Picking Up the Car Before the New Year! (Seeking Follow-up Reads)

"Okay, then tomorrow morning, at the Jiuzhou Automobile Factory grounds."

"I'll bring my parents to pick up the car, and we can practice driving together."

"Alright, it's settled then."

After hanging up the phone with Jiuzhou Automobile Sales, a smile spread across Wu Xiaozhong's face.

There were still a few days left until Chinese New Year. He had originally thought the toy he ordered for his parents wouldn't arrive until after the holiday.

He hadn't expected the factory called Jiuzhou Automobile to finish production early and notify him to pick it up.

"That would be for the best!"

Returning from the balcony, Wu Xiaozhong loudly announced to his family, who were preparing dinner.

"Dad, Mom, let's go out together tomorrow. I'll take you to Jiangzhou City next door to play, and we can buy some New Year's goods."

Hearing the news, his mother, wearing an apron and cooking in the kitchen, poked her head out. "We don't lack anything at home, why spend money? And why are we going to the neighboring city?"

Wu Xiaozhong replied, "They have local specialties there! I found someone to get some good stuff. I'll get some good wine for Dad. I also noticed the New Year's goods in the fridge aren't plentiful, so we'll replenish them."

His father, who was helping to peel potatoes, was also very curious. "What specialties? Jiangzhou City doesn't seem to have anything famous."

Wu Xiaozhong smiled. Gifts needed to maintain an element of mystery for maximum surprise. "This will be a secret for now. You'll know when we get there tomorrow."

His father chuckled, "You child, you've grown up and don't listen anymore, have you?"

His mother poked her head out of the kitchen again and nagged, "Never mind gifts. Getting married is the real priority. Look at Liu Ayi's son downstairs, he got married and had a baby at twenty-two."

"You're almost thirty, and you're not in a hurry to get married, but we're anxious to hold our grandchild."

Wu Xiaozhong sighed helplessly, "I'm only twenty-six! And this lousy building, we're moving next year, to a villa!"

"Hey, instead of reflecting on yourself, you're complaining about our building now."

Seeing his mother about to get angry, Wu Xiaozhong conceded defeat and quickly said, "No, no, no, I'll work on it, I'll work on it."

Seeing her child back down, his mother pressed her advantage. "Your parents are living proof. If you marry too late, by the time you have kids, we'll be old."

"While we're still able to help, you should get married and have kids early, and we can help you look after them..."

His parents were good people, but their nagging about marriage intensified as he got older.

However, based on Wu Xiaozhong's experience, the nagging was most intense for the first few days after he returned home, sometimes even involving arranged blind dates. After a while, they'd give up if they couldn't convince him.

Yeah, all he needed to do was remain steadfast.

This ordinary family scene, though sometimes annoying, was a rare moment of warmth for Wu Xiaozhong, who worked away from home for most of the year.

The next morning, driving his Passat, Wu Xiaozhong and his parents set off for Jiangzhou City.

From '08 to '23, there was a 15-year gap.

It didn't seem like a long time. Computers and the internet existed, and many familiar online games were already available.

But smartphones weren't common yet, homes didn't have Wi-Fi, and cars lacked convenient smart infotainment systems, let alone navigation.

After asking for directions twice along the way, Wu Xiaozhong finally found the Jiuzhou Automobile Factory located in the Chengnan Industrial Park.

After greeting the security guard at the entrance, he followed the instructions and drove into the factory grounds, heading towards a cleared area next to the factory buildings.

Soon, a large open space on the left came into view, filled with rows of brand-new Jiuzhou Mini cars. Several sales representatives in formal attire stood nearby.

On the right, there was another open space where numerous Jiuzhou Minis were slowly driving under the guidance of instructors on a simulated driving test course.

The course was built to standard car testing specifications. Generally, tasks like parallel parking and reversing into a bay were simple, but with dozens of cars, the area seemed a bit small, and the Jiuzhou Minis often had to yield to each other!

Jiuzhou Minis were lining up to reverse into parking spots!

A large group of elderly people were attentively listening to a coach in his thirties!

The Passat was parked in an open area when a sales representative quickly jogged over. After Wu Xiaozhong turned off the engine and got out, the representative approached him.

"Hello, are you here to pick up a car?"

Wu Xiaozhong nodded. "Yes."

The young salesman smiled. "Could you please provide your car purchase invoice?"

Wu Xiaozhong took out the invoice he received after payment from his wallet and handed it over.

During his conversation with the salesman, Wu Xiaozhong's parents opened their doors and got out of the passenger and back seats.

"Where... where are we?" his mother asked, still a bit confused by the scene before her.

His father understood more. He said to his wife, "Jiuzhou Mini. We've been seeing them around the city a lot lately."

After the invoice was verified, Wu Xiaozhong glanced at his parents, who had already gotten out of the car, and chimed in, "Hehe, this is the gift I told you about. How is it? Happy?!"

His mother gave him a stern look. "You brat, wouldn't it be better to save that money to get married? You just spend money carelessly."

Despite her words, her eyes showed joy as she looked at the rows of cars parked in the lot.

"Having a motorcycle is enough for us," his father said, his voice a little low.

Wu Xiaozhong laughed. "That won't do. Riding a motorcycle exposes you to the wind and sun, it's cold in winter and hot in summer, and it's not safe, like 'meat wrapped in iron'. Having this car is much more convenient."

"Even the highest trim level only costs a little over thirty thousand yuan, and it even has airbags. Compared to riding a motorcycle, I'll feel much more at ease with you driving this car."

"I've already ordered the car. It was so hard to get, and it'll look so good when I drive it around. I see so many families in the city have them."

Dad hesitated, "Old Li's family also bought this car. I've ridden in it a few times, and it's really good. Since you've already ordered it, let's take a look."

Seeing this, Mom knew exactly what her husband was thinking. He was clearly tempted!

She didn't object much further, "Let's look first."

Speaking of which, these rows of little cars parked together look quite nice!

Soon, led by the salesperson, the group approached the area where dozens of cars were parked.

The salesperson went to confirm the specific car order information, asking them to wait a moment.

Wu Xiaozhong, along with his dad and mom, went to examine the car up close.

The family gathered around a small white car, scrutinizing it carefully.

"It's pretty!" "It's got a boxy shape, looks pretty good," Mom commented after looking it over.

Dad was much more familiar with this car. He excitedly said to his wife, "It's a bit small, but it's enough for everyday driving. The most important thing is that you don't need a driver's license."

Wu Xiaozhong chimed in, "Yeah, that's one of the main features of this type of car. If no license is needed, both Mom and Dad can drive it."

Mom showed a flicker of interest, "I can drive it too?"

Wu Xiaozhong hesitated for a moment, then said, "But I think Dad should drive it first. Once Mom gets more familiar with it later, she can start driving."

"I drove Old Li's car once, there shouldn't be any problem. I'll drive it a lot at first, then I'll take you for a spin so you can get familiar with it too," Dad said with a smile.

After all, he had been a driver for over twenty years. Although there were differences between motorcycles and new energy vehicles.

It wasn't as complicated to get started as a manual transmission car. New energy vehicles were much simpler, and his motorcycle experience was still somewhat useful!

There will be another update tonight.

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