That day, Wang Xiaoliang did not go straight to the wholesale market. He deliberately got up half an hour early.
He was going to pick up Li Le at school.
When he reached the agreed meeting spot, Li Le appeared beside his van, yawning.
Wang Xiaoliang got out and walked around to the passenger side.
"You drive."
"Boss, you want me to drive?"
"Obviously. Didn't you say you'd done long-haul driving? Let's see how good you are." As he spoke, Wang Xiaoliang opened the passenger door and climbed in.
Li Le grinned and did not stand on ceremony. He deftly got in, started the engine, shifted into gear, released the handbrake, and pulled away. The whole sequence flowed smoothly, and the van rolled steadily onto the road.
Li Le seemed excited all the way, driving both fast and steadily.
At the wholesale market, dozens of trucks of all sizes were packed together, making the roads tricky to navigate. He threaded the van through them with ease, handling it even more deftly than Wang Xiaoliang himself.
"Not bad, kid!" Wang Xiaoliang could not help praising him.
Li Le grinned, looking rather pleased with himself. "When you're used to driving the big rigs, a little van like this is just a toy."
Wang Xiaoliang felt even more reassured.
Over the next few hours, he took Li Le around to all his regular wholesalers. At every stop, he introduced Li Le to the owner.
"This is Li Le, a young fellow who works at my store. If I'm busy in the future, I'll send him over to collect the goods."
Wang Xiaoliang worked it out in his head: after taking him along a few more times so he knew the process and the people, he could free himself up completely. Then he could