Burning Moscow

　　 Hearing this sound, my heart began to plop and thump wildly, my breathing became rapid, and my hands and feet trembling uncontrollably. Although it's the twelfth lunar month of winter, I feel that sweat is coming out of my body and my head, and my whole person suddenly becomes as if I have only finished a long-distance race of several kilometers. I held the threshold with my hand so that I wouldn't fall over because of too much excitement.

　　 The door opened, and a fat old lady with a headscarf and woolen shawl appeared in front of me.

　　 The moment I saw the old lady, I was briefly absent.

　　 Is this Lida's mother?

　　 I opened my mouth and wanted to call my mother. But his lips moved a few times, but there was no sound. You must know that although I am Lida's body, if I call an unfamiliar woman mother, I really can't say it.

　　 And the old lady also looked at me with a surprised look, and did not speak.

　　 Just when the atmosphere at the scene was embarrassing, a crisp childish voice suddenly came from the room: "Grandma, who is here?"

　　 I looked into the room, and a small child in a black woolen coat stood in the living room looking up at me with his innocent face.

　　 Is this Lida's son? I can't help but look carefully, he is really beautiful. She has a white face with a pair of watery eyes under her curved eyebrows. When he and I looked at each other, those big aura eyes flickered, and when he smiled, the corners of his mouth turned up slightly. Coupled with the golden braid on the back of the head, it is just like a beauty.

　　 I was looking at the child, and suddenly I felt something was wrong.

　　 Twisted braids...

　　 Twisted braids...

　　 Lida gave birth to a son, how could he have a braid on his head? This is obviously a girl's dress.

　　 "Comrade military, are you here to inform us of the evacuation?"

　　 The old lady's voice rang in my ear, pulling my thinking back to reality. I almost figured out one thing in a few seconds: I recognized the wrong person. Fortunately, I didn't rashly speak up just now, otherwise it would be a shame.

　　 I stabilized the situation and replied: "Old lady, I am not here to inform you to evacuate. I am here to see my mother and son, and heard from others that they live in this building."

　　 "Really?! What is your mother's name?"

　　 I started to sweat again, this question really stopped me asking. After becoming Lida, although I inherited many memories from her, I still didn't know her mother's name. Just like in the rural areas of China at that time, most people lived with their mothers all their lives, but they still couldn't name their mothers.

　　 But how to answer the old lady's question, I have a good idea. I evasively said: "My mother and son came to Leningrad only after the war broke out. My son's name is Alik."

"So you are Alek's mother!" The little girl in the living room helped me out. She excitedly said to her grandmother, "Grandma, I have heard from Alek's brother before that her mother is a soldier named Li Up."

　　 "Yes, girl, you are so smart. I am Lida."

　　 The old lady put a smile on her face, turned her body aside, and said enthusiastically: "So you are the daughter of Ariksina, come in quickly."

　　 I guessed that she was talking about Lida's mother's name, so I remembered this name secretly. Later, when I go to other places to find Lida's mother and son, it will be useful. As for the old lady in front of me, her name, I already knew it through the woman downstairs.

　　 There is very little furniture in the living room, except for a round table and two armchairs. After the old lady Liu Xia greeted me to sit down in one armchair, she also sat in another armchair, looking at me apologetically, "I'm sorry, Lida, there is nothing to eat at home to greet you. If you don't mind, I will give you a cup of black tea?"

　　 I nodded and thanked her, "Thank you, Liu Xia. I have been walking outside for so long, and people are almost freezing, and I want to drink a cup of hot tea to warm my body."

When Liu Xia went to pour tea, I put the cloth bag in my hand on the table, leaned the gun against the chair, and then called the little girl to come over, picked her up and sat on my lap, stroking her hair, and patted her. Pat her shoulder and asked: "Little girl, what is your name?"

　　 "Ekaterina. You can call me Katya."

　　 "Katya, do you and my son Alik know each other well?"

"Yes, Aunt Lida." It seemed that Katya was a very lively child. She called my name freely and said: "Alek and Grandma Ariksina used to live in the unit next door. I often spend time with him. Playing outside. Later, after my grandma refused to let me go out casually, I haven't seen him for a long time."

　　 "Why didn't grandma let you go out?" I think it's easy to communicate with children.

"Grandma said, there is a war outside. A big cannonball falling will not only kill people, but also the house. Many of our children who played together before were destroyed by the cannonball." Katya said. When speaking, the tone was flat, as if telling me a fairy tale from a book.

　　 Before I could sigh, Liu Xia walked into the living room with two cups of tea, her steps cautiously, for fear that the tea would spill out. She put a cup of tea on the edge of the table, let Katya get off my lap, handed me another cup, and said, "Lida, please have tea!"

　　 The tea in the cup was steaming. I brought the cup to my mouth, blew it, and then took a sip. There is no sugar in the tea, and it tastes a bit bitter. For me, who is used to drinking black tea that must contain sugar, this tea is really not good, and I can't help but frown slightly.

　　 Liu Xia may have noticed my frowning expression and said apologetically: "Lida, I'm sorry, there is nothing left at home. Not even the sugar in the black tea."

　　 I put down my tea cup, walked around the customer hall, and said, "There seems to be no furniture in this living room."

Liu Xia blushed and said, "No way, it's too cold, and I chopped the extra furniture for firewood." Then she whispered: "Not only is there no heating at home, but electricity and water are also cut off." Because of lowering the food ration standard several times, people can’t get enough to eat, and thousands of people starve to death every day. I am older and eat less, but I can barely maintain it. But even so, I don’t just get the food rations. , Spend the rest of the time in bed to save energy. The tea you drink now is boiled from the crushed ice I picked up on the way home..."

　　 "Do you know the whereabouts of my mother and son?" All of what she said, when I was on the ice transportation line, I occasionally heard the evacuated residents mention only a few words, but at the time I was just feeling deeply moved. Now I am chatting with the residents who are still trapped in the city, and I know what the hunger situation is. But there is no way. After all, during the war, the government has done its best. Every day, there are countless trucks and sledges carrying food into the city without interruption, and at the same time, they are constantly evacuating the excess outside the city. Population to reduce food consumption. When she paused, I couldn't help but interject.

　　 "Lida, you are late. Your mother, Ariksina, and son, Alek, originally lived in the unit next door. They were evacuated before the new year because the house was destroyed by the bombardment."

　　 "Do you know where they were evacuated?"

Liu Xia shook her head and said, "I don't know. The current evacuation work is different from the early days of the war. At that time, the district Soviet staff would go door to door when sending train tickets to the evacuees, and they would inform everyone when and where to evacuate. But now, those government officials just came to tell you that they will arrange for you to evacuate and gather at a certain place, and then someone will lead the residents out of the city from the ice transportation line."

　　 I heard that Lida’s mother and son had been evacuated out of the city. I was relieved. As long as I can leave Leningrad, my chances of survival will be much higher. I will look for them when I have a chance in the future.

I took another sip from the teacup, then put the cup down, stood up, and said to Liu Xia, "Liu Xia, thank you for telling me where my mother and son are." Then, I picked up the cloth pocket on the table and opened it. At the mouth of the bag, take out the condensed milk, salo, sugar cubes and two bags of rusks from the inside and put them on the table one by one. "This is a little bit of my heart, please accept it."

　　 Liu Xia was stunned when she saw the food on the table, and then she waved her hands desperately, saying, "I can't do it, these things are too precious, I can't ask for it!"

I looked at Katya standing next to her, reached out to touch her head, and said, "For Katya, you must accept these things." After speaking, I took out two enemas from the bag and stuffed them. Into Katya's little hands.

Liu Xia leaped over and hugged me, choked and said incoherently, "Thank you, dear. Lida, you are a good person, and I will always be grateful to you. The Virgin Mary will bless you and help you find your relatives. of."

I hugged Liu Xia, then gently released, lifted the cloth bag on the table and the rifle next to the chair, and said, "Goodbye, Liu Xia." I lowered my head and looked at Katya, who was holding the enema in her hand. You, lovely Katya. Good luck to you!"

　　 After leaving this building, I was relieved and finally had a worry. Although I did not find Lida's mother and son, I at least fulfilled the promise I made to her.

　　Because it is near the river, it feels very cold when the wind is strong. I raised the collar of my coat, pulled the hat lower, and walked back slowly along the path.

　　 I saw a lot of posters on the walls of the buildings on the side of the road, and some handwritten revelations were also posted. I curiously leaned over and looked at a few of them. Without exception, I was willing to collect things at home in exchange for a small amount of bread. One of them said that he was willing to use a house with a full set of furniture to live in, and in exchange for two pigeons...

　　 Seeing these various revelations, I smiled bitterly and shook my head, and then continued to move forward.

　　 Just about to pass by the passage just now, I suddenly heard a feeble voice from the passage: "Comrade soldier, please wait."

　　 I stopped and looked at the passage where I had just crossed the road. An old lady who was staggering stepped up the steps step by step. I just wanted to ask the old lady what was wrong with me. Seeing the pair of cotton trousers in her arms, I immediately remembered that she was the old man who used cotton trousers for bread.

　　 I smiled and asked her: "Old mother, what do you want me to do?"

　　 She walked slowly in front of me, handed me the cotton trousers, panting and said, "Comrade soldier, these are your cotton trousers, please put them away."

　　 I have been delayed for at least an hour since I gave the old lady bread just now and now I am returning, but the old lady has been waiting for me here braving the severe cold just to give me cotton trousers. I couldn't help but feel a little moved. I pushed the cotton trousers she handed over and said, "Old mother, you should take these cotton trousers back. I don't need them."

　　 The old lady said nothing, and passed the cotton trousers again, and I pushed it back again. The old lady lowered her head, drew a cross on her chest with her right hand, and whispered: "May the Virgin Mary bless you!"

　　 "Old mother, on such a cold day, you should be careful of frostbite when you come out to sell cotton trousers."

Hearing what I said, the old lady suddenly wiped her tears and cried and said: "When my wife went to collect food the day before yesterday, the ration card from her body was stolen by a thief. The ration card for the whole family was stolen! All of them were stolen by the end of the month. For a few days, there was no food at all at home. If you don't want to do anything, the whole family will starve to death."

　　 "Damn thief." I cursed inwardly. Remember that in the "Battle of Huaihai", in order not to starve to death, the residents who retreated with the army exchanged a golden pie for a big pie. In Leningrad at this time, it is not so difficult to exchange a bag of rusk for the same weight of gold.

　　 There was a sound of footsteps behind me. I was afraid of blocking the way of others, so I gave way slightly to the side of the road, and continued to listen to the old lady talking about her own tragic experience. At this moment, I suddenly felt that the cloth bag in my hand was being pulled vigorously, and then I let go. Watching a man in a turban rush past me, holding my cloth bag and rushing forward. I pointed in the direction of the man's escape, except for a series of "Ah~~~~~~~" in my mouth, I couldn't shout anything, let alone catch up.

　　 "What happened?" Three soldiers in military coats, military caps and rifles came up from the passage and asked loudly.

　　 I finally came back to my senses at this time, pointed at the man who had fled, and said loudly to the soldiers: "Robbery! It's robbery. That person robbed me of my things."

　　 The next scene that happened left me stunned. A soldier pulled the bolt, raised the gun to the head, took a short aim, and pulled the trigger without hesitation. The other two soldiers chased forward a few steps, squatted and shot again.

　　 The robbed man was probably too hungry and exhausted. He ran for a while before he ran forty to fifty meters. The soldiers' first round of shooting failed, and the second round of shooting hit the target. I saw the man leaning back, and fell to the ground, throwing away the cloth bag in my hand. But the gun that hit him shouldn't be fatal. After he fell to the ground, he crawled a few times in the direction of the cloth bag.

　　 Seeing that they had hit the target, the soldiers slung their rifles on their shoulders and rushed over. They all have red sleeves on their arms. They should be the patrol team on duty nearby. By chance, they happened to be in time for the robbery.

Uncertainly, I heard the old lady yelling excitedly on the side: "Good fight, lads, kill all these **** bad guys." The voice doesn't sound as weak as before. UU reading www.uukanshu.com is full of confidence. .

　　 I bid farewell to the old lady and chased the soldiers with a rifle. I saw two soldiers stand up the wounded man and pull to the wall to stand. The remaining soldier raised his gun and fired a shot at the looter without hesitation. Then as soon as the two soldiers let go, the man's body fell limp in the snow.

　　The soldier who shot the gun backed the gun, picked up the cloth bag from the ground, walked in front of me, stood at attention and saluted me, and reported, "Comrade Commander, this is your thing. Please put it away."

　　 When I took the cloth bag, I touched my collar and found that it was tightly buttoned and the military rank was blocked. It may be the briefcase on my body and other pistols on my waist that allowed him to confirm the identity of my commander. I asked: "Why shot him to death?"

　　 "Report to Comrade Commander, there is an order." The soldier replied nervously: "For those thieves and robbers who are caught, the patrol has the right to shoot them on the spot."

　　 "You did the right thing, Comrade Soldier." After knowing what happened to the old lady just now, I very much agree with the way the patrol team handled it. In troubled times, in the besieged Leningrad, these thieves and looters pushed their compatriots to death in order to survive. They are the same as the Germans who killed people by shelling and starvation. .

　　 I took out three bags of rusks from the lost cloth bag and handed them to the three soldiers. They were surprised at my gift, and at first they declined in confusion, but at my insistence, they hurriedly took the bread dry and put it in their coat pockets. Because they know that in today's environment, eating an extra slice of bread will give them more hope of survival.