The excitement of having a new car was hard to contain, so both Ning Shu and the three children made a unanimous decision: before their spontaneous trip, they would take the car for a spin around the capital.

Lin Guodong said, “You all go ahead. I’ll check the map and find a safe route back home for you.”

“Go ahead, go ahead! After all, we’re the ones sitting in the car,” Ning Shu replied.

With that, the four of them—Ning Shu and her three kids, along with Damao and Tiedan—set off in a hurry, leaving Lin Guodong standing in the yard, watching their exhaust fumes dissipate.

Lin Guodong sighed helplessly.

He could only take a shower first while boiling water in the kitchen.

After washing up, he went to the study and took out a map of China.

There were five cities between the capital and home, and he needed to identify the main roads connecting each city, as those would be safer routes.

At this time, there were no national highways; all the roads were uneven and bumpy.

However, Lin Guodong had never been to some of those cities, making it challenging to find the best routes.

But that was okay—he planned to ask the soldiers from those areas when he got to the army base tomorrow.

They would surely know the local routes.

With a plan in mind, Lin Guodong also started jotting down potential challenges they might encounter on the way home:

1. Encountering bad people on the road.
2. Running out of fuel midway.
3. Weather issues like wind or rain before reaching home.

Before he could write down any more points, Lin Guodong began to feel that it might not be safe for the four of them to return home.

Even if he obtained the safest route from the army, that level of safety was only applicable to soldiers.

For Ning Shu and her children, it was still risky; any problem could pose a threat to them.

Thus, the best safety measure would be to have a reliable person accompany them.

It would be great if there were soldiers visiting their hometown.

But that depended on whether they could drive.

That wasn’t a major issue; many soldiers learned to drive as a precaution for any missions.

With all these thoughts swirling in his mind, Lin Guodong decided to postpone further consideration of the matter.

The road conditions couldn’t just be figured out from a map; he would need to ask around at the base tomorrow.

Exiting the study, he noticed that Ning Shu and the kids still hadn’t returned.

For the first time, Lin Guodong felt the house was too quiet without them.

He had grown accustomed to coming home to their presence.

It wasn’t just about having someone cook; it was about having someone waiting and accompanying him.

“Guess they’re having too much fun,” Lin Guodong muttered resignedly before heading to his room.

Though it was still early, and he wasn’t tired, he usually woke up early.

At the base, even though he had a lighter workload, he always exercised with the soldiers, so he felt fatigued.

As soon as he lay down, the softness of the bed engulfed him, and he slipped into a soothing comfort, gradually feeling drowsy.

Ning Shu and the kids did return late, but compared to the night owls of modern times, it wasn’t too late.

They got home around nine o’clock.

Even in this era, hotels, even in the capital, fell into silence by this time.

The four of them hurried to wash up and go to bed, being especially quiet.

As they entered the room, Ning Shu moved even more quietly, trying not to wake Lin Guodong.

But Lin Guodong was already asleep.

His body had developed the reflex to wake quickly whenever someone was around, and upon sensing familiar breaths and footsteps, he relaxed again. “You’re back? How was today?” he asked.

“Don’t even mention it, I’m exhausted,” Ning Shu sighed. “We decided not to go back home. Let’s wait until you have time to go next time.”

Hearing this, Lin Guodong, who had been slightly drowsy, became fully alert. “What made you change your mind?”

Ning Shu said, “At first, I didn’t notice anything, but after driving for an hour, I realized the steering wheel was getting heavier. Also, the road conditions—while they are considered good in the capital—aren’t so great after a certain distance.”

Lin Guodong chuckled, “Then let’s wait until I’m on vacation to go back… This year’s New Year should be fine.”

Ning Shu replied, “Great! We’ll go back for New Year and surprise my parents.”

“Surprise will definitely outweigh the joy,” Lin Guodong thought that once the old lady and old man saw the car, they would probably be too stunned to say anything.

“Once they get over the shock, they’ll surely be delighted. They’ll probably boast to everyone about having such a successful grandchild,” Ning Shu joked.

If she had a grandchild as accomplished as that, she would want to show off too.

Although Lin Guodong had left the countryside early for school and spent years away, it didn’t mean he was unfamiliar with human emotions, the ways of country folks, or his parents’ characters.

The production brigade was a small place, and the daily lives of the locals were quite limited.

How did they acquire new knowledge?

Mainly through gossip.

And gossip comes from what others say.

When his parents boasted about the car, and people asked how they got it, that new knowledge would spread among everyone.

“Indeed,” Lin Guodong resonated with her statement.

The Next Day

Although Ning Shu and the kids weren’t going back to their hometown, Lin Guodong returned to the army.

During his breaks, he researched the roads between cities to prepare for the next time he would go back home.

Within the next couple of days, the entire courtyard knew about the Lin family getting a car.

The parents of Er Bao’s friends came to see the Lin family’s new vehicle.

Considering it was a reward for the twelve-year-old Er Bao, many felt tempted.

Some even thought that since their children didn’t perform well academically, maybe they could also send them to a sports school.

Others considered that since their kids were lacking in both studies and sports, perhaps they could cultivate other interests and talents.

Maybe they could also earn rewards in other areas.

With the three kids’ influence, parents in the family courtyard began to pay more attention to their children.

Compared to their previous somewhat lax upbringing, they were now taking practical action.

Suddenly, inquiries about sports schools and interest classes at the cultural palace increased.

The three kids had finally made an impact in the family courtyard.

Meanwhile, Er Bao’s break ended unknowingly.

Today, he was going to the sports school, and his mom had promised to drive him.

Er Bao woke up early and brought his luggage to the living room.

When Lin Guodong came downstairs and saw Er Bao sitting there, he asked, “What are you doing sitting here?”

The lights were still off, and if he hadn’t known there were no thieves around, he might have thought to confront him.

“I’m going to the sports school today. Mom said she’d drive me,” Er Bao replied cheerfully.

Lin Guodong said, “Why are you up so early then? Your mom isn’t even awake yet.” Was this kid out of his mind?

Er Bao answered, “I know, but I couldn’t sleep, so I got up.” He was excited that his mom was driving him to school.

He was so happy that he couldn’t sleep the night before.

In other words, he hadn’t slept at all.

He wanted to tell his classmates that the country rewarded him with a car.

Plus, he planned to ask his teacher about the school’s reward since he’d received a national one.

Er Bao was thrifty; even if it was only a penny, he wanted to inquire about it.

Lin Guodong was speechless. “Since you’re up, I’ll make some porridge. You can watch over it until your mom wakes up.”

In the past, he would have gone to the mess hall with Xiao Hou for breakfast, but since Er Bao was early awake today, he decided to sit for a while.

Porridge was the only thing Lin Guodong could cook well, and he couldn’t mess it up.

“Okay!” Er Bao thought that they could have breakfast together when his mom woke up, allowing them to leave for school earlier.

Lin Guodong didn’t know his son’s thoughts.

He added rice and water to the pot for Er Bao to watch while he went off to the army with Xiao Hou.

By the time Ning Shu and the other two children woke up, Er Bao excitedly said, “Mom, breakfast is ready.”

He looked at Ning Shu with bright eyes, “Hurry and eat, and then we can go to school!”

“Going this early?” Ning Shu was surprised.

They could go to report in the afternoon.

“Yeah, I want to go in the morning so I can have lunch with the class monitor and the others.” Since the competition had just ended, Er Bao was heading to the sports school to take classes and train with his new classmates.

While the national team would also pay attention to his studies, being a student at school was more suitable for him.

Ning Shu replied, “… Okay then.”

After the four of them finished breakfast, Er Bao loaded his luggage into the trunk.

Then the three brothers, along with Da Mao and Tie Dan, all piled into the car and headed to the sports school.

On the very first day, Ning Shu had already taken the three kids to familiarize themselves with the route to the sports school.

Today, the drive went very smoothly. In this era, driving was absolutely safe; no one dared to cause accidents.

In everyone’s minds, owning a car was a symbol of status and power.

Even though no one would crash into them, Ning Shu still drove slowly.

After about half an hour, Ning Shu arrived at the sports school.

Hearing the sound of a car, the guard hurried over, only to see Er Bao getting out of the car.

As soon as Er Bao saw the guard, he happily exclaimed, “Uncle! Today my mom drove me to school! My mom is amazing; she can drive!”

Since the first time she took him, Ning Shu hadn’t come again.

Previously, either Yi Bao or San Bao had been the ones to drop Er Bao off or pick him up.

So this time, with his mom driving him, Er Bao was particularly thrilled.