America: A Prodigy of Stereotypes

"That's absolutely right!" Wade clenched his fist and grinned wickedly.

Mazda drove around Queens, and then Dad drove Wade back to the used car dealership.

Wade is a man of action. In the blink of an eye, he changed out of his blue car dealership uniform and walked out of the dealership, raising two middle fingers and sticking out his buttocks towards the dealership's huge billboard.

"Dad wants to kick his ass," Dad said, looking at Wade who was spewing profanities.

Chapter 71 Just Drive

Finding an open space in New York City to teach someone to drive is a real headache.

There may be fewer people on the roads in residential areas, but since it's summer vacation now, there's a good chance a child might run into the road from the yard in front of the house, testing the driver's reaction speed.

Dad drove the Liqun car further and further away, until they were almost out of New York City before they found an old road to practice driving on.

The old man parked the car on the side of the road, and the two of them waited in the car for more than ten minutes before a car passed by.

"Okay, this is the place."

After the old man finished speaking, he got out of the car with Liqun.

"What's the first step?" the old man asked Liqun.

"Walk around the car and check its condition?"

The old man touched the front and rear bumpers of the Mazda, then squatted down to check the undercarriage and tires, giving the Liqun a standard demonstration.

“In winter, small animals might hide in the car, so you have to keep an eye out sometimes,” Dad said.

"now you."

Li Qun did exactly what his father did, and then the two got into the car and sat down, with Li Qun in the driver's seat.

"We missed a step just now," the old man said.

"Which step?" Li Qun asked.

"You need to check the situation around the car before opening the door," Dad said.

"understood."

"During the road test, you need to make very obvious movements so that the examiner knows what you are doing, like this."

The old man turned his head violently from side to side, as if someone was about to attack him from both sides.

"Ok."

"Get off the bus, let's do it again."

"You need to be careful when getting off the bus, and you also need to observe your surroundings," Dad reminded her.

"It's safe in all directions, there are no motorcycles rushing towards you. Open the door and get out quickly."

Liqun and his father got off the bus again. Liqun turned his head around dramatically, looking in all directions, before getting back on with his father.

"Are the car doors closed properly?" the old man asked.

"It's locked tight."

"Now adjust the seat so that your feet are in a more relaxed position and you can easily press the brake, clutch and accelerator."

"Which side is the brake, clutch, and accelerator?" Li Qun asked.

"The left foot is the clutch, the one slightly to the middle is the brake, and the right foot is the accelerator," the old man explained.

Li Qun reached out to adjust the seat and accidentally lay flat.

The old man rolled his eyes, speechless.

"I'm very good."

Li Qun quickly sat up and readjusted the backrest.

I pressed the clutch, brake, and accelerator pedals with my foot, and I could easily press them all the way down. I felt that the seat was properly adjusted.

“You, Peter, and Gwen, I’ll teach you three one by one, so you don’t have to adjust your seats all the time,” the old man said.

"Look at these three rearview mirrors. Can you see the left and right sides of the car, as well as behind the rear window?"

“I can see it,” Li Qun replied.

"Now, fasten your seatbelts."

With a "click," Dad inserted the seatbelt into the slot, a smile spreading across his face.

"OK!"

Li Qun gripped the steering wheel with both hands.

"Look down and take a look at the gear shift on your right."

Liqun did as instructed.

"Write down the positions of each gear, put your right hand on it, and try to see how much force is needed to shift gears."

Liqun tried each gear one by one, completing the test at least once. At first, it felt a little strange, and Liqun was a bit afraid of shifting into the wrong gear.

"Now put the gear back in neutral."

"Press the clutch pedal all the way down, and turn the key to start the engine."

"Don't hesitate, turn the car key in one go. Make the movement obvious so I can see it."

Hearing his father's request, Li Qun's movements as he turned the car key became exaggerated. What should have been a simple turn of his forearm turned into a full-body movement of his entire arm.

Upon hearing the engine sound, Liqun successfully started the Mazda.

"Don't let go of your left foot, shift into first gear."

"Now, Liqun, what you need to learn is an important driving skill: half-clutch."

"Lift your foot up very slowly and steadily."

Liqun heard the engine sound deepen, the front of the car felt slightly raised, and the body also vibrated a bit.

"That's it, that's the semi-linkage state."

"Lightly press the accelerator and slowly release the clutch."

Following his father's advice, Liqun slowly pressed down on the pedal, and the car started smoothly.

"Dad, what should I do next?" Li Qun was a little flustered because the car was moving forward.

"Now I'll teach you how to park," Dad said.

"Press the brake with your right foot, but don't slam on it all the way down, but don't go too slowly either."

My dad's words are like cooking: everything has to be in moderation. But what exactly is moderation? It's too much to ask.

"Slow down the car, then depress the clutch with your left foot. Once the car is stopped, shift it back to neutral and then pull up the handbrake," Dad said.

The car stopped, and Li Qun felt that driving was much more tiring than practicing martial arts.

He can perfectly control his body when practicing martial arts, but he can't drive.

“Liqun, you need to remember this, this is your old man’s life experience in driving.”

"I will remember this to the death, Dad," Li Qun said earnestly.

"Driving is not about who is smarter or who has faster reaction time, but about who is more daring."

"Don't be afraid that you might drive the car into the ditch, just keep driving forward boldly," Dad said.

Li Qun nodded hesitantly.

"You don't trust your father?"

"Of course I believe it! I believe it one hundred percent!" Li Qun nodded vigorously.

“Very good, now let’s repeat what we just did ten times,” the old man said with a smile.

On the first day of driving practice, his father taught Liqun the simplest things, like starting and stopping the car. They practiced repeatedly at a snail's pace on old roads in the suburbs of New York City until Liqun felt that his body had developed muscle memory for it.

The "do better" trait began to take effect, and Li Qun surpassed his father's skills in starting and parking the car in just one afternoon.

"Liqun, you have excellent coordination skills. I'll probably be sitting next to you and watching you drive on the road in less than half a month," Dad praised.

"I'll try to be even faster," Li Qun said.

"Don't go too fast," the old man said. "My heart can't take it."

The old man and Liqun switched seats, and the old man demonstrated for Liqun from the driver's seat.

"Liqun, listen to the engine sound. Do you know what speed it is right now?" the old man asked.

The old road was very quiet, and Liqun could clearly hear the sound of the Mazda's engine running.

Li Qun glanced at the dashboard and replied, "It's 1500 RPM."

The car started moving slowly, and the engine sound changed again when Dad shifted gears and accelerated.

"How much is it this time?" the old man asked.

"I just saw it was 2500 RPM."

Dad slammed on the gas, and the Mazda sped off.

"And what about just now?" Dad asked again.

“It’s 4000 RPM!” Liqun replied.

"During your road test, you only need to rev the engine to 2500 RPM, understand?"

"Understood!"

Chapter 72 What is the Third Industrial Revolution?

This is what learning to drive is like.

All you need is a brain capable of judging external changes, limbs that can be controlled by your own will, the courage to drive on the road, and enough time to practice, and you can get a driver's license.

The same teaching method was applied to Peter and Gwen, with almost identical procedures.

After mastering driving skills on the old roads, Dad planned a route for the three of them, setting a fixed route starting from Chinatown, passing Peter's house, and ending at Gwen's house, in order to train their reaction to complex driving conditions.