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

"Why is Wang Er so late today?"

"Hey, there are river shrimp! These river shrimp are mine!"

"Get lost, Chen Laosan, who do you think you are? With my relationship with Wang Er, these river shrimp should belong to me!"

A group of people scrambled around the bucket, and Wang Xingguo quickly said, "No, brothers, don't fight over it. You guys can share the fish, but I'm taking the river shrimp to have with Uncle Niu's drinks."

Upon hearing this, Old Niu beamed with joy and said, "Did you hear that? These river shrimp are a gift from Wang Er to his father. None of you are allowed to take them."

Er Gouzi curled his lip and said, "Tch, Niu Ye always hogs everything. Wang Er said he'd get some wine, so why can't I have a drink?"

Old Niu waved his hand and said, "Get lost! You're all eyeing any good snacks to go with your drinks. Fine, you can have one, but don't you dare freeload. The drinks tonight are on you, okay?"

Er Gouzi chuckled and said, "What's wrong with that? Hurry up and divide the fish. After that, stir-fry these river shrimp. A sip of wine followed by a bite of shrimp, that'll be great!"

The chickens, duck eggs, and fish they brought were all divided up.

The people here are very disciplined and try to get a share, because no one dares to offend anyone else, otherwise they won't even know how they died once they leave here.

Few people in this world are fools. Don't assume that going to these places is dangerous; you still need to consider their value.

For example, someone like Wang Xingguo supplies everyone with a batch of goods every now and then, so everyone can get a share from him, and no one will try to take advantage of him.

Because so many people have benefited from him, these people are his protectors.

Anyone who's been around knows the difference between a full meal and having food regularly. If someone didn't, they'd be in deep trouble long ago.

When talking about the martial arts world, one cannot help but mention the word "rules".

If everyone were fools and didn't follow the rules, we would have been wiped out long ago.

Those who follow the rules and cause no trouble are called "gray," while those who break the rules and cause trouble are called "black"—it's that simple.

Wang Xingguo kept the money, and his goods were sold at relatively high prices, but that didn't matter because the people who bought his goods were all wealthy.

To put it bluntly, many of these people are simply there to serve capitalists and remnants of the old regime.

Is this something shameful?

It sounds pretty pathetic, but making a living isn't always that easy...

Those people are wealthy and have plenty of money to buy things. As long as they get the supplies they want, they can easily earn enough to support their families. So there's no reason for people who resell supplies not to do it.

After collecting the money from the sale, Master Niu instructed his men to stir-fry the river shrimp. The group then sat down at a table inside, and soon lit cigarettes and started chatting.

Uncle Niu couldn't help but ask, "Little Wang, is there something you need?"

Wang Xingguo said with a smile, "Uncle Niu, have you forgotten something?"

Uncle Niu was taken aback for a moment, but quickly recovered and laughed, "Look at my memory! I haven't forgotten the house you wanted, and I've contacted someone to discuss it. There's a detached house over in Taotiao Hutong, but the privacy isn't as good as mine. However, it has seven rooms; three have collapsed, leaving four intact. With four siblings, your eldest brother can have one after he gets married, you can have one, and your younger brother and sister can each have one. This way, we can avoid the risk of the neighborhood committee renting it out. What do you think?"

Wang Xingguo said happily, "This courtyard is perfect for me! Were the three collapsed rooms cleared, or not?"

Uncle Niu explained with a smile, "It's all been cleared out. The original owner was worried that if he didn't move his things, the neighborhood committee would order him to rebuild. Now even the paving stones have been moved to the side, and he's planted vegetables there."

Wang Xingguo hurriedly asked, "Uncle Niu, if that's the case, this courtyard must be quite large, right? Is it particularly expensive?"

Old Niu looked at the people at the table with a complicated expression, then sighed, "The house isn't expensive. The owner said that only a middleman can sign the deed; he can't show his face in person for the transaction. You just need to pay him a thousand yuan, and he'll hand over the house and land deeds. I'll act as the middleman and sign the deed with you. How does that sound?"

A thousand yuan?

This price is incredibly cheap for a yard that can accommodate seven rooms!

It's important to know that these detached houses don't include the small kitchen and toilet; the seven rooms refer to the rooms that can be lived in.

It's certain that there are three main rooms, and there should be two rooms each in the east and west wings. This kind of detached house usually doesn't have a rear building, because it's a family residence and there are no servants or anything, so there's no need to arrange a rear building.

Wang Xingguo couldn't help but ask, "Uncle Niu, is it really worth buying this detached house for 1,000 yuan? I'm a little worried that buying it might cause trouble..."

Uncle Niu nodded and explained, "I won't hide it from you. That guy does have some issues. He's concealing his private property, so he doesn't dare show his face for fear of being discovered, which would change his status to a small business owner. He's selling the house now to go back to his hometown in the countryside to lay low for a while. I don't think there's a big problem. You can still buy it without worry."

Wang Xingguo frowned and asked, "But how should this white contract be drawn up?"

Uncle Niu laughed and said, "How else can I book it? I'll stage a scene where you repay a life-saving debt with a house!"

Wang Xingguo stared wide-eyed at Master Niu, speechless for a moment.

Uncle Niu didn't pay any attention and continued to talk about his plan.

It's not as complicated as Wang Xingguo thinks!

That is to find a lonely old man, and then have him act as the owner of the house and land deeds, stage a life-saving and gratitude drama, and give the property to Wang Xingguo free of charge!

Wang Xingguo gave the original homeowner 1,000 yuan, the original homeowner gave Niu Ye 100 yuan as a service fee, and Niu Ye gave another 50 yuan to hire this lonely old man. It was that simple!

Wang Xingguo thought for a moment. His current income from selling fish and eels, plus his savings, amounted to only about 650 yuan, which was still 350 yuan short of 1,000 yuan.

Wang Xingguo asked, "Brother Niu, I don't have enough money right now. Could you give me a month to raise the funds before I buy it?"

Upon hearing this, Master Niu immediately waved his hand and said, "It's alright. Since you have no objections, I'll help you get the house first. Once you've raised enough money, I'll arrange the performance of gifting it to you."

Wang Xingguo stood up, clasped his hands in a deep bow, and said, "Thank you very much, Master Niu. I will remember this!"

Old Niu laughed and waved his hand, saying, "Alright, I just like you. If it were someone else, I wouldn't bother with this kind of nonsense."

At this point, the others at the table finally spoke. Liu Dadan from Xicheng laughed and said, "Brother Niu is truly righteous. That's what I admire most about him—his actions are always straightforward!"

Er Gouzi laughed and said, "Wang Er, why don't you come live in our western part of the city? It's just a courtyard house, I'll get you a better one."