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

That evening, a welcome banquet was arranged, and Wang Xingguo and his group went to have drinks with the person in charge and several leaders.

Wang Xingguo's organizational affiliation was temporarily placed at the General Logistics Department's Pingxiang office, where he served as the deputy head of the material transfer team, while his personnel status remained with the Beijing Material Transportation Office.

The veteran commander sent by the General Logistics Department served as the group leader of the General Logistics Department's office in Pingxiang. Wang Xingguo and the other deputy directors who were transferred here were responsible for the scheduling and planning of aid materials from all over the country after they arrived at the station, and the other was responsible for coordinating the transshipment and transfer work.

Another person was responsible for arranging railway or highway exit plans, while Wang Xingguo was responsible for escorting the supplies and coordinating with the aid troops and Vietnamese military representatives.

There was no other way; they were all logistics officers, but of the few who came, only Wang Xingguo had fought on the front lines.

The old commander preferred Wang Xingguo, after all, he was a veteran revolutionary who had come through gunfire and would prefer soldiers who could fight on the front lines.

And so, the most dangerous job fell to Wang Xingguo.

Wang Xingguo did not refuse and gladly accepted the work arrangement.

Back in his dorm, Wang Xingguo was exhausted. After taking a cold shower and washing his clothes, his hair was almost dry. He lit one of the mosquito coils that had been distributed and fell asleep immediately.

The next morning, staff members delivered military scrip to them, and Wang Xingguo realized that they needed to go to the Logistics Department of the Guangzhou Military Region to purchase supplies using military scrip.

Of course, you can also buy supplies from local vendors with money. Many supplies are allowed to be bought and sold here, and the vendors don't require any receipts.

This is the main camp. The anti-aircraft artillery, railway troops, engineering troops, communications, and logistics transport units that were assisting North Vietnam are all assembled here, except for the troops that have already departed.

So there are a lot of people here now. Allowing people to set up stalls here is to reduce logistical pressure and make it easier for everyone to buy daily necessities.

Wang Xingguo went out for a walk to familiarize himself with the surroundings and even bought some chicken skin fruit, which was sweet and sour, but more sour than sweet.

At first, Wang Xingguo thought it was something else, but after taking a bite, he remembered that it was a yellow-skinned fruit.

However, it was not quite the same as he remembered; this round, yellow-skinned fruit was oval.

He also bought a peeled pineapple that had been soaked in salt water, which tasted quite good.

For lunch, I had rice porridge with stir-fried water spinach and stir-fried bitter melon with sliced ​​meat.

Wang Xingguo found the food quite palatable, as these dishes were indeed very good with porridge.

It's not that there's no dry rice available, it's that Wang Xingguo doesn't want to eat rice.

It's so hot and humid here!

The temperature is around 25 or 26 degrees Celsius at night and over 30 degrees Celsius during the day, sometimes even reaching 37 or 38 degrees Celsius at noon.

The humidity here is too high, and the muggy environment is making Wang Xingguo very uncomfortable.

After eating two lunchboxes of rice porridge, Wang Xingguo returned to his dormitory and took a cold shower.

The dormitories here consist of a communal bathhouse and communal toilets, and are all single-story buildings that were recently constructed.

Wang Xingguo's level still received some treatment; at least he had a single room, although the room was small, with only a 1.5-meter bed, a desk, a stool, a cabinet, and buckets and basins on the floor. There wasn't even a stool for guests to sit on.

Wang Xingguo lay in bed for a long time before falling asleep. In the evening, Wang Xingguo was about to go out for dinner.

However, the old leader arranged for someone to summon him. Wang Xingguo was a little confused, but he obediently followed.

When the old commander saw Wang Xingguo, he invited him to sit down and then poured him some wine, saying, "Young Wang, the work you are in charge of is very important, but also quite dangerous. The American imperialists have wolfish ambitions, and their bombers frequently bomb North Vietnam's infrastructure, such as roads and bridges, especially train lines, which are often destroyed by their bombers."

This is also why North Vietnam requested our support for the railway troops; they lacked the capacity to repair the railways and could only send our soldiers to carry out emergency repairs. From now on, you and the other comrades will take turns running these transport jobs. Please be sure to pay attention to safety; protecting yourself is the most important thing.”

Wang Xingguo nodded and said, "Understood. Please rest assured, sir, we will definitely pay attention to safety and successfully complete the mission!"

The old leader waved his hand and said, "This is not the time for work, no need to be so serious. Come, have a drink with me."

Wang Xingguo quickly offered a toast to the old leader and then poured him a drink.

The old commander instructed, "When you go on missions, you need to change into civilian clothes. You can't openly enter North Vietnam wearing military uniforms. We are providing aid, not participating in the war. Do you understand what I mean?"

Wang Xingguo nodded and said, "Understood. It means acting as ordinary citizens, not revealing our identities, and not giving American imperialism an excuse to attack us."

The old leader nodded in satisfaction and said, "Very good, it's good that you understand."

Wang Xingguo asked some questions, and the old leader answered them patiently. If it was a question he didn't know the answer to, he would have the person assigned to him answer it.

Two hours passed in the blink of an eye. Wang Xingguo had eaten and drunk his fill and had learned everything he wanted to know. He then got up to say goodbye to his old leader.

As the old commander rose to see him off, he instructed him, "Tomorrow at noon, you will be going on your first mission with a comrade assigned here. This batch of shells is for our anti-aircraft artillery units assisting North Vietnam. You must be extremely careful and ensure that this batch is delivered safely to our comrades. This batch is very important. If any problems arise, you can ask the comrade leading you for help, or communicate with the comrades assigned by North Vietnam."

Wang Xingguo nodded, then stood at attention, saluted, and left the old leader's residence.

After returning to his room, Wang Xingguo took a cold shower, changed his clothes, and then looked at a map.

He needed to memorize the route and familiarize himself with the terrain and important locations in North Vietnam, such as bridges and ferry crossings.

It wasn't until nearly ten o'clock that the heat in the room dissipated somewhat, but it was impossible for it to cool down completely.

Fortunately, there was plenty of water available here. Wang Xingguo took another cold shower, then returned to his room and lay on the mat for a while before finally falling asleep.

The next morning, after washing up, Wang Xingguo went to his unit. Although they were not under the jurisdiction of the Guangzhou Military Region, their work was not differentiated, so Wang Xingguo also needed to coordinate with the logistics department of the Guangzhou Military Region to understand the specific details of this mission.

Around 9 o'clock, Wang Xingguo met the person who had brought him here, a staff member named Wang Yongqin.

He was a local soldier, around thirty years old, who spoke Mandarin with a Guangxi accent, which was quite amusing to listen to.

Wang Xingguo mainly didn't understand why they added interjections at the end of their sentences. For example, Wang Yongqin would say, "Comrade Wang Xingguo, this is your first mission. Remember to ask me first if you don't understand anything. Don't do anything reckless."