The sky collapsed, and in the blink of an eye, I found myself transported to Nanluoguxiang.

Along the way, because they were fully loaded with grain, every vehicle left deep ruts on the ground.

Zhou Zhiming drove the car in the middle of the procession.

He glanced at the passenger seat briefly and couldn't help but speak:

"Master, is this really alright? If others see this, they'll think you're an apprentice!"

"Zhiming, you don't understand. I'm training your abilities."

Li Kaixin replied slowly, without even opening her eyes.

Zhou Zhiming's lips twitched upon hearing this, and he muttered under his breath, "Train me? I think you just want to slack off!"

Li Kaixin then opened his eyes and looked at his apprentice dangerously: "What, you have a problem with that?"

"No, no!"

Zhou Zhiming quickly shook his head and said obsequiously, "You can rest as long as you want, leave the heavy work of driving to me."

Li Kaixin snorted, closed her eyes again, but the corners of her mouth turned up slightly.

After a while, he spoke again: "Zhiming, why don't you drive for the whole day?"

"Huh?" Zhou Zhiming was taken aback for a moment, then quickly nodded, "Okay, Master."

Ignoring his apprentice's reaction, Li Kaixin continued:

"Aren't you afraid of the cold? I'll keep watch for you tonight!"

Hearing this, Zhou Zhiming felt a surge of warmth in his heart.

"Master, you've been so kind to me, I have no way to repay you except..."

"Stop, stop, stop!"

Li Kaixin quickly interrupted his apprentice, "Stop talking nonsense and focus on driving."

He was genuinely afraid that Zhou Zhiming would say something inappropriate, since he had no interest in men.

Seeing this, Zhou Zhiming chuckled twice, then stopped talking and focused on driving.

That evening, the convoy parked in an open space by the roadside.

With no obstructions in the view in front or behind, the cold wind made it feel even colder.

However, there was nothing that could be done about it. After all, with so much grain on the truck, no one dared to park it in the ravine. If someone were to sneak up there, there wouldn't even be time to react.

Li Kaixin and Zhou Zhiming had just finished eating their dry rations when they heard Captain Wang calling for the apprentices to assemble at the front.

"Zhiming, Captain Wang is probably arranging the night watch, so I'll head over now."

Li Kaixin stood up and patted the dirt off his clothes.

"Get some rest tonight, you'll have to drive early tomorrow morning."

"Okay, Master!" Zhou Zhiming replied, shrinking back into the car while still wearing his cotton-padded coat.

Before long, Li Kaixin arrived at the front of the convoy.

More than a dozen apprentices have already arrived, and those who haven't come yet are on their way.

Captain Wang looked at Li Kaixin with surprise: "Kaixin, what brings you here?"

"Captain Wang, I'm here to take over Zhiming's night watch." Li Kaixin smiled and explained, "That kid is weak and gets cold easily."

Upon hearing this, all the apprentices present looked over, their eyes filled with envy.

Captain Wang was taken aback for a moment, then laughed and teased, "You, as the master, certainly care about your apprentice."

"Of course! He's my top disciple, how could I not feel sorry for him?"

Wu Tian, ​​who was standing nearby, immediately came over and said with a grin:

"Master, you see that Kaixin feels sorry for Zhiming, so please feel sorry for me too? I'm also in poor health."

"Go away, what are you doing here!"

Captain Wang waved his hand dismissively. "Zhiming is supposed to drive for Kaixin. I'll keep watch for you. Are you going to lead the convoy tomorrow?"

"Master, I was just joking, why did you take it seriously?" Wu Tian shrank back, chuckling awkwardly.

He's alright at driving, but if he's leading a convoy, given his terrible sense of direction, it's a miracle he doesn't end up going the wrong way.

The apprentices around immediately burst into laughter, and the atmosphere became much more pleasant.

After all the apprentices had arrived, Captain Wang cleared his throat and began assigning night watch duties.

"This time is different from when we came. The trucks are loaded with grain, so we can't be careless."

As he spoke, he looked around, his tone solemn:

"Tonight, we'll have two shifts on watch. The first half of the night will be until 1 a.m., and the second half will be from 1 a.m. to 6 a.m. Keep a close watch on everything. If there's any movement, fire a warning shot immediately."

As soon as he finished speaking, the apprentices nodded in agreement, their playful smiles fading from their faces.

Immediately afterwards, Captain Wang called out names one by one, dividing the twenty-odd people into two groups.

Li Kaixin was assigned to the first half of the night, along with Wu Tian, ​​Qian Dazhuang, and the others.

After the tasks were assigned, those who were on duty for the first half of the night stayed where they were, while those who were on duty for the second half of the night quickly crawled into the driver's seat to get some sleep.

The cold night wind blew in gusts, rustling the withered grass by the roadside.

Li Kaixin, Wu Tian, ​​Qian Dazhuang, and Song Hai stayed at the back of the convoy.

Wu Tian, ​​carrying a gun on his back, exhaled a puff of white breath and sighed softly:

"Kaixin, the last time we kept watch together was back when I first joined the company last year, right?"

Li Kaixin gave a soft "hmm" but didn't reply.

Wu Tian didn't seem to care and continued, "Back then, we didn't know anything and were freezing like babies in the middle of the night."

"Old Wu, you complained a lot back then," Qian Dazhuang said with a laugh, leaning against the wheel.

"Who complained? I was just stating the facts."

Wu Tian glared at Qian Dazhuang, then looked at Li Kaixin.

"But I'm so happy, you're really amazing. You got your driver's license in less than a month. I was even jealous of you back then."

"What's there to be jealous of? You'll be doing well soon too. When you pass the exam, you'll have to treat us to a meal," Li Kaixin finally said with a smile.

"Absolutely!"

Wu Tian patted his chest and replied confidently, "Once I get my driver's license, I'll definitely treat everyone to a good meal!"

Qian Dazhuang, who was standing nearby, immediately chuckled and made a joke.

"Old Wu, I've got your word in mind. If you dare to go back on your word later, we'll all be waiting for you at your house."

"Of course I keep my word!"

Wu Tian spoke confidently, then changed the subject, "But Da Zhuang, your driving skills are about the same as mine, so you should be taking the test with me, right?"

Qian Dazhuang smiled and rubbed his frozen fingers: "Same here, I'll treat you to a meal when I'm done."

Song Hai squatted to the side, listening silently to the group's laughter and conversation, his eyes revealing a look of envy.

Wu Tian noticed his expression and asked with a smile, "Brother Song, do you want to come with us?"

"How could I dare to think about that?"

Song Hai waved his hand and said with a wry smile, "My master said I still need to improve in some areas and told me to wait a little longer."

Li Kaixin didn't know what to say, mainly because his junior brother Song Hai was too dull.

They don't like to talk about things, and they keep things to themselves if they don't understand something.

On the other hand, Qian Dazhuang, who was also not talkative, never missed a single task when everyone was doing something together.

When they encounter something they don't understand about driving techniques, they will proactively ask Li Kaixin for help.

The fact that Qian Dazhuang and Wu Tian were able to get their driver's licenses so quickly was also inseparable from Li Kaixin's occasional guidance.