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

Peking Union Medical College Hospital (PUMC) boasts the strongest comprehensive medical capabilities, so its patients come not only from Beijing but also from all over the country.

When some officials' family members fell ill and could not be treated locally, they would be sent to Peking Union Medical College Hospital in Beijing for treatment.

So, patients' families came from all over the country. After the first eel was bought by an old lady from Shanghai, the patients' families in the hospital discovered that Wang Xingguo actually had eels for sale.

Many of the patients' families came from the south, where locals believe that eels are a very nutritious food. So today, the most sought-after item was not crucian carp, but those dozen or so kilograms of eels!

These dozen or so kilograms of eels were traded by Wang Xingguo for six bottles of liquor from another province, two packs of pastries, and two cartons of cigarettes from another province.

They really made a killing!

Those who hadn't bought any fish at the end pulled Wang Xingguo aside and asked if he would come back tomorrow. Only after Wang Xingguo gave an affirmative answer did they let him go.

Unexpectedly, they sold so well that Wang Xingguo decided to bring more eels tomorrow to try and cash out more.

Wang Xingguo rode his tricycle away from Xiehe Hospital and went straight home.

Wang Xingmin helped push the tricycle into the yard with a mat, put the mat away, and closed the gate before Wang Xingguo went inside.

My younger sister is pasting matchboxes in the house. This is a job they took on a while ago. After they finished and delivered the goods, Wang Xingguo told them not to take on this kind of handicraft work anymore.

Because they grow so many vegetables in the yard, taking care of these fruits and vegetables is much better than earning that little bit of money from manual labor.

Besides, now that our family is better off, there's no need to make them work so hard. We should take care of our own younger siblings!

Wang Xingning grinned at Wang Xingguo, who was drinking water, and said, "Second brother, second sister-in-law is quick at housework, but she seems a bit clumsy when it comes to cooking."

Wang Xingguo chuckled and said, "There's nothing I can do. Your second sister-in-law doesn't do anything at home. She'll learn gradually after she marries into the family."

Wang Xingning nodded repeatedly and said, "It's alright, with me here, you'll definitely be able to have a hot meal when you get home from get off work."

Wang Xingmin looked curiously at the two oil paper packages on the table and asked, "Second Brother, what are these things you brought back?"

Wang Xingguo explained, "This is a pastry that someone traded for my fish. I don't know what kind of pastry it is, and I haven't opened it to see. You can open it and try it. It's said to be a very delicious pastry."

Wang Xingning couldn't sit still any longer, so she also started unpacking the oil paper package.

One package contained snacks shaped like biscuits or shoe soles, and the other package contained mung bean cakes with red markings.

The mung bean cake was the old Beijing style. Although it was delicious, it didn't pique our curiosity as much as that biscuit-like snack, so we each took a piece and ate it.

These cookies are salty, sweet, and crunchy, thin and chewy, with the typical flavor of savory cookies. And I must say, they're quite delicious.

Wang Xingguo recalled the person who exchanged the eels; his accent sounded like that of the people from the Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Shanghai area, which must be a local specialty snack.

The younger siblings were very happy to try this kind of snack for the first time, and kept praising how delicious it was.

After finishing his snacks, Wang Xingning finished making the paste and then went to prepare lunch.

Wang Xingmin really liked the vegetable garden in his new home. He ran over and picked a tomato that had just turned red, wiped it on his clothes, and ate it. Then he started catching bugs.

Wang Xingguo returned to his room, lay on the bed, closed his eyes, and began to manage the affairs of the space.

The piglets are growing so slowly. They've been raised for four months and only weigh about 50 pounds. You know, when we bought them, they were already around 20 pounds each.

Although he was annoyed by its slow growth, Wang Xingguo had read books on pig farming and knew that this was a normal phenomenon.

Because for the first six months, local pigs are basically just building up their skeletons, not their meat.

Only after the skeleton has fully developed will the pig start to grow meat. At that time, feeding more feed can fatten it up. Therefore, a pig often needs to be raised for ten months to a year to grow to the minimum slaughter standard of 120 jin (60 kg).

In the same amount of time, crossbred pigs from foreign white pigs can be easily fattened to over 100 pounds in four months. That's why not many people are willing to raise native pigs anymore.

After lunch, his younger siblings got ready to go to school, while Wang Xingguo rested at home. He planned to go to the General Hospital of the People's Liberation Army tonight to see if there was any business.

Around 5 o'clock, he went to cook. Although he didn't like doing this kind of work, he would still do it when he had time.

After preparing dinner, Wang Xingguo ate first. After he finished eating, his younger siblings came home from school. He told them that he would be back later and asked them to leave the door open for him. Then he pushed his tricycle out the door.

At 7 p.m., Wang Xingguo first took his wife home, and then rode to the General Hospital of Liberation. Unexpectedly, he picked up a fare along the way.

This was a middle-aged man in military uniform. Although he didn't have any rank insignia, he looked like an officer. He seemed a little anxious and very politely asked Wang Xingguo to ride as fast as possible.

Wang Xingguo immediately knew what had happened; he guessed that someone in the family had been hospitalized and they had been notified to rush there.

So instead of riding slowly, he stood up and sped up. He understood the other person's anxiety very well; who wouldn't be anxious in such a situation?

Upon arriving at the entrance of the General Hospital of Liberation, the middle-aged man got out of the car, handed Wang Xingguo a one-yuan coin, thanked him, and without waiting for change, ran towards the hospital gate to get his ID and register to enter the hospital.

Wang Xingguo looked at the one yuan in his hand but didn't bother to chase after him to get change. After all, it's normal for people in this line of work to occasionally receive tips.

He rode his tricycle away from there, found a secluded spot, put down the bucket, and rode the tricycle back to the hospital entrance.

It was probably not 8 p.m. yet, so Wang Xingguo waited patiently, lighting a cigarette and smoking it slowly.

No matter what you want to get back to your hometown, you need to spend money; otherwise, it's simply impossible.

Regardless of whether Wang Changshun believed him or not, it was impossible for him to embezzle the brigade's money to do things for him. Even if this matter would benefit the Wang family, it was still impossible.

The management personnel of the brigade are not only members of the Wang clan. If they were to embezzle public funds, they would definitely be discovered, and the consequences would be severe.

About half an hour later, Wang Xingguo had given up hope. He figured that because they hadn't come for so long, the patients' families here hadn't been able to buy fish, so this route was probably going to be cut off.

Just as I was about to wait a little longer before heading back, someone suddenly came running up.

Wang Xingguo looked warily at the man approaching. This was a hospital security guard. Could he be here to arrest him?

Before Wang Xingguo could think further, the man, who looked to be in his mid-twenties, lowered his voice and asked, "Brother, you've finally arrived. Did you bring any crucian carp?"

Wang Xingguo paused for a moment, then nodded, shone his flashlight over the bucket, and the security personnel came forward to look at it.