Sokov remembered that before leaving Moscow, he lent the house to Anne, a nurse in the military hospital opposite. He didn't know if she was at home at the moment. If she was not there, she wouldn't be able to enter.
"Yasa, I think you'd better find another place for me." Sokov said in a little embarrassedly: "I'm worried that I'll get to the place later and I won't be able to enter the door."
Unexpectedly, after hearing this, Yakov said carelessly: "Don't worry, in fact, there are spare keys in the duty room of every house, so that you can avoid forgetting to bring the key or losing the key and being unable to enter the door."
When Sokov learned that he could get the spare key to the room in the downstairs duty room, he felt much more at ease. He heard Yakov say again: "Last year, the Germans approached Moscow, and a large number of people were evacuated to the rear, and many vacant houses appeared in the city. If it weren't for the duty room in the building where you were, I'm afraid that when you go home, you might find a bunch of strangers living in your home."
"Ah?!" Sokov was stunned. "Didn't the vacant houses be locked, or the spare keys in the duty room are not properly kept, so that strangers can enter and exit at will?"
"The situation is not what you think." Yakov explained to the confused Sokov: "Although a large number of people were evacuated in the city, there were also residents evacuated from other cities entering Moscow. Because there were too many people, it was impossible to arrange accommodation for everyone, so they could only find a way to find a place for themselves.
When they find an empty house, they will break in and take it for themselves. In this case, police usually turn a blind eye and will not ask about it as long as there is no trouble."
More than ten minutes later, the car arrived at Lenin Street.
Yakov parked his car downstairs and asked Sokov with his face sideways: "Misha, do you need me to accompany you?"
"No need." Sokov was worried that Yakov would come up to see Anne and cause unnecessary trouble, so he shook his head and said, "I'm fine alone."
Sokov opened the iron door on the ground floor and walked into the corridor. He came to the duty room and looked inside through the glass window. He saw a fat aunt sleeping on the table, then raised her hand and knocked on the glass. The fat aunt raised her head, opened the window, looked at Sokov with a blank look on her face and asked, "Comrade Commander, are you doing anything?"
"That's right. I'm a resident on the third floor. I just came back from the front line today." Sokov said politely: "Can you give me the spare key?"
"Which room is it?" asked the fat aunt.
After Sokov said the room number, the fat aunt showed a surprised expression on her face: "Comrade Commander, when it was dark, I saw your wife coming home. You can go up and knock on the door directly, without the need for a spare key."
When Sokov heard the fat aunt say that his wife was at home, he was stunned at first, thinking that Asia wasn't in Stalingrad, when did she go back to Moscow? But then he realized that the other party must have regarded Anne as his wife, but he did not correct the other party, but just thanked the other party with a smile, turned around and walked onto the stairs.
When he came to his home, Sokov's heartbeat suddenly accelerated, and he was even more nervous than going to the battlefield. He took a few deep breaths and his emotions stabilized slightly. He raised his hand and knocked on the door a few times, and soon a voice came from the door: "Who?"
Because the sound was too low, Sokov could not confirm whether it was Anne, so he did not answer and knocked on the door a few more times. This time the sound from the door became louder, as if the people in the room had arrived at the door: "Who is it, who is knocking on the door?"
"It's me." Sokov heard it this time. The person who asked was Anne, and he quickly replied: "I'm Misha, I'm back!"
The door of the room opened and Anne, wearing a nightgown, appeared at the door. After she looked Sokov up and down, her face showed an excited expression: "Misha, it's really you, I'm not dreaming, right?"
"No, Anne, you're not dreaming." Sokov replied with a smile: "It's true that I'm back."
Unexpectedly, after hearing this, Annie's face changed. She suddenly reached out and grabbed Sokov's arm, pulled him into the room, then looked outside, and then carefully closed the door.
Sokov was confused by Anne's behavior. Before he could ask, Anne, who had just closed the door, approached his ear and asked in a low and hurried manner: "Misha, why did you come back at such a time? Could it be that you were a deserter?"
"Annie, who are you talking to?" At this moment, a woman's voice came from the kitchen.
Sokov widened his eyes in surprise. Unexpectedly, there were other women in the room besides Anne. He quickly pointed his hand in the direction of the kitchen and asked Anne silently: "Who is in the kitchen?"
"Don't worry, it's Doctor Tonya. She is also your friend and will not report you to the patrol." After Annie said that, she pulled Sokov to the kitchen without saying a word.
As soon as he entered the kitchen, Annie said to Tonia inside, "Tonia, look, who is here?"
"Ah, it's Misha!" Donya saw clearly that the person who followed Annie was Sokov, and couldn't help but exclaim. The plate in her hand fell to the ground and fell to pieces. She did not care about the plate that fell to the ground, but threw herself into Sokov's arms, hugged his waist tightly, and said excitedly: "Mishau, I really didn't expect that you are still alive, you are still alive, and I thought you would have died long ago."
Sokov hugged Tonia and patted her back twice. For a moment, he couldn't find anything to comfort Tonia in his arms.
"Tonya, be quiet, don't disturb the neighbors." Annie leaned closer to Toonya and whispered: "Misa escaped from the runaway."
"What, did you escape back when you travelled?" Hearing Annie say this, Tonya pushed Sokov away and took two steps back. She didn't bother to wipe away the tears from her face, and asked seriously: "Misha, are you really escape back when you travelled?"
Sokov was really amused and crying. As soon as he saw Annie, the little girl insisted that she was back from a runaway. Before she could explain, she told Dongniya that she was a runaway. Now seeing Dongniya's expression, if she didn't explain it clearly to her, she might kill her relatives for justice and report herself.
"Don't talk nonsense, how could I be a deserter?" Sokov quickly untied his military coat and exposed the pullover inside. He pointed at several medals on his chest and said, "Have you ever seen deserters with medals?"
Hearing Sokov say that he is not a deserter, and seeing those medals and the rank of colonel on the seal, Tonya realized that she had blamed Sokov by mistake, her pretty face turned red and her expression softened. She turned her head and looked at Annie next to her, and said in a reproachful tone: "Annie, it's all your fault. I'm just talking nonsense without knowing anything, which made me blame Misha for wrongly."
Anne, who was standing beside her, was also embarrassed because she misunderstood Sokov. She lowered her head and said to Sokov: "I'm sorry, Misha, I made a mistake. Please forgive me."
Sokov opened his arms and hugged the two girls. Seeing that there were still things cooking on the stove and smelling the aroma from the pot, which seemed to be red vegetable soup, he felt a little hungry and asked, "Is there anything I can eat? I'm almost starving."
"Some, some, we are making red vegetable soup." Dongniya raised her hand and wiped away the tears from her face: "You sit for a while, we'll be ready to eat soon."
After Sokov sat down at the dining table, he looked at the busy Tonya and Anne and said with surprise: "I didn't expect that both of you actually live here."
"There's no way," Tonya spread her hands and said with a wry smile: "The house I live in was destroyed by a German bomb. It happened that Anne said she lived in your house, close to the hospital and it was convenient to get to get off work, so she asked me to move in with her. By the way, I heard that your troops were not in Stalingrad, so why did they suddenly appear in Moscow?"
"How do you know I'm in Stalingrad?"
"In our hospital, a group of seriously injured people from Stalingrad were treated." Anne explained with a smile: "I heard one of the wounded people say that he is from the 73rd Infantry Brigade, and the brigade commander is you Sokov."
Hearing the number of the 73rd Infantry Brigade, Sokov speculated that the wounded should have been injured in the early stages of the city defense war, otherwise he would not have been sent to Moscow for treatment. When he was about to say a few words, he heard Anne say again: "I heard that you were injured too. Have your injuries been healed?"
Dongniya, who was serving soup in front of the stove, heard Annie say this, quickly put down the tableware in her hand and walked over to lift Sokov's pullover. Sokov, who was unknown, asked quickly, "Donia, what are you going to do?"
"Look at where you were injured," Donia lifted Sokov's clothes and saw several scars on his body, tears suddenly fell. She choked and said, "Misha, you are all brigade commanders, why are you still injured so many times?"
Sokov did not correct the mistakes in the other party's position title, grinned and replied: "In the battle to defend the city, even the general took up weapons to fight the enemy. Naturally, a colonel like me, could not fall behind."
Anne helped bring the soup over, put a bowl of it in front of Sokov, and asked again: "Misha, I heard the news that Stalingrad is now launching a counterattack against the Germans. How could you come back suddenly?"
Sokov restrained the smile on his face and said with a serious expression: "The reason was not explained before my superiors recruited me back. When I arrived in Moscow, I told me that my mother was unfortunately killed by a German bomb in the bombing a few days ago. I was called back to deal with her funeral."
"Ah, your mother was killed by a German bomb?" Annie was shocked after hearing this and asked quickly: "I don't know where her body is parked, I want to go and see it."
"Yes, Misha, where is your mother's body parked?" Dongniya also echoed: "Let's go and have a look with you."
"I don't know." Sokov shook his head and said with a wry smile: "The superior only told me that the place where she worked was bombed, and she and several dead workers were buried in the ruins, and no bodies were found yet."
Donia walked behind Sokov, reached out to hug him, and comforted him, "Misha, don't worry, I believe that your mother's body will be found in no time. At that time, Anne and I will accompany you to bury your mother."
Because of the news of Sokov's mother's death, the atmosphere in the kitchen seemed particularly dull when the three of them sat down to eat.
To ease the atmosphere, Sokov deliberately changed the topic: "Have you both been staying in the hospital?"
"No." Donia shook her head and said, "In the first half of the year, Annie and I went to the Western Front. At that time, I thought we could meet you there, but after I went there, I realized that your troops had been transferred. As for where to transfer, we could not find out because of the confidentiality involved."
"After my troops were transferred from the Western Front, I went to many places and finally went to Stalingrad." Sokov picked up a piece of bread on the table and said while eating: "Responsible for the defense mission of Mamayev's gang."
"Responsible for the defensive mission of Mamayev's gang?" Dongniya and Anne couldn't help but widen their eyes in surprise when they heard Sokov say this: "But according to news reports, aren't the troops that hold there the 41st Guard Division?"
"Yes, the troops that are stuck there are indeed the 41st Guard Division." Sokov considered that these things were not to be kept confidential, so he said to the two girls with confidence: "I initially commanded the 73rd Infantry Brigade. Later, after a series of battles, my troops suffered serious losses. The superiors transferred the 41st Guard Division from outside the city..."
"The 41st Guards Division will take over your defense." Annie couldn't help but interrupt and asked cleverly: "Am I right, Misha?"
"You are wrong." Sokov smiled and shook his head and said, "After the 41st Guards Division entered Mamayevgang, the original 73rd Infantry Brigade was reduced to a regiment and under the command of the division. The original division commander should be the deputy division commander, and I will take on the position of division commander."
"Wow, Misha, you are so awesome." Anne couldn't help but widen her eyes in surprise when she heard Sokov say this: "I didn't expect that you had already arrived at the commander."
Compared with Anne, Tonia seemed much more steady. She said with a full face: "Misha, I really didn't expect that the heroic unit that was standing on Mamayev's hill was actually commanded by you. You may not know how many young girls want to marry the young division commander of the Guard Division after reading the newspaper reports!"
"How did they know that the division commander is a young man?" Sokov asked in confusion.
"Although the news reports did not specify your name in order to keep it a secret, it was reported that the teacher was a handsome young man in his twenties and had not yet been married." Dongniya grinned and said with a stiff expression: "I ask, in today's environment, which girl doesn't like heroes? What's more, this hero is also a young unmarried teacher."