Chapter 94

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As Xiao Yuanhang was getting dressed, two staff members from the Railway Conduct Office had already reached his berth. Seeing him so young and wearing the badge of a train conductor, they asked suspiciously, "Are you the train conductor?"

Xiao Yuanhang smiled and said, "Yes, sir, I am the deputy conductor of this team, Xiao Yuanhang. I am currently on a rotating rest and will take over at 8 PM."

"When did the main line conductors become so young? It must be fake. Tell me, what do you really do?" One of the men, in his forties, asked with a stern face.

Conductor Cheng Zhixin hurriedly stepped forward to explain, "Sir, he is indeed our team's conductor, recently promoted."

"Step aside, this is not your place to speak!" The man scolded Cheng Zhixin, and seeing her retreat in fear, he turned to Xiao Yuanhang and said, "Speak, tell the truth."

What does the Railway Conduct Office do? They specifically investigate issues like traveling without a ticket and accepting money or gifts from passengers! Upon hearing this, Xiao Yuanhang immediately understood that they had mistaken him for a passenger impersonating a conductor. He smiled calmly, took out his work ID, and handed it to the man, saying, "Sir, this is my work ID."

The man took the ID and opened it. After calculating the birth date, he realized the conductor in front of him was only 18 years old. He couldn't help but compare the photo on the ID with Xiao Yuanhang, and it was indeed him! The other staff member from the Railway Conduct Office leaned in to take a look and muttered, "Why does this name sound so familiar?"

As he said this, the man suddenly remembered and looked up at Xiao Yuanhang, asking, "Are you the conductor who saved a pregnant woman on the train a few days ago? I read about it in the People's Daily and the People's Railway News."

Xiao Yuanhang replied, "Sir, it was my duty."

The stern-faced man also remembered the incident but remained unmoved. He turned to Cheng Zhixin, who was standing aside, and said, "Go get the duty report for me."

As soon as he asked for the duty report, Xiao Yuanhang understood what he was up to. He wanted to check if Xiao Yuanhang was on duty. Even if he was a conductor, he still needed to buy a ticket if he wasn't on duty. If Xiao Yuanhang wasn't on duty, he would be considered a fare dodger, which was a serious issue. The man was checking very thoroughly!

Soon, Cheng Zhixin brought the duty report. The stern-faced man saw Xiao Yuanhang's name on it and returned the work ID, saying, "We are conducting a routine inspection. Please cooperate!"

Xiao Yuanhang nodded and said, "Sir, I will fully cooperate!"

Xiao Yuanhang was very confident. With a clear conscience, he had nothing to hide. He hadn't violated any rules, hadn't brought any fare dodgers on board, and most importantly, Zhang Yaping was on duty. If any issues were found, Zhang Yaping would be responsible, not him.

In his previous life, Xiao Yuanhang had also participated in Railway Conduct inspections. Generally, the sleeping cars where crew members rested were the focus of the inspection, as the issue of bringing fare dodgers often occurred there. Before the inspection, they would remain silent. Once the train started, they would immediately block the entrance to the sleeping car, not allowing anyone to enter or leave. They would then take the ticket folders from the conductors and check each berth, leaving no room for fare dodgers to hide. Even the berths where crew members rested were checked one by one, ensuring no one could escape.

Xiao Yuanhang accompanied the two Railway Conduct staff members as they continued to check the resting crew members. There were five berths with 30 beds in total, and they finished the inspection quickly without finding any issues...

In the soft sleeper compartment 9, Conductor Zhang Yaping was drenched in cold sweat. She never expected the Railway Conduct Office to conduct an inspection today. Today, she had "sold" all the berths in her possession. Lin Zhigang had just given her the "benefit fee" when the head of the Railway Conduct Office, Mr. Ma, and six or seven others boarded the train. They immediately confiscated the substitute tickets from the ticket seller and began the inspection. Two people checked the sleeping cars, two checked the soft sleeper compartments, and Mr. Ma, along with two others, checked the hard seat compartments, ordering Zhang Yaping not to follow them. They would find her after the inspection to discuss the issues.

Zhang Yaping listened to the commotion outside the compartment and wiped her cold sweat, asking in a low voice, "Lin Zhigang, who did you sell the tickets to today? Will there be any problems?"

"Shouldn't be!" Lin Zhigang was terrified, and his response was uncertain. The berths he sold shouldn't be a problem. He had sold them to a few regular big bosses who often traveled this route. They were familiar with the rules and wouldn't mind the cost of a berth. Even if the Railway Conduct Office asked them, they wouldn't say anything. The main issue was that he had brought three fare dodgers to Jinmen. The fare from Guhe to Jinmen was 15.4 yuan, and he had charged them 20 yuan. They were in car 8, and if they were caught and revealed him, it would be over!

"What do you mean 'shouldn't be'? Give me a definite answer!" Zhang Yaping was furious, her voice filled with anger.

A definite answer? Who could guarantee that! Zhang Yaping was clearly panicking!

Lin Zhigang stammered, "The berths shouldn't be a problem. They are all regular customers who understand the rules and won't say anything. But, but I brought three people in car 8 today, and I'm afraid they might reveal me if they are caught!"

"Ah!" Zhang Yaping's face turned pale with anger. She kicked Lin Zhigang and said, "You bastard! What can I say to you? You always complain about not making enough money, but you do this for a little bit of money! What will you do if they catch you?"

Lin Zhigang said with a mournful expression, "Conductor, I was just momentarily blinded. Please help me this time, or I'm finished!"

"Hmph! Do you think I'm who? This is a Railway Conduct Office inspection. How can I help you? I don't even know who will help me!" Zhang Yaping was getting angrier, her breathing heavy. She wasn't worried about how they would handle Lin Zhigang but feared that handling him harshly might implicate her. She pretended not to care but was desperately thinking of a solution.

After a moment, Zhang Yaping asked, "Did you tell those three people what to say if they were inspected?"

Lin Zhigang replied, "I did, just in case!"

Zhang Yaping felt a bit more at ease. As long as those three people followed Lin Zhigang's instructions, the worst that could happen was they would have to pay for their tickets and a fine. If she compensated them afterward, there wouldn't be any problems. She said, "Don't scare yourself. Maybe nothing will happen. We'll see what happens after the inspection."

Mr. Ma and his team started checking from the front of the train. In car 3, they found two passengers who had just boarded and hadn't had time to buy tickets. With his years of experience, Mr. Ma quickly determined that they were indeed new passengers and only required them to pay for their tickets. Finally, in car 8, they found three fare dodgers who had boarded at Guhe and were heading to Jinmen. After a few questions, Mr. Ma sensed something was off and took the three passengers to the dining car.

Mr. Ma asked, "You said you didn't have time to buy tickets at Guhe station, but the train has been running for over six hours. Why didn't you buy tickets?"

One of them laughed and said, "We thought we could get away with it for a while and save some money."

Mr. Ma said sternly, "That's not about not having time to buy tickets; it's about deliberately evading fares!"

The man replied nonchalantly, "If we can't, we'll just pay for the tickets. It's just a ride, what's the big deal?"

"Pay for the tickets? Do you think it's that simple?" Mr. Ma said calmly, "According to the rules, in addition to paying for the tickets, each of you will be fined 50 yuan. Pay up!"

"Ah!" The man was shocked, "50 yuan each? Why?"

Mr. Ma said, "It's the rule. If you don't pay, I'll hand you over to the police!" In reality, Mr. Ma had twisted the rule. The regulation stated that if a passenger boards without a ticket and doesn't declare it within 20 minutes of the train's departure, they would have to pay the fare from their boarding station to their destination and an additional 50% of the fare as a penalty. He deliberately said 50 yuan to force them to reveal the truth.

Riding a train and paying a fine, and then being handed over to the police? The man finally couldn't take it anymore and said loudly, "We didn't deliberately avoid buying tickets. It was the conductor on the train..."

Mr. Ma smiled and asked a few key questions. He then had the three passengers write down the entire incident, sign it, and put their fingerprints on it, obtaining the first-hand evidence. He told them, "Wait here and await further instructions!"

He then said to the chief of the train police, Wang Keqin, "These three are temporarily in your custody. We'll decide how to handle them after I verify with the conductor."

Wang Keqin replied, "Understood, sir!"

Seeing Mr. Ma and his team head toward the soft sleeper car, Wang Keqin sighed inwardly. Bringing fare dodgers on board and accepting money was a serious offense. He knew the consequences well. If the railway authority found out, it would be classified as a Railway Conduct incident for the Guhe train segment. The railway division would impose heavy penalties and revoke the segment's eligibility for awards. For Conductor Zhang Yaping, the minimum punishment would be dismissal, and Lin Zhigang could be expelled from the railway system.

Mr. Ma and his team reached the soft sleeper car. The four people who had checked the sleeping cars and the crew rest areas had returned. They were waiting in compartment 9 to discuss the inspection results with Mr. Ma. Conductor Zhang Yaping and Xiao Yuanhang were carefully waiting outside the compartment.

Seeing Mr. Ma approaching, Xiao Yuanhang was pleasantly surprised and said, "Mr. Ma, how did you get here?" (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, please subscribe and support it. Your support is my greatest motivation.)