General Yves had already tried driving a water tanker and a dump truck before, so he had some driving skills.
But now, facing two vehicles, one black and one dirt gray, he felt a bit unsure where to start.
Holding the key, he pressed a button following the instructions. Suddenly, the black car's doors opened upwards like wings.
"Amazing!"
Two bodyguards behind General Yves were surprised and could not help but say so out loud.
Even though they had seen many things with General Yves, this still amazed them.
General Yves's eyes brightened a little as he looked at the doors, then turned his attention to the car's inside.
It was very different from the other vehicles he had seen before. The seat covers were smooth and shiny. The inside looked very delicate.
"General, we can drive the cars for you!"
Yinok was eager and stepped forward.
General Yves looked at him and said, "No need."
He left the two behind, sat in the car himself, started it, shifted gears, and pressed the gas pedal.
Though his view was lower than in the previous vehicles, it was still fine. The car drove very smoothly.
This was because the cars he drove before were harder to control. Now, the difficulty was lower, so it felt easier.
Also, compared to the water tanker and dump truck driving on dirt roads, the off-road vehicle was more stable. Even when he pushed the gas harder, the car stayed steady and did not shake or risk flipping.
General Yves drove alone outside for about thirty minutes before heading back.
The off-road vehicle was almost twice as fast on these dirt roads compared to other vehicles.
He really enjoyed driving it.
Yinok and Eros waited for him but did not waste time. They took the key General Yves gave them and checked the dirt gray tank off-road vehicle inside and out, just waiting for General Yves to allow them to drive it.
As soon as General Yves got out of the car, he saw the eager looks from the two.
"Go ahead, drive it and get familiar. When we head south, we will move ahead first."
General Yves agreed.
The trip south needed to be as fast as possible to save more people from the enemy.
Though Yinok and Eros had not driven the car yet and had been busy all night, they did not look tired at all.
When they heard General Yves let them drive, they did not want to leave him alone.
After talking, Yinok said, "General, I will stay and keep you company."
General Yves did not refuse. He mounted his horse, and Eros stayed with him.
They rode around the streets once. They could see soup kitchens every few blocks.
The scene looked very different from the day before.
Eros looked happy and said, "General, everything we have done is working."
Eros grew up with General Yves, always by his side through thick and thin. They fought battles together, and Eros was deeply influenced by General Yves to feel responsible for the people.
General Yves showed no clear expression on his face, but he was not as serious as yesterday.
They had been traveling for many days. After a sleepless night, General Yves fell asleep right after the inspection.
Sophia's side had already sent most of the food supplies.
They quickly sent more.
Ronin had been in the village these days. Seeing how much food had been sold so fast, he was surprised.
Sophia explained stiffly, "The big trucks come at midnight. But that's not the main problem. It's inconvenient for the trucks to come through the village entrance. I thought, maybe we can build a road from behind our house, straight to the big bridge? Then trucks coming at night won't disturb the villagers."
Sophia's house was deep inside the village. Every time a truck came, it had to enter through the village entrance and pass through the whole village before reaching her home.
Not only was it noisy at night, but during the day, many big trucks passed by, which was dangerous with old people and children running around.
Ronin didn't immediately agree. "Boss, what you said makes sense, but we need to look into it carefully."
Since they had this idea, they invited Village Chief Zhang along.
After walking a little, they met Zhang Ershun, who seemed to come looking for Sophia.
"Miss, didn't you say you would build a road for the village? Why hasn't it started yet after so long?"
Ronin felt uncomfortable hearing this but smiled and handed him a cigarette. "Uncle Er, we've been busy lately. We can't rush the road. We still have to report to the village about it."
With Ronin, a local helping smooth things over, Zhang Ershun's tone was less harsh.
"But didn't you promise? A promise should be kept, right? Besides, Sophia's place has trucks coming and going all the time. You must be making a good profit."
Ronin had been working on the space near Sophia's warehouse, pouring cement, and fixing the doors of houses along the truck path.
The ground was still drying when Zhang Ershun showed up.
Ronin sneered inside. Whether this man was rich or poor didn't concern him.
Actually, the road was originally planned to be cement, but Sophia said cement roads don't last. Many city roads now use asphalt, so they planned to hire a construction team later to lay asphalt.
"What profit? If Sophia had money, she wouldn't still live in the village. She would have gone to the city to develop."
Ronin defended Sophia.
Growing up in the village and spending time in the city, Ronin knew it was best to keep wealth hidden.
Even if others saw signs of money, they couldn't guess the exact amount, so Ronin always found polite ways to refuse.
Sophia smiled and said, "Uncle, we will build the road. After we finish our cement floor, we'll start the road."
Zhang Ershun didn't say more but tried to test them.
"Since trucks come and go all day, your business must be good. The village people wonder what kind of business you run. With that much stock, you must need many workers."
He paused and said, "How many people are you planning to hire? I used to be a team leader at a factory. If you need workers, just call me! I used to make ten thousand a month, so I expect at least that much."
He was waiting for Sophia or Ronin to invite him.
He spoke so clearly because he was confident.
First, he really had factory experience, but how much of his words were true, no one knew.
Second, since Sophia's trucks often passed by his house, he wanted some face.