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

"Hello, Comrade Wang Xingguo."

"Hello, Director Yang!"

When Wang Xingguo was delivering the meat, he was notified to Director Yang, who then had Wang Xingguo summoned to his office.

Director Yang asked with a smile, "Comrade Wang Xingguo, how's the situation on your end?"

Wang Xingguo replied respectfully, "Director Yang, everything is going smoothly. Apart from a slight shortage of funds, everything else is fine."

Director Yang nodded and said, "I heard about this in the meeting, and it is indeed a thorny issue. I was worried that you might not understand the actual situation, so I called you over to explain it to you. Here's the thing: the units that supply materials to your night market are settled according to the selling price. Their share of the funds also needs to be allocated to them in gold, which is considered their unit's foreign exchange earnings."

So if you need supplies, all units are willing to cooperate in supplying goods, but if you need cash, each unit has different cash-earning capabilities, and none of them are willing to provide cash. The purpose of telling you this is to help you understand our difficulties. It's not that we don't understand your difficulties, but we've held several meetings here, and we still haven't been able to solve this problem.

So that's how it is; Wang Xingguo finally understood.

After thinking for a moment, he asked, "Director Yang, I understand the difficulties faced by the suppliers, but may I make a request?"

Director Yang nodded and said, "Tell us your reasonable requests, and we will try our best to meet them. After all, we also hope that your negotiation night market will get better and better, which is a good thing for everyone."

Wang Xingguo said very seriously, "Director Yang, I hope that prices can be completely liberalized. I know this request is a bit inappropriate, but the black market can sell fatty pork for 5.5 yuan per jin, ordinary pork for 5 yuan per jin, and lean pork for 4.5 yuan per jin. In total, they can sell the same 100 jin of pork for 530 yuan, but if we use an average price of 5 yuan, we can only sell it for 500 yuan."

Although it's only a difference of thirty yuan, that's only a small amount of income for 100 jin (50 kg) of pork. If it were 1000 jin (500 kg), that would be three hundred yuan, enough to buy a small yellow croaker. Also, I think we should take action to crack down on the black market. Only by eliminating the black market will customers have no other choice and will they be willing to come to our night market. It's a matter of herd mentality; they've always gone to the black market and don't know much about our night market, so there are relatively fewer wealthy customers."

Director Yang nodded repeatedly as he listened, and finally explained, "We've discussed both of your points in the meeting. The price liberalization has been decided; you'll be in charge of pricing from now on. We won't have an outsider instructing an expert. As for cracking down on the black market, the branch office will launch a special rectification campaign in the next couple of days. You can operate your night market with peace of mind. After this rectification, the night market should be more standardized and prosperous."

Wang Xingguo nodded, then couldn't help but ask, "Director Yang, I'd like to ask, regarding the supply of materials, can we earn a little profit like the state-run market? It's not that I'm greedy, but the entire night market is so large, and the daily expenses are not small, yet we have to hand over half of the profits."

In the current situation of scarce resources, it's certainly possible to earn enough profit to cover various expenses. However, I believe the shortage is only temporary. Once things recover, without a certain level of profit, I think it will be difficult to sustain the entire night market's continued operation.

Director Yang frowned. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Although what you said makes sense, I need to consult with my superiors before I can give you an answer. How about this, for now, just maintain the status quo and continue operating. I will try to get back to you as soon as possible."

Wang Xingguo nodded repeatedly and said, "Okay, I understand. Thank you for your hard work, Director Yang."

Director Yang waved his hand and said, "What hardship do I have? I know it's not easy for you. The times are tough, and every industry is struggling. I hope you can understand our difficulties. Some things are not that we want to make things difficult for you, but we really have no other choice. In short, we have seen what you have done in managing this bargaining night market, and we will not treat you unfairly."

………………

Wang Xingguo left and slowly rode his bicycle back, pondering his conversation with Director Yang.

He couldn't reach people higher up, so Director Yang was basically the person he was in contact with.

Judging from what he said today, there are indeed various changes, and it's not a one-size-fits-all approach.

Firstly, regarding the supply of materials, Wang Xingguo finally understood that the major suppliers would not mind if he purchased more goods; on the contrary, they would want him to take more.

After all, the goods they sell will be bought back as small yellow croakers, allowing them to earn foreign exchange in the form of gold.

Foreign exchange!

We lack everything, but we need foreign exchange to buy everything!

It's like a curse, firmly placed on our heads!

Some people who recognize a thief as their father can use paper to plunder and transfer the gold and silver from this land.

If all else fails, they can always claim fathers and ancestors, since those bastards are too spineless and can never stand up straight.

But we, the awakened sons and daughters of China, cannot do that, because our leg bones are too hard. We have been kneeling for too long, and now no one can make us kneel! Our necks are too hard, and no one can make us kowtow anymore!

Wang Xingguo returned to the night market, perked up, and handed over the remaining 4,300 yuan of the 10,000 yuan to Wang Yongli for deposit.

Wang Yongli asked, "Xingguo, how should this money be recorded?"

After thinking for a moment, Wang Xingguo replied, "Just record it as non-operating income. This money won't be included in the profits to be handed over. Consider it a loan to cover the cost of collecting the small yellow croakers tonight."

Wang Yongli nodded and said, "Okay, then I'll write down the details so that Accountant Chen won't get confused when he does the accounting."

Wang Xingguo asked, "Uncle Yongli, where are Director Gan and Accountant Chen? Why are they nowhere to be found at this time?"

Wang Yongli, without even looking up, said, "They went to hand in that batch of small yellow croakers. I heard they're going to have a meeting. Accountant Chen even said that if he's not around, I should help with the bookkeeping. Oh, by the way, Xingguo, Eleventh Master is coming to your wedding banquet. He said he'll use his old bones to give you one last drink."

Wang Xingguo was a little surprised and quickly said, "I didn't want to trouble Uncle Eleven. His health is too fragile to go to the city. Why did you suddenly decide to come to my wedding?"

Wang Yongli whispered, "Yong'an told us this news when you weren't here. Eleventh Master was planning to find a leader to be your witness at your wedding, but you're not old enough to get the marriage certificate, so the witness had to be the leader's son, which made Eleventh Master a little unhappy."

Wang Xingguo was silent for a while, then sighed and said, "Alas, there's no need for Eleventh Uncle to worry so much. Human relationships eventually come to an end. If he keeps asking others for favors, they'll get annoyed too. There's no need to go through all this trouble in the future."