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

Wang Xingguo didn't even want to talk to Niu Ye anymore; he was such a fool.

Doesn't he know that some things will be very valuable in the future?

But buying something leaves a trace. What if someone identifies what you sold him and comes after him to cause trouble?

Therefore, no matter how good the items were, Wang Xingguo dared not accept them, nor did he want to.

Only a fool would sacrifice their current security for something valuable in the future!

Grandpa Niu opened his mouth wide, unable to speak for a long time.

But upon closer reflection, what Wang Xingguo said makes sense!

He wiped his sweat and chuckled sheepishly, "Wang Er, you're right. I was confused. I'll never think about these things again."

Wang Xingguo said earnestly, "Uncle Niu, you'd better be careful. I'm guaranteeing your release, not letting you go back in. No matter how good the stuff is, you still need to be lucky enough to get it, don't you think?"

Uncle Niu nodded repeatedly, never daring to mention the matter again.

He felt he was really getting senile; no matter how good the things were, he couldn't keep them.

It's impossible to expect someone like Master Shi to be so stubborn as to not reveal who he sold the goods to.

After dinner, the night market opened for business.

Gan Ping led a few people to exchange ribbonfish and kelp for grain, but Wang Xingguo didn't bother to ask about the exact ratio.

The good news is that with this batch of grain, Gan Ping no longer needs to provide the grain himself to meet the needs of the residents of Fensiting Hutong.

Wang Xingguo originally thought the night would pass peacefully, but who would have thought that Er Gouzi would come over.

Wang Xingguo watched as Er Gouzi skillfully reached for the Erguotou liquor on his shelf, and he felt something was off. Why did it feel so familiar?

Before long, Wang Xingguo remembered that this was something he had done for Master Niu before.

Wang Xingguo then said with a look of disgust, "Er Gouzi, pay me back. It's only right that I, Director Wang, get something for nothing, not the other way around!"

Er Gouzi chuckled, pretending not to hear Wang Xingguo's words, just like Wang Xingguo used to be—a real swindler...

Er Gouzi sent his men to check what goods were on the premises, then sat down and drank with Wang Xingguo while eating peanuts.

After drinking two glasses of wine, he asked, "Director Wang, would you like some wild boar or roe deer meat?"

Wang Xingguo asked in surprise, "No, where did you get wild boar meat from?"

Er Gouzi chuckled and said, "I've been having a headache with the goods lately. Then a younger brother of mine said he's from Mentougou, and that there are wild boars, roe deer, wolves, foxes, and rabbits in the deep mountains there. Since I can't find any goods, I figured I might as well apply for guns and spend half a month in Mentougou, scouring all the deep mountains and valleys. We actually managed to hunt quite a few wild boars and roe deer, and even brought back five wolves."

Wang Xingguo asked in surprise, "So you've been hunting all this time?"

Er Gouzi nodded and said, "There's no other way. If we don't bring back some goods, what will we eat and drink with so many people? I didn't expect there to be North China leopards over there. We shot one down and traded its pelt for a lot of small yellow croakers."

Wang Xingguo realized he had underestimated Er Gouzi. This guy was really capable of causing trouble. He didn't know anything, yet he dared to carry a gun into the mountains to hunt.

But thinking about it, it makes sense. If a group of people went into the mountains with Type 56 semi-automatic rifles, they could really sweep away the wild animals in the forest.

Their generation all received militia training, so they certainly don't know how to shoot.

After thinking for a moment, Wang Xingguo asked, "Er Gouzi, how much meat did you bring back?"

Er Gouzi explained, "After smoking, there were only a little over 600 jin of wild boar meat, a little over 300 jin of roe deer meat, a little over 200 jin of wolf meat, a little over 100 jin of rabbit meat, and a little over 30 pheasants. We ate the rest."

Wang Xingguo asked, "You must also be short of meat to exchange for small yellow croakers, right? Why don't you keep this little bit of dried meat for yourself?"

Er Gouzi said awkwardly, "There's nothing I can do. When I went hunting, I missed the opportunity to get the pig purchase quotas. All forty of my quotas were taken by the deputy director... And that guy traded for quite a few pigs weighing over a hundred pounds each, so we're not short of meat for the time being. I was thinking of taking half of the meat to help you with some grain. Do you think that's a good idea?"

After thinking for a moment, Wang Xingguo said, "It's not that it's impossible, but how do we calculate the proportions?"

Er Gouzi perked up and quickly said, "Director Wang, all this meat is salted and then smoked, so it can be stored for a long time; it's practically hard currency. How about one pound of meat for four pounds of grain—corn, rice, or wheat flour, anything goes? My request isn't unreasonable, is it?"

Wang Xingguo nodded and said, "Okay, but how much are you planning to give me?"

Er Gouzi chuckled and said, "I brought 300 jin of wild boar meat, 200 jin of roe deer meat, 100 jin of rabbit meat, and 100 jin of wolf meat, a total of 700 jin of meat. Just round it up and give me 3,000 jin of grain."

This request is indeed acceptable, because smoked meat can be sold for a higher price, and wealthy people are worried about not being able to buy things even if they have money, so they are willing to pay a high price to stock up on meat that can be stored for a longer period of time.

Wang Xingguo summoned men to unload the meat, and then took Er Gouzi to the warehouse to retrieve the grain.

Give him 1,500 catties of cornmeal and 1,500 catties of wheat flour.

Er Gouzi happily got into the car and set off to the warehouse to pick up grain.

When Uncle Niu returned with the delivery and saw so much smoked meat, he was very happy and immediately went to discuss the price with Wang Xingguo.

Meat that can be stored for a longer period of time is more expensive, so Master Niu set a high price, and Wang Xingguo had no objections.

That's settled then. We won't keep this batch of meat for ourselves; it's more appropriate to sell it all and turn it into cash or small yellow croakers.

When Gan Ping returned and saw the meat, he shamelessly insisted on exchanging half of it for corn...

Wang Xingguo was helpless. He had just traded four jin of grain for meat, but Gan Ping traded half of it for five jin of corn.

Although the meat was sold at the night market, the gold exchanged for it had to be distinguished based on who earned it.

Gan Ping knew that exchanging grain for gold was not easy now, but meat was much easier to obtain, so he shamelessly clung to Wang Xingguo until Wang Xingguo surrendered and agreed.

He was able to exchange four catties of grain for one catty of meat because he had wheat flour. But even if it was a loss, he accepted it. They were all colleagues. Gan Ping's performance was too poor, while his performance was too outstanding, which was a bit unreasonable.

Tonight's late-night snack consisted of multigrain steamed buns with pickled vegetables and seaweed soup. Wang Xingguo finished one serving, and there were basically no customers left at the night market.

After midnight, Wang Xingguo simply told everyone to close up shop and go home to rest early. Now that the weather is cold, very few people come to the night market after midnight.

Even those who sell gold will arrive around 10 o'clock, unlike before when they would arrive so late.