War Photographer's Notebook

Chapter 1073 Busy Old Man
On the morning of Teacher's Day, Wei Ran, who seemed to have only played Guqin in the hotel room for an hour, left the hotel before lunch, and hurriedly left the city in the Iveco bread rented by Jima. I found a few garbage stations along the way and threw away the suspicious chocolate and honey wrappers and glass bottles separately.

After finishing all this, he drove straight to the direction of Ossinowitz, impatiently wanting to go to the address provided in the metal book to see if he could find the cemetery of those forever young children, and also to see if he could The little baby Galina, who was no longer young, could not be found.

Halfway through the car, when the scenery on both sides of the road was replaced by the endless birch forest or coniferous forest, Wei Ran stopped the car on the side of the road.

As his emotions calmed down all the way here, he finally thought about seeing what the metal book gave this time.

The cat crawled into the spacious rear compartment, Wei Ran sat down again, took out the metal book and opened it, and carefully looked at the big red swirl on the back of the latest page, as well as the row of three ping-pong ball-sized books directly below. Blue swirl.

After thinking for a while, he first took out the contents of the first blue vortex, which contained the luxurious sterling silver IMCO4700 lighter given to him by the breeder Matvey.

This heavy lighter is not only embossed with Alamein's arabesques, but even the windshield is a pure gold Luftwaffe mission buckle.

Continue to take out the contents of the second small blue vortex, this time it was Wei Ran who dug out the corpse of the German pilot and gave it to Matvey, and then he gave it to himself in return sterling silver cigarette case.

On the front and back shells of this cigarette box, one is embossed with the eagle emblem of the Second Reich, and the other is inlaid with an extremely rare German retired crew member medal.

The cigarette case was opened with a "click", and besides 12 R6 cigarettes of the German Army of World War II were fixed inside, a photo was attached to the inside of the metal shell on both sides.

One of the photos is a group photo of Matvey with his little actors and children in the basement, surrounded by Mrs. Weiya.

The photo on the other side is a group photo taken outside the door of Wei Ran and the children after they moved to the small house on the edge of the playground under the guidance of Lydia.

In this group photo, not only Wei Ran exists, but above the children, a German plane that was blown up in the air happened to be photographed, as well as details such as the anti-aircraft balloons and the fire network formed when the anti-aircraft guns fired.

Silently, he took out a cigarette and put it in his mouth, and lit it with the lighter he just took out. Wei Ran took a big puff of the French smoked cigarette from the 40s, and then took out a third in a blue swirl.

This time, what appeared in his hand was a big red thick velvet bag with a golden sickle and hammer logo embroidered on it.

Involuntarily showing a smile, Wei Ran gently shook out the silver hearth that was slowly releasing warmth from the cloth bag, only to find that there was a metal sword and shield inlaid on the hearth.

So is this the sword and shield badge on the body of Mrs. Serkina on the third floor of the ruins where the first basement is located, or the sword and shield badge that belongs to Kona?
Wei Ran caressed this warm bosom lightly and fell into deep thought. After all, Ke Na was also transferred to work in an orphanage after the war.
"It should be the belief you all have in common."

Wei Ran muttered to himself and stuffed the still-working silver bosom furnace into the cloth bag, and then took back the three blue swirls that were only the size of ping pong balls together with the lighter and the cigarette case.

In the end, he tried to take out the things in the red vortex to no avail. Wei Ran opened the door and looked around, bent down and got out of the car, hid in the shadow of the van, and tried to take out the things inside again.

Perhaps it was because the space was large enough, this time it was exceptionally smooth.However, when he saw the things he took out, he couldn't help showing a trace of trance.

At this time, in front of him was a World War II German airdrop box with a cast iron stove fixed on it.

Compared with the first time he saw the box with skis next to Lydia when he was dying, the one in front of him was obviously reinforced on the ice of Lake Ladoga.

The wooden boards used on more than six sides of this box are all in one piece rather than spliced ​​together. On one side, evenly applied white paint, there is a Russian slogan that he hadn’t noticed before——“Everything for Victory! All for the front line!"

Gently open the fire cover of the cast iron stove, there is still chopped firewood inside, and an L-shaped iron bend pipe and a T-shaped three-way iron pipe are placed in the hearth for ash accumulation below.

In the triangular space formed between the stove and the reinforced handle, half-meter-long iron chimneys are firmly fixed with belts.

Gently open the German-style lock on the box cover and open it 180 degrees. Inside the wooden cover covered with iron, a half-meter-long panel saw and a Finnish ax of almost the same length are respectively fixed with belts. In addition, there is also a poker stick with a wooden handle, and a fire hook with the same wooden handle.

And in the same iron-wrapped box, it was filled with coal briquettes as seen in the tent on Lake Ladoga.

Subconsciously opened the small compartment with a separate wooden lid on the edge of the box. In addition to a German coconut pot filled with kerosene and a kerosene lamp, there was also a glass jar wrapped tightly in kraft paper Well, what was contained in this one-liter can was the Salo meat that he hadn't had time to eat.

"May you be free from hunger and winter forever."

Wei Ran murmured a message on the metal notebook, smiled and closed the wooden cover of the compartment, and then closed the cover of the airdrop box, locked the hasp and sat on it, leaning against the black cast iron stove, leisurely He leisurely smoked the cigarette held between his fingertips.

Putting out the cigarette butt and putting away the airdrop box, Wei Ran took a last look in the direction of St. Petersburg, got into the car again, drove the van, and continued along the bumpy road to the address recorded in the metal book.

At nearly two o'clock in the afternoon, he finally arrived at Osinovets, and successfully found several wooden houses almost surrounded by birch forest on three sides.

Just looking at the distance between these houses, the pier and the lighthouse, he can be sure that this is not the cemetery where the children were buried together, but the address pointed out by the metal book is undoubtedly here.

Just when he was wondering, in the birch forest behind those houses, the whistle of the train and the clanging noise of rolling the track were also heard. A moment later, a train roared past the railway in the forest, but Because those tall and lush trees cover the whole figure.

After thinking for a moment, Wei Ran parked the car in the shadow of the trees by the forest, hid in the car, took out the binoculars and looked at the wooden houses surrounded by fences.

It can be seen that the people living here are very sentimental. Not only are various flowers and plants planted around the house, but also on the side of one of the wooden houses that seems to be a garage, there is a piece of land that has been reclaimed separately and filled with Various vegetables and fruits.

And between the two-story wooden house and the garage, there is an apple tree with luxuriant branches and full of fruits.

Looking deeper, it seems that there are still many sunflowers that have matured but have not had time to harvest.

Just at this moment, an old lady wrapped in a headscarf pushed a small cart to the shade next to the apple tree, and quickly dumped the firewood on the small cart to the ground.

Picking up the towel around her neck and wiping her forehead, the old lady tiptoed to pick off a glowing red apple, wiped it carelessly, and took a good bite from her teeth.

Picking up a section of log that was not more than half a meter long but thick as a thigh and sat down, the old lady ate the flesh of this apple leisurely, even the remaining core was not wasted, but thrown away Into the chicken coop not far away.

After carefully wiping her hands with a towel, the old lady walked around to the other side of the apple tree that was as thick as a car tire and brought an ax, and skillfully chopped up the logs that had just been dumped on the ground.

This old lady is in good health.
Wei Ran muttered something to himself, but he didn't get out of the car in a hurry, but continued to observe patiently with his binoculars.

After the old lady chopped all the logs on the ground into a size suitable for burning, she put them back into the small cart, and then, from a wooden house not far away, she moved out a super-sized log. No. stainless steel steamer, and a steel welded hob.

Move these things and the freshly chopped firewood to the gravel ground next to a faucet. The old lady skillfully placed the chopped firewood on the ground and set it on fire. He lit a cigarette by himself.

While smoking a cigarette, he put the three-legged stove on the campfire, and the stainless steel steamer with a diameter of more than one meter was also placed on it.

Unhurriedly putting the cigarette in her mouth, the old lady turned on the faucet, and at the same time picked up the water pipe and aimed it at the steamer.

With the injection of clear water, a ball of water steamed up in the cauldron at first, and then fell into silence.

After filling enough water, the old lady turned on the faucet and threw the cigarette butts into the bonfire by the way.

After wiping her hands again with a towel, she pushed the emptied trolley into the wooden house where the steamer had just been taken out.

Not long after, the old lady pushed here with a small cart, at least fifty or sixty crystal clear glass bottles, as well as two stainless steel steaming racks and a stainless steel lid.

Put the steaming rack in the pot first, and then put the glass bottles that have been washed upside down on the two-tiered steaming rack and cover them.But she just sat by the campfire and rested for a while, then continued to push the trolley into the vegetable field, picking cucumbers, tomatoes, or handfuls of fennel , onions, etc.

On her side, she had just pushed the cart of harvest back to the faucet, and an old man with white hair also rode a bicycle past Wei Ran's car, and rode straight into the rather large area. Fenced yard.

Under Wei Ran's peek, the old man and the old lady hugged each other affectionately, then put on their aprons and helped them clean the various fruits they picked.

This early autumn afternoon, the old couple had no time to relax.First, I used the oversized steamer to make various cans of freshly picked vegetables, then picked a large basket of green and red apples, and moved out a wooden juicer that looked very old. The tacit cooperation produced bottles of fruit vinegar waiting to be fermented.

This is not over yet, after the old couple had a short rest, they were busy baking bread and cooking food in the open-air oven again.

Until the setting sun was about to be blocked by the forest not far away, the old couple was finally free. The old man also took out two wooden chairs from the room and put them under the apple tree, and the old lady carried out a pair of chairs from the room. Jia Weiran looked at the very familiar bayanqin.

Soon, the old man took the bayanqin and hugged it to his chest and started playing, and the old lady also sang the song that Wei Ran was very familiar with, the song that Ke Na wrote for the children. Song.

Before a song could be finished, an SUV made in China also passed by Iveco, drove steadily into the fenced yard and stopped.

As the car door opened, a bald man in uniform who looked about five or sixty years old, and a woman of a similar age but with exceptional temperament got out of the car one after another.

The two middle-aged men and women were not idle. After getting off the car, they were busy bringing the dinner kept warm around the oven into the two-story wooden house, and the old couple also collaborated on another song. After "In the Forest Near the Front Line", they walked into the brightly lit room together.

Without continuing to spy on the scene in the window lit by lights, Wei Ran put away the camera and pinched the center of his brows tiredly, and at the same time closed his eyes.

After a long time, until the sky outside the car window completely darkened, he took out the cigarette case again, took out a cigarette from it, lit it in his mouth, and let his thoughts go blank.

It wasn't until the cigarette was burnt out that he snuffed out the cigarette butt, drove the Iveco van away from the end of the country gravel road, turned around and drove towards the pier.

Randomly found an open restaurant at the pier, Wei Ran took the opportunity of having dinner, and asked the local waiter casually a few irrelevant questions.

After eating all the food on the dinner plate with special care, he drove back to the downtown area of ​​St. Petersburg overnight, sneaked into the archives of the St. Petersburg Conservatory of Music, searched for a while, and then returned to the hotel empty-handed, and dialed for Sui Sui. After a video call, he intentionally or unintentionally expressed that the investigation had already begun.

After hanging up the phone, Wei Ran fell asleep after taking a hot bath, but in this night's dream, he inevitably returned to the basement where he was starving in the wind and snow.

In the blink of an eye, the next morning, Wei Ran didn't wait for the sun to rise completely, so he drove to Ossinowitz again, and rented an off-road vehicle there and drove straight to the fenced yard that he visited yesterday .

From a long distance, he saw that the old couple who had been observing for an afternoon yesterday were busy harvesting potatoes under the rising sun.

The old man was driving a small hand-push machine to turn over the soil, and the old woman was behind, picking up the potatoes that were turned out into different bamboo baskets according to whether they were good or bad.

Next to those bamboo baskets, there was a dog of no discernible breed. From time to time, the dog would go crazy, helping the old lady dig the soil with its paws upside down, and then Or drive away wild pigeons that come from nowhere.

After observing for a while, Wei Ran finally pushed open the car door, stood at the gate of the fenced courtyard surrounded by flowers and vines, waved his hand, and asked politely under the vigilant gaze of the dog, "Hi, can I exchange my labor for some potatoes or other things?" Vegetables? I guess you wouldn't mind an extra helper."

"certainly"

The old lady waved her hand enthusiastically in response, "Come in! Our dogs don't bite."

Hearing this, Wei Ran pushed open the wooden fence door, and walked along the paved stone road to the edge of the potato field, "Hi, my name is Victor, what can I do for you? "

“What a polite boy”

The old grandma turned an empty wooden box beside her upside down and patted it, and then took off the towel on her shoulders and patted it, and then invited, "Sit down, and help me sort the potatoes." , By the way, have you eaten? If you haven’t eaten, we still have the leftover bread and red cabbage soup from the morning. If you don’t mind, I can warm it up for you.”

"Don't worry, the fried fish I ate at the pier in the morning tasted very good."

Wei Ran responded and sat on the wooden box, "What should I call you? Also, how should I classify these potatoes?"

"My name is Galina"

The old woman with white hair wrapped in a headscarf pointed to the old man who was digging the ground with a machine not far away, "That's my husband Zurab, if you want, you can call him grandma We, I think, must be old enough to be your grandparents."

"It's my pleasure, Grandma Galina"

Wei Ran politely changed his name, and at the same time waved to the old man who stopped the machine, turned around and waved to himself, "I originally wanted to find some wild fruits or vegetables in the nearby forest, but I overestimated My ability was improved, and then I saw you and Grandpa Zurab harvesting potatoes, so I wanted to ask if there was anything I could do to help.

Of course, it would be even better if you can send me some potatoes or tomatoes and cucumbers, so that I can tell my girlfriend that these are wild vegetables I picked in the forest. "

"You little guy is so funny"

Galina was amused by Wei Ran's joke, "There are no such wild fruits and vegetables in the forest, but whether you are willing to help or not, I will give you some for you to take back."

"I will definitely help"

Wei Ran picked up a potato and asked, "How should I classify it? Ask about its height, weight or blood type?"

“What a fun little guy”

Galina smiled like a child, and pointed to several bamboo baskets lined up in the distance, "The main thing is to pick out the bad ones, the ones that have been eaten by moths, and those that have been cut by the tiller. The bad ones have to be picked out, they cannot be preserved, they have to be eaten first.”

"If this young man is willing to work harder, he can also help us send the divided potatoes into the cellar."

The person named Zurab reminded loudly, "In this way, we may be able to harvest all these potatoes today. Boy, if you are willing to help, you can have lunch with us at noon, and we will send you some cans."

"Then it's settled"

Wei Ran agreed without waiting for Galina to open her mouth, "Where is the cellar? I'll send the basket in right now."

"the entrance is there"

Galina pointed to the garage-like wooden house with a smile, "There is a small cart there, you can take your time so that you don't tire yourself out."

"Don't worry, I have plenty of strength."

After Wei Ran finished speaking, he walked along the stone road to the door of the wooden garage. There were no cars parked inside, but there were many farm tools hanging on the surrounding walls.In the innermost part of the garage, there is a gentle cement slope leading to the cellar.

Pushing the trolley back to Grandma Galina's side, Wei Ran carefully poured the potatoes he had picked into the cart, and when the cart was full, he carefully pushed into the garage, groping to find the lighting in the cellar After the switch, push the potatoes with soil into the cool cellar.

The area of ​​this cellar is not small. The surrounding walls, including the overhead, are also reinforced with thick logs and planks. On the wooden shelves around the walls, there are various cans and harvested items such as radishes and sweet potatoes. Such tuber vegetables.

Under the command of the old man Zurab, Wei Ran buried the harvested potatoes in the corner of the cellar according to the ratio of one truckload of potatoes to one truckload of soil.

Obviously, even if the potato field is not large, even with Wei Ran's help, this job cannot be completed in a day.So after working until about ten o'clock in the morning, Mrs. Galina walked to the side of the oven alone and started working on lunch.

Wei Ran, on the other hand, helped the old man Zurab to use a long pole with a net to pick the ripe apples from the apple tree and put them into boxes.

It is also through this busy work at noon that Wei Ran also learned a lot of information by insinuating.

For example, these two are both 78 years old, and they used to be teachers at the Leningrad Conservatory of Music.

They also have a daughter, Lydia, who is a music teacher at the local school in Osinowitz, and her husband, a dock dispatcher.

Lydia and her husband come back from get off work every day, and they have a son who is serving in the Arctic Forces but hasn't been back for a long time.

During the chat, the apple was also temporarily put in the cellar for storage, and Mr. Zurab also invited Wei Ran to the two-story wooden house.

As soon as he entered the door, he saw a brown Soviet Lilyka piano on the first floor by the window.And on the table next to the piano, there is also a bayan.

On the other side of the piano, there is a set of snare drums in a glass-enclosed cabinet, but the lower part of the glass cabinet is tightly surrounded by green velvet cloth, so it is impossible to see clearly what is placed underneath. What.

In addition to these two things that Wei Ran was very familiar with, he also saw a German airdrop box that he was more familiar with beside the fireplace in this room. On the side of the airdrop box near the handle, there was also a cast iron stove fixed.

It's just that this set of objects is obviously more commemorative, especially on the cast iron stove, there is also a kerosene signal lamp that has been wiped extraordinarily clean.

Apart from these, the rest of the things in the rooms on this floor are all traces of time. It can even be said that most of them seem to be products of the Soviet era.

Before he finished his tour, Zurab asked him to wash his hands, and then helped Galina bring her lunch.

Hearing this, Wei Ran quickly looked away, and helped the old lady who was busy outside to serve the re-baked bread, a large bowl of red cabbage soup, a fresh vegetable salad, and a potato stew on the table next to the wall. dining table.At the same time, Zurab also dug out two small enamel cups and a bottle of what appeared to be his own brewed vodka.

Taking advantage of the time spent eating, Wei Ran chatted with the old couple all over the world, about the not-too-distant St. Petersburg and the disappearing Leningrad, about the road of life, about the distant Volgograd and Kazan, and Talk about the Huaxia where he grew up, and the pain that Huaxia has experienced.

At the end of the lunch, Wei Ran also noticed that at the end, the two old people habitually wiped off the remaining soup on the plate with slices of bread. Even the forks and spoons were cleaned with slices of bread. Wipe it very clean, and eat the slice of bread.

Although the old couple did not explain, Wei Ran knew that such eating habits were not because of poor living conditions or stinginess. It was probably the common shadow of the generation that experienced the hunger war. After 872 days of siege and starvation, and witnessing the lives of people being starved to death, they truly understand the value and value of food.

Almost subconsciously, Wei Ran, who was already full, carefully tore a piece of bread into four pieces, and carefully wiped the soup on his dinner plate.

"Good boy, don't do this"

The kind Mrs. Galina stopped me gently, "You haven't experienced the Battle of Leningrad, you don't need to be like us. This is just a habit we have developed since we were young. We don't want our children to be like us. habit, it will be laughed at."

"Yes yes"

Wei Ran sighed secretly, threw the soup-soaked slice of bread into his mouth, and muttered indistinctly while chewing, "How could I have experienced that war?"

(End of this chapter)