After a busy day of life and death fighting, the soldiers 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 German artillery holes that had been occupied, 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 work as rice cooks with their lunch boxes full of extra food, and ate voraciously.
In this era of scarcity of material life, we are also on a battlefield filled with artillery fire.
It is really difficult for the warriors of the leader division to find anything that can compare with the pleasure of a full stomach. After a day of fierce fighting, the most anticipated and most satisfying thing is to enjoy a large 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 just started eating, 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, which 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 soldier with a whole day's basic consumption. And for those who do not carry a gun on the battlefield,
What's even more amazing is that this meal can save lives at critical moments. This is no exaggeration or ambiguity at all.
"You know every time I eat, I can often think of some things from the past, some things that were long ago but can never be forgotten."
Iushkin's sudden words made Artyom, who was maintaining his short-version AK that was not often used but needed to be maintained 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 about the incident Iushkin mentioned. It was probably something that happened before he and Iushkin met, and Iushkin immediately followed.
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 mentioned 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
What on earth do I 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 desperately.”
"Then it was nothing. I agreed, and then I went. A lot of things happened in a few years, and I can't explain them clearly, until I met the boy."
Artyom, who had not completely dismantled 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 of Artyom's past stories, and Iushkin, who had always been curious about them, 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 unforgettable meals of my life there, and I couldn't have asked for any more unforgettable 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?"
"."
Artem, 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.
After speaking, he quickly shook his head with his actual actions.
"I've never heard of it. You know, some things are not suitable for publicity in a big way. It will spread panic."
When he was still working at the Odessa Shipyard, Artem 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 awareness 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 starved to death, and one of the most important 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, every moment. Hunger is like a plague that quickly infects the entire city, 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-red as the setting sun, just like the color when life is about to pass away.
"At first we could still eat bread, but later. Later, the first thing we did when we killed the Germans was to pick up the corpses. Those Germans always liked to carry some small odds and ends with them, sometimes it was pieces of bread, sometimes it was...
Chocolate, sometimes you can even find half of an uneaten sausage wrapped in oil paper, and of course cigarettes. Although it tastes like horse manure, these are what we need most urgently, and sometimes we even brave the hail of bullets.
Pick up those dangerous corpses."
"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, not only do we have to find ways to kill those fascists, but we also have to work hard to prevent ourselves from starving to death and to continue fighting. We really use one life as two lives."