Chapter 20

Our plane, flying in the air for two and a half to three hours, arrived in Moscow in the evening and landed safely in a military airport.

The plane came to a steady stop. After the roar of the engine stopped, the cabin was silent. I saw the pilot open the cockpit door and come out. He came to Zhukov sitting in the front window and said, "here we are, Comrade General!" Then he suddenly opened the door, kicked the door open, put down the short iron ladder with a bang, straightened up, took a step to the side, and asked Zhukov to get off the plane.

Although no one called the command, but as Zhukov got up, all the people in the cabin stood up in unison, standing in silence, eyes staring at him. Zhukov went to the open door, stood for a while, and then walked down the gangway. His adjutant, carrying a bag in one hand and a gray coat with a green star on the field collar in the other, followed him.

After Zhukov left, everyone immediately got busy, packed up their carry on luggage and fished out of the cabin. I didn't bring any luggage at all, so I didn't have anything to pack up. I followed everyone out.

As soon as I got to the door of the engine room, a damp and cold autumn wind blew in front of me, which made me cold. When I got down the gangway, I couldn't help shaking my head and laughing bitterly. I had been in Moscow for five or six years, and I knew that the temperature in October in this city was very low sooner or later. Now I'm wearing a summer combat suit, and I'm still wearing a skirt that is just longer than my knees. It's strange that I don't feel cold. Look at the others. Everyone is wearing thick military coats. It seems that they are well prepared.

Zhukov was standing in front of a black sedan more than 20 meters away, shaking hands with a man in military uniform. He was wearing a leather jacket, and his army coat was being held by the adjutant standing behind him. I thought to myself, if only he could lend me his coat to wear. Of course, I can only think about it. If you know that other people are big people, how can future Deputy commanders pay attention to small people like me.

Just when I was shivering with cold, a coat fell over me, and my covered shoulder felt warm immediately. Looking back, it turned out that it was Col. Korolev, who was also wearing a thin summer uniform. I thought I was freezing, so I put on his military coat. I wrapped up my overcoat and gratefully said to him, "thank you, uncle Pavel."

In the history I know, during the war, the commanders of Leningrad's front army kept changing like lanterns. On the contrary, the commanders at all levels within the military region rarely changed. If I want to find a stable backer in this era, Korolev is undoubtedly the best candidate. Besides, his daughter and I are still good friends.

I looked around the empty airport. There were only two fighters in the distance, which should be the planes that escorted us to Moscow. The two pilots from the plane stood by the "t" shaped landing sign, talking to an officer on duty with a white flag and a red flag in his hand. Besides, there was no one on the airport.

After Zhukov got on the limousine and left, a bus came to us. After the door was opened, a captain came down from the car. Instead of saluting, he said directly to everyone, "get in the car, commanders." Although everyone present, except me, had a higher rank than him, no one said a word about his unreasonable attitude. Since the high rank people don't speak, my little Lieutenant should just shut up.

There were thick curtains on the bus. As soon as the lights were turned off, it was dark. I found a back seat, sat down and began to close my eyes. Anyway, I couldn't see the street view outside. I might as well go to bed early. But before I fell asleep, I still thought that before I left the highland today, my underwear was only half dried, and I didn't know if anyone would help me to dry it again, and if anyone would help me to collect it after drying. If there is someone to help, who will it be, deputy platoon leader Karenina, first squad leader Jenna or the lovely Lena.

When the car was woken up by Colonel Korolev, it was already in front of the hotel. The hotel should be directly under the jurisdiction of the military. In addition to the Sentinels on duty at the door, even the waiters inside are all dressed in military uniforms.

In the hall, the female lieutenant in charge of reception arranged the room according to our rank and position. A general has a single room for one person, a colonel has a room for two, and a commander and a major have a room for four. When it was my turn, she obviously felt a bit embarrassed. After all, I was the only one who was a woman. Let's divide it into single rooms. I'm not good enough; It's all men in other rooms. After thinking about it for a long time, she decided to put me in the hostel of the hotel.

There were four beds in the dormitory. When she led me in, there was a female soldier in the room. Wearing a white shirt, she was sitting on the bed reading a book. When she saw us enter the door, she immediately stood up and looked at me up and down, probably hesitating whether to salute me. The second lieutenant said, "aksala, I've brought a commander here. She's going to stay here for a few days. You should be responsible for receiving her well."

The woman soldier who called aksala answered in a panic and came over to help me with my luggage. She found that I was empty handed. She was a little stunned and said to me, "Comrade commander, please take off your coat. There is heating in this room." Then she took the coat I took off and hung it on the coat hook on the wall.

The second lieutenant said to me, "my name is Liuda. If you have anything, you can come to me directly." Immediately after saluting me, he turned away and closed the door behind him. I saw aksara standing in front of me, a little at a loss. I laughed and asked her, "which bed do I sleep in?" She looked around, then pointed to the bed near the radiator and said, "you can sleep there. It's warm at night." I sat on the bed, not sleepy at all, but I felt very hungry. Besides eating something in the morning, I have been hungry until now. After much hesitation, I finally asked aksara, "honey, can I find something to eat at this time?"“ No problem. " She answered me very frankly: "we are a military organization here. Food is available 24 hours a day in the restaurant, but it's during the war, so there are few kinds of food available. What would you like to eat? I'll bring it to the restaurant for you. "“ Let's have a box of instant noodles. " I answered without thinking“ what?! What is it? " Aksala asked in surprise, "please say it again."“ Instant noodles. " I think I made it very clear, but I repeat it“ Ah? " She looked at me blankly. Could it be that my development was not right, so I read it again: "best has gone to Lhasa." I read very slowly this time, and try to pronounce every sound very standard. But I saw a blank expression on aksala's face. I'm a little speechless. Isn't she Russian and doesn't know Russian? I've made it so clear that she still can't understand it?! But I patiently spelled the word instant noodles letter by letter to her“ Instant noodles, "she repeated the word with great difficulty, still with a strange and blank expression on her face," I don't know what it is. We certainly don't have it in our restaurant. " I suddenly recovered. What am I talking about? You know, instant noodles came out in 58 years. How can I always make such common sense mistakes. So he quickly explained to her, "I forget that it's just a snack in our hometown, which should not be available in Moscow. You'd better get me some bread and soup“ All right She agreed, put on her army coat, opened the door and ran out.