Xu Mingxuan smiled and stroked Chen Lan's head, saying, "Of course! Silly girl, soldiers have to stand guard and patrol, protecting the border, regardless of the wind or rain, the cold or the heat. This is a soldier's responsibility and duty!"
After hearing Xu Mingxuan's words, Chen Lan felt she had asked a foolish question. But thinking that a soldier's responsibility was to protect the country, she wondered what the responsibility and duty of an ordinary person like herself were.
Seeing that the long padded cotton coat Xu Mingxuan had taken off was clearly not as thick as the long overcoat she had specially made for him, she awkwardly changed the subject and asked, "Mingxuan ge, what about the long padded cotton coat with rabbit fur that I specially sewed for you? Why haven't I seen you wear it? Did you give it away again!"
Xu Mingxuan chuckled and replied, "Lan'er, you know how cold the winters are in our Northeast. The soldiers are too cold when standing guard at night, so I lent it to the soldiers in the company to wear in rotation while on duty."
Chen Lan thought that Xu Mingxuan was probably afraid she would be angry. After all, she had put so much effort into preparing it for him. While it was said to be a loan, it was essentially given away. She guessed that Er Zhuang's coat was probably lent out the same way.
Chen Lan simply sighed softly, saying nothing more. She only strengthened her resolve in her heart to strike a big deal with the Russians across the border.
The three of them heated water in the wooden basin while soaking. They were all warm and feeling sleepy.
At that moment, the room door was pushed open, and Er Zhuang walked in. As soon as Er Zhuang entered, he excitedly shouted, "Report, Commissar! We can go eat now. Sister-in-law, Xiang ge, let's go to the feast together."
Xiang Xi waved his hand and replied, "No, I ate my fill in the forest earlier. I'm a bit sleepy now and don't want to move, so I won't go."
Chen Lan echoed, "Mingxuan ge, I'm not hungry either, so I won't go. You and Er Zhuang hurry up and go! Don't keep everyone waiting; they're all hungry."
Seeing that Chen Lan and Xiang Xi really didn't want to go, Xu Mingxuan didn't force them. He only gave them a few instructions, basically telling them not to wait for him and to sleep on the kang if they were tired. After clarifying everything, he added a few large logs to the stove, closed the stove door, and went out with Er Zhuang.
Chen Lan looked at the not-so-large kang that three people were supposed to sleep on. She didn't know what to say! Alas! She sighed and decided to go with the local customs.
Xiang Xi saw Chen Lan's expression and heard her sigh, and immediately retorted unhappily, "Little Lanyard, don't complain. I'm not sleeping here! Who wants to be a third wheel? I'll sleep with that kid Er Zhuang later."
Chen Lan retorted, "Little Watermelon, it's best if you don't sleep here! As if anyone really wants you!"
Xiang Xi immediately surrendered and said, "Okay, Little Lanyard, let's make up. We're outsiders now, and we need to be united and friendly. We can't let others laugh at us, alright?"
Chen Lan nodded proudly, "Okay! We'll be united and friendly against outsiders. Oh! Right, Little Watermelon, are you really not hungry?"
Xiang Xi smiled and replied, "Not too hungry, but I could eat a little more!"
Chen Lan then asked, "Little Watermelon, what do you want to eat now?"
Xiang Xi sighed and said, "It's dark now, and there's nothing. What is there to eat?"
Chen Lan thought for a moment and then said, "Little Watermelon, how about we each have a bowl of your favorite hot, fragrant glutinous rice wine soup and glutinous rice balls?"
Xiang Xi immediately became happy and asked, "Little Lanyard, can you really make it now?"
Chen Lan said proudly, "Of course. As long as there's fire, nothing you want to eat can stop me."
With that, she got up, got off the kang, put on the warm cotton shoes she took from the system's warehouse, put on the miner's lamp, and went to the stove in the front room.
She busied herself in the kitchen, and soon the distinctive sweet fragrance of glutinous rice wine filled the small, enclosed room.
Chen Lan called out, "Little Watermelon, the glutinous rice wine is ready. Come quickly and take it in to eat."
Xiang Xi cheerfully replied, "Coming right up!"
So the siblings started chatting while eating. Xiang Xi took a bite of the glutinous rice wine egg and then took a sip of the sweet glutinous rice wine soup with a satisfied expression. He asked curiously, "Little Lanyard, what are we planning to trade with the Russians for food?"
Chen Lan thought for a moment and said, "Russia is located in the temperate zone and is close to the Arctic Circle. Winters are very cold, requiring a large amount of food to replenish body heat. Therefore, people here prefer to eat high-fat, high-protein meat and milk, as well as sweets to supplement heat and resist the cold. The closest Russians are the people who love sugar the most in the world. They also like to drink, especially vodka, which is their water of life."
Xiang Xi interjected, "Little Lanyard, but we don't have any of these things. If we had them, we wouldn't need to go."
Chen Lan continued, "We don't have them, but they are also in dire need of salt and sugar to make these things. We will use sugar and salt to exchange for food and meat. Also, salmon and cod are abundant, large, and very cheap there. We will use salt and sugar to exchange for food, meat, and sausages. I heard that the sausages from the Russians are both affordable and delicious. What do you think, Little Watermelon?"
After speaking, she took out two lollipops from the system's warehouse, handed one to Xiang Xi, and then opened the wrapper and popped it into her mouth.
Xiang Xi took the lollipop and looked at it. His eyes immediately widened, and he whispered excitedly, "Little Lanyard, you can get sugar and salt? Is it again because your elder gave it to us from over there?"
Chen Lan nodded noncommittally with the lollipop in her mouth. Xiang Xi clapped his hands and lowered his voice, "I knew it! Without his help, we definitely wouldn't have succeeded."
Chen Lan was speechless. Being an unsung hero was truly frustrating! It was clearly her achievement, but she couldn't say it. Alas! She sighed and licked the lollipop again vigorously.
The glutinous rice wine was also finished! They placed the empty bowls on the wooden box. The two of them were still chatting idly on the kang.
After an unknown amount of time, Xu Mingxuan and Er Zhuang pushed the door open. As soon as they entered, they smelled the strong aroma of glutinous rice wine filling the room. They looked up and saw two empty bowls on the wooden box. They saw the siblings leaning against the wall, each with a thick quilt covering their legs, leisurely eating a lollipop.