Chapter 1157: Car in hand

With Wu Dong driving and Wang An in the passenger seat, the two soon arrived at the large compound.

Wu Dong parked the vehicle in front of a massive warehouse—or perhaps a factory building would be more accurate—and told Wang An to get out with him.

Upon entering the factory, Wang An saw several tanks and cannons, as well as other non-civilian equipment, which were rarely seen in this era.

It was clear that this building was specifically used to store such items.

So, Wang An asked Wu Dong subconsciously:

"Brother Wu, am I not supposed to be seeing these things?"

Wu Dong scanned the area and said:

"It's fine. These are all items that aren't worth repairing or have been phased out. They'll be shipped away soon."

Hearing Wu Dong say this, Wang An finally felt at ease.

In Wang An's subconscious, weapon storage facilities were supposed to be kept secret to prevent them from being exploited by malicious actors—like that spy named "Da Hui," who had actually managed to draw maps of weapon depots and military deployment points. That was just a damn mess!

Walking further inside, Wang An saw the Jeep he had been longing for—the GAZ.

To be honest, the car looked truly ugly, though that was from the perspective of someone from the future. In this era, it was still quite aesthetically acceptable.

Along the way, Wu Dong explained that the reason this car was so expensive was because of the modifications.

The tires were bulletproof, the glass was bulletproof, and even the chassis had been reinforced.

The purpose of these vehicles was partly for training exercises and partly for testing, used to record various data points.

This meant recording how the vehicle performed under various complex environmental conditions to help manufacture vehicles for important figures.

So, while these cars didn't look like much, every single component and the entire body were made of top-tier materials.

Of course, even so, these cars were no longer needed, and to recoup some of the investment, they had to be sold off.

Walking up to the GAZ vehicles, Wu Dong said to Wang An:

"Take a look. The keys are all in the cars. Pick whichever one you like, and we'll go outside to pay later."

Wang An inspected them one by one and finally chose the one with the least tire wear; the tread was very clear, and the rubber nubs were still visible.

With that, Wang An patted the hood and said with a smile:

"This is the one, hahahaha."

As he spoke, Wang An opened the door, checked the interior, and skillfully started the engine.

The interior was completely bare, so there wasn't much to look at.

Once the engine sound stabilized, Wang An drove it out of the warehouse entrance.

It had to be said, the biggest drawback of driving this car was the heavy steering; someone without strength in their shoulders would never be able to turn the wheel while stationary.

The rest of the process was simple. Wu Dong took Wang An to the office to pay, and after receiving the introduction letter and vehicle registration documents, the car officially belonged to Wang An.

By the time everything was sorted, it was already past 3:00 PM.

Leaving the compound, Wu Dong stopped the car, rolled down the window, and shouted to Wang An:

"Xiao An, I have to head back to my unit. You go home too. We'll have a proper get-together once I'm done with my work."

Wang An shouted back:

"Alright, sounds good, Brother Wu!"

After Wu Dong drove away, Wang An also drove home in high spirits.

It had to be said, although the car had no power steering and the seats were very hard, offering zero comfort, the clutch and gearbox—perhaps because of the modifications—were very smooth to shift.

Many old GAZ vehicles had clutches that were difficult for anyone but an experienced driver to shift, usually due to excessive clutch play.

Speeding along, Wang An pushed the car to a top speed of 70 mph on the mountain road.

He had to admit, the chassis tuning was truly excellent; it was no wonder it had served as a military vehicle for so many years.

Just like that, he covered the 30-plus miles in only 15 minutes. That speed was undeniably fast.

As soon as he entered his courtyard, Wang An proudly honked the horn repeatedly.

Soon, Wang Dazhu and his wife, along with Huang Zhong, ran out of the house, followed by Shen Wei and Huang Li, who were helping Mu Xueqing out.

Although Mu Xueqing's belly was quite large, it didn't hinder her walking. Following the advice of Liu Guilan, Shen Wei, and other experienced women, she walked a lot every day.

There was no choice; she had to exercise, otherwise giving birth would be very difficult.

Seeing his family had all come out, Wang An opened the door and jumped out of the car.

As soon as Wang Dazhu saw the car, his eyes couldn't leave it. He circled the vehicle, praising it:

"Tsk tsk tsk, this little car is really something else. It looks great."

Liu Guilan also said excitedly:

"It's usually hard enough to even see a car like this, and now my eldest son has driven one right to our door! Hahahaha."

Mu Xueqing and Shen Wei also stared at the GAZ, their pretty faces full of smiles.

After circling the car, Wang An opened the door and said to the four of them with a smile:

"Everyone get in! I'll take you for a spin around the village, hahahaha..."

To his surprise, Wang Dazhu said:

"You take your mother and the others for a spin first. I'll stay here and watch the house."

Wang An said without hesitation:

"Oh, what's there to watch? Let Xiao Li and Xiao Zhong watch for a bit. I'll take them for a spin in a little while. We'll be back soon."

Wang Dazhu rolled his eyes at Wang An:

"I mean, after you take your mother and the others for a ride, you can teach me how to drive, understand? You know nothing."

Wang An finally understood; his old man was itching to drive.

Wang An had intended to teach his father to drive anyway, so his father's request was exactly what he wanted.

With that, Wang An said with a smile:

"Hahahaha, wanting to learn to drive doesn't stop us from taking a spin first! Get in, get in. I'll take Xiao Li and the others for a ride, and then it'll be your turn."

Wang Dazhu thought that made sense, so he climbed into the back seat.

Just like that, Mu Xueqing sat in the passenger seat, while Wang Dazhu, his wife, and Shen Wei sat in the back.

It had to be said, the GAZ had quite a lot of space. Three people in the back wasn't crowded at all—though that might have been because people in this era were relatively thin.

Wang An said to the sisters Huang Li and Huang Zhong:

"I'll take your uncle and the others for a spin first, and then I'll take you two."

Huang Li quickly said:

"No need, no need, we don't need to."

Wang An didn't argue with Huang Li and just said:

"Alright, no need for what? Just wait at home for us to come back."

As he spoke, Wang An got in, closed the door, and without even needing to reverse, he made a turn and drove out of the courtyard gate.

(End of chapter)