Red Moscow

"Yes, this novel is indeed a tragedy in a sense." Regarding Sokov's statement, Shekolo agreed: "But those of us who have experienced war should understand that for Defending our great motherland is worth paying no matter how high the price is. Even if these young people who resisted the German invaders were not massacred by the enemy on the eve of victory, they would have sacrificed their lives on other battlefields to eliminate the enemy."

"General Sokov," Shekoro just finished speaking, Werner said next to him: "The novel you wrote can also be said to have a tragic ending. The five female soldiers who participated in the battle ended up fighting against the enemy. Died in battle."

"What, Comrade General's book also has a tragic ending." Xie Keluo only read the first part and naturally knew nothing about the following content. At this moment, hearing what Werner said, he couldn't help but asked curiously: "I don't know. Which female soldiers died?"

Werner next to him casually mentioned five names: "Lida, Sonia, Zhenya, Risa and Galka, these are the five female soldiers who died in the encounter with the Germans."

After Xie Keluo repeated these five names, he frowned slightly, and then asked: "Who is Zheniya? I don't seem to have seen her name before?"

"Comrade Editor-in-Chief, it is very normal that you did not see her name." Sokov said: "She was a substitute sent by the major after a female soldier died."

"Oh, it turned out to be a substitute." After hearing what Sokov said, Shekoro lost interest in Zhenya. According to her idea, even if such a character appeared in the subsequent plot, it would be nothing more than an insignificant character. character, he said disapprovingly: "She must be the one with the least presence among the five sacrificed female soldiers."

"Wrong, Xie Keluo, you are wrong." Unexpectedly, as soon as he finished speaking, Werner retorted: "If you really think that Genia, who was later added to the anti-aircraft machine gun platoon, is an insignificant person. mission, that would be a big mistake.”

After hearing this, Xie Keluo's eyes widened in surprise: "Werner, you won't tell me that this Genia will still be a very important figure in the later period, right?"

"Absolutely. At least I think her role is similar to Lida's." Werner said: "To say more will be a spoiler and will make you lose your sense of expectation. I won't go into details. You can take the time to watch it yourself. .”

"Comrade General." After hearing what Werner said, Xie Keluo immediately realized that the subsequent plot might be different from what he had imagined, so he politely said to Sokov: "You must be tired and dark after getting off the train. I think you can go to the lounge next door and rest for a while. After I finish reading, I will continue talking to you. Do you think that’s okay?”

"I think it's okay." Sokov knew that the other party wanted to calm down and review the manuscript, so he agreed to the other party's proposal: "Then we will wait for your reply."

Seeing that Sokov agreed to his proposal, Shekro quickly picked up the phone on the table, dialed a number and said: "Akshara, please come in."

Not long after Xie Keluo put down the phone, the female secretary who was sitting in the outer office opened the door and walked in. She asked politely: "Comrade Editor-in-Chief, what do you want to see me for?"

"Akshara, please take these two comrades to the nearby lounge to rest, and prepare refreshments for them by the way. Do you understand?"

"Understood, Comrade Editor-in-Chief." The female secretary known as Akshara came to Sokov and Werner and said politely: "Comrades, please come with me. I will take you to the lounge. Rest here!”

The publishing house's lounge is not far from the editor-in-chief's office. It has two single beds, a desk and a sofa. Akshara introduced the two of them: "This is our editor-in-chief's lounge. He lives here when he is on duty all night. You sit down first and I will get you some refreshments."

"Aksara," Sokov's eyes quickly scanned the room and found the phone on the coffee table by the wall. He asked Aksara tentatively: "I want to ask, can that phone Play outside?"

"Of course." Akshara nodded and said in a positive tone: "The editor-in-chief also spends a lot of time working here. If the phone cannot be made to the outside line, things may be missed." She said enthusiastically, " Comrade General, I will dial the number for you wherever you want to call."

Faced with Akshara's enthusiasm, Sokov said in a panic: "I'll do it myself."

"Although the phone here can make outside calls, it cannot be connected directly." Akshara explained to Sokov: "You can't make this call without help."

After hearing what Akshara said, Sokov could only tell her his home number and ask her to dial it for him.

Akshara picked up the phone on the table and when she heard a voice coming from the receiver, she immediately said: "I'm Aksara, please help me answer the outside line. The number is..."

Not long after, Akshara handed the microphone to Sokov and said politely: "Comrade General, the call has been connected."

After Sokov thanked her, he took the phone and put it to his ear. He immediately heard Asiya's familiar voice: "Hello, hello, who are you? Hello, hello, why don't you speak?"

"Asia, it's me, I'm Misha."

Hearing Misha's voice, Asiya asked softly: "Misha, why did you think of calling me today? When will you return to Moscow?"

"I have returned to Moscow." Sokov said into the microphone: "I have some things to deal with now, and I can go home in the evening."

"Didn't you write novels in Vladimir?" Asiya asked in surprise, "Don't you stop writing?"

"I have finished writing the novel." Sokov said: "Today I specially sent the manuscript to the publishing house to discuss with the editor-in-chief about publishing the book."

"Did you finish it so quickly?" Asiya asked with a face full of shock: "I remember that it only took three or four days from when you started writing the book to now. How many words did you write in such a short time? , just finish the book?"

"The whole book has more than 200,000 words." Sokov replied truthfully: "But you also know that Comrade Eisenstein sent me several stenographers and scribes. I only have to dictate the contents of the novel every day. They are responsible for recording and transcribing, so the speed is naturally very fast."

"Oh, that's it." Asiya said with a look of surprise: "No wonder the work was completed in such a short time." After a pause, Asiya asked again, "About what time can you go home? So I can prepare dinner for you?"

"I don't know the specific time." Sokov said in an uncertain tone: "I can go home before about seven o'clock. If the editor-in-chief asks me to stay for dinner, I will refuse."

After the two chatted for a while, Sokov put down the phone.

Werner had not met Asiya and did not know that Sokov was married. He asked curiously: "Comrade General, is this your girlfriend?"

"No, it's my wife."

After hearing this, Werner said with shock: "What, is it your wife? Are you married?"

"Yes, I'm married."

"When did you get married?" Werner, a curious baby, continued to ask.

"Before the Battle of Stalingrad broke out, we registered with the Civil Affairs Bureau in Stalingrad."

"Are there any children?"

"My wife is pregnant and the baby will be born around March next year."

After hearing what Sokov said, Werner stretched out his hand to him: "Comrade General, please accept my congratulations in advance. Congratulations on you being a father in a few months."

Sokov shook his hand with a smile and asked: "Comrade screenwriter, where are your wife and children now?"

Unexpectedly, as soon as these words came out, Werner's face suddenly turned livid. Seeing this, Sokov immediately realized that he might have mentioned some sad past of the other party, and quickly said apologetically: "I'm sorry, comrade screenwriter, I don't know much about your situation. If there is anything wrong, please tell me Please forgive me."

"It's okay." Werner waved his hand and said magnanimously: "It's all in the past. My wife and children are dead."

Sokov was shocked when he heard this, and then asked: "Did he die in the hands of the Germans?"

Unexpectedly, Werner shook his head and said: "In 1937, my wife went to the British Consulate and had afternoon tea with several diplomats' wives, and she was labeled as a spy. They were imprisoned together with their son and daughter. After being imprisoned for two years, they were sent to Siberia. The long-term prison life made my wife and children very poor. They died in the winter of that year. Got tuberculosis.”

"All three people died of tuberculosis?" Sokov asked in surprise.

"Yes, the notice given to me by the Ministry of Internal Affairs said that the mother and son died of tuberculosis."

When Sokov heard this, he suddenly remembered an important question. Since Werner's wife and children were destroyed and imprisoned, how could he be safe? Then he asked cautiously: "Where were you at that time?"

"I was in Spain." Werner said: "At that time, the studio was going to shoot a movie that reflected the Spanish Civil War. As a senior screenwriter in the studio, I was naturally indispensable. After my wife had an accident, someone once wanted to recall me. Fortunately, the director of the factory withstood the pressure and allowed me to stay in Spain until I came back in 40 years."

"Then have you ever gone to Siberia to see your wife and children?"

"No." Werner shook his head and said with a painful expression: "I have gone to the relevant departments to inquire about their whereabouts, but no one can tell the specific problem. In other words, the place where they are detained is absolutely confidential and cannot be Let outsiders know. Shortly after the war broke out, I finally got word about my wife and children, and learned that they had died of tuberculosis."

What happened to Werner's wife reminded Sokov of Marshal Budyonny. His wife was also labeled as a spy because of her visits to the embassy. Although Budyonny was a marshal, he was unable to provide him with any help. He could only watch her being thrown into prison until Stalin's death. , and his wife was able to regain her freedom.

The two sat in the lounge and chatted awkwardly for more than two hours. Akshara appeared in the room again and said to them: "Two comrades, the editor-in-chief wants to see you. Please come with me."

After coming to the editor-in-chief's office again, Xie Keluo said straight to the point: "General Sokov, I have finished reading your book. I can responsibly say that this is a very excellent novel, and there is no guarantee that it will be published. Question. Now I just want to ask you something."

"Comrade Editor-in-Chief," although Sokov had known for a long time that this book would be published, he was still very excited when he heard Editor-in-Chief Xie Keluo say this: "If you have any questions, just ask .”

According to Sokov's idea, Sekoro will definitely ask himself what his original intention was in writing this novel, and he has already begun to think about how to answer the other party's question. But what he didn't expect was that Xie Keluo asked unexpectedly: "Comrade General, I would like to ask, do you want to pay the royalties for this book in one lump sum, or calculate the royalties based on the number of copies printed?"

Sokov knew very well that the book "The Dawns Here Are Quiet" was later translated into multiple languages ​​and published. If he only received a one-time royalties, no matter how high Xie Keluo paid, it would probably not be cost-effective. Just like the later famous novel "Ghost Blows Out the Lamp", the author sold it for 50 yuan for 1,000 words. The subsequent popularity of the book had nothing to do with him. Sokov will definitely not let something like this happen. Happen to yourself. So he replied without hesitation: "Comrade Editor-in-Chief, I still prefer to calculate royalties based on the number of prints."

Sekoro didn't seem to be surprised at all by Sokov's answer. He nodded and said, "Comrade General, although we just met today, I still want to share a few words with you. If it's other writers For your book, I definitely recommend them to get a one-time royalties, so that even if the sales of the book are poor, they can still make a lot of money. But I am very optimistic about this book you wrote. If it is released, It is entirely possible that it will become a best-seller, so it would be a bit of a disadvantage to get a one-time royalties.”

"Xie Keluo, I wonder what percentage of royalties you give to Comrade General?"

"It's hard to say." Faced with the question raised by Werner, Xie Keluo said with some embarrassment: "Although I am the editor-in-chief of the publishing house, I do not have the final say on some things alone. I also need to convene relevant personnel for a meeting. Discuss. According to my estimate, the royalties from Comrade General’s book are probably between 10 and 18%.”

Perhaps because he was worried that Sokov would be unhappy, Xie Keluo also specifically explained to him: "Because you are a new writer, so no matter how good this book is, I am afraid you will not get a high proportion of royalties. I hope you can Understandable."

Sokov nodded and said reasonably: "I understand, I understand!"

"Comrade General," Xiekoluo felt somewhat relieved when he saw that Sokov didn't care about the royalties, and then asked: "I wonder if you have any new writing plans recently?"

"Xie Keluo, aren't you forcing things on others?" Werner said from the side: "Comrade General has just written such a wonderful novel, so he has to rest for a while before he can start new creations."