Carrying a Jurassic on me
Chapter 693 - 338: Difficult Journey_1

Chapter 693: Chapter 338: Difficult Journey_1

Often, becoming accustomed to your speed of travel depends not solely on your mode of transportation but more on unexpected events!

Looking at the farmlands on either side of the road, Yan Fei began to regret, thinking to himself that he should have scouted the route last night.

However, hearing the clamor ahead, and contemplating the long string of vehicles in front and behind him, he was aware that even if they had voyaged at night, chances were this predicament would still have arisen.

Due to the limited seating in the vehicle, only one guard could accompany them, performing the role of driver. This part-time driver was familiar enough with mainland China and understood the current difficulties of travelling. Arriving here, even he was uncertain of the route. As for the locals, Yan Fei and Xu Xiaoyan, they were no help either.

They had adopted a conservative strategy when they set off, with the driver not daring to speed. He simply sought a reliable plan. After travelling a short distance, he stopped a vehicle that was returning to Gao City. After exchanging pleasantries, they began to follow behind the vehicle.

In an era where journeys relied primarily on road maps, this scheme was undeniably reliable. The young locals in the leading car were returning to Gao City after sorting out some affairs in Wan City. Following them, they were guaranteed not to stray off course.

However, unexpected events could transpire. Shortly after leaving the province, the road was closed due to a traffic accident just beyond a toll station.

Heading back to the toll station caused some dispute.

The leading carseats three or four youngsters, who were quite welcoming. Upon hearing that they were tourists visiting their city of Gao City, and merely needed some assistance with directions, they agreed without hesitation.

Despite their enthusiasm, the young men were also a little hot-headed. The disagreement with the toll staff arose from being charged for a round trip, despite turning back due to the accident after hardly going any distance. It was a disagreement anyone would be upset about.

Moreover, the station was flooded with people who had turned back and others who, oblivious to the accident uphill, were still paying to head in that direction. Yet all the toll booth attendants were concerned with was collecting money, offering not even a hint of warning.

Though many were disgruntled and made a ruckus, they had no option but to pay. Other than the few youngsters who created a scene for a while. Since their vehicle was from the provincial capital, after causing a bit of a stir and talking tough, the toll booth personnel didn’t dare make much of a fuss.

This commotion also notified other drivers approaching from the opposite direction of the accident up ahead. Upon hearing of the circumstances, they quickly turned around before reaching the toll booth.

Consequently, the toll booth staff had no option but to compromise. The predicament left them with two choices: either call the police or let them pass. If they continued to deny passage, they risked not collecting a single dime. Moreover, without any solid reason to call the police, the young men parked their car on the side of the road and cautioned other drivers at the toll window that the road was impassable.

Eventually, they had to let them pass without charging a dime, saving several subsequent cars a toll fee in the process.

However, the people in Yan Fei’s car, who had saved a toll fee, were already getting a bad feeling. This feeling proved incredibly prophetic since, as the saying goes, when it rains, it pours.

Having left the main road to circumnavigate lesser roads, and making a series of complicated turns to follow the convoy, they found the road blocked again.

After waiting for a while, they understood the situation. Up ahead, somebody from a nearby village was seen carrying a makeshift stretcher; apparently, someone had been killed in a hit-and-run. The culprit had fled, so now they were stopping cars to collect funeral fees.

Such a claim was hard to make sense of. The passers-by, uninvolved in the accident, were extremely irritated, questioning why they should have to pay for something they didn’t do?

Yet the villagers had a valid point too, stating this road wasn’t meant for vehicles to use. Now with a deceased due to an accident, collecting road toll fees was the villagers’ only means of providing a proper burial.

Furthermore, the fee was substantial. The demands were strict: large vehicles were to pay fifty, smaller vehicles thirty, and mid-sized vehicles forty. They guaranteed fair prices with absolutely no bargaining!

However, as the vehicle crept forward, they acquired an understanding of why the road was becoming congested. If everyone been charged according to their size, they wouldn’t have encountered a traffic jam this bad. The problem was that some vehicles were being charged five for larger vehicles and two for smaller ones. Those who had paid this higher fee were dissatisfied, arguing that usual fees were generally one or a half.

Anyone travelling regularly knew that these prices were fairly normal. When vehicles tried to avoid toll stations, they often took a detour through the adjacent villages. As these routes crossed through numerous villages, each one wouldn’t charge too much. Otherwise, people would prefer to use the toll road directly!

Under today’s circumstances, it was evident that the villagers, aware of the accident on the main road and the ensuing influx, had temporarily increased prices.

The price increase was not the real issue. In actuality, those familiar with such incidents knew there was slyness involved. Should an actual fatality have occurred, they wouldn’t apply two different charging standards. The larger fee for larger vehicles and a smaller one for smaller vehicles were targeted specifically at non-local vehicles - those who occasionally passed by and were unaware of the alternate route to bypass the toll station. Being strangers and not wanting an extra hassle, they would rather pay an extra road charge than risk taking an unfamiliar detour.

For the village, today’s situation is quite unusual. After all, regular car accidents don’t usually block the entire road, do they?

With this in mind, it should be clear. The villagers collecting tolls today are planning to take advantage of this opportunity to make a hefty profit.

As for the ’dead’ person, those with sharp eyes have already noticed that the ’corpse’ covered with tattered bedsheets not only bulges occasionally, but its uncovered feet would twitch now and then.

It’s clear, but no one’s breaking the silence. Instead, they are haggled over the price. Some said they knew people in the nearby village, others claimed having relatives there, and some pleaded reasonably and so on. There was even someone who openly pointed out that he saw the ’dead’ person turn over, but because he ’understands the rules’, he’d still pay, hoping for a discount.

In short, as long as one could come up with a somewhat reasonable excuse that could persuade those blocking the road, they could pay less.

However, because of this, the road was getting more and more congested. Originally a narrow road now had to accommodate two-way traffic, and the toll collectors were wasting time. It’d be strange if it weren’t congested.

As their vehicle got closer to the toll collectors, Yan Fei and his group had a stronger premonition. It seemed like the hot-blooded young men in the vehicle ahead weren’t all ’rule-abiding’ citizens!

Unfortunately, everyone’s premonition was right on the money. When they were about to reach the car upfront, those young men indeed couldn’t help themselves and went to argue ’reasonably’!

Although the toll collectors happily collected money half the day, they had also been standing on the road, eating dust and having to chat for a while with every car. Inevitably, they got a little impatient. The young men were also brash in their speech so after a few words were exchanged, the quarrel was just about to escalate.

The two cars upfront which were bargaining also stopped, bluntly took out the money and left in a hurry. This left the enthusiastic young men behind, arguing with the toll collectors to no end.

In this car, Miss Xu Xiaoyan had been pulling Yan Fei, not letting him intervene. However, the bodyguard-driver was more cunning. He stepped forward and stopped the about-to-fight parties, taking out two hundred yuan, ready to make peace.

Seeing the driver take out two hundred yuan, even Xu Xiaoyan, who didn’t understand ’the rules’ much, knew that something might be wrong.

The driver’s move wasn’t wrong per se. To him, even spending more than two hundred yuan, be it two thousand or two hundred thousand, as long as it ensured his employer’s safety. Also, when he came back, his employer would surely reward him and not complain.

But the men upfront were already arguing just after exchanging a few words. He was offering two hundred yuan for two cars. Furthermore, the car Yan Fei was sitting in was from another province, so that group of people now refused to comply, "These guys held up our business for half a day, and now they only give two hundred. It’s too late now!"

This driver greatly underestimated the appetite of these bumpkins. His too swift resolution to give the money sparked their demand for more.

Those young men, who were quite enthusiastic and leading the way, were also not helping, "Bro, are you serious? You asked us for directions, and did we ever refuse? We waited for you at every intersection. Now we’re speaking up for everyone because those two cars aren’t here anymore. Yet you don’t support us, but rather embarrass us. Are you serious?"

The hot-blooded young men were upset because they stood up for everyone. Now, neither one side nor the other accepted them. The resentful bodyguard-driver was even more upset. In Hong Kong, anyone who served as a bodyguard for the Guo family had some weight. But now, he had to endure their insults instead.

However, remembering his duty, he could only swallow his anger, "So, how much do you gentlemen think is appropriate? I’ll pay!"

"Well then! You give us two thousand yuan!" said a middle-aged man from the side collecting tolls, staring at the driver.

"Deal!" The driver gritted his teeth, took out his wallet, and prepared to count the money.

"Uncle, what you’re saying isn’t reasonable. They just wanted to hit me a moment ago. Two thousand is not enough. We need at least five thousand. I need some compensation for my mental damage!" A young man from the toll collectors, upon seeing the driver’s wallet, immediately shouted.

Helpless, it wasn’t like the times when one could travel the world with just a credit card. To be prepared for any contingency, the driver carried more cash. It didn’t occur he would run into this trouble. The money was all together in his wallet; he didn’t think of splitting it up and hiding it.

The hot-blooded young men were immediately unhappy, "Are you extorting us outright? Taking advantage of your power? Just you wait..."

While saying this, one of them took an old-school mobile phone from the car, prepared to make a call.

One of the toll collectors lunged towards him, "What, are you calling people? Do you believe that we can make you lie here right now?"