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

He'd charge 2.1 yuan per bottle for Erguotou, so 20 bottles would be 42 yuan.

He was charged 5.5 yuan per bottle for Fenjiu, so 10 bottles would cost 55 yuan.

He was charged 7.5 yuan per bottle for Moutai, so ten bottles would cost 75 yuan.

The miscellaneous fish were bought up by a black market boss for ten yuan. The crucian carp, which weighed about three ounces each, were sold for seven mao each. Twenty of them were divided up for fourteen yuan. The total revenue from the sale was one hundred and ninety-six yuan.

Niu Ye took a bottle of Erguotou (a type of Chinese liquor) from Er Gouzi, the one who had bought his liquor, and opened it for everyone to drink.

Er Gouzi didn't mind. That's just how people are; they make money quickly, so they spend it just as quickly.

Er Gouzi pulled Wang Xingguo aside and asked, "Wang Er, why did you get so much wine this time?"

Wang Xingguo explained with a smile, "I was lucky. I traded all these things for fish, but it took a lot of effort. Brother Er Gou, you have to raise the price next time. I didn't make much profit at this price today."

Er Gouzi nodded and said, "No problem, I'll raise the price by one yuan per bottle next time. Anyway, no matter how high the price I buy back is, I'll just sell it to others at a higher price. You don't have to worry about that. I won't treat you unfairly."

Wang Xingguo gave a thumbs up and said, "Brother Ergou is so generous! I have to toast you."

Before the toasts could even be offered, Uncle Niu pulled Wang Xingguo aside and asked, "Little Wang, how has Uncle Niu treated you?"

Wang Xingguo nodded quickly and said, "Uncle Niu, you've been incredibly loyal to me; I'll remember that!"

Old Niu chuckled and said, "If you remember my kindness, then I'm at ease."

Wang Xingguo bowed respectfully and said earnestly, "Uncle Niu, please don't hesitate to ask for anything. I, Wang Xingguo, will go through wind and rain without hesitation!"

Master Niu quickly stepped forward to help Wang Xingguo to sit down at the table. He placed a wine glass in front of him and poured him some wine, saying, "Young Wang, Master Niu has a favor to ask of you this time. Please don't refuse."

Wang Xingguo nodded and said, "Brother Niu, please give me your orders. I will do my best to fulfill them!"

Old Niu's face turned serious, and he said solemnly, "I won't hide it from you, it's all because of the eels. The eels you helped me get last time, my friend only wanted four or five catties."

Wang Xingguo was dumbfounded and said, "No, four or five catties? What did you do with the rest of the eels, Master Niu?"

Old Niu slapped his thigh and said, "That's the problem! I sent the rest of the eels to a Huaiyang cuisine restaurant. The person behind that restaurant once did me a favor, and now he's asking me to send another two hundred catties of live eels over to raise and sell as vegetables! Sigh, he once did me a favor, and I can't bring myself to refuse him. This debt of gratitude is too hard to repay!"

I reluctantly explained that eels are difficult to obtain and cost a high price to acquire. But the seller wasn't short of money; he said the prices were: three yuan per jin for eels under half a jin, four yuan per jin for eels over half a jin, and five yuan per jin for eels over seven liang (approximately 350 grams). I was truly out of options and had no choice but to accept the offer. So, Xiao Wang, you have to help me resolve this.”

Do you just want eels?

Wang Xingguo breathed a sigh of relief, thinking it was something serious!

This old man Niu is really something. He keeps asking for favors and bringing up the matter of personal debts. I thought he was going through a terrible ordeal and that I had to kill and set fires to repay the favor.

As a result, this is it?

However, although I could get a lot of eels for him, I couldn't let him think it was too easy. Things that are too easy to obtain are not worth much.

Wang Xingguo slammed his hand on the table and stood up, startling everyone at the table.

Wang Xingguo cupped his hands in a circle and said loudly, "Gentlemen, I, Wang Xingguo, have relied on loyalty since I came out to make my way in the world. Master Niu has been kind to me, and I cannot forget that kindness! Today, Master Niu has asked for my help, and I, Wang Xingguo, will make this promise: although two hundred catties of eels are difficult to obtain, give me five days, and I will definitely gather the eels and deliver them to Master Niu! Fellow brothers of the martial world, bear witness to this: it is not gentlemanly to forget a favor, and I, Wang Xingguo, will keep my word!"

Even Uncle Niu was a little dumbfounded. This guy, how come his words are even better than his singing...?

Er Gouzi clapped and cheered, "Great! I knew I hadn't misjudged him. If Wang Er's whole family didn't work in the East City, he should have gone to our West City. He'd be a big shot there sooner or later!"

Liu Dadan nodded repeatedly, giving a thumbs-up and saying, "That's right, Wang Er is a truly righteous man!"

Regardless of whether the crowd knew Wang Xingguo or not, they knew that his statement of repaying Niu Ye's kindness was a matter of loyalty and friendship, and they all cheered and applauded.

Niu Ye didn't think there was anything wrong with it. Anyway, Wang Er took on the task, which boosted his own reputation. It was a good result.

Many people might complain again about why the cheap eel is being sold at such a high price!

Ignorance is not a sin, after all, we are just ordinary people.

In an era when the average worker earned 30 yuan a month, could you imagine a meal costing 400 or 500 yuan?

Is there such a thing?

Have!

Available at all major restaurants!

There are even illegal private restaurants!

A soft-shelled turtle, which many people consider worthless, can sell for tens of yuan as a dish on a restaurant's private menu.

For example, eel can sell for more than ten yuan a dish in some restaurants.

However, in the general public, eels are considered worthless!

This era of information asymmetry is both magical and absurd.

Not to mention now, even in modern society, in an era of such advanced information dissemination, there are still phenomena of information asymmetry and even information cocoons.

Whether it's the organizers of the black market, or Niu Ye and his group, including Wang Xingguo, they are all just service providers.

They merely serve the powerful and wealthy, no different from the servants of the previous dynasty. The only difference is that in the past, these people were called slaves, but now those people can only pay them to do things.

Just like exorbitantly priced menus, where a single meal can cost hundreds of thousands or even millions, such things have existed in every era. It's just that people are biased and prejudiced, thinking that they shouldn't exist in that particular era.

It's just self-deception!

What people fear most is using their ignorance to view the world.

It's like a farmer imagining whether the emperor uses a golden hoe to till the land and whether he eats white flour buns every day.

Ignorance is never terrible; what's terrible is being unaware of it and believing oneself to be right, that the author is just writing nonsense...

After being toasted many times, Wang Xingguo felt a surge of pride. Many people asked him to help them get some ingredients, such as black carp, soft-shelled turtle, and river shrimp that he had in his space. He accepted all of these requests, but he had to take care of Niuye's eel business first, and then he would get the ingredients for them after he finished.

Everyone cheered and toasted him many more drinks.

By the time Wang Xingguo left, he was already quite drunk. However, it wasn't a big problem; he could still ride his tricycle home without any issues.

What he did tonight was actually creating a persona!

A persona of loyalty and righteousness will make things much easier for him in the future. Everyone will know that Wang Xingguo is righteous and will always repay kindness. Once he establishes this persona, it will be much easier to get things done with anyone.