The morning after losing Lydia, the rumbling artillery fire once again turned into an alarm clock to wake up everyone in the basement.
Subconsciously looking at the place where Lidya used to sleep, Wei Ran sighed secretly and stood up to add some firewood to the stove that was about to go out.
In the steaming sparks, Wei Ran put on his clothes, walked up the steps to the first floor, opened the shutter of one of the windows, and let the fiery red sun shine into the small, cold room.
This is a rare good weather, the wind outside the window is not too strong, the snow has stopped, and the silver-covered ground reflects the golden light.
If you ignore the steaming smoke clouds in the distant city and the anti-aircraft guns exploding in the sky, as well as the air defense balloons and...
Wei Ran secretly shook his head. Sure enough, as long as enough conditions are ignored, you can see beautiful scenery in any hell, but that is just self-deception after all.
Such good weather also means that the visibility is far enough, which means it is more suitable for bombing. In other words, it means it is more dangerous.
Taking four sausages made last night and some firewood cut from outside the city, Wei Ran returned to the basement where the air was murky.
After a while, the children lined up to shake the generator and start the simple radio. Kona also prepared the honey water and showed the little girl Olga sitting next to her how to feed Galina.
.
He used the steel needle on the gravity knife to poke a few holes into the four sausages and threw them into the pot to cook. Wei Ran took two pots of boiling water and returned to the first floor again. He took out another horse head and started to scald the sausages.
Hair plucking work.
Nowadays, it is not a problem to barely burn the firewood in this room for a week. If the children are allowed to eat this food reserve, they can probably eat well for two days. But the price paid for all this is really too much.
A bit more expensive.
After he threw the horse head that had been scalded by charcoal into the pot and cooked it, the homemade horse sausage cooked in another soup pot was finally cooked.
Under the expectant gaze of the children, Wei Ran forked out the four sausages one by one, cut them into five centimeter-long pieces, placed them in the enamel cups of each child, including Ke Na, and then served them again.
The broth that had been simmered all night, and even the horse bones that had been cooked for two days and had become soft and rotten, were crushed with a spoon and a piece was dug out for everyone.
This morning, the children, who had been hungry for a long time, finally had a bite of meat that really required chewing.
Compared with these happy-looking children, Kona, who was sitting on the steps, looked distracted.
After the children finished their breakfast, which took longer than usual, Weiran gave each of them a small piece of chocolate as usual. However, before the chocolate could completely melt in the children's mouths, there was news in the city.
There came the extremely clear and shrill sound of air raid sirens.
Almost subconsciously, the children huddled in the corner, covered their mouths with their hands, and shrank their bodies at the same time.
Wei Ran's response was also not slow. While Ke Na was busy closing the shutters on the basement windows, he had already run up to the first floor, sealed the smoke baffle on the chimney as quickly as possible, and then got closer.
Beside the bed, he glanced at the vaguely visible bomber formation in the sky, and then immediately locked the window's anti-theft shutter.
Just when he was carrying a bucket of water back to the basement to guard the stove, there were clear explosions coming from outside, and even his feet were shaking continuously.
But it is obvious that these children have long been accustomed to such air raids. Even the brave ones like Alyosha still have the leisure to shake the generator and drive the radio to continue playing the program that is completely covered up by the explosion.
"Boom boom boom!"
Amidst the series of explosions, the tremors on the ground became more intense, and some soil shook off the ceiling overhead. There were clear sounds of knocking on the windows outside the iron-covered wooden baffle overhead.
Finally, Galina, who was held in Kona's arms, began to cry because the dust fell into her eyes. Then, Anastasia and Bogdan, two children who were only slightly older than Galina,
Because of fear, she cried for her mother, and then she was hugged and protected by the girl named Olga and Alexander respectively.
After a long time, the explosions outside finally died down, and the air defense sirens were lifted one after another. However, further outside the city, the sound of firefights became more intense.
Fanning the dust flying in front of his eyes, Wei Ran moved and straightened the enamel pot with horse head on the stove not far away, and adjusted several enamel kettles hanging around the stove.
Stepping on the steps, I quickly came upstairs.
As he opened the iron-covered wooden shutter, the room was also illuminated by sunlight. Fortunately, this small cement house did not attract the attention of the German bombers - at least the glass windows were still intact.
"the weather is nice today..."
Kena came up and stood side by side with Wei Ran in front of the window and said worriedly, "Everyone who has survived until now knows that good weather not only means being able to bask in the sun, but also means more frequent bombings, and it also means that this kind of weather
When you go out to collect supplies, you are relatively more likely to encounter danger.
"Take care of the children," Wei Ran said, having already opened the chimney smoke damper, turned around, grabbed the sledge and was about to go out.
"I'll go with you," Kena said, already following.
"You stay"
Wei Ran stopped the other party and pointed to the sausages hanging on the chimney, "You can take the children and make the remaining horse heads into sausages today. Moreover, the bombings must be very frequent today. Someone must guard the children and the sausages."
stove."
Hearing this, Ke Na nodded reluctantly but did not let go of the sledge. Instead, she used her other hand to take out the cloth cover containing the stove and handed it to Wei Ran, "Take it with you."
Well, at least it will be warmer."
"Okay" Wei Ran nodded, took the cold warmer and put it into the inner pocket of his jacket.
"You could put some oil in it"
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! Kona said, pointing to the copper water tank wrapped several times with a blanket in the corner, "We have a lot of oil now, anyway, this oil
It can't be burned directly, so you can fill the hearth."
After hesitating for a moment, Wei Ran nodded, filled the stove with fuel, lit it, put it into a blood-stained cloth bag, and then solemnly put it into the inner pocket of his coat again.
"Come back alive," Ke Na almost begged before Wei Ran went out.
"certainly"
Wei Ran smiled, wrapped the blanket around him tightly, put on his hat, gloves and the scarf that Mrs. Weiya had lent him, and dragged the empty sledge away from the small cement house.
Under the bright sunshine, Wei Ran, who was walking on the snow, did not feel any warmth except the hearth in his arms. The weather when the snow melted was far colder than the weather when it snowed.
Still treating the basement where Mrs. Via was buried as the end of the day, along the way, Weiran also encountered buildings that exploded, caught fire, and collapsed due to aerial bombs or shelling, and encountered firefighters who were busy putting out the fires.
And the residents who held themselves up to help - also encountered the emaciated corpses that had not had time to be buried by the snow.
Once again, he pressed the shutter towards the ruins that were still burning. Wei Ran put away the camera, silently pulled the sledge, and wandered aimlessly in this hellish city, looking for each lens, and looking for
Anything that can be used, burned or eaten.
I don't know how long it took, but he once again stood next to the ruins of the nursing home. But in just one night, there was a fresh crater four to five meters in diameter on the ruins, and a hole that seemed to lead to the basement was also revealed.
, only less than half a meter wide, and supported by a large number of broken steel bars.
Instead of rushing into the gap, Wei Ran looked around first, and after some searching, he managed to find six rat traps that were still usable.
After wandering around again to make sure there was no one around, he took out the wire cutters from the metal book, cleaned up the steel bars around the gap, put on a flashlight and bent down to get in.
After walking along the gap for less than two meters, Wei Ran took out his goggles and put them on. In addition to the faint smell of corpses, there was also a strong smell of mouse droppings. However, it was exactly this smell.
, let him choose to take the risk and come down for a look.
Continuing five or six meters further along the basement passage that seemed likely to collapse at any time, two rooms with opposite doors appeared directly in front of him. When the flashlight was just shaking at the door, he seemed to see several pairs of one-to-one rooms.
Flashing by, the green bean-sized green reflected light.
Turning his head and looking behind him, Wei Ran gently pushed open a door that was only partially burned.
When the flashlight beam swept over, he couldn't help but be startled. In this room, he could still see corpses that were still covering their mouths and noses with towels until they died.
But these corpses have been chewed by rats, leaving almost only the bones, some fragments of clothing mixed in rat droppings, and even various accessories. Of course, there are still slight rustling sounds among the skeletons.
Forcing himself not to recall the rats he had eaten before, Wei Ran endured his nausea and took off the rat cage hanging from his waist, then tore off a small piece of blanket and cut it into strips as big as a finger.
After searching around, Wei Ran picked up a smoky enamel jar, put the blanket in it, took out the kettle, and poured a little honey into it stingily.
After putting away the kettle and stirring it with his fingers, he hung the blankets as bait in the mouse cages, and then placed six mouse cages side by side at the door.
Taking a step back, Wei Ran pulled out the ax from his waist and easily removed the almost carbonized door frame and wooden door, and then turned to look at the other surviving room in the basement.
The door and door frame were also charred, but what was in this small room were all sundries.
There is a woman's bicycle with only its rims left, a sewing machine that is still working, a pile of pots and pans that have probably been forgotten for a long time, and even a screen that is no longer as long as the diagonal.
to a 10cm glycerin TV and an obviously scrapped record player.
Of course, he also found two oxygen bottles over one meter long, a copper fire extinguisher that looked like an oversized syringe, and a stack of iron buckets that he didn't know whether they had been used.
After thinking for a while, he removed the carbonized door frame and door first and sent them out first, and then sent out the two oxygen bottles, the old-fashioned piston fire extinguisher and the iron bucket.
Then, he didn't even let go of the rusty bicycle and pushed it out with difficulty.
After loading all these things on the sledge, covering them with blankets and tying them with ropes, Wei Ran, inspired, continued to look around for the craters left by the bombs.
Unfortunately, after wandering around for a whole day, apart from being almost taken away by German artillery shells twice, the only new thing he gained was a kerosene lamp that was still in good condition and still had some fuel.
Dragging these things to the ration station, Wei Ran also received the food rations for him and the children after queuing for more than half an hour.
What he didn't expect was that not only did he receive a sufficient amount of black bread this time, but he also received an extra tin bucket of coking coal and an infusion bottle full of milk!
This was undoubtedly good news, so much so that he couldn't help but speed up his pace on the way back.
Before the sun set, when Wei Ran returned to the cement house with such rich supplies, he unexpectedly won the cheers of all the children, including Ke Na!
In addition to the surprises he brought back for the children, the children also prepared surprises for him. Among other things, there were several skewers of sausages between the shelves. Correspondingly, the horse heads he brought back were the same as the ones he brought back before.
Those horse intestines and stomachs have also disappeared. Obviously, Kona has been busy with the children during the day.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! While Ke Na was preparing dinner, Wei Ran first combined the broken bicycles he brought back with a generator and let the children generate electricity from their hand cranks.
It has become a more relaxed and interesting pedal power generation.
In addition, he filled the two oxygen bottles with water and tied them to the stove, turning them into a set of simple radiators.
When he filled the oil lamp he brought back with oil, ignited it and hung it above his head, the children became quiet. All the little ones sat obediently on the soft and dry sponge cushions, hugging their knees and looking up.
The kerosene lamp burning quietly was also listening to the broadcast coming from the simple radio.
Seeing Ke Na making a gesture towards him, Wei Ran quietly followed her to the first floor, where they each sat on an upside-down iron bucket.
"Can you play that nice tune on the harmonica again?" Ke Na looked at the dim light coming from the basement obsessively and asked almost to herself.
"As you wish, ma'am."
Wei Ran responded in a tone of voice like a little bourgeois who deserved to be shot. As the girl couldn't help but chuckle, he took out the harmonica from his pocket and played the only tune he knew once again.
"Today's sausages were made by Alexander and his brothers and sisters."
In the soothing music, Kona whispered, "Olga helped take care of Galina, and the other younger children were taken care of by Sasha and several girls. These children have grown up.
, even if one day I die outside, as long as they can receive daily bread, they can survive on their own."
Seeing Wei Ran stop playing and looking at her in astonishment, Ke Na waved her hands with a smile, "Don't worry, I have no intention of committing cowardly suicide."
Seeing that Wei Ran was still looking at her with a frown, Ke Na finally confessed, "Victor, I plan to work at the distribution station."
"What did you say?" Wei Ran was stunned, "You plan to work at the distribution station? Why?"
"We have to have someone working at the distribution station"
Kena lowered her head, "Although it's vicious to say this, only if one of us works at the distribution station can we get the most needed supplies for the children in a timely manner, and we can even get some internal news in advance, such as supply interruptions, such as
There is an opportunity for safe evacuation, which requires someone to work at the distribution station."
Wei Ran sighed slightly and asked, "What about the younger brothers and sisters?"
"I just said that Alexander and the others can take good care of their younger brothers and sisters. I tried it specifically today, and didn't I also have you?"
Seeing that Wei Ran was silent, Ke Na simply continued, "Or you can go work at the distribution station, and I'll stay to collect supplies and take care of them."
Wei Ran looked at the other person and asked, "When do you plan to go to work at the distribution station?"
"tomorrow"
Kona responded immediately, "Actually, I asked sister Lidia's colleagues yesterday. They were already short of manpower, and sister Lidia was... transferred to the port again, so..."
"I'll take you there tomorrow." Wei Ran sighed and put the harmonica to his mouth again.
"Victor"
"What's wrong?" Wei Ran looked at the other party again.
"Do you know any other songs?" Kona asked, dragging her chin with her hand and resting her elbows on her knees.
"Yes, of course I will, but I won't tell you about it until I catch another mouse."
"Why?" Ke Na asked in confusion, but Wei Ran just smiled, closed his eyes and played the only song he knew.
