After receiving the results, Regimental Commander Liu said to Political Commissar Yan: “No matter which division the little lass gets posted to, the level of that division will soar up like they were seated in an airplane. The results of her ten extra days are already comparable to a six-month motorized infantry soldier.”
“Coincidentally there’s a night drive on Friday. How about this, we’ll assign a co-driver in her car and let her try it out.” Night drives are one of the training drills and are compulsory for every motorized infantry soldier.
“Mountain drive?” A hint of seriousness surfaced on Political Commissar Yan’s face. After spending a moment in silence, he gently shook his head, “That won’t do, there’re unforeseeable risks on the mountain road. There is only one road up there, and huge 180 degree turns, no railings at the side, and they also have to remain at a distance from the cars in front. Old Liu, I will not allow her to drive up the mountain road.”
After all, she had only been with them for slightly over ten days. The practise on the training ground will be enough to perfect her skills and training under the instructor’s command will ensure a layer of protection.
However, the mountain road was entirely different. There, it was all about the experience, and that’s not something that can be overcome using only guts.
“She’s inexperienced, and I won’t recommend her to go on night drives…” Regimental Commander Liu sighed, after a moment of silence, he replied: “You’re right, she still lacks the necessary experience. We’ll see about that soon. Let’s take a look at her results in two weeks and, if possible, let her try it once before going to the capital. We still need to let her try if we don’t, then she won’t have the confidence she needs.”
“The leader’s schedule is coming out soon. If there’s any night driving, little lass Jian, who is acting as one of the escorts, must pass the training for it. If not, we cannot arrange for her to be at the leader’s side.”
Regimental Commander Liu’s apprehensions finally made Political Commissar Yan nod in agreement, “Alright, we’ll allow her to have a test drive before going to the capital.”
Ye Jian didn’t know that she had become the topic of interest between the Regimental Commander and the Political Commissar. Recently, she had made Political Commissar Yan hesitate multiple times on whether he should talk with her or not.
It was not until the Friday of the third week that Ye Jian knew that she needed to participate in the night driving training. She steadily started the car on the practice track, setting out, changing gears, adjusting speed, turning direction. She completed all of those actions naturally as flowing water, and there wasn’t a hint of unfamiliarity.
“Uneven roads ahead, unilateral bridge and bilateral bridge; Ye Jian, keep up your pace and pass it swiftly!” Her instructor’s stern voice came out from the earpiece, instructing Ye Jian on how to complete her practice tests.
Forward, reverse, and after a right-angled turn, she passed the unilateral and bilateral steel track bridges. Ye Jian kept up her speed, driving the car as if she was taking a walk and passed through everything without a hitch.
Political Commissar Yan watched the jeep on the training tracks complete the whole set of training drills in a way that seemed to be driven by an experienced soldier. She even managed to complete the course in a time that was only 20 seconds slower from someone who had more experience than her.
“What other training drills do you have after this?” He walked beside Ye Jian’s training instructor and said in a low voice: “It’s already four in the afternoon, she still has to make it to her evening revision period.”
The instructor opened the training schedule and replied with a low voice: “A drill that we had started practising last night: going over a unilateral bridge with two wheels forward.” Two wheels forward meant that the car would be moving on one of its sides at a fast speed, thus completing a drift.
“Good, once that’s done, let her take a break. I just saw her picking up bandages from the medical supplies; she must have blisters on her palm, huh.”
“Yes, from Fridays to Sundays, her training will only end at 0100, then she will wake up at precisely 0600 for training. The little lass has delicate skin, and because she has to turn the steering wheel at breakneck speed over the past two days, she got a few blisters on her hands.”
The instructor’s explanation was a watered-down one because there weren’t just a few blisters on Ye Jian’s palm. Her hands had blisters at areas where her fingers joined together with her palm and were arranged in a straight line.
