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

Perhaps sensing Wang Xingguo's concerns, Master Niu smiled and said, "Don't worry too much, kid. I'm not an unreasonable person. Go ahead and buy the turtles for me. I definitely won't shortchange you on the price."

Since he had said that, Wang Xingguo couldn't refuse, so he nodded and said, "Uncle Niu, please don't misunderstand. I'm worried that I won't be able to get this thing. You know that soft-shelled turtles are really rare. If you're lucky, you might see someone catch one after trying several fishing spots, but if you're unlucky, you might not find one even after several days. So I can't guarantee that I can get this thing. Please forgive me, Uncle Niu."

Old Niu laughed and said, "It's alright, just do your best to help me collect it. If you manage to get it, I'll reward you handsomely. If you don't, I won't blame you. Nobody can say for sure, so how can I expect you to definitely get it back? That would be asking too much. I'm not that kind of person. You can rest assured."

That's exactly what I wanted to hear. Wang Xingguo flattered Master Niu a few times, and in return, Master Niu threw him a pack of Daqianmen cigarettes, saying it was a reward for his hard work running the errand. Even if he couldn't get the turtle, he couldn't let Master Niu go for nothing.

Niu Ye is a man of principle; he doesn't bully others just because he's a gang leader.

Wang Xingguo walked to a table nearby, where several thugs involved in the mobile black market were drinking. When they saw Wang Xingguo coming over, they all knew each other and invited him to sit down and poured him a drink.

These three thugs who ran a mobile black market actually had a few henchmen. They didn't have their own territory, so they could only shoot here and fire there, playing guerrilla warfare to avoid the police.

At that time, the police led members of the volunteer joint defense team to patrol everywhere every day. However, their patrol routes were not fixed. They would patrol a few alleys during the day and then switch to other alleys the next day.

After all, they are human beings, not machines. They can't patrol everywhere all day without rest, and the patrol methods at night are pretty much the same.

These mobile black market operators take advantage of this, bypassing their patrol routes to sell their goods in those areas.

The mobile black market can only operate during the day; the night belongs to the fixed black market. Wang Xingguo knows of at least seven fixed black markets.

He had visited five of them and bought and sold things there, but he hadn't visited the other two because they were quite far away.

After having a drink with the three men, Wang Xingguo said to them, "Brothers, I have some news to tell you, so you don't end up like me."

Upon hearing this, Brother Liu laughed and said, "Hahaha, what? Wang Lao Er, you've finally met your match today?"

Wang Xingguo wasn't angry. He nodded and said, "I had a bad day too. I went to Nanluoguxiang to sell duck eggs, and I was doing well, but the people there didn't follow the rules and went to the joint defense team to report me! You guys know I have some connections with the joint defense team there, and they were really frustrated. They deliberately patrolled the back alleys to make room for me to sell my goods, and yet this still happened. I don't care if I lost, and it's just because I was unlucky, but a man can't lose face. I have to warn you guys so you don't end up like me."

Upon hearing this, the three immediately raised their glasses to toast Wang Xingguo, praising him for his brotherly loyalty, righteousness, and integrity.

Wang Xingguo's business is small-scale, but theirs is not!

The tickets they sell are probably worth several hundred yuan each. If they are caught, the tickets will definitely be confiscated, and the losses will be huge.

Some things don't need to be publicized all over the place. Just tell these three people, and within two days, almost everyone in this industry will know about it.

Wang Xingguo did this for no good reason. The key was that he was disgusted and couldn't swallow his anger, so he made such a scene, making it impossible for people in the dozen or so alleys of Nanluoguxiang to buy good things at their doorstep. They all had to walk to the next street!

It was also just a way to secretly disgust them!

Not only that, he often borrowed bicycles to go to the countryside to promote his products to the villagers, telling them not to go to the Nanluoguxiang area when they came to the city to sell their goods!

A true man acts with integrity and uprightness, but Wang Xingguo doesn't consider himself a true man at all. He considers himself a petty and vindictive person!

After having a few drinks, Wang Xingguo left with the empty bucket and started walking home.

I should go see my beautiful wife tomorrow. I haven't seen her for the past few days, and I miss her quite a bit.

But I have to get her something good to eat, otherwise she'll get upset if I don't visit her for a few days.

The main problem was that he had just made connections with some patrol teams in the past few days, thinking he could take the opportunity to sell more goods and make more money. Who would have thought that after only two days, he would encounter such a disgusting thing as being reported on the third day.

On the way, they ran into some members of the joint defense team, some of whom they recognized. Wang Xingguo greeted them with a smile, took out his Thirteen Tombs cigarettes, and offered one to each of them. They all gathered together and lit their cigarettes.

Ma Daqiang from the joint defense team chuckled and said, "Hey Xingguo, can you please stop being so arrogant? Now you've been reported, I'll be laughing at Liu Chang'an for a month!"

Wang Xingguo chuckled and said, "Brother Ma, I was just serving the people. Who knew there were bad people among them who would report a good comrade like me who was serving the people? Think about it, the weather is so hot, and I was trying to help the people solve their problems. I even delivered goods to their doorsteps. Such thoughtful service, and they actually reported me! It's simply repaying kindness with enmity, utterly heartless!"

Everyone laughed and joked. Although Wang Xingguo had been involved in some shady dealings, he had never done anything wrong. On the contrary, when families in need needed to buy something, he would try his best to help them and offer them a discount.

So everyone in the police station knows him, and so do the people in the neighborhood office. Many people even ask him to help them get fish and eggs when they need to entertain guests.

He has a pretty good reputation in the Jiaodaokou area, though I wouldn't say his fame is great, since he's just a small-time speculator.

But no one thought he was that bad; everyone knew the situation of the Wang family.

Wang Xingbang is an apprentice who has only earned 21 yuan a month in his third year of work, but he takes good care of his family.

The four siblings would definitely need to spend more than twenty yuan a month to live in the capital, and that would only be enough if they were careful with their money and lived frugally.

The rent was three yuan, and the food rations for a family of four would cost nearly ten yuan. The remaining expenses for oil, vegetables, daily necessities, coal, etc., would require at least ten yuan to make ends meet.

Besides his salary, Wang Xingbang started doing side jobs with a master craftsman in the second half of last year, secretly using the factory's machines to process small parts and earn some extra money to supplement his family's income.

So, many people actually knew that Wang Xingguo was selling some things; even the entire police station knew him.

But given the family's difficult circumstances, who would really make things difficult for them?

People say that there's a lot of human warmth these days, which just means that everyone has a lot of goodwill.