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

"Grandpa Wang, I've come to see you!"

"Oh, isn't this Xingguo? What brings you here to see me?"

The surname Wang is the most common in Gaobeidian, so the brigade leader's surname is Wang, but I really don't know his specific name, Wang Xingguo.

The Gaobeidian Production Brigade was further divided into five production teams: Gaobeidian East, Gaobeidian West, Huadong, Huaxi, and Tianjiawa.

Most of the Wang clan members lived in the East and West production teams of Gaobeidian. However, since the Wang clan members served as the brigade leaders, the team leaders were people of other surnames.

After exchanging a few pleasantries and lighting a cigarette, Wang Xingguo said with a grin, "Grandpa Wang, I've come here to get some chicken and duck eggs. If you have any extra chickens or ducks, I'd like to get some too. Of course, if you'd be willing to sell me a few piglets, that would be even better."

Upon hearing this, Captain Wang glared and said, "You little brat, do you want to sell me my old bones too?"

Wang Xingguo said with a grin, "Oh, Grandpa Wang, even if you don't care about anything else, you have to help me out of respect for my name!"

That's right, Wang Xingguo was able to connect with this area purely because his great-grandfather came from the Wang family here.

Captain Wang is actually only forty-five or forty-six years old, but due to years of farming under the sun and wind, he does look over sixty. Although he is indeed a grandfather, he doesn't have any grandchildren that old.

However, Wang Xingguo's seniority is so low!

In terms of seniority, Captain Wang is indeed from the same generation as his grandfather.

So he deserved to be called "Grandpa" all the time, since they're all family five generations back!

The first time Wang Xingguo came here, he asked to buy chickens and ducks, but the local militia pointed guns at him and tied him up...

Later, when Captain Wang interrogated him, upon hearing his name Xingguo, he couldn't help but ask where he was from.

Because at that time he was studying the family genealogy to name his grandson, which happened to be the Xing generation!

Although Wang Xingguo's family had fallen on hard times, and his grandfather had even been reduced to working as a servant, the family genealogy had been preserved. Therefore, whether it was Wang Xingguo's father or his generation, they all used generational names.

So when Wang Xingguo checked the family tree with Captain Wang, he realized that he, Wang, was actually from Gaobeidian.

It was around that time that he started frequently going to Gaobeidian to get things, and he would offer higher prices than others. After all, having a production brigade behind him was more useful than any other connections during the days when supplies were scarce!

Don't underestimate this place. The entire production brigade has more than 3,000 people, making it the largest production brigade in the entire Gaobeidian Commune.

"Oh dear, look at my forgetful mind! Grandpa Wang, you wait, the candy and wine I offered you are still on the bicycle."

After saying that, Wang Xingguo ran out and returned shortly afterward with a bag of brown sugar weighing one jin (500 grams) and two bottles of Erguotou (a type of Chinese liquor).

These were all items he had acquired on the black market. He knew these things would only become more expensive in the future, so he traded some fish for them to stockpile.

If he didn't need to buy something, he wouldn't have only managed to save up about five hundred yuan by now.

As the saying goes, one cannot hit a smiling face, especially since this person, though distant, is indeed a relative of the grandchildren. According to the Xing generation, they are within the fifth degree of kinship.

Captain Wang reluctantly accepted it...

He bought seventy eggs at eight cents each and eighty duck eggs at ten cents each. It wasn't that he only had these, but that he was late.

These eggs were extra from the tasks completed in the past three days; the others were collected by other purchasing staff three days ago.

Wang Xingguo didn't mind, carefully put the eggs away, and then asked about the pigs.

However, we can't sell them to him now because all the pigs can't be moved ahead of schedule. Only the pigs that have completed their tasks by December can be sold, and the other unplanned pigs can be sold.

Wang Xingguo felt a little regretful upon hearing this, as the price of pork would definitely rise even higher by then, and he feared he would need to pay a high price to buy a pig.

But there was no other way, so he suggested buying some chickens, ducks, and other odds and ends needed for the yard, and this request was readily agreed to.

A hen costs four yuan, a rooster three yuan and fifty cents, a female duck four yuan and fifty cents, and a male duck four yuan.

Wang Xingguo bought twenty chickens and twenty ducks in one go, and asked them to help him put them in cages, along with all sorts of other things, and move them all to the main road outside the village.

After arranging these matters, Captain Wang was about to leave and return to the brigade headquarters when he remembered something and asked, "Xingguo, since you acknowledge your identity, the 19th of the eighth lunar month is the birthday of our branch's great-grandfather. Does your family want to come back to participate in the ancestral worship ceremony?"

Upon hearing this, Wang Xingguo hurriedly pulled Captain Wang aside and said, "Grandpa Wang, this is unacceptable! We're cracking down on feudal superstition these days. If it's just a few people secretly and simply worshipping their ancestors, that's fine, but if we hold a grand ancestral worship ceremony, then there will be problems."

Captain Wang frowned and said, "Is it that serious? I don't think it's that strict here. As long as we don't engage in feudal superstition, it's fine. Ancestor worship isn't considered feudal superstition, is it?"

Wang Xingguo hurriedly explained to him that what they were opposing now was feudal rituals and superstitions, not preventing ordinary people from remembering their ancestors.

However, holding an ancestral worship ceremony involves various rituals, which fall under the category of being attacked. Therefore, this ancestral worship ceremony really cannot be held, as it will bring trouble to the entire Wang family, and everyone will be attacked by people of other surnames in the village.

After hearing Wang Xingguo's explanation, Captain Wang nodded and sighed, "Alas, our branch is of the Huai Jingwen and Chang Yongxing generation. Now it's time to take over the new generation, but if this ancestral worship ceremony can't be held, we can't let our ancestors know the generation we've agreed on. What can we do..."

Wang Xingguo was dumbfounded. So, the reason for organizing this ancestral worship ceremony was to use the birthday of his great-grandfather as an opportunity to establish the new generational order and inform the ancestors.

However, he belongs to the Xing generation, which is currently the lowest in terms of seniority, so he has no place in this discussion.

As far as he knew, if Captain Wang belonged to the "Chang" generation, then there were at least some elders in the village who belonged to the "Wen" generation, so it was none of his place to interfere in matters of generational naming.

When it comes to generational ranking, the ages can become quite confusing over time.

For example, a 60-year-old person would normally have a son at the age of 20, since people used to get married earlier.

However, if someone of the same generation has a son at the age of sixty, then their descendants, though of the same generation, will have an age gap of one or two generations...

For Wang Xingguo, things like tracing his ancestry and returning to his roots are really not important. Who would care about such things when someone like him has received a modern education?

There are countless people in modern society who are too lazy to even go to pay respects to their ancestors during the Qingming Festival.

After Wang Xingguo unloaded his things with the people who helped him carry the chickens, ducks and eggs to the roadside outside the village, he politely thanked them and offered them cigarettes. After watching them leave, he put the things into his spatial storage.

He rode his bicycle towards the river to catch fish!