Sokov remembered that before leaving Moscow, he lent his house to Annie, a nurse in the military hospital opposite. He didn't know if she was at home at the moment. If she wasn't, he really wouldn't be able to get in.
"Yasha, I think you should find another place for me." Sokov said with some embarrassment: "I'm worried that I won't be able to get in when I get there later."
Unexpectedly, after hearing this, Yakov said carelessly: "Don't worry, in fact, there are spare keys in the duty room of every house. This can avoid the situation of forgetting to bring the key or losing the key and being unable to enter the door."
Knowing that he could get the spare key to the room in the duty room downstairs, Sokov felt much more at ease. He heard Yakov say again: "Last year, the Germans approached Moscow and a large number of people were evacuated to the rear.
, there are many vacant houses in the city. If there is not a duty room in the building where you are, I am afraid that when you go home, you may find a bunch of strangers living at home."
"Ah?!" Sokov couldn't help but be stunned, "Are the vacant houses not locked, or are the spare keys in the duty room not properly kept, so that strangers can come and go at will?"
"The situation is not what you think." Yakov explained to the confused Sokov: "Although a large number of people were evacuated from the city, there were also residents evacuated from other cities who entered Moscow. Due to the number of people
There are so many that it is impossible to arrange a place to stay for everyone, so they have to find their own way to find accommodation.
When they find a vacant house, they will break in and take it as their own. In this case, the police usually turn a blind eye and will not go there as long as there is no trouble.
Inquiring."
Ten minutes later, the car arrived at Lenin Street.
Yakov parked the car downstairs and asked Sokov sideways: "Misha, do you need me to accompany you up?"
"No need." Sokov was worried that Yakov would go up and see Anne and cause unnecessary trouble, so he shook his head and said, "I can do it alone."
Sokov opened the iron door on the ground floor and walked into the corridor. He came to the duty room and looked inside through the glass window. He saw a fat aunt sleeping on the table, so he raised his hand and knocked on the door.
Knocking on the glass. The fat aunt raised her head, opened the window, looked at Sokov with a blank expression and asked: "Comrade commander, what can I do for you?"
"That's right, I'm a resident on the third floor. I just came back from the front line today." Sokov said politely: "Can you give me the spare key?"
"Which room is it?" the fat aunt asked.
After Sokov said the room number, the fat aunt showed a surprised expression on her face: "Comrade Commander, when it got dark, I saw your wife went home. You can just go up and knock on the door, no need for a spare key.
.”
When Sokov heard the fat aunt say that his wife was at home, he was stunned for a moment and thought to himself, isn't Asya in Stalingrad? When did she return to Moscow? But then he understood that the other party must have regarded Anne as his wife.
, but he did not correct the other party, he just smiled and thanked the other party, turned around and went up the stairs.
Arriving outside his home, Sokov's heartbeat suddenly accelerated. He was actually more nervous than going to the battlefield. He took several deep breaths before his mood calmed down a little. He raised his hand and knocked on the door a few times. Soon the door opened.
A voice came from inside: "Who is it?"
Because the voice was too low, Sokov could not confirm whether it was Anne, so he did not answer and knocked on the door a few more times. This time the sound from the door was louder, as if the people in the room had come to the door.
Bian: "Who, who is knocking on the door?"
"It's me." Sokov heard clearly this time. The person asking the question was Anne, and he quickly replied: "I'm Misha, I'm back!"
The door opened suddenly, and Annie in her nightgown appeared at the door. After she looked Sokov up and down, she showed an excited look on her face: "Misha, it's really you, I'm not dreaming, am I?"
?”
"No, Anne, you are not dreaming." Sokov replied with a smile: "It is true that I am back."
Unexpectedly, Anne's expression changed after hearing this. She suddenly reached out and grabbed Sokov's arm, pulled him into the room, then looked outside, and then carefully closed the door.
Sokov was confused by Anne's behavior. Before he could ask a question, Anne, who had just closed the door, leaned close to his ear and asked in a low voice and hastily: "Misha, why did you come back at this time?
Could it be that he became a deserter?"
"Annie, who are you talking to?" A woman's voice came from the kitchen at this moment.
Sokov's eyes widened in surprise. He didn't expect that besides Anne, there was another woman in the room. He quickly pointed in the direction of the kitchen and asked Anne silently: "Who is in the kitchen?"
"Don't worry, it's military doctor Tonya. She is also your friend and will not report you to the patrol." After Annie finished speaking, she pulled Sokov to the kitchen without any explanation.
As soon as she entered the kitchen, Anne said to Tonya inside: "Donia, look, who is here?"
"Ah, it's Misha!" Tonya saw clearly that the person who followed Annie in was actually Sokov. She couldn't help but exclaimed. The plate she was holding fell to the ground and shattered. She didn't care.
Instead of putting the plate on the ground, he threw himself into Sokov's arms, hugged his waist tightly, and said excitedly: "Misha, I really didn't expect that you are still alive. You are still alive. I thought you were early."
He’s dead.”
Sokov hugged Tonya and patted her twice gently on the back. For a moment, he couldn't find anything to say to comfort Tonya in his arms.
"Tonya, be quiet, don't disturb the neighbors." Annie came close to Tonya and whispered: "Misha escaped from a business trip."
"What, you escaped from a job?" After hearing what Anne said, Tonya pushed Sokov away suddenly and took two steps back. She didn't bother to wipe the tears on her face and asked seriously: "
Misha, did you really desert and escape?"
Sokov was really dumbfounded. As soon as he saw Anne, the little girl insisted that she had deserted and returned. Before he could explain, he told Tonya that he had deserted. Now he saw Tonya's expression.
, if I don't explain it clearly to her, she might kill her relatives and report him.
"Don't talk nonsense, how could I desert and become a deserter?" Sokov quickly unbuttoned his military coat, revealing the pullover underneath. He pointed to the medals on his chest and said, "Have you ever seen someone with medals hanging on them?"
Deserter?"
After hearing Sokov say that he was not a deserter, and then seeing the medals and the rank of colonel on the collar, Tonya realized that she had wrongly blamed Sokov, her pretty face turned red, her expression softened, and she turned her head
He glanced at Anne next to him and said in a reproachful tone: "Annie, it's all your fault. You just talked nonsense before you understood anything, and I made the mistake of blaming Misha."
Anne on the side was blushing with shame because she had misunderstood Sokov. She lowered her head and said to Sokov: "I'm sorry, Misha, I made a mistake. Please forgive me."
Sokov opened his arms and hugged the two girls. He saw something was cooking on the stove and smelled the aroma coming from the pot, which seemed to be red cabbage soup. He felt a little hungry and asked
: "Is there anything to eat? I'm almost starving."
"Yes, yes, we are making red cabbage soup." Tonya raised her hand to wipe away the tears on her face: "You sit down first, we can eat it right away."
After Sokov sat down at the dining table, he looked at the busy Tonya and Annie and said with some surprise: "I didn't expect that you two actually live here."
"There is no way," Tonya spread her hands and said with a wry smile: "The house I live in was blown up by a German bomb. It happened that Annie said she was staying in your house, which is close to the hospital.
It’s convenient to get off work, so let me move in with you. By the way, I heard that your troops are not in Stalingrad, so why did they suddenly appear in Moscow? "
"How did you know I was in Stalingrad?"
"Our hospital once treated a group of seriously wounded people from Stalingrad." Anne explained with a smile: "I heard one of the wounded said that he was from the 73rd Infantry Brigade, and the brigade commander is you Soko
husband."
Hearing the number of the 73rd Infantry Brigade, Sokov guessed that these wounded should have been injured in the early stages of the city defense battle, otherwise they would not have been sent to Moscow for treatment. When he was about to say a few words, he heard Anne say again: "
I heard that you were also injured, are your injuries healed?"
Tonya, who was serving soup in front of the stove, heard what Anne said. She quickly put down the tableware in her hand and came over to lift Sokov's jumper. Sokov, who was confused, asked quickly: "Donia, what are you doing?"
What to do?”
"Look at your injuries." Tonya opened Sokov's clothes and saw the several scars on his body. Tears quickly fell from her eyes. She choked and said, "Misha, you are all injured."
He is a brigade commander, how come he still suffers so many injuries?"
Sokov did not correct the mistake in the other party's job title. He grinned and replied: "In the battle to defend the city, even the generals took up arms to fight the enemy. Naturally, a small colonel like me cannot lag behind.
.”
Anne helped bring the soup over, put a bowl in front of Sokov, and asked again: "Misha, I heard from the news that Stalingrad is launching a counterattack against the German army. Why did you come back suddenly?
Woolen cloth?"
Sokov suppressed the smile on his face and said with a serious expression: "My superiors did not explain the reason before recruiting me back. When I arrived in Moscow, they told me that my mother was unfortunately killed by the Germans during the bombing a few days ago.
Someone killed her with a bomb. I was called back to deal with her funeral affairs."
"Ah, your mother was killed by a German bomb?" Anne was shocked after hearing this, and quickly asked: "I don't know where her body is. I want to see it."
"Yes, Misha, where is your mother's body stored?" Tonya also echoed: "We will go and take a look with you."
"I don't know." Sokov shook his head and said with a wry smile: "My superiors only told me that the place where she worked was bombed, and she and several other workers who died were buried in the ruins. No body has been found yet.
.”
Tonya walked behind Sokov, stretched out her arms to hug him, and comforted: "Misha, don't worry, I believe it won't be long before your mother's body is found. Then, Annie and I will go with you.
Bury your mother."
Because of the news of Sokov's mother's death, the atmosphere in the kitchen seemed particularly dull when the three of them sat down to eat.
In order to lighten the atmosphere, Sokov deliberately changed the topic: "Are you two always staying in the hospital?"
"No." Dongnia shook her head and said: "In the first half of the year, Annie and I both went to the Western Front. At that time, we thought we could meet you there. Unexpectedly, after we went there, we found out that your unit had been transferred.
He's gone. As for where he was transferred, we can't find out because it's confidential."
"After my troops were transferred from the Western Front, they went to many places, and finally went to Stalingrad." Sokov picked up a piece of bread on the table and said while eating: "Responsible for the defense of Mamayev Hill
Task."
"Responsible for the defense of Mamayev Heights?" Tonya and Anne couldn't help but widen their eyes in surprise when they heard what Sokov said: "But according to news reports, isn't the 41st Guards Division the unit that is holding on there?
?”
"That's right, the troops standing there now are indeed the 41st Guards Division." Considering that these matters were not confidential, Sokov said to the two girls with confidence and boldness: "The troops I originally commanded
It was the 73rd Infantry Brigade. After successive battles, my unit suffered serious losses. The superiors transferred the 41st Guards Division from outside the city..."
"The 41st Guards Division will take over your defense." When Anne heard this, she couldn't help but interject and asked smartly: "Am I right, Misha?"
"You're wrong." Sokov smiled and shook his head. "After the 41st Guards Division stationed at Mamayev Heights, the original 73rd Infantry Brigade was reduced to a regiment and placed under the command of the division. The original division commander should
As deputy division commander, I will take on the position of division commander."
"Wow, Misha, you are so awesome." Anne's eyes widened in surprise when she heard what Sokov said: "I didn't expect that you have already reached the rank of division commander."
Compared with Anne, Tonya seemed much more stable. She said with a cheerful face: "Misha, I really didn't expect that the heroic troops standing at Mamayev Heights were actually commanded by you. You may not know
, how many young girls want to marry the young division commander of the Guards Division after reading the newspaper reports!"
"How do they know the division commander is a young man?" Sokov asked puzzledly.
"Although your name was not stated in the news report for the sake of confidentiality, it was reported that the teacher is a handsome young man in his twenties who is not yet married." Dongnia grinned and said with a somewhat stiff expression:
"Let me ask, in today's environment, which girl doesn't like a hero? What's more, this hero is still a young, unmarried teacher."