Rebirth: Seven Years in a Great Dream

Chapter 14: The Classic Car and the Loader

Early Tuesday morning, Mu Dong was still sleeping in the yard office when he was awakened by a loud pounding on the door. He opened the door to find Mu Huafeng standing there. “Dongzi, I drank too much yesterday afternoon and forgot about checking out the tractor. Old Tan called me first thing this morning. Why don’t we go take a look today?” Mu Dong had also forgotten about the tractor yesterday. He’d originally planned to check out the tractor after finalizing the loans. But by the time he’d processed the two loans, it was almost noon. He came back for lunch, and by the afternoon, he’d had a bit too much to drink and forgot his appointment with Tan Lianfu. Thinking of this, he said, “Uncle, I forgot about it yesterday too—it’s all my fault. Let’s go together after we eat. You haven’t had breakfast yet, have you? Stay here and have some with us.” Mu Huafeng didn’t make a fuss about it; he had breakfast with Mu Dong, and the two of them headed to the Tan Zhuang Village Committee compound. Tan Lianfu was waiting in the courtyard. As soon as he saw the two of them enter, he hurried over to greet them. Mu Dong quickly pulled out a pack of cigarettes. As he offered one, he said, “Director Tan, I’m so sorry—something came up yesterday afternoon and held me up. I’m really sorry, I’m really sorry.” Hearing Mu Dong say this, Tan Lianfu’s slight dissatisfaction vanished instantly. “It’s fine, it’s fine,” he said. “Mr. Mu is so busy; it’s no big deal for us to wait a bit. We haven’t been trying to sell this tractor for just a day or two—there’s no rush.” With that, he led the two men into his office. There were two other people in the office. Tan Lianfu introduced them one by one: one was the accountant for Tan Zhuang Village, and the other was the tractor custodian and driver—the former tank soldier. The group exchanged brief introductions, then headed together to a large room on the west side of the office. They opened two tall wooden doors, and a Dongfanghong crawler tractor came into view. It was an older model, with a boxy, square shape. Yet it certainly didn’t look like a machine that was over a decade old. The red paint was largely intact, giving off a subtle sheen. Where the paint had chipped away at the edges, it had been carefully touched up with red paint. The glass in the cab was spotless. The large round headlights on either side of the front end were perfectly preserved and gleamed like new. The outer surfaces of the tracks were polished to a high shine, and the seams between the tracks were spotless—not a speck of mud in sight. A perfect vintage vehicle! Mu Dong was somewhat surprised; in this condition, the vehicle absolutely met museum exhibition standards—it was too clean. Mu Dong glanced at the custodian crouching nearby, silently smoking, and felt a wave of respect well up inside him. As a veteran of the Republic, he handled everything with precision and efficiency. The custodian’s name was Tan Jiaming. At that moment, he felt a bit displeased. In the army, he’d been fortunate enough to become a tank crewman, and from then on, he’d been fascinated by tanks. But during a tank maintenance session, he was accidentally injured, leaving him with a disability in his leg, and he eventually left the military with a heavy heart. Upon returning home, he discovered to his surprise that there was an idle crawler tractor in the village. Instantly, he transferred his fascination with tanks to this tractor. Although the two were worlds apart, the tractor could satisfy some of his desire to drive—after all, the tracks were similar. So he took the initiative to ask the village if he could drive the tractor—and his wish was granted. A few years ago, the tractor was still occasionally used for plowing, but now it goes almost a whole year without being used even once. Tan Jiaming still meticulously maintains the tractor. Occasionally, he starts it up, and amid the deafening roar, he maneuvers it a few steps forward and then a few steps back in the yard, repeating the process over and over, finding a small sense of satisfaction in it. But now, the village has decided to sell it. Soon, even this small sense of satisfaction will be gone. It’s not that he hasn’t thought about buying it himself. But he has a physical disability that prevents him from doing heavy labor, and he doesn’t have a steady income. The meager stipend he receives as the village storekeeper is barely enough to get by. His family simply doesn’t have the spare cash for this. Tan Jiaming looked gloomily at the people in the courtyard, thinking to himself, “I hope this boss doesn’t take a liking to it.” Mu Dong actually took a liking to it and was asking about the price. So they all went to the office together to continue the discussion. Tan Jiaming also stood up and limped along behind them to the office. He crouched down by the door, continuing to smoke, but his ears were already straining to hear what was going on inside. Tan Jiaming’s demeanor didn’t escape Mu Dong’s notice. Mu Dong more or less understood what Tan Jiaming was thinking. He quietly made a decision. The group in the office had already agreed on a price. Mu Dong didn’t want any of the agricultural implements that came with the tractor; Tan Zhuang Village would dispose of them on their own. Mu Dong only wanted the tractor unit, with a push plate installed. The price was 10,000 yuan. Tan Lianfu was delighted, and so was the accountant from Tan Zhuang Village—this pile of scrap metal had finally been sold. Mu Dong was delighted—for a tractor in such good condition, 10,000 yuan was a steal! Mu Huafeng was also pleased; brokering this deal had earned him respect and secured him favors from both sides. Tan Jiaming, however, was not pleased. Hearing that the deal had already been struck inside, he stood up, brushed the cigarette ash off his clothes, and prepared to leave. He had taken just a couple of steps when he heard someone call out from behind him, “Brother Jiaming, wait a minute.” It was Mu Dong. He quickened his pace to catch up with Tan Jiaming and said, “Brother Jiaming, I’d like to discuss something with you.” Tan Jiaming stopped in his tracks and asked, “Mr. Mu, what is it?” He wondered to himself, “I hope he’s not asking if I have any matching parts or something like that.” Mu Dong said, “Brother Jiaming, I don’t have anyone at my yard who can drive this tractor. Could you come help me out?” “What? You want me to drive it?” Tan Jiaming exclaimed. “With my physical condition, would you even want to hire me?” It wasn’t as if Tan Jiaming hadn’t looked for work before. As a former tank crewman, finding a job in civilian life was really a piece of cake. Whether it was excavators, loaders, or other tracked or wheeled construction machinery, a tank crewman could operate them all with ease. He was also quite skilled at repairing vehicles and the like. But Tan Jiaming had a disability in one leg—he limped—and no matter where he applied, employers were afraid to take the risk. If he were to fall or something, it would be a messy situation. So he’d never found a job and had been wasting away his days at the village committee, keeping a vintage tractor company. Now, surprisingly, a sand quarry is willing to hire him to drive—this is truly unexpected. Mu Dong said, “That’s right, Brother Jiaming, come help me out. No one at the yard knows how to drive or repair this truck—we really can’t do without you. Don’t worry, as for the pay…” Before Mu Dong could finish, Tan Jiaming cut him off: “Pay is no issue—I’ll take the job. Your yard is in Mu Village, right? I can start anytime.” Mu Dong was delighted and smiled, “Brother Jiaming, thank you so much. Our yard has dorms—room and board are provided. If you’d rather stay at home, that’s fine too, though you’ll have to commute back and forth.” Tan Jiaming replied, “I’ll stay at the yard. Don’t worry—I’ll work hard.” Tan Jiaming was married with a six-year-old daughter. Right now, his mind was completely focused on tractors, so he was definitely going to live at the yard. Besides, now that he’d found a job, his wife would be happy too. Mu Dong said, “Then you’ll stay at the yard for now. Since your home is close by, you can come back anytime you need to.” All right, the price was settled, the driver was settled—all that was left was to pay. Both parties signed a simple transfer agreement, which was stamped by the Tan Zhuang Village Committee. Mu Dong signed and affixed his fingerprint, then paid 10,000 yuan in cash. The Tan Zhuang Village Committee issued a receipt, and the transaction was complete. At noon, after the push plate was installed, the Dongfanghong tractor—which had been silent for quite some time—roared to life and slowly drove out of the Tan Zhuang Village Committee. Tan Jiaming sat in the cab, beaming with joy, as he steered the tractor toward the Mu family’s storage yard. Mu Dong rode his electric scooter ahead, leading the way at a leisurely pace. Back at the stockpile, Mu Dong introduced Tan Jiaming to everyone. They now had one wheel loader and one crawler tractor. Mu Dong asked his father to assign another worker to oversee unloading, increasing the number of unloading stations to three. This way, the loader and tractor wouldn’t have to wait for unloading to finish before sorting the material; instead, unloading and sorting could proceed simultaneously. Mu Dong planned to increase the number of unloading stations to four once operations became more streamlined. Mu Dong briefed Tan Jiaming on some safety issues, and then they had lunch together. During lunch, Mu Dong received a call from the county Agricultural Bank to verify the loan details and ask about his satisfaction with their service. The representative then asked if he needed a POS machine, explaining that customers applying for loans of 200,000 or more were eligible for a free POS machine, which could be used for balance inquiries, transfers, and accepting payments. Mu Dong burst out laughing. “I need one—I really, really need one! Hahaha.” Mu Dong asked for detailed information about the POS machine and learned that it required a landline connection. He said he needed to check if a landline was available at the yard and would apply if it was. He then asked about the application process before hanging up. Mu Dong did have a landline at home, but the yard was too far away, so it wouldn’t be very convenient to have the line run there. Mu Dong then called Mu Tongqing to ask if there was a landline at his sand yard. Upon learning there was one, he asked where the phone line came from. It turned out there was a telephone line running along the outer edge of the river embankment. Mu Tongqing’s phone was connected to that very line. Great! After lunch, Mu Dong first went to the local China Netcom office in town to apply for a landline installation at the sand yard. Then Mu Dong took a bus to Lunan City. At the technology market, he purchased a four-camera surveillance system and scheduled the installation for the next day. Mu Dong had already mentioned the installation of the surveillance system in front of those “suspicious individuals” that day, and now, from a security standpoint, installing the system had become absolutely necessary. In the evening, Mu Dong returned to the yard. The drivers were still lined up waiting to be paid. Mu Dong thought to himself that the days of handling cash wouldn’t last much longer. That night, Mu Daguo tallied the number of unloaded trucks: 290. The benefits of increasing unloading capacity were beginning to show. After dinner, the loader owner found Mu Dong. The two chatted for a while, and the conversation gradually turned to loaders. The loader owner said, “Mr. Mu, I saw you bought a crawler tractor today. I’m wondering if you plan to continue renting loaders or buy your own in the future.” Mu Dong had initially rented this loader for 20 days, and the lease was set to expire in the next couple of days, which is why the loader owner asked the question. Mu Dong replied, “Brother Liu, to be honest, I’m planning to buy a used one myself. As you know, the costs are too high for long-term rentals.” The loader owner’s surname was Liu. Upon hearing this, Mr. Liu said, “You’re right. If you’re going to use it long-term, it makes more sense to buy one yourself.” After taking a few puffs on his cigarette, Mr. Liu added, “Mr. Mu, since you’re planning to buy a used one anyway, what do you think of this one of mine?” “Yours?” Mu Dong asked in surprise. “This one’s in great shape. Why are you suddenly thinking of selling it?” Mr. Liu said, “I’ve had this machine for over three years now. Business was pretty good for the first two years, but this year it’s been getting worse and worse. Plus, I’ve been on the road enough these past few years—I’m looking for something more stable. If you’re interested, let’s talk it over.” Mu Dong replied, “I’m fine with that. It doesn’t matter who I buy it from—as long as the price is right. Also, my brother-in-law is learning to operate a backhoe in Quancheng and should be back tomorrow. I’ll have him take a look at it. If he thinks it’s okay, then we can discuss it further.” Mr. Liu said, “Why waste money on that? If he’d known better, he could have spent a few days getting the hang of it on my machine—he’d have picked it up in no time. But since he’s learning in Quancheng, at least he’ll get an official vocational certification.” Mu Dong said, “Is that so? If I’d known, I wouldn’t have let him go take the course.” He thought to himself that if this worked out, he could have Xie Donglin learn to operate the front-end loader from his brother-in-law, and the two of them could take turns driving. After a pause, Mu Dong continued, “Mr. Liu, this machine isn’t financed or anything, is it?” Mr. Liu replied, “I originally bought this machine on credit, but I paid it off in full last year. Rest assured—I have the complete set of documents here; you’re welcome to check them.” Mu Dong: “That’s good to hear.” The two chatted for a while longer, then went their separate ways to rest. On Wednesday morning, the security camera installation crew from the Technology Market arrived at the yard. There were four cameras: one was installed outside the yard entrance, one inside at the ticket booth, the third on a streetlight in front of the building, and the fourth in the office, where the monitor was also set up. By noon, the installation was complete. That afternoon, Huang Si heard the news that surveillance cameras had been installed at the yard. Huang Si had been feeling a bit down these past few days. After the group had fled in a panic that afternoon, he began asking around. First, he learned that the county public security bureau chief’s surname was indeed Fu, and his name was Fu Yuanshan. He then learned that Fu Yuanshan had several brothers-in-law, though he wasn’t sure which one the young man from the Mu family had been referring to that day. Later, he also learned that Mu Dong’s aunt ran a restaurant in the county seat, and her husband, Wang Shaoqiang, was quite a prominent figure. Even stranger, Huang Si learned that Wang Shaoqiang had recently been making inquiries about him and had even tracked him down to his hometown. “Oh man, it’s like they’ve dug up my past!” Huang Si lamented. Looking back now, going to the Mu family’s storage yard on a whim that day was really too risky. Now that he’d heard they’d even installed surveillance cameras, Huang Si thought to himself, “This is a lost cause.” “I mean, it’s just a lousy stockpile—nothing but some worthless sand—why would they need surveillance? Are they burning money or something?” Mu Dong, of course, had no idea what Huang Si was thinking—and even if he did, he wouldn’t have bothered with him. Right now, he was watching the China Netcom workers install the phone line. Phone installations are much cheaper these days—just over five hundred yuan. Mu Dong remembered when he first started college in 2002; it had cost his family 1,200 yuan to install a phone. Then, thinking about how landlines were practically obsolete in that other timeline, Mu Dong felt a sudden sense of disorientation. The phone was installed in no time. Mu Dong then headed to the Agricultural Bank branch in town to apply for a POS machine. According to a phone reminder from the county Agricultural Bank, the POS had to be applied for at the location where the loan was taken out. Director Sun at the town’s Agricultural Bank branch found Mu Dong’s request for a POS machine a bit odd. What use would a storage yard have for one? Strange as it was, the transaction still had to be processed. The 200,000 yuan loan Mu Dong had applied for was still sitting untouched in his account at the town’s Agricultural Bank, so his account balance met the eligibility requirements. Mu Dong quickly completed the paperwork and received the POS machine. Although called a POS machine, it actually looked like a phone. Its official name was the “Jinsui Phone Transfer Device.” It could be used for inquiries, receiving payments, and making transfers—but only with Agricultural Bank of China savings cards. Toward the end of the afternoon, Zhong Guodong returned from Quancheng and went straight to the yard. Standing at the entrance to the yard, Zhong Guodong looked out at the bustling scene and felt a surge of emotion. Although Mu Xiaoxia had told him over the phone that the yard was up and running—that it was incredibly busy and lively—it wasn’t until he actually stood there that he truly felt the intensity of the activity. Xiao Dong is really something. I’ve only been gone for a little over ten days, and the place is already this busy—with a massive pile of sand stockpiled here. Mu Dong came out to greet him, and the two exchanged pleasantries. Then they went into the dormitory in the west wing to chat. It was too noisy in the office, where they were busy with accounting. Zhong Guodong brought up his training first, saying he was now proficient at operating the front-end loader. Mu Dong then talked about some matters at the stockpile and finally mentioned the plan to buy Boss Liu’s front-end loader, after which he took Zhong Guodong for a test drive. Zhong Guodong’s operation was indeed very smooth; it seemed he’d practiced quite a bit at school. After about ten minutes, Zhong Guodong climbed down from the loader and said to Mu Dong, “This machine’s not bad. If the price is right, we can buy it. It’s more powerful than the one I drove at school, and it handles more nimbly.” Mr. Liu said, “You’ve got a good eye, young man. This machine is manufactured right here at our Lunan Heavy Machinery Factory. After-sales service is convenient, and spare parts are affordable.” The group then headed back to the dormitory to discuss the price of the loader. After some haggling, they settled on 78,000 yuan for the loader and the small fuel truck. Adding the rental fees for the past period—10,200 yuan—brought the total to 88,200 yuan. For good luck, Mr. Liu rounded it down to 88,000 yuan. Finally, Mr. Liu brought up another driver on his loader crew. The driver’s name was Su Peng, and he worked for him, earning a monthly salary of 2,500 yuan. Mr. Liu asked Mu Dong if he wanted Su Peng to stay on; if so, he should have Su Peng come over so they could discuss it together. Mu Dong was, of course, willing to keep Su Peng on. As the volume of sand coming in increased, the loader was being used more frequently, and a single driver simply couldn’t keep up with the demand. Su Peng arrived shortly afterward and expressed his willingness to stay on. “It’s just a job anyway—it’s the same everywhere,” he said. Moreover, having seen Mu Dong pay the drivers in cash every day, Su Peng felt the boss was trustworthy and was naturally willing to stay. Mu Dong also thought highly of Su Peng. Although Boss Liu’s loader was supposed to be operated by two people taking turns, in reality, Su Peng was the one operating it most of the time; Boss Liu only drove it occasionally when he took a break for meals. So Mu Dong felt that Su Peng was dependable and reliable. With everything settled, both parties drafted a transfer agreement, signed it, and Boss Liu provided all the vehicle’s paperwork. All that remained was to wait for the bank to open the next day to complete the transfer and payment. That evening, Mu Dong called Mu Tongqing and invited him to the yard for a drink. Over drinks, Mu Dong told Mu Tongqing that starting tomorrow, his settlement price would be the same as everyone else’s. Since the business opened, Mu Tongqing’s settlement price had consistently been 50 yuan per truckload—the lowest rate. However, because his yard was close to the Mu family’s and his freight costs were low, Mu Tongqing didn’t feel this was unfair; on the contrary, he had been very helpful to Mu Dong in various matters. So Mu Dong decided to return the favor. Although the purpose of doing business is to make money, social etiquette and goodwill are also very important. After Mu Tongqing left, Mu Dong called Zhong Lianjie, the owner of another nearby sand quarry, and informed him about the standardized pricing as well. Since they were all neighbors, he wanted to treat everyone as fairly as possible. Early Thursday morning, drivers arriving at the Mu Family Yard discovered that another notice had been posted! Typical of a college graduate—he loves to play with words and is always putting up notices on red paper at the drop of a hat.