Chen Lan felt it was getting late, so she immediately opened the system with her mind and checked the system time. She found it was already close to 8:30. She immediately winked at Xu Mingxuan, who understood immediately.
So, after the couple quickly finished the yogurt in their cups, they got up and said to Aunt Sanmei, "Aunt Sanmei, we already made arrangements yesterday. We have to go to their farm at 9:30 to exchange grain. Let's go to the grain warehouse to exchange now! Otherwise, I'm afraid we won't make it in time."
Aunt Sanmei was a very straightforward and cheerful person. Seeing that the couple really had something to do, she didn't try to keep them any longer. She readily agreed and immediately got up to take the couple to the grain warehouse at the farm.
Xu Mingxuan turned back to explain to Grandpa Chang and his brother, "Grandpa Chang, Second Grandpa Chang, the two of you don't need to wait for us here any longer. We still need to go to other farms to exchange grain these two days. You two should stay at Aunt Sanmei's house for a few days and then go back, so that the villagers won't worry."
After saying that, he took a breath and looked at the two Grandpa Changs again, saying, "Grandpa Chang, Second Grandpa Chang, let's make an agreement now. In three days, we will deliver grain back to the village. As agreed, we will provide enough grain for the entire village to eat for two years, along with some potato seeds. Potatoes can be eaten as grain and as vegetables, so take the potato seeds back to the village and try planting them. However, there's one more thing I need to trouble the two of you to go back to the village and count: the total amount of grain needed for everyone in the village for two years. Since most of this grain is corn kernels, with less wheat flour, there will be some loss when grinding corn into flour. Therefore, adults will be calculated at fifty jin per month, and children over ten years old will be counted as adults. Children under ten, regardless of how old, will be calculated at thirty-five jin per month."
Grandpa Chang and his brother nodded while wiping the corners of their eyes with their sleeves, then nodded and replied, "We brothers have nothing else to do here. Seeing that Sanmei is doing well here, we are relieved. We will go back to the village to make preparations."
Aunt Sanmei quickly spoke up to keep them, "Big Brother, Second Brother, it's not easy for you two to come here. Stay a few more days! We siblings haven't had a good chat for two or three years."
Grandpa Chang waved his hand, "Sanmei, we've been here for two or three days already. This time it's enough. You and your brother-in-law live well! There are really important matters at home. You just heard what Young Xu said. We have to go back to the village to make preparations. This is not something to be taken lightly. Sanmei, think about it, it's two years' worth of rations for the whole village! We must notify every household to prepare in advance when we get back, and we can't waste food and go hungry."
Second Grandpa Chang chimed in, "Sanmei, Big Brother is right. That's how it is. Besides, traveling back and forth is very convenient now. My brother and I took the secret passage that we used when we were young. If you miss home, Sanmei, let your brother-in-law take you back through that secret passage. That secret passage is closer to home and safer. It only takes an hour or two to get home."
Aunt Sanmei saw that her elder brother and second brother indeed had important matters to attend to, so she stopped persuading them.
Seeing that the siblings had finished talking, Xu Mingxuan continued, "Grandpa Chang, Second Grandpa Chang, I'd trouble the two of you to relay a message to my younger brother-in-law and my brother-in-law, telling them that we are doing well here! They don't need to worry about us and should focus on digging the well! We will be back in three days."
Grandpa Chang and his brother repeatedly said yes! They happily wiped the corners of their eyes with their sleeves.
After clarifying all the matters, the couple bid farewell to Grandpa Chang and his brother. Xu Mingxuan drove the old Jiefang, with Aunt Sanmei and Chen Lan sitting in the driver's seat, heading towards the grain warehouse at the farm.
The car stopped in front of the large drying ground outside the grain warehouse. Many farmhands were busy on the drying ground. As soon as Aunt Sanmei got out of the car, many people surrounded her and started asking her questions.
Chen Lan immediately put on her earphones and turned on the simultaneous interpreter. She heard Aunt Sanmei loudly introducing in Russian, "The driver is my nephew and niece-in-law. They came to see me specially! And they've come to our farm to exchange some grain to take back. If you want to exchange anything, hurry up and take a look. The goods are much better than those at the cooperative, and they are much cheaper too."
Hearing this, Chen Lan couldn't help but want to laugh. Aunt Sanmei was already helping her promote the goods.
At this moment, Aunt Sanmei shouted loudly in Russian towards the drying ground, "Edward, Ilya, come here quickly, come and meet your cousin and cousin-in-law."
Immediately, two tall, handsome mixed-race men with deep features, thick eyebrows, big eyes, and fair skin ran over from the middle of the drying ground. These two mixed-race men looked to be around twenty-six or twenty-seven years old.
Under Aunt Sanmei's introduction, the four of them were about the same age and had common topics, so they got acquainted and exchanged pleasantries.
Aunt Sanmei instructed her two sons, "Edward, hurry up and tell your father and the farm manager? Your cousin has brought the goods. We can start exchanging goods now. Hurry up, your cousin and the others have to go to other farms to exchange later."
Then Aunt Sanmei continued to instruct, "Ilya, don't go anywhere. Stay here and help your cousin." Ilya nodded in agreement.
The farm manager and the person in charge of the farm, led by Edward, soon arrived at the drying ground. A group of people warmly shook hands with Xu Mingxuan. When they saw the fully loaded truck of supplies, they were indeed quite surprised. However, after inspecting the quality of the goods in the truck and hearing the prices quoted by Xu Mingxuan, they whispered among themselves for a while before making a final decision.
With the help of Aunt Sanmei and Ilya, the exchange of goods was very fast. This farm exchanged thirteen thousand jin of corn, two thousand jin of large fish, and five hundred bars of vika sausage for two thousand jin of salt, five hundred jin of sugar, warm cotton-padded jackets, snow boots, and fifty thermoses with the couple.
To make Aunt Sanmei proud, Chen Lan asked Xu Mingxuan not to haggle or calculate the accounts too closely with the farm, fully meeting the farm's exchange requirements. They also gave the farm an additional five hundred jin of salt, hoping that the farm manager and the people in charge of the farm would take good care of Aunt Sanmei's family in the future.
The farm manager and other responsible personnel at the farm knew that the couple had given them a great advantage because of Aunt Sanmei, and they readily agreed to Xu Mingxuan's request.