Chen Lan carefully examined each of the mineral stones brought by Madam, and finding none that particularly caught her fancy, she stopped and turned her head to look at the raw ore she had selected. Good heavens, she had unknowingly picked a large pile.
She raised her head to look at Xu Mingxuan and found him still engrossed in a lively conversation with the middle-aged man.
Chen Lan didn't speak to disturb their talk, but just followed Madam's previous habit of selling stones. She sorted the mineral stones she had picked into piles by size. Madam had an interesting way of selling stones; she priced them by size. Larger stones were more expensive, smaller ones cheaper, much like the mine owners in her previous life who sold ore. Customers participating in gem gambling had to buy ore by weight, and Madam's method was similar.
Seeing that Chen Lan had stopped picking, Madam also took off her gloves and helped Chen Lan sort the stones into piles. After Chen Lan and Madam had finished sorting the stones, Xu Mingxuan also concluded his conversation with the middle-aged man. Xu Mingxuan pointed at the piles of stones and began to haggle with him in a stream of Russian.
Chen Lan couldn't understand Russian anyway, so she took the woven basket she had placed nearby and began taking out the samples for exchange one by one for Madam to choose from.
Madam was, after all, a thrifty woman. The goods she chose were expensive men's and women's snow boots sold in the Soviet Union, as well as women's long padded coats, padded trousers, padded gloves, and cotton hats, as well as thermoses and enamel basins, mostly essential items for winter. Finally, she said a lot of Russian to Chen Lan.
Chen Lan didn't understand what Madam said and was looking bewildered when Xu Mingxuan happened to have finished negotiating with the middle-aged man. He then explained, "Lan'er, Madam says she also wants to exchange for some salt and white sugar."
Chen Lan nodded and immediately ran over to get Xu Mingxuan's woven basket, taking out salt and white sugar from it. She didn't know how many bags of each to take out, so she could only look at Xu Mingxuan and ask, "Mingxuan ge, how many bags of each does Madam want to exchange with us?"
So Xu Mingxuan engaged in another stream of Russian with Madam and the middle-aged man. In the end, Xu Mingxuan was responsible for stating the items and quantities, while Chen Lan was responsible for continuously taking out the exchanged goods from the two woven baskets.
The two parties quickly completed this transaction. After tidying up their respective exchanged items, the couple prepared to leave, carrying the mineral stones and unexchanged goods in their woven baskets, intending to continue their tour. Before leaving, Xu Mingxuan exchanged a few more words with the middle-aged man, then waved goodbye to them with Chen Lan.
As they walked, Chen Lan curiously asked in a low voice, "Mingxuan ge, is that middle-aged man Madam's son?" Xu Mingxuan asked in surprise, "Lan'er, how did you know? Did you understand our conversation?"
Chen Lan replied dismissively, "I didn't understand. I just guessed! I thought if he wasn't Madam's son, why would he stay with her to sell things and haggle with you? By the way, Mingxuan ge, you talked for so long, what did you talk about?"
Xu Mingxuan replied in a low voice, "Lan'er, there are too many people here, it's inconvenient to talk. We'll talk more when we get back later."
This made Chen Lan even more curious, but what could she do if they wouldn't tell her? Just then, Xiang Xi, carrying a heavy woven basket, walked over from the opposite direction. Seeing Chen Lan, he immediately quickened his pace and pulled her aside, whispering, "Xiao Lanzi, didn't you say that the oil paintings we exchanged last time were all sold by our father-in-law? I've exchanged several more good oil paintings for you today, some landscapes and some portraits. Do you want to see them now?"
Chen Lan's attention was immediately diverted by Xiang Xi, and she happily said, "Xiao Xigua, I trust your taste, I won't look. I don't understand this. Hurry and put down the basket, I'll give the oil paintings directly to father-in-law, so you don't have to carry them all the time and feel burdened! It's good to have him help us sell the paintings quickly! I've bought too many things recently, I've been spending money like water, making my little treasury a bit tight, almost unable to make ends meet!"
Xiang Xi asked in a shocked whisper, "Ah! Xiao Lanzi, is that true? Your little treasury is almost empty? How could this happen? But it's no wonder, you've been spending too much lately, and the income has indeed been too little."
Xu Mingxuan also asked in surprise, "Lan'er, are we really running out of money? Then, is the money we have for buying grain in the Soviet Union enough this time?"
Chen Lan smiled and extended her hand downwards, then whispered, "Calm down, calm down, it's no big deal! If father-in-law helps us sell these paintings that Xiao Xigua exchanged today, we'll have money again. You two relax, relax! This small matter won't trouble us. We can still eat whatever we want and buy whatever we want according to the original plan."
Xiang Xi exaggeratedly patted his chest and said, "Xiao Lanzi, I thought you had bankrupted us! I was worried about how we would get back. You almost scared me to death!"
Chen Lan replied indifferently, "Xiao Xigua, aren't you being a bit too dramatic? Is it really that serious?"
Xiang Xi replied, "Why isn't it serious? Don't you remember the old saying, 'A single coin can baffle a hero'?"
Xu Mingxuan still asked with some unease, "Lan'er, is it really alright? Can the money problem truly be solved?"
Chen Lan patted her small chest with her hand and said magnanimously, "Don't worry, I'm here! You two can put your minds at ease. Eat what you want, drink what you want, do what you need to do! Relax! Relax!"
Everything was almost exchanged, so the three of them left the border town market together to walk back. When they reached the place where Er Zhuang had parked the ox cart, they found that Er Zhuang was not there, and the ox cart was gone. Xiang Xi and Chen Lan looked around, but found no trace of Er Zhuang or the old ox. As they were wondering,
Xu Mingxuan finally said, "Let's just wait here in the sun for a while. Er Zhuang went to deliver grain for someone and should be back soon."
Chen Lan looked around, seeing no one, and unyieldingly asked in a low voice again, "Mingxuan ge, since there's no one here now, tell me! What did you talk about just now? And it took so long?"
Xu Mingxuan looked around and found nothing unusual, so he said in a very low voice, "Lan'er, have you noticed anything different about that middle-aged man compared to ordinary people?"