Sokov and Belkin hurried back to the command post.
As soon as he entered the door, Sokov saw Lieutenant Samoilov whispering something to Vanya with his back. He walked forward quickly and asked loudly: "Captain Vanya, what happened?"
Hearing Sokov's voice, Vanya and Samoilov quickly stopped talking and turned to Sokov.
"What happened?" Sokov asked again.
"Comrade Commander," Vanya did not answer, and the answer to the question was Samoilov: "Look, what did we find in the sewer?"
After Samoilov finished speaking, he immediately moved two steps to the side, revealing the position he blocked. "What did you find..." Sokov said halfway, when he saw four children beside Samoilov: three men and one woman, the oldest boy is at most six or seven years old, and the little girl looks three or four years old.
Seeing these four men wearing incompatible pullover uniforms, holding two half-chewed slices of bread in their hands, and there were stains on their faces that had not been wiped off, Sokov asked with some difficulty: "Where did these children emerge?"
"Report to the division commander!" Samoilov quickly replied, "We found it in the sewer. When I first heard the movement, I thought it was a German and quickly ordered the soldiers to prepare for battle. Just as I was about to order the shooting, I suddenly heard the sound of a little girl talking, and quickly ordered the soldiers to stop the order, and then searched according to the sound and found the children."
Sokov came to the little girl and squatted down, and asked amiably: "Little girl, what's your name? How old are you?"
"My name is Lilia!" the little girl replied tenderly, "I am three and a half years old this year."
"Where is your mother?" Such a young child actually hid in the sewer. Sokov's first reaction was that her family had suffered misfortune, so he continued to ask, "Why is she not by your side?"
"Mom is dead." Lilia lowered her head when she heard Sokov's question, and tears flowed down her cheeks. "She was blown to death by a German plane."
Looking at Lilia's pitiful appearance, the softest part in Sokov's heart was touched. He felt his nose sore, and his eyes were as if sand was infiltrated. There was always something going on. In order not to lose his composure in public, he deliberately diverted his attention and looked at the other three boys and asked, "What are you, what are your names? How old is this year?"
"My name is Daniel, I'm five years old."
"My name is Vajim, I'm four years old."
"My name is Anton, and I'm seven years old." said the oldest boy, "our mothers were all killed by the Germans."
"Anton!" After hearing the children's names and ages, Sokov stood up, put his hand on each other's shoulders, and asked softly: "Did you take them to hide in the sewer?"
Seeing the officer who was asking, Anton was not afraid at all, so he nodded and replied with affirmative answer: "Yes."
For a seven-year-old, who survived the war-torn city with three younger children, Sokov felt that this was a great thing, and he continued to ask, "I want to ask you, how did you survive?"
"We usually hide in the sewers." Anton replied, "When it's dark, we will come out of the sewers and go through the pockets or backpacks of dead people, and there will be some food inside. Sometimes, if there is more food, everyone will be able to eat a little bit; if there is no harvest, everyone will be hungry..."
"Captain Wanriya," Sokov saw the bread slices in the children's hands, and when he was speaking, he had already stuffed them into his mouth. He knew that they must be hungry, so he ordered Wanya: "Find some more food for the children and pour another cup of hot tea."
"Wait, Comrade Chief of Staff. The children are hungry for too long. If they eat too much, they will be overwhelmed." Belkin called out to Vanya, who was about to go find food. "Pour them a cup of hot tea, and I believe they haven't drunk any hot things for a long time."
Four cups of black tea with honey were brought over quickly. The four children took the tea cup and blew the heat while quickly drinking tea.
"Misha!" Berkin pulled Sokov aside and asked in a low voice: "I want to ask you, how do these children settle down? You know, we are fighting here, and it is not safe for the children to stay here."
Sokov also felt a headache for how to settle these orphans who lost their parents in the war. Without the accompanying of the adults, even if he sent someone to the ferry, he would not be able to get on the boat. And even if they barely got on the boat, what should they do after they arrived on the other side of the river? Who will take care of them?
"Comrade of the division commander," Samoilov, who saw Sokov's helpless look, took the children to the command post and said, "I think I can take them back to Mamayev and give them to Asia and the others for care. When the time is right, I will send someone to send them out of the city."
Sokov thought it was quite reliable for Samoilov's advice. Although Mamayev's hill was also fighting, as long as the children stayed in the tunnel and didn't go out, there would be no danger. Moreover, they could be taken care of by female health workers, including Asia, which was much better than staying in the sewer to fend for themselves.
Thinking of this, Sokov nodded and said, "Okay, when we return to Mamayev hill, we will take them back together."
"Misha." Belkin waited for Sokov to finish speaking, and took the initiative to say: "The situation here will not change much in a short period of time. You should go back to Mamayevgang as soon as possible. No matter what, you are the commander of the first division and you cannot always leave your command post."
"Secretary Samoilov," Sokov thought that he had sent Samoilov to the sewer to survey the terrain with the reduction regiment. If he was asked to follow him back to Mamayev, would it have an adverse impact on Belkin and his work, so he asked, "Have your terrain survey been completed?"
"Report to the commander of the division," Vanya replied first, "The survey work led by Lieutenant Samoilov has been completed." He picked up a sketch on the table and introduced to Sokov, "This is the sewer sketch provided to me by Comrade Lieutenant."
Seeing that Samoilov had finished all the work he should do, and Berkin and Wanria could command the troops to guard the archives building, Sokov felt that he would not have to stay anymore, so he nodded and said, "Okay, when it darkens, we will return to Mamayev's hill immediately."
When everyone heard that Sokov was about to return to Mamayev, whether it was Belkin, Vanya or Samoilov, they all breathed a sigh of relief. They thought to themselves: As long as the division commander returns to Mamayev, his safety will be guaranteed to the greatest extent, and they will not have to worry as they are now...
Chapter completed!