China Taxicab Chronicles 6: Sensitive Mr. Lu
A taxi driver with a different vibe shares reflections on the atmosphere in his hometown over the new year
This essay was originally posted to Twitter on February 3, 2024, shortly before Chinese New Year. It has been lightly edited to suit a longer essay format.
As he helps me stuff my suitcase into the trunk of his taxi at Pudong Airport, I spot a crate of apples in Mr. Lu's trunk. Lu has shoulder-length hair and looks kind of...artsy, like a musician. He seems about my age. I notice the apples are branded as Aksu apples.
"Hey Aksu apples! Are they good?"
"Ah those apples...I don't know. They were a gift. I haven't had one yet."
"I heard these Aksu apples are really just regular Fuji apples, grown in Aksu. It's a branding trick". (Fuji is almost the only commercial apple variety available in China. Aksu is a city in Xinjiang).
"That's probably true.” He laughs. “That's very common you know. After all, do you think all the cantaloupe in China come from Hami? Of course not".
(The Chinese word for cantaloupe is 哈密瓜 "Hami melon". Hami is also a city in Xinjiang).
"Or even Yangcheng Lake Crabs..." he goes on. "I used to live in Suzhou. You know Suzhou's famous Yangcheng Lake Crabs?"
"Yeah of course. Eastern Suzhou. There's a Yangcheng Lake Train Station."
"Yes. Let me tell you, all the Yangcheng Lake Crab that you've ever seen are fake. Regular people like you and me can't eat it."
"Why not? is it too expensive?"
"There's not enough of it...the lake production capability is only so big...compared to the size of the market demand. Only the local people and government officials can eat it."
"So all those restaurants next to the lake...?"
"They're all fake. At best, what they do is buy crabs from somewhere else in Jiangsu and dump them into Yangcheng Lake for a week or so, then they can claim it's Yangcheng Lake Crab."
"I see...are you from Suzhou?"
"No I'm from Anhui"
"Are you getting ready to go home for the New Year?"
"No...I'll go home after the New Year holiday"
"Why? To stay in Shanghai and work and make extra money?"
"No...I just don't want to be home during that time. Being together with certain kinds of people makes me feel very...tired.”
"What do you mean?"
"Well you know, there are some kinds of people that are pleasant to your face, but then they make some negative comments about you, judge you, talking about you to other people your back. I don't want to be with those kinds of people...it makes me feel exhausted, and low energy"
"Which people do this? The ones back your hometown?"
"No the other people who came out to work then go back, like me. They always want to see who's doing better, who's making more money, who has a better life. They just want to compare and flaunt their own life. I don't care. Maybe you're making a little more money than me. Maybe I'm making a little more money than you. A little more, a little less, it's all the same. Compared to the really rich people, we are all poor. Why bother?"
"Oh I see. So they're too proud?"
"Not just proud. Arrogant! Some believe we people from the countryside are simple and down-to-earth (朴实). Actually we aren't...we have all these bad habits...poor moral character."
"Well isn't that just a normal human problem?"
"That's right, we're just normal humans. We aren't so noble (‘我们没那么高尚’)."
"Well…” I respond. “When we go to my wife's hometown for Chinese New Year, she always tells me carefully what we should or shouldn't say about our life in Shanghai, so her family members will not think we are showing off. We need to make them think we are doing well, but not TOO well".
"That's the Chinese way. Your wife is smart. If you aren't doing well, they'll criticize you behind your back. And if you're doing too well, they'll also criticize you. You're living in Shanghai, so you're already doing well. They know this. You don't need to say too much. People in the countryside have simple lives, this is true. They like to discuss everybody's life, and they like to compare. If they think they have more than you, they will flaunt it, and if they think you have more than they do, they'll resent you. I really don't like it."
"Well, even if people in the countryside have this problem, I do think they are more generous in their daily lifestyle. For example, if you are hungry, they will give you a meal and not ask for money. That's what I heard. What do you think?" I asked.
"Well of course they'll give YOU a meal..."
"I don't mean ME. Of course I'm a guest to China...I will always get nice treatment. I meant in general...if you went to a village and told people you're hungry, would they give you a meal?"
He thinks for a second.
“Yeah they would. The thing is…they have enough food to share now. Our parents sometimes went to sleep hungry as kids, and our grandfathers fought for a bowl of rice. But if you go to a village now and say 'auntie, I haven't had anything to eat today" you won't leave with an empty stomach…
…honestly the place that is best for this is the Northeast. You know people in the Northeast have other problems...drinking...and fighting...ha ha ha. But with food and drink, they are very generous...they will give food to anyone, any stranger. I guess this is a good quality….
…but actually it's not my style...Usually I just want to sit quietly and eat my food, not talk to anyone. But they will try to share food with you, pour you a drink, even if you don't want it. But you can't refuse...and you might offend them. What if they are some rough guys?"
“I see…” I responded. "I guess you are used to being alone, because you are alone when you drive. I heard some drivers don't have any life besides driving and sleeping...15 hours every day."
"Yes that's right. If they aren't driving the car or charging the battery, they are sleeping. It's really not good for us. Every year, several drivers...leave us. You know what I mean, right? They leave. They're not here anymore." (this is a euphemism for death) "Some were old, but some are not. 30s, or 40s. So young. They worked too hard and now they're gone."
With this sad reflection, the conversation petered out.
Mr. Lu was a different kind of personality from what I'd consider the typical gruff and boisterous taxi driver uncle. He wasn't shy, but like I said, he struck me as an artist, (or a musician?) a more sensitive soul.
I see Chinese taxi drivers a great source of information, of anecdotes, of opinions, of insight, but rarely do do you learn anything about their emotions - it's just not the forum for that. Perhaps Lu's decision to not go home this year was weighing heavily on his mind.
Anyway, he had a different aura, more reflective, willing to share, which made him unique. When he dropped me off, he insisted I open my bag so he could stuff 6 Aksu apples inside.
"Really, it's no big deal. My friend gave me a whole crate. It's too many for me. Please, help me eat them. Happy new year".
At the time of writing, I have 4 left. They're sweet.
How do you have such strong skills speaking mandarin?
You’re very good at getting people to tell their stories. I wish I had that skill!