When I heard this voice, my heart began to pound wildly, my breathing became short, and my hands and feet trembled uncontrollably. Although it was a cold winter, I felt hot all over my body and sweat on my head, and my whole body suddenly became as if I had only completed a long run of a few thousand meters. I held the threshold with my hand so that I wouldn't fall down from being too excited.

The door opened, and a fat old lady with a headscarf and a large woolen shawl appeared in front of me.

The moment I saw the old lady, I had a brief distraction.

Is this Lida's mom?

I opened my mouth to call out to my mother. But his lips moved a few times, but he couldn't make any sound. You know, although I am now Lida's body, I really can't call a strange woman my mother.

The old lady looked at me in surprise and did not speak.

Just when the atmosphere at the scene was awkward, a crisp children's voice suddenly came from the room: "Grandma, who is here?" ”

I looked into the room, and a small child in a black tweed coat was standing in the living room looking up at me with an innocent little face.

Is this Leda's son? I couldn't help but look closely, he was really pretty. has a white melon seed face, and a pair of watery eyes under the curved eyebrows. When he and I looked at each other, those big aura eyes flickered, and when he smiled, the corners of his mouth were slightly upturned. Coupled with the golden braid on the back of the head, it is a beauty billet.

I was looking at the child and suddenly I felt that something was wrong.

Twist braids......

Twist braids......

Lida gave birth to a son, how could she have a twisted braid on her head, this is clearly a girl's dress.

"Comrade soldier, are you here to inform us of the evacuation?"

The old lady's voice rang in my ears, and my mind was pulled back to reality. Almost in a matter of seconds, I figured out one thing: I had the wrong person. Fortunately, I didn't rashly call people just now, otherwise this shame would be a big loss.

I stabilized the situation and replied, "Old lady, I'm not here to inform you of the evacuation. I came here to see my mother and son, and I heard that they lived in this building. ”

"Really?! What's your mother's name? ”

I started to break out in a cold sweat again, and the question really stopped me. After becoming Leda, although I inherited many memories of her, I never knew her mother's name. Just like in the countryside of China at that time, the vast majority of people lived with their mothers all their lives, but they never could call their mother's name.

But I already know how to answer the old lady's question. "My mother and son came to Leningrad after the outbreak of war. My son's name is Alex. ”

"So you're Alik's mother!" It was the little girl in the living room who helped me out, and she excitedly said to her grandmother: "Grandma, I have heard Brother Alek say that her mother is a soldier named Lida. ”

"Yes, little girl, you are so smart. I'm Leda. ”

The old lady smiled on her face, stepped aside, and said enthusiastically, "So you are the daughter of Aliksena, come in quickly." ”

I guessed that she was talking about Lida's mother's name, so I secretly remembered the name, which would come in handy when I went to find Lida's mother and son somewhere else in the future. As for the old lady in front of me, her name was already known through the woman downstairs.

The living room had very little furniture, nothing but a round table and two hoop chairs. After the old lady Liu Xia beckoned me to sit down in a lap chair, she also sat down in another lap chair, looked at me and said apologetically, "I'm sorry, Lida, I don't have anything to eat at home to greet you." If you don't mind, I'll bring you a cup of tea? ”

I nodded, thanked her, and said, "Thank you, Liu Xia." I've been walking outside for so long, I'm almost freezing, and I'm trying to warm up with a cup of hot tea. ”

When Liu Xia went to pour tea, I put the cloth bag in my hand on the table, leaned the gun on the chair, and then beckoned the little girl to come over, picked her up and sat on my lap, stroked her hair, patted her shoulder, and asked, "Little girl, what is your name?" ”

"Catherine. You can call me Katya. ”

"Katya, don't you know my son Alik well?"

"Yes, Aunt Leda." Katya seemed to be a very lively child, and she cheerfully called me by name and said, "Alik and Grandma Aliksena used to live in the next unit, and I used to play outside with him. Later, after my grandmother didn't let me go out casually, I hadn't seen him for a long time. ”

"Grandma, why don't you let you go out?" I think it's quite easy to communicate with children.

"Grandma said that there was a war outside. When a cannonball falls, not only will it kill people, but even the house will collapse. Many of the children we used to play with were blown up by shells. Katya said this in a flat tone, as if she were telling me a fairy tale from a book.

Before I could sigh, Liu Xia walked into the living room with two cups of tea, and her steps were cautious, for fear that the tea would spill out. She put a cup of tea on the edge of the table, and after letting Katya get off my lap, she handed me another cup and said, "Lida, please have tea!" ”

The tea in the cup was steaming, and I brought the cup to my lips, blew it, and took a sip gently. There is no sugar in the tea, and it tastes slightly bitter. For me, who is used to drinking black tea that must be sugared, this tea is really not delicious, and I can't help frowning slightly.

Liu Xia may have noticed my frowning expression, and said apologetically, "Lida, I'm sorry, there is nothing left at home." There is not even sugar in the black tea. ”

I put down my teacup, walked around the hall, and said, "There doesn't seem to be any furniture in this living room." ”

Liu Xia blushed and said, "No way, it's too cold, and the extra furniture has been chopped by me as firewood." Then he babbled: "Not only is there no heating in the house, but even electricity and water have been stopped." As a result of several reductions in food rations, people do not have enough to eat, and thousands of people starve to death every day. I'm getting older, I'm eating less, and I'm barely able to make ends meet. But even so, I spent the rest of my time in bed except to receive the rationed food to conserve my strength. The tea you're drinking now is boiled and brewed with crushed ice that I picked up on the way home......"

"Do you know the whereabouts of my mother and son?" When I was on the ice transport line, I occasionally heard the residents who were evacuating the passing by mention a few words, and I was just emotional. Now chatting with the residents who are still trapped in the city, I realize how serious the hunger is. But it can't be helped, after all, this is during the war, and the government has done its best, with countless trucks and sleds carrying food to the city every day, and at the same time, it is constantly evacuating the surplus population outside the city to reduce food consumption. When she paused, I couldn't help but interject and ask.

"Leda, you're late. Your mom Aliksena and son Alik, who used to live in the next unit, were evacuated before the New Year because the house was blown up in the shelling. ”

"Do you know where they evacuated?"

Liu Xia shook her head and said, "I don't know what to do." The evacuation work now is different from the early days of the war. At that time, the staff of the district soviets would go door to door to deliver train tickets to the evacuees, informing everyone when and where to evacuate. And now, those government officials are just coming to tell you to evacuate tomorrow, to assemble at such and such a place, and then someone will lead the residents out of the city from the ice transportation line. ”

When I heard that Lida's mother and son had been evacuated from the city, I was relieved that if I could leave Leningrad, my chances of survival would be much higher, and I would go back to them when I had the chance.

I took another sip of the teacup, then put it down, stood up, and said to Liu Xia, "Liu Xia, thank you for telling me the whereabouts of my mother and son." As I spoke, I picked up the cloth bag on the table, opened the bag, took out condensed milk, Salou, sugar cubes, and two packets of rusks from it, and put them on the table one by one. This is a little bit of my heart, please accept it. ”

Liu Xia was stunned when she saw the food on the table, and then waved her hand desperately, and said again and again: "I can't help it, these things are too precious, I can't ask for them!" ”

I looked at Katya standing next to me, reached out and touched her head, and said, "For Katya, you must take these things." With that, he took out two more enemas from the bag and stuffed them into Katya's little hand.

Liu Xia rushed over and hugged me, choked up and said incoherently, "Thank you, dear." Leda, you are a good person, and I will be forever grateful to you. The Virgin Mary will bless you and bless you for finding your loved ones. ”

I hugged Liu Xia for a moment, then gently let go, lifted the cloth bag on the table and the rifle next to the chair, and said, "See you again, Liu Xia." He looked down at Katya who was holding an enema in his hand, "And you, lovely Katya." Good luck! ”

After leaving the building, I was relieved that I had finally made up my mind, and although I didn't find Leda's mother and son, at least I had fulfilled my promise to her.

Because of the proximity to the river, it was very cold when the wind was strong. I cocked the collar of my coat, pulled my hat lower, and walked slowly back the way I came.

I saw that on the walls of the buildings on the side of the road, in addition to a lot of posters, there were also some handwritten revelations. Curious, I leaned over and looked at a few of them, all of which were willing to treasure things at home in exchange for a small amount of bread. One of them said that he was willing to use a fully furnished house that could still live in people, and he also exchanged it for two pigeons......

Seeing these various revelations, I shook my head with a wry smile and continued to walk.

Just as he was about to pass through the passage just now, he suddenly heard a weak voice from the passage: "Comrade soldier, please wait." ”

I stopped and looked at the passage I had just crossed the street. An old lady with stumbling footsteps walked up the steps step by step. I was about to ask the old lady what was the matter with stopping me, but when I saw the cotton pants she was holding in her arms, I immediately remembered that she was the old man who had exchanged cotton pants for bread.

I smiled and asked her, "Old Mom, did you call me something?" ”

She walked up to me slowly, handed me the cotton pants, gasped and said, "Comrade soldier, these are your cotton pants, please put them away." ”

I have been waiting for me here in the bitter cold to give me the cotton pants just now, and now I have been waiting for me in the bitter cold. I couldn't help but be a little moved, I pushed the cotton pants she handed over, and said, "Old mother, you better take these cotton pants back, I don't need them." ”

The old lady didn't speak, but handed the cotton pants again, and I pushed them back again. The old lady hung her head, drew a cross on her chest with her right hand, and whispered, "May the Virgin Mary bless you!" ”

"Old mother, on such a cold day, you came out to sell cotton pants, but you have to be careful of being frostbitten."

Hearing me say this, the old lady suddenly wiped away her tears and said with tears: "When my wife went to get food the day before yesterday, the ration card on her body was stolen by thieves, and the ration card of the whole family! All stolen. There are still a few days before the end of the month, and the family has nothing to eat, and if you don't think of a way, the whole family will starve to death. ”

"Damn thief." I cursed in my heart. I remember that in "The Battle of Huaihai", in order not to starve to death, the residents who retreated with the army exchanged a golden tweezel for a big cake. And in Leningrad at this time, it was not so difficult to exchange a bag of rusks for the same weight of gold.

There was a sound of footsteps behind me, and I was afraid of getting in the way of others, so I gave way to the side of the road and continued to listen to the old lady tell me about her own misery. At this moment, I suddenly felt that the cloth bag I was carrying was pulled vigorously, and I immediately took it out. I watched as a man in a turban rushed past me, running forward with my cloth bag in his hand. I pointed in the direction of the man's escape, and I couldn't shout anything other than a series of "hey~~hey~~hey~~" from my mouth, let alone catch up.

"What's going on?" At this time, three soldiers wearing military coats, military hats, and rifles came up from the passage, and asked loudly.

At this time, I finally came to my senses, pointed to the fleeing man, and shouted to the soldiers: "Robbery! It's robbery. The man robbed me of my stuff. ”

The next scene that happened left me dumbfounded. One of the fighters pulled the bolt of the gun, raised the gun to the position of the head, and with a slight aim, pulled the trigger without hesitation. The other two fighters chased a few steps forward, half-crouched and raised their guns to shoot.

The man who robbed was probably too hungry and exhausted, and he ran for a while before he ran forty or fifty meters. The fighters missed the first shot, and the second hit the target. I saw the man lean back, and he fell to the ground, the cloth bag in his hand thrown out and far away. However, the shot that hit him was not supposed to be fatal, and after he fell to the ground, he crawled a few times in the direction of the cloth bag.

Seeing that they had hit their target, the fighters slung their rifles over their shoulders and rushed over. They all had red sleeves on their arms, which were supposed to be patrols on duty nearby, and by chance they had just in time for the robbery.

Frightened, I heard the old lady shouting excitedly, "Good fight, boys, kill all these damn scoundrels." "The voice didn't sound as weak as it had just been, but full of confidence.

I said goodbye to the old lady and chased after the soldiers with my rifle. I saw two soldiers pick up the wounded man and pull him to the wall and stand there. The remaining fighter raised his gun and fired a shot at the looters without hesitation. Then as soon as the two warriors let go, the man's body fell limply in the snow.

The soldier who fired the gun took his gun on his back, picked up the cloth bag from the ground, walked up to me, and after saluting me, he reported: "Comrade commander, this is your belongings, please put them away." ”

When I took the bag, I touched my collar and found that it was tightly buttoned, and the rank was blocked. It may have been the briefcase I was carrying and the other pistol on my waist that allowed him to confirm my identity as a commander. I asked, "Why did you shoot him to death?" ”

"Report to Comrade Commander, there is an order." The fighter replied with some nervousness: "For those thieves and looters who are caught, the patrol has the right to shoot on the spot." ”

"You're doing the right thing, comrade warrior." After knowing what happened to the old lady just now, I very much agree with the patrol's handling of the situation. In the besieged Leningrad, these thieves and looters, in order to survive for themselves, pushed their compatriots to death, and they were on the same footing as the Germans who killed people with shelling and starvation.

I took out three packets of rusks from the lost cloth bag and handed them to each of the three fighters. They were surprised by my offer, and at first declined in bewilderment, but at my insistence they hurriedly took the rusks and put them in their coat pockets. Because they know that in today's environment, if you eat an extra slice of bread, you can have more hope of survival.