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

A hearty bowl of hand-pulled mutton rice was so delicious that everyone ate until they were completely stuffed. Because Wang Xingguo had paid a lot of money, the staff here were very generous and provided plenty of rice.

These colleagues rarely get to eat well, and they really couldn't help but eat until they were stuffed.

Wang Xingguo also ate quite a bit; he could never get tired of this hand-grabbed rice, no wonder people here eat it.

Stewed or roasted mutton can get greasy if you eat too much of it. Although this hand-pulled rice also has a lot of mutton fat, the rice and onions absorb the oil, so it's not greasy at all.

At four o'clock in the afternoon, Wang Xingguo and his group embarked on their journey back to Beijing.

Upon returning to the oil transportation department, a meeting was held to announce that Wang Xingguo had been awarded a second-class merit citation and a third-class merit citation for the collective.

Amidst enthusiastic applause, Wang Xingguo saluted the crowd.

Since the certificates and awards had already been collected by Wang Xingguo's wife, there was no further certificate presentation ceremony. Li Zhong delivered a speech, calling on his comrades to learn from Wang Xingguo, and the briefing ended there.

In late December in Beijing, it had already snowed. Wang Xingguo had just scrubbed each other's backs, so his "armor" had been removed. When he went outside and was hit by the cold wind, he couldn't help but shrink his neck.

I put on my gloves and went home; it was already six o'clock in the evening.

It was another lively night at the Wang family's house.

Wang Xingguo carried his sleeping son back to his crib, covered him with a blanket, and then rested with Li Xiuping.

Wang Xingguo placed his hand on Li Xiuping's belly and said happily, "My precious daughter, I hope you grow up healthy and be born safely. Daddy and Mommy are so looking forward to your arrival."

Wang Xingguo said with a smile, "I still want a daughter. My son is getting more and more naughty. A little girl would be better."

What if the little cotton-padded jacket lets in the wind?

"Haha, honey, are you talking about yourself? My daughter is definitely more like me than you; she's not going to be a 'leaky little cotton-padded jacket' (a term of endearment for a daughter who is easily frightened)."

The couple chatted for a long time before finally going to sleep very late.

Wang Xingguo suddenly began to enjoy this simple life, working, resting, and spending time with his family. Although business trips were tiring, the life was very stable.

In October 1963, troops drawn from various military regions received secret orders and began to advance towards the Malan base in batches.

The transport route from Daheyan to Malan suddenly became busy, and the transport department's workload increased significantly.

After more than a year of gradual adjustments, the grain supply in Beijing has improved significantly after the autumn harvest. The food rations for urban residents have slowly recovered, but the supply of oil, meat, and other non-staple foods remains quite tight.

Wang Xingguo has a daughter, and the leaders pay special attention to this child, perhaps hoping that she will look more like Wang Yongzhen.

He personally named the child Wang Niannian, and Wang Xingguo had no objection to the name, since he had already called him "godfather" anyway.

The former leader readily agreed, and he became more willing to visit Wang Jianhua and Wang Niannian.

Putting aside his former position and status as a leader, he was actually just an ordinary single old man.

There's still a bit of a grandparent-grandchild bond!

Every time he came to the Wang family, he would take Wang Cheng'an and Wang Jianhua out to play, which made Wang Jianhua feel more affectionate towards him, his godfather, than towards Wang Xingguo, his father.

Moreover, the old man kept instilling in his two children the idea that they should join the army when they grew up and become men who would protect their country.

Under his tutelage, when Wang Xingguo returned home one day, Wang Jianhua actually gave an awkward salute, which made Wang Xingguo laugh out loud.

As the transportation department's workload increased, Wang Xingguo began working non-stop. He used to go home about once every twenty days, but now it takes him more than forty days to go home.

With his former boss looking after him, Wang Xingguo felt quite at ease going to work.

At the current Malan base, the engineering regiment, guard regiment, 36th Motor Transport Regiment, 546th Hospital, and chemical defense regiment have all arrived one after another, and Wang Xingguo's workload is becoming increasingly heavy.

It's not easy to deliver supplies to so many people. It's only because the Xinjiang Autonomous Region has also allocated resources that they were able to get so many supplies, even if they worked around the clock.

On November 25, the convoy arrived in Malan town again. This time, there were many unfamiliar faces. Everyone was there for a great cause. They were people transferred from various military regions. Nothing bad was going to happen, since everyone who came here knew that they were carrying out a glorious mission.

Director Ma submitted several applications to promote Wang Xingguo, but they were all rejected.

Because Director Ma wanted to promote Wang Xingguo to deputy director, he wanted to hand over the responsibility of the oil transportation section to Wang Xingguo.

To put it bluntly, this guy wants to go back to the army because the oil transportation department is currently under too much pressure, and he wants to bring Wang Xingguo up there so that at least leaders like Li Zhong will take better care of him.

Unfortunately, all his applications were rejected. The reason was simple: Wang Xingguo had only been promoted a little over a year ago and was not suitable for another promotion.

After Wang Xingguo completed the handover, Chief of Staff Song rushed over and pulled Wang Xingguo into the town.

This is actually against regulations, because these logistics personnel should only stay on the outskirts of the town.

However, Chief of Staff Song was one of the leaders of the troops here, and they used to often take Wang Xingguo to the canteen for drinks.

Exhausted and sleepy, Wang Xingguo said speechlessly, "Chief of Staff Song, I've been working non-stop this time and don't have time to make any wine. Don't try to stop me, I don't have any wine for everyone to drink."

Chief of Staff Song laughed and said, "Don't worry, a comrade in the mess hall wants to see you. He not only provided you with drinks, but also with snacks."

Wang Xingguo asked in surprise, "Who is it? Why does someone suddenly want to see me?"

Chief of Staff Song explained, "This is the son of our old commander's fallen comrade. He inherited his father's will and rose from a private to a regimental commander. Don't compare yourself to him. You, a logistics officer, can't compare to him. He's a colonel who has real command authority over troops."

Wang Xingguo was even more confused. He asked, "Why did he contact me?"

Chief of Staff Song paused, looking at him with exasperation, and said, "Are you really stupid or just pretending? You call the old commander 'godfather,' and he calls you 'grandpa' in return. What's wrong with family members getting to know each other?"

Wang Xingguo said speechlessly, "I'm tired and sleepy right now, what's the point of seeing him? Last time I met that Li Enze, I didn't know who he was at first, and he even had some issues with me."

In fact, Wang Xingguo didn't really care about promotion. He didn't care about these things at all. It was just that someone he had only met for the first time had a bad opinion of him for no reason.

He even lectured me on our second meeting. No one would want to keep in touch with someone like that. What if this regimental commander is just like Li Enze?

Anyway, I don't have much ambition, so there's really no need for me to...