Chen Yaowen has packed the mail that needs to be sent locally the next day.
"The annual salary can't match the income of half an acre of orchard at home. My wife doesn't expect me to make a lot of money. She said this salary can only support myself." August 15, 1997 was an unforgettable day for Chen Yaowen. Remember that year in May and June, it was rumored that the post office would recruit rural delivery personnel. When he was a child, he admired the postmen who rode heavy-duty postal bicycles and delivered mail from village to village. Thus, Chen Yaowen began his life as a rural deliverer. That year, he was 27 years old.
"Xinjiang has sent tea to your house, come and sign quickly."
This year, Chen Yaowen is 42 years old. He lives in Tielu Village, Jiekou Town. He is the only rural postman of the Tie Lu Delivery Center under the Jiekou Town Post Office.
At about 6 p.m. that afternoon, according to the plan, Chen Yaowen finished delivering all newspapers and packages in the west area. From 9:40 a.m. to 6 p.m., Chen Yaowen delivered mails for a day. Including the straight-line return home route, the postal route of the day reached more than 80 kilometers.
Every market day, Chen Yaowen would get up early and finish these businesses before delivering urgent mails. In addition to normal delivery and handling distribution business, for many years, Chen Yaowen also played the role of a "purchaser."
Lonely road with Qin Opera as companion
At 9:40 a.m., Chen Yaowen packed the newspapers and magazines subscribed by the 16 village committees in the east and west of the district, such as the "People's Daily", "Half-Monthly Talk", and personal mails into the delivery bag and hung it on the rear rack of the motorcycle. "We can set off now," he said cheerfully with agile actions. As usual, Chen Yaowen will deliver the villages on the west side first on the same day, then deliver the villages on the east side the next day with the new mails.
After a few pleasantries, Chen Yaowen was cheerfully seen off outside the door. It took more than half an hour to deliver just a few newspapers to the village committee.
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After leaving Zhaiko Village, Chen Yaowen looked at the time, which was already 4:40 p.m. "There are only Yangjiayao Village and Nanyu Village left in the west area, so we need to hurry up."
"Don't rush, there are still four villages behind. I'll leave after sitting for a few minutes." Time was tight, so Chen Yaowen took out a piece of flatbread from his bag, poured himself a cup of hot water like a family member, and started eating with the unfinished small dishes on the kang table.
For 14 years, as a rural postman in Jiékǒu Town, Qínzhōu District, Tianshui City, Chen Yaowen's figure has been everywhere in the nooks and crannies of 16 villages around Tiēlú Village. From the elderly over sixty to the childish children, almost no one does not know him.
When it was past lunchtime when they arrived at Héxī Village. Chen Yaowen took out a parcel receipt sent from Xinjiang and was about to inquire about the location of the addressee's house when seven or eight villagers returned from the market on a three-wheeled farm vehicle. They greeted him like old friends. One villager saw the name of the addressee and was just about to give directions when he saw the addressee's daughter-in-law walking by the edge of the village and called her to stop.
Postman also serves as a "purchaser"
Chen Yaowen said: "Over time, people became familiar. To buy a small daily necessity and drive dozens of miles on mountain roads is really not worthwhile. Therefore, if they want to buy some daily necessities or pay some fees, they will find me." In the 14 years he has been a rural postman, he has worn out countless bicycle tires, and the number of falls he has had is unclear. Even the engine of the motorcycle he rides now is the second one.
At 7:50 a.m. on October 10, the reporter accompanied Chen Yaowen to the "China Post Logistics Tielu Distribution Center". He nimbly opened the door, changed his clothes, and while wearing the "postal green" that has accompanied him for many years (which has become somewhat faded), he said: "If there are no special circumstances, all the mails from the Jiékǒu area will be delivered here from the city bureau around 8:30 a.m. every day. After we organize the newspapers, letters, and packages to be delivered that day, we register them one by one, think through the best route in our minds, and set off immediately." Now, he must head straight to the Jiékǒu Town Post Office, 8 kilometers away. His day begins again in a hurry. Chen Yaowen is responsible for delivering mails in the surrounding areas of Tielu Village in Jiékǒu Town, covering a total of 16 large villages.
The autumn countryside road is especially lonely. Except for occasionally encountering one or two villagers driving livestock, the winding village roads on the mountains and ridges echo only with the bleak autumn wind and the sound of Chen Yaowen's motorcycle. "Many times, there isn't a single person on the road," Chen Yaowen said. At such times, he often sings a few lines of Qin Opera, feeling a bit more comfortable.
At around 10:40 a.m., Chen Yaowen arrived at the first village of the day - Shàngmó Village.
Originally, most of the villages he covered had inconvenient transportation, and there were mostly elderly people left behind in the villages. Therefore, during his mail delivery, there were always some villagers with mobility issues or busy with trivial matters who would ask him to do errands. Worried about forgetting if there were too many requests, he would write down the things villagers asked him to do in a small notebook. Flipping through this small book, you could see things written like: Wangba from Wáng Hé Village: 2 pounds of sugar, 1 bag of soap powder; Old Liu from Zhàikē Village: Pay 100 yuan for mobile phone fee... Carefully looking, the records were truly varied.
For 14 years, Chen Yaowen's postal mileage reached more than 250,000 kilometers, equivalent to 20 times the Long March...
A monthly salary of 700 yuan is hard to support a family
When delivering newspapers to the home of the village secretary Wang Jiānshuāng, it was already around 1:30 p.m. Wang Jiānshuāng invited Chen Yaowen to sit on the kang bed and rest while instructing his wife to prepare some food for Chen Yaowen.
"Yaowen has come, hurry inside, take a break, drink a cup of tea before leaving." As soon as Chen Yaowen stepped into the courtyard, someone warmly welcomed him, offering cigarettes and seats.
After returning to the distribution center, Chen Yaowen sorted out some of the mails to be delivered the next day, and leaned on the sofa with exhaustion. For 14 years, each year covering more than 18,000 kilometers, traveling back and forth between 16 villages, forming the life of a rural postman. For 14 years, his loneliness was on the road, but happiness was in his heart...
"After doing this job for a long time, I have become close to the people along this river like relatives. If I happen to arrive during mealtime, I eat and then leave. If not, I eat my own meals or steamed buns, I'm used to it." Chen Yaowen's lunch ended like this.
"These years, honestly speaking, when I see ambiguous addresses or unclear addressees on the letters, and after multiple inquiries, I successfully deliver them, the sense of satisfaction is indescribable. However, being outside delivering mails every day, I have no time to take care of household chores..." Speaking of this, a hint of guilt crossed Chen Yaowen's face. The orchards and crops at home are all managed by his wife, and in the 14 years, the salary he earned didn't increase much for the family. Chen Yaowen recalled that when he first started working, his monthly salary was 400 yuan, and now, even though it has increased, it is only over 700 yuan. The motorcycle, including fuel costs, are all borne by himself, and at the end of each month, there isn't much money left.
After that, he started riding a heavy-duty bicycle to climb mountains and cross rivers, and later, he bought a motorcycle. With the passage of time, Chen Yaowen gradually realized that this job that didn't earn much money was becoming increasingly indispensable.
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