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

Three days passed in the blink of an eye. Wang Xingguo returned to the oil transportation department and completed a material transportation task. It was already January 2nd.

Wang Xingguo thought he would be assigned to work non-stop to continue escorting supplies, but the task that Director Ma gave him left him speechless.

Holding the documents, he asked, looking completely bewildered, "Director Ma, Director Liu, transporting live pigs and chickens involves such high losses; it's not even as cost-effective as transporting canned goods. What were you thinking?"

Director Ma said earnestly, "Xiao Wang, this is for supplies for the New Year. There are so many people at the base now. We've faced difficulties before, but this year our supplies have recovered to a certain level. We can't let our comrades go without a decent New Year's Eve dinner. Now that the temperature in the Gobi Desert has dropped, transporting various meats won't cause any spoilage issues."

Of course, these tasks were previously handled by the military, but our comrades also have a share. Comrade Liao Mangu from the First Section was injured in an attack by enemy agents. Although they bravely killed the saboteurs, he was hospitalized. Therefore, this important task can only be entrusted to you. We hope you won't be deterred by the difficulties; the organization believes you can definitely do the job well.”

Wang Xingguo was speechless because the mission deadline was too long!

First, he had to go to Shaoguan Station to pick up cured pork and sausages, then to Hengyang Station in Hunan to pick up cured pork and duck, then to Hankou Station in Hubei to pick up cured fish, and finally to Xinyang in Henan to load up live pigs, live chickens, and eggs. After arriving at Daheyan, he also had to receive cattle and sheep from Xinjiang before he could transport the supplies to Malan Town.

Even if he were to travel by military train, the time spent loading and unloading at each train station before finally reaching his destination would be too long. By the time he finished his leave and went on another mission, he would probably have to spend the New Year on the train.

Unfortunately, there's nothing we can do, because we're just that short-staffed.

Wang Xingguo and his men hurriedly boarded a civilian train and headed straight for Shaoguan Railway Station in Shaoguan Special District.

Three days and two nights later, the train arrived at its destination.

If they travel by military train, the journey will be slightly shorter because the route is unobstructed. However, since there are no suitable trains available when they depart, they can only use military trains when they return.

The supplies were all prepared by the local authorities, so they received them and checked for any problems upon arrival.

It's also easy to check; just randomly pick some out, cook them, and eat them.

They ate their way back to Xinyang Station in Henan. The pigs alone filled four train cars, totaling 320 large, fat pigs. The chickens filled another car car, about 800 in number. The eggs, though only 1500 jin (750 kg) and needing to be lined with straw, still filled half a car car's worth of baskets.

And so, Wang Xingguo took the supplies and headed to Daheyan.

However, considering that they had been working continuously for 15 days to transport the supplies to Daheyan, the oil transportation department decided to hand over the supplies directly at Daheyan Station, and the transportation team from Malan Base would be responsible for the transfer.

So after Wang Xingguo completed the handover, it was already January 18th. He and his group didn't even go to eat; they went to the dormitory that had been arranged for them and went straight to sleep.

They had to coordinate with each station along the way, so they couldn't get a good night's sleep during the transport; everyone was already exhausted.

Wang Xingguo didn't know how long he had slept because he hadn't checked the time when he finished handing over his work.

I woke up from a nap because I was hungry...

When Wang Xingguo went to get his meal, he asked curiously, "Why did the leaders arrange this meal?"

The canteen staff member said cheerfully, "Because the commander said you all work very hard, working non-stop. The commander said he doesn't have much ability, so he can only arrange a good meal for everyone. This hand-grabbed rice is only available to you comrades in the transportation department; we soldiers don't have it."

Wang Xingguo nodded and said, "Please thank your leader for me. We appreciate his kindness."

Although it was just a meal, Wang Xingguo found it quite interesting. He used to be the one giving extra food to others, but he never expected that someone would give him extra food. It seems that these people know how tiring their work is.

After finishing their meal of hand-grabbed rice, Wang Xingguo and his group embarked on their journey home.

Everyone was a little impatient, because they had already worked for thirty-seven days, and if they took the bus back to Beijing, the total time would be a full forty-five days.

At 1 p.m. on January 27, the train arrived in Beijing.

After returning to the oil transportation department and submitting the work report and receipt, Director Ma said somewhat apologetically, "Xiao Wang, because we need to stockpile supplies to get through the sandstorm, I can only grant you ten days of leave. You can't spend the New Year at home..."

Wang Xingguo understood what he meant: the holiday would start tomorrow, meaning they would have to return to the fuel transportation department on the evening of February 6th.

He smiled and nodded, saying, "It's no big deal. So many comrades at the farm can't spend the New Year with their families, so it won't make a difference if we spend New Year's Eve on the train. But I have a request. Shouldn't our department be a little more generous and provide us with more food so we can have a decent New Year's Eve dinner on the train?"

Director Ma nodded solemnly and said, "This time, we will use military trains for transportation. We will arrange the ingredients so that everyone can eat dumplings on the train."

"That's fine then, I need to get home to see my child."

After taking a nice bath and scrubbing off all the mud, Wang Xingguo changed his clothes and hurriedly rode his bicycle home.

Actually, it's not easy for Director Ma and his colleagues. Even though their families are all in Beijing, they spend almost all their time at the oil transportation department.

For those of them who work the night shift, even if a car comes back at night, they still need to get up to do handover work. It's not as easy as sitting in the office.

No one can live an easy life; everyone is working hard for the revolutionary cause.

We're in the final stages now, and everyone's giving it their all. Various special trains are secretly transporting all sorts of crucial items.

When Wang Xingguo returned home, his family was overjoyed. Wang Jianhua was so happy that he jumped up and down and was picked up by Wang Xingguo.

"Dad, I miss you so much."

"Hey kid, Dad misses you too."

It was already nine o'clock, and everyone was preparing to go to sleep, but Wang Xingguo's return kept everyone busy.

They all knew that Wang Xingguo never ate out in order to get home as soon as possible, so they needed to prepare dinner for him.

Holding Wang Niannian in his arms, Wang Xingmin asked, "Second Brother, how many days of leave are you on this time?"

Wang Xingguo explained, "I'm on a ten-day vacation this time, so I won't be able to have New Year's Eve dinner with you all."