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

Three days later, the cucumbers and tomatoes were all gone.

Wang Xingguo and his friends started eating compressed biscuits dry. Although they could also eat them soaked, Wang Xingguo felt that eating them dry was better, as soaking them would make them taste worse due to the various flavors.

Just like when Wang Xingguo first escorted the shipment, Commander Yang was completely unprepared.

Wang Xingguo took some dried meat and chewed it slowly with him, sharing a bottle of Erguotou (a type of Chinese liquor).

After seven days and eight nights, they arrived at the riverbank.

After connecting with the other side, the soldiers began unloading the boxes and loading them onto the trucks. Each truck carried one large box, and every twenty minutes a truck set off for Malan Town.

Although he didn't quite understand why they were going to such lengths, Wang Xingguo knew that the boxes being transported must contain something extremely difficult to obtain, something that would be hard to get back once it was damaged.

It would be a lie to say I wasn't curious, but curiosity is one thing, but I can't just do whatever I want.

And so, Wang Xingguo and his group set off in a car.

Despite facing the test of high temperatures again, the cars still set off in turns, but due to reasons such as tire blowouts and breakdowns along the way, the convoy came together again.

It can't be said that doing this is useless. At least along the busy riverbank, these trucks will be less conspicuous if they don't set off in a convoy.

Who knows if there are any enemy agents hiding on the other side of the river?

Despite numerous unexpected situations along the way, the convoy eventually reached the town of Maran thanks to everyone's concerted efforts.

Wang Xingguo and Regiment Commander Yang got out of the car and shook hands with the person in charge. Wang Xingguo is now considered a familiar face.

The unit leader also came over, shook hands with Wang Xingguo, and thanked him, saying, "Section Chief Wang, thank you for your suggestion to the higher-ups!"

After saying that, he pointed to the small wooden hut where the sentry was stationed and said, "With this, the number of soldiers suffering from heatstroke has been reduced by half. Thank you so much."

Wang Xingguo frowned and asked, "Only half?"

"Half is already very good. Supplies are too difficult to transport. Most of our soldiers are malnourished and not in good health. They are too prone to heatstroke and fainting."

Looking at the thin, dark-skinned person in charge, who was actually a regimental commander in the army, Wang Xingguo asked, "Is there any material that can improve this situation? I'll go back and submit a report to see if we can help improve things here."

"I don't understand these things either, but we're lacking everything here. More supplies would definitely help. There's a lot of edema in the base. Although we've reported it, we don't know when this problem will be solved."

After a moment's thought, Wang Xingguo knew exactly how to write the work report.

When Wang Xingguo learned that Li Zhong was his superior, he knew that Li Zhong must have seen his report.

It's a pity he didn't come back even once this time while he was resting at home; otherwise, it would have been more appropriate to discuss this matter face-to-face.

The handover was completed smoothly, and the boxes were carried into the warehouse one by one. Wang Xingguo led the group to the outer rest area.

The people from the three departments had already gone to rest. They would rest together for a day before heading back to Beijing.

By the time the convoy from Section 1 arrived, Wang Xingguo and his team had already gone to bed and rested.

The convoy set off at 6 p.m. the following day.

By the time Wang Xingguo returned to Beijing, it was already August 11th.

Wang Xingguo began writing the report.

"Report on Recommendations for the Regular Allocation of Onions and Supporting Nutritional Supplies to Malan Farm: Since the beginning of summer, the Gobi Desert has experienced continuous high temperatures, and all officers and soldiers at the farm have long faced a shortage of supplies. Based on my recent conversations with the person in charge, the following prominent issues have been identified."

Firstly, insufficient protein supply has led to widespread limb edema among soldiers in frontline infrastructure and exploration units, resulting in a significant decline in their physical strength and insufficient endurance for heavy physical labor.

Secondly, the long-term scarcity of fresh vegetables, with people relying solely on dried and pickled vegetables for their diet, has led to severe vitamin deficiencies and widespread symptoms such as night blindness, mouth ulcers, and frequent nosebleeds.

Thirdly, during the hot summer days, the soldiers are generally experiencing physical weakness and insufficient electrolyte reserves, with frequent occurrences of dizziness, exhaustion, and mild heatstroke, which has affected the progress of routine construction.

Fourthly, the proportion of whole grains and bran as meal replacements is too high, leading to loss of appetite, gastrointestinal discomfort, and slow recovery for most people.

It is proposed to maintain the supply of dried soybeans and dehydrated vegetables, and increase the supply of dehydrated dried carrots and dried cabbage. The allocation of kelp, canned meat, and heatstroke prevention herbs should be increased, and it is suggested to increase the allocation of onions…”

Wang Xingguo wrote a report, and just then Deputy Director Liu came over. He didn't mind the smelly Wang Xingguo and stood behind him watching him finish writing the report.

Just as Wang Xingguo was about to pick up the folder, Deputy Director Liu picked up the report and looked at it carefully.

He said to Wang Xingguo, "Section Chief Wang, this report is well written. I will submit it to the higher-ups."

Wang Xingguo quickly stood up and said, "Director Liu, what brings you here?"

Deputy Director Liu looked at Wang Xingguo, who had lost a lot of weight since arriving at the office, and replied with a smile, "I heard that you have returned from successfully completing your mission, so I came to check on everyone's condition. We will be going on another mission in a few days, so I can only grant you two days off. I hope you can understand."

Wang Xingguo nodded and said, "Okay, I have no problem. I will definitely complete the task assigned to me by the organization."

Deputy Director Liu patted Wang Xingguo on the shoulder, took his report, and left their Transportation Section 4 office.

Wang Xingguo did not have a private office; all four of them worked in a room of about 30 square meters.

The public rest area has some chairs, sofas and small tables. Sometimes when Wang Xingguo is waiting for work, he will find a chair to sit and take a nap.

The dormitory was a communal dormitory, the kind where there were two rows of four bunk beds in one room.

Wang Xingguo went back to his dormitory to get his clothes and then went to the public bathhouse for a soak. Zhou Jun happened to be there too, so they rubbed each other's dirt together.

Come home clean and tidy, so your wife won't worry.

After rinsing, Wang Xingguo hurriedly went to get his bicycle and rode home.

When they arrived in Beijing, it was only 7 a.m., so when Wang Xingguo got home, it was only 9:40 a.m.

Li Xiuping was cooling off inside the house, fanning Wang Jianhua with a fan, because the sun was shining on the doorway in the morning, so she couldn't cool off there.

As soon as Wang Xingguo stopped his bicycle, Li Xiuping heard the noise and quickly got up and went to the door.

Wang Xingguo turned around and saw Li Xiuping running out. He grinned and said, "Wife, I'm back."

Li Xiuping was overjoyed and hurriedly went to pour Wang Xingguo some dandelion tea. Recently, the temperature had risen, and she also felt a bit hot. She followed the aunts in her clan to get some dried dandelion roots and stems to make this kind of rural cooling tea.

Wang Xingguo took the rice and drank it in large gulps. Then he said to Li Xiuping, "Wife, do we have any rice left? We've been eating too much compressed dry food these days, so I'd like to have some rice porridge to soothe my stomach."