In 1959, what's wrong with me pedaling a tricycle?

We were busy from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and all the pigs were delivered and the grain was taken away.

Because Wang Xingguo couldn't possibly haul all the grain out at once and would return within minutes, the process took a relatively long time.

He couldn't lead his people to do this, since only he knew the exact proportion of grain needed.

Family ties are family ties, but after all the hard work and busyness I've put in, I still have to take what's rightfully mine; otherwise, I'd be letting myself down.

Back at their territory, Wang Changshun and his men had already brought the goods over. Tonight, Er Gouzi and Jin Sanye would take the twelve pigs away in front of everyone.

This is also an opportunity for Wang Xingguo and his team to demonstrate their strength!

At six o'clock, Uncle Niu led a few people over and knocked on the door. Wang Xingguo and the others were still making dinner. After all, there were 26 clansmen here, and they had already slaughtered several chickens and ducks. It was like having an early start-up drink.

The gatekeeper was an elder from the clan. He had a leg injury that wasn't noticeable when he walked, but it hurt when he exerted himself. So Wang Xingguo assigned him to be in charge of opening and closing the gate for guests to enter and exit. The entire three-courtyard complex actually had four gates: the front courtyard only had one main gate, the middle courtyard had two gates on the left and right, and the back courtyard also had a gate.

So he said there weren't enough people; just looking at the three gates of the front courtyard for receiving guests, they needed three people.

Fortunately, the clan brought six more people today. With the original team and Wang Xingguo, there are now nineteen people working here, which should be enough.

However, it would be even better if there were a few more.

Upon receiving the message from his cousin, Wang Xingguo warmly went to the front yard to greet Uncle Niu.

Master Niu explained with a smile, "Wang Er, I need to check what you have to sell first, so that when you open for business, I won't be at a loss about what to sell when I bring you customers."

Wang Xingguo smiled and nodded, saying, "Thank you, Master Niu. You've thought of everything. Let me show you my goods."

Starting from the front yard, there are fine vegetables, coarse grains, dried fruit, fresh fruit, dried goods, sundries, and household tools. The dried seafood was obtained from Master Jin, who, along with Master Niu, went to Tianjin to purchase the goods.

Old Niu said with some surprise, "You're quite something, kid. You got a lot of these goods from other black markets, which proves you've traded with them before. You're quite well-connected!"

Wang Xingguo laughed and said, "It's alright. Thanks to you, Master Niu, I've indeed met quite a few bosses on your side and made a few friends. We all look out for each other and make a living."

Old Niu sighed, "If I had been as shrewd as you when I was young, I wouldn't have had to wait so long to make it big!"

Wang Xingguo gestured for Master Niu and his men to walk towards the central courtyard. He first led them to the room where the eels were kept. Upon seeing the eels in the several ponds, Master Niu gasped in shock.

Because the eels were so numerous in the pond, he felt a chill run down his spine.

However, people who see it for the first time are prone to developing trypophobia, but they get used to it after looking at it for a while.

Next, we went to check the fish pond. Uncle Niu wasn't surprised, after all, Wang Xingguo was really capable of getting a lot of live fish and eels, and even raising some loaches.

Old Beijingers didn't eat eels or loaches back then, but now, because of Wang Xingguo, Niu Ye and the others are eating eels, so they're also a bit curious about loaches.

"Wang Er, can you eat this loach?"

Wang Xingguo said cheerfully, "Brother Niu, after the opening, we'll have loach and eel with our drinks. The loach is deep-fried, the kind you eat with the bones on, it'll be a great accompaniment to the drinks, you can try it then."

Uncle Niu nodded and said, "Alright, I'll have to try it later. I didn't know that eels were edible before, but now I've fallen in love with them. They go so well with alcohol. I also want to see what loach is like."

They brought Niu Ye to the house selling tobacco and alcohol, which wasn't unusual, since almost every black market sells these kinds of things.

When they arrived at the house where the butcher sold meat, Old Niu's eyes lit up when he saw the white-striped dog!

"Wang Er, you have such good stuff. Give me one, and I'll give you whatever price you owe."

Wang Xingguo hurriedly said, "Brother Niu, that won't do. If I really sell it to you, it will break the rules."

Master Niu quickly understood what was going on. Because the new venue was opening, they needed to demonstrate their strength and couldn't sell out all their goods at once. So, by buying one now, he was really breaking the rules, almost equivalent to throwing money at Wang Xingguo's venue.

He smiled and nodded, saying, "Alright, after you open the door in a bit, I'll have someone come and buy it. A quarter of the price for one of them should be fine, right?"

Wang Xingguo breathed a sigh of relief and said, "This is in accordance with the rules of our establishment. Of course, you can arrange for someone to come and buy it, Mr. Niu."

Uncle Niu laughed and said, "Don't laugh at me, but the first time in my entire life that I truly ate so much meat that I was stuffed was when I was twelve years old and ate mutton. I'll never forget that taste!"

Wang Xingguo smiled but didn't reply. After all, what could Niu Ye say but sigh? Who has an easy life these days?

After looking around, Uncle Niu took his leave. The goods here were plentiful, and introducing some customers to Wang Xingguo wouldn't hurt him; it would also save face for him in front of those people. So he took this matter seriously and prepared to contact some wealthy clients to bring over.

After Wang Xingguo saw Niu Ye and his group off, Wang Changshun asked, "Xingguo, is this the man who used to collect our things?"

Wang Xingguo nodded and said, "That's right, the fifteen pigs from last time were given to him, which settles this matter."

Wang Yongchang sneered, "Xingguo, don't be afraid of him. If he dares to cause us trouble, I'll kill him for you!"

Wang Xingguo quickly said, "It's not that bad, Uncle Yongchang, you have to be careful. We have connections and backing, we can't act recklessly like we did in the old society."

The reason the family sent Wang Yongchang to help was because he was ruthless enough. The family was worried that Wang Xingguo was too young and would be easily bullied, so they sent him to keep an eye on him.

Dinner was ready, and everyone split into several tables to eat and drink. After they had eaten their fill, it was time to get back to work.

It's almost 7 o'clock now, so everyone should hurry up and eat.

Wang Xingguo asked, "Brother Xingye, are the yellow lanterns ready?"

Wang Xingye put down his chopsticks. This was a habit he had developed in the army—he always held his head high and his hands properly before speaking. He nodded and said, "It's ready. I bought twenty. As you said, we'll hang two at each gate. We only need to use the three gates in the front and middle courtyards to welcome guests, so we'll need six at a time. Twelve spares should be enough, right?"

Wang Xingguo said cheerfully, "Brother Xingye, don't be so serious. You've already retired from the military, relax a bit."

Wang Xingye then realized he had forgotten he had already retired from the military, and nodded with a smile.

Wang Changshun asked, puzzled, "Xingguo, why are we hanging yellow lanterns? Shouldn't we be hanging red lanterns?"