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

Everyone was discussing it, but no good reason could be thought of for the time being.

At that moment, a deputy chief of staff named Qian, who wore thick-rimmed glasses for nearsightedness, raised his hand!

The general asked with delight, "Deputy Chief of Staff Qian, what are your thoughts? Tell us quickly."

Deputy Chief of Staff Qian stood up and addressed the crowd in a loud voice: "Have you all forgotten something? Wild boars have always roamed the valleys and shrub gullies on the southern slope of Bogda Mountain, north of Daheyan. Although their numbers are small, what's wrong with sending some soldiers to hunt them? We've eaten wild vegetables, so why can't we eat some game? What pork? That's clearly wild boar meat we hunted!"

These righteous and eloquent words stunned Wang Xingguo!

Wang Xingguo quickly asked, "Deputy Chief of Staff Qian, are there any wild ducks, pheasants, or rabbits over there?"

Deputy Chief of Staff Qian adjusted his glasses and said with a smile, "Of course we have them. Not only wild ducks, but also doves, sandgrouse, rabbits, and gazelles—these are all game that our soldiers have hunted."

After thinking for a moment, Wang Xingguo said in a serious tone, "Then let's arrange four transport vehicles to go hunting. I estimate that you will definitely be able to hunt 51 wild boars, 300 sandgrouse, 200 wild ducks, 200 rabbits, and dozens of gazelles. This hunting team will definitely have a good harvest."

A look of delight appeared on everyone's faces. Chief of Staff Song handed a cigarette to Wang Xingguo, lit it for him himself, and then asked, "Little Wang, can't this team hunt a few more wild boars?"

Wang Xingguo rolled his eyes at him and said, "There are only fifty-one wild boars in the herd, how are we going to hunt more?"

The general chuckled and said, "That's enough, that's enough. Those wild boars have it tough too; fifty-one is already quite good."

Wang Xingguo suspected the general was implying he was a wild boar, but he hadn't actually taken advantage of the general's behavior...

Wang Xingguo yawned and said, "Alright, that hunting convoy is going to wait for the wild boars to come down the mountain on that hillside outside the town. Anyway, I don't know anything about it, so you guys can deal with the wild boars yourselves."

Deputy Chief of Staff Qian laughed and said, "Absolutely. I'll lead the hunt for these wild boars. There's definitely no chance of anything going wrong."

"I'm fine with going, Lao Qian, you're so busy, it's not really appropriate for you to go, is it?"

"I think I have more time, so let me do it."

The general glared and said, "Stop your scheming! No one is allowed to take a single hair of this prey!"

Wang Xingguo didn't care about any of that. He just ran off. After the work was completed, he led the team to their dormitory and fell asleep soon after.

When he was collecting these pigs in Yingde County, he didn't think about the risks of sending them here. He simply remembered what Chief of Staff Song had said. He recalled that Chief of Staff Song said the soldiers were homesick and he wanted to make them some meat dumplings to ease their longing for home.

Actually, sending these pigs wasn't as difficult as I imagined, because there are pig farms in Turpan County that raise pigs for Malan Town. It's just that the scale isn't large enough yet, and the pigs only weigh 60-70 jin (30-35 kg), so they can't be sent to Malan Town for the time being.

Of course, wild boar is a more suitable excuse.

The next morning at seven o'clock, Chief of Staff Song delivered a flag with a flagpole made of sharpened steel bars to Wang Xingguo, and said cheerfully, "Little Wang, wherever you plant this flag, that's where the hunting convoy will go. They'll set off twelve hours later than you, is that alright?"

Wang Xingguo took the flag and nodded, saying, "Okay, anyway, the transport convoy will rest for a day after it goes back before setting off again."

After saying that, Wang Xingguo didn't waste any more words and got into the car with the flag.

On the way back, since the vehicles were empty and the weather was not bad, there was no breakdown. The convoy returned to a place about three kilometers from Daheyan around 8 p.m. Wang Xingguo called for the vehicles to stop and got out to plant the flags by the roadside.

Back at the station guesthouse, Wang Xingguo borrowed a bicycle, which was the local public transport vehicle; he needed it for the next morning.

The next morning at six o'clock, Wang Xingguo set off on his bicycle along the road, flashlight in hand.

The guards on duty thought he was going to town for a stroll and reminded him that there was no need to go so early, as state-owned shops usually don't open until after 10 a.m.

When Wang Xingguo arrived at the destination, the convoy had already arrived.

Wang Xingguo didn't say much. He got out of the car, parked it, and lit a cigarette with Chief of Staff Song, who was leading the team. Wang Xingguo said to him, "Move the car out of the way, I'll drive one away."

Chief of Staff Song nodded and asked, "Do you need soldiers to protect you?"

Wang Xingguo didn't care what he thought; he just shook his head and waved for the driver to get out of the car.

After the driver got off the vehicle, Wang Xingguo climbed into the car, started the engine, and drove towards Daheyan. After driving about a kilometer, he turned the car around and loaded twenty-five pigs onto it.

Normally, transporting pigs wouldn't involve carrying so many, for fear of crushing them.

But the weather was hot back then, and the pigs would rot and spoil after being crushed to death.

But with the weather like this, there's no need to worry. If they die, they die. Anyway, they can be stored. There's no need to worry about it.

Half an hour later, Wang Xingguo drove back to the convoy, parked the car, jumped out, and went to get another car to drive away.

Two truckloads of pigs, one truckload of chickens and ducks, one truckload of rams that Wang Xingguo had previously traded for, and more than two hundred rabbits. He kept only one male and two female rams and gave them thirty-eight.

After driving the car back, it was already dawn. Wang Xingguo dusted himself off, got on his bicycle, and was about to leave.

Chief of Staff Song pulled him aside and asked how much money would be appropriate, but Wang Xingguo just waved and rode his bicycle further and further away.

Chief of Staff Song lit a cigarette and watched the disappearing figure with a slight smile on his face.

He turned to the crowd and said, "What are you all standing there for? Get in the car! We're done hunting, let's head back and make dumplings!"

The group grinned; they were all former subordinates of Chief of Staff Song and knew what to say and what not to say. They all went back to their cars. A short while later, the cars started moving and began their journey back to Malan Town.

Wang Xingguo hummed a little tune as he returned to the guesthouse. He first returned the bicycle, then ran back to his dormitory to continue sleeping.

Wang Xingguo slept until after 4 p.m., when he woke up hungry.

After washing up, Wang Xingguo waited until it was time to eat, then went to get his food and discussed tomorrow's plans with Zhao Ziyang.

Unexpectedly, there are quite a lot of vehicles this time; there are now a total of seventy cars at the station.

Wang Xingguo asked, "How many vehicles can we use?"

Zhao Ziyang replied, "Fifty-five vehicles can be used; the other cars have missions tomorrow."

Wang Xingguo said happily, "Then we'll use them all. We'll try to make two more trips to transport the supplies so I can go back to Beijing."