Chapter 209 - 110: The Way of Overlanding
She jumped off the car, still wearing a cool leather jacket.
This time, it was a short one, revealing her midriff, showcasing her abs and navel. She still wore low-waist jeans, exposing her waistline.
She took off her sunglasses and smiled, "Is this your hometown?"
Li Younan nodded.
To be fair, Ma Jing isn’t actually that short for a girl; she must be at least 1.65 meters tall.
Moreover, because of her body proportions, she actually looks a bit taller visually.
But even so, when she jumped off that Ford Bronco, she still looked a little too petite.
The Ford Bronco really is a beast of a car for a girl like her, giving off a striking contrast.
Li Younan said, "I can customize it for you, but you’ll have to choose the wood. If it’s regular local wood, it’ll be quicker. If you want high-end wood, it’ll take a bit longer."
Ma Jing thought for a moment, "Using the best wood, how long will it take including labor?"
Li Younan estimated, "It’ll take at least a week."
Ma Jing raised her eyebrows and calculated silently, nodding, "Alright, a week is a week. Use the best wood for me."
Li Younan hesitated and asked, "Aren’t you going to ask about the price?"
Only then did Ma Jing ask, "How much?"
Li Younan rubbed his chin, "Including the wood, I’ll charge you 8000 yuan. It’s not expensive."
Ma Jing nodded.
This price is certainly not expensive; even making a wardrobe out of plywood would cost at least this much.
What he’s making is much more complex and troublesome than a wardrobe, and with better materials.
Li Younan then said, "But, I’ll take a video. Is that okay with you?"
Ma Jing asked curiously, "Are you a video maker?"
Li Younan didn’t shy away and nodded, "Yes, it’s one of the ways I make money."
Ma Jing’s eyes revealed a probing look, and she finally nodded, "That’s fine too. But I have one request, make sure it’s on time, I need to see the car by September 28th. I’m free these days and might be going back and forth between Chengdu and Anchuan. Contact me when the wood arrives."
Then Ma Jing happily transferred 3000 yuan to Li Younan, "Yes, consider this a deposit. Do you have time now? Let me treat you to a meal, and let’s finalize this!"
Li Younan thought Ma Jing handled things quite straightforwardly, so he agreed.
Of course, it was just a simple meal.
Li Younan could sense that Ma Jing was a bit curious about him.
And likewise, Li Younan was also curious about this girl driving a rugged off-road vehicle... He was mainly curious about the traveling, so it was a good chance to learn more over dinner.
A meal was enough time to gather a lot of information.
The outline of this girl became clearer gradually.
As Li Younan had speculated, Ma Jing’s family was quite well-off.
Of course, Ma Jing didn’t reveal what her family did specifically, and Li Younan didn’t ask further.
Because of some chance opportunity, she got into the niche, somewhat expensive hobby of off-road exploration and couldn’t stop ever since.
The first two times, she rode in friends’ cars to experience some overland routes. About a year ago, shortly after the Ford Bronco was released domestically, she was taken by its impactful appearance and bought one.
She spent the following months preparing for a long-distance overland journey.
Ma Jing said the preparation fell into two aspects: one was practicing her driving skills.
For a girl, this is certainly important.
Driving, especially such vehicle with large blind spots, isn’t easy to handle effortlessly.
Initially, she just drove around town, gradually expanding her range of activity.
In over half a year, she drove with exaggerated intensity purely to practice her skills, and now she’s driven over 30,000 kilometers.
This distance is more than what Li Younan has driven.
Yet even so, Ma Jing still felt her skills weren’t enough.
The other aspect was hardware preparation.
Long-distance overland travel involves driving the vehicle off paved roads and onto truly wild paths, requiring a high car standard.
The Ford Bronco, a rugged off-road vehicle, is naturally designed for such roads, so not much needed to be invested in modifying the car itself.
But for a better experience during the journey, some necessary modifications were needed.
Over the past half year, she had seen many modification cases and made some modifications herself to try out.
But before seeing Li Younan’s Land Cruiser, she had no clear concept of what she wanted her car to be modified like.
That drawer bed won her over immediately.
Li Younan roughly learned some of Ma Jing’s situation, and naturally shared some of his own, though not in great detail.
Ma Jing could mostly gather that he once worked in Shanghai, later quit his job, got an off-road vehicle, and was planning to travel around.
Ma Jing’s expression was a bit peculiar, and she smiled, "You really fit the image of an artistic youth in those literary novels, recklessly pursuing poetry and distant places..."
