In the 90s, you could acquire max-level skills every 14 days.

"We'd like to learn from them too, since the truck driver delivered it himself, he must know a lot."

Brother Liu was in his early forties, with a smile plastered on his face.

Brother Zhao was short and stocky, with two different shades of tan on his arms. He held a cigarette between his fingers, and the smoke he exhaled drifted onto Zhang Yong's face.

Zhang Yong responded coldly.

"You're too kind, I'm just a driving student, just like you."

"That's different."

Brother Zhao trailed off, his gaze sweeping between Zhang Yong and Wei Shuyun.

"They were delivered by truck drivers, how can you compare them to us who've never even touched a truck before?"

Brother Liu chimed in from the side, "That's right. In our factory, these are all our own people. Being close to the source gives them an advantage."

Zhang Yong didn't bother to respond and turned to leave.

Wei Shuyun hesitated for a moment, then quickly took two steps to catch up. Her eyes glanced at Brother Zhao, then looked away.

"When you were doing the cones just now, I was sitting next to you resting, and I saw Lao Zhao squat down under the car and touch it. After Coach Chen left, he went to the car and walked around it again."

"What did you touch?"

"I couldn't see him very clearly; his back was to me." Wei Shuyun bit her lip. "Anyway, you should check before you get on the bus next time."

Zhang Yong glanced at her.

This girl has a keen eye for detail; she's pretty but kind-hearted.

Thanks.

Wei Shuyun waved her hand, returned to her original seat, and pretended to flip through her blue book.

Zhang Yong thought for a while, leaned against the iron railing by the field, took out the dry steamed buns that Li Guilan had steamed from the aluminum lunchbox, broke off a piece and threw it into his mouth.

"Ugh, these unleavened steamed buns are rock hard!"

The afternoon practice time was flexible, and after Chen Yongjian left, the venue was available for them to use.

Brother Zhao stubbed out his cigarette and swaggered toward 212, turning back to call out to Zhang Yong.

"Xiao Zhang, come here, why don't you drive around and show us?"

"I just finished practicing, I'm taking a break."

"What are you resting for? Young man, practice more. Aren't you a genius?"

Brother Liu chimed in, "Yeah, yeah, that slalom move was really impressive, show us another one!"

Zhang Yong chewed on his steamed bun without moving.

Seeing that he wasn't falling for it, Brother Zhao changed his approach: "If you don't dare to drive, that's fine too, no one will laugh at you. It's a good thing for young people to be a little more restrained!"

That's a very unpleasant way to put it.

Wei Shuyun frowned, about to speak, when Zhang Yong closed the lunchbox.

"Okay, I'll drive around."

He walked toward 212, his steps slow.

When he got to the car door, he first squatted down and took a look at the undercarriage.

Nothing unusual.

He then walked around to the front of the car and glanced at the latches in the engine compartment; there were no signs of tampering.

Brother Zhao shouted from behind, "What are you looking at? Get in the car!"

"Inspect," Zhang Yong said, standing up.

"My dad said that we should walk around the car before getting in; that's the rule."

He opened the car door and got in.

The moment my left foot touched the clutch pedal, I felt a slippery sensation on the sole of my shoe.

Zhang Yong stopped moving.

The panel popped up automatically, and a blue light flashed at the edge of the field of vision.

[Driving Lv.4 - Environmental Warning: Foreign matter adheres to the clutch pedal surface, reducing the coefficient of friction by approximately 70%]

oil.

Someone put oil on the clutch pedal.

Zhang Yong glanced down and saw a shiny substance embedded in the rubber anti-slip texture of the pedal—it was engine oil mixed with a little grease.

If you step on this thing and your toes slip, the clutch will suddenly spring up, and the engine will inevitably stall.

If you're unlucky, the car might lurch forward abruptly.

The 212 has no auxiliary system; to restart it after it has been turned off, you need to press the clutch and turn the key.

If the engine stalls three or four times in a row, I'll lose face in front of everyone.

Zhang Yong looked up and saw the smug looks on Zhao Ge and Liu Ge's faces outside the window.

So that's what they were waiting for.

Wait until Zhang Yong stalls the engine, wait until he loses his composure, wait until he makes a fool of himself in front of that pretty girl.

Zhang Yong thought for a moment and then took out the half-eaten dry steamed bun from his pocket.

He crushed the steamed bun and scattered the crumbs on the foot pedal.

Dry bread crumbs mixed with engine oil turn into a rough layer of residue within seconds.

Stepping on it again with the soles of your shoes, it's no longer slippery.

"Hey—him! What is he?!" Brother Liu shouted out.

Zhang Yong turned the key with a blank expression.

"Buzz—"

The 212 Jeep started with a muffled thud, spewing out a plume of black smoke from its exhaust pipe.

Depress the clutch all the way down, shift into first gear, and release the handbrake.

He lifted his left foot, the car shuddered slightly, and then smoothly drove forward.

Without even pausing for a moment.

The smile on Brother Zhao's face froze.

Zhang Yong drove the car to the middle of the field and brought it to a steady stop.

He didn't go around the cones, nor did he drive in a straight line; instead, he did something that no one expected.

He pulled the handbrake, turned off the engine, and got out of the car.

Then he squatted down and picked up the crumbs of steamed bun under the driver's seat, one by one, and patted off the remaining oil stains on the pedals.

Until Brother Zhao's cigarette burned his fingers.

"hiss--"

He flicked his cigarette butt away, stomped it on the ground twice, and looked extremely ugly.

After cleaning the pedal, Zhang Yong stood up and patted the crumbs off his hands.

"Brother Zhao."

Brother Zhao tensed up.

"what?"

Zhang Yong walked up to him and spread out the crumbs of steamed bun he had picked up to show him.

"The oil on the pedals is a mixture of engine oil and lard, right?"

Brother Zhao's eyes flickered, but he stubbornly replied, "What oil? I don't know what you're talking about."

"It's on your trouser leg."

Brother Zhao looked down and saw a dark, oily stain on his left knee. He had touched the ground when he was squatting by the car applying oil to the pedals.

"This... I scratched it when I was getting my car repaired."

"You came here to learn to drive, what kind of cars are you going to fix?" Zhang Yong's tone was flat, not questioning, but simply stating a fact.

Brother Zhao opened his mouth, but couldn't say a word.

Brother Liu coughed dryly, trying to smooth things over: "Oh, it's probably just something that got on the pedals accidentally during practice. It's normal to have oil on the pedals..."

"Brother Liu, this car belongs to the government."

Zhang Yong looked at him.

"Put some oil on the clutch pedal, just in case the car lurches forward when you start moving and hits a bollard or a person?"

Brother Liu's smile faded.

"My dad was a truck driver at a cotton mill. I've heard him say since I was little that every part of the truck is vital. Anyone who tampers with it is playing with their life."

Brother Zhao's face turned bright red, his lips moved several times, and finally he squeezed out a sentence.

"I just noticed the pedal was making a noise, so I put some oil on it to lubricate it..."

"You're really good at lubricating the clutch pedal," Zhang Yong repeated.

Wei Shuyun couldn't help but burst out laughing.

Brother Zhao wished he could disappear into a crack in the ground.

Zhang Yong stopped pursuing the matter and turned to walk towards Wei Shuyun.

"Would you like to practice a little longer? I've cleaned the pedals."

Wei Shuyun paused for a moment, then nodded vigorously.

"want!"

She ran towards 212, opened the car door, and sat down, glancing back at Zhang Yong.

"Zhang Yong! What made you think of using steamed buns?"

"It was just a coincidence; the bread crumbs fell down by themselves."

Wei Shuyun chuckled.

"You're such a smooth talker!"

"Come teach me how to maneuver around the cones! I'll treat you to something delicious later!"

......