War Photographer's Notebook

Chapter 775 Promise
On August 1942, 8, the dazzling sunlight at noon passed through the row of luxuriant birch forests at the edge of the forest. In the sound of never-ending gunfire, it sprinkled on the clothes waiting to be dried.

At the door of the cabin some distance away from these clothes, the blind girl Sasha was busy washing the unwashed clothes yesterday as usual. Beside her, a dog named Neva was also dutifully guarding and sitting in the wooden tub. , the little master also named Neva.

The only difference from yesterday was that the shotgun next to Sasha was gone, and instead there was a hard leather holster with a TT33 pistol on his waist.

Next to Sasha, Wei Ran helped Niniel re-wrap the open wound, and then started to cook with fire.On the contrary, Ninel struggled to get up again, limped out of the room and found a saw and an axe, and then found a bowl more than one meter long from the pile of firewood. Birch.

"My dad is a carpenter"

Ninel said while sawing the wood, "He usually makes some wooden toys and kitchen utensils and sells them in the city for money, and occasionally helps people repair houses or make coffins."

"So you also know carpentry?" Sasha asked following the voice.

"He always won't let me help"

Ninel put the sawn piece of wood in front of him, and while carefully chopping the rotten and cracked bark with an axe, he said, "But I still learned a lot. I even made his coffin by myself. of."

Sasha opened his mouth when he heard the words, bent down again, and said while strenuously washing the clothes in the wooden bucket, "When your leg injury is healed, please help me repair the windows in the attic. It has been in the window since spring. It’s leaking. And on the stairs, there’s a plank that’s always warping, and I’ve driven several nails to no avail.”

"These can be done without waiting for my injury to heal." Ninel looked at Wei Ran while speaking, "Victor, you will help me, right?"

"Yes, don't worry!"

Wei Ran, who was busy killing fish, replied solemnly, "When you fall off the roof with a limp leg, I will use the saw next to you to saw off your leg."

"Victor, are you really a veterinarian?" Sasha asked curiously.

"Of course, I am a very good veterinarian." Wei Ran was afraid that the other party would ask him to help repair the animals, so he still said seriously, "I have successfully treated and killed many animals."

"No wonder you can fly a plane." Sasha laughed happily, "No one would dare to ask you to see a doctor for livestock."

"Don't say that." Wei Ran threw the killed fish into the bucket, "Although I always accidentally kill animals, I have a lot of experience in eating animals."

"It can be seen that at least the fish soup you made yesterday and this morning is very delicious."

Ninel praised Wei Ran, picked up a small piece of charcoal, and began to draw rough outlines on the wood.

"The fish soup he made tastes really good." Sasha also praised Wei Ran's cooking skills, and then said, "My sister's cooking skills are also very good. I haven't been to her cooking for a long time."

"someone is coming"

Wei Ran reminded before Ninel was about to say something, and focused on the end of the path next to the forest in the distance.

It was a sledge pulled by a donkey. In front of the donkey, there was an old man with a stooped waist. From a distance, Wei Ran and the others could faintly hear the sound of crisp bells.

"It's Uncle Sergey"

Sasha said firmly, "He will bring me the clothes that need to be washed every day at this time, and he will also bring some food by the way."

Before she finished speaking, Sergey, who was walking slowly from a distance, also slapped his whip.

The sound of the whip was like a signal, and the dog Neva, who had been guarding the young master, rushed out immediately, wagging his tail and welcoming him.

However, when he was getting closer, after the old man found Wei Ran and Ninel, he quickly pulled out a dragoon rifle wrapped in rags from the sledge and aimed at the two of Wei Ran, while expressing enthusiasm. said, "Sasha! My dear boy, have you any visitor here?"

"Uncle Sergey"

The blind girl Sasha greeted her, stood up gropingly and introduced, "They are the pilots Ninel and Victor who fell from the sky yesterday."

"The two who parachuted yesterday?"

Father Sergey hesitated for a moment, then put the rifle back on the sledge, and shook hands with Wei Ran enthusiastically, "We noticed you yesterday, but there were some troubles in the village at that time. Only then did we start to draw out our hands.”

"Uncle Sergey, what happened in the village?" Sasha asked eagerly.

"Yesterday afternoon, a German plane was shot down by the air defense and smashed into the village. Many people were injured, and several houses were burned down. The people who were going to find you immediately returned to the village to help gone."

"Someone." Sasha's mouth opened and closed nervously, but he didn't dare to ask.

"Natasha's family is dead"

Sergey took off the greasy broken hat on his head, squeezed it vigorously in the palm of his hand and said, cursing fiercely, "Several children were killed in the bombing, those damned Germans!"

Hearing this, Sasha and Ninel clenched their fists in no particular order.

"The one that fell with you yesterday, seems to be a German plane?"

Sergey raised his finger and pointed in the direction, "When we rushed over this morning, only a little bit of that plane was exposed outside the mud, and the German pilot inside was gone. Comrade Niell, Victor Comrade, have you ever seen that damned German?"

"He's there." Ninel raised his finger and pointed to the mound in the distance, "I've already buried him."

Sergey raised his eyebrows, then pulled his gray beard and said, "Since this is the case, I will inform everyone that you don't need to look for it when I go back. Comrade Ninel, Comrade Victor, are you seriously injured? Do you want to go back to the village with me to recuperate?"

"Uncle Sergey, let them recuperate here."

Sasha said, "It's far away from the village, at least it won't be targeted by German planes, so it's safer than being in the village."

"That's true, but"

"Don't worry, Uncle Sergey"

Wei Ran interrupted the conversation and said, "We won't cause trouble for Sasha, and we can also help her with some things. You see, my injury is not too serious, and I may recover soon."

"In that case, I'll bring you some food and drink later."

After Sergey finished speaking, he pulled Sasha towards the direction of the donkey cart, and asked something in his ear, until the latter shook his head, he was completely relieved.

Rejecting the help of Wei Ran and Ninel, Sergei took down a large basket of blood-stained sheets or gauze from the car and placed it on the side of the steps at the door.By the way, a basket of steaming Da Lieba and a can of goat's milk were brought into the house.

"Where do these dirty clothes come from?" Wei Ran snatched the bucket from Sasha's hand and asked while helping Sasha fetch water from the well.

"There are many wounded in the village, all of whom were injured at the front and sent back."

Sergey, who happened to pass by, said slowly, "The weather is hot now, the gauze they use, the clothes they wear, and the sheets they lie on need to be changed frequently. Thanks to Sasha and the others, otherwise we old guys would not be able to wash them." Finish so many clothes."

"Uncle Sergey, is there any news about my sister?" Sasha asked as he rubbed his apron.

"Oh." Uncle Sergey sighed and shook his head at the same time.

Although he didn't say anything, Sasha already knew the answer.The strong girl exhaled forcefully, and said confidently, "My sister will definitely come back. Neva is still waiting for her to come back. Even for Neva, she will definitely come back after the war is over!"

"That's right, Lana is a smart girl, she will definitely come back!"

Sergey wiped the corners of his eyes with the palm of his hand, and said with a smile, "Maybe she will be a Hero of the Soviet Union by then, but I heard that if she becomes a Hero of the Soviet Union, a bronze statue will be erected in the hometown of the Hero of the Soviet Union." Like it!"

"I don't care if she is a Hero of the Soviet Union, as long as she comes back alive, Neva is so young, he can't live without a mother."

Sasha smiled when she said this, "But if there is a bronze statue of her in the village, I must go and touch it to see if it looks like my sister."

"Anyway, Lana will definitely come back."

Sergei shook his head silently towards Wei Ran and Ninel, and continued in a loud voice, "Good boy, I'm going to collect my clothes elsewhere, and the food is already in the house. One o'clock, I will send some more things over."

Watching Sergei drive the donkey away on the plow, Ninel, who hadn't spoken much just now, sighed, limped to Sasha's side, and said in silence for a moment, "Sasha, thank you."

"Nothing." Sasha waved his hands in a panic, "Why are you thanking me again?"

"Felix He"

"Niniel, you must have shot down many German planes, right?" Sasha asked with a hint of longing.

"Um"

Ninel thought for a while, and said uncertainly, "Actually, there are not many, at most four or five. Our planes are too slow, and their firepower is low."

"very good already"

Sasha hurriedly said, "Look, you shot down so many planes and even killed your friends. In short, you have done well enough. I believe that you will shoot down more German planes in the future.

Ninel, don't worry, I will help you keep it a secret, and I will help you keep your friend Felix safe. "

"Thank you," Ninel murmured, "When the war is over, I...I will come to pick him up."

"If you are still a pilot by then, you must show me what the plane looks like." Sasha said jokingly, holding the apron tightly, "I haven't even touched what the plane looks like yet."

"As long as I live till the end of the war"

Ninel said seriously, "Even if I wasn't a pilot at that time, I would take you to touch it. No, I will take you on a plane once!"

"Then it's settled!" Sasha showed a sunny smile, and said in a joking tone, "Otherwise, I won't let you take your friend away."

(End of this chapter)