Red Moscow

When Sokov and Asiya were walking towards the restaurant, they suddenly heard Lukin's voice from behind: "Anything good for today's lunch?"

Sokov stopped and looked back. It turned out that it was Lukin who was sitting in a wheelchair. The female nurse pushed him in from the outside, and said to him with a smile: "Comrade Lukin, you are lucky today. Don't worry about it." Major Zikov helped us get some Georgian wine, come and taste it together."

"Oh, Georgian wine?" Lu Jin was pleasantly surprised after hearing this: "This is a good thing. I haven't seen it for many years. Where did you get it?"

"You may ask Major Bezikov about that, since he brought the wine."

"Oh, so it was brought by Major Bezikov." As soon as Lukin heard it, he understood the origin of the wine: "Could it be from the wine cellar of the Kremlin?"

Bezikov was standing not far away. Hearing what Lukin said, he laughed dryly, "Comrade Lukin, you know a lot."

Soon, everyone sat down at the dining table. Bezikov took out a bottle of sober red wine and poured some into the goblets in front of everyone. Then he took a step back and said politely: " Everyone, please try it."

Lu Jin took a sip of the wine glass and said with a smile: "It really is a good wine. If I guess correctly, this is a bar brewed from clay pots."

"Comrade Lukin, what's the matter with clay pot wine making?" Sokov heard of clay pot wine making for the first time, and couldn't help asking curiously: "Can you tell me about it?"

In response to Sokov's curiosity, Lukin nodded and said, "Clay pot winemaking is an ancient Georgian wine-making method. When producing wine, clay pots need to be buried in the soil, and only the mouth of the pot is exposed to the ground. , Grapes, grape skins and grape stems are all placed in clay pots, and the clay pots buried in the soil can ferment and preserve grape juice at room temperature of 14-15 degrees, and keep wine in good condition for a long time. The resulting wines, whether sweet or not, are quite high in tannins."

Hearing the new term from Lukin's mouth, Sokov couldn't help asking again: "Comrade Lukin, what does the tannin content mean?"

Before Lukin could speak this time, Yakov next to him said first: "Misha, tannin is the astringent feeling you feel on your tongue after drinking wine. It is a kind of bitterness and astringency. Compounds. In addition to grapes, apples, persimmons, pomegranates, and berries all contain tannins.

Although tannins taste bitter, people can always make the best use of them, turning bitter tannin-rich fruits into 'my honey', such as tea, coffee, dark chocolate, etc. that many people like. But when it comes to the most representative of them, it is definitely not wine. "

Sokov picked up the wine glass and took a sip, and found that it was quite different from the red wine he had drunk before. But where is the difference, as a layman to red wine, he can't tell.

Lukin continued: "The famous French traveler Chardon in the seventeenth century wrote in his travel notes: 'There is no country that produces wines of such high quality and quantity as Georgia'. That's right. , Yakov, I remember that your father also liked to drink Georgian red wine."

"You're right, Comrade Lukin." Yakov nodded, and said with certainty: "In any case, this is wine from home. My father not only likes to drink wine, but also likes to mix red and white Mix the two wines and drink."

Lu Jin asked in surprise, "Why?"

Yakov smiled lightly and continued: "This is my father's habit for many years. He said that every wine has its own taste and aroma, especially Georgian wine. Red wine will taste better if mixed with white wine. Intense, like a bouquet of flowers exuding the fragrance of many flowers."

Hearing this, Lu Jin said thoughtfully: "I heard that the reason why the Supreme Commander himself has a special liking for wine is entirely because he was unfortunately infected with typhoid fever during his exile by the Tsar. You know, this disease can be fatal. Fortunately, a kind prison doctor in the prison at that time quietly gave him some red wine, which pulled him back from the death line. Since then, he has been inseparable from this Georgian red wine."

After a pause, Lukin looked at Yakov and asked, "Yakov, how long has it been since you returned to Georgia?"

Yakov thought for a moment, then replied: "About seven or eight years. Comrade Lukin, have you ever been to Georgia?"

"Yes, yes." Lukin nodded and said, "I went to Tbilisi, Georgia before the war. You can reach the center of Tbilisi - Liberty Square. Liberty Square was recently named after Ivan Paskovich, a Ukrainian general in the Tsarist Army, to commemorate his service to Tsarist Russia. Yerevan, the capital of Armenia. After 1918, when the First Georgian Republic was established, the square was renamed Freedom Square..."

"Comrade Lukin," Bezikov who was standing next to him suddenly said, "You may not know that Freedom Square in the center of Tbilisi was renamed Beria Square a few years ago."

"Oh, changed it to Beria Square?" Yakov couldn't help being surprised when he heard Bezikov say this: "As a Georgian, I didn't know about such a big change of the name of the square. "

"General Yakov," Bezikov said with a smile, "after all, you haven't been back to Georgia for so many years, and it's understandable that you don't know many things."

"Misha," Yakov turned his head and asked Sokov, "when we can leave here, are you interested in going to Tbilisi with me?"

"I am so happy." Sokov said with a smile: "I heard that Georgia is a country that is more beautiful than Switzerland, with castles in Germany, snow-capped mountains in Switzerland and vineyards in France. Falling in the back garden'." In fact, Sokov deliberately missed the phrase 'cheaper than Thailand', after all, he just said it, and the people present didn't know where this country was.

Hearing what Sokov said, Assia lost her composure immediately: "Misha, if you're going to Georgia, remember to take me with you."

"Don't worry, Asiya." Sokov put his hands on Asiya's shoulders, brought her over, kissed her on the cheek, and continued: "Not only will I take you to Tbilisi , I will also take you to Mount Kazbek in the Caucasus Mountains. It is about 5,000 meters above sea level and is the third highest mountain in Georgia. It is known as the 'place closest to God'. Standing on the top of Mount Kazbek, you can overlook The whole picture of the town at the foot of the mountain, where the scenery of snow-capped mountains is no less than that of the Alps."

When Sokov told Asya about the charming scenery of Georgia, Yakov asked in surprise: "Misha, have you ever been to Georgia before?"

"No, I have never been there." Sokov understood what the other party was thinking, so he took the initiative to explain to him: "When I was recuperating in Moscow last year, I went to the Lenin Library twice, and a lot of common sense about Georgia I saw it in a book."

Sokov's explanation was very reasonable, and Yakov didn't have any doubts. He even took the initiative to say: "Misha, if you confirm the time to go to Georgia, remember to tell me, I can be your guide. Anyway, I'm from Georgia and know the environment better than you."

Assia said to Yakov carefully: "Yasha, there is nothing to do now anyway, why don't you introduce Tbilisi to us."

"Okay." Seeing that Asya was eager to know something about Tbilisi, Yakov didn't keep it secret, but said directly: "There are many places to visit in the city, such as the famous Narikala Fortress , standing on a cliff on the edge of the city...

Outside the Turkish-style bathrooms in the city, there are ditches. Hot spring water flows slowly through the ditches, and the air is filled with a strong smell of sulfur.

The clock tower stands on the side of the road, every hour, the small house on the top of the clock tower will open, and a puppet girl who rings the bell will come out from inside..."

Yakov's description of Tbilisi not only fascinated Asiya, but even made Sokov feel a little impatient, wishing to set off for Tbilisi immediately after leaving this nursing home to see this beautiful City.

After lunch, on the way back to the small building with Assia, Sokov continued to read in her mouth: "Misha, before the war broke out, I never left Moscow. I really didn't expect And Tbilisi is such a beautiful city. I really want to go there now and see this beautiful city with my own eyes.”

"Assia, you are right." Sokov nodded and echoed, "June is the best season for tourism, and all the fountains are open, so this can be regarded as a scene of the city."

Hearing Sokov talking about the fountain, Assia's expression was a little sad: "Since the outbreak of the war, the fountain in Wiedenham Park has never been opened again, and I don't know if it will open this year. It's a pity that we are now locked in In the nursing home, when can I go out?"

"It's June now," Sokov said. "I think we'll stay until the beginning of July at the most, and we may leave here."

"Leaving here in early July?" Asiya's face revealed a surprised expression: "Really, Misha? Are we leaving here in early July?"

Sokov is still not sure, after all, this is just his speculation, but seeing Asiya so happy, he nodded and said: "If our army is going to fight in the Far East, I guess it should be around August. And As the commander of the army, I will definitely arrive at the army one month in advance to familiarize myself with the environment and my subordinates. So I think it is entirely possible for us to leave the nursing home in July."

"I hope so." Assia said dejectedly: "Although the sanatorium is not small, it usually contacts too few people. Except for a few waiters, they are guards and soldiers. The waiters and I can chat a few words, and those guards After the soldiers saw me in the yard, they raised their hands to salute, and left directly. I was afraid that after talking to me a few words, they would violate some discipline. By the way, Misha, I don’t want to go back to the room for the time being, how about we Go to the fence to see the wild ducks, the group of little wild ducks you saw just now are so cute."

Hearing that Assia said that he wanted to go up to the wall to see the wild ducks, Sokov was really dumbfounded. According to his judgment, shortly after he and the others left, the people arranged by Bezikov must have moved the pile of bricks. , I am afraid there is no way to climb up the wall to see the scenery outside the wall. But seeing the expectant look on Assia's face, Sokov swallowed the words again, and could only reply casually: "Okay."

When the two came to the position where they had just pulled off the top of the wall, they found that the pile of bricks had disappeared. If it weren't for the few broken bricks left on the ground and the marks left by the pile of bricks on the mud, Sokov almost thought he had come to the wrong place.

Seeing that the pile of bricks disappeared, Assia couldn't help becoming anxious: "Misha, what's going on? Why did the pile of bricks suddenly disappear just now?"

Naturally, Sokov couldn't tell Asya that Bezikov must have ordered someone to take her away. In this way, there would be conflicts between him and Bezikov, and he would feel awkward in the next relationship. So he said to Assia: "I think maybe a house is being built somewhere nearby, and all the bricks have been taken to repair the house."

Although Sokov's reason was a bit far-fetched, Assia couldn't find a better reason to explain the sudden disappearance of the brick pile, so she could only regretfully say: "That's such a pity. If I could have found out a few days earlier With this pile of bricks, you can watch wild ducks in the pond for a few more days."

But after hearing this, Sokov murmured in his heart: "If you found the pile of bricks here a few days earlier, in order to prevent us from digging up the wall, Bezikov would probably order people to remove these bricks a few days in advance, lest we On a whim, Tian jumped directly from here to the outside of the wall."

"Let's go, let's go back." Asiya felt very disappointed that she couldn't stand on the wall and look at the scenery outside. She took Sokov's arm and pulled it back: "I'll go to Gurchenke Ask, see if you can get us a ladder. Standing on the ladder, we can see out."

Sokov's eyes lit up. Unexpectedly, Bezikov sent someone to remove the pile of bricks. Assia actually thought of a more direct way, directly setting up a ladder to look at the wall. Moreover, the ladder is easy to carry and can be taken away at any time. Even if Bezikov saw it, he couldn't get someone to hide the ladder.

"Well, this is a good idea." Sokov didn't want to make Asiya unhappy, so he nodded and said, "Let's go to Guerchenke now and ask her if there is a ladder. If so , just move here, I will help you hold the ladder below, and you can go up to enjoy the scenery outside the wall."