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

Wang Xingguo curled his lip, continued opening bottles of wine, and said smugly, "Er Gouzi, what are you yelling about? If you don't call me Director Wang today, I'll make you regret it for the rest of your life, and every time you see me you'll regret not calling me Director Wang!"

Er Gouzi was a little surprised and uncertain. Why was Wang Er speaking so harshly today?

He tentatively asked, "Wang Er, stop with the nonsense. Just tell me, what do you want from me?"

Wang Xingguo poured himself a glass of wine, downed it in one gulp, and then muttered to himself, "Sigh, it's really tough to get by these days. I had something good on my mind and was thinking about someone, but they wouldn't even let me open a bottle of wine and gave me the cold shoulder. Looks like this good thing should go to Master Jin. After all, he doesn't welcome me, so it serves him right that he'll never recover."

Er Gouzi's heart skipped a beat upon hearing this, and he hurriedly asked, "Wang Er... Director Wang, what good news do you have? Don't be like that, how could I complain about you drinking my wine? I'm complaining that you don't have any snacks to go with your wine, it's bad for your stomach!"

After saying that, he turned to the few underlings who had gotten up with him and said, "You lot have no sense at all! Didn't you see that Director Wang is drinking without any snacks? Hurry up and go get him some snacks. We can't let Director Wang suffer, do you hear me!"

The henchmen were a little confused, but they had been brothers with Er Gouzi for many years and had great tacit understanding. They all responded and ran out to get some snacks to go with the drinks.

Er Gouzi sat down opposite Wang Xingguo, forcing a smile, and said, "Director Wang, it's an honor to have you here. Come, come, let me have a drink with you!"

Wang Xingguo glanced at Er Gouzi sideways. It wasn't that he was pretending, but if he didn't put on airs, Er Gouzi might not believe him.

After all, in other people's eyes, Wang Xingguo was just a good-for-nothing who got recruited by sheer luck and had no real skills other than being able to get some live fish.

Er Gouzi picked up the wine bottle and poured wine for Wang Xingguo. He figured it out: Wang Er must have received some inside information and probably wanted to sell it to him.

Just as Wang Xingguo saw, Er Gouzi really wanted to get out of trouble, even at all costs. He had already sold a lot of his private property and was planning to ask his backer for help.

So he was willing to humble himself, just in case Wang Xingguo's news could really help him get ashore more smoothly?

He didn't dare to tell the gambling king Xingguo that he was talking nonsense; he couldn't afford to lose!

Being humble is nothing to be ashamed of; his current status is the result of countless instances of humility.

Er Gouzi was a child who never had enough to eat. Coming from such a family background, he never thought that dignity was important because it couldn't be eaten!

"Director Wang, what rumors have you heard? I, Er Gouzi, have never disrespected you. Don't you think you should give me a helping hand?"

Wang Xingguo pursed his lips and said, "Ugh, just drinking without any snacks is really making my stomach upset. Don't you agree, Brother Er Gou?"

Er Gouzi was speechless. Wang Xingguo was putting on such a show, he probably really had some important news, and he really couldn't afford to offend him.

Er Gouzi quickly replied, "Yes, yes, Director Wang is right. Let's wait a bit; there will be some snacks to go with the drinks soon."

Wang Xingguo laughed heartily, "Hahaha, alright, I'm not teasing you anymore. This time I really have a fantastic deal I want to give you, I just don't know if you're willing to part with it."

Er Gouzi quickly spoke up, "Director Wang, please speak freely. I may not be able to say anything else about myself, but I am definitely an upright person and a reliable person. We've known each other for so long, when have you ever seen me be stingy?"

Wang Xingguo straightened his expression and said seriously, "Er Gouzi, I have a spot here. I can recommend someone to be the director of the negotiated night market in the West District. The position will start with administrative level 21 benefits, the same level as me. A deputy director and an accountant will be assigned to manage the accounts. And if this person hasn't made any major mistakes, and their subordinates haven't made any major mistakes either, all their subordinates will be promoted to full-time employees. You probably already know what the job entails, right?"

Er Gouzi stared wide-eyed at Wang Xingguo, his throat bobbing as he swallowed hard. He couldn't help but ask, "Director Wang, is everything you're saying true? You're not lying to me, are you?"

Wang Xingguo nodded seriously and said, "Er Gouzi, why would I lie to you? To be honest, if we hadn't done so many transactions together, and if you weren't trustworthy, I wouldn't have even considered you. Do you know how much money I could get for this spot if I gave it to Master Jin?"

Er Gouzi slammed his fist on the table and said, "Director Wang, that old bastard Jin Sanye is nothing! Whatever he gives you, I'll give you ten percent more!"

Wang Xingguo waved his hand and said, "This matter depends on whether we click. I find you more agreeable than I find Master Jin, so after getting this spot, I didn't go to Master Jin. Instead, I gave you a chance first, as a way of preserving our friendship. But let me make this clear beforehand: you know how valuable this spot is, right?"

Er Gouzi nodded vigorously and said, "I understand! Don't worry, Director Wang, I will give you a satisfactory answer. Don't worry, Director Wang, from now on you're like my own brother!"

Wang Xingguo said, half-laughing and half-crying, "Get lost! I'm much younger than you, who's your brother? Fine, give me some more money and some small yellow croakers, and I'll take you straight to get the paperwork done. This job isn't easy. If you do a bad job and the higher-ups aren't satisfied, they might transfer you somewhere else. I won't hide it from you, the biggest purpose of this night market is to help buy back this gold stuff."

Er Gouzi nodded repeatedly and said, "I had some suspicions too. After all, you don't want anything, but you want me to introduce you to customers who make a living by selling hard goods. From this, I feel that your night market is probably helping the government to recycle hard goods."

Wang Xingguo nodded and said, "You should understand that banks need to register personal information in household registration books to facilitate tracing the source of gold. Moreover, a large amount of gold is hidden by some people, who can only exchange it on the black market to make a living. What we are going to do is help them make a profit from high-priced goods, and then recycle the physical goods and hand them over. It is a way to earn foreign exchange indirectly."

Er Gouzi took out a cigarette, handed one to Wang Xingguo, and after they lit them together, he took a deep drag and asked Wang Xingguo, "Wang Er, how much money do you want for me to have this chance to get out of poverty?"

Wang Xingguo pointed his finger around and said, "It's not about getting you out of poverty, it's about you and your brothers all being able to get out of poverty. As long as you haven't done anything heinous, you can all start anew!"

Er Gouzi took a deep drag of his cigarette and slowly exhaled, saying, "Wang Er, is ten thousand enough?"

Wang Xingguo shook his head and said, "Not enough!"

Er Gouzi frowned and said in a deep voice, "Ten thousand in cash, plus ten small yellow croakers!"

Wang Xingguo shook his head and said very seriously, "Er Gouzi, don't think that just because I took this money from you, I'll pocket it all. You're wrong. I'll use this money to continue buying small yellow croakers and then hand it over to the higher authorities. Understand?"