After Uncle Bao got up and saw that Zhao Huaian hadn’t left, he didn’t say much. He simply stood up and led the young man to the vehicle yard. As for eating, he would go to the canteen after sending this kid off—it wouldn’t delay anything.
Frankly, he didn’t think Zhao Huaian had any chance of truly mastering driving in one try.
“Go earlier. There aren’t many people at the yard,” Uncle Bao reminded him one last time. “And I’ll tell you this—fifty cents can buy you a lot of food. Think carefully.”
If he was determined, then so be it—he wouldn’t stop him.
But Zhao Huaian looked extremely confident, so Uncle Bao didn’t say anything more.
Old Wang, who was in charge of the yard, was an old acquaintance of Uncle Bao. When Uncle Bao arrived, Old Wang was just coming back from the canteen with his lunchbox.
“Oh? Why are you here so early today? Didn’t go eat?” he asked.
“Sigh, I’ve got another one of those kids who think they can learn everything in one go,” Uncle Bao said. “I’ll take him for a spin first, then go eat later. It won’t delay anything.”
Old Wang glanced at Zhao Huaian from head to toe and said nothing. These young people nowadays—trying everything they could to avoid going down to the countryside or secure a job—they really were pulling out all sorts of tricks.
“Alright, come in. Register here and pay fifty cents,” he said.
That was the established rule. In theory, fifty cents could buy five or six liters of fuel—but that was only ideal. Most of the time, even if you had money, you still couldn’t get fuel.
The transport company didn’t lack people trying to learn how to drive; it lacked people who could actually drive. For beginners who had never touched a vehicle, no experienced driver was willing to take them on unless there were special circumstances—not only did practice waste fuel, but it also risked damaging the vehicle.
Within five minutes, the paperwork was completed. Uncle Bao took Zhao Huaian to a truck. Even though he didn’t think Zhao Huaian would pass, he still taught him seriously—mainly out of respect for the meal from last night.
Zhao Huaian actually understood that most of these trucks were old manual vehicles without synchronized gearboxes. Even shifting gears required strength and skill, and turning also required physical effort and technique.
Thanks to his extensive manual driving experience, he only needed to focus on adapting to the older driving methods. And since the roads at this time were not paved asphalt highways—many were uneven dirt roads or mountain paths—extra caution was needed during turns.
Uncle Bao explained a lot. Zhao Huaian quickly memorized the key differences and techniques. Half an hour passed in a flash. When he got out of the truck, he rubbed his head. No wonder Sun Daqiang failed—the uncle talked so much that anyone who had never driven before would get completely confused.
Soon after the half hour ended, more people arrived. They had already heard what was going on from Old Wang and gathered under the corridor to watch the show.
But very quickly, their expressions changed.
“Huh? Has this kid really never touched a car before? He’s pretty talented.”
Even Uncle Bao, sitting in the passenger seat, watched his operations carefully. The clutch control and gear shifting were smooth and coordinated. The only weakness was turning—he still needed more practice.
After a full lap around the yard, once the engine stopped, Uncle Bao looked at him with surprise. If he hadn’t watched this kid grow up, he would’ve thought he had already learned elsewhere. It really seemed like driving was something heavily dependent on talent.
“I remember the apprentices we took in earlier weren’t this skilled even after a long time,” someone nearby muttered.
“They’re really slow learners. I don’t even know how they got in. I used to think I wasn’t teaching well—but now I see, some people just aren’t meant for this job. Waste of fuel.”
Another man said this while taking a deep drag of his cigarette. Once the leaders arrived, he planned to report the issue—if necessary, those trainees should just be sent back instead of wasting everyone’s time.
As for the newcomer, almost everyone believed he would be kept. Someone who learns this quickly could probably master the basics in a day or two and then go out on the road with experienced drivers. The transport company was badly short-staffed anyway.
After getting out of the truck, Uncle Bao patted Zhao Huaian on the shoulder.
“If you’re not hungry, wait a bit. Don’t go eat yet. When the leaders come and everyone’s talking about you, we’ll see if you can stay.”
He paused.
“Don’t get cocky. Driving is only the first step. The important part is repairing vehicles.”
Back then, trucks were old and broke down easily. If a vehicle stalled on the road, you had to know how to fix it.
Zhao Huaian nodded. He understood.
He wasn’t in a hurry to eat anyway. If the job was secured, why worry about food?
After the leaders arrived, Uncle Bao recommended him. With so many witnesses, it didn’t seem like a lie, though the proper procedures still had to be followed.
After another look at his smooth driving, the leader nodded.
“Alright. I’ll write you a note. Take your documents and go to HR to complete onboarding. Come back to the yard this afternoon—I’ll assign you a mechanic to teach you repairs.”
“Got it, thank you, sir.”
With the job confirmed, a heavy burden finally lifted from Zhao Huaian’s heart.
However, the yard manager, Director Cui, also took a look. Since several apprentices had been training for a while, he decided it was time to evaluate them too—if they weren’t good enough, they’d be dismissed. No point wasting resources.
Before leaving, Zhao Huaian suddenly remembered to check the system. He wondered what he could get from a check-in here.
System notification: Congratulations, you have obtained the book Complete Guide to 1970s Vehicles.
From a brief system explanation, he learned that the book contained all information about vehicles of this era, including driving techniques and maintenance knowledge. It was essentially a “cheat item.”
Excited, Zhao Huaian left the yard.
He vaguely heard talk about apprentice evaluations behind him—but he didn’t pay attention. He also didn’t realize that those who might be eliminated had already begun directing resentment toward him.
After all, because he stood out today, the leaders and masters had decided to evaluate everyone earlier.
But even if he knew, what could he do?
He simply shrugged.
Competition was always this intense. And even without him—if the assessment had come later—could those people really guarantee they wouldn’t be eliminated anyway?