When the wood board on the fireplace chimney was covered with two "卌" symbols, all the soil in the shelter was finally cleared and piled under a pine tree far away from the shelter. By the way, the soil found in the basement was also
The bones were buried underneath.
Dorian, who had fallen in love with the carpenter's work, even stamped a simple cross on the grave covered with snow.
In the warm shelter, Dorian, with the help of Wei Ran and Gale, dismantled the two sleds and cleaned them, and then worked hard to help everyone wash their clothes. Not far from him,
Kantan was repairing the rusty animal traps under the oil lamp, hoping that they would work and catch as many prey as possible.
At the entrance of the shelter, Wei Ran and Gale built a snow wall around the tent that was set up around the pine trees with remaining canvas to block the firelight.
As for the inside of the tent, the bathtub that had been excavated before had been cleaned and placed on several pieces of gravel. The gap at the bottom was even covered with a layer of charcoal that glowed with scarlet fire.
In the bathtub filled with hot water, Wei Ran lay comfortably in it, scrubbing his body with a handful of pine branches. Only when his fingertips were soaked and wrinkled did he get up and put on his Soviet cloak.
He wrapped a layer of canvas around his feet and trotted out of the tent and rushed into the shelter.
"Gail, it's your turn."
Wei Ran shivered and sat on his bed and said, how comfortable it was to take a shower just now, but how uncomfortable it was to run back to the shelter from the warm tent.
"Looking at the way you look, I don't want to wash it."
Gale, who was in a much better mood, made a joke, picked up a clean canvas to use as a blanket and walked out.
"Uncle Quentin, do we really want to go find Quentin with Gale?"
Almost as soon as the wooden door of the shelter closed, Dorian, who was helping Wei Ran wash clothes, asked immediately.
"Let's do the things in front of us first." Kantan did not answer directly. He just raised the ax in his hand and struck hard on the red-hot parts of the animal trap.
"Victor..." Dorian hesitated and looked at Wei Ran, the expression on his face was full of reluctance.
"You have to at least wait until the clothes are dry and the engine is repaired, right?"
Wei Ran explained vaguely that he had actually guessed what Kang Tan was thinking, and that this middle-aged man who was nearly fifty years old was actually just stalling for time.
Selfish? Maybe it should be called rational. For the current situation, this is almost the best way to deal with it.
When Gale also rushed back to the shelter wearing a canvas, Dorian also handed over the laundry work to Wei Ran, who was wearing a Soviet cloak around his waist. Just like Gale just now, he took a piece of clothing that was not too big.
Canvas left the shelter.
"Uncle Kantan, are you really willing to go with me to find Quentin?"
At the same moment when the wooden door of the shelter was closed, Gale, who was squatting by the fireplace and shivering, immediately asked the question he had been holding back.
"At least wait until the half-track is repaired before considering this issue," Kantan replied ambiguously, "No matter what decision we make next, we must plan for the long term."
Gale opened his mouth and wisely did not ask any more questions. Wei Ran, who was washing clothes next to him, also had some doubts about the guess he just made.
By the time Kantan had finished taking a bath, Wei Ran, Dorian, and Gale had dried all the laundry by the fireplace, and even the drag bucket used for washing clothes had been reloaded on the sled.
Got outside.
In the steaming shelter, the four of them sat side by side on the bed facing the fireplace, each holding a glass of potato wine and chatting about interesting things about their respective hometowns.
"Another day has passed"
Kantan glanced at his watch, stood up, walked to the fireplace, bent down to pick up a piece of firewood, and added a scratch to the wooden board hanging on the chimney.
“Keep drinking”
Wei Ran picked up the cup and suggested, "Now that the clothes have been washed, we can't go out even if we want to, so why not take this opportunity to drink to our heart's content."
"This is a good suggestion, but I have a better suggestion." Dorian stood up while speaking.
"What better suggestion?" Wei Ran asked curiously.
"Let's play Bellote!"
As Dorian spoke, he had already taken out a stack of canvas pieces the size of a cigarette box from the sleeping bag on his bed, "I made it with the remaining canvas, do you want to come and play? How about the loser drinking?"
"Then you should be careful, I am an expert at playing this kind of cards!" Kantan was the first to say.
"I lost a lot of money playing this." Gale was also eager to give it a try.
"Um...how do you play this thing?" Wei Ran asked in confusion.
"You don't know how?" Dorian asked Wei Ran.
"I never play cards." Wei Ran showed his hand and asked him to play Landlord or something. He had never heard of the Belot card the other party just mentioned.
"Since you haven't played before, you won't be included in the gambling game, but how about you help pour the wine?" Dorian asked with a smile.
"No problem" Wei Ran agreed happily. He originally wanted to get these people drunk, so naturally he wouldn't have any objections.
Hearing this, Gale stood up and placed the kerosene lamp hanging on the wall in the center of the table, and Dorian also began to place the canvas cards on the table one by one.
What makes Wei Ran even more confused is that there are only 32 cards in total. Except for the cards from 2 to 6, there is no king or king. The rest are not much different from serious playing cards.
But the gameplay introduced by Dorian and the other three people made him confused. In short, he couldn't understand it at all.
Fortunately, these three people did not embarrass Wei Ran. They simply explained how to play and then started dealing cards. What Wei Ran had to do was just randomly throw out a card that met the requirements when he was required to play a card.
That’s all.
Although he couldn't understand the game, he had to admit that this kind of gameplay, which he had never heard of before, was definitely a fast-paced game. In less than half an hour, a whole bottle of potato wine was drank by the other three.
into the stomach, and the one who drank the most was Kantan, who claimed to be an expert.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! Another half hour passed, and Gale and Dorian were already drunk and talking nonsense.
Seeing this, Wei Ran got up on the pretext of adding some firewood to the fireplace, and without leaving a trace, he took out the Rolleiflex camera in the metal book. After adjusting the aperture, he used his body to cover the three of them and pressed the button while coughing.
opened the shutter.
"Just...what was that sound just now?" Gale asked in confusion, "Why did it sound like the shutter of a camera."
"It's me who's coughing," Wei Ran, who had put away his camera, said sincerely, "Gail, you drank too much."
"I...I really can't drink anymore." Gale waved his hand, stood up unsteadily and walked to the bed not far away.
"Me...I can't do it either." Dorian stood up and complained as he moved to the bed, "Quantan...Uncle Kantan is indeed an expert in drinking."
Looking at Kantan again, he was already leaning against the wall and snoring.
"Ha! The French..."
Wei Ran curled his lips, and after Dorian started snoring, he blatantly took out his camera again and took another drunken close-up of each of them.
Finally, he took a photo of this shelter with unfinished content. Wei Ran waited quietly for a moment. Seeing that the metal book did not send him back, he could only shake his head helplessly, lying on the bed and secretly thinking about what would happen next.
What happened.
Unknowingly, Wei Ran also closed his eyes and fell asleep. When he woke up again, the wind and snow outside had stopped.
Although Quantan and Dorian were still snoring, Gale had already woken up and was putting on the bearskin wooden shoes on his feet.
"Are you awake?" Gale glanced at Wei Ran who had already sat up, "Victor, how about you help me disassemble the engine?"
"Now?"
"Of course" Gale nodded, "Okay?"
"Wait while I put on my clothes first," Wei Ran said, having already walked to the fireplace and put on the warm clothes he was baking.
Finally, he put on his boots and a gas mask to keep out the cold. Wei Ran picked up the submachine gun hanging on the back of the door and followed Gale out of the warm shelter.
Working together to pull the sled that had been used for washing clothes, and carrying an extra thick wooden stick, the two of them walked silently towards the lake outside the coniferous forest under the surging aurora.
After hiding in the shelter for more than ten days, the footprints they left had long since been covered by snow, leaving no trace.
"You must not want to go find Quentin, right?" Gale said to himself when he was about to walk out of the forest.
Before Wei Ran could speak, Gale continued, "Quentin and I have known each other for a long time. At that time, I was about the same age as Dorian. At that time, he was traveling to the Alps and needed a guide."
"So you became his guide?" Wei Ran asked following the other person's words.
Gale nodded, remained silent for a moment and continued, "I was not doing well at that time, and because I was young, no one wanted to hire me, even if the cost of hiring me was only half of others.
At that time, there was only Quentin, and he gave me the same commission as others, and also allowed me to use part of it in advance to buy some thick enough clothes and shoes."
Having said this, Gale glanced at Wei Ran beside him, "We encountered an avalanche that time. Although we were not injured, we were trapped on the mountain for almost a week before we survived. That time, Quentin even lost one from the cold.
big toe."
"You are so lucky," Wei Ran sighed.
“It is truly a blessing from God”
Gale stopped and said, "Even so, Quentin paid the employment fee in full and invited me to work in his restaurant. He said that that way I wouldn't have to take risks in the Alps every day."
"So you went?"
"why not?"
Gale spread his hands and explained calmly, "My mother is a gypsy girl, and my father is a famous bad gambler in our area. Even if there are no Germans, not many people think highly of me or are willing to give me a job.
.”
"Sorry," Wei Ran said apologetically.
"nothing"
Gale continued to drag the bucket towards the lake, "Working in Quentin's restaurant was the happiest time for me. Every day I could eat all kinds of French and German food that I couldn't even imagine, and I could also wear clothes
Decent clothes, I even have my own leather shoes and tie, and of course, a suit that Quentin gave me."
"He is such a good person," Wei Ran couldn't help but sigh.
"He also has a son."
Gale gestured with his hands, "It's only as high as my knees. When we were arrested, the little guy had just learned to walk. I don't know if he is still alive now."
"Do you have any ideas about finding Quentin?" Wei Ran asked, looking at Gale's back.
"No..." Gale paused, "But I'm sure he's still alive, and he must have gone north."
"Since you are so confident, let's go find him after the half-track motorcycle is repaired." This time, Wei Ran made an extremely certain decision in an extremely sure tone.
