Bidding farewell to Xishanju, which was in its infancy, the time was almost noon, Zhang Lexing took Wang Mengyao and the members of the two project teams of "The Legend of Sword and Fairy" and "Legend of Blackstone" to Xifeng Restaurant for dinner. Although everyone did not drink at the banquet because they had to work in the afternoon, they were stimulated by the good news of the Spring Festival holiday, and everyone's mood was very good, and even during the period before the holiday, everyone's work efficiency was greatly improved.

After eating, Zhang Lexing encouraged the members of the two project teams of "The Legend of Sword and Fairy" and "The Legend of Blackstone", and then left Shenzhen and returned to Hong Kong. After a short break, Zhang Lexing took a flight to San Francisco and left Hong Kong the next day. Zhang Lexing's flight took off from Hong Kong's Kai Tak Airport at 11:45 on January 24, and when the plane landed at San Francisco International Airport, the local time was only 9:20 on January 24.

After returning to his residence in San Jose, Zhang Lexing didn't care about the fatigue of the journey, so he called Chen Zishan first, perhaps because of the unfortunate time, the voice of the answering machine came out of the phone: "Hello, I'm Susan, I'm not at home now, if there is anything, please leave a message after hearing the tick...... Tick ......"

"Zishan, I'm Lexing, I just came back today, and the journey was very smooth. Well, it's okay, I'll call again in the evening. Zhang Lexing had no choice but to say a few words casually and hung up the phone.

It's late at night according to Hong Kong time, but fortunately, Zhang Lexing has already slept on the plane, so he doesn't feel too tired. There were still nearly two hours before noon, and Zhang Lexing didn't want to spend the day in boredom, so he arranged a car to come to the office building of the headquarters of VisualSystem Group.

When Zhang Lexing gently pushed open the door of Yang Xinxin's office, she was sitting at her desk looking at some information, and when she heard someone coming in, she raised her head and looked at the door.

"Brother, didn't you just come back, why didn't you rest at home. Yang Xinxin asked with concern.

"I've already rested on the plane, so I don't feel tired. Besides, it's not interesting to be alone at home, so I'll just come and have a look. After speaking, Zhang Lexing came to the sofa and sat down.

"Well, it's all good, no problem. The 'White Tip Dolphin' operating system you are more concerned about has completed the final beta test, because this year is 95 years, so the official name is determined to be 'KylinWindows95', according to the plan will be held on March 6th, and the relevant marketing actions will start a month in advance......"

"Sister Xin, how was the press conference arranged?"

"It's all arranged, and the press conference will be broadcast live on satellite at that time, and the only pity is that it's not our own satellite. About 12 acres have been cleared for the launch site on the San Jose campus under construction, and the venue will be officially set up next month. At that time, Jay Leno of NBC, the most famous talk show host in the United States, will be invited to come over, and he will be the host of the press conference. The details have been made into a report, and you have a copy in your office, so you can check it out if you are interested. ”

"Sister Xin, this time has really worked hard for you. ”

"It's nothing, get used to it. By the way, did I show you the information last time?"

"What kind of information?" Zhang Lexing's mind was at a loss, and he couldn't remember any information at all.

"Seven or eight days ago, I personally delivered the information on learning to drive to your house. Yang Xinxin shook her head for a while, and said disappointedly: "Needless to say, you must not even have looked at it after that." ”

Zhang Lexing sneered embarrassedly and said, "If you want to rush to Hong Kong, I don't have time." ”

"Okay, my brother should have time now that he's back. ”

"Hmm...... Of course, there is time, but this new operating system is not about to be launched, I ......"

Before Zhang Le finished speaking, she was interrupted by Yang Xinxin, and she said with a displeased face: "Okay, I will naturally find someone to handle the release of the operating system, you don't have to worry too much, you should hurry up and get a driver's license." ”

"But I've never driven a car, so I'm afraid it's not easy to get a driver's license. Zhang Lexing still seemed very weak-hearted.

"Alas, in fact, the driver's license test is very simple, that is, the written test and the road test, go to the California Department of Motor Vehicles San Jose service office to pay $12, and then you can go to the test at any time, no one cares how many times you take the test, as long as you pass the road test within a year after passing the written test, you can get an official driver's license. Go for it, it's a lot more convenient to have a driver's license. ”

After Yang Xinxin's hard persuasion, coupled with Zhang Lexing's previous considerations, Zhang Lexing came to the California Department of Motor Vehicles branch in San Jose in the afternoon. This is a very ordinary two-story building, in addition to the house number on this side of the street, Zhang Lexing did not find other obvious signs, repeatedly checked the address written on the notepad in his hand three times, and it is indeed the same as the house number of the small building, Zhang Lexing was sure that he was not looking for the wrong place.

Walking into this small building, Zhang Lexing quickly found the place in charge of reception according to the signs, handed over his documents, filled out a registration form, paid another $12 exam fee, and then received two test papers from a chubby black lady.

"You just find a place to fill out the test paper and hand it in to the place where the paper is marked. The black lady gestured in the direction with her hand.

Holding his own test paper, Zhang Lexing found a chair against the wall and sat down, then used a book to cushion it underneath and began to answer the questions. There are a total of 36 legal questions and 12 logo identification questions in the written test, there are three answers under each question, you only need to tick the correct answer to OK, the header of the test paper reads: "Laws and regulations are less than 7 errors, and 2 or less identification questions are wrong", and the end of the test paper reads" You agree not to cheat on the test (you should know what it means) and agree to a $1,000 fine or 1 month in jail, or $1,000 and 1 month in jail. Please sign your name", but in fact, no one came to invigilate the exam, it was completely personal consciousness, and Zhang Lexing had long been used to it.

The question is actually very simple, Zhang Lexing listened to Yang Xinxin's experience before coming, although he has not really read the book that introduces traffic laws, but Zhang Lexing still completed all the questions in less than an hour, and then spent more than ten minutes to check it, and then took the test paper and sent it for judging.

After taking over the two test papers in Zhang Lexing's hands, he began to review them according to the answers, and drew a cross if there was anything wrong. Zhang Lexing stood at the counter, watching the Japanese draw all the way on the test paper, and at the same time secretly counting in his heart, in the end, 6 of the regulations were wrong, and 1 of the identification questions were wrong, and it seemed that he had passed the written test this time.

"I'm sorry," the Japanese man behind the counter looked up and said coldly, "You failed the exam." ”

"What!" Zhang Lexing couldn't believe it at all, and counted the crosses on the test paper again, and the number was not wrong, so he asked: "I obviously met the requirements, why can't I pass?"

The Japanese picked up a pen and added the words "You can pass the wrong 5 questions or less" on the test paper.

Zhang Lexing was furious: "How can you do this?"

"If there's something wrong, you can complain to my boss," the Japanese replied with a straight face, "I'm just enforcing the latest regulations of the California government." ”

Zhang Lexing naturally refused to give up so easily, borrowed a phone to call his personal lawyer Jamie Rhodes, and told the situation on the phone 1510, but unfortunately Jamie Rhodes couldn't help it, because he checked through a friend, the California government did issue such a new regulation, and in order not to waste the printed test papers, the staff was allowed to manually add new regulations, which means that although the Japanese did not feel unpleasant, it was allowed.

In order to make his preparation more sufficient, Zhang Lexing made an appointment for the test three days later, and asked for a copy of the "1994 California Driver's Manual" from the Japanese, intending to study it well.

Back at the residence, as soon as he entered the door, Zhang Lexing noticed a stack of materials on a square table next to the door, and when he picked it up, he saw that it was the information about the driving school mentioned by Yang Xinxin in the morning, but now the written test has not passed, and it is not needed for the time being, so Zhang Lexing casually put it on the square table.

Throwing the "1994 California Driver's Manual" brought from outside onto the sofa in the living room, Zhang Lexing went to the kitchen to get himself a glass of juice, then returned to the living room, put the cup containing the juice on the coffee table, picked up the "1994 California Driver's Manual" and read it.

After some research, Zhang Lexing found that this traffic law is still very different from his imagination. Like what:

"Students are king", California law requires any vehicle to stop when the red light flashes at the end of a school bus, even if it is carefully bypassed, or risk a severe fine of $1,000 and a year's suspension of the driver's license.

"Life is sacred", the "manual" specifically states that when encountering animals, you should slow down and follow the instructions of the animal owner. Any act of scaring an animal is illegal, never try to move an injured animal, never let the injured animal die, etc.

"The environment is paramount" and do not throw objects out of the car window or you will be subject to three penalties at the same time, the first is a fine of $1,000, the second is to recover the thrown object, and the third is to be recorded in the driving record.

"Trucks first," the Handbook says: "Ninety-eight percent of California's manufactured goods and 99 percent of its agricultural products are hauled by large trucks, and most truck drivers are careful – they make a ......living from it," while the Handbook warns that trucks carrying 80,000 pounds (36 tons) of cargo cannot be stopped at once, so the responsibility for an accident lies with small vehicles.

"Slow walking is futile", "curiosity is sinful". The manual specifically reminds you not to drive too slowly, and if the police determine that you are driving too slowly, you will send a ticket, because the slow speed affects the traffic on the road. After a car accident, don't go to the scene of the accident out of curiosity or you may be arrested for it.

……

After that, as long as he had time, Zhang Lexing would pick up the "1994 California Driver's Handbook" and study it carefully, or look at other reference books, after a few days of hard study, Zhang Lexing felt that he could be called an expert in California traffic laws, so he was full of ambition to take the written test again. This time it was very smooth, less than an hour after getting the test paper, it was written and handed in, and it was the little Japanese who read the paper last time, and the final result was that the regulations were wrong 3 times, and the identification questions were all right, so Zhang Lexing got his temporary driver's license, and the next thing was the road test.

The road test requires driving a real car, and Zhang Lexing always has some anxiety in his heart. After returning to his residence with his temporary driver's license, Zhang Lexing picked up the information about the driving school from the square table and looked at it, and then picked a "Bay Area Driving School" from it and called it according to the contact number above. After paying $685 in tuition, Zhang Lexing booked an evening class, once a week, four hours at a time, for a total of 24 hours, and the first class started this evening.

That night, Zhang Lexing came to the Bay Area driving school not far from his residence. The teacher is a fat old man with white hair, and the students in the audience, except for Zhang Lexing, are mostly 16~20-year-old students, it is said that because the driver's license can be used as an ID card, and it can also be used to offset credits, so it is so popular with students. The fat old man on the stage briefly explained some precautions, and then waved his hand to announce that the next time was a simulated driving class, so everyone walked outside under his leadership.

Following everyone to the classroom where the simulated driving class was held, Zhang Lexing found that he was actually sitting in front of the computer, using a controller similar to a steering wheel to operate the car on the screen, which was just like playing a game. With the help of the fat old man, everyone entered the driving simulation software and drove around the virtual city.

Zhang Lexing held the steering wheel and carefully controlled the car, which was different from the racing games he had played before, not to be faster, but to drive to different destinations under the premise of obeying traffic rules. The graphics of this "game" are not very good, and the steering wheel does not have force feedback, but the system design is still very perfect, so that students can understand many problems that can be encountered in real driving in the process of playing. In the process of "playing", Zhang Lexing always involuntarily remembered a game called "Infinite Driving", although the two are completely incomparable.

In the next few weeks, as the first time, I spent every simulation driving lesson in front of the computer, until the fifth week, before the class, the fat old man asked everyone to make a travel plan, and to include the following: first, the car you plan to buy (brand, model, color, power, price, insurance, etc.), second, the city you will travel to (including location, time, distance, distance, etc.); Third, some emergencies you may encounter during the trip and how to solve them, and fourth, the expenses you need during the trip (including hotel accommodation, food, and some unpredictable expenses, etc.).

To put it simply, you need to take into account all aspects of the travel plan, and also draw up a map that shows the route of the trip completely. The fat old man also specially told everyone that it must be completed before coming to class next week.

If this task is put in more than ten years, it will not be too difficult to complete, because there are Google Maps, there are Google searches, and there are even a lot of references on the Internet, and these are not available yet. Fortunately, there is a place called "library" in this year, combined with the experience of the last trip to Palm Springs, Zhang Lexing consulted a lot of travel guides and other books, coupled with photocopied and hand-marked maps, an illustrated seven-day trip plan for Palm Springs was finally successfully released.

Next, it was time to get into a real car and experience real driving, so Zhang Lexing's first test came......

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