Chapter 15

Xiao Yuanhang has been working in the first crew of the Guhuang Line for more than a year. Previously, he worked on the small line slow trains, which had a short distance and offered no opportunities for side business. After switching to the Huanghai Line, he found that his colleagues, from the train conductor, police officer, and vehicle inspector to the train attendants, were all secretly selling cigarettes, snacks, and ginger to make money. The distance from Guhe to Huanghai is over 1,800 kilometers, spanning four provinces and one city. They took advantage of their work to avoid transportation costs, and the profits were substantial.

The side business was easy to understand. He privately consulted his mentor, who gave him some secret pointers, and he quickly got the hang of it. Considering that cigarettes are a state monopoly, private trading is illegal, and a single seizure could result in a total loss, although the profits are high, the risks are too great. Therefore, he decided to focus on trading ginger.

Huanghai is a major ginger production base in China. Depending on the season, there is a price difference of 5 to 7 jiao per pound between Huanghai and Guhe. Their rest time in Huanghai is very short, leaving no time to go to the wholesale market to buy ginger. However, there are local suppliers who deliver directly to them, reducing the price difference to 4 to 6 jiao per pound. Each trip, they don't need to carry much, just 50 to 60 pounds, which can earn them 30 to 40 yuan. For those who earn only 70 to 80 yuan a month, this is a considerable income.

The company has strict rules against "carrying, buying, and selling" items. You can buy things for personal use while on the road, but large-scale trading for profit is explicitly prohibited. For example, a family might use only half a pound to a pound of ginger a month, but buying dozens or even hundreds of pounds is clearly "carrying, buying, and selling." If caught, the consequences range from being transferred away from the Huanghai Line to administrative punishment, so everyone is very cautious.

Fifty to sixty pounds of ginger can fill a large bag, making it too conspicuous to store in the crew room, sleeping car, or baggage car, as inspectors could easily spot it. The only option is to place it among the passengers' luggage, making it hard for inspectors to distinguish what belongs to the passengers and what belongs to the crew. However, this poses a significant risk, as crew members have many duties and cannot watch their items at all times. During shifts, they also need to rest in the sleeping car, leaving their items unattended and vulnerable to theft. Losing once could mean months of work for nothing.

Xiao Yuanhang's solution was simple. He first noted the positions of long-distance passengers in his assigned car. When the supplier arrived before the train departed, he placed the ginger under the seat of a long-distance passenger and asked the passenger to keep an eye on it. Passengers are usually happy to help train attendants, making this method very reliable. When they reached the final destination, Guhe, someone would be waiting at the station to collect the ginger. After the shift, Xiao Yuanhang would find the person, count the money, and thus earn money without touching the goods, making it very safe.

There are eight crews on the Guhuang Line, working for three days and three nights and resting for five days and five nights. Xiao Yuanhang could work nearly four shifts a month, earning an additional 80 to 100 yuan from trading ginger, more than his salary. Over the year, he saved over 1,000 yuan. At that time, in Guhe, households with 10,000 yuan were rare, and having over 1,000 yuan made him a small fortune.

Thinking about this, Xiao Yuanhang sighed silently. At this rate, by the time his father's condition worsened in eight years, he would only have 10,000 to 20,000 yuan. Wages increased slowly, and in 1993, he only earned about 300 yuan a month. Even if his current salary were five times higher, and his ginger trading income five times higher, he would still only have 50,000 to 60,000 yuan, far from the cost of a liver transplant for his father. This small-scale side business couldn't solve the problem!

After thinking for a while without coming up with a better solution, Xiao Yuanhang gradually fell asleep. He woke up around 4 PM and had to be at the company by 5 PM for a celebration banquet. He got up, washed up, and put on his usual jeans and white cotton T-shirt. Seeing his father listening to the radio in the living room, he said, "Dad, I won't be eating at home tonight. The section leaders are hosting a celebration banquet for us contestants."

Xiao Qiliang nodded and said, "Go ahead, come back early."

Xiao Yuanhang agreed and left the house. The sun was still bright, and there were few people around. As he walked to the convenience store, he suddenly remembered he should buy a pack of cigarettes for the banquet and turned into the store.

"Xiao Er is here, what do you want to buy?" Aunt Wu, the store owner, was very friendly, as they were neighbors, and Xiao Yuanhang often bought things from her.

Xiao Yuanhang said, "Aunt Wu, I want to see what good cigarettes you have."

"Want to buy good cigarettes? I have some." Aunt Wu enthusiastically introduced, "I have Hongtashan, Shilin, Phoenix, Dahongmei, and Dajinhua. Which one do you want?"

At that time, there weren't many cigarette brands, but there were already price-negotiated cigarettes. These were sold at prices different from the state-set prices, with the price increasing based on the channel and the cost. The cheaper the cigarette, the less the markup; the more expensive, the higher the markup. Aunt Wu's small store couldn't get state-priced cigarettes and had to buy them from individuals. The high-end cigarettes allocated by the tobacco monopoly bureau were mostly given to leaders and connections, with the rest sold at high prices.

Xiao Yuanhang looked at the prices: Hongtashan 1.4 yuan, Shilin 1.2 yuan, Phoenix 1.1 yuan, Dahongmei 1 yuan, and Dajinhua 0.7 yuan. Dahongmei and Dajinhua were red and gold-flowered cigarettes with filters, while the store also had non-filtered versions, known as Xiaohongmei and Xiaojinhua.

Xiao Yuanhang wanted something better, like Zhonghua or foreign cigarettes, so he asked, "Aunt Wu, do you have anything better?"

Aunt Wu quickly looked outside to see if anyone was around, then returned to the counter and took a box of cigarettes with foreign labels from a box under the shelf, handing it to Xiao Yuanhang and saying, "The best is this one, 3 yuan a pack."

Xiao Yuanhang recognized it as the popular Liangyou brand at the time, which he wasn't sure where it was produced. In his previous life, it was very popular, with the price rising from 3 yuan to 6 yuan a pack. He smiled and said, "Okay, I'll take this one. Here's the money." He handed Aunt Wu 5 yuan.

Aunt Wu, while giving him change, said nervously, "Xiao Yuanhang, quickly put the cigarettes away. Don't let anyone see. Selling these is illegal, and you could be fined!"

Xiao Yuanhang smiled, put the cigarettes in his pocket, and took the 2 yuan change. He left the store and arrived at the company, where the contestants were already gathered, waiting for the section leaders to finish work and go to the restaurant.

The celebration banquet was held at the best restaurant in Guhe, Lumingchun, known for its national first-class chefs. There were 20 people in total: 7 section leaders, the Youth League secretary, the office director, and 11 awardees, making two tables. Xiao Yuanhang had just sat down at the contestants' table when Section Chief Wu Fengshan called out, "Xiao Yuanhang, you're the technical champion. Come, sit next to me!"

"Thank you, Section Chief!" For a train attendant working at the lowest level, it was a great honor to sit at the same table as the section chief, let alone the section leader. Xiao Yuanhang couldn't refuse such an honor, so he thanked him and moved to sit next to Wu Fengshan.

Wu Fengshan smiled at the Party Secretary, Ma Dezhi, on the other side and said, "Old Ma, since this is a celebration banquet, we should be close to the contestants. I suggest we divide the work. Each of us will sit at a different table, and the contestants and section leaders will be mixed. This will create a better atmosphere."

Ma Dezhi smiled and said, "The section chief is thoughtful. Okay, I'll sit at the other table." He got up and moved to the other table. Following him were the Deputy Party Secretary and Discipline Inspector, Zhang Shude, the Union Chairman, Lu Chunhua, and the Youth League Secretary, Liu Xiaohong. At the same time, Jiang Xuefang and four contestants moved to Xiao Yuanhang's table.

The atmosphere at the celebration was very lively. It was a rare opportunity to be so close to the section leaders, and Xiao Yuanhang and the other contestants took turns toasting the leaders, creating one高潮 after another.

Section Chief Wu Fengshan was clearly very happy today, accepting every toast and drinking round after round. When Xiao Yuanhang toasted him again, he held his wine glass and looked at Xiao Yuanhang, saying, "Xiao, you performed exceptionally well in the technical competition. You brought glory to our section! If you can win the technical championship again in the railway bureau's competition, no, as long as you can win the technical excellence award, I will directly promote you to train conductor!"

******************************************************************

PS: This is the first time the new book is trying to climb the charts. It's currently ranked 15th, just one step away from making the list. Old Qu requests that everyone give the book a recommendation and a click to help it reach the top in one go!

{Piaotian Literature}