-camel Xiangzi explores the topic
Xie Xinyu
One hundred years ago, in Peiping, there was a group of bitter and tired people-foreign drivers. In Mr. Lao She's Camel Xiangzi, such a career is vividly demonstrated. Next, let's taste the ups and downs of drivers' lives together.
Rickshaw is called rickshaw in Beiping (Beijing), rubber in Tianjin, and rickshaw in Shanghai and Nanjing. It was first called Oriental rickshaw and was introduced to China from Japan. 1886, rickshaws first appeared in Dongjiaomin Lane, Beiping. During the Republic of China, foreign cars gradually became popular among the people. According to the survey of 1928, there were about 37,000 rickshaws in Beijing at that time, which was the first means of transportation in old Beijing at that time, and there were about 55,000 rickshaws, accounting for about 7% of the total population in Beijing at that time.
Foreign rickshaws in Beiping can be roughly divided into four categories. The first category is young and strong, beautiful people and beautiful cars. They work hard and hope to buy their own cars as soon as possible. The second analogy is that the first category is a little older, or driving at night because of the burden of family life, because it requires more skills and attention, and naturally needs more money. The third category, drivers over forty, are very unpopular in the garage. Their car is broken, people can't run fast, and they usually have to pull melons and fruits. I'm usually cornered by life, so I'm here. The last category aims to attract foreigners, British soldiers and French soldiers, and they can understand. They are the oldest foreign rickshaw pullers, and even their clothes are obviously different from other rickshaw pullers. This makes them pull carts with great momentum, and others don't "grab seats" with them.
Xiangzi came to Beiping from the countryside at the age of eighteen. When he first entered the city, he had no money and had to rent a car in the garage.
Speaking of car factories, this was a big business in Beiping City during the Republic of China. At that time, there were automobile factories in the inner and outer cities of Beiping. Every car factory has one or two hundred cars. There are twenty cars in the car factory. Car factory owners are mostly locals and have little influence. These people are big bosses who can stand on both sides openly. So is the owner Si Liu. When I was young, I worked as a library soldier, opened a casino, bought and sold people, and spared Yan's account (usury). He is a tough guy. His car factory is a big one. He is extremely strict with drivers and has many rules. If he is not satisfied, he will not rent it. On Si Liu's 70th birthday, he ordered the drivers to return to their cars within the specified time and gave him money as a birthday present. He said, "You pull the cart, and Si Liu won't go with you, understand?" Just as he celebrated his birthday, the drivers had to hide like rats. But no one dared to resist. Who doesn't know that he opened a casino and knelt on the chain? That strange temper!
Yes, renting a rickshaw is really a difficult time for drivers. The car parts that have to be handed in every day bind them like invisible chains. Sometimes, when business is bad, they even have no income for a whole day. Si Liu is not bad, they are allowed to owe a few days to show their "kindness". This is the so-called "font size" For a long time, the money earned by drivers has been spent on food and clothing, which is always not enough to buy a car. Some drivers have been renting big cars, spending their lives silently and never relaxing. But some drivers, no matter how hard and tired they are, will bite their teeth and fight for their dream car. Xiangzi, too, was hardworking and honest. He doesn't play narrow-minded, and he never does things like giving up halfway and copying far and near. "He disdains to do that, but he is willing to work hard." On the premise of having enough food and paying the bus fare, he insisted on saving ten cents a day. Three years later, he had his first car, a brand-new car!
With rickshaw pullers, life is very different. You don't have to pay for the car, and you don't have to mess with the owner in the car factory. "If you are in a good mood, the sales will be more satisfactory." Every time Xiangzi saw his car, he felt sorry for himself. If he didn't run fast, the driver only had a car. What a car looks like, people will look like.
His friend, the driver Ma Lao, also has his own car, a very broken car. "The paint on the car board has cracked, the handlebar has been ground to reveal the wood grain, a broken lamp clangs, and the sticks in the carport are tied with hemp rope." That day, it was snowing outside and it was very cold. He and a group of drivers are resting in the teahouse. The old horse stumbled in. As soon as he entered the door, he struggled to say "wash a pot", his head slowly lowered and his whole body slipped down. On this day, he didn't pick up anyone, took his grandson and didn't eat for a day. Yes, although the cars that drivers just bought are all new, people will get old and cars will get old! When people are old and cars are old, foreign drivers may still be as poor as old horses in their later years.
Xiangzi doesn't care about this. Now that he is tall, he will not be bullied easily, so as long as there are no policemen in the street, he will drive. However, there has been such a saying since ancient times: "Caution can catch cicadas for a thousand years, and caution can sail for a thousand years." Caution can ensure safety. On one occasion, while pulling a man to Tsinghua, his car was robbed and he was also caught by soldiers in Xishan. Xiangzi, who finally escaped, returned to the city and had to start all over again.
This time, in order to earn more money, Xiangzi went to get a monthly subscription. A monthly car is a car bought by the rich themselves, and a driver is hired to pull his own car. This kind of car is exquisite, with a bronze medal nailed to the rear of the car for personal use, and the drivers are young and well-dressed. Although the monthly salary is not high, there is a lot of extra money, such as the shopkeeper's fragmentary tips, extra meals and commission for shopping. Most of the drivers of Labayue live in the host's house, and their status is equivalent to that of a nanny.
Xiangzi went to Yang Zhai first and almost knocked him unconscious on the first day. "Early in the morning, Xiangzi dragged his wife to buy food first. Come back, send the children to school separately, then take Mr. Yang to the yamen, come back quickly, and take the second wife to Dongan market! After picking up the children, I have to fetch water to clean the yard-a yard like a garbage dump. " People in Yang Zhai agree that servants should not be treated as human beings. Xiangzi finally couldn't stand it. Four days later, he resigned. The next day, he went to Cao Jia to get a monthly salary. Mr. Cao's family is very kind to drivers, and foreign drivers are really lucky to meet a master like Mr. Cao! The yard is clean, the food is good, I am not tired from work, I can keep fit, and I have a spacious house to live in. Isn't this the ideal life for foreign drivers?
When the host family goes to the movies or the park, the teahouse is the gathering place for the drivers of Lunar New Year. Here, some of them take a nap and drink some wine. After a short rest, everyone woke up, like a bird that blew its nest, remembering the grievances of the day and wanting to tell them to everyone. In the driver's monotonous life, this time is happy.
Unfortunately, the good times did not last long. Mr. Cao fled to Shanghai because of the pursuit of Detective Sun, and the thirty dollars that Xiangzi managed to save were also blackmailed by Detective Sun. That night, Xiangzi went to the Wang family next to the Cao family, where the coachman Lao Cheng paid a monthly fee. Lao Cheng is a man who is content with the status quo. He has worked in Wang Zhai for several years. He thinks it's good to pull the cart so steadily, and he has no idea of buying a car himself. The next morning, while holding breakfast, Lao Cheng said, "Eat, work hard, and don't miss your mouth!" " "
Xiangzi had no choice but to marry Tigress. He worked harder than before, leaving early and returning late, which often attracted Tigress's dissatisfaction.
No matter what season, drivers have to drive. Summer in Beiping is extremely hot. "As soon as the sun came out, the ground was already on fire. There is no water on the road, and everything is white. " Some drivers set up carports and sat on the ground for a nap, some got into small teahouses to drink tea, and some didn't pull their cars out at all. The rickshaw pullers, afraid to run fast, walked slowly with their heads down. If it suddenly rains heavily at this time, the drivers will feel worse. Xiangzi saw it once. That day, as soon as he brought in a guest, it began to rain heavily. "The rain road is straight and straight, and it is difficult to see the lines, just bursting one by one. Countless arrows hit the ground and thousands of waterfalls fell on the house. " In a short time, Xiangzi was already running all over, and every step forward was very difficult. He wanted to park on the side of the road for shelter from the rain, but the bus wouldn't let him. Yes, the bus passengers didn't even give a penny more.
It is particularly cold in winter, and the windows are covered with ice. The drivers' ears were red with cold and kept steaming into the car. But in order to make a living, they have to drive. After several years of hard work, Xiangzi still couldn't solve the problem of food and clothing at home. Later, Tigress gave birth to a baby during childbirth. Because there was no money for a doctor, Xiangzi could only watch Tigress die with her child.
Xiangzi collapsed and his eyes gradually glazed over. He was desperate, and he lost confidence in society. The old horse is right: "The life of drivers is that one day they will fall to the ground and die." People and car factory drivers are also right: "rickshaw pullers are all bad karma."
Isn't the experience of Xiangzi, Ma Lao and Lao Cheng a true portrayal of foreign drivers in that era? They are industrious and enterprising. They hope that through their own labor, in exchange for a happy life; I hope to buy a comfortable house through my own labor; I hope to solve the problem of food and clothing for the youngest child through my own labor ... However, all these efforts are in vain. The evil old society crushed their hopes again and again.
The world of drivers is always dark.