The Driving License Exam

Qin Guan entered the dormitory and called for the others to gather around as he took out the shirts. When he had them try them on, they looked kind of weird. The shirts were not their size.

The shirt had looked good on Qin Guan, but the eldest two of his roommates were both tall and muscular.

The length of the shirts was good, but instead of being baggy like they were supposed to, the shirts were a really tight fit on their bodies.

Their bulging chest muscles looked like they were about to tear the shirts open, making them look like tyrannosaurs.

Qin Guan turned to see his other two roommates. Great, with those dragging sleeves they could be playing a role in Peking Opera. The lower hem was so loose that the shirts looked like skirts. Their every movement showcased the literary excellence of scholars. Plus, the wind under the hem meant that they had to move carefully.

As for his last roommate, Qin Guan couldn’t even bear to see him. He looked like he was wearing a dress. They all took off the shirts resentfully and returned them to Qin Guan. They were all irritated. His perfect standard figure was too provoking.

While they were fighting in good fun, Qin Guan informed them that he would start driving lessons the following week. He was beaten once again. All of them decided to take driving lessons as well.

Qin Guan was inspired. That’s it. We can make a group purchase. His roommates were all confused. Qin Guan remembered that there was no such concept at the time. He readily promised the others that he would help them arrange things.

On that weekend, the countryside grocery store owner got a big deal. Qin Guan, who was already a customer, arrived with four more students. One of Qin Guan’s roommates had not brought an ID and could not register.

The owner sent the other five on the bus to the driving school with a big smile. Then he turned to calculate the fees for this deal.

They arrived at the Haidian Driving School on the swaying bus. They felt something strange while they were getting off the vehicle.

The area was a big bare space between the urban area and the countryside. There were several abandoned cars parked there and an endless wasteland beyond the entrance. There were only some vendor pancake stands and a couple of sheds made of broken wood to remind visitors that they were near civilization.

They followed the person in charge of the driving school to a small table. There was a queue in front of it for paying. Qin Guan pulled the person aside and talked to them in whispers. After a heated discussion, the meeting ended.

The five of them got a discount for their tuition. The original price had been 2200 yuan each. They payed 1980 yuan each, saving more than 200 yuan.

The person in charge had also promised Qin Guan that if he brought more students, he would pay him a 3% commission.

Qin Guan shared the exciting news with the others right away, making them hiss in resentment.

After paying the tuition fees, they asked Qin Guan for a treat.

Qin Guan walked directly to the pancake stand by the entrance and ordered one pancake with two eggs for each of them.

The old woman behind the stand gaped at the deal. Taking up the wooden oil can, she wiped the iron plate again and again until it was so oily it was shining. Then the woman took a spoon, scooped up a spoonful of batter, poured it onto the plate and spread it out with a small spatula.

The batter got thinner and thinner until it had finally covered the whole plate. The old woman scattered sesame and brushed sauce onto the pancake before flipping it over. Then she turned to them, “Do you want anything else? A fried breadstick or a crisp fritter?”

A fried breadstick? You didn't misread, my friend. In the earlier days, pancakes were often served with a fried breadstick. That might not happen anymore, but this was a traditional style pancake.

They all shouted together, “A fried breadstick!” A cold fried breadstick was quite different from a freshly fried one. It was soft and elastic, and if you bit on it too hard, it could paste onto your face.

The old woman smiled again as she rolled chopped green onion, a fried breadstick and caraway into the pancake. As soon as she finished one, she handed it to them. Soon they were all engorging on hot pancakes.

Eating a 3-yuan double-egg pancake made them feel warm. In such a wild place with such biting wind, even a small pancake could be a source of warmth.

They finished their pancakes and took the bus back to campus.

In the following days, everyone in Qin Guan’s dormitory was quite busy. They had to take both the college exams and the driving school exam, plus bear the hatred of the roommate who had been rejected from driving school.

Cong Nianwei was quiet. They just called each other. Being a straight-A student, she was busier than Qin Guan because she was taking numerous courses. Qin Guan’s application for appointment had been postponed. He could do nothing about it except shed sad silent tears in a corner.

After getting his driver’s license, Qin Guan received the advertising booklet by the shirt factory.

It was a thin booklet. On the cover, there was a photo of many shirts piled together. The brand and telephone number for ordering were printed on the edge. Inside there were the prices and sizes of each shirt.

Qin Guan found his own pictures in the featured products section of that season. There were traditional models wearing conservative clothes on the first two pages, followed by the new clothing line.

The printing quality was quite good. The colors were bright and beautiful. The series of photos in which Qin Guan was jumping took up a whole page.

The happy tall boy in the advertisement jumped in the sky with vigour. The size of the photos showed every little detail clearly for the customers to see.

Qin Guan thought the result was great. Tapping on the page, he turned to the next one. His bust photo was placed at the lower right corner, which matched well with the larger picture of the same shirt.

In fact, Qin Guan was gloomy those days. Xue Wanyi had made several calls to him, informing him of some advertisement shootings, but Qin Guan had exams to take. He refused all the redundant part-time jobs to focus on getting the scholarship. He didn't have any time for independent jobs.

Huang Jiajia seemed understanding. She never kept him after the end of their lessons. Instead, she asked Qin Guan to work hard. How can a prince like me show off without a scholarship? I can’t bear to lose face.

In the beginning of 1999, everyone seemed to be in a solemn mood as they took their pens and paper and entered the examination room.

During college exams, some supervisors were relaxed, especially during open book exams. Some supervisors, however, were strict. The roll call during regular courses served for presentations and homework and anything else that was calculated into a student’s score.

Amid the general caterwauling, Qin Guan and his roommates finished their exams calmly. As if they hadn’t irritated everybody else enough already, they guessed which scholarship they were going to get aloud in class, arousing everyone's hatred.

When they returned to their dormitory, they decided to have a dinner together before the holidays.

Qin Guan remembered that Sister Xue had called him several days ago, mentioning a bonus or something like that.

He dialed her number and heard her voice on the other end of line. “Where have you been, Qin Guan? Nice of you to remember to call me back. Why was your phone always switched off?”

Qin Guan moved the receiver a little farther from his ear. The woman on the other side of the line was shouting.

Qin Guan answered with a guilty smile, “I had exams, Sister Xue. It was a really bad time for us undergraduates. As soon as I was done with my exams, I called you.”

Sister Xue sounded a little comforted by his words, “The Chinese Near Year is drawing near. What are your plans for the winter holidays?”

Without hesitation, Qin Guan answered, “I’ll go home. I can’t take any part-time jobs.”

Sister Xue answered, “Just as I expected. There will be no more jobs until the Spring Festival. Would you like to do an advertisement for the shirt company again? They will shoot another one after the Spring Festival. Are you interested?”

“It depends,” Qin Guan said, “As long as it doesn’t clash with my courses.”

Sister Xue smiled, “Fine, I’ll say yes for you. They are looking for a long-time collaboration with a model. They want you to appear in all their advertisements. It’s four times a year. I raised the price for you. It’s 3000 yuan each time. We can sign a one-year contract.”

Qin Guan’s mouth widened at the price. He was enraptured as he said, “No problem, Sister Xue. Thank you for your help. That's settled.”

Thinking of something, Sister Xue said, “Give me your account number. I’ll send you a sum of money.”

Hearing that made Qin Guan even happier. “For what?” he asked.

His strange tone Qin Guan made Sister Xue angry. She shouted into the phone, “You can be proud! Your advertisement before the New Year was quite popular. Sales were amazing! The factory felt bad about your payment and gave you an extra 500-yuan as a gift. Give me your account and I’ll send you the money. This amount is not worth meeting for, my child!”

Then she hang up, leaving Qin Guan smiling in contentment.

Soon she got a short message from him. She held the phone tightly as she read it. You love money? It will be easier for me.

Sister Xue had been secretly counting on Qin Guan, although he knew nothing about it. He couldn’t help but laugh. The whole semester he had asked nothing of his parents. He had paid for his driving licence and made his own money.