While Chen Lan was organizing the goods, many people who came to the department store to browse saw it. So, people kept coming up to ask Chen Lan if the goods in the car trunk were for sale. Chen Lan couldn't speak Russian, so she could only shake her head and wave her hands repeatedly, pointing to the state-run department store inside, implying that all the goods on the car were available inside the state-run department store. But others didn't understand! So, the crowd surrounding the old Jiefang truck grew larger and larger.
Just as Chen Lan was at a loss, fortunately, Xu Mingxuan and Andrei timely paid for the goods. Andrei saw the situation and said loudly, as if he was used to it, "We are here to deliver goods to the state-run department store. All the goods on the car are available in the department store. Hurry inside and queue up to buy!"
As soon as Andrei finished speaking, with a whoosh, the people who had been surrounding the truck all turned and ran towards the department store.
The three of them were about to get into the car to leave when two people ran out of the department store and asked them to stay. They were the two purchasing agents who had just inspected the goods. Andrei and Xu Mingxuan looked at the two purchasing agents with great confusion.
The two purchasing agents hurried forward and explained to Andrei, "Andrei, my dear friend, could you sell all the remaining goods on your car to our department store? Don't worry, we can discuss the price."
Andrei looked up at Xu Mingxuan. Xu Mingxuan immediately replied in a low voice, "Andrei, it's up to you! Most of the goods left on the car are your share."
Andrei asked the two purchasing agents to wait for a moment, then pulled Xu Mingxuan aside. The two of them whispered for a while. Andrei turned back and nodded, agreeing to the request of the two purchasing agents. So, Chen Lan started to unload the goods again, Andrei and the two purchasing agents began to inspect the goods, Xu Mingxuan was responsible for counting, then the goods were moved into the department store, and finally, the payment was settled.
There were no longer any goods left on the truck, so Xu Mingxuan and Andrei each locked the car doors and went into the department store to settle the payment. Chen Lan also followed them into the department store. Originally, Chen Lan had not planned to visit this department store today! But now that everything in the car was sold, she should spend some money and not just be like a miser, only taking things in and not letting them out. Moreover, since she had come out this time, she should bring back some gifts for her future in-laws and relatives, especially for the two young girls, Yulia and Milana.
So, Chen Lan said hello to Xu Mingxuan and Andrei and began to wander around the department store casually. Chen Lan deliberately browsed in less crowded areas. Chen Lan never expected that in the Soviet department stores of this era, there were still televisions for sale, the cathode ray tube type. At this time, televisions were just small square boxes with very small screens. Chen Lan thought this must be a luxury item for this era, likely costing ordinary people two to three years of their entire income.
The department store sold audio equipment such as radios, tape recorders, and record players. Chen Lan was not particularly surprised by this, but the department store actually had vacuum cleaners for sale. This only indicated that some people in the Soviet Union at this time had a relatively high standard of living!
Chen Lan browsed around but didn't find anything worth buying! But it was impossible to go back without buying anything, so she browsed around again and decided that buying a few pieces of gold jewelry for the women would be a safe bet! After all, what woman didn't like gold earrings and gold rings adorned with colorful gems? She couldn't buy gold rings for the girls herself, so she decided to buy them large gold earrings and gold bracelets.
However, Chen Lan specifically bought a large gold ring with bright rubies for Aunt Sanmei, as it was said that Soviet women of this era particularly liked to wear large-sized rings and jewelry.
Chen Lan saw many young women queuing to buy perfume, so she immediately put on her headphones and joined the queue of women. While queuing, Chen Lan overheard the girls in the line chattering about the name of this perfume, "Red Moscow."
When it was finally her turn, Chen Lan didn't say anything. She grabbed a handful of money from her pocket and handed it to the saleswoman. The saleswoman only took ten rubles, returned the remaining money to Chen Lan, and then handed Chen Lan two bottles of perfume.
It turned out that this perfume was not cheap at all, costing five rubles a bottle. Considering how low the prices were in the Soviet Union at that time, one ruble could treat the whole family to a big meal at a restaurant!
Chen Lan casually put one bottle in her cotton coat pocket, picked up one bottle, and opened the red outer packaging. She found that the perfume bottle looked like the bottles of Wuliangye from her previous life, only much smaller than a perfume bottle! Chen Lan felt that the design of this perfume bottle inexplicably suited the character of the fighting nation.
It was said that this Soviet perfume "Red Moscow" could rival Chanel No. 5, that it was unique and distinctive, and was deeply loved by Soviet women of this era.
So, Chen Lan curiously opened the bottle cap and brought it close to her nose to smell it. The scent was very pungent and smelled very strange. It smelled like floral water mixed with boiled corn water, only the scent was more concentrated than floral water. However, the scent of this perfume was not as pleasant as floral water, and Chen Lan couldn't get used to the smell of this perfume. Chen Lan quickly closed the perfume bottle cap to avoid overwhelming the baby in her womb.
At this time, Xu Mingxuan and Andrei had finished settling the payment and walked out. As soon as they came out, they saw Chen Lan holding perfume in her hand. So Andrei asked, "Oh! Mila, you actually bought (Red Moscow). It's said that this perfume is usually in short supply. I didn't expect the department store to have this perfume today. Mila, Nikolai, you two wait for me for a moment, I'll go queue up to buy a bottle for my wife."
Chen Lan quickly called out to stop him. She took out another bottle of "Red Moscow" from her cotton coat pocket and handed it to Andrei, saying, "Here, Andrei, I've already bought it for you. Take it back and give it to your wife."
Since they were all so familiar with each other, Andrei didn't stand on ceremony. He happily took the perfume handed over by Chen Lan and said to Chen Lan, "Mila, thank you!"
Chen Lan waved her hand indifferently. It was getting late! The three of them walked towards the parking spot, preparing to drive to the hotel.