Chapter 193 I am your second uncle
National Highway 107 is the busiest highway artery in China, connecting Beijing in the north and Shenzhen in the south at both ends. No matter which publishing house prints the map, it is a thick red line.
But this thick red line is actually different in width and road conditions. Some sections are not even as good as the blue provincial roads or green county roads, and are even directly gravel roads.
There are many road conditions that give long-distance transport drivers a headache, let alone new drivers.
Hao Jian is a complete new driver. He has had his driver's license for less than half a year and can be described as a green hand on the road.
But when he decided to drive from Pengcheng and go north along National Highway 107 for 2,000 miles, he did not feel any headache, but was full of excitement.
Going home, the first time going home in fourteen years, and driving a "small sleeper car" home, I get so excited just thinking about it.
As for the legendary terrible road conditions on National Highway 107, in Hao Jian's eyes, it is not worth mentioning.
Because what Hao Jian was driving was not a car, but an SUV.
Before Pengcheng Factory No. 7 got the quota to buy an imported car, Hao Jian had already started to think about ways to build relationships with relevant personnel, hoping to be allocated an imported car with "strong off-road capabilities".
In 1982, China had already begun importing cars from the Chrysanthemum Country in large quantities. The excellent off-road performance of Mitsubishi and Toyota SUVs shocked the Chinese people who were accustomed to the Beijing 212.
There is such an advanced jeep? Not only can it climb mountains and cross-country as if it were walking on flat ground, but it is also more comfortable to sit in than the Volga?
So Hao Jian wanted to buy a Mitsubishi or Toyota and drive all the way back to his hometown.
However, there were many people who had the same idea as Hao Jian. Every company wanted to buy a Land Cruiser or Pajero, but with so many quotas, how could they be divided? Not to mention that the Pengcheng Seventh Factory was a genuine "small brand".
So what Hao Jian finally got was a "compact" off-road vehicle from Su E - the Lada Niva.
The friend who used his connections to get the car for Hao Jian was somewhat embarrassed and had to brag about the car's hardcore off-road performance.
"With full-time four-wheel drive and a central differential lock, it can go up mountains and down the sea. If you drive into a ditch, you can get out with just one step on the accelerator. It can drive to the horizon without any problem."
Hao Jian was not disappointed. After all, the money for a Land Cruiser was enough to buy three or four Lada Nivas.
Although Pengcheng No. 7 Factory had money in its accounts and Li Ye had given Hao Jian enough financial autonomy, he still felt very distressed about spending six figures on a car that couldn't haul goods.
This Lada Niva is just the right size, neither too light nor too heavy, and its two-door, five-seater design is also very eye-catching. The key is that this car can run at a maximum speed of 130 km/h, and its fuel consumption is less than 10 liters per 100 kilometers. With two large oil drums, it can drive more than 1,000 kilometers, which meets Hao Jian's needs very well.
It was already the 28th day of the twelfth lunar month when the new car was registered. Hao Jian did not delay for a moment and set off for home with his wife and children.
Facts have proved that what the "friend" said was not too outrageous. Although the Lada Niva got stuck many times on a journey of more than a thousand kilometers, four-wheel drive is four-wheel drive. As long as the accelerator is stepped on hard, it can save itself in most cases.
There was one time when he was really at his wit's end. Hao Jian nervously went to the village beside the road to seek help. However, he did not encounter the legendary road bullies. Before he had even finished two boxes of cigarettes, a group of kind-hearted people helped him push the car out.
But he kept stopping and starting like this, and it took him two days to finish the journey of more than a thousand kilometers. It was not until late at night on New Year's Eve that Hao Jian arrived in Jiangcheng.
Looking at the dark night outside, Hao Jian's wife An Xiaolian said softly, "Dad, why don't we stay in Jiangcheng and go to Xiaocheng tomorrow! Look at your eyes, they are like red-eyed rabbits, which looks scary."
Hao Jian, who was forcing himself to drive, said casually: "We have already reached Jiangcheng. Is it just the last hundred miles? I can get there in two steps of the accelerator."
An Xiaolian looked at Hao Jian's messy hair and his stubborn and irritable eyes, and persuaded him: "It's almost eleven o'clock. Even if we rush over today, the child's grandparents will be asleep, right?"
"Even if they are asleep, I have to wake them up," Hao Jian said with his teeth bared, "Wake them all up and let them see what their good-for-nothing son looks like now. Let them see how lovely our little Cui'er is."
An Xiaolian was speechless for a while. After a long silence, she said softly, "Let's rest in Jiangcheng for a day! You are so anxious now. I don't know what nonsense you will say when you meet the child's grandparents!"
"Who is talking nonsense? Who do you think is talking nonsense?"
Hao Jian nervously stepped on the brakes and stopped the car in the middle of the road.
"Why am I talking nonsense? Shouldn't I ask them? Why were they so cruel at that time? Why didn't they acknowledge Cui'er? I am their biological son."
Seeing her husband bringing up the old things again, An Xiaolian was a little angry and said, "Alright, alright, Cui'er's illness is all healed now, I don't blame you anymore, what are you still grumbling about?
If you want to make a scene, go ahead and make it yourself. Don't disturb the child while she's sleeping. She's been in the car for two days and Cui'er has vomited twice. As a father, you don't feel sorry for her at all.
Besides, ask yourself, did you drive back in such a hurry just to have a fight with your dad and your mom? "
"I, I, I just want to ask."
Hao Jian was stunned by An Xiaolian's question. He mumbled twice in confusion, but couldn't mumble anymore after that.
For so many years, Hao Jian has been holding a grudge in his heart.
At that time, his daughter Xiao Cui'er fell ill and needed money to keep her life going, so Hao Jian had no choice but to write a letter to his father for help.
Dad quickly sent him 120 yuan and a letter.
The letter said that the 120 yuan was obtained from selling Hao Jian's eldest brother's bicycle.
Hao Jian sent the 120 yuan back on the spot, because his father's monthly salary was more than 40 yuan, how could he not afford the few yuan monthly medicine for his granddaughter? Why did he have to sell his bicycle?
Therefore, Hao Jian believed that his father was telling him implicitly, "There are many children in the family, and the salary of more than 40 yuan has to be split into eight parts, which is not enough. It's a girl, so if she can be cured in one go, then cure her. If she can't be cured, the family can't fill the hole."
From the perspective of Hao Jian's father, it has to be said that it was a helpless decision. Hao Jian has four brothers and sisters, plus his father, mother, grandmother who needs to be supported, and more than a dozen grandchildren. Forty yuan is indeed not enough to share, but there are always priorities, right?
That's why Hao Jian held his breath. He treated his daughter himself and buried her himself even if she died. He also cut off all contact with his hometown and never had any contact with her again.
But when he made a lot of money following Li Ye, the direction of his anger changed.
At the gate of Qingshui County No. 1 Middle School, Hao Jian made a vow that he would drive his car back to his hometown to show his family that his "sickly daughter" was not a money-loser, but a golden phoenix that they could never reach.
So on the day he bought the Lada Niva, Hao Jian drove north in a hurry and returned home in glory.
For a new driver, driving more than a thousand kilometers alone is extremely tiring.
And was the energy that supported Hao Jian to rush all the way here really a deep resentment?
Hao Jian himself did not realize that his mind had changed a long time ago. The resentment in his heart became weaker and weaker as he got closer to his hometown, while another emotion became stronger and stronger.
But how could An Xiaolian, who was sleeping next to her, not see it?
Hao Jian and his family of three finally found a hotel in Jiangcheng to stay in.
He lay in his bed in the hotel, tossing and turning, unable to sleep, with faces appearing before his eyes.
Fourteen years have passed, but these faces are not blurry at all, and their voices, smiles and expressions are just as fresh as they were yesterday.
. . . . . .
On the first day of the Lunar New Year, Hao Jian overslept.
"Xiao Lian, you woke up and didn't call me?"
Hao Jian looked at his watch, turned over and hurriedly put on his clothes and shoes.
I am exhausted from the long journey home, and I tossed and turned most of the night before, so it is already noon.
An Xiaolian said nothing, but just winked at her daughter.
Hao Cuicui walked timidly to her father, stretched out her little hands to help him put on his clothes and tie his shoelaces.
Hao Jian, who was in a hurry, immediately smiled and said to his daughter, "My little Cui'er is still obedient. Dad can do it himself. Have you eaten?"
Hao Cuicui nodded and said, "My mother and I ate first. I told my father to get up and eat together, but my mother told him to get enough sleep before we continue our journey."
"Dad has had enough sleep, let's get going now."
Hao Jian, a daughter-slave, picked up his daughter, rubbed Hao Cuicui's face with his bearded face, and drove away.
Hao Cuicui said softly, "Dad, you have to eat first, otherwise you won't have the strength to drive."
"Dad, come home for dinner. Let me tell you, your grandma's cooking is delicious."
Watching her husband excitedly leaving the hotel with their daughter in his arms, An Xiaolian curled her lips, then followed with a smile.
She did not point out the change in her husband's expression. His expression had changed too quickly in the past two years. He seemed a little extreme and impatient. Only after a night's sleep did he return to normal.
This is a good thing.
The red Lada Niva drove all the way and finally arrived in Xiaocheng in the afternoon.
"I used to walk this road when I was in school. It has not changed at all in more than ten years."
"Look, little Cui'er, that's where Dad went to school when he was a child. There are words carved by me on the third tree from the left. I'll take you to see it later."
"Whose new house is this? Why is the road blocked? They have no sense of public morality."
As they got closer to home, Hao Jian became more and more like an impatient chatterbox. He kept muttering to himself, stepped on the accelerator harder and harder, and honked the car horn loudly, causing chaos and making everyone try to avoid him.
Hao Jian went to the countryside to work as a sent-down youth at the age of seventeen. He endured for many years without seeing any hope of returning to the city, and only then did he marry An Xiaolian, a village beauty.
Before I got married, I didn't have the conditions to go home to visit. After I got married, I was angry with my family and didn't come back to visit. Now it has been more than ten years in total. It would be strange if this was normal!
This was because there were basically no cars on the road in 1983, and everyone would move to the sides when they heard a horn. The insurance fraud industry had not yet flourished, otherwise, with Hao Jian's driving style, he would probably be stuck in some corner by now.
Hao Jian walked all the way to the north of the city and saw seven or eight children from afar picking up those misfired and smelly firecrackers at the doorstep of their home.
Hearing the car horn, the oldest little boy hurriedly drove the children to the door of his house, stretched out his two little arms, blocked the younger brothers and sisters who were looking out curiously, and let Hao Jian's car pass first.
But the little red car stopped in front of the little boy.
Then a couple came down, along with a girl who was obviously several years younger than the little boy.
The eyes of a group of children lit up at that moment.
This little girl is so pretty. She has colorful bows on her two pigtails, little leather shoes and white socks, and her new clothes are all very fashionable.
It’s just that her face looks a little thin. I guess she’s just like me, not having eaten any meat for ten days or half a month.
The little boy watched the family of three approach and asked bravely, "Who are you looking for?"
As soon as Hao Jian took one look at the little boy, he knew he was his eldest brother's child.
So he said with a smile: "I'm looking for a chicken."
“.”
The little boy was stunned. Jiwazi is his father!
"Who are you, then?"
"I am your second uncle."
"Second uncle?"
"Isn't my second uncle farming in Dongshan? Can farmers drive cars?"
"Is he lying to the children?"
"Who knows? I'll call my mom. Don't let him kidnap you!"
Several children were chattering in surprise, totally unaware of Hao Jian's embarrassed yet amusing expression.
Hao Jian took out a stack of small red envelopes from his suit pocket, waved them at the children and said, "Come on, call me Second Uncle and I'll give you one New Year's gift. Whoever calls me first will get two!"
In Guangzhou, people are very particular about good luck. From a very early time ago, people would wrap red paper as lucky money for children.
Unlike Dongshan, in the 1980s people gave money openly so that people could see how much they had given. If someone gave a child a five-yuan note, it would be a great honor. If you gave five cents, you had to give it secretly.
The minimum amount of red envelopes given by Hao Jian is ten yuan, which is very generous.
But seven or eight children looked at him warily, and none of them called him "Second Uncle", which made him very frustrated.
An Xiaolian looked at her intelligent husband being embarrassed by a group of little kids, and she smiled and whispered a few words to her daughter Hao Cuicui.
Hao Cuicui struggled to open the car door, took out a lot of candies of various colors, and then stood next to her father.
"Why, no one wants to call me second uncle? Then these candies will be given to other kids for free."
Hao Jian's car horn was honking so loudly that it had already attracted the children from the neighborhood. When they saw the various snacks and candies, they kept drooling.
Finally, the youngest girl looked at Hao Jian timidly and whispered, "Happy New Year, Uncle."
Hao Jian smiled happily, took out a big red envelope with fifty yuan in it from his pocket, and presented it with a bag of candy, then squatted down and asked with a smile: "Is your father a Jiwazi or a Sanwazi?"
The little girl looked at the candy in her hand and said without raising her head: "My father is Hai Damao."
“.”
Hao Jian was stunned and his smile froze on his face. Did he give it to the wrong person?
I have lost contact with my family in the past few years, and I don’t know how many younger generations there are in the family. This little girl must have come from the neighbor’s house to play with us.
"Brother Er Er?"
A surprised and doubtful call made Hao Jian, who was squatting on the ground, raise his head.
Hao Jian looked up and saw a woman about twenty years old.
His memory suddenly turned upside down, and he saw the image of a crying little girl.
The little girl who received the red envelope ran over and hugged the woman's thighs, making indistinct whimpering sounds.
Her little mouth was already filled with sweet candy, and she couldn't speak clearly.
But Hao Jian wiped his eyes, sighed and said: "You can't call me second uncle, you have to call me second uncle."
(End of this chapter)
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