Chapter 251: Xiao Wu’s Secret

Mu Jingzhe took a look, and her face was filled with suspicion. He had brought the wrong book, hadn’t he?

Shao Qihai handed the book to Mu Jingzhe. Mu Jingzhe glanced at the cover and heaved a sigh of relief when she saw the words ‘Principles Behind the Engine’ on it. “You brought the wrong one. I want to take the test for a driver’s license, not qualify as a car repair technician. Why are you giving me this? Or do you guys need to learn this in the army when you take the test?”

Shao Qihai didn’t take the book back. Instead, he placed it in her hand. “I didn’t bring the wrong book. We’re not the only ones who need to learn this. You need to as well.”

“I just want to get a driver’s license and I need to learn this too?” Mu Jingzhe looked at the thick book in her hand with a suspicious expression.

“Mm, you do. No matter where you ask, unless something goes wrong, you’ll have to learn this first. You can read it.”

Mu Jingzhe felt its weight and forced a smile. “You’re pranking me, right?”

“No, I’m really not lying to you. To get a driver’s license, you have to learn about these skills first. Only after learning this can you continue learning how to drive.”

Mu Jingzhe was stunned. “No way!”

“Way.” Shao Qihai nodded. “I asked about this when I hired a driver previously. That’s how it goes. You can start learning for now.”

Mu Jingzhe opened the book and took a few glances before closing it again. “I think it might not be necessary. I’ll ask around tomorrow.”

Shao Qihai wanted to say something but shut his mouth again.

In the end, the result of Mu Jingzhe’s inquiry the next day was exactly what Shao Qihai had said. She had to study that thick book before she could learn the stuff modern-day drivers learned when getting their license. Besides, there were many restrictive conditions.

In modern times, it was always said that it was getting harder and harder to get a driver’s license. However, now that she was studying a book, Mu Jingzhe realized that getting a driver’s license in modern times was much more blissful. At least, it was way more blissful than in this era. This was the true definition of difficult.

In the modern era, one could apply for a driver’s license by learning some theoretical knowledge and taking a test. However, it was even harder now. Firstly, it was difficult to register. Many people had to apply under their companies’ names. Secondly, the lesson fees were expensive. Mu Jingzhe casually asked about it and found out that the lesson fees for driving a truck cost more than 1,000 yuan and very close to 2,000 yuan.

This sum was different from 2,000 yuan in the modern era. 2,000 yuan in that era was the equivalent of 20,000 yuan in modern times. Therefore, the amount of money required was really not a joke. How long would it take for a family to save up this much money? Furthermore, it would take a person a year to study.

Though Mu Jingzhe wasn’t looking to get a truck license, it wasn’t easy to get a driver’s license for a car either. This was because in this era, drivers weren’t like everyone in the modern era who knew how to drive. Driving was considered a technical skill. It wasn’t enough for one to only know how to drive; one also had to know how to repair and maintain a car.

That’s right. In that era, a driving license was tied to a car repairman’s license, so if one wanted to get a driver’s license, they had to choose to learn how to repair a car and maintain it. After Mu Jingzhe asked around, she went home and broke down when she saw the book Shao Qihai had given her.

“I just wanted to get a license… Why is it so hard?”

Mu Jingzhe’s plan to get a driver’s license within a month had been suspended since Shao Qihai had brought over that thick book.

Mu Jingzhe asked why this was the case. Couldn’t they just find a professional that handled car maintenance and repairs? The other party gave her an answer, and Mu Jingzhe understood after hearing the explanation.

At the end of the day, this was determined by the characteristics of this era. Why didn’t the modern era require this? Because modern cars weren’t as problematic. However, things were different now. The technology of the vehicles’ production was poor, and many of the production processes and quality standards were inferior to those of the modern era. The quality couldn’t be compared either. Basically, many of the worst cars of the future were better than the cars of this era.

A lot of cars would experience problems from time to time. Under the circumstances, the drivers had to have some maintenance and repairing knowledge. Otherwise, if one only knew how to drive, they would be helpless if something went wrong on the way.

Mu Jingzhe had driven Tang Moling’s car last time, and that was the best car she had ever driven. That was why she’d had no problem driving it. However, how many ordinary folks could afford to own such a good car?

Mu Jingzhe thought about it carefully. Shao Qihai’s car was often cleaned up by Shao Qihai himself. She had thought that it was because it was an old car and he simply enjoyed doing it. Now, it seemed that it was necessary, and he was really required to do all sorts of maintenance in order for the vehicle to function normally.

No wonder Ji Buwang’s car was worn from usage.

She could only dismiss the thought of getting a driver’s license in a month. She still had to take the exam, but as for when she would eventually do it… that could be discussed at a later date.

Under these conditions, after she mastered this skill, if she had the chance to transmigrate back to modern times in the future, she might even be able to open a car maintenance shop or something.

The children knew Mu Jingzhe was having trouble learning to drive. When they saw her vexed look, their hearts ached. They wanted to tell her to perhaps give up learning, but after looking at each other, they ultimately didn’t say anything like that.

They had long agreed to buy a car for Mommy. She had to learn how to drive it.

It would be good if they could learn, as their mother wouldn’t have to drive the car herself anymore. The problem was that even if they did learn, they still wouldn’t be old enough. Even the oldest, Shao Dong and Shao Xi, would have to wait ten years before they could learn. Therefore, they could only let their mother work hard and learn first.

From then on, Mu Jingzhe had another mission: She would take the test for a driver’s license and study auto mechanic maintenance. Apart from that, she also had to observe Xiao Wu.

When Xiao Wu heard that Mu Jingzhe was learning how to drive, he seemed to be even more conflicted, as he also remembered their agreement. In fact, he had even been thinking of earning more money to buy another car for Mommy after the five of them pooled in enough money to buy a car for her.

But now, he had lost the ability to compose tunes that people liked. He was also very young and couldn’t even carry a sack, so how could he earn money?

Xiao Wu now had a habit of furrowing his little brows, and Mu Jingzhe even found out that he had been secretly running out.

Mu Jingzhe had been looking at Xiao Wu the entire time, trying to figure out what he was really thinking. However, she didn’t manage to get anything out of him. When he went out, Mu Jingzhe secretly followed him, wanting to see what he was doing.

As Mu Jingzhe watched Xiao Wu slowly walk to the back of the mountain, where there was no one, countless guesses flashed across her mind, including the possibility that Xiao Wu was being threatened by someone. Unexpectedly, Xiao Wu only found a tree hole and entered it before starting to drum.

Mu Jingzhe: “???”

There were many trees near the village. In some cities, those were scenic spots, but here, they were very common. Human or natural tree holes were formed, both big and small, and they were a paradise for children to play in.

Xiao Wu still liked to crawl into small holes. Previously, it used to be the haystack. Now, it was the tree hole. However, had he avoided the gazes of the two adults and his four older siblings with such difficulty in order to come here to drum?

Hadn’t he said that he didn’t want to touch musical instruments anymore? Besides, hadn’t he thrown away the drum?

Two days ago, in order to cheer up the listless Xiao Wu and motivate him to learn music again, Shao Qihai had asked someone to bring back a drum. This time, it wasn’t a small drum, but a big one. Although it wasn’t very big, it was said that it was custom made. The sound it made was completely different from the sound of the previous small drum. Every beat seemed to knock on one’s heart.

Shao Qihai had even brought him a flute with a special tone. In the end, Xiao Wu had said that he simply didn’t want to learn anymore. In order to express his determination, he’d even thrown out the drum and the flute.

Mu Jingzhe and the rest hadn’t dared pick them up. So, it turned out that Xiao Wu had already picked the drum up and hidden it here?