Chapter 10 Chapter 9 The Farmer's "Brother"

"I have traveled to many places. Now in many cities across the country, the taxis are driven by peasants, except for us in Shanghai. Most of the taxis in Beijing are driven by peasants in suburbs such as Pinggu and Yanqing; have you been to Guangzhou, In Shenzhen, the taxis there are all driven by farmers from other places. Shanghai is relatively xenophobic, and the taxi drivers are basically from the city. However, there are also some farmers in the suburbs of Shanghai who drive in the urban area, such as those from Chongming Island. farmers..." He sent me to the hotel from Guangzhou New Baiyun Airport. When I got off the bus, I asked him his name and phone number. He wrote me a note with his mobile phone number on it, signed "Zhang Sheng".

I know that his surname is "Zhang", but not "Sheng", but I didn't ask for his name. "Zhang Sheng" means "Mr. Zhang" in Cantonese.Although he is from a rural village in Zhoukou, Henan, he has been driving a taxi in Guangzhou for many years, and he does as the Romans do. Two days later, I called his mobile phone and proposed to visit the place where he lived.He hesitated, but finally agreed. "Zhang Sheng" came to the hotel to pick me up on time.He was in his early thirties, of medium build, and slightly overweight.On the way, I asked him curiously, "How much rent do you pay every month?"

"My sister and I rent a unit together, one bedroom and one living room. The rent is shared, and each family should pay 200 yuan." "There are still such cheap houses in Guangzhou?" I exclaimed. While nimbly navigating through the crowded traffic, he explained to me that the place where he lives is located in the ever-expanding new urban area of ​​Guangzhou. It used to be a rural area. A building was built on the homestead, and he transformed himself into a rent-paying landlord, renting out the house to "brothers" like him from rural Zhoukou, Henan, and this area became famous as "Henan's brother village".

"Farmers rent houses to farmers, of course the price is cheaper." He said lightly. In fact, both parties to the rental transaction are not farmers anymore: the tenant drives into the "city" to solicit customers, and the landlord stays in the "village" to collect rent, which has nothing to do with agriculture, but what is interesting is that the taxi driver quoted at the beginning of this article In the eyes of urban residents in Shanghai, even in the mouth of "Zhang Sheng", they are still farmers, and they are still different from those old residents with "non-agricultural household registration" in the "city" of Guangzhou...

Chatting and chatting, unknowingly we have entered the "Ge Village in Henan".At this time around 6:00 pm, it was the time for the "brothers" to hand over shifts from the day shift to the night shift. There were many drivers standing or squatting at the entrance of the "village" waiting for the bus to take over.We drove past rows of small buildings with iron bars and gates and colorful decorations—"Zhang Sheng" told me that it was the place where the local landlord lived; we also passed rows of balconies where clothes were dried, In the corridor is a simple apartment building for women enjoying the shade—"Zhang Sheng" told me that this is a place rented by out-of-town tenants.

I followed "Zhang Sheng" and came to his home.In the living room, a shirtless middle-aged man was sweating profusely swallowing noodles. When he saw me, he glanced up at me and continued to bury his head in his meal. "Zhang Sheng" introduced to me that this was his brother-in-law, who was also a taxi driver, and was about to take over after dinner; then he introduced me to everyone in the house in Henan dialect.Only then did I realize that there was a young man watching TV lying on the folding bed behind me, and another woman came out from the back room, followed by a timid boy of six or seven years old.

"My sister is out. This is my sister's child. She is 19 years old this year. She also drives a taxi and has just returned home from work. This is my wife and son." "Sheng Zhang" introduced them one by one.In just a blink of an eye, "Zhang Sheng"'s brother-in-law had already put on his shirt, shook hands with me a little cautiously, and took over without saying a word; "Zhang Sheng"'s nephew also stood up from the bed, awkwardly Rubbing their hands together, wondering if they should shake hands with me; "Zhang Sheng"'s wife was leaning against the door frame, holding the child with one hand, she didn't speak, just looked at me and smiled with her mouth open.

I was also a little embarrassed, looked around, and said without words: "The apartment you are renting is not big." "Zhang Sheng" took it over and said, "Or it's cheap. We live in the back room, and my sister's family lives in the living room." Calculated in this way, this one-bedroom, one-living room unit sleeps three taxi drivers, two women and one child. I remember that on the way home, "Zhang Sheng" once said that he didn't want his son to take over his job and become a taxi driver again. The reason why my wife went out to work: "The child is young, my wife does not go to work, and takes the child to school at home. Although it is a school for the children of migrant workers, the quality of education is better than that of the hometown in the countryside. If the child is promising, we will support him in the future. Go to college."

We sat for a while, and "Zhang Sheng" suggested that we go to the restaurant owned by his sister's family: "Now is the time for drivers to change shifts, and many off-duty drivers will go to the restaurant to drink and eat." "Our family is old Beijing. We live in Xuanwu District. I have been driving a taxi for more than 20 years. The older generation of taxi drivers in Beijing have basically changed their careers. There are very few taxi drivers like me who are still driving taxis." Not much. I’m worthless. I haven’t tried other things. I also opened a restaurant. I made some money, but I gambled it away. There’s no way, the restaurant can’t go on, let’s go back to the old business. What? Oh , Now I don’t gamble, I’m familiar with the road, I’ll just drive a taxi and earn some money for food. In the 1980s, taxi drivers were once envied by everyone. Many female college students wanted to change their ways. Son, you want to marry us. Hey, the times are different, the current 'big brother' is just a 'modern boss'! Why do you ask? Hey, the taxi companies charge too much now! Like me Driving twelve hours a day, the first eight hours are for the company for free, and the last four hours are really for myself. So, in today’s Beijing, the brother’s business is basically dominated by suburban farmers. Once it’s contracted, no matter how little the money is, it’s still better than digging land in the countryside! If it weren’t for the control from above, the taxi business in Beijing would have been taken over by peasants from other places just like Guangzhou…”

In fact, the peasants who enter the city are not all coolies on construction sites, "screws" on the assembly line, and waste pickers picking up junk and waste. Home.They are probably the middle and upper classes of peasants who have entered the city, or the "successful ones".But "successful people" also have their own bitterness, difficulties and troubles. Take the taxi driver profession, for example.Nowadays, most of the taxi drivers in many cities in China are farmers who go to work in the city. Compared with those wage earners on the assembly line, the income of "Brother De" is relatively higher, and there is no boss or foreman to supervise when driving. Urban peasants are still considered to be middle-class, but this line of work also has its own hardships: the "payment" is too high, and the working hours are too long. In fact, it is nothing more than taking over jobs that urban people are unwilling to do.

On the way to the restaurant, "Zhang Sheng" told me that all three sisters in their family are working in Guangzhou, and only their parents are left at home.Most of the other families in the village are also like this. The young and middle-aged have all gone out to work, leaving only the elderly and children in the village.When there is not much farm work in the field, it is up to the elderly in the family to take care of it. When the farming is busy, they send money home and hire people or machines to do it. This "village in the city" is really an authentic "Henan Village". Even the shops on the street are named "Henan Grocery Store", "Henan Small Shop", "Henan Butcher Shop", etc., giving people a sense of ignorance. A sense of confusion about where you are.We came to "Henan Restaurant", a husband and wife restaurant jointly opened by "Zhang Sheng"'s sister and brother-in-law.It is said to be a restaurant, but it is actually a bungalow with four or five sets of simple tables and chairs. The two walls of the bungalow are replaced with metal doors that can be moved and closed. On the street, flies hover lazily among the soy sauce bottles and vinegar jars placed on the greasy tables, and the customers are all drivers with Henan and Zhou accents, drinking bottled beer with peeling labels and spitting smoke from inferior tobacco lock up…… "Zhang Sheng" and I sat across from several drivers who were smoking and drinking. "Sheng Zhang" didn't introduce me, but they looked at me in surprise, didn't speak, and continued to blow smoke rings.I knew that it was my appearance, demeanor and clothes that attracted their strange eyes.I suddenly had a strong sense of absurdity, and even doubted the purpose of my trip: As a scholar who has been growing up in the city, can I really understand the thoughts of these peasant "brothers"? A Santana slowly approached "Henan Restaurant" and stopped. A tall, slightly hunchbacked man with gray hair got out of the car and sat next to me. "Zhang Sheng" introduced us and told me that he is the oldest driver here. He is over 60 years old this year, and everyone calls him Lao Zhou.Hearing that I was a reporter, Lao Zhou had a calm expression and did not shake hands with me. He just handed me a cigarette, but his strong Henan dialect was converted into Mandarin with a slight accent: "First time in Guangzhou? Oh, Been here many times." We chatted.Lao Zhou comes from the countryside, but it can't be said that he grew up doing farm work.He served as a soldier and also drove a car, but he was not promoted. He has always been a volunteer soldier.After demobilization, he found a job in a transportation company in Zhoukou County and continued to drive.A few years ago, the company closed down, and he was also laid off. He simply returned to his hometown in the countryside and lived by farming and a small pension.Later, when his son went to college and the family was struggling financially, Lao Zhou set off again and drove to Guangzhou. In his words, "earn a tuition fee for his son". Hearing that I was also a soldier in China, Lao Zhou’s tone was much more cordial: “Based on your military age, you are still a recruit, haha.” When talking about his experience driving in Guangzhou, he talked more: “Guangzhou people It’s not xenophobic, but the Guangzhou taxi management department doesn’t like us Henan people, and the qualification exams are getting more and more difficult. You say, the exam questions, let us who have just come out of the rural areas of Henan immediately tell the most popular places in Guangzhou and urban areas. Can you tell me the distance in a straight line?" My sense of absurdity has weakened a lot: I seem to have touched the desires and joys, sorrows and joys of these farmers' "brothers".In fact, when I was a soldier in China 30 years ago, most of the comrades I met were rural soldiers. City, but it can be regarded as a kind of "urbanization" impulse. "Come on, let's change a table and have some wine with my boss." Lao Zhou stubbed out the cigarette butt that was burning to his finger. "I drove a taxi in Shenzhen for more than ten years, and now I bought a house in Shenzhen. My hometown is You County, Hunan Province, a rural area. More than half of the taxi drivers in Shenzhen are from our You County. You Want to know how I came up with the idea of ​​doing this job? Let me tell you a story, my own personal experience: I haven’t done farm work for a day since I graduated from junior high school. I haven’t made any money for many years. Once, in a city on the border of Yunnan, a tall and burly customer bullied me, took the goods, and refused to pay me. , showing the dagger and musket tied to his body: "Do you know what business I am in? Do you know who I deal with every day?" The man turned pale with fright, dropped the goods, and ran away. But I I was also a little scared: What if he called the police? I packed up my goods, stopped a taxi, and told the driver a random place name, and got into the car together. When the car arrived, the driver said the price, I was stupid How dare he charge so much money for such a short distance! After I gave him most of the money I earned that day, I suddenly said to myself: Why can’t I drive a taxi? Why can’t I make this money? Later, I came to Shenzhen, bought a car with the money I earned from part-time jobs and small businesses, and started this business..." We changed a table and sat across from Lao Zhou's "boss" and another Henan driver.The so-called "boss" is actually an ordinary "brother" from the countryside, but because he has been driving in Guangzhou for a long time, he bought a car himself, and Lao Zhou just came to Guangzhou and couldn't afford a car, so he had to rent his car and share with him. He drives in shifts, so he is honored as "the boss". "Zhang Sheng" went into the kitchen to help, his brother-in-law brought some simple but delicious stir-fried dishes and cold dishes, and his sister brought a few bottles of beer.Lao Zhou filled the plastic wine glass in front of me with beer, and didn't persuade me to drink. He chatted with the "boss" and fellow villagers, switching Mandarin back to Henan dialect. During the meeting, the "boss" learned that I was a reporter, and complained to me in "Henan Mandarin": "We Henan people have a bad reputation in Guangdong, and as taxi drivers, we are also excluded everywhere." Another driver also joined in: "The taxi industry in Guangzhou is also localizing now, trying to squeeze out farmers' drivers from other places, especially Henan drivers. But the work is too hard, and the long working hours are not counted. , I can’t afford much money, so the locals in Guangzhou are unwilling to do it, and after the outsiders are squeezed out, the taxi industry in Guangzhou will definitely be paralyzed.” In order to comfort them, I told the story of the Hunan "brother" I met in Shenzhen, but Lao Zhou, who had not interrupted, suddenly interrupted me: "He started more than ten years ago and drove a taxi in Shenzhen. But today’s situation can no longer be compared with what it was more than ten years ago. Now, no matter where in Guangdong, it is not so easy to make money by renting a taxi. The price of oil and gas keeps rising, and the company’s share of the money But it’s still so high.” Lao Zhou pointed to the other two, “For young Zhoukou drivers like them, it’s hard for them to support their families, let alone buy a house in Guangzhou.” The "boss" refilled my drink, and the three of them raised the plastic cup together: "Come on, cheers!" Lao Zhou drank a full glass of beer, wiped his mouth, took a puff of cigarette, and then, he seemed to be talking to me, but also seemed to be talking to himself: "I'm going to die anyway. When I go to college, I will quit and go back to my hometown in the countryside..." (Note: The names of taxi drivers in this article are all pseudonyms.)