Jiang Meixia organized the four passenger stories she recorded into a book and named it "Right Heart · Listening".
Ms. Jiang took more than 200 rides for about four months and recorded the stories of 62 passengers, about 70,000 words. "Living in other people’s lives, truly feeling their joys and sorrows, switching between emotions, unable to help herself," she wrote at the end of the book. "Having such an experience is worth sobering up and satisfying."
And behind her recording these stories is the mutual trust and tolerance between strangers.
The 62 passengers covered all walks of life, of different ages and classes. Most of them started with the appearance of the passengers and the place where they got on the bus. Their stories could be described as strange.
"No matter what everyone is going through, they are generally satisfied and have their own little happiness." Jiang Meixia said that she set the tone for herself from the beginning to record these "positive energy" things.
Chengdu Business Daily reporter, Yu Zunsu, Lu Wangyi, photojournalist, Zhang Jian
After 120 days of online hailing and carrying more than 200 strangers, Jiang Meixia recorded the content and experiences of her chats with passengers in 60,000 to 70,000 words, bound into a book and titled "Right Heart · Listening". Just like Pu Songling, who set up a stall for tea in exchange for stories, in just four months, Jiang Meixia used online hailing to "break" into the lives of strangers in this city, and exchanged them for ordinary and touching stories. At present, she is still revising these stories, "hoping to find a suitable publisher to publish these stories."
Hundreds are harvested every day
But not RMB, but text
"When I experience my own joys and troubles, I think from time to time. Are others as happy as I am? Are others as worried as I am? What kind of life are they living?" – From Right Heart · Listening
Due to the need to take care of her daughter in the third year of high school, Jiang Meixia has no online car-booking now. A bound "book" is kept at home, full of the experience of driving and soliciting customers. In her words, "I get hundreds of dollars every day, but unfortunately it is not RMB, but some scattered words."
Even though she is already a mother, Jiang Meixia still maintains a curious heart about new things. Last year, she signed up for a ride-hailing account. "I just want to experience it, not to make money, not to meet strangers, just to learn about new ways of getting around." During the four months from May to August last year, Jiang Meixia drove her Toyota SUV and started driving online hailing in the main urban area of Chengdu.
Once near Taikoo Li, a male passenger "collapsed" in the passenger seat as soon as he got on the bus. "I was really depressed." The way the other party talked made Jiang Meixia unable to adapt for a while. "I also chatted with him naturally, like real-world friends who have known each other for a long time." She said that the man told her that he was a special ride on the Internet to chat with strangers. "This should be one of the first 10 passengers I pulled, and it is also the first time I met a passenger not to go somewhere, but to chat." Jiang Meixia said that this is the first time in her life that she has acted as a confidant sister for a stranger.
"In fact, every passenger has their own thoughts that are inconvenient to share with their family and friends." Since then, Jiang Meixia, who has always liked to code, has the idea of deliberately digging into the stories of strangers around her. "I want to treat myself as a driver and break into their lives." After that, there are more notebooks and pens in her car, and she will record the interesting stories one by one and organize them when she gets home.
By August last year, Jiang Meixia had run an online taxi for about four months. She received a rough count of more than 200 orders and recorded the stories of 62 passengers, about 70,000 words.
The trust and tolerance of strangers
Four months of feeling like living someone else’s life
"Baby, don’t worry, it’s been a long time! Just like that, enjoy it casually, happily, and carefree, and grow up slowly." – From "Right Heart · Listening"
After graduating from college, Jiang Meixia worked in sales for many years. "To do sales is to ask for people. Although customers change from unfamiliar to familiar, they have interests, so it is difficult to have such a simple and easy chat." Before that, Jiang Meixia believed that there was no trust and deep communication between strangers. "I take a taxi and never talk to my master." However, the experience of driving an online car-hailing made her feel that strangers can also chat like this – like friends, talk about work and life.
"When I experience my own happiness and troubles, I think from time to time, are other people happy like me? Do other people have the same worries as me? What kind of life are they living?" This is the passage at the beginning of Jiang Meixia’s book. In four months, her passengers include elderly people in their late 80s, babies waiting to be fed, junior high school students, newcomers in the workplace, sweet couples, successful people… Different people tell different stories.
At the end of the book, Ms. Jiang writes, "Living in other people’s lives, truly feeling their joys, sorrows and sorrows, switching between various emotions, and not being able to do it yourself. Having such an experience is worthy of sobriety and satisfaction."
She said that the little happiness expressed by strangers moved her, and she had met people who were full of complaints due to the pressure of life, but everyone was looking forward. Behind the recording of these stories is the mutual trust and tolerance between strangers.
Zhang Lan, a psychology expert, said that common topics are the basis for chatting with each other, and the enclosed moving space of the carriage creates such a chatting environment for passengers and drivers. "Everyone has the need to share and talk, but you may not find someone willing to listen in life. There is no interest relationship between strangers, they are psychologically equal, and there is no cost from the beginning to the end of the communication."
This also explains why so many strangers are willing to take the initiative to chat with Jiang Meixia, allowing the online ride-hailing driver, who majored in Chinese and worked in sales in college, to have the opportunity to record the stories of unfamiliar passengers.
62 passengers from all walks of life
"Everyone has their own little happiness"
"Living in other people’s lives, really feeling their joys and sorrows, switching between various emotions, and not being able to do it yourself. Having such an experience is worthy of sobriety and satisfaction." – From "Right Heart · Listening"
Looking at Jiang Meixia’s book that tells the stories of unfamiliar passengers, the 62 passengers cover all walks of life, of different ages and classes. Most of them start with their appearance and boarding location, and their stories can be described in various ways.
In the book, a primary school student told her that the study pressure was too great, and she had to go to the training class to make up lessons during the holiday, and she had to play the piano after making up lessons. Once, a 73-year-old lady got on the car, and few elderly people would use the software to call a car. Jiang Meixia praised a few words, and the cheerful old man said that if she had not had diabetes for more than 20 years, she would be in better spirits. Thinking that her mother had just been diagnosed with diabetes, Jiang Meixia paid attention to ask more questions. The old man very enthusiastically advised Jiang Meixia not to worry, and also recommended to her the medicine he had been taking.
In the account, Jiang Meixia once again mentioned a male passenger who had been picked up in Taikoo Li. The other party said that he had started from scratch to invest millions to open three tea restaurants in the city center, and he was sitting in several luxury cars. He seemed to be a successful person in the eyes of his relatives and friends. But others did not know how tired he was. He rolled his sleeves and washed dishes when he was busy in business, couldn’t even pay the chef’s salary when he was in bad business, and his wife was unwell. The huge mental pressure made him unable to breathe, but he couldn’t tell his employees and friends that he "always had to stretch".
"You and I don’t know each other, and the chance of meeting again is too small, so I won’t drive today, thank you for being my audience." Arriving at the destination, the man said, feeling better after complaining, and thanked Jiang Meixia apologetically.
"No matter what everyone is going through, they are generally satisfied and have their own little happiness." Jiang Meixia said that she set the tone for herself from the beginning to record these "positive energy" things.
In fact, it is not easy to chat with unfamiliar passengers every time. Jiang Meixia does not shy away from this point. She said that in fact, there are also some passengers who are very negative. She also recorded such passengers in her book: She once picked up a lady in Shiyangchang. After getting on the bus, the other party began to complain about her family and business. "Alas, business is too difficult now. The noodle shop became annoyed and couldn’t find a way to live in the clothing factory the day before yesterday. It’s so hard to make money!"
She said that she tried her best to keep the passenger from being so depressed, but she seemed a little powerless. "Sometimes, people are infected by this negative emotion." But later, she thought that the passenger might feel better after complaining.
Last September, because her daughter was in high school, Jiang Meixia stopped driving online taxis, and she began to organize the 62 passenger stories she had written down. She named the story and mood told by the passenger sitting on her right "Right Heart · Listening". In addition to the preface and postscript, the first chapter "Listening to the Wind" tells the little happiness of ordinary people, the second chapter "Slow and Long" records the cuteness and troubles from elementary school students to college students, and the third chapter "Practice" is the richest. It contains 32 stories, all of which are the mental journey of passengers in the workplace or with rich social experience.
For now, she is still revising the stories, "hoping to find the right publisher to publish them."
The passengers recorded by Jiang Meixia
● Hit the "flying" Lairong to eat the fly restaurant
Received a call from Beijing. As soon as they got on the bus, two passengers, a man and a woman, discussed the twice-cooked pork and cold white meat for lunch, and smacked their tongues. "Are you here for business?" The female passenger rushed to answer: "We are here specifically for Chengdu cuisine. We don’t go to a single scenic spot, we find a place to eat every day, then go shopping, then eat again, go shopping and eat, hahahaha." The two who jokingly called the tour "foodie journey" laughed.
I suggested that the two refer to the rankings of Dianping, but the male passenger said that he did not want to go to the big-name restaurants that are blooming everywhere, and he chose the small restaurants that the locals like to go to. The taste is authentic.
● Bad luck
I made an appointment to pick him up at the entrance of Fuqin Community, and I saw a man in a gray jacket standing handsomely in the middle of the isolation pile, holding a small floral umbrella in one hand, looking at his mobile phone, and then looking at the direction of my car. Parking close to him, he quickly folded the umbrella, carefully placed the umbrella next to his right foot, and turned to me: "Go to He’s Orthopedic Hospital."
"Oh, it’s raining too much, I can’t go out at all." The man looked at the continuous rain outside the window and sighed.
"A few days ago, the newspaper also reported that an uncle sent two children to school and was washed into the river and disappeared. It’s terrible." The attentive man turned his head and said, "Drive slowly on rainy days.
"Well, you can see little scrapers everywhere on the road these days." I smiled gratefully at him, "So don’t think I’m driving slowly."
"How could it be? I am a person who has suffered a loss, and I will definitely not be too slow." The man saw my doubtful expression and patted his right arm wrapped in a jacket, "I am going to the orthopedic hospital to change my medicine. I got off work a little late one day last month. Because I live in Wenjiang, I wanted to go home quickly. I rode a battery car on the express lane at a speed of about 65 yards, but I was hung up by the taxi and broke my shoulder blade. Fortunately, the reflector of the taxi hung me down. If the car hit me directly, the consequences would be unimaginable."
"However," the man changed the topic, "Thank God for giving me such a profound experience when I was young. At least, in the next few decades, I won’t have any accidents because of my’fast ‘. The so-called disaster and fortune depend on each other, I’m really grateful."
● Sales
Driving in the direction of home, I received a list.
A man and a woman got into the car with raindrops all over their faces, and the boy also opened the door of the car to let the girl get into the car first. After getting into the car, the two continued to talk enthusiastically. The girl’s tone was obviously dominant and dominant, and the boy seriously echoed
Suddenly, I felt the girl lying on my driving chair, a little uncontrollable excitement: "Sister, how much is your car insurance? Did you buy it?"
"The car insurance must have been bought long ago, and it hasn’t expired yet." I thought to myself, "Are you afraid that if I don’t buy insurance, I won’t be covered if there is a problem on the road?"
"Sister, your drivers should have a group, right? You usually communicate there? Our company has an event where we can give you as much red wine as you buy insurance. For example, if you buy insurance for 5,000 yuan, our company will give you 5,000 yuan worth of red wine, which is very cost-effective."
"Really? There’s such a good thing? Then how do you make money? You always have to make money, right?" To be honest, I was a little on guard.
"Look, I just said, you have to ask how you make money." The boy saw the stitches and teased a little. Feeling that the girl rolled her eyes at the boy, the boy immediately became silent.
"During the current promotion period, we mainly want to promote the brand of our red wine. When the popularity is established, we will naturally make money."
"Sister, do you have a lot of WeChat? I’ll add your WeChat, and I’ll send you the information about the red wine."
I haven’t had time to answer yet.
"Sister, this is my business card. If the introducer comes over, call me and promise to give you a commission." The girl’s tone was unquestionable.
(Due to layout reasons, it has been slightly deleted.)
