Hard times: I worked as a truck driver in the county town

You finally showed up!

We only met once, and my heart is already shattered.

Jiang Cheng and Zhao Qian didn't talk much today, since she was still unaware of the situation. This was just a brief meeting, a chance for Jiang Cheng to see her.

Matchmaker Zhang E was really proactive this time, and on the way back with Zhao Qian, she even sounded out her opinion.

Which girl doesn't dream of love? Zhao Qian wasn't opposed to dating. But she felt that dating should wait until after high school graduation, and only after her parents arranged it.

Nowadays, girls are shy and don't dare to interact with men in private. If they don't get their parents' permission, then they're basically shameless.

Jiang Cheng doesn't understand love. When he was growing up, he was curious about the opposite sex and had weird thoughts about what a girl's body was like.

He just wants to touch a woman, lean against her, and smell her scent.

Like many others, Jiang Cheng used to be extremely shy and afraid to speak when faced with beautiful girls, feeling ashamed and guilty.

While matchmaker Aunt Zhang and Zhao Qian were here today, Jiang Cheng was able to control his thoughts. But as soon as they left, his wicked ideas started to surface.

Jiang Cheng wanted to pull down Zhao Qian's pants, then pull out the rubber band inside to make a slingshot and smash the window to pieces.

Just as Jiang Cheng was lost in thought, Station Chief Chen arrived.

"Master Jiang, what's going on? Is it a private order or a government order?" Station Master Chen asked curiously.

If any organization wants Jiangcheng to ship something, even a small item, it needs to be recorded, as this is considered extra income for the transportation station.

As a driver, Jiang Cheng could take on personal jobs privately, but he couldn't take on delivery jobs for government agencies.

"There are no orders. The older man was the matchmaker. He brought that young woman here for me to see," Jiang Cheng said with a smile.

"The girl you were set up with is pretty. But then the matchmaker mentioned sending you something, and I felt something was off," Station Chief Chen said.

Jiang Cheng maintained his smile and explained the situation to Station Chief Chen. The girl was a high school student and didn't know the details yet. The matchmaker and her father had concocted an excuse to lure her here.

When Station Chief Chen heard about the blind date, he thought about it and agreed that the girl's family had done the right thing. If his daughter hadn't been too old and already married, even if she were a girl who hadn't turned eighteen yet and was getting married, Jiang Cheng would have agreed to finalize the matter first.

Station Chief Chen didn't want to talk too much about Jiang Cheng's search for a partner, but instead warned Jiang Cheng not to transport things for government units privately, as that was against regulations.

Every organization has a reimbursement process for its expenses; no organization would personally pay for someone to transport goods.

The transportation station currently only has Chen Minggang and Jiang Cheng. If they were to collude with each other and develop some delivery services, they could indeed make some money.

Unless it's a formal vehicle dispatch slip that requires payment from the finance department, it's generally acceptable to avoid recording the transaction and have the company settle the payment on the spot.

However, this also carries risks. Under normal circumstances, some units' support accounts won't be checked at the transportation station. But if another unit happens to be checking the accounts here, that would be troublesome.

After giving Jiang Cheng a few more words of advice, Station Chief Chen chatted with him for a while before returning to his office. On New Year's Eve, they still had to diligently perform their duties at the station.

It was another leisurely day, with no driving assignments until four o'clock in the afternoon. At four o'clock in the afternoon, a clerk from the Forestry Bureau came, sent by a leader from the Forestry Bureau.

The forestry bureau clerk, who was supposed to be helping Jiang Cheng haul sawdust and bark from the lumber mill, even offered cigarettes to Station Chief Chen and Jiang Cheng when he arrived at the transport station.

Jiang Cheng drove the forestry bureau clerk to the timber mill. The forestry bureau clerk was very polite to Jiang Cheng, but at the timber mill, he acted like a big shot.

In the south, sawdust from lumber mills is called "sawdust." It's very thin and light, and is generally used for starting fires. The real fuel for cooking is the bark cut from semi-mechanized wood saws; it burns longer and produces a stronger flame.

The lumber mill had plenty of sawdust and bark. As soon as Jiang Cheng arrived at the lumber mill, he saw a corner specifically for storing these kinds of materials.

In principle, the lumber mill does not sell these items. If it does, there is no specific standard, and it is difficult to record them in the accounts. So, they are basically given away as gifts based on personal relationships.

However, if some people lack the necessary connections but still have the means, they might sell the goods for a small fee. They'll bring their own bags and vehicles to pick them up, earning a few cents per bag.

There are handcarts at the lumber mill. You can ask the people at the lumber mill to haul a load back for you. It's basically just a delivery fee, about 50 cents per load.

Jiang Cheng's kitchen was small, and there was no yard or separate passageway, so he didn't need much at once and only brought three burlap sacks.

Jiang Cheng drove over, and because he was a driver, even if he didn't know anyone at the timber mill, the timber mill would let him haul away a few bags of sawdust and bark without the forestry bureau's intervention.

With just a few bags of sawdust and bark, people would doubt whether it would even cover the cost of gasoline.

However, since the forestry bureau personnel accompanied them, they were considered on their own. The lumber mill manager directly arranged for several workers to load the truck for Jiang Cheng. The sawdust was too fragmented and could only be packed in sacks. But the bark and other scrap wood were piled directly onto the truck bed without sacks.

Although this thing isn't worth much, no one would complain about having too much these days. If you can't use it yourself, you can give it to relatives and friends, and they'll be grateful.

"Director Xu, you're too kind." Jiang Cheng took out a pack of Daqianmen cigarettes from his pocket and offered them to the director of the lumber mill and the people from the forestry bureau.

The factory manager is right. If we come here in a Jiefang truck and only fill up three bags of sawdust and bark to take back, people might think the lumber mill is stingy.

Moreover, this is a county town, and many people still cook with firewood, unlike in the city where most people use coal stoves.

"Master Jiang, next time you need sawdust or anything like that, just come directly to us. There's no need to trouble the forestry bureau staff," said Xu Kang, the timber factory manager.

"Then I'll have to trouble you from now on, Director Xu. If there's anything I can help you with in the future, you can come to the transportation station to find me," Jiang Cheng said.

Jiang Cheng might be a little slow to think when he sees a beautiful woman, but he has high emotional intelligence and IQ in handling matters.

Living in a county town, as a truck driver, you get to meet a lot of people. But that's not why truck drivers have high status; rather, it's because they have the opportunity to turn those connections into their own network, which is what makes them high-status.

If you build a good relationship with the lumber mill manager, things won't just be as simple as just getting some scrap materials in the future.

There are no charcoal factories in the county because they are usually located in mountainous areas. Charcoal kilns are built near forests to burn charcoal, and the burned charcoal is then transported to the county.

However, the lumber mill also secretly burns charcoal using wood scraps, short pieces, thick branches, and bent wood that cannot be used as proper materials.

In a corner, they built a small kiln out of bricks, producing about two hundred catties (approximately 100 kg) at a time. The charcoal produced could be sold privately, becoming a small treasury for the lumber mill, and a lot would also be given away as gifts.

Besides being able to obtain charcoal privately, this lumber mill also had access to timber quotas, which were required to purchase timber in those days. Anyone who wanted to hire someone to make furniture had to obtain timber quotas or pull strings.

Although supply and marketing cooperatives sell furniture, new furniture is not something you can buy just because you have money, unless you buy second-hand furniture.

Buying furniture requires a furniture voucher, which is generally unavailable to the average person. However, newlyweds can obtain a small amount of timber with their marriage certificate, but the amount is limited, there's a waiting list, and the materials are of poor quality.

Many people who get married need to make furniture. They either take a carpenter to the supply and marketing cooperative's second-hand market to pick out some unfinished furniture to dismantle for materials, or they dismantle old furniture from their family.

Therefore, in this day and age, being able to get to know the manager of a timber mill is a very good connection.