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

Wang Xingguo looked at the two men surnamed Liu, but not from the same family, and said somewhat speechlessly, "No, this is a trade secret. Why are you asking about this? Do you think I'd tell you?"

Liu Laosan chuckled and said, "What kind of trade secret is this? I'm just asking which production teams you visited so that our people won't go to those places."

Liu Dadan glared at Wang Xingguo, looking like he was about to explode, and said, "Wang Er, what's wrong with you today? You're acting like a sissy, not like a man at all!"

Wang Xingguo looked helpless. These two guys said one thing, but actually they were just trying to find out why he had so many live eels. They probably thought that the place he went to was close by and that it would be easier to bring the eels back.

However, it's fine to tell them that the temperature is about to drop, and the eels will burrow into the deep mud to hibernate and overwinter, so no matter how hard they try, they won't be able to collect many.

After all, it's the busy farming season in the countryside right now, and there's simply no time to help them catch eels.

Although selling eels can be profitable, crops are still the most important thing in rural areas. It's impossible to delay the autumn harvest, such a crucial matter, for the sake of a little money from eels.

Wang Xingguo pried Liu Laosan's hand off his shoulder and said with a smile, "Want to know where I buy my eels? You'll have to each give me a pack of good cigarettes, otherwise I won't tell you. I want to keep buying them myself."

Without a second thought, Liu Laosan and Liu Dadan readily agreed.

Others may lack good cigarettes, but because they have connections, they don't lack these things. They simply tell him to bring them a carton of good cigarettes tomorrow night.

Wang Xingguo lowered his voice and said, "I went to Yongfeng Commune to collect them. You have to keep this a secret. They planted more than 6,000 mu of Jingxi rice there, and there are a lot of eels. But I can't guarantee that you'll be able to collect any. You know it's harvest time now, and other people might not be willing to go out and catch eels."

Liu Dadan was dumbfounded and said, "No, you went to the Wanshou Mountain area? My men went there too, and they didn't help catch eels at all..."

Liu Laosan was also a bit confused, because he had also sent people over there, but they hadn't found anything either.

Wang Xingguo said with a grin, "Hehe, I've told you the location. Whether you can get the eels or not is your own business. Don't forget my cigarettes tomorrow. We're all Beijing men, we don't renege on our debts."

Liu Dadan waved his hand and said, "Don't worry, I won't miss your cigarette. Damn it, I can't exactly arrange for people to dig for eels myself..."

Wang Xingguo couldn't help but ask, "Wait, why are you in such a hurry for eels? There are eels in other rice-growing areas too. Is this really causing you so much trouble?"

Liu Laosan offered a cigarette, and after the three of them lit them, he finally spoke: "You don't understand. I don't know what's going on, but these past two days, a lot of big factories have been frantically buying up eels. Our people need to avoid them. Damn it, some factories are even bringing their security guards and finance personnel to buy eels. If our people get caught, they could be sent to mine for years in no time."

Wang Xingguo wasn't surprised. After all, his father-in-law had said that their third steel rolling mill had already sent purchasing agents to collect eels. He guessed that their actions were too big and had been discovered by other units, so they had also started to scramble for these things.

Being a factory leader these days is no easy task. If they don't find a way to improve the nutrition of their workers, and some workers have problems at work due to malnutrition, they will all have to take responsibility.

Moreover, if there are problems with the food and workers are dissatisfied, they can appeal to higher authorities, and they will also suffer the same fate.

Therefore, during difficult times, whoever could bring back nutritional supplements to the factory was considered a hero and would be supported by the workers.

It's good if more people are fishing for eels; that will drive up the price.

Anyway, Yongfeng Commune, which had the most eels, had already been mostly taken care of by themselves. The remaining ones were either far away or didn't have many eels because they didn't grow much rice.

I guess I got incredibly lucky and ate the fattest piece of meat ahead of time.

It was almost time, so Wang Xingguo didn't linger. He needed to go to the General Hospital of the People's Liberation Army to wait for Jiang Yue'e to start work.

After arriving at the entrance of the General Hospital of Liberation on his tricycle, Wang Xingguo lit a cigarette and started smoking.

Given the current situation, I'm not in a hurry to sell these eels. After all, I can only make a fortune if the price goes up.

However, he had already made an appointment with Jiang Yue'e, so he couldn't break his promise. He could only see what price her second brother would offer. If it was too low, he would have a reason to refuse.

After waiting for more than half an hour, Jiang Yue'e arrived.

After exchanging greetings, Jiang Yue'e handed Wang Xingguo a slip of paper with an address written on it: "Hey biker, my second brother is really interested in eels, but his factory doesn't have many people. He wants to buy about 600 jin (300 kg). Can you get some?"

Wang Xingguo took the note and looked at it. The address was near Guanyin Temple outside Guang'anmen.

So it turns out it's Shuanghesheng Five-Star Brewery!

Wang Xingguo was sometimes quite confused because he knew many factories, but he didn't know why they were always referred to as the "first factory" or the "second factory".

He wouldn't understand that, but if you mention the brewery outside Guang'anmen, he'll know it's Shuanghesheng Five-Star Brewery.

He replied with a grin, "Six hundred catties is no big deal, I just don't know how much you'd offer?"

Jiang Yue'e's eyes widened in disbelief. "You're asking me about the price? Are you kidding me? I'm already introducing you to this, do you expect me to negotiate the price for you too?"

Wang Xingguo was speechless. This woman was truly exasperating. He was just asking about the price, and she acted like he'd done something incredibly important...

Jiang Yue'e waved her hand and said, "This note was written by my second brother. Take it to the brewery and give it to the security guards. They will then take you into the factory to talk to my second brother about the eels. By the way, go tomorrow morning. He might have to go to a meeting at the Ministry of Light Industry in the afternoon, so he might not be at the factory."

Wang Xingguo nodded, wanting to say something more, but Jiang Yue'e waved and ran off to the hospital.

Wang Xingguo rode away on his tricycle and returned shortly after, carrying fish.

At eight o'clock, a security guard named Guo Mingzhong was pointing at Wang Xingguo's tricycle and talking to a group of people. Wang Xingguo saw this and waved to them with a smile.

There were about a dozen people carrying things when they came over. Wang Xingguo started exchanging fish with them, and the fish were quickly devoured. However, many of the patients' family members who had heard the news still came out.

Wang Xingguo promised those who didn't get any fish that he would send over some more fish at 8 pm the next night, and those who didn't get any fish then dispersed.

Wang Xingguo happily pulled his things away from there, stored them all in his spatial storage in a secluded spot, and then started riding home.