In the garage of my home, which can be called a “fantasy museum of transportation tools”, there once lived a “legendary oddity” — a fuel-powered five-wheeled self-unloading semi-enclosed cargo truck. It was by no means produced by a renowned and prestigious factory. Instead, my father discovered this “rare treasure” in the corner of the second-hand car market, which was like a “mysterious labyrinth”, just as if he were exploring a lost ancient city. When it first drove into our home in a grand manner, the scene was as if a mechanical behemoth had rushed out from a science fiction movie, exuding a unique aura that made people both laugh and marvel.

The appearance of this truck is simply the ultimate embodiment of the “creative mix-and-match style”. The body of the truck looks as if it has been wantonly fiddled with by a group of little giants who have just learned how to build with blocks, and it is pieced together in a crooked way. The semi-enclosed cockpit is exactly like a shabby helmet that has been tossed around by naughty children and has long been deformed. Whenever it rains, this place instantly turns into a copy of the “Water Curtain Cave”. The raindrops, like mischievous little sprites, joyfully pour in through the cracks from all directions and quickly gather into “miniature lakes” on the driver’s seat. Every time I sit in it, I feel that I’m not driving a truck, but rather piloting a “leaking pirate ship” that is about to fall apart. Once, during a torrential rainstorm, as soon as I stepped into the cockpit, the roof started to “play” a ticking symphony. Soon, my buttocks had a complete “intimate contact” with the seat. I helplessly teased my father, saying, “Dad, does this truck think it’s a camel in the desert and urgently needs to replenish water, so it’s giving itself an artificial rainfall?”

Those five wheels are even more “full of personality”. I don’t know where my father collected these “treasures”. They are all different in size and pattern. When the truck is moving, they start to “show their unique abilities”, and the sounds they make are simply a “chaotic chorus”. Some wheels protest with a “creak creak” sound, as if complaining about the long journey; some hum with a “gurgle gurgle” sound, as if entertaining themselves. Once, when we were driving past a bustling market, a street juggler heard this sound. Suddenly, he had a brainwave and asked his assistant to play the clapperboard in rhythm with the wheels. For a moment, the truck and the juggling performance echoed each other, attracting passers-by to stop and watch. My father and I were sitting in the car, laughing so hard that we almost couldn’t hold the steering wheel steady.

When it comes to its self-unloading function, it’s really a “crazy farce” that makes people laugh and cry. Once, my father hauled a full truckload of bricks to a construction site. After arriving at the destination, my father confidently pressed the unloading button, expecting that the truck bed would rise gracefully to complete the unloading task. But who would have thought that this “eccentric truck” instantly activated the “crazy mode”. The truck bed first shook violently like a crazy bull, and then made a deafening “creak” sound that could shake the birds off the branches. Then, like a drunken brute, it rose slowly and crookedly. Just when the truck bed had risen halfway, there was a loud “bang”, and it actually got stuck firmly. Half of the bricks spilled onto the ground with a clatter, and the other half stubbornly remained in the truck bed. My father was so anxious that he was sweating profusely. He patted and coaxed the truck beside it, muttering to himself, “My little ancestor, why are you throwing a tantrum today? Please work properly!” The surrounding construction workers all gathered around, helping to clean up the mess and joking, “Does this truck of yours think that life on the construction site is too boring and wants to perform an acrobatic show to liven things up?”

When I was a child, every time I went out with my father in this truck, it was like starting an extremely exciting adventure. Once, we were going to deliver goods to a small village deep in the mountains. The mountain road was rugged and winding, and the truck was like a crazily bouncing spring when driving on it. I was sitting in the passenger seat, sometimes being jolted so hard that my head almost hit the roof, and sometimes being thrown back onto the seat heavily. I felt as if my bones were about to fall apart. Suddenly, the truck made a sharp turn. Without any warning, I was like an out-of-control cannonball, flying out of the seat and falling headlong to the bottom of the truck. When I climbed up in a sorry state, my hair was as messy as an electrified bird’s nest. My father looked at my狼狈 appearance and laughed until tears came out. I also burst into laughter, and our hearty laughter echoed in the valley for a long time.

Another time, when we stopped to take a break, a stray cat actually sneaked into the truck bed while we weren’t paying attention. When we started driving again, we discovered this “unexpected guest”. It was meowing in fear in the truck bed, jumping up and down with the jolting of the truck, just like performing a wonderful circus show. My father and I quickly found a place to park and it took us a great deal of effort to coax out this frightened little cat. The scene was chaotic yet interesting.

As the years went by, this eccentric truck gradually couldn’t keep up with the pace of the times and broke down frequently. Although my father took great care of it and “treated its illnesses and injuries” frequently, in the end, he had to reluctantly send it to the scrap recycling station. Although it has gone, those days filled with joy, surprises, and unexpected events that we spent with it have long been deeply engraved in our memories. Maybe one day, in a dream full of fantasy, I can once again jump into that familiar driver’s seat and embark on a brand new, crazy adventure full of unknown fun with it.