With the help of everyone at the farm, they loaded all the exchanged grain, frozen fish, and sausages onto the cart. The couple said goodbye to Aunt Sanmei and the Edward brothers. Aunt Sanmei, reluctant to part, held Chen Lan's hand and shed tears, which made Chen Lan's nose sting.
Aunt Sanmei, holding Chen Lan's hand, choked up and said, "Mila, meeting you in Pogranichny town means our mothers and daughters are fated to meet. Besides, we can talk to each other. Mila, why are you leaving so soon? Can't you stay at your aunt's house for a few more days?"
Listening to Aunt Sanmei, Chen Lan felt very reluctant. She knew that Aunt Sanmei had no friends she could talk to in Pogranichny town and no family from her hometown around her, making her feel lonely and isolated in a foreign land.
Chen Lan completely understood Aunt Sanmei's feelings! But what could be done? Here were her devoted husband and lovely children; this was Aunt Sanmei's home now, something she absolutely could not abandon. She could only silently endure the loneliness and isolation.
Chen Lan thought that since she had encountered this situation, it meant she and Aunt Sanmei indeed had some connection. Thus, Chen Lan decided to see things through to the end. She would try her best to help Aunt Sanmei find friends she could talk to in this foreign land, so she wouldn't be so lonely. Even if she could find just one, at least Aunt Sanmei's life in this foreign land would be happier.
What method could help Aunt Sanmei make friends she could talk to quickly? It seemed the old method would be most effective: using "sugar-coated bullets." Yes, just use this simple and direct method – sending gifts to make friends.
So Chen Lan sniffled, gently patted Aunt Sanmei's hand, and softly whispered, "Aunt Sanmei, please don't cry. My husband and I will definitely visit you again in a few days. I need to go to the car now. There are gifts for your friends in the car that I forgot to bring down earlier."
Interrupted by Chen Lan, Aunt Sanmei's sorrowful mood was somewhat dispelled. She looked up, her eyes red, and asked in surprise, "Mila, there's more? For my friends? But I don't have any friends I can talk to here!"
Chen Lan gently patted Aunt Sanmei's hand again and comforted her with a smile, "Aunt Sanmei, don't worry! As long as you want to make friends, you will have them soon!"
With that, she released Aunt Sanmei's hand and walked towards the old Jiefang truck. She nimbly climbed into the carriage, opened the system with her mind, and rummaged through the system's warehouse. She found samples of end-of-line products from the online store – a large pile of scarves and shawls, thick and thin, made of all sorts of materials. However, Chen Lan thought that since they were for gifting, she should pick out the best!
So Chen Lan picked out the cashmere and silk ones and carefully packed them into a carrying basket. She also selected many cashmere and leather gloves, cotton socks in various patterns, and a large number of small items like beautiful, sparkling hair clips, hair flowers, and brooches. Accidentally, she filled two more carrying baskets.
Chen Lan thought that with these good things, she didn't believe Aunt Sanmei wouldn't find someone to talk to under such a fierce offensive.
Just then, Xu Mingxuan finished talking with the estate owner and came over to call Chen Lan. He happened to help Chen Lan take down the two carrying baskets.
The couple placed the two full carrying baskets at Aunt Sanmei's feet. Chen Lan simply said, "Aunt Sanmei, use these items in the carrying baskets well, and you will definitely make friends you can talk to!"
Chen Lan stepped forward, hugged Aunt Sanmei for a while, and then, with tears in her eyes, turned and left. The couple drove away from the farm amidst Aunt Sanmei's sobs.
Chen Lan sat in the car for a long time, unable to recover. Parting was truly difficult! She would absolutely not agree to Jiahui marrying far away in the future!
Chen Lan was lost in thought about various things, staring blankly for a while. Xu Mingxuan, while driving, comforted her, "Alright! Lan'er, don't cry anymore. We'll be coming back in a few days anyway, so you can see each other again. Come on, stop crying. Look, your eyes are all red, like a little rabbit's."
At Xu Mingxuan's words, Chen Lan quickly wiped the tears from her eyes. She involuntarily clasped her hands together and silently prayed and blessed Aunt Sanmei with a happy family and for her to find friends she could talk to soon.
Having a car was convenient. The couple quickly arrived at Madam's farm. From afar, they saw Madam and the estate owner waiting at the village entrance. Chen Lan glanced at the system time; it was already 9:40. That was close! They almost arrived late. It seemed the estate owner and the others had been waiting for quite some time.
Since everything had been discussed beforehand, the exchange of goods was very fast. After the estate owner's men carefully checked all the goods, Xu Mingxuan had already arranged the itinerary for the next two days with the estate owner.
After everyone helped load the exchanged grain, frozen fish, and sausages onto the cart, the couple waved goodbye to Madam and the people at the farm.
After the car had driven a long distance, Chen Lan asked Xu Mingxuan to stop the car. She opened the system's search function with her mind and scanned the surroundings. Finding no anomalies, Chen Lan stored the entire cartload of goods into the system's warehouse.
On the first day, Uncle Estate Owner took the couple to three farms east and southeast of Pogranichny town. With the estate owner's introduction, things went very smoothly. They exchanged a total of 37,000 catties of corn, 3,600 catties of large fish, and 850 sausages.
Chen Lan, worried about the load exceeding the vehicle's capacity and bursting the tires, quietly stored some corn and large fish into her space when the estate owner wasn't paying attention.
The three of them ate some bread casually for lunch outside. Seeing that there was still time, the estate owner suggested, "Nikolai, we're only about an hour's drive from Ussuriysk. There are quite a few farms there, and they are generally wealthier. Shall we go and take a look?"
Xu Mingxuan thought for a moment, glanced at Chen Lan, and seeing her shake her head, immediately replied, "Estate Owner, thank you for your kind offer! Let's skip it today. There's too much cargo on the vehicle, and it's not safe to travel too far."
The estate owner realized it was indeed the case and no longer insisted.
So the three immediately headed back. After sending the estate owner back to his farm, Chen Lan signaled Xu Mingxuan to give the estate owner two bottles of baijiu.
Watching the estate owner walk away with the two bottles of baijiu, Chen Lan stored all the goods in the truck bed into the system's warehouse. Then, the couple immediately got into the car and drove back.