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

Wang Xingguo explained, both amused and exasperated, for a long time before his older brother believed that he had been asked to help with the work.

However, he still asked with some unease, "But second brother, are you confident you can act as a matchmaker?"

Wang Xingguo chuckled and said in a low voice, "What kind of assurance do I need? Have you forgotten what I told you last time? My future father-in-law introduced the eel business to the factory, which greatly benefited the Third Steel Rolling Mill. They gave us two job quotas. One went to my future brother-in-law, Li Wenlong, and the other to me. I just need to give the quota to Grandma Jin in a while, and these eels and a hundred yuan will be mine."

Now Wang Xingbang was completely relieved. He said with emotion, "You're an adult now. I believe you'll consider the consequences of your actions. Go and get some rest."

Wang Xingguo stopped Wang Xingbang, who was about to leave, and asked in a low voice, "Don't be in such a hurry to go to sleep. You haven't told me what Aunt Wang said to you. Where is the person you're going on a blind date with this time from?"

Wang Xingbang was a little embarrassed, and he quickly said, "Don't ask anymore. Anyway, I'll try my best to find you a sister-in-law as soon as possible, so as not to delay your marriage to Xiuping."

Wang Xingguo chuckled and said, "You know that's good. If the girl is nice, you'd better hurry up, brother. I'll take care of the wedding ingredients. You just need to bring my future sister-in-law home."

"Alright, alright, I know, stop nagging and go to sleep. You have to get up early tomorrow..."

Seeing his elder brother flee in panic, Wang Xingguo stroked his chin, wondering if he should find him a bedroom manual. After all, his elder brother was so honest and hadn't studied with many teachers like he had in his previous life. What if he didn't know how to consummate the marriage on their wedding night?

This matter took Wang Xingguo to heart; he was extremely worried about his family.

After a quick wash and a foot soak, Wang Xingguo went to bed.

After a good night's sleep, the next morning, after eating breakfast prepared by his third sister, Wang Xingguo gave his younger siblings some instructions, saying that he had to go out for three or four days. He then put away the family genealogy book, pushed his tricycle, and went out.

He first needs to find Master Niu to exchange the small yellow croakers for cash, and then he needs this cash to give to the Wang family to buy pigs.

It wasn't just about selling small yellow croakers; they also brought in a batch of other fish to sell as well. The more money they made, the better, because that's how they got things done.

Old Niu was woken up by someone. If it weren't for Little Yellow Fish, he would have already lost his temper and started cursing!

Because these three small yellow croakers had stamps, Uncle Niu calculated the price at 240 yuan, and with a 5% discount, it came to 684 yuan. Adding the 46 yuan that Wang Xingguo paid for the fish, the total came to 730 yuan.

Wang Xingguo had 520 yuan in his pocket, which added up to 1,250 yuan, a considerable sum of money.

In an era where people are always worried about their private homes being confiscated, this amount of money is enough for him to buy another courtyard house.

In reality, the house price is more than that. According to normal market prices, a detached house with seven rooms is worth at least three thousand yuan.

But it's not possible now, mainly because no one is buying. After all, even if you spend a lot of money to buy it, the neighborhood committee might just arrange for it to be rented out again.

People in Beijing are shrewd; no one is stupid. They know that once a house is rented out, it's very difficult to get it back.

It doesn't matter who it is. You can own two houses for just a few dollars. Who would want to move away?

Old Niu counted out the money and gave it to Wang Xingguo, saying irritably, "Get lost! I've only been asleep for less than an hour and you woke me up. I've had the worst luck in the world to know you, you little rascal."

Wang Xingguo chuckled and said, "Uncle Niu, you've worked hard. I'll head to Gaobeidian today to discuss getting you some pigs. You can continue sleeping; I won't disturb you any longer."

Hearing this, Uncle Niu felt a little better and waved to Wang Xingguo that he could leave.

After leaving, Wang Xingguo rode his tricycle towards Gaobeidian.

Once outside Chaoyangmen, he reached the dirt road on the north bank of the Tonghui River. At this point, Wang Xingguo was no longer in a hurry. He looked around to make sure no one was there, then put away his tricycle and went to the riverbank. He began to walk along the riverbank, occasionally collecting water to replenish the fishpond and the fish.

Having caught quite a few miscellaneous fish, Wang Xingguo had a few ideas. He cut the fish into small pieces and scattered them in the two acres of muddy pond to feed the eels.

There are still at least 4,000 jin of eels left. It seems like a lot, but in reality, it's not that many. Some eels weigh more than a jin each.

During the day, the Wang family members had to go to work, and it was the busy farming season, so Wang Xingguo wasn't in a hurry to find them. Instead, he kept collecting river water along the way.

Sometimes I'm lucky and I can catch more than ten kilograms of fish in one go, but sometimes I'm unlucky and I only catch a few small fish, less than a kilogram, which is really infuriating.

Catching a big fish occasionally is a pleasant surprise.

Every year, people in the rivers and irrigation canals around Beijing use nets to catch fish. The fish are not necessarily sold to aquatic product companies, but are used by the villagers themselves for food.

Fish is still meat, and it's a nutritious food, so while there are some fish that escape the net, there are very few large fish in the waters around Beijing.

Carp, which they cherish, rarely weigh more than four or five pounds here; at most, they weigh around two or three pounds. Carp that are this big are lucky to survive being caught time and time again.

So there are more small fish here because the mesh of the net is relatively large, making it easier for small fish to escape.

Wang Xingguo was busy until the sun was about to set in the afternoon. Satisfied, he returned to the main road, put out his tricycle, and rode back. He had already left the territory of Gaobeidian Production Brigade, and now he needed to ride back for another forty or fifty minutes to get back to Gaobeidian Production Brigade.

Wang Xingguo was no stranger in the production brigade; after all, when he was collecting eels, almost half of the people in the brigade had seen him.

So when he arrived at the production brigade's threshing ground, the people there had already finished work and were waiting for their meal.

Wang Yong'an, Wang Changshun's eldest son, was squatting to the side chatting with someone. When he saw Wang Xingguo arrive on his tricycle, he stood up in surprise and said, "Xingguo, what brings you here at this hour?"

Wang Xingguo explained with a smile, "Uncle Yong'an, I have something to discuss with Grandpa Wang."

Wang Yong'an nodded, then, remembering something, said seriously, "You should bring the family tree over and compare it. You keep calling him 'Grandpa Wang' all day long. We all come from the same ancestor. Don't you feel awkward calling him that?"

Wang Xingguo quickly replied, "Uncle Yong'an is right. I brought the family genealogy with me this time, hoping to compare it with the others."

Wang Yong'an nodded in satisfaction and led Wang Xingguo to find Wang Changshun.

Wang Changshun was discussing the autumn harvest with a group of production team leaders when he saw Wang Xingguo arrive. He ended the discussion, pulled Wang Xingguo aside, and frowned, asking, "Why did you come so late? Is something wrong?"