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

Upon learning that the convoy had arrived, Chief of Staff Song quickly put on his cotton-padded coat and ran out.

He warmly shook hands with Wang Xingguo and asked, "Section Chief Wang, what supplies are being transported this time?"

Wang Xingguo replied, "We have diesel fuel, grain, cabbage, scallions, forty pigs, and two hundred sheep. I also brought you some cured meat and sausages; please pass them on to the experts to replenish their supplies."

Chief of Staff Song exclaimed happily, "That's wonderful! The leaders have heard the soldiers' cries! Everyone's been craving these dumplings for so long!"

Wang Xingguo asked in surprise, "Is this for making dumplings?"

Chief of Staff Song nodded earnestly and said, "That's right. The soldiers have been away from home for too long, and the conditions here are so harsh. We have no other desires but to make dumplings for the soldiers to ease their homesickness."

Wang Xingguo let out a long sigh of relief and nodded, saying, "I understand. Thank you all for your hard work..."

Wang Xingguo smiled as he watched the groups of soldiers cheering and jumping around the pigs and sheep.

Next came the busy handover process. In fact, after the supplies were transported here, the quantities were never quite right.

It's not that anyone embezzled the money, it's just that too much time has passed!

When these pigs were purchased, they generally weighed between 103 and 110 jin (50.5-50 kg). Now, the thinnest pigs have dropped to 95 jin (42.5 kg), and there are no pigs weighing more than 105 jin (52.5 catties).

The same goes for various vegetables; after such a long transportation period, their weight has actually decreased considerably.

Therefore, the loss rate during transportation is very high, and discrepancies in the accounts are common. This does not mean that someone has embezzled the materials.

He was busy until 10 a.m. when the handover was finally completed. Wang Xingguo received the handover receipt for the supplies. He was too exhausted to continue, so he returned to the dormitory he had been assigned to and fell asleep shortly after lying down.

He slept until eight o'clock in the evening. Wang Xingguo sat up and saw that all his comrades around him were fast asleep. He got dressed and went outside.

The wind was strong in the Gobi Desert at night, and the temperature of minus five or six degrees Celsius made Wang Xingguo run back quickly.

In fact, many people live in dugouts.

Many people may not know what a pit is. It is also called a dug pit. It is a rectangular pit dug down one or two meters into the ground, and the pit walls are made of earth.

The roof beams were made of poplar wood, tamarisk, and reeds, covered with reeds and grass, then covered with a thick layer of soil and sealed with mud and straw. Only one entrance and exit were left, and a small skylight was opened in the roof for lighting and ventilation.

By this time, a large number of rammed earth houses had been built. These were earthen houses built on flat ground with rammed earth, unlike the semi-underground dugouts.

It's basically just setting up wooden planks, filling them with a mixture of grass and clay, tamping them down layer by layer with stone rammers to build a thick earthen wall, placing red willows and reeds on the beams, and then covering it with soil and mud to form a roof.

The indoor lighting is definitely better than that of a dugout, but there are many cracks in the walls, so when the wind blows, dust will fall inside, and there will be leaks when it rains or snows.

Many companies and government offices in Malan Town live in these houses, while the Lop Nur outpost is still mostly made up of dugouts.

Wang Xingguo now lives in a mud house with very basic amenities. Inside the house, there are two rows of mud beds covered with dry grass and mats, and then blankets. One room can sleep about twenty people.

The next morning, Wang Xingguo picked up the release slip, and the convoy set off from Malan Town.

The comrades in the town were slaughtering pigs and sheep and making dumplings. Although they wanted Wang Xingguo to stay and eat dumplings with them, Wang Xingguo suddenly felt that he did not deserve to eat dumplings.

Because they had worked so hard and looked forward to this meal of dumplings for so long, he felt he didn't deserve to eat it...

They arrived back at Daheyan at 6 p.m., only to find that the train had already departed, meaning they wouldn't be able to return until the next morning.

Wang Xingguo ran out and traded two packs of cigarettes for a sheep, then took out national grain coupons to give his comrades an extra meal.

Because there were more people this time, we received less lamb, but everyone still enjoyed the meal.

The people in the transportation department actually have a very tough time. Not only do they have to travel back and forth all the time, but whenever they are transporting supplies, they need to be on high alert to ensure that no one comes into contact with the supplies.

Traveling by train is already quite unpleasant, and to have to go to work like this is really tough.

When I returned to the capital, it was already 3 p.m. on November 18th.

After writing his work report, Wang Xingguo went to his dormitory to get his clothes and then took a good bath at the public bathhouse. Everyone scrubbed off the mud from each other's bodies and went home clean, so their families wouldn't worry about them.

When Wang Xingguo returned home, Wang Jianhua, who was walking while holding onto his crib, looked up at the door and blurted out, "Dad~"

Wang Xingguo felt his heart melt. He sighed, went over and picked up his son, kissing his cheeks several times.

When Li Xiuping came out of the restroom, she saw that Wang Xingguo had returned and said happily, "The baby's father is back! I thought it would be another day."

Wang Xingguo held his son, reached out and hugged Li Xiuping, and kissed her hard on the face twice.

He misses his wife and children.

Li Xiuping asked him cheerfully if he was hungry, and Wang Xingguo shook his head and said, "I'm not hungry. I'll take a nap after dinner."

Li Xiuping nodded and asked, "Honey, why are we getting another subsidy this month?"

Wang Xingguo asked in surprise, "I didn't know that. What kind of subsidy was given?"

Li Xiuping replied, "They issued ration coupons for cigarettes, alcohol, sugar, tea, eggs, canned goods, and fruit, as well as coupons for three jin of wheat flour and three jin of rice—all special supply coupons."

Wang Xingguo nodded and said, "It's probably because I've been working a lot of overtime lately. Anyway, just take it and go buy what you need."

Li Xiuping nodded, and then brought up the matter of the muntjac. She only kept three catties of meat for her family, and let Uncle Zhao and Uncle Yongchang divide the rest.

Wang Xingguo laughed and said, "You've taken so much meat and divided it up, don't you feel bad about it?"

Li Xiuping nodded and said, "It hurts, it's all money, but I can't keep it all for myself. What if someone gets jealous of our family? I thought about it and decided not to worry about it. Right now, everyone is short of meat and fine grains. Putting everything else aside, we have subsidies from the organization, so we're actually living better than many other people."

Wang Xingguo nodded and said, "Although being envious of our family is useless, I'm not home after all, and my older brother has to go to work every day, so it's quite appropriate for you to be careful."

Li Xiuping nodded and said, "Honey, your old neighbor, Aunt Sun, came to ask for help again. I didn't have any supplies to give them, so I just gave her twenty yuan to help out."

After thinking for a moment, Wang Xingguo asked, "How did she get into the compound? Logically speaking, she shouldn't have been able to get in, right?"

Li Xiuping nodded and said, "She didn't come in. She was waiting for me outside. I'm also a bit annoyed by this. It's fine if you're home, but since you're not, I can't make decisions on your own."

Wang Xingguo frowned and said, "I understand. I will handle this matter."