My IQ has been increasing year by year.

The car drove into the Sunshine Family Compound.

The roads in the residential compound were full of potholes, so Chen Jianguo drove very slowly.

It was the perfect time to cool off after dinner.

Many employees sat chatting under the big trees downstairs, holding their rice bowls or large palm-leaf fans.

When a gleaming black sedan drove in, everyone stopped talking and their eyes followed the car.

Chen Jianguo parked his car in the open space below his apartment building.

Pull up the handbrake and remove the key.

He got out of the car, walked to the back, untied the plastic rope, and carried the bicycle out of the trunk.

"Jianguo, you bought a car?"

A neighbor walked over and asked, somewhat surprised.

"No, why buy a car? It's borrowed."

Chen Jianguo propped up the bicycle.

"My son is going to Huizhou to report for duty in just two days. Can I borrow a car to take him there?"

"That's right, Xiao Zhuo is the pride of our factory. It's only right that he takes a car to Huizhou," the neighbor agreed with a smile.

Chen Jianguo didn't chat much, locked the car door, and went upstairs.

Push open the door.

The ceiling fan was on inside, whirring loudly.

The sounds of cooking came from the kitchen, and the smell of oil mingled with the aroma of rice.

Chen Jianguo changed into slippers and put his car keys on the shoe cabinet.

I walked into the living room.

Chen Zhuo was sitting on the sofa, holding half a watermelon in his hand, and eating it with a spoon.

The TV is on.

The screen was showing CCTV's "Animal World".

The voice of Mr. Zhao Zhongxiang came from the old television speaker.

As Chen Zhuo looked at the watermelon seeds, he spat them into a cardboard box made from an old newspaper on the coffee table in front of him.

They spat it out very accurately; not a single one fell outside.

"You're back." Chen Zhuo turned around and called out when he heard the noise.

"Um."

Chen Jianguo walked over and glanced at the television screen.

On the screen, a lion is chasing an antelope.

Chen Jianguo turned around and went into the bathroom, where he washed his face twice.

Chen Jianguo came out wiping his face with a towel and sat on the single sofa next to Chen Zhuo.

The sofa was quite old, and the springs underneath made a dull thud.

Chen Jianguo took out a large palm-leaf fan with slightly frayed edges from under the coffee table and fanned himself.

The kitchen sliding door was pushed open.

Liu Xiuying came out carrying two plates of food.

A plate of stir-fried green beans with shredded pork, and a plate of stir-fried tomatoes with eggs.

"Come and get the food after you've washed your hands," Liu Xiuying said.

Chen Jianguo stood up, went into the kitchen, and brought out three bowls of rice and a plate of sliced ​​pickled cucumber strips.

The family of three sat down at the small round table in the living room.

The ceiling fan blew the hot steam from the food to one side.

Chen Zhuo picked up his chopsticks, put a piece of tomato into his bowl, and lowered his head to eat.

"Did you bring the car back?" Liu Xiuying asked, picking up a piece of green bean with her chopsticks.

"I drove it back and parked it downstairs." Chen Jianguo took a bite of rice.

"Did you give the stuff to Old Zhang?"

"I gave it to him, but Old Zhang absolutely refused to take it. I insisted on keeping it on the ground," Chen Jianguo said, chewing his rice.

"They're big business people, they don't need these things, but we can't ignore the rules we should follow."

Liu Xiuying nodded.

"How's the car?"

"Great, the brakes are good, the clutch is a bit high but it's fine, and Lao Zhang filled up the tank too."

Chen Jianguo swallowed the food in his mouth.

"I drove all the way here, and the air conditioning was quite cool. I'll be fine leaving the day after tomorrow."

"Is that car spacious?"

"It's quite big; the back seats of a Santana are very spacious," Chen Jianguo said with a smile.

"The big suitcase you bought for Xiaozhuo, you can fit it in the trunk and there's still more than half the space left."

After finishing the meal.

Liu Xiuying cleared the bowls and chopsticks away and took them into the kitchen.

It was completely dark outside.

A few dim streetlights lit up in the family compound.

The sound of cicadas chirping came from outside the window, along with the sound of several old men playing chess under the big tree downstairs.

Chen Jianguo took a damp cloth and wiped the coffee table in the living room clean.

He pushed the fruit plate, water glass, and old newspapers on the coffee table onto the TV cabinet next to it.

There was a large, flat area left empty on the coffee table.

Chen Jianguo turned and went into the bedroom.

After a while, he came out carrying something rolled into a tube.

It is a map.

A very large folded paper map.

The cover features the words "China Highway Transportation Map" in large print.

This map is quite old; the edges are worn white and fuzzy, and the folded cross seam in the middle is sealed with two layers of transparent tape. Chen Jianguo bought it years ago when he was a long-distance truck driver and has kept it at home ever since.

He sat down at the coffee table and spread the map out flat.

Chen Jianguo covered the upper left corner with an ashtray and the upper right corner with a TV remote.

Chen Zhuo turned off the TV.

He walked over and, instead of sitting on the sofa, sat cross-legged on the floor next to the coffee table.

The floor was a bit cool, which was very refreshing.

Chen Jianguo took a pen out of his shirt pocket.

"Come and take a look," Chen Jianguo said, pointing to the map.

Chen Zhuo leaned closer.

The map is covered with colorful lines.

Black lines with vertical bars indicate railways, thick red lines indicate national highways, and thin blue lines indicate provincial highways.

There are also countless dots of all sizes, with densely packed place names marked next to them.

Chen Jianguo tapped the map slightly above the center with his index finger.

There was an inconspicuous little dot with two words written on it.

Zeyang.

"This is where we are now," Chen Jianguo said.

His finger slowly slid down a thick red line.

Glide across the provincial border.

It glides over a few slightly larger dots.

Finally, the finger stopped on another large dot at the bottom of the map.

Huizhou.

"Did you see it clearly?" Chen Jianguo asked, turning his head.

Chen Zhuo nodded.

Chen Jianguo held red and blue pencils and gestured on the map.

He flipped the pencil over and used the blue end to draw a small circle next to Zeyang.

"The day after tomorrow morning, we'll set off from the family compound and head onto National Highway 104 first."

The blue pen tip began to trace downwards along the red line.

It makes a faint rustling sound on the paper.

"I know this road well. Years ago when I was in the trucking team, I drove south along this route. The road surface is fairly flat, but there are a lot of large coal trucks, so you have to be careful." The pen tip stopped on the name of a city.

Mozhou.

"We'll probably get here around noon."

As Chen Jianguo spoke, he drew a small triangle mark next to Mozhou.

"We don't park in the city. Out-of-town cars are prone to getting lost, and there are too many traffic lights, making it very congested."

Chen Jianguo pointed to the triangle mark.

"Let's find a water station or roadside inn by the national highway, have a hot meal, rest for an hour or two, get some water, and use the restroom." Chen Zhuo stared at the slowly lengthening blue line on the map without interrupting.

He listened quietly.

My father's arrangements were meticulous, reflecting the steadiness characteristic of an experienced driver.

Chen Jianguo continued drawing.

The blue line passes through the end state and continues south.

"After passing Mozhou, we'll reach Fengzhou. There are many toll booths along this stretch, so I need to remember to exchange plenty of small change and keep it handy. There are also many potholes on the road, so if you feel bumpy in the back, you can lie down and take a nap." Chen Jianguo's hand holding the pen was very steady.

"After passing Fengzhou, we arrived at Yancheng."

The pen tip touched the lower center of the map.

"Once we reach Yancheng, we've covered more than half the road. If we're tired, we can pull over here and rest for half an hour. If we're not tired, we can drive straight through." Chen Jianguo put down his pen.

I picked up the cup and took a sip of water.

"Once we cross the Huai River, the road will be much easier to travel. It's flat and clear. As long as we don't encounter any rain or traffic jams, we should be able to drive directly to Huazhong University of Science and Technology around four o'clock in the afternoon." Chen Jianguo leaned back on the sofa and fanned himself with a palm-leaf fan.

"When we get there, it will still be light. Let's go to the registration desk to register and settle on a dormitory. In the evening, I'll take you to Huizhou City for a stroll and have some local specialties." Chen Zhuo sat on the ground.

He looked at the old map on the coffee table with a long blue line drawn on it.

This line will be the starting point of his trajectory for the next four years, or even longer.

"Okay." Chen Zhuo nodded.

There was no rebuttal, and no questions were raised.

In Chen Zhuo's view, the feeling of having one's schedule completely arranged and not having to worry about anything is not so bad.

The kitchen door opened.

Liu Xiuying wiped her hands as she walked out.

"Is the route decided?" she asked as she walked to the coffee table.

"It's settled. We'll just follow National Highway 104 downhill. It'll be safe," Chen Jianguo said.

Liu Xiuying nodded.

"Okay. I'll go to the South Gate Market tomorrow morning to buy two pounds of fresh beef, braise it myself, and boil ten eggs. You two can have something to eat on the way." She looked down at Chen Zhuo sitting on the ground.

"Xiao Zhuo, which of your books and notebooks do you want to take with you? Pick them out and put them on the table tomorrow, and I'll pack them all in your suitcase the day after tomorrow." Chen Zhuo stood up.

"I don't have much stuff, just a few notebooks and two changes of clothes."

"That won't do."

Liu Xiuying glared at him.

"This trip will last for more than half a year. You need to prepare both thick and thin clothes. It's humid there, and you'll be in a panic if you don't bring everything. Don't worry about it, I'll pack it." Chen Zhuo didn't say anything more.

"it is good."

Late at night.

The clock on the wall points to ten o'clock.

The cicadas outside have stopped chirping, and the night breeze blows in through the cracks in the window, carrying a hint of the coolness of late summer.

"Alright, go to sleep early."

Chen Jianguo stretched, and his bones cracked a few times.

"I need to go to the factory tomorrow to hand over my work, so I need to ask for leave."

Liu Xiuying tidied up the coffee table and went to the bathroom to wash up.

Chen Zhuo threw the cardboard box containing watermelon seeds from the floor into the trash can and turned off the living room light.

I returned to my small bedroom.

He was lying on a single bed.

The streetlights outside the window shone on the ceiling, creating a dim, yellowish band of light.

Chen Zhuo closed his eyes.

The blue line that Chen Jianguo drew on the map came to mind.

Zeyang.

Mozhou.

Fengzhou.

Along the city.

Huizhou.

He rolled over and pulled a thin towel over his stomach.

My breathing gradually became steady.

The two nights before departure passed by quietly.