In the middle of the camp shrouded in the afterglow of the setting sun, the nervous but excited tank soldier Shula with a stiff smile on his face and the teacher Gianna with a gentle smile leaned side by side on a BMW motorcycle that was pushed over from nowhere.
Let Wei Ran aim at them and press the shutter.
After taking a group photo of the two young people, Uncle Slava also organized the others to bring in enough ammunition boxes to serve as chairs. More than 80 men, women, and children stood in rows, and the children also
He was hugged by Ivan and his friends and sat on the grass in the front row.
Turning around and looking at only a small part of the sunset behind him, Wei Ran seized the moment and pressed the shutter again with a chorus of "Ula".
"Comrade reporter, where's the wine?" The middle-aged man who had just been responsible for slaughtering the prey asked impatiently, "Just now you said you would treat us to a drink!"
"Don't worry." Wei Ran put the camera back in his bag, "There will definitely be vodka for dinner, I promise!"
"That's what you said." Uncle Slava waved to the crowd who had not dispersed. "Since there is wine to drink tonight, let's make dinner more sumptuous!"
"Victor, don't forget that you agreed to teach the children for me." Teacher Gianna also came over and reminded with a smile.
"Of course I haven't forgotten. Leave the children to me!"
Wei Ran winked at the tanker Shula, "Shula, I remember that the clothes hanging over the potato field have not been confiscated. How about you and Teacher Gianna go and collect the clothes?"
"well!"
Shula was obviously just stupid, but he was not a fool. He naturally understood what Wei Ran meant, mustered up the courage to hold Jaina's hand, and ran towards the potato fields in the distance amidst the good-natured laughter of everyone.
"Okay, adults, go prepare dinner."
Uncle Slava picked up the metal whistle hanging around his neck and blew it, "Ivan, take all the children to Victor for lessons."
"Everyone follow me!"
Ivan, who looked like the king of children, waved his hand with great momentum. In an instant, more than forty little guys as young as four or five and as old as fifteen or sixteen swarmed under the pine tree staring at the board.
They automatically formed a fan shape according to the tall and short people.
Looking at the large group of little heads in front of him, Wei Ran became unusually nervous. He had brought more and more naughty and even ignorant tourists to group activities at a travel agency more than once. But now
At this moment, when he faced these prematurely sensible children as a teacher, he felt a little bit frightened.
He didn't know what he should say, he didn't know what impact his words would have on these children, and he didn't know how many of these curious children in front of him would survive until the end of the war.
"Victor, what do you want to tell us?"
Ivan, who was sitting in the center, saw Wei Ran looking at them blankly and not speaking, so he took the initiative to suggest, "We should study history class today, otherwise..."
"No"
Wei Ran refused Ivan's well-intentioned proposal before he could finish his words, "Today we won't talk about history or what happened in the past."
"Then what are we talking about?" Sergey, who can be called Ivan's little brother, asked, "How about math class? I like math class the best!"
"We don't like it!" A little girl with yellow hair said pitifully with a sad face, "I like art classes."
"Music class! Music is good too!" A little Douya who looked even smaller and was even chewing his fingers shouted in a milky voice, "I like music class the best!"
"children"
Wei Ran's tone became more firm and confident at this time, "We won't have math class today, let alone art class or music class."
"Then what do we do?" Ivan asked again.
He took a serious look at these children whose faces were already dyed red by the setting sun, then turned to look at the guerrillas who were surrounding them and sitting on the ground with their weapons in hand.
Wei Ran picked up a wet rag from a German helmet fixed on the tree trunk and carefully wiped the smooth writing on the wooden boards. Then he took out a matchbox-sized piece of charcoal from another helmet and wiped it on the damp
The Russian word "dream" was written on the wooden board.
"Mr. Victor, I don't know the word you wrote." The child who just wanted to take music lessons said in a sweet voice.
"Dream" Ivan replied for Wei Ran, "this word is dream."
"That's right"
Wei Ran threw the charcoal in his hand back into the helmet, "Children, we have a total of two classes today. The first class is called dreams."
"Ivan, what class is this?" Sergey asked his good friend beside him in a moderate voice.
"How do I know?" Ivan responded blankly, and then he and the other children looked at Wei Ran who was standing on the ammunition box.
"In this class, we will talk about everyone's dreams." Wei Ran simply sat on the ammunition box that served as a podium, "Ivan, please tell me first, what is your future dream?"
"My dream is to be a detective!" Ivan replied without thinking.
"No no no"
Wei Ran waved his hand, "I'm talking about what your dream is after the war is over and the Germans are driven away."
"After the war?"
Ivan, the child king, was stunned, "The war will probably take a long time to end. I want to be a scout now."
"The war will be over soon"
Wei Ran obviously didn't intend to let Ivan go just like that, "So think about it now, what is your dream after the war is over."
"After the war is over..."
Ivan looked around, his young face suddenly glowing, and his voice, which was in the process of changing, was particularly firm this time, "My dream is that after the war is over, everyone can still get together! A lot of people get together.
Together!
When the time comes, we will return to the village occupied by the Germans. Teacher Gianna will still be responsible for teaching the younger brothers and sisters. Uncle Slava and Shula, I will continue to protect everyone. When I am older, I can become a soldier
Keep protecting everyone!"
As Ivan described his dream sentence by sentence, the guerrillas who were watching and whispering around him gradually became quiet. Uncle Slava, who had a pipe in his mouth, couldn't bear the frost on his face.
It brought up a smile.
"Is there anything else?" Wei Ran asked as if he was deliberately trying to embarrass Ivan, "Is there anything else besides these?"
"besides..."
Ivan rubbed his messy hair in distress, and after a moment he said happily, "I want to be a hero of the Soviet Union! A hero of the Soviet Union who can be published in newspapers and have Comrade Stalin personally award me a medal!"
"Ivan, your dream will definitely come true."
Wei Ran vowed to make a promise, and then waved his hand to signal the other party to sit down, "Sergey, don't hide, it's your turn to speak. Tell me what your dream is. Others can also think about their own first."
What is dream."
"I also want to be a hero of the Soviet Union!" Sergei stammered.
"You can be a hero of the Soviet Union." Wei Ran affirmed at first, and then continued, "But this is Ivan's dream. He has already said it, so you have to think about it again."
Seeing Sergey looking at him blankly and saying nothing, Wei Ran raised a smile on his lips and said, "Children, let's count down to Sergey from 10. When we count to 1, if he can't speak, we will
How about giving him a little punishment?"
"good!"
The children immediately became interested, and then started the countdown under the leadership of Ivan.
"10"
"9"
"8"
"7"
"Stop! Stop!" Sergey shouted, waving his little arms, "I thought of it! I thought of it! Victor, I want to be a mathematician!"
"Tell me why you want to be a mathematician?" Wei Ran, who was sitting cross-legged on the ammunition box, asked with a smile.
"Because I like math"
Sergey explained his dream seriously, "Teacher Gianna said that I am very talented in mathematics. She also said that mathematics can do many things and help many people. Although I still don't know how to use mathematics to help others, more
I don’t know what I can do, but I want to be a mathematician.”
"Well, it seems we now have a hero of the Soviet Union and a great mathematician"
Wei Ran pointed at the little blond girl who had shared the snake meat, "It's your turn, tell me what your dream is."
"I want to be a painter!"
The little girl seemed to have been prepared, and immediately said simply, "Become a great painter like Mr. Repin! I...I want to draw both the Soviet hero Mr. Ivan and the mathematician Mr. Sergey."
, and hang them in the village church!”
Before the little girl finished speaking, more and more adults listening around her could not help laughing. The faces of the two little guys, Ivan and Sergey, seemed to be dyed redder by the sunset.
"I was serious!"
The little blond girl said loudly, "I also want to draw Uncle Slava, Brother Shula, Teacher Gianna and all of them!"
"I believe you will become a great painter like Mr. Repin!"
Wei Ran affirmed once again, and then asked, "Who will talk next?"
"Me! I'm coming!"
The little boy with only one arm who was responsible for herding sheep during the day stood up and said, "After the war is over, I want to raise a hundred, no, a thousand sheep! And a thousand cows, so that the village can
Everyone here can eat meat at any time, so that everyone can drink milk as water! I...I will also plant a lot of potatoes and wheat, so that no one will be as hungry as now!"
"Vasily! You stole my dream!"
A younger child seemed unhappy, "I originally wanted to plant a lot of potatoes and wheat! Then we will have bread to eat every day!"
"That dream of potatoes and wheat is yours."
The one-armed boy named Vasily said generously, "I only have one arm, and it's really not suitable for growing potatoes and wheat."
"Thanks!"
The little guy who had just been robbed of his dream thanked him solemnly, and then said, "But I don't grow potatoes for eating. I want to turn potatoes into vodka so that Uncle Slava and the others don't have to steal Teacher Gianna's medical kit."
You can drink the alcohol in it, let alone add water to it.”
Glancing at the guerrillas who either turned their faces sideways or looked up at the sky, Wei Ran once again gave positive encouragement, "I believe you will realize your dreams, so who will be next?"
?”
"I...I want to be a singer"
The little guy who suggested taking music lessons before said while eating his fingers, "I still want to be a poet, I still want to, I still want to... I still want to be a writer!"
"Alyosha, you are too greedy!"
A little girl in rags stood up and shouted angrily, "Why do you have so many dreams? I've even planned to become a poet!"
"But I really want to"
The former bit his finger and said, "I want to write everyone into the lyrics, into the poem, and I want to write you all into the bedtime story that Teacher Gianna tells us every night."
"And you?"
Wei Ran saw the little girl closest to him holding her knees and crying, so he simply gave her the right to speak.
"I...I hope that after the war is over, my mother is still alive. She was captured by the Germans. I have...not seen her for a long time."
After saying that, the little girl whose name Wei Ran didn't even know finally stopped suppressing her cries, and the open-air classroom that had just been involved in the argument fell silent for a while. Then, the other children also lowered their heads, and originally
The guerrillas who were listening around also tightened their weapons in their arms.