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

The next day, Wang Xingguo went to Xiehe Hospital to sell the fish and received a lot of cigarettes and alcohol, as well as twenty catties of national grain coupons, which an old man from Suzhou gave him in exchange for his eels.

In terms of value, it was certainly not as valuable as the eels he took away, but national grain coupons were hard to come by, and even on the black market they were scarce. Wang Xingguo didn't have any capital to begin with, so he didn't mind earning a little less.

Carrying two bottles of wine, a bag of pastries, a bag of brown sugar, and a red envelope containing five yuan, Wang Xingguo arrived at the courtyard where Aunt Wang lived.

"Aunt Wang, you have to stand up for my brother! The Feng family is going too far, demanding a bride price of 188 yuan. Tell me, who in our alley does things like this?"

Aunt Wang was dumbfounded and said, "My God, Xingguo, you're not joking, are you?"

Wang Xingguo said with a wry smile, "Aunt Wang, I'm really not joking. This concerns my elder brother's lifelong happiness. How could I joke about it with you?"

Aunt Wang looked a little embarrassed. She had arranged such a good match, but the woman suddenly caused trouble, making her, the matchmaker, lose face.

She couldn't help but ask, "Xingguo, can you tell me what exactly happened?"

Wang Xingguo didn't hide anything or exaggerate; he truthfully recounted the events to Aunt Wang.

To put it bluntly, the Feng family now has a mid-level worker who feels that the Wang family is not good enough for them.

Don't think this reason is bizarre; there are even more absurd things out there. Matchmaker Wang is used to it all, after all, she's been in this line of work and has seen all sorts of strange and wonderful things.

Looking at the things Wang Xingguo had brought, the matchmaker hesitated for a moment before cautiously asking, "Xingguo, what is this?"

Wang Xingguo said firmly, "Aunt Wang, others may be unjust, but our Wang family cannot be unjust! Please help me to say that our Wang family cannot afford such a high dowry. We are not worthy of this marriage, so please let it end here. Is that alright?"

Without a word, the matchmaker nodded repeatedly, saying, "Why not? The Feng family is in the wrong for demanding such a high dowry. I'll see this through to the end; there's no way they're going to do this!"

Wang Xingguo smiled upon hearing this. The Wang family couldn't end this on their own; the matchmaker had to step in and end the matchmaking to avoid giving the Wang family any cause for gossip.

Wang Xingguo presented the red envelope with both hands and said, "Aunt Wang, although this marriage has fallen through, our Wang family still trusts you. Please help me find a better girl for my elder brother. Our Wang family doesn't require her to be from a wealthy family; we only require that she be good-looking, virtuous, gentle, and considerate to my elder brother, and that she not mind that we only have four siblings."

Matchmaker Wang accepted the red envelope without hesitation. She said very seriously, "Xingguo, don't worry. I misjudged the Feng family girl this time. I will definitely find a better girl for your brother next time. If I fail to do this well, I will ruin my reputation and never do matchmaking again!"

Not only was the Wang family unhappy about this, but the matchmaker was also extremely frustrated. Who would have thought that the Feng family would suddenly go back on their word?

In the capital city, no family ever asks for more than 100 yuan as a bride price. If you ask for 88 yuan because of poverty, as a supplement to the dowry, it is still acceptable.

However, a three-figure dowry was unprecedented, proving that the Feng family did it on purpose, using an exorbitant dowry to force the Wang family to abandon their daughter.

They didn't say they disagreed, but they pressured Wang Xingbang with the bride price to give up. It's like wanting to be a prostitute while also wanting to maintain a virtuous image.

Judging by the matter, not the person, neither Wang Xingbang, Wang Xingguo, nor the matchmaker Wang felt that Feng Xiaolan had done anything wrong; they just felt that she was unsuitable.

Given her weak nature and the circumstances surrounding her parents, to put it bluntly, it's fortunate that the Wang family didn't become in-laws with the Feng family.

Matchmaker Wang was a discerning person. She originally thought that Wang Xingbang and Feng Xiaolan were a good match, as Wang Xingbang was honest, hardworking, and reliable. It should have been a good marriage.

However, the Feng family messed things up, which made her feel very embarrassed. After all, she was one of the top matchmakers in Jiaodaokou, and this situation had never happened before in any of her matchmaking deals.

So she wasn't just making empty promises to Wang Xingguo; she genuinely cared about the matter and wanted to introduce him to a better match so she could save face.

Wang Xingguo thanked him repeatedly before leaving the courtyard. There were actually quite a few matchmakers in Jiaodaokou, but Wang the matchmaker was renowned for her high success rate and the highest percentage of couples who ended up happily married.

No one would choose another matchmaker. Wouldn't it be foolish not to look for a good one?

As soon as Wang Xingguo left, Wang the matchmaker set off for the neighborhood office. She was looking for a girl of marriageable age and would also check her background and family history at the neighborhood office. As for the girl's character and personality, that was something she would investigate later when she visited her home.

When Wang Xingguo returned home, he told his younger siblings, "I won't be home for dinner tonight. Please tell your older brother that I have asked Matchmaker Wang to cancel the arranged marriage with the Feng family and to find a better girl for you to meet."

Wang Xingning asked, puzzled, "Second Brother, since Sister Xiaolan isn't suitable, shouldn't we find another matchmaker for Eldest Brother? Why are we still using Matchmaker Wang?"

Wang Xingguo shook his head and explained, "Third sister, you don't understand. Matchmaker Wang is the best matchmaker. She has the widest network, the best information, and a good relationship with the women's director of the neighborhood office. She can go to the neighborhood office to check information. The blind dates she arranges are the most reliable. You can't deny Matchmaker Wang's ability because of this Feng family incident. After all, the Feng family initially approved of this marriage. It's just that the eldest son of the Feng family became a mid-level worker, and the Feng family became arrogant."

A mid-level worker is nothing! Wang Xingguo sometimes really hates the so-called "respectability" of this era!

We're all just ordinary people, why do we have to divide us into different classes? A mid-level worker only earns a few dozen yuan more, what's so special about that?

Wang Xingguo thought to himself, "I tinker with things all day long, and I easily earn a month's salary as a mid-level worker. What are you trying to prove in front of me?"

After lunch, his younger siblings went to school, and Wang Xingguo took a nap at home. At five o'clock, he pushed his tricycle out the door and rode it towards Grandpa Niu's place.

Upon arrival, the tricycle was loaded with half a bucket of fish, half a bucket of eels, and a bucket of chicken and duck eggs.

After knocking on the door, the blind man helped push the tricycle into the yard. Wang Xingguo asked, "Is Uncle Niu here?"

The blind man shook his head and said, "Master Niu isn't here today; he's out on business."

Wang Xingguo was a little helpless. He wanted to discuss with Niu Ye about preparing grain to talk about buying pigs, but Niu Ye was not there.

But there's no rush. We can always talk about it another time. We carried the things into the house together with the blind man, and in no time we finished.

At this moment, Liu Dadan and Liu Laosan pulled Wang Xingguo to sit down to the side, and asked mysteriously, "Wang Er, where did you go to buy the eels? The people we sent out went to many production brigades that grow rice, but they didn't find many. Did you buy them all?"