By Yang Li

One day, I had to go to a place more than 20 kilometers away for business, so I called a taxi with a smartphone app. The driver was a young man. As soon as I got in his car, I found him sullen-faced. He seemed very reluctant to make this trip.

Sure enough, when I was looking for something to chat about, he said with a poker face that it was not a good deal to take this order because the total fare was merely 40 yuan, and after deducting the commission from the platform company, there would be just some 30 yuan left, and the commute home could leave him empty-handed. If the taxi ran on natural gas, it would barely be enough, but if it used gasoline, it couldn't be costefficient.

On hearing this, I closed my lips and my heart tightened. I had been in a good mood, seeing the sun shining outside the window. I had wanted to finish my business trip in a good mood, but now my cheer was gone. Yes, it was not much to drive more than 20 kilometers back and forth for 30 yuan, but the price hadn't been fixed by me, and he had been willing to take the order. Now he complained, as if I owed him something. Sitting in the taxi, I was in trepidation, wondering whether I should give him a subsidy of 10 yuan.

The taxi finally arrived at its destination. For the first time, the young man asked me in a pleading tone to give him five stars online. I didn't have the heart to refuse him, so I did everything I could.

When I finished my business, I took a taxi back. This time, I was picked up by a driver about 50 years old. As soon as I got on, the driver enumerated all kinds of delicacies and interesting things where I lived in a kind and easygoing manner, which immediately broke the ice between us.

I learned that the old driver once worked in a large stateowned enterprise. In the past few years, when the enterprise was slumping, he received more than 100,000 yuan as compensation and left. I said he'd suffered a loss, but he said he hadn't because he'd received the money, had bought a taxi to drive for Didi, China's largest ride-hailing platform, and is now living more comfortably than before. Besides, it is quite normal for enterprises to ebb and flow. In 1985 when his father earned more than 200 yuan a month in the factory, he was extremely envied by those in the neighborhood. Later, he took over his father's post to enter the factory, where he spent nearly 20 years of good life. Nowadays, priority will be given to advanced technology in enterprises which emphasize production capacity. Those who fall behind the times will be eliminated. Luckily, in a few years he would be able to retire on a pension, and he would live a carefree and happy life.

The past life experiences, told so optimistically by the old driver, suddenly dawned on me. Yes, we are bound to go through ups and downs in our life, but the different moods we have at each stage determine the quality of our lives.

At this moment, I couldn't help asking whether it paid when he only earned about 30 yuan a trip. The driver smiled at me, saying that it was much better than stopping. As long as he kept moving, things would be fine. In addition, there could possibly be passengers on his way back, so he would likely reap something.

When we arrived and the driver drove away, I delivered a heartfelt five-star rating online to him. The same distance and different life experiences compose the different understandings and tolerances of the world, which distinctively demonstrate our mental horizons.

(From Leshan Daily, January 13, 2019. Translation: Qing Run)

心境有别

文/杨力

那天我到20多公里外一个地方办事，用手机软件打了一辆车。司机是个小伙子，我一坐上车就见他黑着脸，似乎极不情愿跑这一趟。果不其然，当我寻找话题聊天时，小伙子面无表情地说，接这一单太不划算，车费总共才40多元，去掉平台公司的抽成，只剩30多元，回程还要跑空车，如果车烧气还勉强，烧油就亏大了。

我一听，赶紧把到嘴边的话收了回去，内心也倏地紧了一下。我本来心情还不错，车窗外阳光正好，我也想怀着这份美好的心情去把事情办完，但现在全被破坏了。不错，30多元跑20多公里的来回确实不多，可价格不是我定的，接单也是他自愿的，现在反过来抱怨，就像我欠了他什么。这一路坐得我是诚惶诚恐，一直在思量是不是给他补贴10元。

车子终于到目的地了，小伙子第一次用请求的语气对我说，希望为他点赞，打五颗星的好评。我不忍拒绝，对这个自认为亏了钱的小伙子的要求一一照办。

我办完事，照例要打车回去。这次来接我的是个50岁左右的老师傅，一坐上车，老师傅就如数家珍地列举我居住地种种好吃的、好玩的，十分亲切随和，一下就拉近了我们之间的距离。

再一问，老师傅曾在一家大型企业工作，前几年企业不景气，他拿了10多万元补偿款就退了出来。我说他亏了，他却说不亏啊，他拿了这笔钱，买了车跑“滴滴”，日子比原来过得还自在。再说，企业有起有落很正常，1985年，他父亲的工资加奖金一个月有200多元，羡煞多少拿死工资的人。后来他顶班进厂，也过了近20年的辉煌日子。到了今天，拼产能的企业更要讲科学，不适应时代的东西自然被淘汰。再过几年他就可以拿退休工资了，日子平平顺顺。

很多人当成苦难的经历被老师傅如此乐观地讲述，让坐在车里的我豁然开朗。是的，人生势必会经历大大小小的起起落落，但是每个阶段用什么样的心境去面对，结果截然不同。

想到这儿我不禁多嘴，说跑一趟只挣30多元会不会亏。老师傅笑着说，只要车子在动，就总比停着好，再说打车回那边的客人也不少，亏不了。

到达后，老师傅开车离开时，我的手指自然而然停留在五星好评那儿。同样的一段距离，不同的人生阅历，表现出的是对世事不同的理解和包容度，这就是心境的距离。

（摘自《乐山日报》2019年1月13日）