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

Wang Xingguo, sitting in the swaying car on his way back to Daheyan, had mixed feelings.

He didn't know whether he should tell his family about this, nor did he know how to face his former boss. He was still a bit confused.

During the day in the Gobi Desert, the sun was still scorching hot. Wang Xingguo hadn't had enough rest, and the heat made him catch a cold and fever.

However, after this illness, Wang Xingguo felt healthier after recovering.

The car arrived at the Daheyan Military Transport Station and learned that there were no trains running that night and that they would have to wait until tomorrow afternoon. Wang Xingguo then checked in.

The next morning, he went to buy sheep and bought twenty in one go. He planned to take two of them back home to treat his relatives and friends to a meal.

Of course, he fell ill this time, but work could not stop, and the receipts were sent back to the unit by his clerk.

So Wang Xingguo killed a sheep, took a leg of lamb, and asked the guesthouse to make it into a hand-pulled rice dish so they could eat it together.

He didn't even need to pay for the national food coupons, because the chefs and staff here provided the rice, and everyone enjoyed a delicious meal of hand-grabbed rice together.

At 4 p.m., Wang Xingguo boarded a civilian train, in a soft sleeper compartment. After eight days and nine nights, he returned to Beijing at 5 p.m. on July 26.

When he returned to the oil transportation department, his staff and several department heads came to check on his health. They were relieved to learn that he had recovered.

Their transportation department is short-staffed because the people here, if placed outside, would basically only reach the level of section chief or department head.

Because only those who have undergone strict screening can be transferred to work, the people responsible for coordinating supplies outside are all military officers from the armed forces.

The battalion commanders and regimental commanders who escorted the supplies with Wang Xingguo were actually people who had procured the supplies from various military regions. Whoever was in charge would go along to escort the vehicles, so it was difficult for the same people to be the same each time.

After finishing his work report, Wang Xingguo went to the bathhouse for a good soak. He greeted some strangers and they helped each other scrub their backs.

By the time he got home, it was already seven o'clock in the evening.

The family was having dinner when Wang Xingguo's return got everyone busy. Li Xiuping went to knead the dough, Wang Xingbang went to get some wine, Shen Qingqing went to prepare cucumber salad, and Wang Xingning and Wang Xingmin went to the vegetable garden to pick some vegetables with flashlights.

Wang Xingguo happily held his son, who initially resisted, but quickly stopped resisting.

Because he's grown to this age, he's started recognizing people. Although he was a little confused at first, he quickly recognized that he was his father and naturally stopped resisting him.

Wang Cheng'an was two months older than Wang Jianhua, so he had a very good memory. He pointed to the cabinet and said, "Cheers~ Candy~".

Wang Xingguo burst into laughter, amused. His nephew was so clever, knowing to ask his second uncle for candy.

Shen Qingqing brought out a plate of smashed cucumbers and said cheerfully to Wang Xingguo, "Xingguo, if you're hungry, have a steamed bun first. The noodles won't be ready for a while."

Wang Xingguo replied with a smile, "Sister-in-law, don't worry, I'm not that hungry either. By the way, has the matter at the trust store been resolved yet?"

At this point, Shen Qingqing's expression became very strange. After a while, she whispered to Wang Xingguo, "It's resolved. The three directors have been abandoned by the people behind them. All the previous grievances are being placed on their shoulders. Uncle Yongli also distributed a lot of things to everyone, and all of those things are also being placed on the shoulders of those three directors."

Wang Xingguo was not surprised at all. These three gloves were essentially gloves. If he hadn't had the protection of his old leader, he would have been thrown away as well.

Wang Xingguo nodded, then asked, "Who's in charge of the trust store now?"

"The district commerce bureau sent two cadres over. These two are quite easy to talk to, and unlike the previous three, they don't usually hold employee meetings to discuss things. They've held three meetings to discuss things this week alone."

That's a pretty good idea. As long as people don't cause trouble, they won't be so bored as to start a riot.

Wang Xingbang returned from buying expensive liquor. He had gone to the state-run tavern to buy high-priced liquor and also brought back some fried peanuts.

This year's summer harvest was quite good, and the supply of non-staple foods in the market has begun to recover. Although most of the time you couldn't buy anything even if you queued up, at least there's something available now.

The two brothers poured themselves a drink and started drinking. Wang Xingbang asked, "Second brother, you've been working overtime for so long this time, how many days of vacation are you taking?"

Wang Xingguo explained, "Actually, it's only a five-day holiday, not many days."

Wang Xingning and her siblings returned; it turned out they had gone to pick scallions and cilantro.

After working for a while longer, everyone finally sat down to eat dinner again.

Wang Xingguo asked, "Has Grandpa mentioned anything about the third son's job?"

Wang Xingning nodded repeatedly and said, "Second Brother, Uncle Zhao said that I should stay home and help take care of the children this year. There aren't many good job recommendations this year; they're either hard jobs or too far from home. Uncle told me not to worry about it, saying that there should be sales clerk recommendations next year, and he'll arrange something for me then."

Wang Xingguo nodded and said, "Then you should listen to your uncle and stay home to help take care of Cheng'an and the others. If you need pocket money, ask your second sister-in-law. We're not in a hurry to go to work."

Wang Xingning nodded repeatedly in agreement.

Li Xiuping said happily, "My husband, when Uncle Twenty-One came to the city on business, he brought us a basket of salted duck eggs and chicken eggs, saying that everyone had chipped in for you."

Wang Xingguo nodded and said, "They're really something. They're not even having an easy time themselves, and they're still trying to contribute to us."

Wang Xingbang said with emotion, "They remember your kindness. Uncle Yongchang said that if it weren't for you bringing back grain, the clan would be like other rural areas, with everyone suffering from severe edema. Fortunately, they've recovered quite a bit now, and everyone is secretly planting potatoes and sweet potatoes everywhere because they're terrified of hunger."

Shen Qingqing sighed and said, "Our family is only able to survive because of Xingguo. If it weren't for Xingguo constantly bringing back grain to supplement the family's income, we would have starved to the point of edema too. In my old neighborhood, more than a dozen people in one courtyard got edema, and you have to understand that the whole courtyard only had more than forty people."

There's nothing to be modest about; it's true that Wang Xingguo consistently brought back grain, which prevented the family from suffering from malnutrition due to food shortages.

Although my younger siblings have lost some weight, no one in the family is in poor health.

Wang Xingguo and his elder brother drank a toast, then he scooped up some noodles and ate them heartily.

It would be a lie to say he wasn't hungry. He's been eating too much compressed rations, so now everything tastes delicious to him.