At the end of the Year of the Rabbit, a rare freezing rain and heavy snowfall ravaged the land of Hubei and blocked the hurried footsteps of the wanderers returning to their hometowns on the highway.
In this day of saying goodbye to the old and welcoming the new, I can't help but think back to the people who have been running hard in adversity over the years
One day in mid-April 2020, Hubei was finally unsealed after two and a half months of lockdown due to the new crown epidemic.
A friend (from Huanggang) in S City, thousands of miles away, warmly called** and invited us to go to S City to relax, of course we were willing, after all, it was very depressing to be "closed" at home for so long. I immediately packed up my house overnight and bought a train ticket for the next morning, and decided to go immediately.
After a seventeen-hour drive, the train arrived at the station at nearly nine o'clock the next night, and my friend and wife were already waiting at the station in advance.
Along the way, through the car window, I saw the endless stream of people strolling in a hurry or leisurely under the glow of the neon lights of the city, and the group of people who stepped on the drums and sang and danced in the community square, compared with the hometown that had just been unblocked, it was simply two worlds.
The next morning, we went to the community to register and take a nucleic acid test, and then settled down.
My friend's husband is a truck driver, and my son and I were classmates from junior high school to high school, and we are in Wuhan in college, so our relationship has always been straightforward and simple.
S City is a first-tier city. Listening to a friend's introduction, this street in District Y is mainly based on foreign trade economy, she has been here for more than five years, usually mainly to take care of her husband's daily life, by the way to make some box lunches, enrich themselves at the same time, you can also subsidize the family.
When it comes to making boxed lunches, she seems to have some energy: "Well, the economy of coastal cities is prosperous compared to ours, and it is better to set up a stall or something than to work in ...... hometown."During the epidemic prevention and control period, dine-in is prohibited here, so I will move the boxed lunch to the bonded area tomorrow to sell it, you can go and have a look. ”
Early the next morning, she got busy until about 11 a.m., when she had prepared her meal and put it in the incubator, and we set off together.
After about a kilometer of travel, she arrived at her destination, parked her car and posed as a waiting customer. I saw the traffic in front of the bonded area, almost all of them were large trucks, and after a while, there were huge container trucks honking, slowing down, slowly approaching the stall, she warmly greeted customers, reported the name of the dish, and then skillfully handed the driver *** and a box of hot meals, about two hours of work, the lunch box was sold out, and we were ready to go home.
I asked, "How many copies did you make today?" ”
She replied, "73." ”
I said, "I should do a little more, it's not yet one o'clock, can I sell it at night?" ”
As long as you are willing to endure hardships, you can basically do it 24 hours a day. Then she said, "15 yuan per boxed lunch, is it less than 500 yuan for me to earn this morning?" The first thing to do in catering is quality, not quantity. I'm going to take you out these evenings to see the hustle and bustle of the city, ...... vibrant”
The street does not look particularly prosperous, only two slightly larger supermarkets, a few large hotels and a people's hospital, and then there are various snack stalls and tobacco and alcohol shops on the roadside, to say more, or a variety of freight warehouses, cold storage, all in front of the door are all kinds of container trucks that can not be seen at a glance.
At a quarter past seven in the evening, following her, we walked all the way to the international container terminal. The wharf is divided into A gate and B gate, between A and B gates, the straight-line distance is about one kilometer, in addition to trucks along the way, there are all kinds of fruits, fast food and other stalls, and there are people around each stall to buy their own needs, I can't help but sigh: It's really an eye-opener, the huge city, is filled with thick fireworks in the world!
The next day, after my friend had prepared a meal and arrived at the fast food sales point, I wandered to Gate A alone.
The main function of the A gate is domestic long-distance transportation, which is divided into the entry gate and the exit gate, and there is an isolation zone in the middle, the right side is in, and the left side is out. There are eight gates at the entrance gate, that is, eight lanes, and each container truck enters in turn under the command of the signal light. The fast-food stalls were located right next to the fence, and I glanced ahead, and there were five or six in total.
I arrived in front of the nearest Henan stall selling lo noodles and steamed dumplings, and the proprietress was busy delivering food to the driver. After standing for a few minutes, waiting for her to free her hands, I smiled and asked, "Are you busy coming here with so many cars?" ”
She replied with a smile: "It's okay, I'm used to it, in fact, there aren't many customers, most of them are our fellow countrymen." ”
Seeing that she was very busy, I didn't want to disturb her too much. Stood for a while and continued to walk forward, came to the next Hunan stall, only to see the dishes pasted on the front of the incubator are stir-fried beef, plum cabbage button meat, braised pork ribs, stir-fried bacon with vegetable moss, fried meat with chili, bacon and claypot rice, etc., the proprietress saw me coming, so she nodded, said hello, and then quickly and skillfully took out a box lunch, made a good bag, and turned around and walked to the lane inside.
This is a Hunan couple, about forty-three or four-year-old. It was close to noon, and the cars in several lanes were moving very slowly, and when I saw that they were idle, I asked, "How long have you been doing business here?" ”
The man said: "We only came after the Chinese New Year, our family of three is here, the eldest daughter is on the B gate, and the younger daughter is only seven years old, homeschooling. ”
I asked, "What kind of business did you do before?" The proprietress said: "We used to do catering, and we have always been in Changsha, next to the university, and it was not because of the epidemic that we came here." ”
Speaking of which, I saw a man and a woman carrying take-out boxes scolding each other next to the stall at the front.
I expressed my surprise, but the proprietress said, "Don't worry, you can't do it." If you don't follow the rules, you won't be able to get around, there are people like this, we only do our best. ”
I think it's probably a dispute caused by a business grab. I was worried that they might attract the police, so I hurried away.
Back at my friend's residence, her husband didn't get out of the car in the evening, so my friend made a few snacks and beckoned us to have a drink together, and we chatted while drinking.
I asked, "This epidemic doesn't seem to have much impact on the drivers of your container trucks." ”
He said: "Because of the implementation of scientific control here, at present, there is no drastic impact on all walks of life here." Another is that all departments are also cooperating with the best and implementing humanized management. For example, before the epidemic, these fast food sellers were absolutely not allowed to set up stalls at the wharf gates. However, in order to facilitate the drivers' meals, under the premise of ensuring traffic safety, the traffic police law enforcement is also mobile and flexible. For example, for nucleic acid testing, medical staff also move the work site to each community, and carry out work after work in the middle and evening of the community, which not only facilitates the masses, but also ensures the quantity and quality of all the tests that should be tested, so it feels that there is no big difference between the epidemic and usual. ”
I said, "That's true." If the driver is not even guaranteed to eat, then normal production becomes a problem. ”
He said, "Not really! During the epidemic, nearly 50,000 container trucks entered and exited the port every day, and there were more before, so you can imagine how big the flow of materials should be! ”
I said: "If logistics are paralyzed because of the epidemic, it will be even worse for the economic life of the whole country!" Therefore, the people who work hard in various positions are worthy of respect, including the group of peddlers and pawns who do not seem to be very decent and not very well treated by society. ”
For the next few days, I would wander to the gate of the pier every once in a while to chat with the vendors.
On this day, I was riding an electric car and was going to go to the B brake to have a look. The main function of the B gate is the logistics of the province, and the pattern is not the same as the A gate.
Gate B is built on the viaduct, the entrance gate, near the gate, there are three highways from different directions, the traffic is very busy, the vehicle circulation is smooth, there is almost no possibility of blockage.
On the other side of the gate, there is another viaduct on the opposite side, and there is a distance of about one meter between the two viaducts, which can be regarded as a separation belt.
The setting of fast food stalls is also different from that of Gate A.
At Gate A, the stalls are arranged equidistant along the separation zone, while the stalls at Gate B are "open" and located at the relatively safe point where each high-speed merges.
When I was looking, the iron rider pulled the alarm and stopped next to me like a ghost, and the young policeman immediately got out of the car and saluted, and asked, "Big brother, what are you doing here?" I said, "Oh, it's nothing, just look." ”
The rider instructed me to pull over and take off my mask, then took out his phone to take a picture of me. I thought to myself, this is a bad luck!
Unexpectedly, this handsome iron rider brother did not "embarras" me, but only gave me a traffic law publicity and education: "Big brother, this is the first time for you, and you will not be fined, but please remember that on the motorway, highway, especially on the viaduct, idle people are never allowed to enter and exit casually, this is an extremely dangerous behavior, for you and for the safety of others' lives and property." Let's go, I'll take you out of the danger zone, don't take the next example! ”
I hurriedly apologized: "Okay, good, thank you, comrade police!" And just like that, the Iron Rider "escorted" me to the exit of the highway and told me the route I should take......
After some tossing, I came to Gate A again. This time I had the "experience" that I parked my car in a designated parking space and walked into the gate so that I wouldn't get caught by the police a second time.
When the proprietress at the lo noodle stall saw me, she asked, "Why are you here again?" You don't want to join our team, do you? ”
I said, "No, I'm going to go back to Hubei in a few days and come back today to play a little longer." Then I told her what had happened to her.
"If you commit a foul for the first time, the police generally won't punish you, but if it's the second time or more, it's different, at least 50 yuan each time, so you have to be careful," she said. ”
She then said: "My husband is also selling steamed dumplings and lo noodles at Gate B, and he must have seen you being arrested by the police." "I said I don't know which one is your husband. I asked again: "Listening to the accent, you seem to be from Anhui, right?" ”
She said: "I am from Anhui, my husband is from Henan, he used to drive container trucks here, because of the epidemic, the family is old and young, in order to reduce the risk as much as possible, so this year he temporarily changed his career." ”
I said, "That's good, it's worth it for the sake of my family!" The hostess: "What's good! The most annoying thing is the windy and rainy days, my husband said that it is much harder than driving. ”
As I was talking, the boss in Hunan in front of me beckoned to me, and I added friends with her and said goodbye.
When he came to the stall in Hunan, he asked with a smile: "Have you been stepping on the spot these days?" I said, "What do you step on?" ”
The proprietress said, "My husband means to say, do you want to find a stall here too?" "I said no, I'm not as capable as you.
She said: "It's not as difficult as you think, and it will be natural to do it for a while." As long as you don't mess around, no one will embarrass you, you have to believe that we are a society under the rule of law, **there is evil, **there is justice, you know? ”
I said, "That's true." So he asked them, what happened to the two people who had quarreled that day?
Her husband said, "What can I do?" It's just that one side 'reminds' the other side not to cross the line, and in the end it's not over! ”
I said, "Yes, you work so hard every day, you should live in harmony and mutual benefit." ”
The proprietress said, "Not really! Which of us doesn't wake up at five watches every day and sleep in the middle of the night? After selling out the fast food at noon, I went back non-stop to do the evening, and I couldn't close the stall until about eight o'clock in the evening, but the day's business was not over yet, and I had to prepare for the next day after I went home, and how much rest time was left that really belonged to me? ”
After saying that, she let out a long sigh"In fact, it is not easy for everyone, everyone eats according to their ability, there is no need to fight openly and secretly, you fight for me. I said, "That's ......."”
Back in Huanggang, looking at the hometown still shrouded by the epidemic, I couldn't see the joys, sorrows and sorrows on people's faces, only the masks on the top, the calm eyes, seemed to tell the difficulty of life and the persistence and waiting for peace!
Recalling S City, that group of little people who run hard, with their full of enthusiasm to make a city full of vitality and vitality, compared with the two, **two heavens!
Under the strong leadership of the party and the people, the people of the whole country are united, with the unique tenacious will of the descendants of Yan and Huang, after nearly three years of arduous efforts, the sons and daughters of China are once again proud of the top of the world!
Yes, we have overcome the epidemic, dispelled the gloom, we have restarted the machine and returned to the normal track of life, but we are still struggling!
We must not only meet all kinds of challenges from nature at any time, but also deal with frequent provocations by Western hostile forces, which is a reality that every Chinese must face!
At the end of the Year of the Rabbit, due to the freezing rain and blizzard that occurred once in decades, Hubei was once again on the hot search, which made the people of the whole country concerned, but for the heroic people of Hubei, this is really nothing, because we can not only overcome difficulties, but we also have a group of simple villagers who send charcoal in the snow, and they will never let the wanderers who are trapped on the highway and return home feel helpless and desperate
They practice with love in the wind and snow: guarding the fireworks around them and emitting their own glimmer, which is the minimum responsibility and morality of being born - ordinary and humble them, they are really amazing!
On the evening of the 26th day of the lunar month last year, the north wind was bitter outside the window, and it rained and snowed. Suddenly, I received a call from the Hunan boss who sold fast food in S City, he said that the disaster situation in Hunan was slightly better than that in Hubei, but it still took nearly 15 hours of several twists and turns to get home safely and finally reunite with his family. Hearing it, their hearts are extremely happy!
After a pleasant exchange, I asked, "How has your business been in the past few years?" He said in an indescribable tone: "The two years of the epidemic were okay, but in 2022, since the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian war, our business is not as good as a year." Previously, fast food sellers at the gate could sell more than 100 copies per person per day, but in 2023, the situation has taken a turn for the worse, and fast food sales have dropped by at least one-third. ”
He continued, "I don't believe it, I'll send you a few ** from the supermarket here later, the supermarket used to be full of customers every day, and now it's a crowd, why?" Because Area Y is mainly based on foreign trade economy, the international situation is not peaceful, and foreign trade business will inevitably be affected. ”
Finally, he unexpectedly let out a sigh: "I have never experienced so deeply that the reason why that old man from Shaoshan Chong is recognized as a great man in the world is because he not only has a big pattern, but also has a high vision, and he is the first to shout the loud slogan of long live the Chinese people and long live the great unity of the people of the world, isn't it?" What a shock! ”
In the new year, may the wind and rain be smooth!
May there be peace in the world!
end– vernacular proseAbout the Author
Walkers, love more truthfully, like to read. Think when you're still and observe when you're moving. Don't follow the trend, don't welcome, don't sing praises.
This article was edited
Scholars from other places.
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