Reborn: I'll Never Fail My Childhood Sweetheart Again-Chapter 369 - 158: Senior, I Got Accepted to the Finance Institute!
The summer vacation passed day by day without notice.
In mid-August, the driving license exam day arrived.
The early 2000s was the most comfortable time to take the driving license exam.
First, from registration to completing the exam was quick; some places could finish the process in less than a month, and you could get the license in about three months.
The exams were lenient too.
This leniency didn’t mean it was easy to pass, but if you failed, you just needed to pay a retake fee, and sometimes you didn’t even need to retake it.
This was far more comfortable than the future.
Speaking of which, the most troublesome time to get a driving license wasn’t even in the future but the 1980s.
Back then, being a driver was a technical job. You not only had to know how to drive, but also how to repair and maintain the car daily.
Those who took the driving test back then all had a thick book about mechanical principles. You had to learn repair techniques first before you were eligible to learn theory and practicals, taking more than a year, and the tuition was over a thousand.
What does that money mean? At that time, an ordinary worker in Yanjing made only about fifty or sixty yuan per month.
In the 1990s, it wasn’t as troublesome, but after registering, you still had to wait a few months. The theory for a Class C license took a month, and the practicals four months, so it still took about a year.
So the best time to get a driving license was in the early 2000s. By 2006, you could automatically upgrade to a Class B license or even continue to a Class A license, which would be unimaginable in the future. Especially getting a Class A license, in the future, it’s not just difficult!
Of course, there were certain places where it was particularly strict to get a license in the early 2000s, like the capital of Guangdong Province, Jiangcheng City, where every bus driver seemed to have an F1 background.
It’s said that a female driver in Jiangcheng took the exam from 2001 to 2015, persistently.
Until Ms. Wang saw a compilation of "bizarre female drivers" on the internet, she suddenly realized she really wasn’t suitable for driving. When she told the driving school, the principal immediately refunded her tuition and invited her to dinner.
If you were in Germany, after failing three times, you’d have to take an IQ test, which is really impressive.
Before the full exam, there was a night run.
This exam was the nighttime version of the road test, which just added the use of lights, like switching to low beam when meeting or following a vehicle ahead, and switching between high and low beams when overtaking or at intersections.
The night run didn’t require everyone to participate; just a few representatives were recommended. If they failed, everyone would chip in for the retake fee, and it was all okay once it was paid.
The students in Su Zelin’s class were quite well-off, of course, so it was best to avoid retakes if possible, hence the slacker was unsurprisingly recommended to represent them in the night run.
Once in the car, Su Zelin smiled and handed over the exam form with both hands, "Hello, examiner!"
The examiner was slightly surprised to see this college-looking kid because it was rare for local university students from Jianglan to come to driving schools for licenses. There were many in the universities, though, as many driving schools set up training points on campuses during summer vacation.
Anyway, he nodded slightly.
After greeting, the slacker didn’t say much.
He adjusted the seat, fastened the seatbelt, checked the rearview mirrors, shifted to neutral, then pressed the clutch and lightly tapped the accelerator: "Examiner, the instruments are normal, requesting to start!"
"Alright, go ahead!"
With permission, Su Zelin proceeded with the night run like a pro.
When he got out of the car, the coach was indeed a bit baffled.
This college student drove too steadily, with all operations flawless and a surprisingly good attitude on the road. He was calm and proficient throughout, unlike a rookie who just got their license, more like a seasoned driver with at least ten years of experience.
Originally, the road test had many complexities with hundreds of demerit points that the examiner could pick on, like engine vibration being too large at startup, and make you fail, obediently paying the retake fee. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞
However, Su Zelin’s test was nearly perfect. The examiner felt too embarrassed to nitpick and let him pass without a word.
Two other representatives from the class took the test, and one failed.
Although many students were well-off or leaders from Jianglan, Jianglan was just a small county-level city. The examiners came from the higher-level city and didn’t care about them, so if you needed to retake it, you had to. Even if you didn’t, you still had to pay the retake fee.
Sometimes, it’s not surprising for an entire class to fail both night and road runs. The result of the slackers’ class night run was quite good.
The next day’s pancake pressing, uphill start, electronic pile, and road run were all smoothly passed by Su Zelin. He became the only one in the class to pass all subjects, while others all more or less failed something, especially the road run, where only three passed.
Ms. Chen from the government reception office also failed two subjects, but she passed the electronic pile which required a strict retake. She happily paid the retake fees for the other two subjects.
Just afraid of failing the electronic pile and having to retake it endlessly, you know.
The day after the exam, the entire class treated the coach to a meal to express gratitude, which was customary.
No need to practice driving, the male students ordered drinks, and Su Zelin also drank a few cups. The slacker was too mature for his age. After spending so much time together, the leaders and well-offs no longer saw him as a college student and remembered this impressive young man.
...
The morning after the exams, Su Zelin received a call from Huang Panpan.
"Senior, I got admitted to the Finance Institute!"
As soon as he answered, the excited junior shared the good news with the slacker.
"Oh, Panpan, congratulations on becoming a future college student!"
Su Zelin wasn’t surprised to hear this news.
