With 39.5 billion tons of freight and 4.85 million kilometers of total mileage, their home is always on the road.
There is such a group of people in the mainland, they take the car as their home, they run on the road all the year round, they rely on the car to support their family, but they cannot accompany their family.
For the Wang Shuai couple, their home is on the truck.
"Let's go, get out of the way!"
At 7 o'clock in the evening, Wang Shuai picked up his 2-year-old son and abducted his wife to go out, this time they were going from Shandong to Guangzhou.
The 10-day round trip is not a walk-and-go trip, but a bumpy road to life.
For them, the goods carried in the car are even more important than their lives ...
Home in the car
"What's wrong with the money you gave me, isn't it 10,000 yuan, give me 8,160 yuan like this?"
Facing his wife Li Xiaojie's questioning, Wang Shuai could not hide a trace of guilt on his face.
He didn't dare to tell his wife that the sports car didn't get enough 10,000 yuan this time because the car broke down halfway, and counting the maintenance fees and parts, the sports car almost didn't earn a penny.
"Forget it, you can make money when you don't have money, just do it well", looking at her husband's sad face, the wife comforted.
Truck drivers, they are one of the most special professions in the mainland, and they play a vital role in the mainland's huge logistics system.
According to statistics, there are nearly 20 million truck drivers in the mainland, some of whom have been in the industry for decades, and some of whom have just entered the industry with hope for life.
Wang Shuai is one of the tens of millions of truck drivers who are running for a living, starting from Shouguang, Shandong Province to Humen, Guangzhou, more than 1,800 kilometers of road, Wang Shuai does not know how many times he has run.
Since 2017, Wang Shuai has been a truck driver, and his youth has left countless footprints on this road.
Information source: CCTV documentary, the link is attached at the end of the article
Day after day, year after year, this road has witnessed the figure of Wang Shuai and countless sunrises and sunsets.
Chinese pay attention to "getting on the car dumplings and getting off the car", which means the safety of travel and the family's expectation of a safe return.
At 4 o'clock in the afternoon, his wife was busy making dumplings in the kitchen, Wang Shuai was sorting out the daily necessities for going out, and the family had a reunion dumpling together.
At 7 o'clock in the evening, Wang Shuai went out with his son in his arms.
This time, their truck was loaded with peppers and spinach pulled from Shouguang, and because the customer was in a hurry, Wang Shuai needed to arrive a few hours earlier within the specified time.
As a rough estimate, Wang Shuai will run at least 600 to 700 kilometers on the first night, and there is no doubt that it will be a sleepless night.
However, Wang Shuai was not too worried, he put on his driving clothes as usual, and a black T-shirt with the three big words "money-making" written on it.
This is Wang Shuai's inner hope for life and desire for money.
find the silver lining
2022 is Wang Shuai's eighth year as a truck driver, and it is also the first time he presents his real life in front of the CCTV camera.
In 2009, Wang Shuai was still working as a bailiff in the Weifang People's Court, and young people always wanted to do something.
In addition, Wang Shuai felt that the work of the bailiff was too boring and boring, and he couldn't make money to support his family, so he came up with the idea of starting a business.
In 2012, Wang Shuai quit his job as a bailiff and started to do business with his wife.
The business was yellow in only half a year, so the couple was burdened with a foreign debt of 1 million, and they sold their house and car to pay off part of the debt.
For the rest, Wang Shuai decided to pay back the money while working.
"If you have a driver's license, you can drive, and you can drive a truck, running all over the country, I feel very grand and happy", this is Wang Shuai's idea when he first entered the truck industry.
In his words, his decision to drive a truck was also full of enthusiasm, before doing this business, Wang Shuai didn't know any insiders at all, so he could only rely on himself to discredit him.
Later, Wang Shuai met a lot of peers on the road, and gradually sorted out how to drive, where to go, how to run, and how to pull goods.
I still remember the first trip, Wang Shuai went from Shouguang to Shenzhen, because he didn't know the road, Wang Shuai ran for 36 hours after a 30-hour journey.
At first, he didn't know much about the road and could only run short distances, until 2017, when Wang Shuai began to run long distances in the south and north of the world, mainly going back and forth between places in Shouguang, transporting vegetables and fruits.
For him, the goods on this car are even more important than his life, and every time, only when the goods are transported to the destination completely, Wang Shuai's hanging heart will be put down.
Long-distance earns a lot, about 10,000 yuan for a trip, but running a long distance also means more hardship and greater risks on the road.
Speaking of these, Wang Shuai was a little helpless in his eyes, "What can I do, continue to run", he can only move forward head-on in order to live.
Among the tens of millions of truck drivers on the mainland, there are many wives who travel with their wives, and these women who drive with their husbands are called "sisters-in-law" in their circles.
His wife Li Xiaojie is one of these countless "card sisters-in-law", and at first he found that her husband was not in good health.
When he first started running long distances, he sometimes had to travel 1,500 kilometers in less than 15 hours because of the urgency of customers.
In order to be in a hurry, Wang Shuai couldn't eat properly, and he suffered from pancreatitis for a long time.
Li Xiaojie, who felt sorry for her husband, simply quit her job and took her 2-year-old son on Wang Shuai's big truck to take care of her husband's daily life.
From then on, the family began to rely on each other in the big truck, running for life.
Home on the highway
"Da Lang, it's time to take medicine", a joke accompanied by the husband and wife's fighting, turning the originally boring driving into a warm place.
Wang Shuai is very optimistic, he likes to listen to songs along the way, chant poems and sing loudly with his wife, every trip is like a trip for him, and he, like many truck drivers, pin his desire for a better life in the small compartment.
Home is the motivation and goal of Wang Shuai's efforts, where there is a wife, there is a home, and where there is a car, there is a home.
The goods were safely delivered to Humen, Wang Shuai and his wife had a short and rare rest, and every time they came to Humen, Wang Shuai would take his wife to the shopping mall.
Although he is not rich, Wang Shuai has to buy clothes for his wife even if he saves money for a meal.
In his opinion, he earns money for his wife and son.
As long as he saw the smile on his wife's face, he felt that his trip was worth it.
Sometimes, they will also go to Zhanjiang to watch the sea, watch the sunrise and sunset, and the family will snuggle up closely, and every time at this time, the bumps along the way will disappear.
The truck was originally a tool, a cold machine, but the presence of family affection enriched its taste of home.
Without the existence of family affection, no matter in the luxurious cab, it will be deserted, such a driving road is just work, not home.
The solace of family affection connects the cruel reality with the warm harbor.
And Wang Shuai is just a microcosm of truck drivers, with more than 20 million truck drivers in the country, and behind them is the livelihood and hope of more than 20 million families.
This silent group, only the roar of trucks, carries indescribable family affection and love.
Driving a multi-ton truck on the road for a livelihood can be a hard or happy life.
Resources:
1. CCTV documentary: "Bumpy Freight Road Episode 4: Home in the Car", 2020-3-21
If you like this episode, please click "Follow" and don't miss the next episode.
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