"What, your father had one of his legs broken by a shell during the battle to defend the Red October Factory?" Sokov originally wanted to send the child away. After all, at his age and body, he had to carry dozens of kilograms. The ammunition box is indeed not suitable. But as soon as he heard that the other party's father had participated in the battle to defend the Red October Factory, his mind changed. He said solemnly: "What's his name?"
"His name is Shakilov," Varodya suddenly saw a glimmer of hope when Sokov asked her father's name, and quickly replied: "He is the warehouse manager of the assembly workshop."
Sokov recalled it carefully and found that he had no idea about the name and did not know the person at all. Then he shook his head and said, "Although I have commanded battles in the Red October Factory, I have never dealt with your father."
"Comrade Commander," although Sokov said that he did not know his father, for Volodya, he was the only life-saving straw and could not give up easily: "After my father became disabled, because he did not have a pass, So I couldn't take a boat to the other side. Fortunately, some time ago, my mother joined the transportation team organized by Bochushkin and could earn 200 grams of bread and 20 grams of cheese every day. Our family relied on this little food to barely make ends meet. The earth survived.”
"Varodia, what did you say?" Just now Sokov said that Bochushkin might deprive the porters of food. Major Zinoviev thought that the other party was being alarmist, but now when he heard what Volodya said, I couldn't help but be extremely shocked. You know, the porters have to risk their lives every day, carrying heavy ammunition boxes for more than ten kilometers. Each person is given 300 grams of bread and 50 grams of dry sausage or cheese. I think it is the minimum standard, but I didn't expect it. So much was deducted from Bochushkin. In order to find out what was going on, he quickly asked: "Your mother works as a porter and can only get 200 grams of bread and 20 grams of cheese every day. Is this true?"
"Yes!" Volodya nodded vigorously and replied: "This is because Bochushkin saw the difficult situation at my home and gave me more. The rest of the porters generally only have 150 grams of bread. As for dry sausage, And cheese is gone.”
"Oh my God," after listening to Volodya's words, Major Zinoviev held his forehead and felt that he was too trusting in Bochushkin and actually gave him the power to distribute food. As a result, he became unscrupulous. The porters were deprived of their rations. He put down his hand, turned to look at Sokov and asked: "Comrade Colonel, what should we do next?"
"No matter how good Bochushkin is in the army, he is very familiar with the situation at the ferry terminal. I don't think it is appropriate to replace him rashly." If Sokov's idea is followed, even the porters' rations will be deducted. Scumbag, just shoot him. But under the current circumstances, he could not suggest that Major Zinoviev should be replaced. If the new person was not suitable for the job and would mess up the handling work at the dock, the gains would outweigh the losses. It is based on this consideration that Sokov was extremely cautious when making suggestions: "It is better to let him continue to be responsible for his current work, but in terms of food distribution, you can send a trustworthy comrade to supervise to avoid deducting rations. It happened again."
"What about this child?" Major Zinoviev waited for Sokov to finish speaking, then pouted at Volodya, who was still standing in the room, and asked him for instructions on how to deal with this child's matter.
"Let the child join the moving team." Sokov thought for a moment and said to Zinoviev: "He is weak, so let him move a little less each time."
Zinoviev nodded, put his hand on Volodya's shoulder, and said to him: "My child, go back and tell Bochushkin that I agree with you joining the transport team."
After learning that she could join the transport team, Volodya couldn't help but smile. He quickly bowed to Sokov and Zinoviev and said repeatedly: "Thank you, comrade commander. On behalf of my father, thank you." You guys!" After straightening up, he quickly ran out of the earthen house.
"Comrade Major," Sokov said to Zinoviev with a frown after waiting for Volodya to leave: "Residents who join the transport team not only have to carry ammunition and supplies so far every day, but they also have to walk at any time. If their lives are at risk, is it a little too little to just give them a ration of 300 grams of bread a day?"
"Colonel Sokov, you are right." Zinoviev agreed with Sokov's concerns, but the rations for the transportation team were determined by the superiors. Even if he, a small major, wanted to change it, Nor does he have this right: "But the porters' ration standards are set by superiors, so I don't have the authority to change them."
"So who has the authority to change it?" Sokov asked.
"Of course it is General Lobov, the Minister of Logistics." After Zinoviev finished speaking, he paused for a moment and then continued: "Of course, the Army Commander and Chief of Staff can also issue the same order."
After hearing this, Sokov nodded slightly and said, "Okay, I will report this to the commander and ask him to improve the ration standards for the residents who participate in the transportation team."
The two were talking when Bochushkin came in from outside. As soon as he entered the door, he asked Zinoviev loudly: "Comrade Major, do you agree with Volodya to join my transport team?"
"Yes!" Major Zinoviev replied affirmatively: "I agree."
"Comrade Major," Bochushkin became a little anxious when he heard what Major Zinoviev said. "An ammunition box can be as little as ten kilograms or as much as dozens of kilograms, and it has to go such a long way. How can a child like Luo Jia do this job?"
After listening to Bochushkin's words, Sokov said coldly: "If he doesn't work, he and his father will starve to death."
"But he is still a child..."
"That's enough!" Before Bochushkin could finish speaking, Zinoviev slammed the table and said fiercely: "Let me ask you, why do you want to deduct the porters' rations? Are you I don’t know, even if each person has 300 grams of bread per day, they are not enough to eat, and you still deduct half of it in one go, who gave you such courage?"
Bochushkin was frightened by Zinoviev's words. He first glanced at Sokov, then at Zinoviev, and said tremblingly: "Comrade Major, do you want me to tell the truth?"
"Say what you have to say!" Zinoviev said angrily: "If you can't give me a satisfactory answer today, I don't mind sending you to a military court."
Sokov knew that Zinoviev was trying to scare the other party, so he did not speak. Instead, he looked at the two people silently, quietly paying attention to the development of the situation.
"Comrade Major, since you have discovered it, I will not hide it from you." Bochushkin explained with a red face: "You also know that before the Germans attacked the city, I was a porter on the dock. I have Many colleagues died at the ferry due to bombing by enemy planes, leaving behind their wives and children..."
"Wait a minute, Comrade Bochushkin." When Sokov heard this, he suddenly realized that Bochushkin's motive for deducting the porters' rations was different from his imagination, and quickly interrupted him, tentatively Question: "If I understand correctly, you withheld the porters' rations just to support the wives and children of the dock workers who died?"
Major Zinoviev discovered that Bochushkin withheld the porters' rations, and he was ready to be sent to a military court or even be shot. But when Sokov said this, he felt that the situation was not as bad as he thought. He nodded quickly and said, "Yes, that's right. I distribute the withheld rations to the women and children every day. Comrade Colonel, you also know that to take a boat to the east coast, you must have a pass. Those who do not have a pass can only stay in the city and wait to die. In order to prevent the wife and children of such a colleague from starving to death, I can only Come up with this idea..."
"Comrade Bochushkin, I know your starting point is good." After figuring out the truth about the other party's withholding of rations, Sokov had some changes in his view: "But have you ever considered that those who participated in the transportation team The residents risk their lives every day to do such heavy work, but only get a small amount of rations that are not enough to eat. Soon, their bodies will not be able to support it. Where will you find enough porters? "
Faced with Sokov's criticism, Bochushkin lowered his head and said with a blushing face: "I'm sorry, comrade commander, I was wrong..."
"Don't apologize to me, but apologize to the porters who were deprived of rations by you. I can let Major Zinoviev not pursue the past matters, but if the deprivation of rations occurs again in the future, Just wait to go to court-martial or be shot directly." When Sokov said these words, he saw the muscles on Bochushkin's face twitching violently, guessing that he must be thinking about saving his own life. Or continue to help the orphans and widowed mothers of colleagues. In order not to embarrass the other party, he added: "As for the rations of your colleague's widow, I will report it to the headquarters and ask them to specially allocate a part of the food for distribution."
After hearing what Sokov said next, Bochushkin's eyes shone. He held Sokov's hand and said excitedly: "Comrade Colonel, on behalf of my colleagues' wives and children, thank you. generosity. As long as the superiors can really distribute food and prevent them from starving to death, even if they shoot me immediately, I will not have any complaints."
But in order to prevent things from going astray, Sokov still vaccinated Bochushkin in advance: "Asking the superiors to distribute food specifically, I can only make suggestions. As for whether it will pass, I can't guarantee it."
"Comrade Colonel," Bochushkin said excitedly: "As long as you are willing to make this suggestion to your superiors, we will be very grateful. As for whether it can be approved, it depends on our luck."
When Bochushkin was about to leave, Sokov stopped him and said to him: "Comrade Bochushkin, Volodya's father once fought alongside me at the Red October Factory. Now he is disabled and lost. Because of his ability to work, I hope you can take care of him within your ability. For example, send someone to deliver 500 grams of bread and 100 grams of dried sausage to him."
Perhaps because he was worried that Bochushkin would be in trouble, Sokov finally added: "It's just this time, it won't happen next time!"
"Don't worry, Comrade Colonel." Bochushkin nodded vigorously and replied: "I will definitely handle the things you tell me."
After Bochushkin left, Zinoviev sighed softly and replied: "Comrade Colonel, if we cannot repel the German attack in a short time, then not only the residents staying by the river will be attacked. If you are hungry, even the troops fighting in the city will also be in shortage of ammunition and food."
Regarding Zinoviev's statement, Sokov couldn't help but be stunned and asked in confusion: "Now that there is an underwater pontoon bridge, shouldn't there be more supplies coming from the east coast? Why are there still shortages of ammunition and food?" What’s the situation?”
"Comrade Colonel, you don't know something. Before the enemy attacked the city, we had many warehouses in the city, storing a large amount of weapons, ammunition, food, and medicine. But as the battle progressed, in addition to the warehouses occupied or blown up by the Germans, , the inventory in the remaining warehouses has been almost exhausted. The ammunition and supplies needed now can only be transported from the east coast, so in the days to come, it will become more and more difficult for us."
Sokov's troops had relied on capture before, so they received very little supplies from their superiors, so he didn't care much about the matter. The 41st Guards Division that was taken over now was equipped with all Soviet-style weapons, and the replenishment of ammunition could not be completed through capture. Only then did they come into contact with the logistics department. But he never thought that with the opening of an underwater transportation line, the supply of ammunition and materials in the city would gradually become tense.
While the two were talking, the phone on the table suddenly rang. Zinoviev grabbed the phone, put it to his ear and said: "I am Major Zinoviev, where are you?...What, The deputy commander of the front army is entering the city tonight?...Understood, I will send someone to take charge of his security."
When Sokov heard that the deputy commander of the front army was coming to the city, he couldn't help showing a surprised expression on his face. As soon as Zinoviev put down the phone, he quickly asked: "Comrade Major, what, is Comrade Deputy Commander going to the city?"
"Yes, Comrade Colonel." Zinoviev nodded and replied with a serious expression: "I just received a notification from my superiors that the deputy commander of the front army, General Golikov, will arrive tonight along with the ship carrying supplies. When we come to the city, our superiors ask us to do a good job in security."
General Golikov? ! As soon as he heard this name, Sokov immediately thought of the intelligence chief with the big bald head in the movie "The Defense of Moscow". I wonder why he would enter the city at this time? With this question, Sokov asked Zinoviev: "Major, do you know his purpose of entering the city?"
"I'm sorry, Colonel Sokov, I don't know." Zinoviev shook his head and replied: "The superior only mentioned on the phone that Comrade Deputy Commander was going to the city. As for what he was going to do in the city, he didn't tell me. ”
