Chapter 174 The coachman Ge Dazhuang was really out of options
The dream of a rickshaw puller is nothing more than owning his own rickshaw. Whether he picks up individual passengers or hires them on a monthly basis is secondary; the main thing is not having to worry about the rickshaw's revenue. This mother, originally named Wang Cuihua but now called Ge Dazhuang, who disguised herself as a man to make a living by pulling a rickshaw, was the same. Her obsession with her rickshaw was even stronger than that of ordinary rickshaw pullers.
Having her own rickshaw meant she wouldn't have to deal with the rickshaw company anymore, reducing the chances of her true identity being discovered. She could also spend more time with her daughter and wouldn't be affected by the rickshaw fees... All of this was the best thing for both mother and daughter.
However, the income of rickshaw pullers is mostly relatively fixed, especially for those who work odd jobs. They rarely get to pick up passengers who offer tips, so the amount of money they can earn is very small. Rickshaw pullers don't have any way to increase their income, and they can only save money by cutting back on expenses.
"Speaking of which, I got into the rickshaw business because I heard from other drivers that for the past two years, there had been a wealthy customer who would spend a whole silver dollar at a time, but unfortunately, after running for several months, I hadn't run into him even once..."
Seeing that the woman in front of him was interested in these trivial matters, Ge Dazhuang became even more enthusiastic, and even blurted out the reason why he entered the industry. Because he was too engrossed in talking, he did not notice Yao Xiaoyu's little look of confusion turning into guilt.
"I heard the other day that a rickshaw puller at the dock had a stroke of good luck. He took a punch for a customer and was given more than ten silver dollars. Unfortunately, his daughter at home was sick, and the money was gone before he could even enjoy it..."
Ge Dazhuang's face was full of envy as he spoke. A dozen or so silver dollars, that's equivalent to the money he earns in one or two months driving a truck. What's a punch? If she could have such a good thing, she would be content to take ten punches. A beating from both sides won't kill her!
Upon hearing the keywords "punched at the dock," Yao Xiaoyu instantly connected them to the unfortunate driver who had given her a ride. Before her guilt could intensify, she heard about the trouble at his home. Forgetting her embarrassment, she immediately pressed him for details:
"How is the child now?"
Ge Dazhuang wasn't surprised by Yao Xiaoyu's question. She had seen a lot of the coldness and warmth of human relationships. The young woman in front of her was clearly a kind-hearted person who cherished the poor and weak, and was the kind of person who valued other people's lives as much as her own.
"We took the child to see a doctor in time, and he was discharged a long time ago, but we've already spent almost all the money."
Some people think that the girl's death was just bad luck and that it wasn't worth spending so much money on treatment. They laugh at the driver for working so hard only to end up with nothing. But Ge Dazhuang thinks that if you don't have money, it's understandable to give up treatment in pain. But if you have money and still don't get treatment, then you're worse than an animal!
Moreover, every cloud has a silver lining. A dozen or so silver dollars is no small sum; it could have been enough to kill someone with a ruthless hand. Now, all of it has been spent on medical treatment, and they've brought back a healthy baby. Being broke means no one will have any bad intentions.
Besides, it's not certain whether the money is really all spent. Although expenses can be checked at the clinic, income is something that can be overheard. Ge Dazhuang believed that if she were in this situation, she definitely wouldn't tell the whole truth.
"It's good that you're alright..."
Yao Xiaoyu breathed a sigh of relief. Seeing that the host had recovered from the incident, Ge Dazhuang continued to ramble on about the main matter—
This is not a grammatically incorrect sentence. Yao Xiaoyu wanted to know the specific reasons why she took a monthly contract for her daughter, but she was also quite interested in the trivialities of daily life. Ge Dazhuang noticed this and also wanted to increase his bargaining power with his words, so he started to talk about the long story. So far, he had only talked about the way the driver saved money, and there was still a short part before his daughter appeared.
With a fixed income, one must reduce spending in order to save money. The ways that a rickshaw driver can save money are no different from those of ordinary people, and can be categorized into the four major categories of clothing, food, housing, and transportation. For 99% of people in this era, there is no such thing as money that is not saved but spent. They will not spend money if they can save it.
Ge Dazhuang was no exception, but her views differed somewhat from the prevailing worldview.
As a child, Wang Cuihua was a sensible child. She felt that if she ate one less bite, her parents could eat one more bite. It wasn't until she discovered that her younger brother had long been tired of the food she was reluctant to eat and even wasted it that she realized that food and drink should not be skimped on, and that others would eat the food she was reluctant to eat.
From then on, she evolved. At home, she made her parents maintain a semblance of fairness, and whenever she saw her younger brother stealing food, she would take it out of his mouth.
Besides that, she didn't bring home the wild eggs she picked up on the mountain or the cogon grass roots she dug up in the fields. She would eat what she could on the spot, and if she couldn't finish it in one meal, she would leave it outside to eat the next meal. With this spirit of not depriving herself, she managed to grow up to be as tall as her younger brother, and even stronger than him because she had to do chores.
Then the family began to flee the famine.
A strong physique is a woman's asset. This was the second important lesson Ge Dazhuang learned after fleeing famine and her parents trying to sell her to a brothel but she escaped. In the years that followed, this statement was proven true time and again. After all, not everyone can understand human language, but everyone can understand the weight of a fist the size of a sand bowl hitting the face.
Especially during the famine that started a few years ago, when Ge Dazhuang, who was still Wang Cuihua, discovered that her husband wanted to send their daughter to the vegetable market, if she hadn't been strong enough and powerful enough, how could she have tied that beast up and sent him to the vegetable market to exchange for food to survive?
Even if she had arrived in Shanghai, if she didn't have such a physique, even if she had taken a man's name, how could she have successfully infiltrated the male-only rickshaw-pulling circle? The saying "physique is the key to survival" had long been ingrained in Ge Dazhuang's mind. Moreover, pulling a rickshaw and carrying passengers around was no easy task. If she were to be frugal with her food, she would have collapsed and died in a ditch in no time.
You can't skimp on food and drink, but you can be more frugal with clothing. However, clothes make the man, and being too frugal in this area won't work. If you have too many patches on your clothes, wealthy families won't hire you. If your shoes are too worn out, it's not only unsightly, but it's also uncomfortable to run in. Even if you grit your teeth and persevere, your legs will eventually give out.
Ge Dali planned to run a rickshaw-pulling business for a long time, so she usually wore a white shirt and black pants, paired with a pair of blue cloth shoes with multi-layered soles, which made her look neat and efficient.
If clothes are damaged, at most some simple mending will be done. If large patches are needed, or if they are starched to the point of being unsightly, they will be promptly sent to a pawn shop for a pittance and then made a new set, or a matching second-hand set will be purchased.
"Good clothes cost a lot of money, but there's nothing you can do. If you wear shabby clothes, people will dare to bury their money under the ground."
Ge Dali was also a girl from a poor family. She often felt sorry for the clothes that went to the pawn shop. But the only reason she could support her daughter was because she was young and strong, and because her neat appearance brought good business. It seemed like she was making a lot of money, but when she did the math at the end of the month, she realized that she could only make money from the clothes and spend it all, without taking a single piece home.
She had tried dressing less well, but the results were even worse. On bad days, she couldn't even earn enough to cover her driving duties in a day. Moreover, because she drove more, her appetite increased, making her lose even more. After trying it for three days, she gave up on the idea of dressing frugally.
Aside from food and clothing, the only things they could save on were housing and transportation, which were the main areas where the mother and daughter saved money.
The expense for Ge Dali was not the transportation itself, but the car rental fee. Due to various reasons, the car rental fees required by private companies varied. Ge Dali used his time driving cars to filter out several car manufacturers that he could accept after considering all factors, and started long-term rentals from the highest-rated ones.
This is a slow and steady way to save money, but because the preliminary research took too long, Ge Dali only finalized the car factory two weeks ago. Before that, the remaining income was mainly squeezed out from the rent.
Renting a house is like eating; it's a matter of personal preference and budget. Everyone wants a house that's perfect in every way, so the price will naturally be very high. If the location is bad, the price will be cheaper, and if there are difficult neighbors, it will be even cheaper. In short, the worse the conditions, the lower the price. Ge Dali isn't particularly strong outside, but he's still more intimidating than the average adult male, so the price of the house he rents isn't particularly high.
Having money only going out and not coming in is a worrying thing. After renting the house, Ge Dali focused most of his energy on finding a suitable rickshaw rental shop. Only after finding a shop suitable for long-term rickshaw rental did Ge Dali belatedly realize that his daughter's condition was not normal.
"I've already taught those people a lesson, but it's really hard to find a suitable and affordable house."
Ge Dali said with a wry smile that because she discovered it in time, her daughter was not seriously harmed, but she was still quite frightened. During this period, she had to pay the aunt in the yard to watch over her daughter whenever she went out to drive, but she still couldn't stop worrying about her.
A change of environment would be good for both mother and daughter, but they only had so much money. Ge Dali searched many places but couldn't find anything satisfactory. By chance, he heard about Yao Xiaoyu's situation and came over to offer his services.
Then Yao Xiaoyu got a driver and errand runners, filling a large gap in staff. Now, besides the outdoor cleaners, all that's missing is someone to do laundry... Maybe she'll need to hire a tailor too?
Nowadays, except for some special garments, most clothes are simply thrown into the washing machine and washed. At most, a few small items are hand-washed, or multiple washing machines are used to wash socks and underwear. However, in this era, hand washing is the mainstream, and being a laundry woman is even a specialized profession.
In this era, changing clothes every day is a heavy burden for many people, not only because of the economic pressure, but also because of the physical exertion involved. Yao Xiaoyu has always believed in professionals doing professional work. Most importantly, the summer heat here makes her change clothes three times a day. In addition, she plans to set a daily laundry requirement for her employees, making the existence of a professional laundry worker essential.
As for the demand for tailors, that relates to the salary offered by Yao Xiaoyu.
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Author's Note: A little detail: Ge Dazhuang's guess that the rickshaw driver still had money was true. After selling everything he received from Yao Xiaoyu and deducting the child's medical expenses, the rickshaw driver still had five silver dollars left. Because he had money as a backup, he didn't drive recklessly. A few months later, he successfully paid off all the debts of the Black Market Association, and the rickshaw officially became his own.
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