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

The transportation station's corporate account is currently empty, and without money, there are no additional benefits.

Many profitable companies, in addition to the planned New Year's gifts and benefits, can also set aside some money to purchase some items for their employees as New Year's welfare.

The transportation station receipts Jiang Cheng received included two jin of pork, one jin of rapeseed oil, half a jin of sugar, one jin each of peanuts and melon seeds, and one jin of bean products.

There was one Class A liquor voucher, two Class B vouchers, and a bulk liquor voucher. Liquor vouchers were very rare these days; they were specifically issued to drivers, and even Station Master Chen didn't have any.

In previous years, a few wine tickets wouldn't have been a big deal, but this year is 1959, so the situation is different.

Before the commune was established the previous year, there were some people in the townships who knew how to brew wine. They would collect some grain in the countryside and brew some bulk wine to sell.

After the commune was established, all resources were collectivized, and everyone lost their land and earned work points to eat in the collective canteen.

On the one hand, there is no more bulk liquor in rural towns and villages because they can't harvest enough grain. On the other hand, some cities in the north experienced drought last year, resulting in reduced grain production, so naturally there isn't enough grain to brew liquor.

So this year, many people who used to receive monthly liquor coupons no longer do.

Being a driver is a special profession. These days, most truck drivers who run transportation businesses drink alcohol. Especially in the north, drivers have to go out even in freezing weather. If they don't have a drink to warm themselves up before setting off, they just can't drive properly.

In the summer, when it's too hot, you have to have a sip to cool down.

Therefore, alcohol vouchers were given priority to drivers, who were basically always at home smoking and drinking.

Jiang Cheng put the money and tickets into an envelope. The county's supply and marketing cooperative was not far away from the transportation station. He could take some time in the afternoon to buy the candy, peanuts, and melon seeds.

It's early February now, supposedly the beginning of spring, but the weather in Yi'an County is still cold, with an average temperature of only a few degrees Celsius.

Inside the break room, a metal basin was burning coal. The station had been granted funding and a quota for purchasing coal, but the coal they were using was a bag of coal that the coking plant had given them when Jiang Cheng went there to pick up coke last time.

The coke from a coking plant is industrial fuel; even the coking plant itself wouldn't give it away. But raw material coal lumps, if overstated in terms of loss, can be given to the driver as a favor.

There were many coal pieces in the basin. The rest room wasn't big, but it was very warm to sit on the side.

[Ding! The system has detected the host's cognitive maturity and current profession. The system upgrade requirements are met. Automatic upgrade initiation complete.]

Just as Jiang Cheng was reading the newspaper and feeling bored, he wanted to go outside for a walk when he heard the system's voice.

The system has been upgraded. To be honest, Jiang Cheng has had the system for eleven years, but he still doesn't understand what it is.

When Jiang Cheng first acquired the system, he had never even heard of the term "system." Even later, when he entered junior high school, the word "system" wasn't taught in his academic classes.

Later, when Jiang Cheng joined the army, he heard about some organizational structures, such as the medical system, the public security system, and the military system. He only heard the word "system," but never the term "systematic system."

Jiang Cheng had asked the instructors in the army, but they had never heard of the term before. For now, he could only regard the "Opportunity Selection" system as a system.

Jiang Cheng hadn't expected the system to be able to upgrade. He hadn't understood it before, and now he was even more confused.

While Jiang Cheng was still wondering what would happen after the system upgrade, he saw Station Chief Chen Minggang walk past the window of the lounge, accompanied by a person wearing a medium-gray cadre uniform.

Upon seeing the stationmaster arrive with his men, Jiang Cheng's first thought was that there might be a dispatch mission.

"Master Jiang, this is Director Liu from the county supply and marketing cooperative. Some New Year's goods that the city's supply and marketing cooperative sent to the county have run into problems on the way. Hurry up and send a truck to transport the goods back to the county supply and marketing cooperative first." Station Chief Chen said to Jiang Cheng as soon as he entered the rest room.

"Then let's set off immediately," Jiang Cheng replied.

Jiang Cheng had already stood up when Station Chief Chen and his men appeared through the window. Having served in the military, specifically as a motor transport soldier, he had participated in emergency response drills and had also faced real emergency response missions.

It was a bit chilly outside, so Jiang Cheng put on his military green overcoat and gloves and headed outside. Station Chief Chen and Director Liu from the supply and marketing cooperative hurriedly followed behind him.

"Director Liu, what exactly happened?"

Jiang Cheng led his men to the well-maintained Jiefang truck, opened the door with the key, and asked questions as he took the engine crank key from the truck.

Director Liu's full name is Liu Kaihong. He is the deputy director of the county's general supply and marketing cooperative. Director Liu gave a brief explanation of the situation.

The county supply and marketing cooperative collects agricultural and sideline products from the various communes below, but daily necessities, non-staple foods, and many other items are distributed and allocated by the urban supply and marketing cooperative.

With the Chinese New Year approaching, there are some local specialty products available. If the product is from within the city, it will be purchased by the municipal supply and marketing cooperative and then distributed and sold within the city and its subordinate supply and marketing cooperatives.

For products from outside the city, such as frozen rice candy from Fengcheng, oranges and tangerines from Ganzhou, crispy candy from Jiujiang, and preserved eggs from Yichun, etc.

These local snacks and delicacies from different cities were all purchased by the provincial supply and marketing cooperative and then distributed to urban areas that did not have these products. The urban areas kept a portion for themselves and then distributed it to the county towns below.

Without this top-down formula system, residents of the county town would have no way of buying things from outside the town. Leaving aside local delicacies, just consider candy: Yi'an doesn't have a candy factory, does that mean people don't eat candy during the Lunar New Year?

Yesterday afternoon, the goods were loaded in the city for the Yi'an County Supply and Marketing Cooperative. The county supply and marketing cooperative also received a delivery call and arranged loading and unloading workers and warehouse managers to receive the goods.

This morning around 8 a.m., I received news that the truck had already set off. But the distance from the city to Yi'an County is only about 70 or 80 kilometers, and it's already past 10 a.m., and the delivery truck still hasn't arrived.

Fortunately, a bus would pass through Yi'an County in the morning. The escorts who were delivering the goods took the bus to the county, but the delivery vehicle broke down, meaning it suddenly stalled and couldn't be driven.

These days, most drivers can fix cars, and they're all quite skilled. They also check their vehicles before setting off. The fact that this security guard was able to hitch a ride to the county means the car probably can't be fixed anytime soon.

Even new Jiefang trucks at the transport station always have plenty of spare parts on board. These days, if a car stalls on the road and can't be restarted, the driver usually has to fix it themselves. If they can't fix it, it will delay delivery times.

After understanding the situation, Jiang Cheng had already started the engine. The gasoline tank was full, and there was also a small can of spare gasoline in the trunk.

Jiang Cheng started the engine, asked Director Liu to get into the passenger seat, and then got into the driver's seat himself.

These days, driving a car is not only a technical skill, but also a physical one. Since the steering wheel doesn't have a power steering pump, turning the wheel relies on strength, especially in emergency situations where you need to use your whole body to make a sharp turn.

Without wasting any time, Jiang Cheng followed Director Liu's instructions and went to the county supply and marketing cooperative to pick up the people. In addition to picking up the escort who came to report the situation, he also needed to pick up the cooperative's statistician and loading and unloading personnel.

"Ding, a chance selection has been triggered."

"First, young people shouldn't be too slick. Asking for favors and cultivating a relationship with Liu Kaihong, the deputy director of the county supply and marketing cooperative, will boost your luck by one percent."

Second, be upright and incorruptible. As a truck driver, you can ask for favors, but you must understand the situation clearly; this will increase your luck by two percent.

As Jiang Cheng drove to the supply and marketing cooperative, he discovered that the Opportunity System had been triggered. Both choices increased his luck, and while the second choice was somewhat ambiguous, it increased his luck more than the first.

Which one to choose? Just like before, only choose the one with more good fortune.