Elephant News reporter Flower Gardenia.
At 3:30 a.m. on the Chinese New Year's Eve, Qu Xintao, a truck driver of a logistics company, was unloading goods at the Zhengzhou transfer yard. This is his third year on duty during the Spring Festival, and after unloading this truck, he can enjoy the Spring Festival holiday.
Qu Xintao and his partner drive a four-axle SINOTRUK SITRAK, and the express is usually loaded in a container. Trucks have a carrying capacity of 20 tons, but for safety and transshipment convenience, they usually only carry one container of 14-15 tons.
This is Qu Xintao's eighth year of courier work. Over the years, he has become accustomed to working on this express shipping line between Zhengzhou and Guangzhou. Qu Xintao has been working for eight years with a fixed departure point, a fixed destination, a habitual rest service area and a fixed time for unloading at the transfer yard, just like an alarm clock.
On February 9, Elephant News reporters interviewed Qu Xintao and several other truck drivers and learned the stories behind their "non-stop" Chinese New Year's Eve.
The driver, Chen Xiaobing, has all kinds of cooking utensils in the car.
"I don't always have a lot of time to spend with my family".
Like most ordinary people, Qu Xintao has a warm home, a wife who loves him, a 14-year-old daughter and a 10-year-old son. "I don't always have a lot of time to spend with my family".Qu Xintao was full of guilt when he talked about this. "But the child is still quite close to me. There was a hint of relief on his face.
From Zhengzhou to Guangzhou, it takes four days to go back and forth, and after each cycle, Qu Xintao can rest in Zhengzhou for one day and one night. In order to have a little fun in his life, he developed a hobby of fishing. During this day's and night's leisure time, he usually slept until noon and went out fishing in the afternoon. The Jialu River in Zhengzhou and the fishing grounds in Zhongmu are places he often visits.
This job is indeed a high-risk job. To the reporter's question, Qu Xintao replied. "But the job is stable and the salary is paid on time. I can earn more than 12,000 yuan a month, and I will hit the card on the 27th and 28th. Compared with many people who don't even have a job after the epidemic, it's already very good. ”
Because the company has a complete guarantee, truck drivers like Qu Xintao can basically eat in the company's canteen and rest in the dormitory of the Guangzhou company after arriving at the destination. "There are restaurants in the transit center, the food is good, lunch and dinner have 5 meat dishes and 3 vegetarian dishes, as well as soup and drinks, dinner can be from 5:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. "With a quiet place to rest, driving in three shifts with my partner on the road is nothing. "I like the cheong fun and braised pork at the restaurant the most. Qu Xintao said with satisfaction.
Abnormal weather is Qu Xintao's biggest headache during driving. In early February 2024, heavy snowfall that swept through China also hampered Qu's transportation process, and he and his partner were stuck in traffic for two days and one night in Hubei and Hunan. Especially at the Junshan Bridge in Hubei, the traffic does not move at all. Most of the food and water in the car were also consumed, and as a last resort, Qu Xintao hit the mayor, and after that, the rescue vehicle rushed to the highway, and there were also people around to send hot water and instant noodles. "It was warm. Qu Xintao said.
Road accidents are the most worrying thing for every high-speed driver, and some people are even anxious because of this, so they hang auspicious pendants on the car endoscope to seek comfort and solution. Unlike them, Qu Xintao's approach to solving the problem is to be well prepared. "I have to do a double check on the tires, wheels, fuel tank, water tank and some other equipment and parts before every drive. The time is not long, ten minutes is good, but it can be exchanged for safety and steadfastness along the way. "I also like to have a lot of food and drink in the cab, and it's safe to have that stuff around. Qu Xintao said.
Qu Xintao, who was born in 1987, is 37 years old this year, and he wants to spend more time with his family. "I'm also thinking about changing jobs. This work is too time-consuming, and basically you can't run too far out of the transfer yard. In his spare time, he also took his family to Guangzhou, an ancient city that gave the whole family a very different experience. His desire to change jobs grew stronger.
"Take advantage of the Spring Festival car to run a few more times".
At 11:30 a.m. on the Chinese New Year's Eve, Cao Guo pulled a truckload of coal and was still driving on the road.
Cao Guo is an express truck driver for Pingdingshan Tushun Transportation *** and has worked in this company.
Six or seven years. "Take advantage of the Spring Festival car to run a few more times".Cao Guo said.
Cao Guo ran the provincial line during the Spring Festival this year, pulling coal from Baofeng in Pingdingshan to a power plant in Nanyang Neixiang. Since joining this company, he has been on the road every Spring Festival.
At this time, the road conditions on the road are good, and the freight is higher, and you can earn an extra four or five hundred yuan per trip. And there are few cars queuing up to load, the loading time is fast, and you can pull another trip tomorrow after pulling a trip. Cao Guo said.
Truck driver Cao Guo is still on the road in his Chinese New Year's Eve.
After the epidemic, the freight business became more and more difficult, and Cao Guo was very tight on the amount of money he received every month. "The car loan is more than 14,000 a month, and it is already very good to be able to repay the car loan every month. Cao Guo told Elephant News. "There are too many cars running freight now, and the freight of 60 per ton in previous years can only reach more than 50 now. Moreover, the real estate industry has shrunk, and the few mixing plants that I often pull alive are no longer stocked for the Spring Festival, and the sand and gravel business that I had in previous years is gone. ”
For truck drivers, time means cost. "Loading also has to queue, unloading also has to queue, loading too late will not load, unloading every night after 7 o'clock will not unload, if the time can not catch up, to unload the goods can not be unloaded, can only be unloaded the next day. This kind of trip is only possible.
Seven or eight hundred profits, but they have to be spread over three days. Cao Guo said.
Cao Guo's hometown of Luohe, with two children at home, can earn more than 20,000 yuan a month, and a child's living expenses are more than 2,000 yuan. "But today I brought some apples and bread, so I can eat better for the New Year. ”
After eating the bread, Cao Guo had to run to the power plant in the inner countryside to unload the goods, "I hope I can line up early tomorrow to load the goods." Cao Guo said.
"I can't stay up for four or five days after staying up all night."
At 8 p.m. on the Chinese New Year's Eve, the sound of firecrackers continued to explode in the wilderness. Chen Xiaobing, a truck driver, was on his way to Jingmen, Hubei Province, when he found a wide road and stopped for an interview with reporters.
I can only sleep for a day.
Four or five hours, staying up late to get high blood pressure is a heavy physical job. Chen Xiaobing summed up his work. Chen Xiaobing is a native of Baofeng, Pingdingshan, with a junior high school education, and now has two children, one of whom is in junior high school, but his grades are not good. In order for his children to go to school, he rented a house in the county, with a rent of 10,000 yuan a year, and his wife did not have a job and took care of the children at home. Although I can earn 30,000 yuan a month, it is equivalent to saying that I make money alone and spend it for six people, which is very stressful. Chen Xiaobing said.
Chen Xiaobing also bought a truck with a loan. "In the past, the threshold for buying a large car was high, with a down payment of 30%, and it was more than 100,000 or 200,000 yuan, which made many people unable to enter the freight industry. Nowadays, in some transportation companies, as long as you say to drive a truck, the company will give you a down payment. But the interest rate is relatively high in the future. In order to repay the loan, many people take the job and ignore the cost. Chen Xiaobing said.
In this highly competitive freight market, in order to reduce the cost of time, many freight drivers do not have enough time to sleep. "There's no way around drowsy driving. Chen Xiaobing said. "Eat and live in the car. There are Xiaoice boxes in the car, and the ones bought are semi-finished products, just cook them. ”
Even if he runs desperately like this, for three months a year, Chen Xiaobing will often have no work to pull. "At this time, it is the off-season for coal use, and I can only occasionally take on some work to pull goods for enterprises. "The Spring Festival is a good time to make money, and if you don't give him high freight, you won't do it." Chen Xiaobing also has the right to bargain.
It is certain that the Spring Festival rest is not good, and it can't be slowed down for four or five days after staying up at night. Chen Xiaobing said, "I just hope that my children will continue to study now, and they will not do this again in the future." ”
*: Elephant News).