A courtyard house, equipped with a fishing system, living in an era.

In the end, the nearly 17-pound carp sold for 10 yuan.

Of course, it was bought by the wealthy and powerful Lao An.

Xu Ping'an couldn't possibly let the two of them pay a price for their fighting spirit.

He instructed the two people to contact him privately, with each person allowed to submit only one price, and the highest bidder winning.

Old An really has guts; he took it for 10 yuan!

Seeing Lao An grinning from ear to ear while carrying a carp the length of an adult's forearm, Sun Changhe slapped his thigh in anger.

He was thinking to himself, "A 17-pound fish should be worth at least 80,000 yuan..."

I never expected that fat old man to be so ruthless!

……

This scene almost made Yan Bugui's eyes turn red!

When the crowd dispersed, he lingered there, reluctant to leave.

"Ping An, you're making way too much money! You sold this one fish for 10? You'd have to throw a whole feast!"

Xu Pingan looked at Yan Bugui who was approaching, but didn't really want to talk to him.

Some people can always make others annoyed as soon as they open their mouths, like Yan Bugui, whose envy and jealousy are written all over his face.

"Teacher Yan, doesn't your school, which is so big, subscribe to a newspaper?"

Yan Bugui was taken aback, not knowing what Xu Pingan meant by "newspaper".

I'm talking to you about treating you to a meal, and you're talking to me about the newspaper? What are you thinking?

"Oh, Ping An, you know about newspapers? Aren't you illiterate?"

Xu Pingan was stunned, and then he got really angry!

In theory, he really can't read.

No, this needs to be added to my to-do list. Starting today, he needs to learn to read!

"Ahem, I can still recognize simple characters. Besides, can't I listen to what others say even if I don't know them?"

Xu Ping'an immediately became impatient.

"By the way, Mr. Yan, you still haven't answered my question: does your school subscribe to newspapers?"

"Of course we should subscribe! How can our school not subscribe to newspapers? We need to actively understand the intentions and latest directives from higher authorities!"

Not knowing what Xu Ping'an was up to, Yan Bugui could only go along with him for now.

"Since you subscribe to the newspaper, and these past few days it's been talking about streamlining administration, increasing production and practicing thrift... opposing waste... what do you think of these statements?"

At the beginning of the month, when the Three-Anti Campaign was first proposed, everyone was still observing.

As a result, the newspapers emphasized it again a couple of days ago, and even encouraged people to expose corruption and waste.

These past few days, even steel rolling mills have started to get moving, and things are in full swing.

Yan Bugui must have known about such a big thing, but he never expected Xu Ping'an to bring it up.

There was really no way to refute that, so he could only laugh awkwardly.

"If you're not going to invite me, you're not going to invite me. Why are you making such a big deal out of it?"

Xu Pingan remained silent.

This guy, if he teases you for no reason, he thinks he's just joking with you. You can't get angry, because getting angry is petty!

Moreover, at this time, you can't fight back... If you do, it will be seen as escalating the situation.

I don't know who spoiled them with these bad habits...

However, no matter the era or job, such exceptional individuals cannot escape being surrounded by others.

In this day and age, gossip spreads faster than anything else.

As soon as Xu Ping'an stepped into the house, his two younger sisters came bounding and skipping to greet him.

"Brother, I heard you caught a fish that weighs over 20 pounds this afternoon."

"Over twenty pounds? Where did you hear that?"

"It's all over the alley!"

Xu Pingan was speechless and too lazy to explain. Let it spread if it wants.

Although anyone with common sense knows that there couldn't possibly be such a large fish in Shichahai now.

However, people's curiosity is irresistible, and the more outrageous the rumor, the more people believe it.

The most common fish caught at Shichahai are three-inch pieces, but nobody says anything about them even when they're caught!

Xu Pingan thought the rumors were outrageous enough, but he didn't expect them to be even more outrageous when he went to the factory the next day.

Yan Hao immediately mentioned 30-plus jin (15 kg), and by the time he met Li Huaide in the afternoon, he had already asked if Li had caught over 50 jin (25 kg) of carp the day before…

Xu Ping'an's first thought was, "Can a carp grow to over 50 pounds?"

It seems like it really can...

"17 jin? That's quite a lot..."

Li Huaide pondered for a moment and then stated the key point.

"Next time we catch a fish this big, we'll sell it directly to the factory. The logistics department will buy it, and the price will definitely be higher than what they'd pay privately!"

Although it was said to be for logistics, Li Huaide clearly wanted it for himself.

"Director Li, isn't this a bit of a bad time?"

With the anti-corruption campaign in full swing, what's the point of you doing this in the factory? Can't you be a little more discreet?

Li Huaide thought about it... and it made sense.

We should wait until at least after the Spring Festival of 1952 before thinking about those other things.

"You seem to have been a bit lax lately at the first canteen. Hopefully your skills won't drop when you get back to the second canteen!"

A cook is also a craftsman, and craftsmen are trained through practice.

There's an old saying: If you don't practice for one day, you'll know it; if you don't practice for three days, your opponents will know it; if you don't practice for ten days, even the audience will know it.

For chefs, diners are just spectators!

As a cook in the factory's small kitchen, the audience was mostly factory leaders...

If they're not satisfied with your cooking, under the current rules and regulations, while they might not fire you, you'll probably have to say goodbye to private kitchens and start cooking in large batches from now on...

The second canteen was originally scheduled to be put into use in January.

However, the location of the merged factory has not yet been finalized, and the workers have not yet arrived.

With the government advocating against corruption, the second canteen is estimated to be put into use by the end of the year.

As for why they didn't simply wait until after the New Year to put it into use, that's a question for the leaders to consider...

Days spent slacking off always seem to fly by.

It wouldn't be considered slacking off!

Xu Pingan still managed to get quite a few things done in his spare time!

For example, he wandered around Wuyi Lane twice to get a general understanding of the area.

It's also Xu Ping'an's fault for ransacking the house so thoroughly back then!

Those people realized something was wrong as soon as they got back...

By the time the military control committee entered the area, everyone had already fled!

……

As soon as 52 years passed, people almost started counting down to the New Year.

These days, the importance and enthusiasm people place on celebrating the New Year is beyond Xu Ping'an's imagination.

If we follow his habits from his previous life, he would basically only celebrate the New Year for four days: the 30th of the lunar month, the first day of the lunar new year, the second day of the lunar new year, and the third day of the lunar new year.

Moreover, there's basically nothing to do during the Lunar New Year. Around the 14th or 15th of the twelfth lunar month, I'll spend 600 yuan to hire a cleaning service to thoroughly clean the house.

No corner or window glass was overlooked.

Then, during the few days of the Lunar New Year, I basically just stayed at home and did nothing.

Occasionally I'll scroll through my phone, or go out to see a movie...

Restaurants and shops outside are basically open.

Fireworks and firecrackers are also banned!

It's fair to say that there was almost no festive atmosphere in the whole society.

But now, in 1952, everything is different in Beijing.

From the beginning of Laba Festival, I felt that the smiles on the faces of the people around me became more genuine.

The two younger sisters have never been particular about food and drink, but since it's almost Chinese New Year, Xu Ping'an decided to go and buy some ingredients to celebrate Laba Festival properly.

"Brother, I know that! There are stalls selling New Year's goods over at Jiaodaokou Street... and also a gathering place for farmers who come to the city to set up stalls!"

Xu Ping'an originally wanted to go directly to the grain company's retail store and buy everything for him in one stop.

But since they wanted to go to the market, they might as well go for a stroll.

People are going to work or going to school every day.

You don't realize how strong the festive atmosphere is until you go out.

Everywhere you look, there are stalls selling New Year's goods, including Guandong sugar, Nan sugar, candied fruit, brown sugar, and white sugar.

Seeing the bustling scene, Xu Pingan decided to take advantage of the large number of customers and buy more whole grains by spreading out his shop...

After all, more than half a year has passed, and the cattle, sheep and pigs in Xu Ping'an's space have grown quite a bit.

There are also a considerable number of chickens, ducks, and geese.

They eat everything, even the fruit trees and leaves in Xu Ping'an's space...

That is to say, he fenced off the area with medicinal herbs separately, otherwise it would have been ruined by the livestock in the space.