Fortunately, the weather was hot, and the dishes were still steaming. The drizzled fish looked quite appealing, golden and crispy on the outside, tender and white on the inside. It smelled sweet and sour, and Chen Lan figured it would taste good too.
As Chen Lan carried dishes outside, she mentally opened the system and ordered two bottles of sorghum wine, two catties of braised beef, a braised pork hock, a pound of braised dried tofu sheets, and two vegetable dishes: braised kelp and braised lotus root.
Seeing such a lavish dinner, complete with wine, Old Man Zhang repeatedly thanked Chen Lan and Xu Mingxuan, emphasizing, "Little Xu, Little Chen, please don't spend so much tomorrow. Just feeding us is enough. Don't prepare so many dishes. As long as we're full, we're fine with anything."
It was getting late. Xu Mingxuan and Chen Lan didn't argue, merely nodding in agreement. Xu Mingxuan immediately invited everyone to sit down, poured wine for them, and urged them to start eating and drinking.
Old Man Zhang sat down and continued, "Little Chen, Little Xu, I understand your intentions, but you two just spent a fortune on this dilapidated house. How can you afford such large expenditures? Living a life requires prudence, a steady flow, you know?"
Xu Mingxuan and Chen Lan nodded repeatedly. Chen Lan smiled and explained, "Brother Zhang, thank you for your kind reminder. My husband and I bought so many good dishes today for a reason. Firstly, it's our first day of work, so we must have a good meal to celebrate auspicious beginnings. Secondly, my husband and I also want to take this opportunity to thank you, Brother Zhang, for your great help. We merely bought a couple of extra dishes from the state-run restaurant; it's not a significant expense. This is just our way of expressing our gratitude. Come, Brother Mingxuan, and Er Zhuang, accompany Brother Zhang and Brother Er for a drink. Little apprentices, hurry and drink your wine and eat your food while it's hot."
Chen Lan enthusiastically urged everyone to drink and eat. Seeing that the matter had been explained so thoroughly and knowing that Chen Lan and her husband were always generous, Old Man Zhang stopped insisting. He picked up a glass of wine and downed it in one gulp, remarking, "Fragrant, mellow, truly good wine."
With wine and meat on the table, everyone was naturally very pleased and satisfied.
After dinner, they saw off Old Man Zhang, his brother, and the group of apprentices belonging to Old Man Zhang's second brother. They quickly tidied up, locked the courtyard gate, and prepared to return to the inn to sleep. It was already late, past moonrise.
Having worked hard all day, everyone returned to their rooms to rest upon arriving at the inn. Having bathed earlier, the couple simply washed their hands and faces before going to bed.
Lying on the bed, Chen Lan remembered the treasure map she had found during the day. She took out the slightly yellowed treasure map from the system's warehouse and began to examine it.
Chen Lan studied it for a long time but couldn't make heads or tails of it. Her eyes grew sore, so she set the map aside and lay down to rest with her eyes closed.
Xu Mingxuan reached out, picked up the map, and began to study it closely. He also studied it for a long time. Just as Chen Lan was drifting into a drowsy sleep, he suddenly spoke in a low voice, "Lan'er, I think this map might be a treasure map left by a Jewish person who once lived in Harbin."
"Jewish? How is that possible?" Chen Lan was jolted awake by Xu Mingxuan's words, asking softly in utter astonishment, "How could it be Jewish? There are no words on this map. How do you know it belongs to a Jew?"
Xu Mingxuan replied in a low, confident voice, "Lan'er, didn't you know that Harbin had many Jewish merchants in the past?"
Chen Lan shook her head like a rattle drum; she truly didn't know this.
Xu Mingxuan continued to explain in a hushed tone, "Lan'er, you must know about the several large-scale pogroms against Jews in history. Just in Russia's anti-Jewish sentiment, there were no less than a thousand pogroms, and about sixty thousand Jews lost their lives in this period."
Seeing Chen Lan listening intently, Xu Mingxuan elaborated, "So, for survival, when the Chinese Eastern Railway was being built, specifically the section from Harbin to Suifenhe, many Jewish laborers participated in its construction. After the completion of the Chinese Eastern Railway, Harbin's strategic importance grew significantly. The Tsarist Russian government at the time resettled a large number of railway technicians, urban construction technicians, merchants, and cultural and religious personnel in Harbin. Moreover, Tsarist Russia also actively encouraged Russian Jews to immigrate and do business in Harbin."
Chen Lan asked with some confusion, "Do business? In Harbin? I do know that Jewish people have a keen business sense and are very good at making money."
Xu Mingxuan nodded and continued to lower his voice, "Yes, you are correct. According to relevant historical records, at its peak, there were as many as twenty thousand Jewish people in Harbin, most of whom were Russian nationals. Therefore, for a long time before liberation, Harbin became the largest political, economic, and cultural center for Jews in the Far East. Although they were forced to come to Harbin, Harbin, as a world-class metropolis, provided them with the convenience of international trade. In the end, these Jewish merchants in Harbin all became immensely wealthy."
Chen Lan felt that what Xu Mingxuan said made some sense. She nodded and asked, "Brother Mingxuan, the map doesn't specify anything. It just draws a large yuanbao and a six-pointed star on the winding lines. Besides, this doesn't confirm that this is a treasure map, nor does it prove it belongs to a Jew. And we don't even know if it's a real treasure map. If it is a real treasure map, why didn't they take all the treasure with them when they left Harbin? I suspect it's just a prank by someone with too much time on their hands."
Xu Mingxuan took Chen Lan's hand and said, "Lan'er, prank or not, we should try to figure it out. But it's definitely a map left by a Jewish person; that much is certain."
Chen Lan looked at Xu Mingxuan with a confused expression, waiting for him to elaborate. Xu Mingxuan continued to explain in a low voice, "Lan'er, didn't you just say that besides a large yuanbao, the map also has a six-pointed star drawn on it?"