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

Wang Xingguo left the village with his belongings and headed towards the city.

He found the clan quite interesting and was surprised to find they were quite wealthy. He could never have too many small yellow croakers; including the ones Er Gouzi gave him, he now had a full forty.

The clan is spending money to find other production teams to buy chickens, ducks, geese, and pigs, and asked Wang Xingguo to arrange for someone to come down and purchase them in a couple of days.

Now, all the unplanned materials of the entire production brigade are reserved for Wang Xingguo and his group. Wang Xingguo also guarantees that the purchase price here will always be higher than that of outsiders, and he will never let the clan suffer losses.

Wang Xingguo returned to the night market at 11:30 a.m., much to his surprise, because Master Niu was already waiting for him there.

Wang Xingguo greeted them with a smile, then went to get a bottle of Erguotou (a type of Chinese liquor), opened it, and poured drinks for Boss Niu and his two henchmen while asking with a smile, "Boss Niu, what brings you here today?"

Old Niu said with a worried look, "Wang Er, could you put in a good word for me and ask the station to let my place off the hook?"

Wang Xingguo was taken aback when he heard this, and then immediately understood what was going on.

Boss Niu's place also accepts hard currency; it seems he's trying to eliminate all the gray areas in this industry!

But did a donkey kick Niu Ye in the head today?

How could a lowly department head like himself have such influence to order others to let him off the hook?

Wang Xingguo said speechlessly, "Brother Niu, you flatter me too much. I don't have the ability to command others."

Old Niu hurriedly said, "Wang Er, the people who were in charge of cleaning up my place last night were led by your neighbor Liu Chang'an. If I hadn't run fast, I would be in jail today. Wang Er, could you give him a word and ask him to let my place off the hook? I promise I'll reward you handsomely afterwards."

Wang Xingguo said with a wry smile, "Uncle Niu, please don't make things difficult for me. I really can't do this."

Old Niu grew anxious and asked, "Wang Er, I've treated you very well! How can you just stand by and watch me die?"

Wang Xingguo sat down and explained in a low voice, "I really can't do this. Even if I went to talk to Liu Chang'an, it wouldn't make a difference, not even if the person behind you did!"

Old Niu was taken aback and hurriedly asked, "Wang Er, what exactly happened? Tell me! Even if I'm going to die, I need to know the reason why!"

Wang Xingguo sighed, looked at the somewhat flustered Master Niu, and slowly said, "This matter is not simple. All the places that accept hard currency will have to close down from now on, no matter who is behind them. Do you understand what I mean?"

Old Niu's eyes widened, and he asked incredulously, "You mean the place in the whole city that buys hard currency?"

Wang Xingguo nodded seriously and said, "You heard me right. All the places in the city that buy hard currency, as well as all the fixed black markets, will have to close down. Mobile black markets will also be severely cracked down on. There will be no room for negotiation or compromise."

Upon hearing this, Master Niu's spirits collapsed instantly, and he said dejectedly, "So that's how it is. No wonder that person told me to close up shop early; so that's the reason..."

After saying that, he looked at Wang Xingguo with a bitter expression and said, "I've spent most of my life trying to get to where I am today, but I never thought I'd lose everything overnight..."

Wang Xingguo raised his wine glass to Niu Ye, clinked it with his, and drank it all in one gulp. He then comforted Niu Ye, saying, "Niu Ye, you've made quite a bit of money. Enough to live comfortably for the rest of your life. Don't go against the tide. A wise man knows when to yield. Just honestly give up that place. People might not bother to investigate your past actions because of the person behind you."

Old Niu nodded with a wry smile and said, "It seems that this is the only path I have left."

An hour later, the drunken Uncle Niu left.

Looking at this seasoned veteran, whom he called "Master," who seemed to have been drained of all his energy, and watching his dejected figure as he walked away, Wang Xingguo couldn't help but shake his head.

The end of one era also signifies the beginning of another.

Wherever there are people, there is a world of its own. These people have simply been eliminated by the times, but that doesn't mean the world of its own has disappeared.

The night market, where prices were negotiated, opened on time, and Er Gouzi came over.

The look in his eyes when he looked at Wang Xingguo was tinged with gratitude, because he knew that without Wang Xingguo, he might have been one of those swept away.

The entire gray industry has now been rectified. Those who have committed serious crimes have been executed, those who have not committed serious crimes but have made major mistakes have been sent to labor camps, and those who have made minor mistakes have been released or punished as appropriate.

Because of this incident, no one came to sell yellow croaker tonight. The commotion that started last night was quite significant, and the investigations continued throughout the day. Under such tense circumstances, no one dared to go out at night.

However, only those with a guilty conscience act this way; people continue to come to buy supplies, unaffected in the slightest.

Wang Xingguo had been at the night market the whole time and was unaware that the operation had already taken place last night. If it weren't for Brother Niu's arrival, he might have found out about it much later.

Er Gouzi first thanked Wang Xingguo, then said, "Director Wang, I'm short of live fish and eels. Do you think we need cigarettes and sugar? I can use those two items to make up for it. It would be a bit inadequate if I didn't have those two items."

Wang Xingguo nodded in agreement, saying, "No problem, but let's not exchange at the selling price, let's exchange at the cost price instead, otherwise no one will make a profit, and this adjustment will lose its meaning."

Er Gouzi naturally had no objections. There was nothing he could do about getting the goods from the official source at the official price, since they would sell them directly to him for that price.

Therefore, Wang Xingguo doesn't bother to buy any goods for the current market, to avoid the hassle of accounting. He could buy some tobacco and alcohol to stock up for next year's price increase, but that has to be done gradually. Right now, all his money is tied up in goods, and he doesn't have much working capital to stockpile.

He doesn't plan to take out the money from his space. In the future, he will pay for the items he takes out from his space according to the purchase price, and he will keep that money in his space. He will try to exchange it for hard currency like croaker when he has time.

The next day, Wang Xingguo arranged for his clansmen to take money back to the village to buy things. Wang Xingguo then went to the district commerce bureau and asked Director Yang to help him transfer Li Xiuping to work for him.

Director Yang readily agreed and would even arrange for a few more people to help Gan Ping sell the goods.

The main problem is that most people these days are rough and unrefined, and they can't do many meticulous tasks well, so we need to assign female comrades to do them.

Wang Xingguo had no objections at all. That little bit of salary was nothing to the night market. He even asked Director Yang if he could arrange housing so that the employees could bring their families to live in the city.

Director Yang shook his head and said, "This really won't work. Right now, everyone is downsizing and sending people back to their hometowns. The supply of goods in the city is insufficient, and housing is extremely scarce."

Wang Xingguo wasn't disappointed, because he had only approached it with a try-it-and-see attitude. Since Director Yang disagreed, he figured he might as well just let it go.