The Great Era of Siheyuan

In a shady corner outside the train station, Yan Jiecheng was waiting leisurely by the roadside. There were so many black rickshaws like his that it was impossible for the authorities to manage them all.

There are several departments in charge of rickshaws and tricycles, including the street office, the industrial and commercial bureau, the tourism bureau, and the police station. In an era when information was not shared, the way they could identify whether a business was legitimate was very simple: they would confirm it by the registered license plate number and operating license.

However, most rickshaws have been replaced by tricycles, and many people just confuse them out of habit and usually call them by their own names.

Regularly registered freight tricycles and commercial passenger vehicles will have a receipt with the license plate number, and the prices are fixed, with the price charged for a certain distance.

It's not always the case with illegal taxis. If you're lucky, you may be able to bargain and get a few cents off. But if you're unlucky, you may be robbed or other bad things may happen to you, such as being overcharged, robbed, insulted, and trafficked women, or even your life may be in danger.

Although illegal taxis are risky, most people still prefer to hire them because they can bargain for a lower price. This is also the way most illegal taxis survive. Over time, they will naturally have a group of regular customers.

From the train station to Xidan, and then to Qianmen Street, Dazhalan and other commercial areas, there are countless people riding tricycles to make a living near the train station. In this place alone, there are hundreds or even thousands of tricycles making a living nearby.

Every day, tourists from other places and people making deliveries have to ride on their cars.

Regardless of day or night, the flow of people here never stops, supporting many car drivers. With such huge profits, everyone wants to get a piece of the pie.

Yan Jiecheng had already inquired about it. As long as he didn't go to the front of the train station to watch those taxi drivers stealing business, no one would mess with him. There were many people like him who pulled illegal taxis, and he was not the only one.

Yan Jiecheng sat in the car bored, constantly looking at passers-by, thinking about how many more trips he could do today.

At this time, a middle-aged man carrying a lot of bags came over and asked, "Master, how much does it cost to go to the overpass?"

Yan Jiecheng quickly replied with a smile: "One dollar and two cents!"

The middle-aged man frowned.

"It's too expensive. How about going for 80 cents?"

"Eighty cents is too little, isn't it? It's at least four or five miles from here to the overpass, and the Ministry of Transport charges a three-wheeler 25 cents per kilometer. Eighty cents is too little, it should be at least one dollar and ten cents. If you can, let's go now. My tricycle is still new!"

Yan Jiecheng said as he patted his new car.

"Well, let's both take a step back and I won't argue with you. How about one dollar?"

The middle-aged man said with a smile.

Yan Jiecheng hesitated for a moment.

"Okay, one piece is enough, get in the car!"

The middle-aged man carried the luggage onto the bus, and Yan Jiecheng helped carry the remaining two boxes. These boxes alone weighed nearly 100 pounds, and at the price of one yuan, it was a huge loss.

But there is no way to deal with it, who calls him a black car! People who break the rules of the industry have always been hated by regular fleets, so they often fight with black cars over various issues.

After Yan Jiecheng loaded his luggage, he pedaled hard. Along the way, he chatted with the guests.

"Where did you come from, boss?"

"Me? I came from America. Do you know America? It's a very advanced country. Every household has a car. You can eat bread and milk every day, and eat meat until you're full. It's the best country in the world. I'm an American now!"

The middle-aged man said this with some pride.

"Really? Then you can eat bread, milk, and meat every day until you are full?"

Yan Jiecheng was immediately attracted by his words. He could never imagine in his dreams what it felt like to eat too much meat.

"Of course it's true. I'm back now to take my family to live there. The air there is sweet, and there's food everywhere. We don't have to farm at all! There, you don't need a ticket to buy anything. The government will give you money even if you don't do anything. You can live a happy life every day!"

The middle-aged man seemed not to have spoken to anyone for a long time. In response to Yan Jiecheng's curiosity, he happily answered him and described the paradise-like life over there.

Yan Jiecheng became fascinated as he listened and asked expectantly.

"Can I come over then?"

"you?"

The middle-aged man looked at him and shook his head.

"You can't. I guess you don't even have the money for the trip. You need at least 10,000 dollars to get from here to the United States. Do you have it?"

"Ten thousand yuan? So expensive?"

Yan Jiecheng was secretly shocked and calculated in his mind that if he earned five yuan a day out of ten thousand yuan, it would take him at least seven or eight years without eating or drinking to earn that much. It was really expensive!

"Don't think that 10,000 yuan is a lot. Over there, working for a month can earn you 2,000 to 3,000 US dollars, and you can earn it back in three months at most. Look at my clothes, they are all American products, and this dress costs 800 yuan. How about it, are you envious?"

The middle-aged man said boastfully.

After hearing this, Yan Jiecheng looked back. The fabric and style of the clothes looked particularly novel.

What he didn't notice was that his tricycle was going faster and faster. After a while, Yan Jiecheng realized something was wrong. There was a downhill road ahead, and his tricycle had no brakes!

He panicked and shouted, "Hold on tight!"

Before the guests could react, the car had already rushed down at high speed.

Yan Jiecheng tried desperately to control the vehicle, but it was no use. To make matters worse, the bell of the tricycle was broken, so he had no way to alert the passers-by ahead and could only shout.

"Make way, make way, I can't stop!"

At this moment, a group of people suddenly appeared in front of him. Yan Jiecheng widened his eyes in horror, but it was too late to avoid them.

There was a loud "bang" and the tricycle crashed into the car. The passengers and the people who were hit fell to the ground, causing chaos.

Yan Jiecheng also fell heavily to the ground. He didn't care about the pain on his body and quickly got up to check on the guests and the people who were hit. The guest's head was scratched and bleeding, and the people who were hit were also groaning in pain.

The guest endured the pain and angrily pointed at Yan Jiecheng and cursed him.

"How did you drive? You broke my imported coat! Look at what I broke. Pay me at least a thousand dollars."

The middle-aged man cursed angrily, and the bicycle owner also had a gloomy and angry look on his face, sitting on the ground and glaring at him painfully.

People gathered around him quickly, and someone accused Yan Jiecheng: "What's wrong with you, the rickshaw driver? You dare to drive on the road without brakes! Are you trying to kill people?"

Yan Jiecheng's face was filled with guilt and he didn't know what to do.

At this time, someone said: "Hurry up and send him to the hospital!"

"Okay, I'll lift the car up first, you guys make way."

When the others heard that Yan Jiecheng wanted to support the bike, they didn't do anything about it and just moved out of the way. A few kind-hearted people also helped him.

After Yan Jiecheng straightened the tricycle, he immediately ran away with an assistant. Then he quickly got on the tricycle and pedaled it like a Hot Wheels. He disappeared in the blink of an eye.

The people around were dumbfounded when they saw this scene.

The middle-aged man took one look and immediately got up from the ground in panic, shouting loudly.

"My luggage, give it back to me! My ID is in it, you damn yellow monkey, I'm going to call the police and have you arrested!"

After saying that, he endured the severe pain and was about to chase after him, but before he had taken two steps, he was stopped by someone.

"You hit someone and you still want to run away? Who did you just say was the yellow monkey?"

The few people who had just been hit grabbed him directly, each of them looking ill-intentioned.

"Brother, this has nothing to do with me. I'm just a passenger. If you want to find someone, you should look for him! Why are you looking for me?"

The middle-aged man said this with some fear, but he kept cursing in his heart, what a bunch of uneducated country people.

"If he runs away, we'll have no choice but to look for you! If you hit someone and don't pay for it, then prepare to get beaten!"

The people who were hit looked at him with a sneer.

"No, no, no, don't do it. I'll compensate you. Isn't that enough? I'll give you whatever amount you want. Don't do it!"

The middle-aged man said fearfully.

"Five of us were hit by you, and three of us are bleeding. I don't want any more. Just give me 100 yuan and forget about it!"

"Okay, I'll give it!"

The middle-aged man was about to take out the money from his body, but after searching all over his body, he suddenly remembered that his money and documents were all in the briefcase, and that the briefcase was taken away by the tricycle just now, and he immediately cried out in pain.

"My money was all in my bag, and that bag was snatched away by that tricycle driver!"

"You mean you don't want to give me the money? Come on, guys, search him and see if there's anything valuable in his suitcase."

After saying that, he held the middle-aged man down and searched him from top to bottom. The two suitcases scattered nearby were also taken over. After opening them, they were full of spare clothes and small gifts.

"No, you can't be so barbaric. You are breaking the law. I'm going to call the police and have you arrested!"

The middle-aged man shouted angrily as he looked at the luggage that was scattered all over the place.

The few people searched for a long time but found nothing valuable. They were already angry, and after hearing these words, they became even more angry.

"Sue me? Sure, you hit someone and you want to sue the bad guy first. Come on, guys, I think his clothes and pants can be sold for some money, let's take off his clothes and divide the money."

As soon as he finished speaking, several people forcibly stripped him naked and threw him on the ground, picked up his two suitcases and left calmly.

No one who was watching the excitement nearby tried to stop it. Everyone protected themselves based on the principle of less trouble is better. They just watched coldly, leaving the middle-aged man on the ground, covering his body and crying loudly.

"Is there still law and justice? I am an American. If you dare to steal my things, I will call the police!"

The middle-aged man covered his lower body and cried and cursed.