"So how many people are left in the town now? How many people were there before? Have you investigated these data?"
There are many pressing questions that interest Malashenko, and one of them is how many people are left in the town.
Don't get me wrong, Malashenko doesn't want to catch strong men like the Germans, and scrape off another layer of land for the old, weak, sick and disabled population that is already very few in the town. Malashenko doesn't even bother to do it, and he doesn't even want to do it.
Go do it.
The reason why he can ask this is just because Malashenko wants to figure out one question: how big is the burden that the Germans left for him.
Yes, that's right, this is a baggage, the kind of baggage that "the Germans save themselves trouble and make it difficult for Malashenko".
When Malashenko heard that the Germans had swept away all the food in the town, and combined with the "catching young men" that had already happened, why did the Germans only want to be able to be young men and seize the remaining old, weak, sick and disabled?
They all stayed, and the reason became clear before our eyes.
Create trouble for the Red Army that will inevitably follow: every living mouth must eat, and as long as you are still alive, you must solve the problem of food and drinking water.
Wait for water?
broken!
I don’t know why, but the moment this seemingly insignificant thought flashed through my mind, a strong sense of ominousness came to my mind.
Malashenko cannot guarantee that his hunch will be accurate and that his guess will be fact.
But if the hunch and speculation come true, then the next problem before Malashenko will be a bit too big. It’s just that Malashenko, who felt that his head was so big, didn’t even think of how to solve it for a while.
No matter what, the most important thing is to quickly determine what the facts are.
Malashenko, who couldn't care less at the moment, thought of this, and then spoke repeatedly to Kulbalov beside him.
"Water source! Have you checked the water source in the town? How do people in this town drink water? Is there a fixed water point?"
".Uh this."
Just now, Malashenko asked him about the remaining population in the town, and he was organizing the conversation before he had time to answer.
Malashenko's sudden change of topic caught Kulbalov off guard. He was stunned for a long time and thought for a few more seconds before he finally heard someone in the town talking about it not long ago.
The answer was found in the description.
"There is no running water in this town. People collect water from wells. I heard that there are several water collection points scattered in various corners of the town. I have never heard any local people talk about water problems. The hotel owner I just asked didn't mention it.
It was an old man who had done this."
"."
“How come it’s a well in Mahler Gobi!?”
Malashenko, who said something was not going well in his heart, no longer bothered to go door-to-door to inquire about the situation. When he had time, he could go and see the situation in person.
Malashenko, who just left, did not hesitate and acted quickly. He greeted Kulbalov and others and rushed towards the nearest water point without saying a word. On the way, Malashenko only wished that he could
Don't let your worst guess come true.
If it really becomes a reality, that would be such a fucking cheat! The kind of cheat that makes people so angry that they can’t even scold you.
The nearest water point is not too far away. In terms of straight-line distance, it is only two streets away, about less than a kilometer away.
Although water is drawn from a well, it is not the old-fashioned hand-cranked bucket.
After all, this is a merchant town on the edge of Berlin. There are a lot of outsiders coming and going on weekdays, and the water consumption is also large. How long will it take to wait in line to get water from a hand-cranked bucket?
After arriving at the scene, what Malashenko saw at first glance was a motor-driven well house. The German installed a simple but efficient water collection equipment in this small house. Simply put, it was an electric water pump that pumped water and then stored it in the motor-driven well house.
The principle of the large bucket is the same as that of the toilet reservoir. When the water in the big bucket is full, the water will automatically stop.
It is also more convenient for people to get water. They do not need to operate the mechanical water pump. They only need to go to the bucket and turn on the water valve, and a large amount of water will flow out. The speed of getting water is fast enough and the efficiency is relatively high, so there will be no queues.
Everything looked better, and there didn't seem to be any signs of man-made damage in the well room. The water-fetching machinery, including the large water buckets, were intact and there was no leakage.
But Malashenko was not reassured by this appearance. In fact, what Malashenko was most worried about was not the things in front of him at all. He even said that if the Germans really destroyed this set of water collection and storage equipment,
If he did nothing else, Malashenko would smile happily and lament that he was quite lucky today.
"Here, help me! Move this manhole cover away, Master!"
The impatient Malashenko couldn't even wait to order the soldiers to do it. Without saying a word, he rolled up his sleeves and went into battle himself. He rushed to the side of the manhole, grabbed the heavy metal manhole cover, and greeted him repeatedly.
The soldiers on the side who didn't know what to do came up to help.
Comrade division commander had an order, so he would naturally carry out what he didn't say quickly, not to mention Malashenko's tone itself was full of anxiety.
"Quick! Come here and help me!"
The first person who rushed forward after hearing Malashenko's order was not an ordinary soldier, but the noble comrade Kulbalov, who was the brigade commander.
The division commander and the brigade commander went into battle together, and beside them there were a bunch of big and fat warriors working together.
The heavy casting machine manhole cover, which weighed at least three to four hundred kilograms, was lifted almost immediately and put aside for the time being.
However, at the moment when the manhole cover was removed, what Malashenko was most worried about happened like misfortune.
Before Malashenko could say anything, an unpleasant stench rushed straight out of the opened shaft, almost like a volcanic eruption.
The smell was so strong and pungent that even Malashenko, who crawled out alive from Stalingrad's mountain of corpses and sea of blood, couldn't help frowning and curling his lips when he smelled it, and had to cover his face and nose in public.
When things developed to this point, even those who had not understood what Comrade Commander wanted to do before now all realized what the stench coming straight out of the well meant.
Now, the trouble is really big.
And it's not even a little "big trouble", it's a very big one.
Without waiting for the surrounding soldiers and Kulbalov to speak, Malashenko, who knew that his worst fears had become reality but still insisted on finding out the truth, quietly gave the order.