Chapter 101

In the evening, the fierce fighting stopped, and even the sporadic gunfire could not be heard.

I had dinner in the headquarters, because rokosovsky did not arrange duty work, so I went back to the women's dormitory with the commander ina.

As we walked back and forth, I suddenly found that her military uniform seemed to fit her very well. It wrapped her slender body very tightly. It was almost tailor-made. So I quickened my pace to go side by side with her. At the same time, I asked curiously, "ina, where did you get your uniform? It really fits you."

Maybe women can find countless common words when it comes to dress. She looked at my small military uniform, which doesn't fit me, and then said to me, "the military uniform is issued by the superior, but it seems too big. However, there is a soldier in the cooking class who can order tailoring skills. She helped all our female soldiers modify the military uniform, so it looks very fit."

"Is she still here? I want her to help me change my uniform. You see, although this uniform is the smallest size, it's still big on the body. It's really ugly to stand in front and pout back. "

"Of course. Don't worry, commander. Damana's craftsmanship is excellent. It won't be long before you can put on your military uniform. "

With these words, I unconsciously came to the dormitory of the female soldier, which is an independent house not far from the kitchen. Ina pushed the door forward and yelled, "girls, line up. There's a commander coming."

When I entered the room, I saw a dozen female soldiers in two neat rows, looking at me curiously. I gave them a smile and said, "Hello girls! I'm staying here, not checking work. Let's not be so restrained. Let's all disband! "

When the soldiers were disbanded, I looked around at the bunk beds against the wall and asked ina, "do you have any spare beds?"

"Yes, please follow me." She led me to a bed, pointed to the lower bunk and said, "Comrade commander, you can sleep in this bed. All the quilts and pillows are ready-made."

Looking at the neat bedding on the bed, I hesitated and asked, "does this bed seem to be sleeping?"

"The soldier died yesterday. When he was delivering food to the commander, the German sniper killed him." Ina's words reminded me of the woman soldier who fell in front of me. I felt a sudden stab in my heart. How fragile human life is in war! A few days ago, I was as lively as others, but now I go to bed empty and lie alone in the dark soil. But then again, if she hadn't happened to block the sniper's bullet for me, I would be lying in the grave now. I silently sat on the bed, gently stroked the neatly folded blanket with my hand, and said nothing.

"Damana, come here for a second." When ina saw my gloomy look, she immediately yelled at me. With her cry, a tall woman soldier ran to us and asked, "Comrade chief, what's the matter?"

Ina pointed to my uniform and said, "you see, the commander's dress doesn't fit. Can you help her modify it?" When ina spoke, I also looked at the woman soldier who could tailor in front of me. I was afraid that she would say "no".

Damana looked at it for a while and said, "no problem, chief secretary. I can do it right away." Then he pointed at me and said, "Comrade commander, in fact, women look very good in military uniforms, but they are too fat. Please stand up first and I'll measure your size for you, then you can revise it. "

After I took off my cotton padded clothes and trousers and handed them to damana, I was left with only underwear and underpants. There was no heating in the room, which made me cold enough. I quickly sat on the bed with my back against the head of the bed and shook the quilt open to cover me. It was cold in the room. Unexpectedly, the quilt was also cold. As soon as it was covered on the body, it made me shiver.

"Comrade commander, you are in good shape!" Standing next to me, ina patted me a little flattery. After listening to her, although I felt hot on my face, I gave her a polite thanks.

She then asked curiously, "Comrade commander, how long have you been a soldier?"

"A soldier a month before the war broke out."

"Ah?" She was very surprised and said, "I thought you had been a veteran for two or three years. I didn't expect you had been in the army for only a few months, but now you are a lieutenant commander."

"It doesn't matter how long you stay in the army. Some people have worked in the army for more than ten years, but they are still ordinary soldiers; But some people can get high positions and military ranks in a very short period of time, one is by ability, the other is by luck. " I said carefully, "I belong to the latter."

She listened to me and was about to ask again when there was a soft knock at the door. Hearing the knock on the door, the room suddenly quieted down, and a female soldier nearest to the door ran to open the door. When the door opened, I saw a handsome and shy soldier standing outside. He looked very nervous. He looked into the room as if he wanted to find someone. He opened his mouth and wanted to say something, but he didn't say it.

The woman soldier who opened the door asked him, "what can I do for you? Comrade Barca The tone was full of ridicule, and her words immediately caused the girls in the room to laugh. The male soldier was more shy and nervous, blushing like Guan Gong.

"Barca, is that you?" Not far away, a female soldier jumped up from the bedside. She couldn't even care about her shoes, so she rushed to the door. After a while, she jumped into the arms of the male soldier.

Just as they were hugging each other, ina stood up, went to the door and said in a loud voice, "Hey, Barca, can you take Vania to another place to make out? We're not interested in seeing you two perform here. Besides, on such a cold day, open the door and let the cold wind pour into the house. Do you want to freeze us to death? " Ina's words, immediately caused a laugh.

I thought the man named Barca would push the boat and leave with Vania. Unexpectedly, he gently pushed Vania away, took a step to meet ina, and then stood at attention to salute, reporting: "Hello, comrade commander, I've come to invite the women soldiers to the headquarters for the dance on the order of the commander."

Hearing that there was going to be a dance party, the women soldiers suddenly became active, and the room immediately became a magpie's nest. I sat on the bed and thought: maybe it's because the war in the past two days is relatively smooth, that's why handsome Luo has this kind of interest in calling everyone to a dance.

Ina pulled in Vania, who was standing at the door, and then said to Barca, "you go back first, we'll go there after dressing up." Then, without waiting for Barca to say anything, he slammed the door.

As soon as the door was closed, the women soldiers began to get busy. They took off their cotton padded clothes and trousers and put on summer clothes with skirts and light boots. I feel cold when I look at their dress. Although it's only a few degrees below zero outside, it's not cold when I go out. It's typical to have demeanor without temperature.

"Comrade commander," ina came up to me with a summer suit in her hand and said, "please put on this suit."

I wanted to refuse, but when I looked aside, damana was still sewing for me with a hand-held sewing machine. It was estimated that she would not be able to finish work for a while. It was better to wear summer clothes to the dance than to wear underwear, so she took over her military uniform. Ina turned to damana and called, "damana, please change your clothes quickly."

Damana stopped her work, looked at us and said in embarrassment, "Comrade commander, the clothes of the commander have not been changed. I can't go."

In this case, I can't delay other people's going to the dance because I ask her to help me change my clothes, so I should be more generous: "it's OK, damana, change your clothes first, and change my uniform when you have time."

The dance was held in the chapel. It used to be the office of the war office and the reconnaissance office. Tables and the like were moved to the position against the wall, and the empty position in the middle became the dance floor of the dance. There were two steam lamps on all sides of the walls, and the hall was as bright as day. The gramophone is singing the joyful song, many already unable to restrain commanders have already danced in the middle of the dance floor.

With the entrance of the female soldiers, the atmosphere became more enthusiastic. The male commanders rushed in and invited their favorite female soldiers to the dance floor. In the end, I was left on the bench with another fat female soldier. Looking at the handsome Luo sitting on the opposite side of the dance floor, the female soldier said to me, "Comrade commander, you see, the commander is really handsome. If only I could dance with him."

"Since you like the commander, go and ask him to dance. Don't be shy!" I encouraged her to try.

"I'll invite him, won't he refuse?" She's still a little less confident.

"Certainly not. A gentleman never says no to a woman." I continued to cheer her up.

After listening to me, the female soldier suddenly stood up and took a deep breath. Then she walked through the dancing crowd and resolutely walked to the opposite handsome Luo.

Before she came to handsome Luo, the gramophone began to play another song. I listened to the melody carefully, and immediately recognized that it was my familiar song "night outside Moscow". At this time, a man came up to me and said in a loud voice, "Comrade oshanina, why are you sitting here alone? Do you mind if I ask you to dance?"

I looked up and saw the chief of staff, Colonel marinin, standing in front of me. I quickly got up and replied with a smile, "you're very kind. Of course I won't mind."

While dancing on the dance floor with marinin, I asked him in a whisper, "how did Comrade commander think of having a dance?" I'm puzzled that rokosovsky held a dance at such a time. You know, it's the beginning of the campaign, and the commanders have a lot to deal with, but he put aside all his work and called his department to hold a dance. If the later stage of the campaign develops smoothly, no one will say anything; If the campaign is defeated or defeated, someone will certainly make a big fuss about his holding the ball, which will affect his future.

"The commander said that everyone has been working hard for such a long time. It's rare that there is no fight tonight. So he held a small dance to let the comrades in the headquarters relax and combine work with rest. Only in this way can they keep the best working condition."

Malining's explanation didn't reassure me, but made me more worried. I reminded him, "there are sporadic gunshots in the evening, but it's unusually quiet tonight. Isn't that a bit abnormal?"

"It doesn't matter," the chief of staff said with disapproval, "now we are taking the initiative in the battlefield. The German aggressors are being defeated by us. They won't do anything in a short time." Although listening to what the chief of staff said, I still feel uneasy, because I clearly remember that the day of the Soviet counterattack was December 6, not November. That is to say, this hasty counterattack will end in failure. My eyes looked at the seat where rokosovsky had just sat, but I didn't see him. After searching for a long time on the dance floor, he found that he was holding a fat girl soldier in a circle. Time passed unconsciously, and the officers and men who attended the ball danced with the music. The whole chapel became a sea of joy“ Boom There was a sudden explosion of shells or bombs outside. The people who were dancing stopped, and then the sound of the gramophone stopped. Everyone listened to the movement from outside. At this time, my heart beat faster, it seems that my worry finally happened: the German army began to launch a counterattack“ Boom, boom The sound of explosion outside became more and more intensive, and in a short time it became a sound. At the same time, the phones on the tables near the wall rang one by one. The staff officers of the headquarters threw away their dancing partners and rushed to the table to answer the phone. After a while's silence, the church became noisy. I saw ina summon the women soldiers and quietly withdraw from the church. Handsome Luo, with a black face, took the political commissar and chief of staff into his office. I stood in place hesitated for a moment, or walked into the office of handsome man Luo. The information was quickly placed on rokosovsky's desk. The information that the troops fed back was that the German army was carrying out heavy shelling on the positions occupied by the 50th cavalry division and the 18th infantry division. As our army only built simple fortifications, it could not resist the heavy artillery bombardment of the German army, and the casualties of the troops were large. Fortunately, the German army has not yet sent out infantry to attack these positions. After reading the information, rokosovsky walked back and forth in the room with his hands behind his back, and then gave an order to the chief of staff: "get the commanders of the second echelon and the reserve team immediately, and let's study how to fight after dawn."“ Yes Malining agreed in a loud voice and ran out of the room to give orders.