Past events in Beicheng

Chapter 19

Belyayev could feel his head resting on Wang Yao's shoulder. He clearly knew that everything in front of him was a phantom in a dream, but the warm breath in the dream was so real that it was terrifying. He even felt his own The feet are on the soft moss, and the smell of pine resin in the forest is so rich and clear.Lotnikov was walking ahead with a gun in his hand, and old Ivan stood beside him. They were good hunters, and the hounds ran around their feet.

"Here, Hawdove, look." Old Ivan pointed to the woods ahead.

"No, that's a woodpecker," Rotnikoff corrected.

Then Belyayev saw a majestic male reindeer emerging from the woods. The beautiful animal looked at them calmly, as if it didn't know they were hunters.In the eyes of the deer, Belyayev saw his own eyes, and they looked at each other like this, as if they had forgotten about hunting, until the cold wind in reality woke him up from his dream .

This is a dream, Belyayev said to himself, he got up and helped Wang Yao press the blanket.The rickety truck seemed to be still moving, Belyayev wiped his wet eyes, he knew it must be a dream just now, because the three of them had never hunted together, and there had never been any friendship between them.

The bumpy truck left the flames of war behind, but at the same time, it seemed to have torn apart any sustenance.

In the early morning, the convoy arrived in Leningrad. Wang Yao helped Beryayev climb out of the truck. He looked around, but he didn't see the young soldier named "Ivan" again. The indifferent company commander left Come over: "We're in the city, let's go, we still have tasks."

"Wait," Belyayev grabbed the company commander's arm, "Can I borrow your phone?"

The company commander glanced at him impatiently: "Hurry up."

The attitude of the communicator was more enthusiastic: "Where do you want to dial?"

"Workers' Village, the Sixth Workers' Village."

"Sorry," the communications soldier put down the microphone, "The ammunition depot at the Sixth Workers' Village may have exploded last night. Now all communications have been interrupted, even the military lines."

"..."

"Is there anything else?"

"No...no more, Wang Yao, let's go."

"Are you worried about Secretary Rotnikoff?"

Belyayev shook his head: "He is not married and has no family. If I don't ask him, no one will care about his life or death."

Wang Yao didn't ask any more questions, and both of them fell into silence. The soldiers around them started making noise because of the assembled whistles. In the end, they squeezed out of the crowd and began to march in the direction of "home".

Home?Wang Yao's current home is the worker's dormitory of the Kirov factory. He lives on the third floor. During an air raid, he would feel that the plane was very close to him.In the first three days of his arrival, it was almost impossible for him to go to work in the factory normally, because in the most intensive day, the German army actually bombed six waves, which lasted for seventeen hours.Everyone could only hide in the subway station next to the factory, curled up or slept against the wall.

"Hey! Chinese boy, do you smoke?" A middle-aged man squeezed over with a cigarette in his hand.

"Thank you, no need." The subway station has been cut off, and the light is very dark. Wang Yao struggled to see the other party's face——his new worker—Stepan Andreevich Gaitlau ster.

Stepan is about 40 years old, and he is a good senior technician. In addition to the cigarettes in his hand, he also has a pack of cards in his bag: "Do you play cards? Baby, I will teach you a card that can be played by two people. We can play when Belyayev is away."

"But I can't even see your face clearly." Wang Yao really wasn't in the mood to correct his pronunciation, he just moved with difficulty to make room for Stepan.

"That's right." Stepan put the cards back into the bag again: "My son must be very happy, and he definitely doesn't have to go to school today."

Wang Yao looked at the bright and dark fireworks around his mouth, and smiled helplessly.

"Little professor, why didn't you go back to China? Damn it, you didn't stay in the Soviet Union because you didn't want to go to school, did you?" Stepan laughed.

"I want to sleep for a while."

"What?" A bomb rang overhead, and Stepan couldn't hear what Wang Yao said.

"I want to sleep for a while!!" Wang Yao had no choice but to shout in his ear.

"Oh, you go to sleep."

"what?"

"I said!! You go to sleep!!"

After falling asleep in the subway station for a few days, Wang Yao felt like a gopher had returned to life on the ground. The German bombing continued, but the frequency of six waves of bombing a day seemed to have finally become a thing of the past.Leningrad broadcast speakers all over the city blared the same sound - the ticking of a metronome - as if counting the time to the German bombing, now urgent, now soothing, now urgent again , whether it is day or night, people in the whole city run to this beat, sometimes going home, sometimes fleeing desperately to the air-raid shelter.

Gradually, Stepan stopped fleeing. As soon as the German army arrived, he ran to the kitchen on the first floor to stew oatmeal. At this time, there was no one in the kitchen, and he could stew as long as he wanted.When the air raid alert passed, he held a jar of cereal and handed it to Wang Yao: "Do you want to eat it? If you don't eat it, then I will eat it."

But the good days didn't last long. After just one week, cereal was no longer available in the store, and the planned supply of food began.Wang Yao was allocated a food stamp, and he could get [-] grams of bread every day.Stepan's food stamps are thicker, because he has a wife and two children.The sound of the metronome is still on the radio, fast and slow, as if controlling the huge instrument in Leningrad, boring and hard, but still playing the music.

In mid-October, Leningrad still did not usher in any good news. Everyone knew that the Soviet army was trying to break through, but the casualties were huge but there was not much progress. There was a lot of bad news. For example, the German army burned down a large granary.

No one knew how much food was left in Leningrad, but the food quotas began to decrease at an alarming rate.One day, when Wang Yao found that his daily ration dropped sharply from 120 grams to [-] grams, hospitals in Leningrad began to accept malnourished patients, and on the streets began to appear that once they fell down, they could not climb up again. up men or women.

"Have you broken through?"

There is a radio in the break room of the factory building. During the break, everyone stays here, hoping to get some pleasant news.But everyone asked each other, discussed, and talked, but they couldn't escape the end of getting nothing.The bell for starting work rang again, and the workers began to walk out in frustration. Stepan pulled Wang Yao and Beryayev aside, raised his eyebrows, and shouted to his fellow workers: "Don't be depressed, buddy!" Guys, at least we can make some shells for the front again."

Everyone laughed loudly, and their faces turned livid due to hunger turned a little bloody: "Okay, let's go make cannonballs."

Belyayev also shook his head with a wry smile: "Wang Yao, are you still tired? Do you want to take a rest?"

"It's okay, let's make some shells." Wang Yao felt that he was fine, but his head was a little dizzy: "Maybe we will break through tomorrow."

Today's meal has not arrived yet, but anyway, there are only 120 five grams of bread, so it doesn't matter when it arrives.In the evening, it was finally the turn of Wang Yao's workshop to open the meal. The process of receiving the meal was like a simple small ceremony. Everyone solemnly held their own small paper bags, as if they were holding their own lives.

Beryayev returned to the dormitory, took out the scissors, neatly cut the small slice of bread into four pieces, took out one piece, wrapped it, and put it in the drawer.

"Wang Yao, I have to go home tomorrow." Belyayev knew that he had already saved five slices of bread: "It's snowing and it's starting to get cold. I asked my daughter-in-law to collect a bag of clothes and give them together tomorrow." You bring it here."

The next day, Belyayev did not come back on time, and his daughter-in-law came alone with a bag of clothes in her hand: "My father-in-law fainted today, well, we sent him to the hospital, here are the clothes , try it, my husband is about the same height as you."

Belyayev's daughter-in-law is named Tatiana, and she is a piano teacher.During the few days when he returned to Leningrad, Wang Yao stayed at the home of Professor Belyayev, and had a brief acquaintance with her.She has been avoiding talking about her husband, even opening their bedroom door.When Wang Yao was sitting in a daze in the living room, she could only hear various piano pieces floating in her bedroom until the bombing interrupted her playing.

"Very good, very suitable." Tatiana helped Wang Yao button his cuffs: "I still have to go to school, I'm leaving, goodbye."

"Are there any students in the school?"

"Yes." Tatiana looked away, slammed the door shut, and then hurried downstairs.

Wang Yao didn't have the strength to chase him out. He touched the coat on his body, sat on the edge of the bed and rested for a while, and then slowly stood up when the dizziness improved, and walked towards the workshop.Stepan was very happy to see Wang Yao coming: "Little professor, where is the old professor?"

"He's in the hospital."

"Oh, what's the use of being in the hospital, as if there's food there." Stepan laughed.

Wang Yao also wanted to laugh, but he felt that he couldn't help it: "Is the lathe still normal? You can rest for a while, and I will debug it." Wang Yao took out the measuring tools, began to measure the finished product, and adjusted the lathe.

"Thanks for your hard work, little professor." Stepan waited for Wang Yao to finish debugging one by one, and walked over while holding onto the edge of the lathe.

"You should also pay attention to rest." Wang Yao went to the stove and roasted for a while: "Tell me to the workshop director for me later, I will go to the hospital to see the professor right now."

The distance to the hospital was not too far, but Wang Yao walked for an entire hour. Military vehicles drove past on the road from time to time, and anti-aircraft guns were placed at the intersection, aiming at possible German aircraft.Wang Yao looked at those soldiers, guessing where Ivan was, if he was still alive?He should still be alive.

Wang Yao's heart was not settled, he could only walk forward mechanically according to the rhythm of the metronome in the radio, he decided to complete his small goal first - go to the hospital to see Belyayev - done Then think about other things.

The state of the professor is not as bad as imagined, the old man is completely sitting on the hospital bed receiving treatment that does not exist at all.

"It was because I drank too much water before, you see, I was swollen." Belyayev stretched out his hand to Wang Yao: "Don't drink too much water."

Wang Yao finally let go of his heart: "How soon will you be discharged from the hospital?"

"do not know."

During the speech, people were carried in from time to time, and people were carried out from time to time.There was no crying in the ward, the atmosphere seemed to be condensed, and everyone was talking as if it was a routine.

"I'll go to your house in a while. They may not have the energy to fetch water. I just asked Stepan and found out that the water stopped the day before yesterday." Wang Yao didn't stay long: "Professor, hurry up and apply for discharge. It's too late here. It’s cold, it’s not as good as the environment in the workshop.”

Belyayev nodded: "You go, and the clothes fit you well."

Wang Yao felt his eyes were a little wet, but Belyayev just nodded at him gently: "Let's go, let's go, go back."

When Wang Yao walked to the professor's house, it was already dark, and the flames of the fireplace were warmer than those on the street. The professor's wife was an honest housewife, so she quickly pulled Wang Yao to sit by the fireplace: "Honey, you Your hands are so cold, you don’t need to use them, it took a lot of effort to walk over, right?”

Wang Yao felt that he really needed to take a break: "Thank you, ma'am, I will help you get some water later, you can't move it."

The old lady nodded helplessly: "My dear, thank you. There is still a long line to get water. I will go to the line first, and you can come back after half an hour." After she finished speaking, she took a bucket and walked slowly. out.

In the bedroom, there is still the sound of the tinkling piano, and the sound of the piano is interrupted from time to time, and then Tatyana can be heard explaining to her daughter.The little girl always seemed to be unable to play a part well, and her choked voice could be faintly heard in the room.

Although Wang Yao felt that he was a little meddling, he still walked over and knocked on the door: "Hi, I'm Wang Yao, can you let me in?"

Tatiana seemed to hesitate for a moment: "Please come in."

Six-year-old Nastasia saw Wang Yao coming in, her eyes shone with joy: "Uncle Wang Yao!"

Tatyana had to stop her music lessons and pack up the sheet music.Nastasia got into Wang Yao's arms: "Uncle Wang Yao, it's great that you're here! Will you stay at my house tonight? I'll sing for you."

"Don't play for too long, take a 10-minute break, and we'll resume class later."

Nastasia nodded in fear, and waited for her mother to go out before quietly asking Wang Yao: "Uncle, when will grandpa come back? I miss him."

"Come back soon, maybe tomorrow." The child's smile warmed Wang Yao's heart, and he kissed the little girl's face: "Before grandpa comes back, you have to listen to your mother, okay?"

"Okay, Uncle, do you want to hear me sing? I want to cheer you up."

"Hey, don't sing, pay attention to rest, don't be too tired, okay?" Wang Yao leaned his face on her golden curly hair: "Now is not the time to sing, we will sing when the war is over, okay? Now Hurry up and sleep for a while." Wang Yao carried her to the rocking chair next to the fireplace and covered her with a blanket.

Maybe the child was really tired and fell asleep after a while.When Tatiana came in, she gave her daughter a disapproving look and was about to wake her up.

"Wait for her to sleep for a while."

"But 10 minutes has come." Tatyana said seriously.

Wang Yao felt unreasonable: "Tatiyana, did she eat [-] grams of bread today? What she needs now is rest, not playing the piano, so she will get hungry faster!"

Tatiana looked at Wang Yao with a cold expression: "Wang Yao, why didn't you leave Leningrad? Or, why didn't you leave the Soviet Union?"

Wang Yao looked at her, not knowing how to answer.

"Or you answer me, what are you living for? How long does it take to be alive? Ten years? Five years? One year? One month? One day? If you can live one day, is this considered alive?" Tatyana rubbed Wiping the corner of her eyes: "For me, I live to wait for the return of the person I love. Now, he can't come back. So I only have dreams." Tatyana stroked the piano in her hand: "He hopes that Nas Tasia became a pianist, so if it's just for one day, we'll live for it."

After Tatyana said these words, she bypassed Wang Yao, walked to the fireplace, and woke her daughter up: "Get up, it's time to practice the piano."

Wang Yao backed out, he didn't know what to say, he just felt that his beating heart was blocked, he walked out of the gate in a daze, only to remember to help the old lady fetch water.There was a long queue at the street corner to fetch water. Wang Yao searched for a long time before finding her. The old man was helplessly inserted in the line with a bucket. The river bank was steep and the bucket was heavy.

"Let me do it." Wang Yao took the bucket in her hand, climbed down the embankment, and submerged the bucket into the ice hole.The biting cold hit his senses, as if he had suddenly forgotten his hunger.Suddenly he picked up the bucket, carried it ashore, and put it on the sled.

"Want to help?"

Wang Yao raised his head, and Belyaev's smile caught his eyes.

"Old man!!" The old lady hugged her old man excitedly, as if reunited after a long absence.

The professor hugged his wife and smiled apologetically: "It's okay, I'm fine, I'm back."

I am back.

Wang Yao vaguely heard the sound of the piano coming from a distance. He didn't understand music, but he could tell that it was an etude made by immature fingers.

I am back.

Suddenly Wang Yao couldn't bear it, wiped his eyes with his hand, quickly squeezed out of the crowd, and ran towards the factory.The cold wind whizzed towards him with the heavy snow, and a kind of melancholy and despair that he had never felt before swept every corner of his heart.

Where are you! !are you still alive ?

Am I not willing to leave just to wait for you to come back?

In the deserted streets, no one could answer that question, neither the cold nor the hunger.Finally, Wang Yao pushed open the door of the dormitory in desperation, and knelt on the ground exhausted, the dizziness took away his last trace of strength.

"Little professor! You are finally back! What's the matter with you?" Stepan walked in after hearing the noise. He was startled by the sight before him, and quickly helped Wang Yao up.

"I have your call in the afternoon, look, I wrote a note for you!"

Wang Yao took the piece of paper with a sentence written on it:

"At two o'clock in the afternoon on October 29th, I will meet you on Decembrist Square, Ivan Ivanovich Braginsky."