Although the weather was a bit cold, it was a sunny day. Chen Lan, Xu Mingxuan, and the others changed their clothes before leaving. Xu Mingxuan and Er Zhuang were wearing long padded jackets and cotton hats that Chen Lan had specifically bought for them from the system. Chen Lan and Xiang Xi also changed into clean, neat, long padded coats with cotton hats, all of which were end-of-stock samples sent by online stores from the system.
Chen Lan wore a warm and cute knitted hat, fluffy faux fur gloves, a plush toy, and a big red faux wool scarf. All of these were end-of-stock samples from online manufacturers. The three large backpacks were also filled with end-of-stock samples from various manufacturers.
The group loaded their large backpacks onto the ox cart and set off. Shortly after they started, the sun came out. Er Zhuang, driving the ox cart, took the shortcuts they were familiar with and quickly arrived at the town. Suifenhe Town was not very large and not as bustling as imagined. There was only one not-very-long road connecting China and the Russian border. The buildings on both sides of the road were mostly low adobe houses. It could be described with one sentence: "One road, one lamp, a single shout can be heard throughout the town."
However, Suifenhe Town was, after all, a border town in China closest to Russia, and it was also an important border port of our country. Therefore, there were many old buildings with Russian style here.
Er Zhuang drove the ox cart quickly to the train station. On a high platform opposite the train station stood an Orthodox church. It was said that this church was built in 1913 and was constructed along with the Russian Emigrant School. It had been 46 years since then, and the outer walls of the church looked somewhat mottled now.
Chen Lan thought that this should be related to the construction of the Chinese Eastern Railway. The construction of this church was to satisfy the religious needs of the Russians.
Because they wanted to get to the market early, the ox cart did not stop here and directly took them to the White Building;
The White Building was built in 1903 and was originally the official residence of the Superintendent of the Suifenhe Railway. It was named for its all-white exterior and was a classic Russian-style building. It was said that after the October Revolution, the White Building was also a secret transit station in China.
By this time, the market had already begun. Many Chinese and Russian border residents were setting up stalls on both sides of the road. Chen Lan and Xiang Xi slung their oversized backpacks over their shoulders and got off the ox cart. Er Zhuang found it inconvenient to go in with the ox cart, so he drove it to the side of the stalls and waited. Chen Lan reached into her pocket, pretending to grab a handful of fruit candies, and handed them to Er Zhuang, saying, "It's a bit dry and cold, have some candy to replenish your energy."
Er Zhuang didn't stand on ceremony. He reached out, took them, peeled the wrapper off a candy, and popped it into his mouth. Chen Lan also gave one to Xu Mingxuan and Xiang Xi each. The three of them, with their large backpacks, walked towards the Russian stalls, eating candy. Su Dan Novel Network.
Chen Lan saw several stalls selling oil paintings. However, Chen Lan did not understand oil paintings and felt that each painting was well done, but she didn't know how to choose. So, she looked at Xu Mingxuan and Xiang Xi. Xu Mingxuan said somewhat embarrassedly, "I don't understand it very well either, but these oil paintings have a rich Western classical style and a highly realistic natural style. I think it's better to buy landscape oil paintings."
As they talked, they stopped in front of a stall selling oil paintings. Xiang Xi pointed to an oil painting and agreed, "Brother Mingxuan is right, Xiao Lanzi. Look at the overall composition of this painting. The artist is skilled at using light to depict the cold and warm tones, the light and dark, and the thickness of the colors. It looks like the real thing."
The stall owner was a burly Russian uncle with a full beard, so his exact age was not discernible. Chen Lan took out her interpreter from her pocket and pointed to an oil painting, saying, "Qianqian." The Russian uncle smiled, nodded, and grumbled, "Qianqian." Then he extended his large hand and shook hands with Chen Lan, Xu Mingxuan, and Xiang Xi separately.
Chen Lan then said in Chinese, "Can I trade oil paintings for candy?" While the Russian uncle was still bewildered, a long string of Russian came from the interpreter. The Russian uncle was amazed and immediately nodded in agreement, saying, "Qianqian, qianqian." The Russian uncle was quite easy to deal with! After some bargaining, they finally agreed to exchange a one-jin bag of white sugar for an oil painting. So, Chen Lan asked Xiang Xi to be responsible for choosing the oil paintings, while she would be responsible for providing the candy.
This transaction was quickly completed. Before leaving, Chen Lan gave the Russian uncle a disposable lighter and taught him how to use it. The Russian uncle was very happy and casually handed Chen Lan a blood-red amber, smooth as a quail egg. Chen Lan didn't understand it, but she thought the amber was very beautiful, so she thanked the uncle and accepted it with great pleasure.
After bidding farewell to the Russian uncle, Chen Lan put the oil painting into her large backpack, or rather, into the system, where it was hung on the selling platform for automatic sale.
The group continued further inside and came to a stall selling Russian sausages. The stall owner was a plump Russian aunty. Chen Lan knew from her past life that authentic Russian sausages were definitely genuine. The sausages were almost entirely free of starch, absolutely pure meat, and the price was very affordable and fair. In this era, Harbin red sausage was the most famous in China!
Just as Chen Lan was about to step forward to greet the Russian aunty, Xiang Xi volunteered, saying, "Xiao Lanzi, let me try this time!"
With that, he took the interpreter from Chen Lan's hand and walked forward. He nodded to the Russian aunty and greeted her, "Madame." The Russian aunty replied with something unintelligible, and Chen Lan didn't understand.
Chen Lan didn't pay attention to how Xiang Xi was negotiating with the Russian aunty. She continued further inside with Xu Mingxuan, looking for a stall selling Borodino bread to exchange for grain.
They walked to a fish stall. All sorts of fat and large fish were frozen stiff and arranged in a row on the stall. Chen Lan immediately walked over and looked closely. There were salmon, sturgeon, and many other fish that Chen Lan didn't recognize, but salmon and sturgeon were the most numerous.
In her past life, Chen Lan had heard that salmon, sturgeon, and cod were super abundant and widespread in Russia. Salmon were typical fierce carnivorous fish that grew in the sea and spawned and died in the rivers.
After growing in the sea for four to five years, salmon would migrate back to their birthplace to spawn. Moreover, salmon had very demanding requirements for their spawning grounds: first, the environment had to be secluded; second, the river water had to be extremely clear; third, the current had to be strong; fourth, the water temperature had to be between five and seven degrees Celsius; and fifth, the riverbed had to be sandy and gravelly.
As for the delicious sturgeon, because of the thick layer of fat in its body, it was not favored by Russians. As a result, because no one ate this fish in Russia, sturgeon became extremely abundant there. For ecological balance, Russians could only sell this fish cheaply, which resulted in it being sold very cheaply in Russia.