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

Wang Xingguo thought the railway police were pretty good; at least he could get some supplies from them under the pretext of needing them.

The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law were both a little excited because cured meat is different from fresh meat, especially air-dried meat. This kind of thing can be stored for a long time, so it's perfect to eat when you really crave it.

He was exhausted because he had traveled back by hard seat. After chatting with them for a while, he went back to his room to sleep.

He slept until midnight, only opening his eyes briefly when Li Xiuping carried his son to bed. He only woke up in the latter half of the night when Wang Jianhua started crying.

As Li Xiuping picked up Wang Jianhua to breastfeed him, she whispered, "Son, why are you so inconsiderate? You've woken your father up."

Wang Xingguo sat up and said to Li Xiuping with a smile, "Wife, our son is still so young, how can you expect him to be so sensible? It's perfectly normal for him to want to eat when he's hungry."

Li Xiuping asked, "Honey, are you hungry? The food is cold, but it should be fine to eat like this in this weather."

"Never mind, I'm not that hungry. Has anything happened recently?"

Li Xiuping smiled bitterly, "So much has happened. You know the trust store has started its holiday break. My brother's workplace equipment completely broke down, and the new machines haven't arrived yet. They say they won't be back until September, so my brother and his colleagues are cleaning the premises every day. My dad's steel mill isn't getting enough food, so they've started eating vegetable buns. Uncle Zhao fainted twice at work; the doctor said it was low blood sugar. I gave him some milk candy, and he took it to give to malnourished people in his area..."

As Wang Xingguo listened to Li Xiuping recount the events of the past two weeks, he was filled with mixed emotions.

This year has actually been the most difficult year. If we get through this year, things will be slightly better in the second half of next year. However, it will take at least several years to fully recover.

The couple chatted for a while, then fell asleep.

Wang Xingguo slept until nine o'clock the next morning. Li Xiuping was chatting with her younger brother and sister in the living room. When they saw Wang Xingguo get up, some fetched water for him and others brought him food. After a while, Wang Xingguo washed up and started eating breakfast.

He remembered something and asked Wang Xingning, "Third Sister, shouldn't you all be on holiday?"

Wang Xingning nodded and said, "Yes, we'll have a holiday after this week's classes."

Wang Xingguo asked, "The exam is next year. Do you think you'll be able to get into a vocational school?"

Wang Xingning's face immediately fell, and she said somewhat dejectedly, "Second brother, why are you asking these questions..."

Wang Xingmin said with a grin, "Second brother, you're really hitting a nerve. Third sister's grades have never been great. Asking her if she can get into a vocational school is just slapping her in the face!"

Wang Xingguo sighed, "I shouldn't have asked, but I was hoping to hear a surprise. It seems there's no chance of a surprise."

Wang Xingning pouted, looking a little unhappy.

There's nothing I can do; this younger sister is good at everything, except that her academic performance isn't great, which is a real headache.

Wang Xingguo himself has forgotten that he wasn't a very good student...

After we finished eating and played with the children for a while, Grandma Li brought her grandson over.

Wang Xingguo quickly stood up to greet him, patting Li Weiguo's head and asking, "Weiguo, what delicious food did you eat today?"

Four-year-old Li Weiguo honestly replied, "We ate cornbread and cucumbers."

Grandma Li asked, "Xingguo, how long is your vacation this time?"

"Grandma Li, you're only on leave for five days. You'll have to go back to work in five days."

After chatting for a while, I heard Grandma Li say that Grandpa Li has been working overtime lately and often hasn't been home to rest.

He began to have some doubts, because his workplace had also been very busy lately. When he returned to the office yesterday, a group of his subordinates were talking about working overtime recently.

After hesitating for a moment, Wang Xingguo asked, "Grandma Li, Grandpa Li wouldn't happen to work in the same unit as me, would he?"

Grandma Li replied cheerfully, "You're only just finding out?"

Wang Xingguo was dumbfounded and asked, "Then why is he being called Director Li?"

Grandma Li shook her head and said, "It's a part-time position. Don't ask me, I don't know the specifics."

Li Xiuping asked, puzzled, "Does it matter what we call him, my husband? Maybe Grandpa Li was a bureau chief before, so it's normal for everyone to call him that."

"That's true. I'm just a little puzzled. I didn't expect that Grandpa Li works in the same unit as me, and he hasn't told me about it yet."

However, I suddenly understood a lot of things. No wonder Grandpa Li was worried about supplies all the time.

Although he was not clear about the details, he knew that his unit was responsible for supplying materials to many classified units.

Their Transportation Sections 1 through 4 are just some of the departments within the department. The Oil Transportation Department has other departments as well; their department is just specifically responsible for the supplies to Malan.

After chatting for a while, Grandma Li took Li Weiguo to buy groceries.

There isn't enough food to eat right now, so everyone is buying more vegetables to supplement their diet.

Wang Xingguo asked Li Xiuping, "Wife, do we have enough food?"

Li Xiuping nodded and said, "There's enough to eat. I also took some to support my sister-in-law. She's two months pregnant now."

Wang Xingguo laughed and said, "My sister-in-law is pregnant? That's great! Dad and the others must be overjoyed."

Li Xiuping nodded and said, "Of course! My parents were so happy they almost lost their composure. It's the first time I've ever seen them so excited. They weren't like this when I was pregnant, were they?"

Wang Xingguo explained, "No, when I went to inform them, my parents were overjoyed and couldn't sit still."

Hearing Wang Xingguo say this, Li Xiuping said with satisfaction, "That's good. Although my parents are a bit sexist, it shouldn't be that serious."

Wang Xingguo chatted with them like this, and after lunch, Wang Xingning and his sister went to call Li Xiuping's younger sister, Li Chunmei, and they went to school together, chatting and laughing.

Wang Xingguo strolled over to the trust store and chatted with everyone.

The trust store's business wasn't actually that great.

Because there are already trust shops around here, people have a preconceived notion, so only people from the neighborhood will come here to entrust their secondhand items for sale.

However, Master Niu knew many wealthy people, which did have some effect. Many people came here to entrust him with the sale of antiques, calligraphy, and paintings.

After chatting with everyone, Wang Xingguo left.

Looking at the sign at the door, Wang Xingguo sighed.

This is no longer his night market...

Back home, Wang Xingguo found himself with nothing to do. He was a man who was always busy, and suddenly being so bored was hard for him to adjust to.

Li Xiuping was chatting gossiping with Aunt Yongchang while holding her son, and Wang Xingguo couldn't get a word in edgewise, so he simply rode his bicycle out for a stroll.