Balipu in October is much colder than outside.
The breath he exhaled was all white.
The floor heating has been turned on inside the toll station, so the room is very warm and there is no need to worry about suffocating.
Li Dashan was holding a brush, dipping it in water, and writing on a wooden board.
His hometown is in a village on the other side of the mountain. There are capable people in the village. At the age of thirteen, he followed the capable people in the village to work in the county town.
I have done a lot of work over the years.
He ran errands, did hard labor, worked as a waiter, and even worked as a porter. The farthest place he had been with the caravan was the provincial capital, a hundred miles away.
I did a lot of work but earned very little. Once, while working as a porter in the next county, I was arrested and forced to do forced labor for six months. I almost lost my life there.
Since then, Li Dashan has given up the idea of going out. He decided to find a hard labor job in his own county.
I thought life would continue like this, but unexpectedly there was a turning point in June this year.
At that time, the cement road had not yet been built, and someone came to the county town to recruit workers, providing food and accommodation as well as wages. I worked in Balipu.
Many people in the county were skeptical, and few applied for the jobs. This was because the recruiters were from out of town, and everyone was afraid of being scammed.
Besides, Balipu is a poor place, what kind of work is there? Road construction? The road is almost finished, and you can't even get some meat soup if you go there now.
At that time, Li Dashan was feeling frustrated working in a grocery store, and his boss was always on guard against him like a thief.
When he heard someone was recruiting, he accepted the job without thinking twice.
Then, he took his wages and went to a training class in the capital, which was actually a literacy class.
Li Dashan never dreamed that there was such a good thing in the world. He could get paid without doing any work and even learn to read.
He is old, already 27 or 28 years old, and learns things slowly. After studying in the training class for two months, he still failed the exam, which made him so anxious that he scratched his head and cheeks.
The boss said that if he failed the exam three times, he would be fired. He had already taken the exam twice, so he only had one chance left.
A man in his twenties was so anxious because he failed the exam that he hid in his bed in the middle of the night and secretly shed tears.
Just at this time, an old student came to the training class. His surname was Wang and he was a native of Balipu.
Mr. Wang is literate and can get a job as long as he passes the training.
The two came from the same county and became familiar with each other after a few visits. Old Student Wang saw that he was having difficulty learning and offered to help him with his studies.
With the help of Mr. Wang, he finally passed the literacy test on his third try. All he had to do next was pass the on-the-job training exam to be officially hired.
Because of the friendship of Wang Laotongsheng, Li Dashan, who had gone through numerous hardships and finally passed the job training examination, chose to work as a clerk at Balipu Toll Station, no, he should be called a toll collector.
The webmaster said that this is how we should introduce ourselves to the outside world so that we appear more formal.
The webmaster also said that anyone who dared to call himself a clerk would be beaten.
I really smoke, I'm not trying to scare you.
"Practicing calligraphy again?"
Wang Laotongsheng walked out of the rest stop and went to the toll station next door. He looked at Li Dashan through the window.
In just over a month, Wang Laotongsheng had upgraded his skills.
His back, once weighed down by life, was now perfectly straight. His cheeks had gained flesh, and his features looked kinder. There was also a gleam in his eyes.
Wearing a clean long gown, he has a gentlemanly air.
He and Li Dashan had formed a friendship since they were in the training class in Fucheng. Li Dashan chose to work in Balipu because of him, so naturally the relationship between the two was special.
"Mr. Wang, do you think my handwriting is presentable?"
Old Master Wang nodded. "You've made progress. Practice more every day when you have time, for a full two hours. By this time next year, your handwriting will be presentable."
Li Dashan grinned, "Really? Then can I pass the job exam next year?"
"Read more books, it should be fine."
This toll booth was quite unusual. Not only did they have to undergo on-the-job training, but they also required every toll collector to be literate and able to do basic arithmetic. They also had to take an on-the-job exam every year.
Only if you pass the exam can you continue to work here.
If you fail the exam, you will be fired.
The shadow of dismissal made everyone at the toll station pick up a bald brush, dip it in water, and write and do arithmetic when they had nothing to do.
Brushes, ink, paper and inkstone are too expensive, so people are reluctant to spend them.
The reason why they work so hard is because the salaries at toll stations are high.
Old Man Wang envied Li Dashan very much.
"Wang Daizi, here he comes!"
When Mr. Wang heard the voice, the mustache at the corners of his mouth began to tremble.
The toll station manager, Niu Lao Da, walked into the toll station with two prey in his hands and a chill in his heart.
Li Dashan stood up and said, "Hello, Station Master."
"Good shit. How's it going today?"
Li Dashan quickly took out today's daily account and handed it to the stationmaster Niu Laoda.
Boss Niu is naturally literate. He never tells anyone that he took a training course for nearly a whole year before he got the position of webmaster.
He flipped through the daily account, "Not bad. There are seven or eight caravans heading to the capital today. I didn't expect so many caravans would still be heading to the capital in winter. There are also quite a few heading south to Luozhou. I counted five or six, and some are visiting relatives and friends. Not bad, not bad, keep up the good work."
Boss Niu slapped Li Dashan on the back with his hand as big as a palm leaf fan, almost breaking Li Dashan apart.
Mr. Wang had already quietly left the toll station and returned to the rest stop.
He just couldn't stand Boss Niu, he was rude and always called him a fool, which was really unreasonable.
"Mr. Wang has been bullied by Boss Niu again. Haha..."
His colleagues at the rest stop teased him in a good-natured way.
Wang Lao Tongsheng snorted twice, "What bullying? That's nonsense."
As soon as he opened his mouth, he caused another round of good-natured laughter.
By mid-afternoon, it was already dark.
The sound of wheels rolling could be heard in the distance.
Boss Niu slapped Li Dashan on the back again, "A caravan is coming."
Li Dashan endured the pain, went to the lounge next door, called a toll collector, and walked out of the toll station together.
The caravan came from the direction of Luozhou and seemed to be heading to the capital.
The caravan stopped in front of the wooden fence on its own initiative.
Li Dashan stepped forward and counted.
"Eighteen head of cattle and ten carts. The total charge is eighty-eighty-four coins."
The toll collector following behind him was taking notes quickly with a charcoal pencil.
The leader of the caravan got off the car and judging by his clothes, he might be the boss.
The other party asked: "Do we have to pay for this car too?"
Li Dashan frowned, "Of course I have to take it. Look at your truck, it's loaded with so much cargo, it must weigh at least two or three hundred pounds. If this were the muddy road we used to have, the road would have been crushed by you guys long ago."
Our boss paid for this cement road himself. Look how smooth and stable it is. How could you not even give us three cents for such a good road?
The other party smiled embarrassedly and motioned for the manager to pay.
"No, I'm not responsible for collecting money. Take this receipt and go to the window to pay. You all know the rules along the way, right?"
Isn't this just a test?
The manager chuckled, took the receipt and copper coins, and ran to the window to pay.
The caravan started from a place further south of Luozhou and got on a cement road after entering Luozhou.
There is a toll station every fifty miles along the way, and each toll collector at each toll station performs his or her duties.
Those who do registration are specifically responsible for registration, and those who collect money are specifically responsible for collecting money.
After passing through so many toll booths, I didn't find any case where the registrants collected money privately.
The caravan owner looked around and thought to himself that if the toll station could maintain this style and continue to operate, it would be amazing.
In the future, more caravans may be willing to take a longer detour and take this free cement road.
Safe, worry-free, fast and saves money.
The steward paid the toll, received several printed receipts, and handed them to the boss.
The boss held the bill paper and said, "The paper is really good and the printing is very clear."
On the first bill, in large font, was written "Beijing Luozhou Cement Road Balipu Toll Station No. 50" with a steel stamp below, the seal of the Sihai Road and Bridge Company, and an incomprehensible code. It was said to be for anti-counterfeiting.
The caravan owner has never figured out how to prevent counterfeiting.
At the bottom, there is a red signature, clearly newly stamped. Below the red signature, the date is written. October 23, the first year of Wende
There were a few bills left, one with "20" written on it, one with "10" written on it, and the last four small bills all with "1 cent" written on them.
These bills added up to eighty-four cents.
And each bill has a fresh red signature and the date of the day.
After collecting the fee, Li Dashan asked, "Do you want to go straight ahead, or go to the rest stop and have some hot tea?"
The caravan owner glanced at the sky and said, "It's going to rain soon."
Li Dashan hummed, "There's a lot of rain in the mountains, but not much."
The caravan owner asked, "We're on our way now. Do you think we can reach the next toll booth before dark?"
Li Dashan looked at the sky. It was dark. It gets dark early in winter.
He shook his head. "I'm afraid we can't make it."
"Then let's rest at the rest stop tonight."
"Okay! Wang Mazi, we have guests, come out and greet them."
Wang Mazi is the young man who deceived Wang Laotongsheng.
He was originally a clerk at Sihai Trading Company, and his hometown was nearby.
As soon as the rest stop was built, he volunteered to run it.
According to the rules of Sihai Trading Company, old employees will be promoted one level when they move to new industries.
Wang Mazi was promoted from a waiter to deputy station manager of the rest stop, responsible for the entrance and greeting customers.
Wang Mazi came out with two waiters to greet them, "Sir, would you like to have dinner, or dinner and stay overnight?"
"Food and hotel accommodation."
"Alright! Come on, come on, please come in. Don't worry about your horses and cargo; they'll all be kept in the back stables, under guard. We're safe here, and we haven't had a single theft case since the station was built."
The caravan owner followed Wang Mazi into the rest stop, his nose twitching slightly. "What's that fragrance? I've never smelled it before."
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