Red Moscow

During the meal, Bakanidze took out a bottle of vodka and asked Sokov: "Misha, let's have a drink."

Sokov didn't drink much. He wanted to refuse, but then he thought about it. No matter what, the other party was his father-in-law and his elder. If your elders let you drink, can you shirk it? In desperation, he could only risk his life to accompany the gentleman, and agreed to Bakanidze's proposal: "Okay, let's have two drinks."

Some people say that vodka played a big role in the Soviet army's victory in the Great Patriotic War, because each commander and fighter was able to obtain a certain amount of vodka before the war began. The soldiers who drank alcohol were more able to exert their due fighting power.

When he first picked up the wine glass, Sokov didn't think Bakanidze could drink much. But as soon as he started drinking, Sokov immediately realized that he was wrong. The other party drank as easily as drinking water. He drank a bottle of vodka in a few minutes. His face was as red as pig liver, but the other party didn't have a clear face. Change color.

"Nina," Bakanidze said to his wife after drinking all the vodka in the glass: "Bring me two more bottles of wine. I want to have a good drink with Misha today."

Facing a good comrade like Bakanidze who was obviously tested by alcohol, Sokov was obviously no match. Before he finished the second bottle of vodka, he was already lying on the table and fast asleep.

Seeing that Sokov was drunk, Bakanidze quickly called Asya, and together they helped Sokov to lie down in the guest room.

After settling Sokov, the Bakanidze father and his daughter returned to the living room.

Seeing that his wife was not there, Bakanidze said to Asiya with a serious expression: "Asiya, I just went there to check, and it is indeed a half-collapsed room. There is no furniture in it, and the walls are There’s no mezzanine or anything like that. I really can’t figure out what Misha was doing there all of a sudden.”

After Asiya waited for Bakanidze to finish speaking, she said cautiously: "How about I go and ask now?"

"He is so drunk that he is unconscious. What can you ask?" Bakanidze waved his hand and said, "Let me sleep peacefully."

"But I don't understand what's going on, and I feel uneasy."

Bakanidze stared at Asiya for a while, then picked up the wine glass in front of him, took a sip, and said thoughtfully: "You once told me that one of Misha's former friends, I once told you that Misha seemed to be a different person after he woke up after being stunned by a German aerial bomb in the town of Khimki. I was thinking that maybe the house was destroyed by a German aerial bomb that year. This place, when Misha walked there, he was struck by the scenery, so he went in specifically to have a look."

After hearing this, Asiya felt that Bakanidze's explanation was too feeble, but she could not refute it. She could only sigh softly, and then said: "Maybe you are right, maybe when Misha passed there , remembering how he was injured by an aerial bomb, he went in to see a place he would never forget."

"How long can Misha stay in Moscow this time?" Seeing Nina coming out of the kitchen, Bakanidze quickly changed the subject: "Can I wait until you give birth to the child before leaving?"

"I have just said that although the job assigned to Misha by his superiors some time ago was to go to Siberia to take care of prisoners of war." Asiya said: "But judging from all the signs now, it is very likely that he will stay at the headquarters. Ordnance Department.”

"The war is over. What future can I have by working in the General Ordnance Department at this time?" Nina heard this and couldn't help but interjected: "I think Misha should go to Siberia first and return to Moscow after a while. It’s not too late.”

"If Misha goes to Siberia, what will Asya do?" Bakanidze said displeasedly: "You can't go to Siberia with him with a big belly, right?"

Asiya saw that her parents might quarrel if they continued talking, so she quickly came out to smooth things over: "Misha's future work arrangements are beyond our control. All we have to do is wait patiently until the final decision is made. After the results are obtained, it will not be too late for us to study again. In any case, I will definitely not go to Siberia with Misha. When I give birth to a child, my mother can take care of me."

"Yes, yes, Asiya is right." Nina heard what her daughter said and quickly echoed: "When you give birth to the baby, I will take care of you. It doesn't matter whether Misha is by your side then. unimportant."

In the evening, someone knocked on the door again. Bakanidze opened the door and saw that it was the driver Wo Wen.

Seeing that the person who opened the door for him was Sokov's father-in-law, Wowen said politely: "Hello, we meet again. I'm here to pick up Comrade General. Can he leave now?"

"He was drunk during lunch." Bakanidze said apologetically: "I'll go and have a look right away to see if he has woken up."

"I'd better go and see it." Asiya stood up and said apologetically to Wo Wen: "Comrade driver, please wait a little longer."

When Asiya walked into the room where Sokov was resting, she found that he had sat up and was in a daze with his head in his hands. He quickly asked with concern: "Misha, how do you feel?"

"My head hurts a bit." Sokov said with a wry smile: "It seems that I won't be able to drink so much in the future. It will be a torture."

"You deserve it." Asiya scolded with a smile: "My father is such a good drinker. Two or three bottles of vodka is nothing to him. If you fight with him for drinks, aren't you asking for trouble?"

Sokov raised his hand and looked at the time, and then said: "It's getting late, why hasn't Wowen come yet?"

"He is already here." Asiya said: "He is at the door right now. He said he was going to send us back. I came here specifically to call you."

"Then let's set off now." Sokov stood up suddenly after saying that. Unexpectedly, he got up so violently that his eyes went black and stars appeared in front of his eyes, and he sat back down on the bed.

Asiya quickly supported him and asked with concern: "Misha, are you okay?"

"It's okay, it's okay." Sokov waved his hand and replied with some embarrassment: "It's just that I got up too violently, and my eyes feel black and stars are flying around. I'll just sit down for a while and it'll be fine."

After sitting for another moment, Sokov stood up again. This time he learned the lesson from last time and did not stand up as suddenly as before, so the situation did not happen again. However, despite this, Asiya was still worried that he would fall, so she stretched out her hands to support him and helped him walk out.

After the two came outside, Nina saw Sokov who was still walking a little staggering, and quickly asked: "Misha, are you okay?"

"It's okay, I'm okay." Sokov tried to force a smile on his face and replied.

"Come, drink a cup of hot tea and relax." Nina picked up a cup of hot tea on the table, handed it to Sokov, and complained to her husband: "You old man, you know that Misha can't drink, but you still If something happens to him after you drink him so much, I won’t be done with you.”

After hearing this, Bakanize laughed dryly and said casually: "I didn't know Misha couldn't drink. He fell down after just two or three drinks."

"Comrade General," Wowen saw Sokov appearing in front of him and quickly asked respectfully, "When do you plan to set off?"

After Sokov drank all the hot tea in his hand, he felt somewhat relieved. However, he also knew very well in his heart that this sobriety was temporary. When he went out and was blown by the cold wind, the alcohol would get stronger and he might vomit. In order to avoid this embarrassing situation, he decided to go home and sleep early, and said to Wo Wen: "I'll leave now."

Wowen and Asiya helped Sokov come outside and got into the car parked here. After saying goodbye to the two old men, the car drove towards the city center.

While the car was driving, Wo Wen glanced at Sokov sitting in the back seat through the rearview mirror, and said with a smile: "Comrade General, I didn't expect that your drinking capacity is so bad. You will get drunk after just a few glasses of wine." That’s it. Compared to you, General Yakov’s drinking capacity is pretty good.”

"Yeah, that's true." Sokov didn't have the slightest doubt about this. He said a little unclearly: "He can't fight, but I can't drink."

The car arrived at the gate of the compound. Sokov originally wanted to get off here, but Wowen was worried about Sokov's current condition and would not be able to walk back to his home. And Asya is a pregnant woman. If she drags Sokov, a drunkard, home, she might cause fetal distress.

It was out of this consideration that Wo Wen drove the car to the door, rolled down the window and said to the sentry: "Comrade sentry, the general is drunk. I want to send him directly to his home. I hope you can be accommodating and let me The car goes in."

In fact, even if Wo Wen didn't say so, the pile of passes posted on the windshield of the car was enough for the sentry to open the door for him. Seeing that he actually talked about this matter with him in a negotiating tone, the sentry easily agreed.

The car arrived downstairs at Sokov's house, and Sokov was drunk again and fell unconscious. Fortunately, Wo Wen was here, otherwise Asiya wouldn't know how to drag Sokov home. Wowen stepped forward, put Sokov on his shoulders, and followed Asiya into the building.

The old lady in the duty room saw Asiya coming back and was about to say hello to her, but found that there was a soldier behind her, and the soldier was carrying someone on his shoulders. The old lady looked closer and saw that it was Soko. husband. She asked Asiya tentatively: "Asiya, is your husband drunk?"

"Yes, he was drunk." Asiya said with some embarrassment: "We went to visit my parents today. During the meal, he drank two more drinks because he was happy, and he ended up so drunk. Fortunately, Without the help of comrade driver, I don’t know how to get him back.”

With Woven's help, Sokov was carried home and placed on the bed.

After Asiya thanked Wowen profusely, she sent him out.

When Wo Wen was about to get into the car, he asked specifically: "Comrade Asiya, Comrade General is so drunk, do we still go to Crystal City tomorrow?"

"Go, of course." Asiya nodded and said, "I plan to buy some sets of drinking utensils for my father. Just pick us up at the time we agreed in advance."

Early the next morning, when Woven drove a black car downstairs, he found that Sokov and Asiya were already waiting here.

"Comrade Wowen, thank you for your hard work." After getting in the car, Sokov said to Wowen apologetically: "I'm sorry to have you come here so early."

"Comrade General." Wo Wen replied with a smile: "It is my job to serve you. As long as I can satisfy you, there is no such thing as hard work or not."

After closing the car door, Sokov said to Wowen: "Comrade Wowen, let's go. I hope we can reach Crystal City smoothly today."

As the vehicle drove out of the compound and drove along the highway towards the outside of the city, Sokov realized a problem. It was the 1940s now, not the 21st century that he was familiar with. There were not so many vehicles on the streets. There was no chance of a traffic jam. It was a bit too much to ask Wo Wen to pick him up so early.

On the way out of town, we passed a traffic stop. The traffic policeman on duty outside saw the approaching black car and the various special passes posted on the windshield. He had originally stopped the car for inspection and immediately stepped aside to the side of the road and raised his hand to salute the vehicle.

As a city built in the forest, about a quarter of Moscow is covered by forest. After leaving the city, the forests on both sides of the road become denser, like two walls, sandwiching the road in the middle. Sokov looked at the forest on both sides, and suddenly felt a scary feeling, as if a monster would pop out of it at any time.

"Misha," Asiya turned to ask Sokov: "Is this the way to Crystal City?"

"I'm not sure about this." Although Sokov later said that he had been to Crystal City more than once, it was more than seventy years later and was very different from now. He could only say vaguely: "Maybe it's all The same path."

"Comrade General," unexpectedly, as soon as he finished speaking, Wo Wen interrupted: "The road condition of more than 30 kilometers just leaving the city is not bad, but further forward, it is an all-dirt road. It is a little better on a sunny day. Some, if it rains, the vehicle may get stuck in the mud at any time and cannot be driven out, so the passengers need to get off the vehicle to push the vehicle."

"Ah, do you still have to get out of the car to push the cart?" Asiya heard what Wo Wen said, with a worried expression on her face: "Misha, if the car we are riding in unfortunately gets stuck in the quagmire, we will really Do you need to go down and push the cart?”

"Fool," Sokov raised his hand and patted Asiya lightly on the forehead, and said with a smile: "It hasn't rained in the past two days, how could the vehicle get stuck in the quagmire? Besides, even if the vehicle gets stuck in the quagmire, How could I ask you to push the cart? What if the tire gets flat?"

While Sokov was talking, a truck came towards him. When the two vehicles approached, the truck on the other side actually flashed its headlights twice in succession. Seeing this, Wo Wen quickly pressed the horn twice, and the truck driver also pressed the horn in response.

The actions of Wo Wen and the truck driver confused Asiya. She asked Sokov in confusion: "Misha, what is going on? Why does Wo Wen have to blow the horn when the truck coming from the opposite direction flashes its lights? Woolen cloth?"

Sokov laughed after hearing this, and then explained to Asiya: "Asiya, this is a tacit understanding between drivers. When the car coming from the opposite direction flashes its headlights at us, it tells Wo Wen that there is someone ahead of us. The traffic police checkpoint reminded him to slow down and never violate the rules. Wo Wen pressed the horn to express his gratitude to the driver on the opposite side."

Hearing what Sokov said, Asiya immediately drew inferences: "So, the truck driver pressed the horn to say you're welcome. Am I right?"