Chapter 57

Having agreed on the time to withdraw money after returning to Kogo, Xiaoyuanhang felt extremely happy. With 6,000 from Chang Shuzhen and 2,000 from the master, that made 8,000 yuan. Adding his own 1,000 yuan, he would have more than 9,000 yuan. Borrowing a little more from one or two people would be enough. He chatted for a while with the police officer, the vehicle inspector, and the dining car staff, then got up and headed towards the sleeping car. Zhang Li from Car 11 and Wang Xiaorong from Car 15 were both veterans on this line, and they both had some money.

Sure enough, the promise of high interest and the lure of money proved irresistible. Xiaoyuanhang's negotiations with them went smoothly. Zhang Li agreed to lend him 2,000 yuan, and Wang Xiaorong agreed to lend him 3,000 yuan. With 13,000 yuan, it was more than enough. Xiaoyuanhang returned to the dining car in a good mood, grabbed a piece of fried knife fish from the kitchen, and started eating as he walked.

"Xiaoyao, are you hungry? I can have Gao Chu cook a couple of dishes for you to eat properly!" The dining car manager, Yang Dalì, greeted Xiaoyuanhang as he saw him eating while walking. Gao Chu was the head chef of the dining car.

Xiaoyuanhang looked at his watch and said, "Director Yang, I'm not really hungry. I'm about to change shifts. I'll eat with the attendants later, so no need to trouble you."

Yang Dalì said, "No trouble at all. Why are you being so formal with me?"

Xiaoyuanhang said, "I'm really not hungry. I just grabbed a piece of the fried fish. Hehe!"

Xiaoyuanhang sat down in the dining car and chatted with Wang Keqin and others. Before long, it was time to change shifts. The attendants from Shift A had already woken up and were coming over to eat. After eating, they would go to their respective cars to take over, and then the attendants from Shift B would come to the dining car to eat and rest in the sleeping car. They would wake up at 2 a.m. to take over again.

The regular train conductor, Zhang Yaping, yawned as she walked into the dining car. Xiaoyuanhang stood up, looked at her, and smiled, "Sister Zhang, didn't you sleep well?"

Zhang Yaping stretched and said, "You bet! The sleeping car was so stuffy, I couldn't fall asleep at all. It only got cooler around 5 a.m., and I just managed to doze off. I felt like I had just closed my eyes when it was time to take over."

Zhang Yaping sat down at the first table, and Xiaoyuanhang joined her to hand over the shift. He briefly mentioned the premature birth of the pregnant woman, telling her that the woman had given birth safely on the train and had been handed over at Lintai Station.

The water attendant, Lin Zhigang, ran over to Zhang Yaping and started crying, saying he had forgotten the note. She scolded him harshly, but since Lin Zhigang was a capable assistant, she had to protect him. She was afraid that Xiaoyuanhang would hold him responsible, so she exaggerated, "Xiaoyao, how could you not wake me up for such a big deal? If anything had happened, it would have been hard to explain!"

Xiaoyuanhang smiled and said, "Sister Zhang, you know it was my first shift as a conductor. I was so busy with the situation that I forgot everything. Fortunately, the woman gave birth safely, and both mother and child are fine!"

"Um!" Zhang Yaping nodded and said, "Xiaoyao, remember to wake me up if you can't handle anything in the future. It's a good thing nothing happened today. Captain Lin has repeatedly instructed me to take good care of you. If you messed up on your first shift, how could I explain it to Captain Lin?"

Xiaoyuanhang quickly said, "Sister Zhang, I understand. I'll definitely wake you up if I can't handle anything in the future."

Zhang Yaping nodded and said, "Xiaoyao, you must have been busy with this incident. Go eat something and get some rest."

Xiaoyuanhang smiled and said, "Sure, thank you, Sister Zhang!"

Zhang Yaping said, "Don't be so formal. We'll be working together for a long time!"

This woman was very good at putting on a show. She clearly hoped for something to go wrong with Xiaoyuanhang, but her words sounded very concerned. If Xiaoyuanhang hadn't lived two lives and been so familiar with the train, he might have been fooled!

Xiaoyuanhang wasn't just guessing; he had solid reasons. First, with a pregnant woman giving birth on the train, the whole train was in chaos. Even if she was resting, she would have known. Moreover, Lin Zhigang, her confidant, came to gather information, but she didn't come to check. Her claim that Captain Lin had instructed her to take care of Xiaoyuanhang was even more dubious. Normally, if something this big happened on the train, the off-duty conductor would wake up to help, especially since Captain Lin had specifically told her to take care of Xiaoyuanhang. Her absence was telling, and Xiaoyuanhang couldn't figure out why.

The second reason was more complex. The train from Kogo to Huanghai was a popular route, and sleeper tickets were in high demand. Besides the tickets sold at the station, the conductor had a portion of the tickets. The sleeping car for the attendants was not sold to the public, and a sleeping car had 60 berths. The attendants used about 30 berths for their shifts, leaving 30 berths under the conductor's control. After reserving 6 berths for leaders and inspections, about 20 berths could be sold. Anything in high demand was valuable, and sleeper tickets were no exception. Want to get a sleeper ticket on the train? Forget it without a "clear understanding" (bribe). Although the term "unspoken rule" wasn't used, the unspoken rule on the train was that a sleeper ticket cost at least 50 yuan, rising to 100 yuan during peak seasons, and even 200 yuan at the most critical times. This is why so many people vied to be the conductor on the Kogo-Huanghai line, as there was a lot of money to be made!

A clean official for one term, ten thousand taels of silver! In the Kogo train segment, there was a similar saying: becoming a conductor on the Kogo-Huanghai line for a year would make you a ten-thousand-yuan household!

The attendants worked hard for a trip, earning only 30 to 40 yuan, which was less than what the conductor made from selling one sleeper ticket!

To maintain good relations with the police officer and the vehicle inspector, the conductor usually allocated a certain number of tickets to them, but not too many, usually 1 to 2 tickets, and at most 3 tickets, depending on their influence. If they were more influential, they got one more ticket; if less, they got fewer. When they benefited, they would cooperate well with the train crew. Otherwise, the "three crew" members would not work well together, and it could lead to serious issues.

The regular conductor usually had more tickets, while the deputy conductor had fewer, but not by much. Since Zhang Yaping was very influential, she dominated the deputy conductor, He Hongwei, and even got 6 tickets per trip, most of which were under her control. This was one of the reasons He Hongwei was excited about becoming the regular conductor of Group 8.

On their first trip, Zhang Yaping, as the deputy conductor, acted as if there were no sleeper tickets. From the start of the trip to the train's departure and her return to the sleeping car, she never mentioned it. This made Xiaoyuanhang very angry. It wasn't about the money; it was about respect. Moreover, Xiaoyuanhang wanted to advance, and he couldn't afford to be greedy. Accepting bribes from passengers was a serious issue, and if caught, he could face administrative punishment or even be dismissed!

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{Piaotian Literature}