"Miss, are you going to Changle? I’ll go anywhere in Fuzhou."
The man talking to Lin Jin was a seemingly introverted middle-aged man. He stood in front of Lin Jin's table, awkwardly not knowing where to place his hands and feet. He was clearly a newcomer to the unlicensed taxi business.
If it were the veterans, how could they come to a KFC to solicit customers? Most of them would stand directly at the entrance of the station and loudly ask when they see people coming out. The thick-skinned ones would even directly approach pedestrians who might become customers to inquire.
The middle-aged man in front of him obviously belonged to the kind who were too embarrassed to solicit customers in public and had to look for lone individuals in KFC to inquire privately.
"How much to go to Changle city center?" Lin Jin, seeing that he looked honest and not likely to overcharge, didn't mind the term 'Miss.'
The middle-aged man hesitated for a moment and asked uncertainly, "One hundred?"
"I might as well take a coach bus then." Lin Jin was no fool, the ride from here to the Changle city center would only take half an hour if it were fast. A hundred yuan was clearly too expensive. He bargained without hesitation, "Thirty."
"Thirty?" The middle-aged man continued to hesitate, his awkward face turning red. After doing some mental calculations, he spoke, his expression slightly unpleasant, "Thirty is a bit too low."
"You can go find more customers to carpool." Lin Jin lowered his head to play with his phone and continued to check the location of the bus. "The bus only costs a dozen yuan, and taking your car won't save me much time. Thirty is already too much for me."
The middle-aged man nodded blankly, completely clueless about where to find more customers. You have to know that today was his first day as an unlicensed taxi driver, and Lin Jin was his first customer after standing at the South Railway Station for half the day. How could he find more customers to carpool with?
"How about forty for the whole car?" Lin Jin raised his head and glanced at him, "That should at least cover the gas, right? At least you could earn a few dozen yuan, right?"
"Enough, enough" the middle-aged man smiled awkwardly. In reality, the fuel cost from here to the Changle city center was around fifteen yuan, so a round trip would be thirty. Forty yuan would barely earn him around ten.
"Let's go then." Lin Jin immediately stood up, carrying his suitcase with him.
The middle-aged man kept nodding his head and led Lin Jin to the station's parking lot.
After placing Lin Jin's luggage in the trunk and starting the navigation, the middle-aged man silently drove onto the road.
"You don't look like the type to drive an unlicensed taxi" Lin Jin's phone was almost out of battery, so he put it away and asked the middle-aged man who was in the driver's seat, "Your car seems quite nice. Why are you out here driving an unlicensed taxi?"
"The factory closed down" the middle-aged man sighed, keeping his eyes focused on the road while he continued to speak regretfully, "I got involved in gambling with some friends these past few years. Once I was in, I drained my family's finances. The factory also had unsellable stock, so it had to close."
"Just like my dad" Lin Jin said, letting out a bitter laugh when he heard that the reason was gambling. "You're better off, at least you still have a car. My dad sold all our furniture."
"Is that so?" Hearing that Lin Jin's family had experienced similar circumstances, the middle-aged man seemed to have found a confidant and began to pour out his woes.
From meeting that friend to getting involved in gambling, it was almost identical to what had happened to Lin Jin's father. Initially, they gambled small amounts, ranging from hundreds to thousands, and had wins and losses, losing didn't hurt, and winning brought joy for a night. Later, the stakes grew larger, from thousands to tens of thousands. Occasionally, they'd even gamble hundreds of thousands. At one point, he even won over five hundred thousand. Then one day, his luck took a turn for the worse. He was losing tens of thousands every day, and he continued losing until his bank account was utterly empty. Only then did he come to his senses.
Then, adding the troubles at the factory and the inability to pay wages, the factory closed down.
"Do you still gamble now?" Lin Jin asked, crossing his legs as he listened to the middle-aged man.
"I wouldn't dare, wouldn't dare" the middle-aged man repeatedly shook his head. "If I kept it up, I'd lose not just my factory but also my wife and kids. We'd have nothing to eat. At least now, I'm saving a little to get by for a while."
"My dad still gambles, always thinking he'll turn his luck around someday" Lin Jin sneered. "You're not so bad off, my dad is probably beyond saving. This is how he'll be for the rest of his life."
Back when his dad was at the peak of his gambling addiction, he even borrowed hundreds of thousands from relatives and hasn't repaid them yet. Fortunately, the relatives were quite understanding, although they stopped lending money, they didn't exclude Lin Jin's family during holidays and even provided his dad with a job as a laborer.
As for his dad's friends, the moment they heard he was bankrupt and the factory had closed, they vanished without a trace. Only the long-term neighbors remained somewhat in touch.
Should he ask this man to help persuade his dad? After talking with the middle-aged, unlicensed taxi driver for about fifteen minutes, Lin Jin considered the idea, his eyes flickering as he looked at the back of his head.
But even if he was willing to help, his dad hadn't come to his senses despite losing his wife and children. His granddad had even been hospitalized due to the stress his dad caused, and still, he hadn't changed. Persuasion would not work.
After half an hour of conversation, Lin Jin finally arrived at his residential community.
"I'm going now, thank you" Lin Jin nodded at him, walking up the slope leading to the community's main gate.
Lin Jin's original home was in a wealthy village in the countryside, they had moved into this urban apartment when he was five or six. He could vaguely remember that when they moved in, his dad had thrown a big feast, inviting a host of relatives, both known and unknown.
Back then, the community had been quite upscale. Now, the seven-building complex had clearly seen better days, even the ceramic tiles on the walls had started to peel off.
"Lin Jin, you're back?" Just as he walked past the security office, a balding security guard poked his head out from the window. "You've become quite pretty since going to college. The Lin family's genes really aren't too shabby."
"What do you mean 'quite pretty'? Uncle Chen, do you dare use the word 'handsome' instead?" Lin Jin positioned his suitcase and stared at the bald security guard.
This guard had been a resident of the community from the beginning. After retiring, he became a security guard. He and Lin Jin had known each other for years. Lin Jin had often played around in the community in his youth, and many of the familiar uncles and aunties liked to tease him about his childhood antics.
But to be recognized even after undergoing so many changes, maybe his dad wouldn't kick him out thinking he was a stranger?
"Hey, when you were little, I even carried you to school. Are you being fierce with Uncle Chen now?"
"Move along, I need to go home" Lin Jin waved his hand, although his face didn't show any signs of impatience. "I need to see what sort of state my dad is in these past few months."
"Him? Same old, same old. Just a few days ago, I even brought him some bags of noodles. Don't know if he's finished them yet."
"Going now!"
This community wasn't like modern ones where you might live for three or four years without even knowing your next-door neighbor's name. Although the relationships between various residents weren't as harmonious as they were in the countryside bungalows of his youth, at least the Lin family had some interactions with people in a building or two.
However, now there were only a few households left.
He needed to go see his dad now.
"Miss, are you going to Changle? I’ll go anywhere in Fuzhou."
The man talking to Lin Jin was a seemingly introverted middle-aged man. He stood in front of Lin Jin's table, awkwardly not knowing where to place his hands and feet. He was clearly a newcomer to the unlicensed taxi business.
If it were the veterans, how could they come to a KFC to solicit customers? Most of them would stand directly at the entrance of the station and loudly ask when they see people coming out. The thick-skinned ones would even directly approach pedestrians who might become customers to inquire.
The middle-aged man in front of him obviously belonged to the kind who were too embarrassed to solicit customers in public and had to look for lone individuals in KFC to inquire privately.
"How much to go to Changle city center?" Lin Jin, seeing that he looked honest and not likely to overcharge, didn't mind the term 'Miss.'
The middle-aged man hesitated for a moment and asked uncertainly, "One hundred?"
"I might as well take a coach bus then." Lin Jin was no fool, the ride from here to the Changle city center would only take half an hour if it were fast. A hundred yuan was clearly too expensive. He bargained without hesitation, "Thirty."
"Thirty?" The middle-aged man continued to hesitate, his awkward face turning red. After doing some mental calculations, he spoke, his expression slightly unpleasant, "Thirty is a bit too low."
"You can go find more customers to carpool." Lin Jin lowered his head to play with his phone and continued to check the location of the bus. "The bus only costs a dozen yuan, and taking your car won't save me much time. Thirty is already too much for me."
The middle-aged man nodded blankly, completely clueless about where to find more customers. You have to know that today was his first day as an unlicensed taxi driver, and Lin Jin was his first customer after standing at the South Railway Station for half the day. How could he find more customers to carpool with?
"How about forty for the whole car?" Lin Jin raised his head and glanced at him, "That should at least cover the gas, right? At least you could earn a few dozen yuan, right?"
"Enough, enough" the middle-aged man smiled awkwardly. In reality, the fuel cost from here to the Changle city center was around fifteen yuan, so a round trip would be thirty. Forty yuan would barely earn him around ten.
"Let's go then." Lin Jin immediately stood up, carrying his suitcase with him.
The middle-aged man kept nodding his head and led Lin Jin to the station's parking lot.
After placing Lin Jin's luggage in the trunk and starting the navigation, the middle-aged man silently drove onto the road.
"You don't look like the type to drive an unlicensed taxi" Lin Jin's phone was almost out of battery, so he put it away and asked the middle-aged man who was in the driver's seat, "Your car seems quite nice. Why are you out here driving an unlicensed taxi?"
"The factory closed down" the middle-aged man sighed, keeping his eyes focused on the road while he continued to speak regretfully, "I got involved in gambling with some friends these past few years. Once I was in, I drained my family's finances. The factory also had unsellable stock, so it had to close."
"Just like my dad" Lin Jin said, letting out a bitter laugh when he heard that the reason was gambling. "You're better off, at least you still have a car. My dad sold all our furniture."
"Is that so?" Hearing that Lin Jin's family had experienced similar circumstances, the middle-aged man seemed to have found a confidant and began to pour out his woes.
From meeting that friend to getting involved in gambling, it was almost identical to what had happened to Lin Jin's father. Initially, they gambled small amounts, ranging from hundreds to thousands, and had wins and losses, losing didn't hurt, and winning brought joy for a night. Later, the stakes grew larger, from thousands to tens of thousands. Occasionally, they'd even gamble hundreds of thousands. At one point, he even won over five hundred thousand. Then one day, his luck took a turn for the worse. He was losing tens of thousands every day, and he continued losing until his bank account was utterly empty. Only then did he come to his senses.
Then, adding the troubles at the factory and the inability to pay wages, the factory closed down.
"Do you still gamble now?" Lin Jin asked, crossing his legs as he listened to the middle-aged man.
"I wouldn't dare, wouldn't dare" the middle-aged man repeatedly shook his head. "If I kept it up, I'd lose not just my factory but also my wife and kids. We'd have nothing to eat. At least now, I'm saving a little to get by for a while."
"My dad still gambles, always thinking he'll turn his luck around someday" Lin Jin sneered. "You're not so bad off, my dad is probably beyond saving. This is how he'll be for the rest of his life."
Back when his dad was at the peak of his gambling addiction, he even borrowed hundreds of thousands from relatives and hasn't repaid them yet. Fortunately, the relatives were quite understanding, although they stopped lending money, they didn't exclude Lin Jin's family during holidays and even provided his dad with a job as a laborer.
As for his dad's friends, the moment they heard he was bankrupt and the factory had closed, they vanished without a trace. Only the long-term neighbors remained somewhat in touch.
Should he ask this man to help persuade his dad? After talking with the middle-aged, unlicensed taxi driver for about fifteen minutes, Lin Jin considered the idea, his eyes flickering as he looked at the back of his head.
But even if he was willing to help, his dad hadn't come to his senses despite losing his wife and children. His granddad had even been hospitalized due to the stress his dad caused, and still, he hadn't changed. Persuasion would not work.
After half an hour of conversation, Lin Jin finally arrived at his residential community.
"I'm going now, thank you" Lin Jin nodded at him, walking up the slope leading to the community's main gate.
Lin Jin's original home was in a wealthy village in the countryside, they had moved into this urban apartment when he was five or six. He could vaguely remember that when they moved in, his dad had thrown a big feast, inviting a host of relatives, both known and unknown.
Back then, the community had been quite upscale. Now, the seven-building complex had clearly seen better days, even the ceramic tiles on the walls had started to peel off.
"Lin Jin, you're back?" Just as he walked past the security office, a balding security guard poked his head out from the window. "You've become quite pretty since going to college. The Lin family's genes really aren't too shabby."
"What do you mean 'quite pretty'? Uncle Chen, do you dare use the word 'handsome' instead?" Lin Jin positioned his suitcase and stared at the bald security guard.
This guard had been a resident of the community from the beginning. After retiring, he became a security guard. He and Lin Jin had known each other for years. Lin Jin had often played around in the community in his youth, and many of the familiar uncles and aunties liked to tease him about his childhood antics.
But to be recognized even after undergoing so many changes, maybe his dad wouldn't kick him out thinking he was a stranger?
"Hey, when you were little, I even carried you to school. Are you being fierce with Uncle Chen now?"
"Move along, I need to go home" Lin Jin waved his hand, although his face didn't show any signs of impatience. "I need to see what sort of state my dad is in these past few months."
"Him? Same old, same old. Just a few days ago, I even brought him some bags of noodles. Don't know if he's finished them yet."
"Going now!"
This community wasn't like modern ones where you might live for three or four years without even knowing your next-door neighbor's name. Although the relationships between various residents weren't as harmonious as they were in the countryside bungalows of his youth, at least the Lin family had some interactions with people in a building or two.
However, now there were only a few households left.
He needed to go see his dad now.
