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

September ended just like that. Wang Xingguo delivered the promised supplies to the street office and then left the matter alone. Anyway, his uncle would discuss it with the district commerce bureau and the public security bureau, so he didn't need to worry about it.

It's strange, but Wang Xingguo doesn't like to call Director Zhao "Uncle." Actually, when addressing someone older than his father, he should call them "Uncle."

Perhaps because Director Zhao had been secretly protecting him, Wang Xingguo felt closer to him and always felt that calling him "uncle" was more affectionate.

At first, Director Zhao asked Wang Xingguo to call him "Grandpa," but after hearing "Uncle" so many times, he found it pleasant and let him call him that.

After driving the truck back to the main street and locking it, Wang Xingguo returned to the night market.

They also give out gifts on National Day, and they even give us a day off.

The National Day gifts were minimal: one ribbonfish, two pounds of wheat flour, three pounds of cornmeal, some labor protection supplies from the district commerce bureau, and a can of fish and meat—that was all.

In the past, during the National Day holiday, some items would be subject to purchase restrictions. For example, last year you could buy any chicken or duck.

This year, my ration coupons can only be used to buy two ribbonfish. There are no chickens, ducks, eggs, or pork available. There simply aren't enough supplies to provide for all the urban residents in the city.

The supplies will be shipped out tonight. Tomorrow is a holiday, and Wang Yongchang and his team will drive their truck home. It's a rare holiday, and they need to go back and reunite with their families.

Wang Yongchang returned to the night market area and, upon seeing Wang Xingguo, quickly ran to his side and whispered, "Xingguo, I've finally found you! Quick, come with me to the dormitory compound."

Wang Xingguo was pulled away by Wang Yongchang, and he asked in confusion, "Uncle Yongchang, what happened?"

Wang Yongchang walked quickly, explaining in a low voice as he went, "That leader came. He's looking at houses here. I didn't know what to do, so I could only go to your house to find you. But when I got there, Xiuping said you went to the neighborhood office, and the neighborhood office said you went back. I finally found you at the night market."

Upon hearing this, Wang Xingguo quickened his pace. Although he didn't know why this leader had come, he couldn't afford to be negligent. This was his biggest backer, besides the retired leader.

The leader's expression was serious. He looked at Wang Xingguo and asked, "What were you thinking? Why did you want to build a house that exceeded the specifications?"

Upon hearing this, Wang Xingguo's heart sank. He thought to himself, "Oh no, the boss is unhappy about this. What should I do?"

He broke out in a cold sweat, considered his words carefully, and then explained, "Boss, the night market is making more and more money, and I don't dare to squander it, so I thought of building houses. This way, we can boost the economy and also solve the temporary employment problem for the unemployed people in the neighborhood office. I don't know much about the specifications of the houses, but the more complex they are, the more workers we need. I didn't think about anything else."

The leader glared at Wang Xingguo: "Nonsense! Do you know what you're doing?"

Wang Xingguo wiped the sweat from his brow and said awkwardly, "Boss, I was wrong, I'll never do it again."

The leader snorted coldly, pointed at the houses, and said to Wang Xingguo, "Take those two houses in the middle and give them to some experts to live in. You're just a lowly cadre, don't go around causing trouble all day. If you haven't made any contributions, don't even think about enjoying those benefits. And you, give up all three bedrooms. No matter what you promised others, it's all null and void. If we don't keep an eye on you, you'll think you're above the law. If someone exposes this, do you know what the consequences will be? I won't be able to protect you then; I'll have to send you to a farm for ideological reform. Do you understand the consequences?"

Wang Xingguo wiped his sweat, nodded repeatedly in agreement, and promised to make the arrangements immediately.

The leader sighed and said, "You know, I should have sent you to the army for two years of training first. You can't be naive about some things. One wrong step leads to another, and by the time you really cause trouble, it will be too late to regret it."

Wang Xingguo asked, "Sir, I've already made a mistake, is there any hope for me?"

Upon hearing Wang Xingguo's words, the leader shook his head, both amused and exasperated.

He told Wang Xingguo, "The three-bedroom apartments are for experts and high-ranking officials, the two-bedroom apartments are for cadres, and you are also allowed to arrange housing for the staff of the night market. This is for your own good. If someone exposes these high-standard apartments, you will be in deep trouble. The situation is unstable, so don't make any rash moves. Think about the consequences before you act."

After meeting this leader, Wang Xingguo said that although the three-bedroom apartment was no longer available, he could accept the two-bedroom apartment.

Therefore, after hearing the leader's arrangement, he firmly supported the leader's decision and reported his envisioned future plans for the night market to the leader.

After listening to Wang Xingguo's idea, the leader nodded in approval and said, "It's a good idea. We can try the restructuring later. I'll help you apply for the bank's gold and silver recycling business license. But if you're going to do this, aren't you planning to train in the military?"

Wang Xingguo replied with a wry smile, "Sir, my child is about to be born. If I go to the army, how can I leave my wife to take care of the child alone...?"

Upon hearing this explanation, the leader remained silent for a moment, then sighed, "Fine, whatever. Don't mess around like this in the future. If you get anxious about having too much money, just hand it over to the organization for allocation. Don't overthink things. With your paltry sums, who would want them? Since you want to operate a gold and silver exchange business, you'll need funds in the account to operate. There's no need to be so suspicious all the time."

Wang Xingguo chuckled awkwardly, "I was always worried about being a 'glove'... We only felt relieved after Minister Liu arrived. It's not our fault, we weren't even allocated housing, how could we not be worried..."

"Forget it, I can't be bothered with you. After the buildings are completed, go to the housing management bureau and ask someone to register the houses for your night market. All other units that received housing allocations are only allowed to live in two-bedroom apartments. Call them over to register those too. Hand over the remaining houses to the housing management bureau and extricate yourself from this matter. Do you understand?"

"I understand. I will do as you say, so please don't worry."

"I can't rest easy. You've made such a big mistake in less than a year. How can I be at ease?"

After seeing the leader off to his car, Wang Xingguo stood there watching until the car disappeared from sight, then took out a handkerchief to wipe the sweat from his face.

Wang Xingguo didn't think too much about it. He simply wanted to build a better house with heating so he could better raise his unborn child.

Although he knew that such a house would be against the rules, who would have thought that such a small thing would cause such a big problem?

Just then, the people gathered at the subdistrict office, so Wang Xingguo rushed over there, pulled the leaders who had come to distribute the supplies aside, and explained the leaders' arrangements.

Unexpectedly, after hearing this, the group's faces lit up with joy, and they kept saying it was good news.

Director Zhao said happily, "That's great! Now the house is settled. I told Xingguo to go talk to the leader a long time ago, but you wouldn't listen to my advice."

Wang Xingguo was dumbfounded and said, "No, Uncle, when are you going to let me talk to the leader about the house?"

Director Zhao shook his head and said, "When I asked you to inquire about the bank's gold and silver medallions last time, it wasn't just about that. If you went to the higher-ups, they would definitely know about the house issue, and then you could solve the problem along the way, right?"