Chapter 49 Borrowed a Jeep
"Forget about the allowance, I don't want it anymore." Qin Hai said with a smile, "Having the opportunity to learn from Teacher Chen is satisfaction enough for me."
"You can say that, but I really feel a bit guilty," said Yue Guoyang. "You helped Professor Chen and the others solve a big problem, and you also gave us a good suggestion for military-civilian cooperation. If we don't give you some consideration, I always feel like I'm taking advantage of a child. Professor Chen, what do you think?"
Chen Heqian smiled and nodded repeatedly: "Commander Yue's summary is correct. I also think we've been bullying the kids a bit too much."
Qin Hai smiled and said, "Why do I feel that Commander Yue and Teacher Chen are teasing me? You're saying sorry on one hand, but on the other hand, you're crying desperately. Isn't this just to amuse me?"
Guo Yang waved his hand and said, "This is not to amuse you, our troops are indeed too poor. We want to give you some subsidies, but we can't find a reason. How about this? What do you require? As long as it's within my authority, I'll definitely help you with it. What do you think?"
When Yue Guoyang's words came out, Ge Dongyan, who was standing beside him, almost stared his eyes out. When had the commander ever said such generous words? It seemed that this Qin Hai was really favored by the commander and could actually make such a big promise.
Yue Guoyang was so generous, of course, there were reasons for it. Firstly, he felt that Qin Hai had been brought in to work without any reason, and Qin Hai had indeed achieved extraordinary results, but he hadn't shown any appreciation, which made him feel indebted to Qin Hai. Secondly, Qin Hai's proposal for military-civilian cooperation had moved him, and he had some intention of cooperating with Qin Hai, so he also hoped to use some method to win over Qin Hai and make him wholeheartedly cooperate with the troops.
As for what kind of requirements Qin Hai would put forward, Yue Guoyang couldn't think of it for the time being. He felt that Qin Hai shouldn't make excessive demands, after all, he was a young man who knew how to advance and retreat.
Qin Hai pretended to be hesitant and asked: "Commander Yue, are you serious about this?"
"There's no joking in the army." Yue Guoyang said.
Qin Hai Dao said: "If it's like that, then I have an impolite request, I don't know if Commander Yue can agree to it."
"You go ahead and say it, as long as you don't violate the principles, I can agree," said Yue Guoyang.
Qin Hai Dao: "Commander Yue, can I borrow a car from you?"
"Are you saying I should find a car to send you back to Pingyuan?" Yue Guoyang reacted suddenly, asking subconsciously.
Qin Hai Dao said: "No, lend me a car. If you want to set up a factory, there are many things to do, and without a car on hand, it's too inconvenient."
Yue Guoyang furrowed his brow and said, "There are plenty of cars, but the number of drivers in the troops is limited. Moreover, sending a driver to follow you doesn't seem quite right either?"
Qin Hai Dao said: "I didn't say I wanted a driver, I'll drive myself."
"Can you drive?" Yue Guoyang felt a little surprised, in that era learning to drive was a big deal, if not a driver for the work unit, there would be no opportunity to learn how to drive. Qin Hai was just a foundry worker, when did he ever learn to drive?
Qin Hai had to make something up: "When I was in the countryside, I followed a driver from my hometown and learned how to drive. My skills are no problem, it's just that I don't have a driver's license. These days at the base, I saw that there were many idle jeeps, so I wanted to borrow one from Commander Yue."
In the mid-1980s, a nationwide downsizing of troops led to many equipment being vacated. Jeeps were among them. Many units under the provincial military district were merged and disbanded, and vehicles originally allocated to unit leaders and other purposes were left idle, with some stored in the barracks of the missile troops. Qin Hai had been active in the barracks these days and discovered these dusty jeeps, which sparked a mischievous idea in his mind.
In those days, taxis were a rare thing, and Pingyuan County was absolutely without such things. Even in Hongze City, there were only dozens of taxis, mainly serving foreign guests and some government departments. When people wanted to travel, they could only take the train or long-distance bus, but the long-distance bus schedule was also very limited, which added a lot of trouble to interpersonal communication.
If there was a car for personal use, the situation would be quite different. Qin Hai had no intention of staying in the agricultural machinery factory as an ordinary worker, so getting his own car was necessary.
Upon hearing Qin Hai's request, Yue Guoyang thought for a few seconds and turned to Ge Dongyan, saying: "Little Ge, take Qin Hai back to the missile base later, find a car, and test his skills. If his skills pass the test, help him get a driver's license and lend him a car, but first change the license plate to avoid him driving a military vehicle and causing trouble everywhere."
"Yes!" Ge Dongyan responded loudly, while secretly marveling in his heart that Qin Hai was really too audacious, daring to make such an outrageous request in front of the commander, and the commander actually agreed.
"Thank you, Commander Yue!" Qin Hai quickly stood up and thanked Yue Guoyang. Honestly, he had made the request with a try-and-see attitude, and he never thought that Yue Guoyang would actually agree.
"This car is not lent to you for a joyride, but for doing something serious." Yue Guoyang agreed to Qin Hai's request on impulse, and his heart was also somewhat nervous. He seriously instructed: "The matter of the engineer's shovel, you can start considering it now. The formalities and the refining equipment, I will arrange someone to handle them immediately. As for recommending the engineer's shovel to the two Iraqis, this matter is not urgent, and we need to wait a bit first. Our troops definitely need these shovels, so prepare 100 of them first and equip Xiao Ge's team."
"Yes!" Qin Hai learned from Ge Dongyan's manner and responded readily.
"Xiao Ge, go to the logistics department and borrow 2,000 yuan in my name. Give it to Qin Hai. He wants to do some engineering work and needs funding." Yue Guoyang instructed Ge Dongyan, then specifically explained to Qin Hai: "This money is only borrowed for you, and when you make money in the future, you must return it to the troops in full. If you use this money to eat, drink and have fun..."
Qin Hai didn't wait for Yue Guoyang to finish speaking, and smiled: "Commander Yue can rest assured, even if I'm crazy, I wouldn't dare embezzle the Black Brigade's money. Otherwise, Ge Pai Zhang alone could deal with me."
"This is more like it." Yue Guoyang nodded in satisfaction.
After coming out from Yue Guoyang, Chen Heqian's gaze at Qin Hai was completely different. Before this, the knowledge shown by Qin Hai was familiar to Chen Heqian, and he felt surprised only because Qin Hai's academic background did not match his knowledge. But after this negotiation with Yue Guoyang, Chen Heqian's view of Qin Hai changed completely, and he realized that Qin Hai had a kind of ability that scholars like him did not possess, which was the ability to operate and manage.
Having realized this, Chen Heqian no longer mentioned inviting Qin Hai to Beijing. In his heart, he was secretly disappointed and felt that such a talented person was unfortunately only interested in business.
Ge Dongyan took Qin Hai back to the base, and indeed found a jeep from the closed garage, drove it to an empty field, and let Qin Hai test drive. In his previous life, Qin Hai had learned to drive with this type of jeep, and after a brief awkwardness, he became proficient in operation, driving the jeep on the empty field with various tricks, trying out all the subjects he had learned in driving school, which made Chen Heqian and others watching from the side applaud and cheer.
"Not bad, not bad." Ge Dongyan nodded repeatedly. "Xiao Qin, I really didn't expect that you drive so well. Do you often drive at home?"
Qin Hai wanted to tell Ge Dongyan that he had driven the Qinghai-Tibet Railway and the Lanzhou-Xinjiang Highway by himself, but how could he say such a thing to an outsider? He could only cover it up and said: "Ge, you're overpraising me. Actually, I've driven very few times... uh, but my driving instructor also said that I have a natural sense of driving, maybe I just have a good affinity with cars."
"With such skills, I can actually lend you a car now." Ge Dongyan said, "When you asked the commander to borrow a car before, I was worried that you wouldn't drive well and sweated for you."
Qin Hai Dao said: "How is this possible? Ge Pai Zhang should also understand me by now, when have I ever not kept my word?"
Kui Dongyan smiled and said, "This is what you said. Since your words count, then we have an agreement. 100 military shovels, you must provide them to me within a month, otherwise, I will take our squad to Qingfeng Factory to find you."
The military handled things, and indeed had a style of being swift and decisive. On the second day after Ge Dongyan had assessed Qin Hai's driving skills, Zhu Chongwu came to the base with a driver's license and a set of local license plates. He asked Ge Dongyan to replace the military license plate on the jeep with the local one, then handed the driver's license to Qin Hai, saying: "Little Qin, this is a driver's license I got for you through my connections, so be sure to drive carefully, or if there's any problem, both I and Captain Li of the traffic police will be affected."
"Haha, won't do, won't do." Qin Hai dryly smiled as he took the driver's license. He was deeply moved in his heart. Without taking an exam, and not even seeing a single police officer, he got his hands on a driver's license. The power of authority is truly boundless.
Zhu Chongwu took out a small notebook from his pocket and handed it to Qin Hai, saying: "This is the gas book. You can use it to refuel at various gas stations, but you'll have to pay for the fuel yourself. Our unit can't advance you the money."
"No need, no need, this is enough." Qin Hai quickly put away the gas station book, then thanked Zhu Chongwu and Ge Dongyan, got in the car, shifted gears, and drove the Jeep out of the base towards Pingyuan.