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

The four of them walked and talked, and soon arrived at the bicycle shed.

Li Kaixin stopped and turned to look at his eldest apprentice beside him:

"Zhiming, take Xiaomeng to identify the parts and teach him how to inspect and maintain the car. Follow the same steps I taught you the first time."

"Okay, Master!" Zhou Zhiming replied, and led Meng Qingguo toward the parking space he had just been assigned.

Li Kaixin wasn't idle either; he led Guo Liang to his car.

"Xiao Guo, are you familiar with these parts on the car? Would you like me to show you how to identify them?"

He didn't start teaching directly, and the reason is quite simple.

Experienced drivers like Master Guo usually teach their children some skills beforehand if they want to become drivers.

As expected.

Guo Liang scratched his head sheepishly and replied, "Master, that's not necessary. My father already taught me."

"Can you drive?" Li Kaixin continued to ask.

"I know a little! I tried driving it before when my dad drove it home."

"Not bad, not bad!" Li Kaixin praised, opening the driver's side door. "Come on, get in the car, let me see how your skills are."

Guo Liang's eyes lit up immediately, and he climbed into the car, while Li Kaixin went around to the other side and sat in the passenger seat.

"Let's begin."

The moment he finished speaking, Guo Liang turned the key, and the truck started rumbling.

He held the steering wheel with his foot on the clutch, but hesitated to shift gears.

Seeing this, Li Kaixin gently comforted him, "Xiao Guo, don't be nervous, I'm here. Drive the car to the square over there."

Guo Liang gave a soft "hmm" before shifting into first gear and releasing the handbrake.

The car started moving slowly, but he released the clutch a little too quickly, and the car still shook slightly.

Li Kaixin remained silent, knowing that speaking at this moment would only make his second apprentice more flustered.

A few minutes later, the car finally arrived at the area in the square where people take driving tests.

Li Kaixin first had Guo Liang drive around the perimeter a few times, then started reversing and parallel parking, and finally went through the entire assessment process again.

After this whole process, Li Kaixin had almost completely figured out Guo Liang's background.

Turning and going straight are not a big problem, about the same level as when Zhou Zhiming first came a month ago last year.

"Alright, Xiao Guo, you can park the car now!"

Guo Liang was already sweating profusely from driving, and upon hearing this, he immediately turned off the engine.

He turned to look at his driver, his expression becoming tense: "Driver, how did I do?"

"That's pretty good," Li Kaixin replied with a smile. "With a few more months of practice, I can go straight to take the driving test."

The second apprentice's skills are already quite good. If he can improve his driving skills a bit more, he'll have another driving assistant.

"Really?" Guo Liang's face lit up with surprise.

Although he didn't just become Li Kaixin's apprentice to improve his skills, he was still incredibly excited to reach the level of a professional driver within a few months.

"Of course!" Li Kaixin smiled and patted his second apprentice on the shoulder. "Drive the car back first, and then I'll teach you how to maintain it."

Guo Liang nodded, restarted the car, and drove towards the carport.

Back at the bike shed, Li Kaixin began to teach Guo Liang how to maintain his car.

After explaining everything from changing the engine oil to checking the water tank, Guo Liang was then given the opportunity to do it himself.

Mr. Guo, who was not far away, stood by his parking space and glanced over from time to time.

Seeing that the relationship between the two was getting better and better, he was extremely satisfied.

The fact that his own son became Li Kaixin's apprentice and learned the skills was secondary; the main purpose was to establish a bond.

Just think about Zhou Zhiming, and you'll know that thanks to his connection with Li Kaixin, even leaders like Director Xie, the station chief, and the deputy director of the steel rolling mill all favor him.

With this connection, even if his son doesn't end up like Zhou Zhiming, his future will definitely be much easier.

On the other side, Master Meng, who was teaching his apprentice to recognize the instruments in the driver's cab, had a complicated expression on his face.

His apprentice, Wang Chu, naturally noticed it.

"Master, what's wrong?" Wang Chu asked cautiously.

"It's nothing, Xiao Wang, I was just feeling a bit sentimental."

Master Meng turned to his apprentice, his tone tinged with self-deprecation: "You used to look down on Master Zhou, but now my son has become his apprentice."

Upon hearing this, Wang Chu immediately thought of the young master he had previously refused. He never expected that his master's son would actually become his apprentice.

The thought that his master might take his anger out on him sent a chill down Wang Chu's spine.

When Master Meng saw that his apprentice was silent, he probably guessed what he was thinking.

"Don't worry, Xiao Wang. Now that you're with me, I'll definitely teach you well," Master Meng said with a smile, reassuring him.

Wang Chu simply couldn't believe that his master's son had gone to work for a Master Zhou whom he himself looked down upon. How could he not mind?

"Xiao Wang, you don't think I'd blame you for this, do you?"

"You really don't blame me?" Wang Chu asked instinctively.

"Of course it's true!"

Master Meng laughed heartily, "To be honest, I should thank you for letting my son get a bargain today since you didn't ask Master Zhou for help!"

Wang Chu was even more puzzled, and his courage grew: "Master, can you tell me what's going on?"

"Okay! Anyway, it's almost time to get off work, so I'll tell you about it."

Master Meng leaned against the car door and slowly began to recount what Zhou Zhiming and Li Kaixin had been doing at the transportation station over the past year.

Wang Chuyue was increasingly surprised as he listened.

When I heard that this Mr. Li was not only the most skilled in the transportation team, but had also been featured in the newspaper, I was completely stunned.

He finally understood why those apprentices had been arguing so fiercely—it was all about getting a powerful backer.

Looking at his expression, Master Meng smiled and asked, "What's wrong? Are you having second thoughts?"

"Master, I..." Wang Chu opened his mouth, wanting to say that he didn't regret it, but he swallowed the words back halfway through.

"It's normal to regret it."

Master Meng straightened up and patted his apprentice on the shoulder again:

"Master Li is indeed very skilled. Not to mention you apprentices, even we old guys sometimes want to learn from him."

"However, Mr. Li is a very helpful person. If you have any questions, you can ask him."

Wang Chu lowered his head and gave a muffled "hmm".

Master Meng knew that his apprentice was still not over it.

That's understandable. If Li Kaixin had been shameless enough to go up on stage and compete, he might be his master now.

Fortunately, he didn't reveal Li Kaixin's identity all at once, otherwise his apprentice might have been even more distraught.

......