After visiting the arsenal, it was already dark, and it was impossible to continue the tour of the artillery and tank factories, or return to the front by plane, so Vasilevsky settled Rokossovsky on Arbat Street.

In the military hotel, Rokossovsky unexpectedly met Ponomarenko. Ponomarenko was chatting with the manager of the hotel in the hall, and when he saw Rokossovsky walking in from outside, he hurriedly greeted him and said with a smile: "Comrade commander, you are here!" ”

While shaking hands with him, Rokossovsky asked curiously: "Comrade Military Commissar, why are you still here, I thought you went back to the army." ”

"Yes, I wanted to go back to the army, but as soon as I left the Kremlin, I was stopped by the officer on duty at the gate." Ponomarenko explained to Rokossovsky: "He said that by order of his superiors, let me stay in Moscow for one night and wait for tomorrow to return to the troops with you." ”

"That's fine." Rokossovsky nodded and said, "I'm going to visit a few more places tomorrow, and when the tour is over, we'll go back together." By the way, did you have dinner? ”

"I haven't eaten yet," said Ponomarenko, "let's go, let's go to the restaurant for some food." ”

The hotel manager standing next to him was also a military man, his rank was only major, and he could not be compared with the two generals who were chatting at all. Hearing that the two of them said that they were going to the restaurant for dinner, they hurriedly stepped forward and greeted the two warmly: "Two comrades, generals, please come to me, and I will take you to the restaurant." ”

When they entered the restaurant, it was just in time for dinner, and there were many people in the restaurant, and as far as the eye could see, there were people sitting at almost every table. The manager guessed that the two generals might discuss something important during the meal, and it would definitely be inconvenient in this kind of crowded restaurant, so he took the initiative to say to the two: "Comrades generals, please wait a moment, I will go and see where there are still vacancies." ”

He walked away and quickly returned, and said to Rokossovsky with a smile: "Comrade General, I have prepared a single room for you, where you can eat." Don't worry, it's quiet inside, and no one will bother you. ”

A few minutes later, Rokossovsky and Ponomarenko sat down in their rooms and began to eat dinner.

Ponomarenko glanced at the closed door, and then asked in a low voice: "Comrade commander, where are you going to visit today?" ”

Rokossovsky thought that the visit to the arsenal should not be considered a secret matter, and he did not hide it from Ponomarenko: "I went to visit an arsenal with Zhukov today, where all kinds of guns are produced. ”

After Ponomarenko said "oh", he asked curiously: "I heard an old comrade-in-arms say that the Weapons and Equipment Department is developing a new type of rifle, I don't know if you have seen it this time?" ”

"I don't see any new weapons being developed." Rokossovsky shook his head and said: "Even if there is, others will not let us see it casually." Seeing Ponomarenko's look of regret, he hesitated for a moment, and finally spoke, "But I gave them a blueprint for a new rifle." ”

"What, you gave them the blueprints for the new rifle?" Hearing Rokossovsky say this, Ponomarenko's eyes couldn't help but widen in surprise: "Comrade commander, I heard you right, you actually provided the arsenal with a design drawing for a new rifle. ”

Rokossovsky nodded and said affirmatively: "I see that the Mosin Lagan rifles and submachine guns used by the troops have their own flaws, so I designed this new weapon after repeated considerations. ”

After listening to Rokossovsky's account, Ponomarenko said happily: "Comrade commander, you are really amazing, not only in commanding operations, but also a good hand; What's even more surprising is that you can design a new rifle. ”

"I wonder when this new rifle will be able to equip the troops?" Ponomarenko asked curiously.

"It will take at least one or two months to build a qualified prototype gun according to the drawings." Although Rokossovsky drew detailed drawings for the arsenal, he really didn't know when the other party would be able to manufacture a qualified sample gun, so he could only say vaguely: "If you want to equip the troops, you may have to wait until next year at the earliest." ”

"Ah, how long is it going to take?" Knowing that the new rifle would not be able to equip the troops until next year at the earliest, Ponomarenko suddenly lost interest and turned the topic back to the next combat mission of the troops.

When Rokossovsky returned to his room, he felt that he had finally come to Moscow, and that there was nothing to do anyway, so he might as well contact Borisova or Serova to see if he could ask them out for coffee or a movie.

He picked up the phone in the room and first called Serova's film studio. When the phone rang, he remembered that it was already night, and Serova should have left work long ago.

Just as he was about to hang up the phone, he heard a man's voice coming from the receiver: "This is a film studio, who are you looking for?" ”

"Hello," Rokossovsky said with some flustery, "I want to find Serova, I wonder if she is not there?" ”

"She's not here." The other party replied coldly.

Rokossovsky guessed that Serova's fans were often calling, which caused the comrade who answered the phone to look impatient, but he still politely asked: "Is she going home?" ”

"No," the other party said, "Her film crew went to other places to make a movie the day before yesterday, and it won't be back until half a month at the earliest." Who are you and how can she contact you when she returns? ”

"No thanks. I'd better wait for her to come back and call her again. After Rokossovsky finished speaking, he hung up the phone directly.

Since Serova is not there, Rokossovsky is ready to contact Borisova again. This time, after the call was dialed, the ringing rang until it hung up automatically, and no one answered. "She may be at home," Rokossovsky said to himself, "maybe I should go to the house and look for her." ”

After he made up his mind, he dialed the phone number of the manager's office and asked politely: "Comrade manager, I want to go out, can you arrange a car for me?" ”

"No problem, Comrade General." The manager said very enthusiastically: "I'll call the car squad right away and ask them to send you a car." ”

After a few minutes, the manager's phone called: "Comrade General, the car is already waiting for you at the door of the hotel." ”

Rokossovsky walked out of the hotel, and immediately a soldier greeted him and politely asked: "Comrade General, do you want to use the car?" ”

"Yes."

"Please get in the car." The warrior said, reaching out and opening the back door.

After Rokossovsky got into the car, the soldier in the driver's seat turned his head and asked: "Comrade General, where are we going next?" ”

After Rokossovsky told the fighters the location of Borisova's house, he asked uneasily: "Comrade fighters, can you find your way?" ”

"No problem." The fighter confidently said: "I am very familiar with Moscow, and there is no place that I can't find yet." ”

When the sedan stopped downstairs in Borisova's house, the fighter who drove the car turned to Rokossovsky and said: "Comrade General, we have arrived at the place. ”

Rokossovsky nodded, pushed the door and got out of the car, and said to the fighters: "Please wait for me here for a while." With that, he walked towards the dormitory building.

As soon as he walked into the dormitory building, he heard a man shouting, "Hey, comrade, who are you looking for?" ”

Rokossovsky turned his head and saw that it was the old lady guarding the dormitory, so he walked towards her with a smile and said, "Good evening, do you remember me?" I'm here to find Borisova. ”

"Hello, Comrade General." The old lady recognized Rokossovsky and said politely: "You have come to Comrade Borisova again, but she is not there, it seems that she is on a business trip." ”

"On a business trip?" When Rokossovsky heard the old lady say this, his heart suddenly cooled, and he couldn't imagine that he would finally return to Moscow once, but as a result, Borisova and Serova were not there. He asked a little reluctantly, "Do you know where she went on a business trip?" ”

"It should be Kuibyshev," the old lady said in an uncertain tone, "as far as I know, the comrades of the Industrial Bureau have been going on business trips to Kuibyshev a lot lately. ”

"Do you know when she's back?" Rokossovsky asked nervously.

The old lady shook her head and replied, "I don't know, maybe a day or two, maybe ten days and half a month, it's all impossible." Comrade General, you should come back in a few days. ”

Disappointed, Rokossovsky came out of the building and got back into the car. The fighters who drove the car thought it was quite strange to see Rokossovsky come out so quickly. But he still took the initiative to ask: "Comrade General, where are we going next?" ”

"Back to the hotel."

……

……

Early the next morning, Ustinov sent someone to pick up Rokossovsky, and at the same time brought Ponomarenko with him.

Ponomarenko sat in the car and asked the officer who came to pick them up: "Comrade officer, where are we going?" ”

The officer half-turned around and said to Ponomarenko, who was sitting in the back row: "Comrade General, the first thing we will visit today is the tank production plant. After saying that, he turned around and did not say where it was or what the name of the tank factory to be visited was.

After arriving at the factory and seeing Ustinov, who had come to greet him, Rokossovsky understood why he had to bring Ponomarenko with him, because Zhukov and Vasilevsky had important things to do and could not come to visit. In order not to be too bored, he asked Ponomarenko to visit the tank factory as well.

During a tour of the production plant, Ustinov, who was following the director of the plant, turned his head and asked Rokossovsky: "Comrade General, yesterday during a visit to the small arms factory, you designed a new rifle; I wonder if today's tank factory can also trigger your inspiration? ”

"Comrade Ustinov, you are laughing." Rokossovsky was a little embarrassed and said: "I'm not familiar with tanks, so I can't get any inspiration." ”

As soon as he spoke, he saw a group of people coming from the opposite side. When the factory director who led the team saw the group of people, he whispered a few words to Ustinov, and then went up alone.

After the director of the plant walked away, Ustinov explained to Rokossovsky: "Comrade Rokossovsky, the director of the plant said that the director of the industrial bureau was visiting with comrades from other places, and he wanted to go over to say hello. ”

When Rokossovsky heard the words "director of industry", he immediately came to his senses, and he concentrated his eyes on the crowd in front of him, trying to find the familiar figure among them. Fortunately, the hard work paid off, and he really saw the figure he wanted to see. He tried to keep his mood steady, and then he said to Ustinov: "Since they are all comrades who have come to visit, let's go and say hello to them." ”

Ustinov did not know what Rokossovsky really thought, so he said cheerfully: "No problem, let's go and say hello to them." ”

When Rokossovsky came up behind the familiar figure, coughed lightly, and asked in a low voice: "Are you okay?" As soon as he finished speaking, the man was shocked, then turned around, looked at Rokossovsky in disbelief, and stood still, as if he thought he was still in a dream.

"Hello, Comrade Borisova." In front of so many people, it was impossible for Rokossovsky to come forward and hug Borisova, so he could only put on a businesslike appearance and say to Borisova, who was obsessed with her heart: "It's a pleasure to see you here." ”

When Borisova heard Rokossovsky say this, she suddenly came back to her senses and knew that she couldn't be too cordial in front of everyone, so she also said with the usual expression: "Hello, General Rokossovsky, I really didn't expect to see you here." ”

"I went back to Moscow yesterday for the military parade." Although Rokossovsky could not talk to Borisova, he still had to explain to the other party how he came to Moscow: "I was going to rush back overnight, but I received an order from my superiors to stay in Moscow for a while, so I stayed." ”

"Oh," Borisova said lightly, "then when will I go back." ”

"After the tour, I will rush back to the front line as soon as possible."

"Alright, Comrade Rokossovsky, time is pressing, let's talk while walking." Seeing that Rokossovsky and Borisova were chatting endlessly, Ustinov, who was walking in front, couldn't help but stop and turn his head to urge.

"Okay, I'll do it." After Rokossovsky finished speaking, he shook his head at Borisova: "Comrade Borisova, let's follow the comrades." ”

Borisova nodded shyly, and walked shoulder to shoulder with Rokossovsky with the crowd of visitors. While no one was paying attention, Borisova whispered: "Dear Koschika, I miss you!" ”

"I miss you too!" When Rokossovsky said this, he also winked at Borisova.