On the morning of the second day after the seven children headed by Li Shia joined the big family, the children, who were awakened by the sound of crossfire as usual, gathered in groups under the organization of the little girls Sasha and Olga, surrounding the small tin children.
Tong was busy washing his hands and face.
Then they lined up to receive a piece of chocolate from Wei Ran and stuffed it into their mouths. Then they received a cup of broth with a small piece of sausage. They sat next to each other at the edge of the long table and enjoyed this.
It is definitely a luxurious breakfast in the city.
Whether it was the food that was far above the standard or the news coming out of the simple radio, all of this made the frostbitten faces of Lai Xia and the other children full of expressions of surprise that could not be concealed.
In fact, just this warm and dry basement was enough to surprise them, especially the thick sponge mat under their feet, which made them have sweet dreams when they slept last night.
After finishing the sumptuous breakfast with an involuntary smile of happiness, Wei Ran forced each child to drink a cup of steaming ginger tea, and supervised Lai Xiya as she applied ointment to the burn on her hand.
The sledge dragged Kona away from the small cement house.
"Remember to look for children's shoes today."
Before Kena left the sledge and went to work, she did not forget to say, "Laixia's shoes are all tattered, and some simply wrap their feet in blankets as shoes, and the boy you talked about yesterday
, if he wants to find a job, you can ask him to come to me at the distribution station or to political commissar Yin Liuqi."
"I'll be thinking about these two things."
Wei Ran agreed wholeheartedly, and after the other party had gone far, he immediately got into the basement of the nursing home ruins.
Fortunately, the six mouse traps are still there this time, and two of them contain a fat and scary mouse each!
And when he touched the two mouse cages, the familiar feeling of brain shutdown came as expected. Immediately afterwards, he felt his eyes go dark, and his whole body fell into the basement with a thud.
.
When he regained consciousness again, he found that his ears, nostrils and even the corners of his eyes were itching.
Subconsciously reaching out and touching it, Wei Ran was shocked to find that there was a little blood spilling from his ears, corners of his eyes, and nostrils. Even his throat felt particularly uncomfortable as if something was stuck.
After coughing up a mouthful of thick phlegm mixed with bloodshot threads, Wei Ran stood up unsteadily, but then sat down on the ground because of the dizziness in his brain.
In the basement, which was filled with the stench of corpses, he leaned against the wall to regain his strength. Then he held on to the wall and climbed out with difficulty, carrying the two cages containing rats.
When he followed his memory and found the dilapidated house where the child named Keleluo and his grandfather lived temporarily, he found that the fire in the fireplace had gone out.
Look again at the young man named Keleluo. At this time, he was wrapped in a blanket and huddled in the ash-filled fireplace. His eyes were looking at the sledge that almost blocked the fireplace, and he was still lying on the bonfire.
Old guy on the blanket.
Seeing Wei Ran walk in, this young man, who was only fifteen or sixteen years old, said with a cry and despair, "My grandfather is dead, and I have no family anymore."
"he..."
"We had no firewood to burn last night."
Kelailuo, who was constantly shaking, choked with sobs and said intermittently, "We burned the sledge, but he still froze to death."
After looking at the leaky house, the dismantled sledge with only the blanket left, and the glass cup with about half of the honey left on the fireplace, after a moment of silence, Wei Ran bent down and picked up the fluttering man.
An old guy who has no weight at all and is already frozen.
"Let's go and bury him, and then I'll find you a job."
"You...what did you say?" Kelailuo, with tears streaming down his face, looked at Wei Ran blankly.
"Drink that half cup of honey and come with me."
After Wei Ran finished speaking, he had already left the airy room, put it on his sledge, and dragged it slowly towards the basement where Mrs. Wea and others were buried.
A moment later, Kelailuo, who had a hesitant look on his face, also stumbled out and followed Wei Ran with weak steps. In his frostbitten hands, he was still holding the glass cup filled with honey.
"The distribution station has a job of moving materials."
Wei Ran slowed down, gestured to the other party to sit on the sledge and said, "If you get this job, you will get two hundred grams of black bread every day. In addition, the rats caught in the rat traps will also be yours.
"
As he spoke, Wei Ran handed the other party a cage with a mouse hanging on his waist, "This is yours too, and there will be a cup of honey I promised you later. Also, do you want to take this job?"
?"
After looking at Kai Lailuo who was at a loss, Wei Ran was silent for a moment and said, "If you find a way to survive, that may be your grandfather's last wish, right?"
Hearing this, Keleluo was stunned for a moment, then wiped the corners of his eyes with his frostbitten hands, nodded and replied, "I am willing to go to work!"
"Do you know where the rationing station is?" Wei Ran said and raised his finger to point in the direction.
"I know, I know." Kelailuo nodded.
"After we bury him later, we will go to the distribution station to find a girl named Kena."
Wei Ran said, stopped again, endured the pain, took out the British army's kettle, and filled the cup in the opponent's hand with thick honey again.
"Drink"
Wei Ran licked the remaining traces of honey from the mouth of the kettle, then screwed the lid tightly while smacking his lips, "Carrying supplies is a job that requires strength."
Kelailuo wiped the corners of his eyes again, put the cup to his mouth, and took a big sip, two big sips, and three big sips of honey.
"Can I keep these for dinner?" Keleluo asked cautiously, holding up the remaining half cup of honey.
"Of course," Wei Rankang responded generously. Upon hearing this, the latter immediately held the cup in his hand and covered the mouth of the cup with his other hand.
Seeing this, Wei Ran didn't say much, and took the other person into the basement that served as a tomb. He buried Kelailuo's grandfather with bricks everywhere, and then personally sent the other person to the distribution station and handed him over to the rationing station.
Kona is busy distributing food.
After looking at the glass cup held tightly in the hands of this peer, Kona seemed to know nothing and led Kelailuo to find a middle-aged man who was busy.
Seeing this, Wei Ran left the distribution station with confidence and continued to collect things that could be eaten and burned on the ruins.
Time passed by that afternoon, and apart from a piece of blackened wood on Wei Ran's sledge, the only decent harvest was a few pairs of shoes ripped from the feet of dead people.
With this little gain, he met up with Ke Na, who had finished her work early, but Wei Ran found that standing next to her was the middle-aged man whom she had briefly met before.
"This is political commissar Yin Liuqi," introduced Kona, who was holding a sack in her arms. "Comrade political commissar wants to go back with us to count the children."
After speaking, Ke Na introduced Wei Ran to the other party, "Uncle Political Commissar, he is Victor, he is a childcare worker."
He casually glanced at the sword and shield badge pinned to the inside of Wei Ran's collar. The thin and frightening political commissar took the initiative to salute and said in a relatively loud voice, "Comrade Victor, thank you for your care for the child."
Take care of them!"
"I didn't do anything"
Wei Ran subconsciously responded with a salute, then held the other's hand together and shook it slightly, "Go sit on the sledge, I will take you back."
Hearing this, Ke Na got on the sledge without thinking, but the political commissar waved his hand and said, "Let me go for a walk with you."
"Comrade Political Commissar this time..."
"Do not misunderstand"
Yin Liuqi quickly explained, "My main purpose this time is to check the children's health and decide whether to send them to the rear or stay temporarily."
"Can we leave now?" Wei Ran asked immediately.
"Just preparing"
Political Commissar Yin Liuqi responded, "Our transportation team is getting bigger and bigger. Even the child you sent this morning has taken the initiative to join the transportation team."
"Kailailuo joined the transportation team?" Wei Ran became more and more surprised, "How old is he? And isn't it a porter that you need?"
“16 years old”
Political Commissar Yin Liuqi explained, "He is too thin and has no strength to cope with the transportation work, but he can use a mule, so I plan to send him to the port, where there is a job that is more suitable for him, and at least he can have a full stomach.
too skinny."
"That's not bad..." Wei Ran sighed, "Let's get back to the topic we just talked about."
"As the transportation fleet becomes larger and larger, we also have more transportation capacity to transfer more elderly, weak and sick patients, which requires statistical work, and spring is coming soon, and it is time for children to go back to school.
"
Political Commissar Yin Liuqi took a breath and continued, "We are preparing to open a school in the air-raid shelter. Those children who cannot be evacuated temporarily must at least resume classes. This requires counting the children's age and school age."
"Our current problem is to survive," Wei Ran said matter-of-factly.
"What I'm thinking about is what happens after the material supply is sufficient," political commissar Yin Liuqi said seriously. "Children need to study, and the future of Leningrad must be built by them."
"So they are leaving us soon?" Kena couldn't help but ask.
"At least children of appropriate age should go to school," Political Commissar Yin Liuqi said, looking at Wei Ran and Ke Na, "This way the pressure on you two can be reduced."
"When will the children go to class...or evacuate to the rear?" Wei Ran asked.
“Probably the resumption of schooling will not be carried out until the end of February or the beginning of March.”
Yin Liuqi paused and continued, "Children who are eligible for evacuation need to be decided based on the road conditions and weather on the ice highway. It may be tomorrow...or it may be summer."
"Go sit on the sledge."
Wei Ran suddenly said, "This way we can go faster, and you can save some energy when we come back. To be honest, we also plan to take a group photo of the children before the sun goes down."
Hearing this, Political Commissar Yin Liuqi was stunned, and finally sat on the sledge at Wei Ran's invitation.
Dragging these two light-headed people, Wei Ran immediately quickened his pace and asked a question he was more concerned about, "Commissar Yin Liuqi, what day is it today?"
"Today?" Yin Liuqi rolled up his sleeves and looked at his watch, "The 12th, today is February 12th."
"It's only been less than half a month..." Wei Ran muttered.
"What did you say?" Yin Liuqi asked in confusion.
"Nothing." Before Wei Ran finished speaking, he had already quickened his pace again.
About an hour later, he finally stopped at the door of the small cement house, panting.
"Uncle Yin Liuqi," Kona called out to the political commissar beside her before she got off the sledge.
"What's wrong?" Yin Liuqi asked in confusion.
"Don't tell your brothers and sisters that you might send them away at any time. You just came to visit them and take a photo with them."
"I understand." Political Commissar Yin Liuqi showed a smile that reassured both Wei Ran and Ke Na. He stepped off the sledge and walked towards the children who were greeting him at the door.
Under Kona's introduction, "Uncle Yin Liuqi" became the political commissar who came to count the number of Young Pioneers and Communist Youth League members. By the way, he also asked if anyone wanted to join the Young Pioneers and Communist Youth League members.
This in itself was enough to attract the children, not to mention that Yin Liuqi also took out two crumpled red apples about the size of an adult's fist from his coat pocket as gifts for the first meeting.
Of course, although this gift made every child swallow their saliva subconsciously, before Yin Liuqi started working, under the arrangement of Wei Ran, he took pictures with the children at the door of the cement house, facing the dull sunset.
A particularly lively group photo was taken.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! While Wei Ran was taking individual photos of the children headed by Lai Xia, who was new here yesterday, Yin Liuqi also left under the leadership of Ke Na
We entered the warm basement and counted the details of each child one by one.
At the same time, Kona also cut a piece of horsehide that the children had boiled and cleaned in advance during the day into thin strips, threw it into the pot, added a small amount of coarse salt, and was busy cooking the skin.
freeze.
While the adults and children were busy, the setting sun was gradually blocked by the remains of buildings in the distance, and the battlefield outside the city gradually became calm, but there were also fine snowflakes floating in the sky.
After seeing off the political commissar Yin Liuqi who insisted on leaving, Kona immediately closed the door, opened the sack bag she had been carrying, took out three and a half pieces of black bread wrapped in newspapers and said excitedly, "Victor! I'm getting it today.
Brown bread for 32 people!”
"How much?" Wei Ran asked in surprise.
“Serves 32!”
As Kona spoke, she had already pulled out a key from her collar, opened the wooden box on the shelf, put a piece of bread in and explained, "We now have 23 younger brothers and sisters, and two of us, so this is 25
And now I have a job, so it’s actually equivalent to receiving an extra 50 grams. The extra seven people’s portions are to compensate for yesterday’s consumption of the seven people in Laihia.”
"Political Commissar Yin Liuqi is not just here to count the children, right?" Wei Ran asked while helping to cut open the bread with a saw.
"After all, we have so many children here, and they always come over to check." Kena said unsurprisingly, "I have only been working for two days, and I have already seen a lot of fake claims."
"What do you think about what he said?" Wei Ran asked, changing the subject.
"I don't have any opinion." Ke Na was very straightforward, "As long as they all survive well, I'll be satisfied."
Hearing this, Wei Ran wisely did not continue to ask, but helped prepare the bread, wrapped them one by one with a handkerchief, and then walked into the basement.
That night, in addition to bread, broth and freshly made pork skin jelly, each of the children was given a small piece of apple as big as a knuckle and a cup of sweet and spicy ginger tea. Wei Ran and Ke Na
The two of them each received an almost fleshless fruit core.
After a night of silence, the two set out again early the next morning. The children were doing everything they could as usual, or simply shaking their pedals to keep the simple radio going.
Work.
The only difference is that the replaced stove was filled with soil found by the children. In the soil, the apple seeds that Wei Ran and Ke Na did not eat yesterday were also planted.
Since that day, the days have been repeated day after day. In addition to losing weight visible to the naked eye, Wei Ran, who insists on going out every day, also uses a sledge to bring back some things that can be burned every day.
What worries Wei Ran more than his increasingly lighter weight is the fact that he has fewer and fewer supplies on hand.
Now, on the wall at the door, he has written three complete words "positive" with red chalk. In the past half month, the news has been good and bad.
When he finished writing the first straight character, the seven children, headed by the newly joined Lai Xia, finally recovered from the cold under his ginger tea therapy, but the chocolate in his hand and the horse meat sausage he had made before
, was also completely consumed.
When he finished writing the second straight character, all the firewood and the few coals accumulated in the room on the first floor were filled into the stove, and only two pieces of horsehide used to make meat jelly were left, the size of A4 paper.
He also had to take out an American oil stove from the Hürtgen Forest and a heater made from gas mask cans from his backpack to use the stored fuel to heat the children and cook food.
However, it was also from the time when the third character was written that the black bread that Kona brought back every day had not changed in weight, but it finally became somewhat softer.
Not only that, the daily milk ration for children has also changed from being sporadic to an unbeatable 300ml per day.
Although this amount of milk is not much, it is barely enough to fill the belly of the baby Galina. Occasionally, if she is lucky, she can bring back an onion, or two potatoes, and half a cabbage.
And today, after he finished writing the third straight character, he only had half a pot of honey left on hand, and their fuel reserve only had the barrel of fuel he put in the metal book.
Still counting the inventory in the fuel tanks of burning appliances such as kerosene gas lamps, Heinze pie stoves, etc.
If the barrel of oil burned out in the end, he would have no choice but to dismantle the boat and use it as firewood.
Secretly making up his mind, Wei Ran, who came back early, threw the few pieces of firewood he had collected into the cold stove as a reserve, and then took off a German lunch box filled with rice from his waist.
This was naturally the inventory he took out from the backpack, and it was also the last food reserve besides honey, two cans of condensed milk, and ingredients that could barely make two pots of oil tea.
But it was only February 28th, and there were still five days left before the premiere of the Leningrad Symphony in Kuibyshev.
Sighing secretly, Wei Ran opened the iron cabinet, first put away the rice in the lunch box, and then took out an enamel bucket containing the last of the meat jelly.
The pork skin jelly in this bucket is also only enough for dinner tonight. After finishing this meal, starting from tomorrow, in addition to the food rations, the children will only have honey water and honey water that Weiran is still working hard to supply.
The rice you just put in.
In other words, these children who have never had enough to eat may soon start to starve again...
He worriedly cut the last piece of meat into long strips, and Kona came back alone with a small airdrop box.
"What did you get today?" Wei Ran asked feebly. He was also hungry. It could even be said that he was far hungrier than the children.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! "Brown bread and milk, four potatoes, one onion, and coking coal. I received a bucket full of coking coal."
Although there were a lot of supplies, Wei Ran found that the expression on Ke Na's face did not seem to be very good, and she was just standing outside the door with no intention of coming in.
Seeing this, Wei Ran immediately put down what he was doing, walked out of the room, and followed the girl a few steps further away.
"A school has been built in the air raid shelter"
Kona stopped and took a deep breath, "There have been children going to school these days. Political Commissar Yin Liuqi told me today that we can also consider sending our children there."
"All?" Wei Ran asked with a frown.
"Anastasia, Bogdan, and Galina don't need to go, they are too young."
Kona paused and continued, "The rest of the children can go to school in the air-raid shelter, but it is a bit far away from us, so the children have to live in the air-raid shelter.
But fortunately, there are more and more supplies now, and children going to school can also get priority supplies. They don’t have to worry about the cold or bombings there, and they can fill their stomachs quickly.”
Seeing that Wei Ran was silent, Kona continued, "Victor, do you want to live in the air-raid shelter? It will be warmer there. Political Commissar Yin Liuqi said that you can live in the air-raid shelter and take care of Galina and the three of them."
"I want to hear your opinion," Wei Ran said.
"It's safer in the air raid shelter"
Kona rubbed her eyes, "Let the children live in the air-raid shelter. They can have enough to eat there, and..."
"And what?" Wei Ran looked at the other party and asked.
"And I plan to go to work at Lake Ladoga after the children move to the bomb shelter."
"What did you say?" Wei Ran looked at the other party in surprise, "You want to work in Lake Ladoga? Why?"
“We need more people there now.”
Kona said matter-of-factly, "And as I told you, my parents are working in Lake Ladoga. I want to work there and maybe see them. I haven't heard from them for a whole winter."
Already."
Hearing this, Wei Ran sighed secretly, and finally nodded, "When?"
"Tomorrow"
Kona wiped her tears and said, "Tomorrow evening, we will send the children to live in the air-raid shelter. Victor, how much food do we have left? I think... I want to eat as much as possible before they go to the air-raid shelter.
Some."
“There’s still some honey”
Wei Ran paused, "The aspic is only enough for tonight, but I found a lunch box of rice today, so I can let them have a good meal before they leave tomorrow."
"I won't go to work tomorrow either"
Kona sniffed hard and said, "Let's stay with them tomorrow. After dark, we will use the sledge to send them to the air-raid shelter. Then you will follow them."
Before Wei Ran could speak, Ke Na continued, "I will go to Lake Ladoga to work tomorrow night."
"I listen to you"
Wei Ran glanced at the children standing at the door, rubbed his face vigorously, cheered up and said, "Okay, leave the vegetables to me, I will prepare dinner."
"Will we have another chance to meet with my brothers and sisters in the future?" Ke Na asked abruptly.
"Of course!" Wei Ran said with great certainty, "There will definitely be a chance to meet!"
