Chapter 87 Car Owners

After finishing his meal, Zhou Xuan straddled his motorcycle and headed toward the county town. The bike sped across the mountain ridges, the rice paddies on either side flashing backward in a blur, filling Zhou Xuan with an indescribable sense of ease.

The weather had been fine for the past few days, and the road surface was dry, making it quite pleasant to ride a motorcycle. However, on a couple of previous return trips, heavy rain had turned the dirt road into a maze of mud pits, making it excruciatingly difficult to navigate. Had it not been for the front mudguard on the motorcycle, Zhou Xuan's trousers would certainly have been completely caked in mud by the time he reached home.

He thought about how, according to the historical timeline, it would still take a few years for this road to be paved into a gravel road. Well, it would just be a rudimentary road paved with river pebbles or construction waste, then simply leveled out. Although it wouldn't be a concrete road, at least it wouldn't be so slippery on rainy days, and excessive traffic wouldn't leave behind all sorts of deep mud holes.

Next year, however, Zhou Xuan didn't mind donating some money to have a concrete road built, and then encouraging the village to start planting watermelons ahead of schedule to improve the villagers' livelihood. In his past life, it was precisely because many people in the village grew watermelons, creating economic benefits and eventually building a brand, that the gravel road was finally upgraded to a concrete road to facilitate watermelon transportation.

Zhou Xuan held a deep affection for his hometown; otherwise, he wouldn't have bothered trying to help out as much as he could. Anyone else would probably have started a business in the city, eventually moving the entire family there and becoming urbanites once and for all. Zhou Xuan had seen plenty of such people—and of course, in his previous life, Zhou Xuan had been one of them.

As a lifelong code monkey, could he possibly return to farming the land? Therefore, he had taken out a mortgage to buy an apartment in the provincial capital, becoming a mortgage slave, obtained his household registration, and officially became a city dweller. After his parents passed away, he hardly ever returned to his rural hometown. Perhaps this was simply the inevitable result of the urbanization process.

Emerging from the mountains, the scenery ahead opened up. Zhou Xuan looked back at the stretch of ridges, his resolve growing firmer than ever. When he grew old, he would build a manor back in his hometown, spending his days fishing and chopping firewood, facing the green mountains with spring blossoms all around.

Arriving at the county town and reaching the entrance of the residential complex, he saw a brand-new car parked by the roadside. Zhou Xuan drove his motorcycle into the complex, parked it properly, and then walked back out.

With a flutter of excitement, Zhou Xuan approached the car. At that moment, a young man stepped out from the driver's seat, holding a set of keys.

"Excuse me, are you Zhou Xuan?" the young man asked very politely.

Zhou Xuan nodded. "That's right. Is this my Santana?"

"These are the keys. President Chen asked me to deliver it to you."

"Thank you so much, you've had a hard journey."

Zhou Xuan had taken his driver's license test some time ago. Since he already knew how to drive, passing the test was a breeze. In just one week, Zhou Xuan had his driver's license in hand. Realizing that he would need to handle matters in Rongcheng during the summer vacation and that taking the bus from the station all the time would be terribly inconvenient, Zhou Xuan decided to buy a car first.

Knowing that Chen Yulin ran his own transportation company, he surely had his own channels for this sort of thing. Therefore, Zhou Xuan had entrusted the task of purchasing a car to his older brother figure, Chen Yulin. When Chen Yulin heard that Zhou Xuan wanted to buy a car, he immediately offered to gift him one. However, Zhou Xuan declined Chen Yulin's kind offer; his very first car was something he wanted to buy himself.

In the end, Zhou Xuan spent 180,000 yuan, having Chen Yulin help him purchase a Santana 2000 Era Supercharger. He had heard that this particular model had been selling like hotcakes lately. Moreover, Zhou Xuan knew the car had a good reputation for quality and a reasonable price, making it just right for his needs at this stage.

Accepting the keys, Zhou Xuan couldn't wait to take his new car out for a spin. In less than half an hour, he had circled the county town and parked the car not far from Liu Yixue's home.

"Hello, Yixue?" Zhou Xuan called Liu Yixue, inviting her out for a drive.

"Why are you calling me now? It's already seven o'clock in the evening," Liu Yixue said with a hint of confusion.

Having just bought a car, anyone would naturally want to take their girlfriend out for a spin, even though Zhou Xuan had already lived through several decades. "Haha, it's not dark yet. We can go out for tea and enjoy the river breeze! Come on out, I have a surprise for you."

"Oh? What kind of surprise?" Liu Yixue asked.

"You'll know once you come out!" Zhou Xuan kept her in suspense.

After pondering for a moment on the other end, she replied, "Fine then, give me ten minutes."

Zhou Xuan hung up the phone, tucked his hands into his trouser pockets, and leaned casually against the car door, exuding a certain dashing charm. Fortunately, thanks to regular exercise, Zhou Xuan's physique had developed significantly. Although he was not yet seventeen years old, he had already grown to a height of one meter seventy-five, making him look like a young man in his early twenties.

Zhou Xuan's pose naturally drew sideways glances from passersby. Seeing the brand-new sedan beside him, they all wore expressions of envy. In this era, anyone in a fourth-tier county town who could afford a motorcycle was already considered well-off, let alone someone driving a car. Yet everyone privately assumed he was just another spoiled brat driving his family's car out to show off.

Ten minutes later, Liu Yixue walked slowly toward the entrance of the complex, wearing shorts and a short-sleeved top, revealing a pair of slender, fair legs. Looking at the graceful figure approaching from afar, Zhou Xuan felt a stir in his heart; this girl was getting prettier and more tender by the day.

When Liu Yixue reached Zhou Xuan and spotted the car behind him, she asked in astonishment, "Zhou Xuan, whose car did you borrow? It looks like it wasn't cheap at all!"

Liu Yixue's father owned a car, but it was the cheapest kind of compact vehicle, and its appearance fell far short of Zhou Xuan's ride.

Zhou Xuan laughed heartily, pointing at the car. "Yixue, I bought this car. What do you think? Not bad, right?"

"You bought it?" Liu Yixue widened her eyes in disbelief.

Seeing Liu Yixue's shocked expression, Zhou Xuan smiled. "Of course, it cost over two hundred thousand yuan."

"How is that possible? Where would you get that much money?" Liu Yixue knew that Zhou Xuan's family merely ran a clothing store; how could they possibly have made over two hundred thousand yuan in just half a year?

Zhou Xuan opened the car door and invited, "Yixue, get in. I'll take you for a spin, and then we'll go get a late-night snack. I'll explain everything properly to you then, and you'll understand."

Liu Yixue glanced at Zhou Xuan and smiled. "Fine. I'd love to see how you plan to explain this."

This was the hottest time of the summer. Zhou Xuan rolled down the windows and drove swiftly along the Yangtze River Avenue. There was no denying that Zhou Xuan's driving skills were exceptional; although he hadn't driven in a long time, the handling remained as smooth as silk.

The river breeze dispersed the heat lingering on the asphalt, making both Zhou Xuan and Liu Yixue feel wonderfully refreshed, deeply enjoying the sensation of the moment. An hour later, Zhou Xuan parked the car in front of a riverside food stall and invited Liu Yixue to have barbecue.

Zhou Xuan ordered a mug of draft beer, and together with Liu Yixue, they ordered a spread of skewers along with two side dishes.

Taking a sip of the draft beer, Zhou Xuan smiled at Liu Yixue. "Yixue, the money for the car was earned entirely by myself. You know how good I am at writing compositions; a while ago, my novel got published, so I received a sizable royalty."

"What! Royalties can be that high?" Liu Yixue asked, utterly astonished upon hearing Zhou Xuan's words.

Zhou Xuan chuckled. "You wouldn't be so surprised if you knew which book I wrote."

"What book?" Liu Yixue asked.

"What book was the hottest throughout the entire first half of the year?" Zhou Xuan countered.

"Ah!" Liu Yixue pointed at him and exclaimed, "You're Zhou Zixuan?!"