Steel Soviet Union

The battle is over, for now

The soldiers who had been busy fighting for life and death for a day finally had a chance to take a good rest, but everyone's resting posture was different.

Some were leaning in the trenches, looking through the letters and family photos that had just been sent to them, looking for the warmth and family memories between the lines.

Some of them were lying in the occupied German artillery holes, recalling today's battle process and summarizing their experiences. From time to time, they would chat with their comrades around them to exchange their thoughts and combat experiences.

Others were not full after dinner, so they continued to be rice cooks with their lunch boxes full of extra food, munching heavily.

In this era of scarcity of material life, we are on a battlefield filled with artillery fire.

It is really hard for the warriors of the leader division to find anything that can compare with the pleasure of a full stomach. The most anticipated and most satisfying thing after a day of fierce fighting is nothing else but a satisfying and satisfying meal. Rice, the pleasure brought by delicious food is already one of the most difficult-to-find treasures in this scorched battlefield.

Iushkin, who also had nothing to do and simply cooked, held the lunch box in his arms and used a spoon to stir the fragrant and hot pork mixed with beans in the lunch box, which was covered with a thick layer of shiny lard.

This kind of thing that will definitely be criticized as "unhealthy food" in future generations, is actually a once-in-a-lifetime food for ordinary people.

Not only is it delicious, it is a rare delicacy in this war era of material scarcity.

It is a "big supplement" needed to maintain normal human body energy. One meal with an appropriate amount of staple food is enough to provide a warrior with a whole day's basic consumption. And for those who don't carry guns and go to the battlefield, it's even more amazing. This meal can save lives at critical moments. This is no exaggeration or ambiguity.

"You know every time I eat, I can often think of some things from the past, some things that are long ago but can never be forgotten."

Iushkin's sudden words made Artyom, who was taking care of his short-version AK that he didn't use very often but needed to take care of at all times in case of emergencies, a little confused. I couldn't figure it out, and for a while I couldn't figure out the reason why Iushkin suddenly said this.

"This was before we met?"

Artyom could probably guess that he probably had no common memories of the incident Iushkin mentioned. It was probably something that happened before he and Iushkin met, and Iushkin immediately The words that came out were not what Artem expected.

"That was in 1941, not long after winter came. At that time we were fighting in Leningrad, and we were still driving old KVs."

"You're talking about that time. At that time, I had just been evacuated from Odessa to the rear. My superiors arranged for me to produce tanks, but I refused. I, a shipbuilding fitter, was not suitable for this. Comrade the workshop director found me and asked me What do you want to do? I said I want to go to the battlefield and kill the German fascists. I don’t even have to build a ship and I have to fight those Nazis.”

"Then it was nothing. I agreed, and then I went. A lot of things happened in a few years, and I can't explain it clearly, until I met the boy."

Artyom, who had incompletely disassembled the short tank self-defense AK in his hand and was cleaning and maintaining the gun, temporarily interrupted with a few words, but soon transferred the right to speak back to Iushkin.

"I'll just say a few words, and you can continue. I'm listening. What happened in Leningrad?"

Fortunately, Iushkin heard some stories about Artyom's past. Iushkin, who has always been curious about this, planned to continue asking questions when he had the opportunity, but now it was time to speak for himself.

“I had one of the most memorable meals of my life at that place and I couldn’t have had any more memorable food.”

"Although we evacuated before the end of the year and immediately participated in the defense of Moscow, the famine actually happened before we evacuated. I wonder if you know this?"

""

Artyom, who had just removed the big pick from the AK in his hand and was about to wipe it, was stunned when he heard this. He raised his head and glanced at Iushkin in silence, as if there was something in his eyes that he couldn't explain at the moment. words, and soon shook his head with his actual actions.

"I haven't heard of it. You know, some things are not suitable to be publicized in a big way. It will spread panic."

When he was still working at the Odessa Shipyard, Artyom was already a party member and was rated as an advanced production worker. He was commended by the factory leaders and received some opportunities for further study.

Therefore, one thing that is better than many ordinary people these days is that Artyom has a higher level of political consciousness and can think simply from a higher perspective when encountering things. Although it is not complicated and cannot be complicated, Finally, I can understand some basic principles that are easy to understand.

"Yes, you are right, the story happened at that time."

"At that time, there was a famine in the whole city. At first, it was only a limited supply of food for the common people, but soon the limited supply was no longer enough, and it was changed to a minimum subsistence supply. Sometimes even the minimum subsistence supply could not be met. It should be said that this is a common phenomenon. What happened. Many people were starved to death, and one of the main tasks of women every day was to bury those who died of starvation.”

"It may be your relatives, neighbors, or strangers."

"Such things happen every day and every moment. Hunger is like a plague that quickly infects the entire city and is pervasive. The soldiers who rely on this city to maintain the battle naturally cannot escape, and it soon affects us. "

""

Artyom, who was already cleaning the barrel of the gun with a gun cleaning cloth wrapped in a gun bar, remained silent. Only the light of dancing candles flickered in the gun-proof hole of the two brothers, illuminating their faces in the darkness. It is as orange as the setting sun, as if the color is when life is about to pass away.

"At first we could still eat bread, but later on, the first thing we did when we killed the Germans was to pick up the corpses. Those Germans always liked to carry some small bits and pieces with them, sometimes it was bread cubes, sometimes it was chocolate , Sometimes we can even find half an uneaten sausage wrapped in oil paper, and of course cigarettes. Although it smells like horse manure, these are what we need most urgently. Sometimes we even brave the hail of bullets to pick them up. Those are dangerous bodies."

"Many people have died in the process of doing this kind of thing. People who are too hungry cannot run fast, and the bullets that could have been evaded may become unavoidable. There are too many such things, everyone. In order to survive, we not only have to find ways to kill those fascists, but we also have to work hard to prevent ourselves from starving to death and continue to fight. We really use one life as two lives."