Substitute Driver's Notes

Chapter 47 The world is so big, you can find all kinds of people.

Soon, Li Wei arrived at the loading factory, which was still a lumber mill. He found a red new Jiefang truck that was queuing up according to its license plate number.

The truck was running with the air conditioning on. Li Wei sat in the passenger seat. A driver with a displeased expression scrutinized Li Wei, took the card Li Wei handed him, glanced at it, and casually tossed it into the large box in the middle of the cab.

Li Wei stared blankly at him, and the guy didn't say anything either, just staring blankly at Li Wei.

What's going on? Li Wei tentatively tried to start a conversation: "Who upset you? Or are you short on goods?"

The man shook his head and asked, "What is your surname?"

"My surname is Li. What is yours?"

"Zhao".

"Oh! Hello, Master Zhao."

"Um!"

"Around what time can we start loading the goods?"

"wait."

"How many stores?"

"Four."

This conversation is impossible to continue. He's just spewing out one word at a time. Is this guy out of his mind?

Li Wei was also a little unhappy. "I'm here to work, not to sulk. You're ignoring me? I'll ignore you too."

After making up their minds, the two were speechless, only tears streaming down their faces? (This sentence is incorrect, please cross it out.)

Anyway, afterwards they just gestured to each other to do their jobs, and nobody paid any attention to anyone else.

The eerie atmosphere made even the forklift operators loading the truck feel uneasy. When they asked Li Wei, he replied, "I'm the substitute driver, ask him!" pointing to the man.

The forklift driver asked Mr. Zhao a question, but only managed to utter a single word.

The forklift operator asked a few questions, and then suffered a magnificent and perfect defeat.

After Wang Fuyou's detailed explanation, Li Wei, with his experience in loading trucks and keen observation skills, knew exactly what to do next without needing to say a word.

As he worked, Master Zhao glanced at Li Wei, seemingly satisfied, yet also looking for an excuse to cause trouble.

After working for half an afternoon, constantly moving between sites to load and seal trucks, the two worked together seamlessly.

He sealed the car and tightened the last rope. Li Wei breathed a sigh of relief, noticing that dusk was approaching. The man drove off without any intention of finding a place to eat.

Li Wei couldn't hold back any longer: "Master Zhao, where shall we go for dinner?"

"Um!"

"No, Master Zhao, what do you mean? Are you going to eat or not?"

"I'll call you when it's time to eat."

My God! I've finally said so many words. What kind of ancestor have I run into?

Okay, fine, I won't say anymore. Wang Fuyou once said that if I want to do this job for a long time, I need to practice enduring hunger.

During his spare time, Li Wei sat in the passenger seat and watched the machine operate.

Li Wei had never driven an eight-speed ten-gear car. He knew that R on the gear selector was reverse, but he didn't know that C was the correct gear. He figured it probably wasn't important since he'd never used it either.

After sitting for a while, Li Wei understood it. It was just a simple division: the left side was the low gear, and the four on the right were the high gears. Pushing the lever to the left and then shifting to the back was reverse (R).

Once the car is stable, the forward and reverse gears cannot be interchanged; you still need to use both feet to control gear shifting. The gear range is a bit short, so you need to be careful not to shift into the wrong gear.

Remember these points, otherwise sitting here awkwardly will be boring. Li Wei asked when the shift would change, but the guy grunted twice like an old sow and didn't answer.

When Li Wei saw that there was a straw mat on the bunk, he went over and lay down without taking off his clothes and closed his eyes.

I'm pretending to be asleep this time. If you're so capable, drive to Qiantang yourself. It'll only take less than fifty hours round trip, and you'll get three hundred yuan in wages. If you don't pay me, I'll beat you up.

Sleeping in clothes soaked with sweat is very uncomfortable. I used the cool air from the air conditioner to dry off the moisture on my body. I tossed and turned several times before my clothes dried, and then I finally drifted off to sleep.

After an unknown amount of time, Li Wei felt the brakes jolt a few times. He opened his eyes and saw the towering lampposts through the rear window, realizing that he had arrived at the provincial border toll plaza.

He got up and returned to the passenger seat. The guy just glanced at him sideways, pursed his lips, and didn't say anything.

This was quite awkward. Li Wei was a little annoyed and watched coldly from the sidelines.

I learned something new: when weighing the vehicle, it was in C gear, so even though the speed was slow, it was extremely powerful.

He's skilled; this guy's even better at weighing things than Wang Fuyou. The total weight of the truck and cargo was 66 tons, but he managed to weigh 43 tons. Is that just his personality? I doubt anyone would like working with him.

After exiting the tollbooth, the guy still didn't stop. Li Wei had drunk plenty of water in the morning, and after sweating all afternoon, he didn't feel the urge to urinate.

If I don't want to eat, I won't. I'll just go on a diet. Just pay me for the food later.

Li Wei returned to his sleeper berth dejectedly.

I can't sleep. After a whole afternoon of physical labor, my stomach keeps rumbling and growling.

I tossed and turned with my eyes closed for a long time, then I felt the car slow down and stop after a while.

Li Wei hurriedly sat up, his eyes filled with hope. Was it finally time to eat?

This guy was still the same old rascal; he turned off the engine and left without a word, leaving Li Wei sitting alone on the sleeper berth, utterly bewildered.

Li Wei got angry, got up and rummaged through the various storage boxes looking for food. After a while, he sat there blankly with his eyes glazed over. The car was cleaner than if a locust swarm had passed through.

"I don't believe it." Li Wei picked up the car keys he had found, got out of the car, locked it, and looked around. It was the Xinyi Service Area.

Is this the legendary, incredibly affordable buffet area? Is this guy going to eat there by himself?

Li Wei headed straight to the restaurant, which was noisy and crowded with people coming and going, but he couldn't find the guy after searching for a long time.

Li Wei quickly searched around, but couldn't find the guy within the small business area.

In the end, I got frustrated and asked about the price of the buffet. Forget it, it's only twenty-odd yuan a meal. What if this guy buys something else?

Go to the restroom, then go back to the car and wait!

With heavy steps, I dragged myself to the toilet. Instead of a foul smell, I smelled roast chicken.

People who are extremely hungry have a more sensitive nose; you can try it yourself if you don't believe it. When you're really hungry, you can accurately distinguish different kinds of food by smell. But once you're full, that's no longer the case.

Li Wei didn't care that this was a toilet. At the same time, he had a premonition that the guy he couldn't find was stealing food, so he followed the smell to the squat toilet.

Perhaps it was fate, but this guy didn't even lock the door.

Li Wei opened the door and saw this utterly shameless bastard squatting in the toilet, gnawing on a roast chicken with gusto.

Li Wei was furious, his anger flickering, but he still managed to suppress it and asked, "What do you mean? If you don't want to eat together, give me my food money and I'll buy it myself."

I'm not angry, I'm not angry. Maybe it's just a personal preference; he likes to eat while squatting on the toilet.

This guy, without even blushing, straightened up his pants under Li Wei's gaze, picked up the half-eaten roast chicken, washed his hands, and then strode away.

Li Wei kept quiet, following him all the way back to the car before stopping him and asking, "Give me my food money. From now on, we'll each eat our own food. Also, you didn't even buy cigarettes today, so give me the money for cigarettes too."

The guy was taken aback, as if he hadn't expected Li Wei to say that. After thinking for a moment, he took out ten yuan from his pocket and threw it over, saying, "That's all."

Li Wei exploded: "What do you mean? Do you really think I don't know how much food costs per day?"

You've been smoking cigarettes that cost over ten yuan a pack all day, and I haven't said a word. You brought a few packs with you, which should be enough for you. You're thinking of just paying me back for the cigarettes later.

If you like to eat while squatting in the toilet, I don't care. We can each eat our own food.

But what is the ten dollars you've taken out for?

This guy actually had a bigger temper than Li Wei, and he yelled at Li Wei, "Get out of my way! The boss put me in charge of the accounts, so I'm in charge. All the money is mine. If you don't get out of my way, I'll beat you up!"

Li Wei's eyes lit up immediately: "Beat me up? Great, you said it yourself."

This guy demonstrated what it means to be ruthless and taciturn with his actions, raising his hand and throwing a straight punch at Li Wei's nose.