Red Moscow

Sokov still remembers that after the Kursk nuclear submarine sank, Russia spent all day studying the rescue plan, but failed to implement it. As a result, all the crew members in the submarine who survived the explosion died due to lack of oxygen. . If the rescuers who went to Hoflin Hospital today only studied the plan and did not take action as soon as possible, then the chance of survival of the people trapped underground would be very low.

"After the rescue begins, can I go to the scene and have a look?" Sokov asked tentatively.

Victoria was silent, probably also organizing words in her mind to see how she should reply to Sokov.

After a while, she said, "Misha, don't worry. I'll call the lieutenant later and ask him what he means."

"Well, I'll wait for your news."

Anna walked into the store and saw Lena ironing clothes. She couldn't help but asked curiously: "Lena, have you got the new goods?"

"Misha told me that there was a cargo owner who wanted to return to China. She was worried that the goods were left with others, so she sent them all over."

Although Anna does not sell furs, she is able to distinguish between good and bad furs under the influence of her ears and eyes. After carefully inspecting several items, she said with emotion: "They are all good goods, and they must be not cheap."

"Not only is it not cheap, it can be described as ridiculously expensive." Liena said without confidence: "We can only hang it in the store to attract customers. As for whether it can be sold, we can only leave it to fate."

"Lena, I believe you." Anna put her arms around Lena's shoulders and said with a smile: "With your ability, you will definitely sell all these expensive goods."

"I hope so." Liena sighed and said, "These are high-end goods after all. If I can sell a few pieces, my commission will be indispensable."

"Where is Misha?"

"Inside the room." Lena pursed her lips towards the back room and said, "I'm on the phone."

Anna walked into the back room and happened to see Sokov finishing the phone call, so she asked casually: "Misha, who are you talking to on the phone?"

"Officer Victoria," Sokov did not hide anything, but said truthfully: "She told me on the phone that the police station over there had hired members of the geological survey team to participate in the rescue of the trapped people."

Anna grabbed Sokov's hand and asked emotionally: "Misha, are the people trapped underground Khabarov and the others?"

"I really don't know about this." Sokov shook his head and said, "Police Victoria told me that after the geological survey team arrives at the place, they will still conduct surveys to confirm the location of the rescue. It will take about six o'clock before the official launch. Rescue.”

"What, we have to wait until six o'clock to launch the rescue?" Anna said in surprise: "If there is a lack of oxygen underground, wouldn't Khabarov and the others be suffocated to death?"

"There's nothing I can do. The police said it was six o'clock, and there's nothing I can do." Sokov sighed softly and said, "Whether they survive depends on whether they are tough or not."

After chatting with Anna for a while, Sokov thought that she was working for others and it would not be a problem to stay here chatting all the time, so he managed to send her away.

Unexpectedly, just after sending Anna away, the lingering pony ran over again and asked directly: "Brother, are there any English courses in Russian universities?"

"No, as long as it is a regular university, there are no English courses." Sokov said: "As for unknown colleges and universities, I am not sure whether they have this subject."

"Why?" Xiao Ma asked puzzledly, "Why don't they offer English classes?"

"The reason is very simple. The United States and the Soviet Union have been in a state of hostility since the Cold War in the 1950s. Do you think the Soviet Union will open language courses of the enemy country in its own institutions of higher learning?" Sokov continued: "Again, Coupled with Lao Maozi’s idea of ​​a big country, he feels that since foreigners want to come to their country, in order to facilitate communication, they must learn to adapt to them and learn their country’s language.”

"A few days ago, my uncle said he would take me to St. Petersburg, but today he changed his mind again and asked me to go alone." Xiao Ma said with a bitter face: "I don't think I understand Russian. I only understand some English. That's all." Is it possible to go there and communicate with the locals in English?”

Although Sokov secretly said that it would definitely not work, he did not want to cause trouble for himself, so he said vaguely: "I have never been to St. Petersburg. I really don't know whether the people there can communicate with you in English." I know. If your uncle doesn’t have time, then it’s not too late to go to St. Petersburg when your uncle has time.”

After saying that, Sokov had no plan to speak to him, so he turned around and walked into the store, directly into the back room.

Seeing Sokov enter the back room, Xiao Ma stood at the door in a daze for a while, and then went back to his shop.

Lena saw Xiao Ma leaving and quickly came to the back room to report to Sokov: "Misha, that annoying guy is gone."

Annoying guy? Hearing what Lena said, Sokov was stunned for a moment, and immediately realized that the person Lena was talking about was the pony across the street. He nodded and said, "It's good to go there. It's quite annoying to come here every day."

"By the way, is there any story about Khabarov?" Lena asked curiously: "Among those trapped underground, is there Khabarov?"

"Lena, I really don't know." Sokov shook his head and said with a wry smile: "Currently, my police officer friend told me that there are indeed people trapped at the bottom of Hovlin Hospital, but the geological exploration team they invited The personnel are still looking for a suitable rescue location in the hospital, and the rescue work will not start until six o'clock at the earliest."

Lena was also shocked after hearing Sokov's words: "What, how many more hours have to wait? You must know that those people have been trapped for two days. Even if there is oxygen down there, it is probably extremely thin. Coupled with the lack of water and food, they may not be able to survive for long. "

"There is nothing we can do about this." Sokov said helplessly: "I am not in charge of the rescue work. Nothing I say will be of any use, let alone change the police's plan."

"Then will you go to the scene to observe the rescue process?"

"I would like to go, but I probably can't get in." Sokov shook his head and said, "I can only stay at home and wait for the latest report on the search and rescue operation."

"I hope nothing happens to Khabarov." Lena said with emotion: "I think he is quite a good person and is your true friend. If something happens to him, you will lose a good friend."

Thinking that he might lose one or even several friends, Sokov felt extremely heavy. He stood up and asked Lena: "How many of the clothes outside have not been ironed?"

"I have only ironed more than twenty pieces." Lena glanced outside and said hesitantly: "I think it will be tomorrow afternoon at the earliest before I can finish ironing all these clothes."

"Leave the rest of the work to me." Sokov said to Lena: "Go and rest for a while first." He was depressed at the moment and just wanted to find some work to divert his attention so as not to keep thinking about it. Rescue thing.

Sokov was ironing while waiting for Victoria's call. As long as she called again, it meant that things had changed. Then when she got off work, she still didn't wait for his call.

Lao Wu who was opposite saw Sokov still ironing clothes, so he came over and asked: "Xiao Lin, can you take my nephew and me home today?"

Perhaps because he was worried that Sokov would refuse, he specifically added: “I bought two 25-kilogram bags of rice today and two 5-liter barrels of cooking oil. It’s a bit inconvenient to carry so many things on the bus. "

If he wanted to take Lao Wu home first and then return to his own home, Sokov would have to drive almost 20 kilometers more. However, because of his face, Sokov could not refuse the other party, so he nodded and said: "Okay, let me close the store door first."

While driving Lao Wu and Lao Wu home, Lao Wu suddenly asked: "Xiao Lin, now that the off-season is here, do you plan to keep your store open, or do you want to take a break before opening it?"

"Two of my three employees have already left." Sokov said: "Next month, Lena will also go home, and I will be the only one left in the store. I plan to temporarily close the door for a few days to rest. Take a break and open the door again when there are employees at work.”

Hearing Sokov said that he planned to close the store for a few days, Lao Wu's face showed joy: "Xiao Lin, I want to discuss something with you. I wonder if you will agree?"

When Sokov heard Lao Wu speaking to him in this tone, he realized that what the other party was going to say next was definitely something he couldn't agree to, so he asked, "What's the matter?"

"That's it," Lao Wu looked at Xiao Ma and said, "As you know, my nephew has just come to Moscow not long ago and has never been anywhere. See if you can spare a few days to drive him there. A trip to St. Petersburg?”

It is more than 760 kilometers from Moscow to St. Petersburg, and the fastest drive takes more than eight hours. When Sokov went to St. Petersburg in the past, he was worried that driving alone would be too tiring, so he always took the train to St. Petersburg. When it gets dark, get on the train at St. Petersburg Station and get on the train bound for St. Petersburg; after dawn, the train arrives at Moscow Station in St. Petersburg. Since it is a night bus, you can sleep in the sleeper car without feeling tired at all.

But when Sokov heard Lao Wu's request, he felt very unhappy. Xiaoma is your nephew, not mine. Why should I drive nearly 800 kilometers to send him to St. Petersburg? ? So he said simply: "I'm sorry, Lao Wu, even if the store closes, I'm afraid I won't be able to go to St. Petersburg, because I have agreed with others that I am going to Sochi and there is no time to go to St. Petersburg."

Lao Wu is also a person who likes to take advantage of others. He wanted to take advantage of the car if he could, but he didn't expect Sokov to refuse so simply, which made him somewhat embarrassed. He coughed twice to cover up his embarrassment, and said unwillingly: "Xiao Lin, can't you really spare two days to accompany my nephew to St. Petersburg?"

"Lao Wu, this is really not possible." Sokov continued: "I made an agreement with others to go to Sochi last week. I can't break my promise. If you really want to go to St. Petersburg, you can Take the evening train to Moscow Railway Station.”

"Xiao Lin, I'm telling you the truth." Lao Wu said with some embarrassment: "Now it has entered the off-season. Not to mention that we can't sell goods every day, and the expenses are not small. If the two of them go to St. Petersburg, it will be too expensive. I am a little supportive. Don’t live.”

Sokov finally understood. Lao Wu was worried about wasting money, so he didn't go without saying anything. He also wanted to save the pony's fare by using his own car. This wishful thinking was really loud. I It was heard as far away as the other side of the ocean.

Sokov didn't want to get used to Lao Wu's habit of taking advantage of petty gains, so he said to him bluntly: "Lao Wu, I have already said that I am going to Sochi in a few days, and I will definitely not be able to go to St. Petersburg. If your nephew really wants to When you go to play, you can ask your colleagues around you to see if any of them are going to St. Petersburg. If so, let your nephew go with them, so that you can take care of each other, right?"

Hearing what Sokov said, Lao Wu couldn't force it anymore and could only say: "Okay, when I go to the market tomorrow, I will ask if anyone goes to St. Petersburg and ask them to take my nephew with them. With them, It must be more convenient to take care of you.”

As soon as Lao Wu finished speaking, Xiao Ma said unexpectedly: "Since you don't want to go to St. Petersburg, then take me to Sochi. I heard that it is a resort on the shores of the Black Sea. I have grown so big that I haven't yet I’ve seen what the sea looks like.”

"It's inconvenient." Seeing Xiao Ma being so persistent, Sokov felt very unhappy, so he said rudely: "The people who are going with me are all women. It's inconvenient for you to go with me."

Xiao Ma wanted to say something more, but Lao Wu raised his hand to stop him.

"Xiao Lin." Lao Wu said with some embarrassment: "Don't mind if the kid talks nonsense. Since you don't have time to go to St. Petersburg, forget it." At this point, he turned to Xiao Ma and said, "This time it's yours. I’m not lucky. If I want to go to St. Petersburg, I can only wait until I have the opportunity.”

When they arrived at their destination, Lao Wu got out of the car and bent down to look at Sokov who was sitting in the driver's seat. He pretended to say: "Xiao Lin, you've all come downstairs to my house. Why don't you go up and have a meal?" ?”

Sokov quickly waved his hand and said, "No need, I have other things to do, see you tomorrow."

After saying that, he turned the car around and left here quickly.

Seeing that he was about to get home, the cell phone on the passenger seat rang. Sokov quickly glanced at the caller ID and saw that it was Victoria. He quickly parked the car on the side of the road and answered the call: "Victoria." Ka, how’s the situation? Has the rescue started?”

"Misha, that's what I'm telling you." Victoria said in a hoarse voice: "The lieutenant called me and told me that because the tools carried by the geological exploration team were not complete, new equipment needed to be temporarily dispatched to the base. Rescue efforts may be delayed."

"What, the rescue work will be delayed?" Sokov asked in surprise: "I wonder when it will be postponed?"

"I don't know either. This depends on when new tools can be delivered to the rescue site." Victoria said helplessly: "If you are lucky, the rescue will be launched at about seven or eight o'clock. If you are not lucky, I'm afraid it will be It’s going to be ten or eleven.”

When Sokov heard this, he was completely speechless. He originally thought that starting the rescue at six o'clock was already too late, but he didn't expect that the real rescue work would be postponed for several hours. It seemed that the people trapped underground would survive. The odds have dropped again.

He sighed softly and said feebly: "Vika, does this mean that whether the people trapped underground can come out alive or not, we can only leave it to fate."

Regarding Sokov's statement, Victoria did not deny it, but said helplessly: "Yes, their life and death can only be left to fate."