"It's a deal! Maybe by then your sister Hongmei will have her own car, and you can drive it then."

"Alright! I'm waiting."

As soon as we entered the village, we saw Dashan and his friends looking around by the roadside.

The old lady smiled. These children? But her own Jingze wasn't there.

Zhang Hongmei stopped the car and rolled down the window. "Brother Dashan, wait for me a moment. I'll go take Grandma back first, and then I'll come back to pick you up."

"Alright, I knew my sister wouldn't forget us." Da Shan said smugly.

Liu Jingze's mother laughed heartily, "These rascals are going to have a good time this time. They definitely won't be satisfied with going around in circles."

Knowing that Da Shan and the other four would have to squeeze in, Shi Tou felt embarrassed to stay on the bus and reluctantly got off.

"It's okay. If I can still drive tomorrow, I'll take you for a few more drives."

Stone's eyes lit up, and he nodded firmly.

Zhang Hongmei got out of the car first and opened the door for the old lady. "Grandma, are we going to the city tomorrow? Even if we don't visit my third uncle, we can still go for a stroll, right?"

"I'm not going. I'll stay home. You guys go have fun!"

The old lady refused again, so Zhang Hongmei didn't bring it up again.

Er Ya and the other two got off the bus too. "You go ahead, we can go home by ourselves."

Zhang Hongmei had just turned the car around when Dashan and the other five arrived. "We can't wait any longer, hurry up, girl, take us for a spin around."

"Okay, get in the car."

The biggest one, Dashan, sat in the front, while the rest squeezed into the back.

Before the car even left the village, several girls around thirteen or fourteen years old were seen standing to the side watching and whispering among themselves. Some of them looked envious, some looked disdainful, and some looked longing.

Da Shan rolled down the car window. "What are you guys doing here?"

Zhang Hongmei stopped the car when she saw Dashan speak. Wang Hongxi's daughter, Wang Xiaorui, raised her head and said, "Is this your road? What business is it of yours that I'm here?"

"He's sick. Hongmei is gone."

"Zhang Hongmei, just because you can drive doesn't mean you're anything special."

Zhang Hongmei gave an awkward smile and said, "Whether I can drive or not is none of your business. Whether I can or not is my own problem."

Wang Yingzi most longed for, "Hongmei, could you take us for a ride too?"

"It depends. If we have enough oil, we'll come back and give you a ride."

"Who cares? If you're not leaving, I'm leaving." Zhang Hongmei had just teased her, making Wang Xiaorui lose face. Her father was the village chief, so why didn't Zhang Hongmei offer her a ride? Seeing that none of her friends moved, she angrily turned and left.

Zhang Hongmei shrugged. "Wait for us a while. We'll just go to the township and come back, and we'll take you there too."

"Alright! You guys go ahead and leave. We'll wait for you."

Zhang Hongmei started the car, and after driving out of the village, Shuang Cunzai began to complain to Dashan, "You're such a troublemaker, why do you bother with them? Ever since her father became the village chief, she's been so arrogant."

"I didn't know she would do this!" Da Shan felt very innocent.

"Alright, why think about that? We're out for a drive and to have fun." Zhu Zi acted as a peacemaker. Actually, he also disliked Wang Xiaorui. She was like his older cousin; she was just annoying to look at.

"Hongmei, you drive really well. Is driving easy to learn?"

"It's alright. Basically, you just need to know how to shift gears and brake when you encounter a situation. But this car isn't mine, so it's really inconvenient for me to let you learn to drive it."

"It's okay, I'm just happy to be able to take a ride."

"Hongmei, how come you're so amazing? You can do everything." Xiao Suo was really envious of Zhang Hongmei.

"Actually, driving isn't that hard. You can see the gears marked on the gear lever. You can shift gears by pressing the clutch. When starting, you should use first gear, and once you pick up speed, you can shift to second gear while pressing the clutch, gradually increasing the gears. Also, cars are the most dangerous thing, so you have to be quick and have sharp eyes and hands. If you see a situation, you must never press the accelerator instead of the brake."

"Hongmei, you know so much."

"Hehe, Brother Zhang taught me. We'll head back once we get to the village. I'll take you out for a drive again sometime. It would be great if we had our own car."

"Great! I've ridden in a car before!" Erlinzi was genuinely excited.

When they returned to the village, they saw the three girls still waiting there.

“I parked the car in front of my third uncle’s house to pick up Shitou. There are only three girls, so I can play with Shitou and Sanya for a while longer.”

"Okay, we'll get off there."

Zhang Hongmei rolled down the window. "Sister Yingzi, wait for me a little longer. I'm going to pick up Shi Tou and San Ya, I'll be back in a bit."

Dashan actually wanted to ride the bus again, but he was too embarrassed to argue with the two children, so he got off the bus reluctantly.

When Shi Tou saw Zhang Hongmei come to pick him up again, he excitedly ran over and asked, "Sister Hongmei, can I sit in the front?"

“Great, the back seats are all girls. Sanya, you go sit in the back. Yingzi and the other two will be getting on the bus soon.”

Sanya had no objections whatsoever; she was happy as long as she could ride in the car.

Zhang Hongmei picked up the three of them, and before they had driven far, Liu Chunhong gagged.

Zhang Hongmei quickly stopped the car. "Sister Chunhong, are you carsick? Can you still hold it in? Let me take you home first."

"I feel so bad, I'm going down."

Having no other choice, Zhang Hongmei had to let her get off the bus, but she was worried about letting her walk back by herself. It would be too tiring for her to follow behind her in the future, so she decided to let the vehicle follow the pedestrian.

It was already twenty minutes later when we finally entered the village.

It was getting dark, and Zhang Hongmei checked her watch; it was almost five o'clock. She knew she couldn't go now, and Shi Tou would be very disappointed.

"Sorry, it's getting late, I have to go back and cook."

"It's alright, we've already sat down anyway. Thank you, Hongmei, you should go home now, we'll go back and cook too." Li Xiaochun was very pragmatic, knowing that this was the only way things could be today.

Yingzi was extremely dissatisfied, but she couldn't blame Zhang Hongmei, so she reluctantly got off the bus.

"Stone, let's do it next time."

"It's alright, Sister Hongmei. We've gotten off the bus. You should go home quickly; the commander is still at your house."

Zhang Hongmei nodded and drove home.

As soon as Zhang Hongmei parked the car, Wang Xingguo came out, smiling at her. "My Hongmei is amazing. From now on, you can drive me when you go to the capital."

"Hehe, wouldn't that be taking away my brother Xiaoshun's job? I won't do that. What are we having for dinner tonight?"

"Shouyi is making rice porridge and egg pancakes."

"I can have a ready-made meal? Then I'll go cook two dishes."

"No need, pickled vegetables are fine. You've had a long day, so eat and rest well, and don't overwork yourself."

As soon as I entered the courtyard, I saw Wang Xiaoshun looking at me with a mournful expression. "What's wrong, Brother Xiaoshun?"

"Hongmei, are you trying to kill me?"