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He walked ahead, and He Lin followed excitedly.

He Fei hesitated for a moment, then followed quietly.

Although I felt a little uneasy—such an expensive car, it must cost a lot in gas for one trip, and I would owe a huge favor—for some reason, I also felt a secret joy.

Even my steps became much lighter without me realizing it.

Downstairs, there were fewer onlookers than before, but a few people were still chatting idly, after all, this was the most expensive and impressive car in the entire community.

Chen Zhiyuan greeted his neighbors with a smile, opened the driver's side door and got in, then waved to the two sisters: "Get in, don't be shy."

He skillfully started the engine and turned on the air conditioning.

Although parked under the shade of trees, the "autumn tiger" heat of mid-August still felt scorching. The car was initially filled with a noticeable heat wave, but after a while, a cool breeze quickly spread throughout the interior.

The car drove smoothly out of the residential area.

He Fei remained relatively restrained, though her eyes revealed a sense of novelty; He Lin, however, couldn't hide her excitement at all, touching and looking at everything like a country bumpkin visiting the Grand View Garden.

She kept asking questions, full of curiosity about everything in the car. Chen Zhiyuan answered them patiently while driving, a smile always on his face.

Outside the window, the sunlight was blazing and the air was thick with heat; but inside the car, it was cool, pleasant, and comfortable.

Chen Zhiyuan had only picked up the car that morning and hadn't really driven it much. Once he got on the open road, he couldn't help but pick up speed, and the engine sounded smooth and powerful.

Feeling the speed of the car, He Lin excitedly exclaimed, "Wow—so fast! So exhilarating!"

Seeing her sister like this, He Fei smiled, her mood like a gentle breeze rippling across a lake.

A moment later, the car drove out of the city and headed towards the Dawangshan Scenic Area, which was more than ten kilometers away.

I heard that the area is well-developed, but I never had time to go during my three years of high school. Today is the perfect opportunity to visit.

The asphalt road leading to the scenic area was brand new and flat. Around 4 p.m., the car wound its way up the mountain road and arrived at the parking lot at the top of the mountain.

From this vantage point, all the mountains appear small.

Standing atop the mountain, the view opened up before him. Overjoyed, Chen Zhiyuan couldn't help but face the mountains and shout at the top of his lungs:

"Thank you, God!"

He Lin copied him, cupping her hands to her mouth: "Dawang Mountain—we're here—you're so beautiful—!"

Although He Fei did not shout loudly, her eyebrows relaxed and she smiled, her restraint had long since dissipated in the mountain breeze.

The three young people walked and stopped on the mountain, their laughter echoing all the way, until after six o'clock in the evening when they finally got into the car and drove down the mountain in the sunset.

The Chen family bought a car, a luxury car worth over 300,000 yuan—this became the hot topic of discussion in the entire neighborhood, and it took several days for the buzz to gradually subside.

Meanwhile, in Jiangzhou, the provincial capital, at the Jiangnan Publishing Group...

In the vice president's office, Wu Shuhan was listening to a report from his subordinate.

"Mr. Wu, the typesetting of the first volume of 'Those Things About the Ming Dynasty' is complete, and all other procedures are in place. Shall we contact the printing plant to start printing?"

The first volume, with over 300,000 words, has reached the printing stage so quickly, demonstrating the high efficiency of this large publishing group.

Upon hearing this, Wu Shuhan immediately decided: "Print 30,000 copies first."

His subordinate, however, cautioned, "Mr. Wu, this book has already amassed a considerable readership during its serialization in the Jiangnan Daily—30,000 copies…isn't that a bit too few?"

After a moment's thought, Wu Shuhan agreed and changed his mind, saying, "Then let's print 50,000 copies."

For a new book, printing 50,000 copies in the first print run is quite bold.

Once the decision was made, that very evening, the cooperating printing plant roared to life and began printing the first volume of "Those Things of the Ming Dynasty"—a full 50,000 copies.

Relying on its strong distribution channels, Jiangnan Publishing Group not only has long-term cooperative printing plants, but also maintains close ties with Xinhua bookstores across the country.

Chen Zhiyuan was unaware of all of this.

On Saturday morning, Chen Jianjun was dressed neatly, with a rosy complexion, and even looked at himself in the mirror again and again.

Watching from the side, Zhang Hui couldn't help but tease, "Come on, you're over forty years old, still so vain. It's not like you're going on a blind date."

Chen Jianjun laughed and said, "I have to dress presentably today, so as not to embarrass my son."

"That's presentable enough," Zhang Hui said with a smile. "Your shirt is crisp, your shoes are shiny, and your hair is combed perfectly."

Indeed, the white shirt was spotless, the leather shoes were gleaming, and even the stubble was neatly shaved.

The reason for such solemnity is very simple:

Since Chen Zhiyuan was admitted to Jiangnan University, Chen Jianjun has been constantly talking about "his ancestors' graves emitting auspicious smoke."

Taking advantage of this weekend's rest, he plans to bring his wife and children back to the village in style.

Besides visiting parents and seeing siblings, there is another important thing to do—to pay respects at the ancestral graves.

Compared to Chen Jianjun's formal attire, Chen Zhiyuan dressed much more casually, in a casual shirt and trousers, yet he appeared even more sunny, upright, and energetic.

The family of three, beaming with undisguised joy, happily went out the door.

Chen Zhiyuan gripped the steering wheel firmly and drove the car out of the city.

The family first went shopping, filling the trunk with gifts such as cigarettes, alcohol, snacks, and fruit, before driving towards their hometown.

Chen Jianjun's hometown is in the countryside on the outskirts of the city. It's not too far, but 30 or 40 kilometers was quite a distance back then.

The road conditions were far inferior to those of later generations. Asphalt roads only extended to the towns, and the last few kilometers into the villages were still gravel roads, full of potholes and dusty on sunny days.

"Dad, you really should take some time to get a driver's license these days."

While skillfully maneuvering the steering wheel to avoid potholes in the road, Chen Zhiyuan said, "I'll drive the car to school when I start school. It's inconvenient for the family not to have a car. If our family's financial situation improves after you get your license, we can get you another car for transportation."

Owning a private car was a very prestigious thing in the late 1990s.

Chen Jianjun's heart burned with excitement. He rubbed his hands together in the passenger seat, his eyes gleaming: "My son is right! We should take the test!"

He originally thought that learning to drive was something for young people over forty, but now that his son had suggested it, he felt a surge of energy – with such a nice car at home, how could he not know how to drive it!

The car's performance is indeed outstanding, with a solid chassis and good shock absorption. Even when driving on bumpy dirt roads, there is not much uncomfortable shaking inside the car.

Chen Zhiyuan drove slowly but steadily, the green of the fields outside the window rushing past.

Gradually, familiar scenery came into view.

At the entrance of the village, the century-old camphor tree is like a giant umbrella, and many villagers gather in the shade, fanning themselves and enjoying the cool air.

This place is the village's news hub; any news from any household can spread to every family in less than the time it takes to eat a meal.

A tall, gleaming off-road vehicle, never before seen in the village, slowly drove in, immediately attracting everyone's attention.

The laughter and chatter under the tree abruptly stopped, and everyone craned their necks to look, their faces filled with curiosity.

"Hey, a car's here! Whose is it?"

"That car is really impressive...it doesn't look cheap, maybe it belongs to a relative from the city?"

"Does anyone in our village have a wealthy relative who drives a car like that?"

Amidst the whispers and scrutiny of the crowd, the car came to a steady stop on the roadside near the shade of the trees.