The Best Mascot

By Zhai Jie

I hailed a taxi during a business trip. I was in a hurry and asked the driver,a middle-aged man, to drive fast.He glanced at me and reluctantly replied, “I’ll try.”

He was not a good driver. He could have overtaken other cars several times, but he missed the opportunities. When there were still three seconds at one green light, he could have accelerated through the intersection, but he stopped in advance. Looking at cars passing by from both sides,I reminded the unhurried driver,“I’ve taken taxis a lot of times, but this is the slowest I’ve ever had.”He seemed unaffected, looking ahead and continuing his driving.

Was he a new driver? I wondered. If it was so, I shouldn’t press him further. But no, the driver’s info card showed that he had twenty years of experience driving. I was curious and asked,“You must earn less than other taxi drivers since you drive so safe?” He nodded and sighed,“Yeah. I’ve probably lost a dozen yuan a day.” I replied, “That’s right. You’re probably missing out on another thousand yuan a month. Why don’t you earn more money like other drivers?”

M y q u e s t i o n i g n i t e d a conversation with him. He told me that he used to drive impatiently and swim between lanes when he was new. He was fined multiple times each month for violating traffic rules. Even worse, he got hurt in several accidents when he tried to drive too aggressively. Since then, he had learned to slow down, but he still couldn’t control himself when he saw passengers taking other taxes.

“What did you do?” I asked.

He pointed his lips at an object in the front of the car, keeping both hands on the wheel. It was a family photo. I’ve seen many mascots placed in cars, from crystal agate to colored glaze gourds, and to auspicious beads,but it was the first time that I had ever seen a family photo placed in the car. He explained,“Sometimes when I desire to speed up, my daughter’s innocent smile and my wife’s gentle expression remind me that I have to control myself and be safe.Then I calm down. I’d rather earn less and not have my family worry about me. I’m not a superstitious man, so I feel this family photo is the best mascot for me.”

W h e n I a r r i v e d a t m y destination, I was deeply touched by what the taxi driver had done.With this family photo, he kept reminding himself to be more responsible and committed to his family. ◆

(From Hebei Workers Daily,December 13, 2017. Translation:Li Li)

去外地出差，坐上一辆出租车，司机是个中年男人。因为赶时间，上车后，我请他加快车速。他看看坐在副驾驶座上的我，勉强地说：“尽量吧。”

这实在不是一个优秀的司机。好几次本来可以变道超车，他都没有把握住机会。绿灯正在倒计时，明明还有三秒钟，加上黄灯的缓冲时间，完全可以过去，他却提前停下来。瞟着左右两边呼啸而过的车辆，看着他不紧不慢的神情，我旁敲侧击地提醒他：“我坐过无数出租车，您这是我近几年遇到的最慢的一次。”他也不着急，盯着前面的路：“呵呵。”

新手？如果是这样，那我真不该催他。不对，驾驶员信息牌上分明写着，这是一个有着二十多年驾龄的老司机。我好奇起来：“您的车得开这么‘稳’，每天得比其他出租车少赚不少钱吧？”他点点头，长吁一口气：“嗯，每天得少赚好几十元。”“就是啊，一月就是千把块，谁还和钱过不去？那你怎么……”

我的疑问打开了他的话匣。他告诉我，刚开车的时候，他也是横冲直撞，见缝插针，每个月因为违章要交好几百块钱的罚款。这还不算，有好几次因为抢时间，发生事故，自己也受了伤。从那时候开始，车速就渐渐慢下来。但是，看到路边的乘客在自己的眼皮子底下被同行抢去，他又开始控制不住自己。

“那怎么办？”我问。

他朝车前努嘴。我顺势看去，一张不大的全家福摆在正中央。车内的吉祥物我见过不少，有水晶玛瑙，有琉璃葫芦，有吉祥佛珠……但在车上摆全家福的，我还是第一次看见。他说：“有时，我控制不住自己想深踩油门，但看到这张全家福，左边女儿天真烂漫的笑脸，右边妻子温柔贤惠的神情，无声地提醒着我，一定要稳重，要克制，要安全，就会平静下来。我宁肯少挣几个钱，也不愿意让老婆孩子为我担惊受怕。我这人不迷信，在我心里，全家福就是最好的吉祥物。”

目的地到了，看着出租车稳稳地向前驶去，我的内心忽然生出一种感动。一张全家福，让一个男人心中多了一份责任与担当。◆