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

The big-headed guy who frequented the Dashilan area asked, "Wang Lao Er, you're raising pigs now, but they won't be very big by the New Year. Isn't that a bit unprofitable?"

Wang Xingguo quickly explained, "No, I didn't plan to sell during the New Year. Haven't you noticed? Fewer and fewer farmers from the countryside are coming to the city to sell pork. It's so hard for me to get some pork for my family. I'm worried that if this continues, it will be very difficult to buy pork. So I'm planning to ask a friend to help raise a few pigs, then slaughter them and make them into cured meat and sausages, which will be more suitable for me to sell slowly."

Once he explained it that way, everyone understood.

Old Niu said with a smile, "This thing is not easy to handle. The main problem is that it's inconvenient to bring it into the city. The pigs grunt and squeal, which will attract the attention of the authorities."

"That's right. It's not that we can't get our hands on this stuff, it's just that the risk of bringing it back is too great. The profit is not worth the risk. I advise you, Wang Lao Er, to give up on this idea."

Wang Xingguo didn't mind, after all, he was just trying his luck, even if there was no guarantee of success.

It would be best if we could get them, but it doesn't matter if we can't. We can always wait until December when Gaobeidian hands over the task pigs, and then we can buy the pigs that weren't part of their plan.

During the meal, Wang Xingguo heard a lot of news from them, such as the fact that the prices of tobacco and alcohol they were getting had increased.

This is normal. Large-scale production is being carried out everywhere. Not to mention some tobacco-growing land, even some tea plantations have been reclaimed for growing grain.

Therefore, there will be less cigarettes, and the production of alcoholic beverages will also decrease. These things have always been in greater demand than supply. Now that production has been reduced, it will be even more difficult to get unplanned goods, so prices will naturally rise.

This matter has no impact on Wang Xingguo.

He's storing the wine not to sell, but to prepare for his elder brother's upcoming marriage and for his own marriage to Li Xiuping.

Putting everything else aside, at least he won't need to spend a lot of money on expensive wine and cigarettes, and that's enough.

Wang Xingguo stayed there until nearly eight o'clock, then picked up the bags containing tobacco, alcohol, and candy and left.

It's actually quite interesting. Master Niu's place is somewhat like an intermediary agency. He not only profits from the gambling den, but also provides convenience to people in this courtyard and obtains a stable source of goods from these people.

There are many people like Wang Xingguo who do not have their own venue or fixed sales point.

But with Niu Ye's place, he had a convenient place to sell fish.

Moreover, because he frequently came to sell fish, he also attracted some people who wanted to buy fish from him, which was a win-win situation for everyone.

Wang Xingguo doesn't go to those fixed black markets because not only are people masked there, but you also can't get any useful information from them.

Unlike Master Niu, everyone here is well-informed and makes money just by listening to news every day.

Moreover, all sorts of people come here, but because Master Niu is in charge, no one dares to cause trouble here. Even people who come here to play or trade are much safer than in the black market.

At least several alleys around here are being watched by Niu Ye's men, so no one dares to double-cross anyone here.

Wang Xingguo returned home, took a shower, and then sat in the narrow courtyard with his neighbor, chatting for a while. He also borrowed a handcart from his neighbor, as he needed to use it to transport fish to Li Zhenguo the next day.

It was 9:30 pm before long, and everyone said goodbye and went back to their rooms to sleep.

After washing up, Wang Xingguo returned to his room, fed the chickens and ducks, collected the eggs, and then went to sleep.

The next morning, after breakfast, Wang Xingguo went to his neighbor's house and brought out the cart.

Although Wang Xingning and the others were curious, they also knew that there were many things they shouldn't ask, so they didn't ask him what he wanted the cart for.

At 10:30, Wang Xingguo pulled a cart, took several buckets from his home, and set off.

It takes about forty minutes to walk from his house to Li Zhengang's house, so he has to set off at this time.

When he was almost there, he started putting the buckets into his spatial dimension. In no time, he filled five buckets with fish, each weighing at least twenty pounds, so five buckets would weigh over a hundred pounds.

It wasn't all small, miscellaneous fish; there were also some crucian carp, common carp, grass carp, silver carp, and bighead carp.

It was roughly half small miscellaneous fish and half of these fish.

That makes more sense. If you really attract too many small fry, the price they pay you for the general service is already quite high, and you'd be ripping them off.

Before he even reached the door, Li Zhengang, who was standing at the door, saw Wang Xingguo and quickly went to help him.

"Xingguo, you're really something, managing to get so many fish."

Wang Xingguo rolled his eyes at him and said, "Nonsense, do you think I'm just messing with you?"

Li Zhengang said with a grin, "No way! I thought you could only get a few dozen pounds of fish, but I didn't expect you to be so capable, getting so many. This must be over a hundred pounds, right?"

Wang Xingguo scoffed, "We haven't weighed it yet, so who knows how many pounds it will be? Anyway, you said you wanted a hundred or two hundred pounds, so I'll get as much as I can. I can't let you lose face in front of your future brother-in-law, can I?"

Li Zhengang nodded repeatedly, saying, "Yes, yes, that's exactly right. Xingguo, you're a true friend. You're the most loyal among us!"

The two carried the bucket of fish into the yard. Wang Xingguo greeted Li Zhengang's mother and gave her a large carp weighing at least one and a half pounds to keep for dinner.

Li Zhenguo rode his bicycle to call someone over to weigh the fish, while Wang Xingguo went inside to drink tea.

Aunt Li knew him very well; Wang Xingguo had often visited the Li family before.

That's how it is these days; classmates who get along well often visit each other and hang out together.

Wang Xingguo possessed the original owner's memories, so he remembered clearly even the incident where he threw firecrackers with Li Zhengang to scare people and got a beating from his father.

His father wouldn't refrain from hitting him just because he was an outsider; he'd still whip his bottom with a feather duster.

Being willing to physically discipline him shows that you treat him like your own son or nephew; otherwise, who would care so much about him?

Aunt Li asked with a gossipy look, "Xingguo, have you met the girl Zhengang has taken a liking to?"

Wang Xingguo replied with a grin, "Auntie, I really haven't seen him. Zhengang has done an excellent job of keeping it a secret. But you can see what the girl's brother looks like in a bit. Logically speaking, if her brother isn't ugly, then the girl definitely won't be ugly either."

Aunt Li nodded repeatedly and said, "That makes sense. I'll have to take a good look at that young man later. Zhengang is quite infuriating. When I asked the girl where she worked and which alley she lived in, he simply wouldn't tell me."

"Hehe, Auntie, you should use a feather duster in one hand and a rolling pin in the other to discipline him, that way he'll confess honestly."

"No way, you're all grown up now, you're dating and getting married, how can I discipline you like I did when you were little?"

Wang Xingguo chatted with Aunt Li for more than 20 minutes before Li Zhengang finally brought her back.