A New Member of the Family

Two days later, at Jiuzhou Automobile Factory.

On an open lot, more than a dozen Jiuzhou Minis deftly passed one another along a course marked out by traffic cones, occasionally entering the parallel parking and reverse parking areas outlined in white paint.

Driving a Jiuzhou Mini, Zhong Dayou reversed neatly into the parking space at a perfect angle.

He got it in with one move!

After picking up the car yesterday, Zhong Dayou had taken two days off so he could learn to drive as quickly as possible.

For the past two days, he had arrived early every morning to practice. Even after the instructors got off work, he kept going until dusk, only stopping after completely draining the car's battery.

Perhaps because he had worked especially hard, or perhaps because an electric car's controls were similar to an automatic transmission and this car was quite compact, learning had been far easier than he had expected.

In just two days, he had become proficient at coordinating the accelerator and brake, and he could easily handle passing other trainees on the course.

He had also learned plenty about safe driving on the road from some of the older trainees.

Holding the steering wheel with one hand as he smoothly maneuvered around the lot, Zhong Dayou had gained a clear understanding of his own driving skills.

"Once I finish today, I should be good enough. I'll surprise my wife when I get home tonight!"

The day flew by. He ate lunch at the factory, and the eight-yuan boxed meal was a little expensive—not to mention nowhere near as good as Zhong Dayou's own cooking.

Still, those were minor matters. The important thing was that he had learned to drive!

That evening, the sun was setting.

At the entrance to Jiuzhou Automobile Factory.

"Drive carefully, yield to others, watch the road conditions, and come back to practice when you have time."

With the instructor's reminders in his ears, Zhong Dayou slowly drove the Jiuzhou Mini out of the factory and headed home.

He turned on the radio and tuned it to FM 98.8, listening to the mellow song drifting from the station.

"I still remember you saying goodbye, resolute as iron. In the darkness came the illusion of scorching sunlight on my body. The horizon at dusk drew a line of farewell, and love entered an eternal night..."

Streetlights lit up on both sides of the road. There were few cars and even fewer pedestrians, and he was in high spirits.

The driving experience was fundamentally different from riding a two-wheeled electric bike through sun and wind. Zhong Dayou had already fallen in love with driving this little Jiuzhou Mini!

He followed the familiar road out of the city, drove another few kilometers, and spotted his familiar home by the roadside.

The lights outside were bright. His daughter was playing with the dog in the yard, while his wife stood beneath the light, looking toward the road and waiting for her husband to return.

He was home!

He drove straight into the small yard. The dog began barking wildly, and under the puzzled gazes of his daughter and wife, Zhong Dayou stepped out of the car.

"Wife, I'm back!" Zhong Dayou said with a broad smile as he opened the door.

Seeing its owner, the dog finally quieted down.

At first glance, his wife looked at the attractive little car. "Mm, what is this?"

"A new car!"

"But you don't have a driver's license." They had considered buying a car before, but had put it aside because Zhong Dayou did not have a license.

Facing his wife's confusion, Zhong Dayou explained, "It's a low-speed electric vehicle. You can drive it without a license. Come on, get in and have a look. Let me tell you about it."

Their daughter, who had been playing in the yard, was also extremely curious about the new car. "Daddy, Daddy, I want to ride in the car!"

"Okay, Niuniu, get in. From now on, Daddy will drive you to school in this car. You won't have to freeze in winter anymore."

Under the lights, the family got into the car. His wife and daughter curiously touched this and examined that.

"It feels pretty nice!"

Zhong Dayou smiled. "We can visit your parents' house more often during holidays from now on. And you can drive this car too, since it doesn't require a license. You can use it to go grocery shopping or take the child to school.

"In a couple of days, I'll take you to the practice lot to learn. It's really easy."

"With the New Year coming up, having a car will make it easier to haul things around.

"Whenever it rains or the weather turns cold in winter, riding a bike is always such a hassle—especially for you and the child. I don't want you getting rained on, baked by the sun, or blasted by cold winds in winter.

"And charging it in our yard is really convenient. We just need to run a power strip outside. We can fully charge it every night."

After looking over the interior for a long while, his wife finally asked, "The car's nice. How much did it cost?"

"Not much. It was only twenty-nine thousand yuan. It has a range of one hundred and fifty kilometers, it's made with automotive manufacturing processes, and the factory even teaches us how to drive," Zhong Dayou said carefully.

His wife let out a breath of relief. "That's not bad, then."

When they had planned to buy a car before, they had budgeted around a hundred thousand yuan for a Joint Venture car. This one had saved them tens of thousands, though they still did not know exactly how its quality would hold up.

His wife was not angry, and his daughter happily clung to the back seat. The family had officially added a major new item that could improve their lives!

After sitting in the car for quite a while, Zhong Dayou and his wife finally led their reluctant daughter inside to eat dinner.

"Daddy, Daddy, I want to sit in the car! I don't want to eat!" Their six-and-a-half-year-old daughter refused to get out.

"Be good and eat. After dinner, Daddy will take you two for a drive!" Zhong Dayou coaxed her, patting her head.

"Really?" The little girl's eyes immediately lit up.

"Really. Let's pinky swear. Daddy won't lie to you!"

Holding his wife and daughter's hands, he went back inside for dinner.

His wife had already prepared the food. They had only been waiting for Zhong Dayou to return before eating.

Their daughter was exceptionally obedient at dinner that day. She wolfed down her food, quickly set down her bowl, and said, "Daddy, I'm done!"

"There are still grains of rice in your bowl. If you don't finish them, your face will get pockmarked!" his wife scared her.

"Wait for us. Daddy and Mommy haven't finished eating yet," Zhong Dayou said helplessly.

"Okay."

After dinner, the family eagerly got back into the car.

The Jiuzhou Mini's headlights came on, illuminating the road ahead.

With his wife and daughter aboard, Zhong Dayou carefully drove onto the road and headed toward the city.

From the back seat, his daughter looked at the familiar road outside the window. "Wow, we're going into town! I want to buy something at the little shop!"

"Okay, okay, we'll go buy something. We're going to the supermarket!" Zhong Dayou decided on their destination.

After more than ten minutes, the Jiuzhou Mini drove into town and stopped on the road in front of a familiar supermarket at the edge of the city.

The family got out, and Zhong Dayou held his wife and daughter's hands as they entered the supermarket together to shop.

After browsing for quite a while, they bought rice, flour, cooking oil, and other household necessities, as well as the snacks and potato chips their daughter liked.

They put two large bags full of goods on the back seat. Zhong Dayou started the car and drove his wife and daughter home.

In the back seat, his daughter ate snacks and said to the adults, "Daddy, cars are so convenient! Can we ride here to buy things at the supermarket every day from now on? It isn't cold in the car either."