bus stations where there are many unscrupulous vendors. Considering people's taste, it would be unreasonable if it didn't sell out!

You have to know that prices have risen sharply in the past two years. With the end of the price breakthrough, although one dollar is still one dollar, it is no longer the same as before... Two years ago, the price of one dollar per copy might be a little expensive, but now, in scenes like train stations and bus stations, it is a rare bargain!
only……

The driver looked at the co-pilot with some doubt: "Opening a store in front of the train station square and the passenger station... is it that easy?"

The co-pilot naturally knew what this meant.

Since the early 1980s, these two areas with the most densely populated mobility have become battlegrounds. Many people have fought over a ten-square-meter shop, and countless people have died. As for the rest of the well-known overt and covert means, they are just basic operations.

It can be said that in today's environment, if you want to open a store in a place like a train station or a bus station, it is definitely not enough to have money, it also depends on your strength and luck.

amount……

That's not entirely true. As long as you can afford enough money, it doesn't seem that difficult to get a shop.

After thinking for a while, the co-pilot explained, "You know Lao Ding and Lao Zhang, right? Yes, they are the two guys who sell fake cigarettes at the train station square and roast chicken at the bus station. They are also from Shuanglin Village. They have been working hard in Dezhou for nearly five years. With the help of Boss Shen and other fellow villagers, they have finally established a firm foothold. Later, they begged for help and used countless connections, and finally they each got a small store of ten square meters."

Hearing the words Shuanglin Village, the driver immediately understood and asked suspiciously, "Does that mean... Lao Ding and Lao Zhang's family members have also come here?"

The co-pilot curled his lips. "This is obviously a tactic often used in the underworld to invite people with favors. They even invited the grandfather of Boss Shen, so how could they let Lao Ding and Lao Zhang go? ... But we have to say that they know how to do things. They invited Lao Ding and Lao Zhang's parents, and they also treat you well. One family gave 10 as the transfer fee for the shop, and directly invited the two to be store managers. The prerequisite is that each person has to invest 1 yuan in it, and then exchange it for 30% of the shares... Think about it, the resale income is 9 yuan, and you can continue to stay at the train station to do business and make money. Who wouldn't be happy?"

100,000 yuan transfer fee?

Plus ten thousand dollars in exchange for 30% of the shares?
The driver was really shocked this time.

As someone who has been in society for nearly ten years, he naturally knows that the world of martial arts is not about fighting and killing, but about human relationships.

One hundred thousand yuan is definitely a sky-high transfer fee nowadays, but the way out that the other party left for Lao Ding and Lao Zhang is where their real skills are demonstrated.

A project that can confidently come up with 1 yuan to transfer a store is naturally a first-class good project. The other party asked the two to come up with 30 yuan in exchange for % of the store's shares. That is definitely a favorable price that cannot be more favorable.

The intention behind this action is naturally self-evident - one hundred thousand yuan will eventually be spent one day, but this project is the old hen that lays golden eggs continuously. Since the two of you are kind-hearted and willing to transfer the store, I can't just watch you doing nothing, squandering the transfer fee and then living on the streets. I have to consider the rest of your life.

how about it?
Is this a very righteous act?

Although I don't know the situation in Jinan, I think it is similar to that in Texas, with the same family ties paving the way and the same lavish spending.

Not to mention good-for-nothings like Lao Ding and Lao Zhang who have no other skills except stealing, even someone like him who has a skill on his side, when he meets such a generous and righteous sponsor, he would want to bow down to him immediately.

Thinking about the 1 cent commission he gets for every sale, the driver felt unhappy but also itchy - damn it, if only the other party was willing to open a store somewhere else, then he could just sell this broken car and run a store in the county town!

Seeing a man coming out of the water station restaurant and waving at them, the driver stamped out his cigarette and said angrily, "MD, people have different fates... We can't envy other people's good fortunes, let's do the important things that Boss Shen told us to do first!"

The passenger turned his head to look at the big basket that the man was carrying in the distance, nodded, and responded in a muffled voice: "Yeah!"

(End of this chapter)