Regarding the students who successfully joined the army, Perm No. 1 Middle School is handling their follow-up procedures at an extremely fast speed.
For students like Jill, their identities have undergone major changes since October 9th.
He slept in the dormitory all night, and when the early morning bugle woke up the students in the entire dormitory area, the awake Gil still instinctively thought about today's class. Suddenly, he really woke up.
"Yes, I don't have to go to school today!"
He patted his head hard, and what he had to do now was to pack up his things and go home.
After making a major decision yesterday, his personal life has undergone earth-shaking changes. Jill understands that she has actually graduated from high school. If she takes her things home today, she will appear as a soldier in at most two or three days.
In a military camp in the distance.
Because he was a volunteer, Gill signed a term of service of up to five years.
At present, no one knows how long the war will last, so all new recruits will serve for a long time. Gill also knows that if the war is not over within five years, he will continue to serve.
But, can I survive the rest of my military career unscathed?
He didn't dare to think too much.
He is not afraid of sacrifice, but he is afraid that his own sacrifice will cause his relatives and friends to suffer for a lifetime.
There are sixty more people like Gil in the whole of Perm. They all pack their things on the same day and take the time to say goodbye to their families.
Not only is Jill's father aware of his son's decision, what he can do now is to provide final help to his son.
Old Ivanov borrowed the car from his employer for this trip to take his son and the luggage home. He parked the car in front of the school and waited for his son to come back carrying a huge hemp bag.
In the wind and snow, old Ivanov was waiting at the school gate with a solemn expression.
It was a big deal that his son was about to join the army. He never imagined that his son would be immediately promoted by a division commander.
Not far from the old Ivanov's car, another car stopped. There was a person sitting in the car. He was none other than Balzen himself.
Gil's luggage is not much, but he moved without the help of his roommates. The so-called roommates are actually students in Class 6. What happened yesterday has caused the loss of ten students in Class 6. Everyone is in a bad mood.
is complicated.
Last night, Jill and his roommates had a short "sleeping talk". Faced with the fact that their classmates were joining the army, those who had not left knew very well that they were actually only "not leaving for the time being."
In today's war, every man has the obligation to join the army. In addition to wishing Gil a meritorious service, they also asked him to be more careful on the battlefield.
The snow is still falling, and the whole world is still gray.
Gil left some personal belongings as gifts for his classmates. Finally, his luggage was wrapped in a large linen cloth. Thanks to his excellent physical fitness, he could run around carrying a large bag.
He moved forward with his head raised, like a snail struggling to move forward in the wind and snow, each foot seemed so heavy.
Suddenly, a crisp voice called out.
"Gil! Gil Ivanovich!"
Jill raised her head suddenly and saw not far away, a girl wearing thick clothes, looking directly at him with her shining eyes.
It's Natasha!
"Ah! You! Natasha, why are you here? Don't you go to class?"
"No, I've already asked for leave!" Natasha quickly approached, trying to share Jill's burden.
"It's okay, Natasha. I can bear this weight. I'm not so thin that I need a woman's help." Jill answered with her head raised.
"Okay, then I won't force it." After saying that, the girl also let go of her hands.
"So, you are here to see me off in person today? I really can't believe that..."
"We are friends."
In the wind and snow, a few strands of golden threads were floating in the snow, Natasha's smile seemed to dispel the cold, and the word "friend" deeply stimulated Jill's heart.
"Yes! We are classmates."
"You are also a comrade-in-arms. You are about to enlist in the army. As a classmate and comrade-in-arms, I want to see you off. Not only that, there is an unfulfilled agreement between us."
"What?!" Originally, after being completely rejected by Natasha, Jill felt that she had little relationship with this girl. After all, we were not the same people. Now, the situation seemed to be wrong.
"Oh, you've forgotten all the hard work you've done in just a few days?!" Natasha said excitedly, "I'm going to be a guest at your home! It's a critical moment. If I don't come as a guest, I won't have a chance."
"you!"
It was indeed only a few days before Jill remembered her agreement after being reminded by the girl. But is the time really ripe now?
"Natasha, this...I don't even have time to explain this to my parents. Isn't it too abrupt?"
"No, actually I have already met your father. Just because he didn't want to be too public, he would drive the car directly into the school."
"ah?!"
Jill looked confused. The snowfall in the past few days forced her to live in school. How did she know what her parents had done without telling her?
Moreover, Natasha lives in a separate girls' dormitory, so she doesn't even know what she did.
Although she can never be his woman, there is still friendship between them.
Jill looked at Natasha today. In addition to her thicker clothes, her dress did have some characteristics.
For example, she is wearing pants.
In this era, women in the Soviet Union did not like to wear pants no matter their age. The reason was that the whole society thought it was weird for women to wear pants.
For a long time, Jill has rarely seen girls wearing trousers in school. They all wear various types of skirts, whether they are regular clothes or school uniforms. Including the current wind and snow season, their skirts are thicker and warmer.
But Natasha, that's the dress she was wearing today. Looking carefully, Jill felt that what she was wearing today was purely men's clothes.
Last night Natasha accepted the invitation of the old chief Balzen. Although she didn't drink much wine, because it was getting late and there was continuous snow and wind outside, Natasha thought about it and decided to spend the night in the military hotel.
That night, as a major, she received extremely high standards of treatment from the hotel. She even got to eat the very rare cream dessert. The reason is that she is Speroskina!
She mentioned her agreement with Jill to Balzen. After Balzen sobered up, he changed today's itinerary without any hesitation. It was necessary to go to the No. 2 Middle School for recruitment, and he could put the most critical interview in the afternoon.
, the previous matters can be handled by the comrades of the conscription committee.
The distance between the Military Hotel and the Perm Post Office was not far. Early in the morning, Balzen and Natasha had already met with old Ivanov at the Military Hotel.
In the morning, Natasha put on the woolen coat given by Balzen, put on military trousers to keep out the cold, and wore a Cossack-style velvet hat on her head.
Just as Balzen estimated, Natasha was half a head shorter than him, so she still fit well in this coat.
Natasha intends to personally pick up the evacuated Jill, but she still needs to do some things before that.
Facing Jill's speculation, the girl finally smiled.
"Do you think I'm weird today? Why are you staring at me?!"
"Well...your clothes look...very warm."
"Of course! This is the woolen military coat issued to the army. By the way, I'll show you some good things."
Natasha did not wear an armed belt, otherwise she would look too strange walking around the school.
She slowly opened several slits in her thick coat, and then, something made of metal came into view.
Not only that, there is another set of clothing under Natasha's coat. It is not a school uniform, but a military uniform.
Jill was stunned. All she saw was a row of medals on the girl's chest hidden by her coat, especially two gold five-pointed stars with red ribbons, which were the most eye-catching presence.
Gil, who was so stimulated, couldn't stand still and fell down on the snow. He raised his head and looked at Natasha, who was still standing, as if looking up to a female war goddess.
Natasha quickly closed her coat, stretched out her right hand, and asked with a smile: "Do you need me to give you a hand?"
"Okay...okay."
Gil stretched out his arms without thinking, and then a huge force suddenly pulled him and his luggage up.
This is her strength, the strength of an old warrior.
"Stop dawdling, let's go!" Natasha urged impatiently, and then simply pushed the heavy body of Jill's captured luggage.
"Okay! Let's go. You are welcome to my home."
The people at the school gate didn't wait too long. Jill finally saw her parents who had been waiting for a long time.
Regarding the issue of their son joining the army, the old couple really had nothing but reluctance and helplessness, and could only accept the reality that it would inevitably happen sooner or later.
Old Ivanov, who had already thought about it, looked at his son with an old face, and Speroskina who accompanied him, also known as Kharkova under the pseudonym.
When his son excitedly announced that he was in love, at that moment old Ivanov had a sweet dream.
After all, it was a dream, and now that "Kharkova" is with my son.
It's a pity that she is not Aiko's future life partner. In the wind and snow, she is more like a female war goddess who leads the way, escorting the young warriors to the battlefield.
Old Ivanov looked at his son solemnly, but Ivanova, a Slavic mother over fifty years old, rushed towards her only son with tears welling up.
Ivanova knew that she could not change the common fate of all young men in the Soviet Union. She hugged her son tightly and cherished the few warm moments left.
There are some words that must never be spoken.
Ivanova knew that her son would be leaving for the new military camp in a few days, and it might be a life-and-death farewell.
"Oh! Mom, don't worry about me." Jill tried to comfort her mother, "I will make great contributions on the battlefield. I heard Natasha say that you have already met my future division commander."
"Of course, including Speroskina." Old Ivanov put on his typical Russian melancholy face and continued, "That is a division commander who was promoted from a heroic unit. Maybe you will have a lot of success following him.
Great achievement. Let’s go. When we get home, we will naturally have a chance to have a good chat.”
On this day, Jill's home in the "Post Office Staff Apartment" was very lively. Since most of the neighbors had gone to work and school, the atmosphere was not too lively.
Gil was mentally prepared to join the army, and he immediately accepted Natasha's home visit today.
He never imagined that he had such great dignity that he could trouble his teacher to come to his home to be a guest in person.
Soon, Jill understood everything.
He and Natasha were indeed friends. Even though he deliberately wanted to alienate her, Natasha never thought of doing so. They just couldn't be a couple, they could just be friends or comrades-in-arms.
It was because of Natasha's constant good words in front of the division commander that she was transferred directly to the division headquarters.
Balzen swore that his decision would be a military order. Knowing this, Old Ivanov sighed with emotion that his son had a good future because of Speroskina's help. Not only that, Old Ivanov
Vanov knew even more what it meant to serve as a communications soldier at the division headquarters.
As an old guy who experienced the civil war more than 20 years ago, Old Ivanov firmly believes that even if the war situation changes greatly, many things will remain the same.
For example, a normal army will try every means to ensure the safety of its headquarters. The more elite the army is, the stronger the defense force of its headquarters will be.
Therefore, in wars, the casualty rate of senior officers is not high, and it is for this reason.
If his son is in danger when he is on duty within the headquarters, doesn't it mean that the division commander himself is also facing the threat of casualties? Division Commander Balzen's decision is equivalent to giving his son a good safety guarantee.
The wily and scheming old Ivanov saw through but did not tell the truth. He only cleverly boasted that he taught his son to learn code for the sake of the country's communications industry.
As for Gil, he only knew that he had received special care from his teacher.
So how should we respond to this concern?
At home, Jill made a vow: "In one week, I will memorize the code book so well that as long as I hear the ticking of the transmitter, I can translate it at the same time!"
"Hey! Are you okay?" Balzen felt curious. After all, a newborn calf is not afraid of tigers. Is a specially recruited eighteen-year-old boy so arrogant?
However, Gil's father Ivanov Sr. offered an assist: "If someone who knows nothing about Morse code comes to learn our country's military cryptography system, he must start from scratch. My son is already proficient in receiving and sending telegrams. He just
He needs to recite the code book, and his brain is very good, so maybe one day is enough."
The words were spoken by a senior postal practitioner. Balzen admired the people at these post offices. These guys must have very high mathematical abilities to complete the correct classification of recipient addresses in the massive amount of letters and packages. Finally,
, the strong and determined postman then delivers the letters to the most remote farms.
Now, Balzen feels like he has truly found a piece of gold.
Because the core of the urgently added troops of the 324th Division is the only handful of people who have been on the battlefield.
The army lacks all kinds of management, especially the communication system, which lacks experts.
Balzen couldn't help but fall into a reverie. In the communications platoon of his headquarters, the platoon leader himself had served as a communications soldier on the battlefield, and the others were all beginners. As the old Ivanov said, many people really started from scratch.
.
If this Gil Ivanov is really as his father praised him, not only can he use a telegraph machine, but he can also memorize the code book backwards in two or three days. In this way, should the platoon leader of the division's communications platoon consider replacing him?
Woolen cloth?
Balzen had made up his mind, but he did not say it directly at the moment.
He only strongly encouraged Jill with a few words: "Dear comrade, I was the commander of the reconnaissance battalion of the 284th Guards Red Banner Division. Under my command were not only sniper heroes like Natasha, but also a man named Mihai.
Seoul's communications corpsman. He followed me and fought hard for a whole year, and now he has been transferred to the headquarters of the 63rd Army.
I left the 63rd Army fighting in the swamps, and also left Mikhail, whom I trusted.
Now I have been ordered to form a new army, who can be my new best assistant?