In the basement where Mrs. Weiya and others were buried, Wei Ran put away his camera tiredly after pressing the shutter, walked out of the ruins alone, found a place where he could get some sunlight, and slowly sat on the soft snow against the ruins of the wall.
On the ground, I watched in ecstasy the smoke puffs exploded by anti-aircraft guns in the sky, the anti-aircraft balloons floating in the wind, the Soviet and German fighter jets competing for altitude advantage, and the thick smoke steaming from the ground.
This place is different from Stalingrad. In that city, soldiers from the Soviet Union and Germany fought for each other room by room, but as long as they could kill the invading Germans, they could always get something from them.
But this is Leningrad. Wei Ran no longer remembers how long he has been here, but he knows clearly that in such a long time, he has never seen a living German. More often than not, most of them
Most of the time, his enemies are hunger and cold.
The chocolate and honey he brought could certainly replenish energy, but a piece of chocolate no bigger than a mahjong piece every day, plus the broth, could provide really limited energy. Under such harsh food rationing standards, what he could do,
It’s really all about “starving to death”.
After greedily basking in the sun for half an hour and not wanting to freeze to death, Wei Ran finally climbed up with difficulty, dragging the sledge and continuing to wander aimlessly.
I don't know how long it took, but he stopped near the distribution station. At this time, although there were not many people queuing outside the distribution station, there were still people in the ruins of the building not far away, as well as on the side of the entrance and exit of the air-raid shelter next to the ruins.
When we reached the position of the sun, there were people sitting in twos and threes who were also absorbing the warmth.
Some of these people are as skinny as a stick, some have swollen faces like a fat man, and some are not only as skinny as a stick, but their faces are also obviously dull and dark.
He knew that these three types of people almost represented the most common conditions of all the living residents of Leningrad. That
These skinny people can still survive as long as they have adequate food and drink. This includes those strong and brave children.
But those who have begun to suffer from edema have actually developed metabolic acidosis, which is almost like stepping into the gate of hell.
As for those who are not only thin but also have dark skin, their bodies are so hungry that they have to digest their own organs to supply energy. For these people, even if food is provided to them immediately, the failure of their organs will make it difficult for them to survive.
Got it.
These unpopular medical knowledge naturally came from Hongqi Forestry Farm, but he did not expect that he would have the opportunity to verify it himself - even if he did not expect such an opportunity at all.
Glancing at Kona from afar, who was working in an almost open-air distribution station, Weiran dragged the sledge and randomly chose a direction that he had never been to before to explore.
But in this city that had been bombed countless times, in this ruins that had been rummaged through countless times, what he could find was really pitiful.
Towards evening, when he returned to the basement where Mrs. Via was buried, there were already some pieces of wood of various origins and sizes on his sledge.
Near the ruins of the basement, Kona, who was carrying a sack bag and holding a P38 pistol in her hand, had been waiting for a long time.
"Are you in danger?" Wei Ran frowned immediately when he saw the weapon in the opponent's hand, and subconsciously looked around.
"There's a man trying to steal my ration"
Kona had already sat on the sledge behind Wei Ran as she spoke, "But he ran away after I pulled out my pistol."
"What did you get today?" Wei Ran asked as he walked back.
“Not much stuff”
Kona paused, and seeing that Wei Ran didn't ask any further questions, she took the initiative to explain, "In addition to the black bread, I also got half a bottle of milk for Galina."
“It’s good news”
"Did you catch the mouse?" Kona asked.
"No"
Wei Ran shook his head and recounted the story of the rat cage being stolen and his encounter with the grandfather and grandson.
"How old did you say the boy named Kelelo was?" Kona asked in surprise.
"I should be about the same age as you, what's wrong?" Wei Ran asked casually.
"The distribution station is currently very short of people."
Kona immediately said, "If you can see him again tomorrow, if he is still alive by then, ask him if he is interested in working at the distribution station. We need porters, and we have 200 grams of black bread every day."
"I'll ask tomorrow"
Wei Ran responded absently, secretly wondering whether the young man named Keleluo was the key to the survival of Ke Na and the children.
When the two of them walked back to the concrete house next to the playground before the sun set, Wei Ran, who was walking in front, was the first to notice something was wrong.
At this time, the little ones who stayed behind were all waiting for him and Ke Na at the door, but their thin little faces were full of anxiety.
"Alexander, what happened?" Wei Ran asked curiously.
"We. We found a carbide lamp!"
Alexander showed off the brass carbide lamp in his hand in a slight panic, then hurriedly picked up an enamel bucket with a lid at his feet, and said with increasing anxiety, "We also found a lot of carbide, some
A bucket full!”
"We also found a stove!"
Alexander's good friend Alyosha pulled off the blanket on the sledge next to him before Wei Ran and Kona could speak, revealing a cast iron stove mounted on it.
This straight up-down cylindrical cast iron stove is only 50 centimeters high, and its diameter is no more than 40 centimeters. Not to mention that it is divided into an upper combustion chamber and a lower ash accumulation chamber. There are also two chambers on the furnace body in the middle of the furnace door.
Cast with "Putilov Arms Factory" in Russian.
The Putilov Military Factory has a long history, and it is currently producing weapons for the front line day and night. Of course, this stove is obviously a product before the start of World War II. However, don’t look at the stove and what they are using
, the appearance looks about the same size, but the combustion chamber is more than half smaller.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! The small combustion chamber of the stove naturally means more fuel saving, which is undoubtedly a benefit for Weiran and Kona, who have always had energy concerns.
Good news for saving firewood.
But even so, the suspicion on their faces became more and more serious.
Seeing the two "parents" about to speak, the little boy wearing glasses named Ivan carefully picked up a bundle of iron chimneys and a broken kettle from the sledge, and stammered,
"Well, we also found the chimney"
"alright"
Kona took a deep breath, "I'm ready. What stupid thing did you guys do?"
Alexander, Alyosha and Ivan looked at each other, and finally took the initiative to stand up and said cautiously, "Sister Kena, we, we, we"
"What's going on?" Kona put her hands wearing bearskin gloves on Alexander's shoulders.
"We brought back some people" Alexander confessed the "good things" they had done with a sound as loud as a mosquito's wings.
"What did you say?" Ke Na asked subconsciously, she really didn't hear clearly.
"Let me tell you"
The girl Olga, who was holding the baby Galina, took the initiative to stand up and said in a voice loud enough for Wei Ran and Kona to hear, "Sister Kona, uncle Victor, Alexander, Alyosha and Ivan went out to collect today.
While collecting supplies, they found a few little guys about the same size as Andre, and they brought these little guys back."
"7"
Alexander said cautiously, "There are seven of them. The oldest is 11 years old, as old as Ivan, and the youngest is 9 years old, as old as Andre. Victor, Kona, they are starving to death, I."
"Where are they?" Ke Na asked without thinking before Wei Ran could speak.
All the children in the "basement" who could communicate clearly responded in unison, and at the same time, they each pointed at the concrete house behind them.
Not caring about Wei Ran at all, Ke Na took the bread and milk she received today and walked to the basement in a hurry.
Seeing the uneasiness on the faces of the children standing at the door, Wei Ran couldn't help but sigh secretly. This is not a peaceful era, and it is not a matter of "one more person is just an extra pair of chopsticks". They brought them back
, not to mention 7 kittens and puppies that can be discarded at any time.
Those were seven children as old as themselves, seven children who needed to eat every day, need supplementary nutrition, and need enough strength to survive.
But what about here? This is besieged Leningrad. Let alone raising 7 children here, it is not easy for a girl like Kona to support herself. But even so, those kind-hearted children
Still choose to bring them back and share the already scarce food together.
Seeing that the girl named Sasha had covered her mouth to stop her uncontrollable choking, Wei Ran cleared his throat vigorously. When all the children subconsciously looked over, he said in a serious and extremely serious tone, "
Oujia, our little comrade Oujia, I need to remind you something."
"What's the matter?"
Ou Jia subconsciously hugged the little baby in her arms tightly, and her thin and distressing little face couldn't help but show a strong look of panic.
Yes, she is just an eleven or twelve-year-old child.
Wei Ran sighed secretly, pretending to be dissatisfied and said, "I must remind you——"
When almost all the children showed worried expressions, Wei Ran, who was playing a long voice, became more and more dissatisfied and said, "You can call me Victor, or Brother Victor, why do you have to call me Victor?"
Uncle Duo? I'm obviously not much older than Ke Na. Didn't you call her Sister Ke Na?
Olga, Comrade Olga, this is so unfair to me. Now my heart is seriously hurt. Unless a beautiful girl sings a Katyusha to me before dinner today, otherwise I will
I won’t forgive you.”
As Wei Ran said this ridiculous joke, Oujia's eyes, which were originally full of worry and fear, became wider and wider, and her mouth opened wider and rounder. Following that, the children finally let out a burst of laughter in unison.
Laughter.
"Won't you blame us?" Olga, who was completely relieved, sniffed and asked, "I will sing you a Katyusha song before dinner, I swear on my mother."
"Of course I blame you"
Wei Ran pretended to be helpless and said, "I'm already called uncle. Don't you still allow me to blame you?"
"That's what I said."
"That thing"
Wei Ran smiled before the other party finished speaking, and softened his tone and said comfortingly, "Don't worry, how could Ke Na and I blame you for this kind of thing? Let's talk about these things first, where did you find them?
?”
"The place to find those companions"
Alexander, who grinned with a pair of big teeth, immediately said, "They lived in a bombed-out apartment a street away. When we found them, they relied on this stove for heating. We almost wasted money trying to carry it back.
It took a whole day of strength.”
"The carbide lamp was also discovered together?"
Wei Ran continued to change the topic and asked, and at the same time he took the carbide lamp in Alexander's hand. Although he had heard of this thing before, this was the first time he had seen it in real form.
"right!"
Alyosha immediately came up to take credit and said, "I found it. I found it in the boiler room of that building. It was placed in the boiler room at that time."
"Victor!"
Before Alyosha could finish his words, Kona, who hurriedly climbed up from the basement, shouted, "Come and take a look."
Upon hearing this, Wei Ran immediately returned the carbide lamp in his hand to Alexander, and walked into the cement house and then into the basement surrounded by the children.
At this time, in the basement, there were two little guys, one on the left and one on the right, shaking their pedals to provide power to the car lights hanging above their heads.
It was through the light of this car light that Wei Ran also saw seven strange little guys lying side by side.
The eldest among these frighteningly thin children is a little blonde girl. She has large frostbite on her face, ears, hands and even feet, but there is a matchbox on the back of her hand.
Burns and scalds of all sizes.
In addition to this girl, the other six little ones are also boys and girls. These children are all without exception. They all have large and small patches of chilblains on their bodies, and like the little girl, they all have runny noses, and they all have runny noses from time to time.
, and would cough a few times.
"They all have a cold," Kona said worriedly, "and they all have a fever, Victor, what should we do?"
“Not a big problem”
Wei Ran hesitated for a moment and asked the blonde girl who looked the oldest but was equally worried and panicked, "What's your name?"
"Lesia" the blond girl responded weakly.
"Where are your parents?" Wei Ran forced himself to ask a question that he shouldn't have asked.
"Dead" Lesia paused, "or went to the front line."
"What is the relationship between the other children and you?" Wei Ran continued to ask.
"We all lived in the same apartment," Lesia explained. "The apartment was later set on fire by bombs dropped by the Germans. We were the only ones who survived because we helped our families line up for bread."
"Let's live here"
Wei Ran thought for a while, then whispered into Ke Na's ear, "Get some hot water and let them wash their hands, face, and feet. This can warm up their bodies. Also, remember to give it to them first."
Everyone will have a cup of hot honey water, and I will take advantage of this time to find something to treat their colds."
"Leave it to me!" Kena immediately nodded and accepted the job.
While the eldest sister took the rest of the children to take care of the new friends, Wei Ran also left the concrete house and walked into the ruins of the school cafeteria accompanied by the setting sun. He found a corner leeward and took out a bag full of
I took out a basket with kitchen utensils and some ingredients, dug out a piece of old ginger the size of my palm, and took a piece of brown sugar the size of a goose egg and wrapped it in a handkerchief.
When he put away his backpack and returned to the basement with brown sugar and old ginger, Lesia and other children not only had a random-colored Budyonny hat on their heads, but they also each received a bottle filled with hot water.
The tin buckets were sitting in a queue on the bench, each holding a cup of honey water to soak their feet.
"Alexander, you guys come here to help."
Wei Ran first put the things in his hands on the top shelf, and then called a few older children over to help carry the small cast iron stove that was still on the sledge truck into the basement, replacing the original one.
of stove.
It was obvious that when they saw this stove, which could be regarded as dependent on each other, being lit, the faces of the children headed by Lesia also showed a trace of relaxation.
Seeing this, Wei Ran smiled innocently, found an enamel pot and put it on the stove. Then he cut the piece of old ginger into shreds, threw it into the pot together with the piece of brown sugar, and added hot water.
"We don't have enough bread tonight," Ke Na leaned close to Wei Ran and whispered, "We can only use our reserves."
"How much more pork skin jelly is left?" Wei Ran asked while busy making brown sugar ginger tea.
"Originally there was enough for tomorrow morning, but now there is only enough for tonight."
Kona paused, "But we still have three horse hides. If you can come back early tomorrow, you can make more."
"You go and cut the bread."
Wei Ran paused and added, "You should come back early tomorrow and we can take a group photo together. After all, there are more people, right?"
Hearing this, Ke Na was stunned, then nodded with a smile, "I will come back tomorrow with everyone's rations."
Not enough chocolate now
Wei Ran murmured to himself after waiting for Ke Na to go upstairs, and silently gave away his share of chocolate to the children.
Now he was just lucky that there was still a lot of honey in the oil drum in the metal book that could be used as emergency supplies.
Before dinner that day, Olga sang a Katyusha song to Wei Ran, accompanied by Kona's bayan, and the chorus that followed also made the faces of the children headed by Lesia
Revealing a trace of vitality.
After the concert before the meal ended, each child received a sweet and spicy brown sugar ginger shredded tea in addition to the usual broth and aspic, before the honey water.
After drinking this cup of ginger tea that made them grin, beads of sweat broke out on each child's forehead. By the time the second cup of brown sugar water, which was slightly hotter than usual, was given to them, Alexander had already heated up his cheeks.
All the cotton clothes were taken off.
While the children were lining up to shake the generator and listen to the radio as usual, Wei Ran also fumbled to light the carbide lamp.
When the bright white firelight illuminated the basement, he also asked Kona to find the little girl named Lesia.
"What's the matter with the burn on your hand?"
While Wei Ran was asking, he had already dug out the medical bag he had picked up and found a small tube of burn ointment inside.
"It burned me"
Lesia pointed to the stove next to Wei Ran, "I was so hungry that I fainted when I was adding coal to the stove, and my hand happened to be pressed on it."
Looking at each other with Ke Na next to him, Wei Ran carefully applied burn ointment to the particularly calm girl's face and gave the remaining ointment to her.
Glancing at the steadily burning carbide lamp hanging on the chimney, Wei Ran and Ke Na looked at each other, and the two walked out of the basement one after another.
"Seven more children," Wei Ran lowered his voice and said.
"yes."
Kena was silent for a moment, "How long can our food last?"
"It won't be a problem to drink the broth for a month, but those sausages won't be enough for a week at most."
"Where are the honey and chocolate?" Kena asked tentatively.
"With the current consumption, the honey will last for less than half a month, and the chocolate will be eaten in a week at most."
"So we follow current consumption."
"Ten days, our food can last for ten days at most, and then we have to live on black bread and broth every day."
Wei Ran said, pointing to the firewood against the wall, "Although we have just changed to a smaller stove, the firewood can only burn for ten days at most. As for the fuel, they might be able to burn for four."
Five days.”
"We can't venture outside the city."
Kona said suddenly, "We can't risk going outside the city for fuel and food, Victor, we now have 23 children to take care of.
This is as dangerous as standing on the ice of Lake Ladoga in spring. No matter you, me or Alexander, something goes wrong with Alyosha. Without any strength, none of us may be able to survive.
So from now on, we must be more cautious and frugal."
Hearing this, Wei Ran was silent for a moment and then nodded, "I understand. Also, Kena."
"What?" Ke Na turned to look at Wei Ran.
"Don't forget, you are still a child." Wei Ran couldn't help but remind him.
Kona smiled brightly when she heard this, "Maybe, but I am still a member of the Communist Youth League and a resident of Leningrad. Galina and Anastasia even regard me as their mother, so
I have to take care of them like an adult."
"They're just kids," Wei Ran sighed secretly, turned around and walked into the warm basement.
