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

Wang Xingbang exclaimed in shock, "What? Eggs are so expensive now? That means they're 1.8 yuan per jin (500 grams) now?"

It wasn't that Wang Xingbang was oblivious to what was happening around him, but rather that Wang Xingguo had always been in charge of this matter, so he genuinely didn't know about the recent price increase of chicken and duck eggs.

The main reason is that the price only rose so sharply in June. Before June, you could only make a few cents on an egg.

Moreover, Wang Xingguo's money doesn't come entirely from chickens and ducks; he mainly makes money from fish, which requires no initial investment.

Fish prices have always been quite good. Crucian carp that sells for 40 cents a pound at the market could be sold for 80 cents a pound in the first half of the year before prices went up.

The price has now risen to over one dollar, but it only started to rise in June. It didn't suddenly rise to this high; it gradually increased as supplies became increasingly scarce.

He explained, "Brother, you're busy with work all day and don't know, but the collective canteens in the countryside are feeding people too much now. They're slaughtering pigs and chickens every day. Plus, since everything's been taken over by the collective, private individuals have nothing to sell. The entire underground market in Beijing is short of goods. To put it bluntly, even if you have money, you can't buy many good things. Some black markets have already aligned with state-run markets, and meat, poultry, eggs, and oil are now subject to rationing."

Wang Xingbang sighed, "It's really... In 57, you could buy chickens, ducks and eggs at will. Last year, you could buy these things at designated markets. This year, you can't do anything. The world has changed too fast."

Two years ago, it was easy to buy nutritional supplements, and even in the first half of this year, rural residents were still able to buy chicken and duck eggs at state-run prices at designated vegetable markets!

However, this practice was also banned in June. Now, private buying and selling is not allowed, and farmers can choose to sell their produce to supply and marketing cooperatives.

There's not much to say about this; it's just the way things are these days, and there's nothing anyone can do about it.

Wang Xingning prepared dinner, cooking braised carp and mixing blanched spinach with the broth. He also heated up the mixed-flour steamed buns in the pot.

To save coal, we would cook lunch and dinner in the morning so that we could eat cold food at lunch and reheat it when cooking dinner.

Wang Xingguo helped close the furnace door, sealing the furnace and leaving it in a semi-burning state so that it wouldn't need to be lit again the next morning and could be lit directly.

Everyone started eating dinner. Wang Xingbang listened to his younger siblings talking about the interesting things happening in the alley, occasionally chiming in with a few words. The brothers and sisters chatted and laughed, creating a warm atmosphere at home.

After dinner, Wang Xingguo took a bucket and a towel, stripped down to his underwear, and went to the tap to take a shower with soap.

That's the situation. When it's cold, you go to the public bathhouse once a month, and when it's hot, you just rinse off at the tap every day.

It wasn't just their courtyard that did this; it was the same in other courtyards. The men wore shorts to take a bath, while the women and children basically fetched water and washed themselves in large wooden basins inside the house.

After taking a shower, Wang Xingguo went out to a secluded courtyard in Daxing Hutong where people ran a gambling den, but he didn't gamble.

This place is a gathering place for many people, all of whom are involved in speculation and profiteering. Some of them specialize in going to the countryside to collect things, and when they return to the city, they don't sell them themselves but resell them to people who organize black markets, making a small profit from the price difference. The advantage is that the risk is not high.

The severity of penalties for speculation and profiteering depends on the amount involved.

If the amount is particularly large, then forget about labor reform, they might even be executed.

Upon arriving at their destination, Wang Xingguo was carrying a wooden bucket filled with nine crucian carp and four carp. He knocked twice on the door, and someone immediately asked, "Who is it?"

Wang Xingguo replied, "The deliveryman's surname is Wang."

The door opened, and Gouzi was guarding it tonight. When he saw Wang Xingguo, he stepped aside to let him in. After locking the door from the inside, he lowered his voice and asked, "Brother Wang, did you manage to get any catfish tonight? I'm still thinking about the catfish you cooked last time; it was so good with drinks."

Wang Xingguo laughed and said, "How can we catch catfish all the time? Those things are juicy, and most people wouldn't sell them if they caught them. Today we only have crucian carp and common carp. Damn it, things are getting harder and harder to get these days."

The dog nodded repeatedly and replied, "That's right, there are a lot of people coming to buy goods today, but very few sellers."

In fact, this gambling den also served as a communication point. People would play Pai Gow, drink, make friends, and exchange information and supplies.

Wang Xingguo didn't know about this place at first. Later, he met a friend who ran a mobile black market. Because he had supplied him with some fish, the friend brought him here for a drink, and that's how he learned about this place.

Just sitting here, you can hear a lot of news, such as what things have gone up in price, which area's police are going to crack down on speculation and profiteering, and so on.

The dog was supposed to guard the door and let people in and out, so he didn't go inside. Wang Xingguo, carrying a bucket of water, walked towards the main room.

After pushing open the door, the lively crowd inside instantly quieted down. When they saw Wang Xingguo carrying a bucket, everyone returned to normal. Then, a few people ran over to look at the fish that Wang Xingguo had brought.

The deal was struck in no time. The nine crucian carp weighed three pounds and eight ounces and were bought by a chef from a state-run restaurant for one yuan and thirty cents a pound.

The four carp, each weighing about 1.5 jin (approximately 0.75 kg), were bought by two other people for two yuan each.

This price is fair; after all, even if Wang Xingguo were to sell it himself, he would only get about the same amount of money.

The middle-aged man nicknamed "Master Niu," who was pushing the pai gow gambling stall, beckoned to Wang Xingguo, signaling him to come over and talk.

This guy is called "Master Niu" not because his name contains the character for "cow." It is said that when he was young, he was incredibly strong and once overturned a fully grown yellow ox by its head and pinned it to the ground, hence the nickname.

This rumor is too exaggerated. A mature ox weighs at least a thousand pounds. It would be difficult to even flip it over while it's standing, let alone press it to the ground.

Even with a clever trick, it wouldn't be possible to do this. But Niu Ye is indeed very strong, about 1.75 meters tall and probably weighs 200 kilograms.

Wang Xingguo walked up behind Uncle Niu, lowered his head and asked in a low voice, "Uncle Niu, what can I do for you?"

Old Niu nodded and said, "Little Wang, I heard you sold a few soft-shelled turtles the other day? I need some soft-shelled turtles for something, could you help me get a few over?"

Hearing this, Wang Xingguo became a little embarrassed.

Because soft-shelled turtles are relatively rare, and older generations like to eat them for their health benefits, their price fluctuates greatly.

Old turtles can fetch a high price if sold to those who know their value, but if sold to those who don't, even one yuan per kilogram is considered too expensive!