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

With a turn of the steering wheel, I wouldn't trade it for a county magistrate position.

There was only one Jiefang truck and one driver in the county town, and basically all the units in the county were willing to be on good terms with the driver.

So often it depends on who the driver is willing to befriend, rather than the driver going so far as to befriend someone directly.

The system's prompt to ask for benefits was not primarily intended to obtain benefits, but rather to give Liu Kaihong an opportunity to build a closer relationship.

Jiang Cheng drove the car out of the parking lot and drove about 200 meters towards the Supply and Marketing Cooperative, which was across the street. However, the direction to the city center was to drive straight ahead without making a U-turn.

So Jiang Cheng honked his horn, and without turning around, drove straight across the road to the entrance of the county supply and marketing cooperative.

This is considered driving against traffic, but these days it's considered standard practice. On a road about six meters wide, cars normally overtake on the right. However, in reality, it depends on the road conditions and the driver's mood.

"Director Liu, please get someone in the car quickly," Jiang Cheng said to Director Liu, then reached into his pocket and complained, "I was in a rush to leave and forgot to take my cigarettes out of the lounge."

Director Liu saw the car stop and immediately opened the door and got out. The people who were to go with him to pick up the goods had already been arranged and were waiting at the entrance of the supply and marketing cooperative.

At Director Liu's signal, five people immediately ran to the back of the truck and quickly climbed in. Director Liu then went to the supply and marketing cooperative, but came out shortly after.

Director Liu walked around the front of the car to the passenger side door, got in, and took out two packs of cigarettes from his pocket and stuffed them into Jiang Cheng's pocket.

"Thank you so much, Master Jiang, for troubling us today," Director Liu said very politely.

Two packs of cigarettes of different brands, one Daqianmen and the other Lushan.

Lushan cigarettes are considered high-end cigarettes produced in the province, a good cigarette for cadres, technicians, and clerks. At 27 cents a pack, people with low incomes and heavy smoking habits simply couldn't afford them.

Daqianmen cigarettes were practically a national staple, costing 28 cents a pack. Outside of Jiangxi province, people might not know Lushan, but they would definitely know Daqianmen.

"Director Liu, you're too kind. I was just doing my job. If you need anything in the future, just let me know," Jiang Cheng said with a smile.

Two packs of cigarettes would cost 55 cents, and since they were Class B cigarettes, you'd need two Class B cigarette coupons. Good cigarettes aren't something you can just buy with money.

Tobacco and alcohol are the same. Take Moutai, for example. If we only consider the price, an ordinary worker could afford it if they gritted their teeth. The key is that without the corresponding liquor coupons, you simply can't buy it. So it's normal for many people to never have tasted Moutai in their lives.

Jiang Cheng's meaning was quite clear, and someone like Director Liu could understand the implication. Asking Jiang Cheng for help—what else could he do besides drive?

With so many departments and units in the county, it's very difficult to call up vehicles from the transportation station. You have to go to them for approval and get a permit before you can use them.

It's not that the transportation station can't use back channels, but rather that the station itself can't get its own gasoline. No matter how much bribery other departments or units offer, it's useless unless they can provide the gasoline themselves.

The county's supply and marketing cooperative was one of the few units that could obtain gasoline, and Director Liu kept Jiang Cheng's words in mind.

Jiang Cheng started the car and honked the horn before driving into the middle of the road. It was close to the Lunar New Year, and schools were on holiday. There were many pedestrians and children on the streets, making it difficult to drive fast in areas with many pedestrians, regardless of whether the car was on the right or left.

In the county town, it's most suitable for cars to drive in the middle, so they can sway to either side at any time.

Cars drive slower in crowded areas, and once a car starts, regardless of speed, the engine is running and consuming fuel. Skilled drivers pay attention to details; on the same road, different drivers can achieve different fuel consumption rates.

If Jiang Cheng wants to occasionally use the official vehicle for personal purposes, he must save fuel when driving, and he can save a few liters of fuel within a reasonable range.

There are quotas for how many tons of goods to transport and how much fuel to use per kilometer; saving money is a skill of the driver.

Jiang Cheng drove a Jiefang truck when he was in the army, so he was very familiar with the vehicle. Moreover, veteran drivers in the army would summarize their experiences and share them with everyone.

This CA10 Jiefang truck, with its 90-horsepower, six-cylinder gasoline engine, can only reach a top speed of around 70 km/h.

When driving below 40 km/h, the engine speed is low, resulting in poor combustion efficiency and high fuel consumption. While driving above 55 km/h is acceptable when empty, heavy loads cause the engine to operate under high load, significantly increasing fuel consumption.

With the transmission in fourth gear and speeding at around 40 km/h, this is the most fuel-efficient state for a Jiefang truck.

Before driving into the county town, Jiang Cheng honked his horn frequently, and he would not slow down unless pedestrians appeared within a certain range of the car.

This is the difference between a skilled driver and an ordinary driver. Ordinary drivers are afraid of hitting pedestrians because they can't avoid them in time, so they drive slowly on streets with pedestrians, wasting fuel.

Once outside the county town, Jiang Cheng maintained a speed of about 45 km/h, heading towards the city center. According to the delivery escort from the city's supply and marketing cooperative, the transport vehicle was about 20 kilometers away from the county town.

These days, the main roads in the county town are all gravel roads. The roads leading to the city are only smooth gravel roads about five kilometers away from the county town, and then there are only some good roads within seven or eight kilometers of the city.

Driving at over 40 miles per hour on a smooth gravel road is already considered fast. Five kilometers outside the county town, although it's still a gravel road, it's not as wide. And there are often potholes that require road maintenance and filling with gravel.

Jiang Cheng had just started working and didn't have a watch yet. Director Liu did have a watch, but judging from its condition, it seemed to have been worn for many years. After driving for about an hour, they saw the broken-down transport truck beside a bend in a dirt road.

Jiang Cheng turned the car around and parked it next to the supply and marketing cooperative's delivery vehicles, then turned off the engine and waited inside. It was windy outside, and as a driver for the transportation station, he didn't need to get out to help unload the goods.

The five people in the back of the truck almost all grabbed the truck's guardrail and jumped down. It was almost 11 o'clock. It wouldn't take long for four people to load and unload the cargo.

Director Liu exchanged a few words with Jiang Cheng, then got out of the car and followed the statistician to check the goods. Here, the goods were essentially handed over directly according to the delivery list.

After the delivery order is handed over, the driver and escort from the municipal supply and marketing cooperative will stay here. If the vehicle can be repaired, it will return directly to the city; if not, they will have to contact the city to find a vehicle to tow it back.

"Ding, a chance selection has been triggered."

Jiang Cheng was sitting alone in the driver's seat, just about to take out a cigarette when he heard a "ding" sound in his head.

This shocked Jiang Cheng. He had possessed this system for many years, but had actually triggered the missions very few times. Yet today, it had been triggered twice at once.

When Jiang Cheng arrived at the scene, he saw the supply and marketing cooperative's delivery driver lying down under the vehicle checking for problems. At that time, Jiang Cheng was wondering whether he should get out of the car to help take a look.

But as Director Liu got out of the car, a gust of cold wind blew in, and Jiang Cheng hesitated. His hesitation stemmed from his three years of military service. He should help others within his capabilities, but Jiang Cheng was someone who had possessed a ten-year-old opportunity-choosing system.

This damned opportunity selection system makes Jiang Cheng always have to consider the pros and cons when he encounters certain situations.

Jiang Cheng wasn't entirely devoid of a helpful spirit; he was sitting in the car thinking he'd only get out and help if the other person asked for his assistance. He didn't want to get his clothes dirty in this weather if they didn't ask.

Jiang Cheng didn't expect the system to ring at this time. Being in the middle of nowhere, he wondered if the system was going to help him fix his car.

However, the message that popped up in front of him startled Jiang Cheng. Instead of helping someone repair their car or making friends with the driver to expand his network, it prompted him to go to Xiangyang Commune, a few kilometers away, to participate in the market before six o'clock the next day.

"First, anyone who enters the territory of Xiangyang Commune before 6:00 AM tomorrow can participate in the market."

There was only one option, no other choice. This was the first time Jiang Cheng had ever seen such a choice. Of course, whether in the past or present, the opportunities that were triggered could actually be avoided.

Not choosing was out of the question, so Jiang Cheng immediately chose to participate in the market.

[Ding! Choosing to participate in the market will grant you currency conversion. Enter the area of ​​opportunity to convert currency.]

After Jiang Cheng chose the opportunity to go to the market, the system issued another notification.

Fund conversion should be a feature. Just like when Jiang Cheng chose his learning path, he gained a basic learning specialization, which would allow him to focus more on learning new things.

Jiang Cheng found it easier to remember things when studying. However, after more than ten years, he had come to understand this learning specialization better. Firstly, it's undeniable that this function is powerful. But this function varies from person to person; it simply makes people more focused when studying.

Some skills and abilities actually depend on individual capabilities and talent. If Jiang Cheng himself is not very bright or has a low IQ, even if he focuses while learning, he may not understand some problems quickly.

For example, in mathematics, some people are simply gifted; once they understand a few formulas, they can solve many problems after just one reading. But those who are less intelligent learn more slowly and rely entirely on doing many practice problems to master the material.

This specialization in learning is basically useless to an idiot, but it becomes extraordinary when given to someone who is a genius in learning.

Aside from the initial learning and specialization, this is Jiang Cheng's second time receiving a functional reward. However, this conversion of funds is now leaving him somewhat confused.

Another thing that puzzled Jiang Cheng was the idea of ​​going to the market. Four years ago, he often heard about markets that he could go to and join in the fun.

In 1954, in order to stabilize grain prices, the government prohibited people in rural towns and villages from selling their grain to merchants.

In 1955, national grain coupons were issued, and grain control became even stricter.

After 1955, there were fewer food-related products in the market, and the market was organized less frequently.

Last year, with the rural communes being established, almost everything produced became collectively owned. And everyone was eating in the communal canteens; there wasn't much food for sale.

Xiangyang Commune was considered to be quite far from the county seat, so where could Jiang Cheng find a market to go to? This was what puzzled Jiang Cheng.

Even if there were markets to go to, Jiang Cheng didn't actually plan to go. He had chosen this opportunity, and he hadn't yet experienced what it would be like not to follow through.

Since acquiring the system, Jiang Cheng has never disobeyed the opportunities he chose, consistently receiving rewards. The system hasn't mentioned any penalties for not following the choices, so when only one option appeared this time, he immediately chose to participate.

(This was originally a 4,000-word chapter, but it was edited and deleted because it may have mentioned some restrictions on food. I'm not asking for votes now, just remember to bookmark it after you finish reading.) Don't read the rest of the content, it's just to reach the word count. I'll make up for it in chapters tomorrow.

Since acquiring the system, Jiang Cheng has never disobeyed the opportunities he chose, consistently receiving rewards. The system hasn't mentioned any penalties for not following the choices, so when only one option appeared this time, he immediately chose to participate.

Since acquiring the system, Jiang Cheng has never violated the opportunities he chose, consistently receiving rewards. The system hasn't mentioned any penalties for non-compliance, so when only one choice appeared this time, he directly chose to participate. Since acquiring the system, Jiang Cheng has never disobeyed any of the chosen opportunities, consistently receiving rewards. The system hasn't mentioned any penalties for non-compliance, so when only one choice appeared this time, he simply chose to participate.