Asiya came home from get off work and found that Sokov was not sitting at the table writing a novel as usual, but was busy in the kitchen and humming a song. Listening carefully, he was actually humming "Sacred"
war".
Asiya secretly guessed, did something happen to Misha today? Otherwise, how could he be busy in the kitchen and humming songs at the same time? She asked curiously: "Misha, is there anyone here today?"
?”
Sokov, who was cooking, realized that Asiya had gone home. He quickly said to her: "Sit down in the living room first. I have some soup, which will be out soon."
However, Asiya did not listen to Sokov and returned to the living room to stay. Instead, she continued to ask Sokov curiously: "Misha, who came to the house today? Are you so happy? Did the other party bring you something?"
What good news?"
"Did you see the white envelope on the table in the living room?" Sokov pursed his lips in the direction of the living room and said proudly: "You will know after you open it and take a look."
Asiya turned around and saw a white envelope on the table in the living room. As she walked towards the table, she asked curiously: "Misha, who sent you the invitation?"
"Yes, there is indeed an invitation in the envelope." Sokov said with a smile: "As for who sent it, you will know after you open it and take a look."
Asiya snorted softly, picked up the white envelope on the table, opened it, and took out the invitation inside.
When she read the contents of the invitation clearly, she couldn't help but exclaimed: "Oh my God! Misha, I read it right. It's actually an invitation to invite you to participate in the October Revolution Day military parade."
"That's right." Sokov said loudly in the kitchen: "Look at the notes at the back. You can bring your family members with you. In other words, I am not going to attend the military parade next month alone. You also
You can go with me."
Asiya came to the kitchen door with the invitation and said with some embarrassment: "I would like to go to such a grand party. But will I be able to get in then?"
"Don't worry," Sokov said with a smile: "This invitation was sent by Yasha. He said that Comrade Stalin signed it personally. In other words, on that day, others may not be able to enter the Red Square, but we
But the two of them were able to successfully enter the Red Square with this invitation."
"That's great." Asiya cheered excitedly after hearing Sokov's words.
After a while, after her mood stabilized a little, she asked tentatively: "Misha, do you think I should tell my parents about this?"
"Yes, of course." Sokov agreed to Asiya's proposal, but he also specifically warned: "Remember, ask them to keep it secret and don't tell it everywhere, so as not to cause unnecessary misunderstandings."
"Don't worry, they won't talk nonsense."
When the two sat at the table and started eating, Asiya asked tentatively: "Has Yasha come here today?"
"Yes, he has been here." Sokov said: "He came for two purposes. One was to send me an invitation, and the other was to tell me that he had given the book I wrote to his father. He
My father was very satisfied after reading it, and I’m afraid it won’t be long before the book will be officially published.”
"By the way, how are you preparing your new book?" Asiya asked: "I see you are writing every day. I don't know how much you have written?"
"There are sixty or seventy thousand words written." Sokov said: "When Yasha came here just now, I gave him the written manuscript and asked him to take it to his father to see."
"You have just written the beginning of your new book. Why do you want to show it to Comrade Stalin?"
"In the first chapter, I mentioned Comrade Stalin. Yasha was worried that writing this way might cause problems, so after discussing with me, he decided to give the written chapter to his father to read. If his father said no
If you ask questions, I will continue to write; if you say I can’t write, then I will stop writing this book.”
Hearing what Sokov said, Asiya couldn't help but become nervous: "Misha, what do you think the final result will be? Does Comrade Stalin agree with you to write it, or does he disagree with it?"
"It's hard to say, it's really hard to say." Sokov felt unsure at the moment. Even though "The Siege" is a very good novel, it was published in the 1970s, because Stalin had passed away more than 20 years ago.
In 2000, his influence has been negligible for a long time, so even if there are criticisms of him in the book, it will not be a big problem. But now that Stalin is still alive and his prestige is at its peak, now there are criticisms of him in the book.
But it was a huge risk. Unexpectedly, in the end, the book was banned and the person was sent to the Gulag. Therefore, he could only say without confidence: "Now that things have happened, I can only try my luck."
"I hope everything goes well." As Sokov's wife, Asya naturally hopes that the book he wrote can be published smoothly. She quickly clasped her hands and put them under her chin, closed her eyes and prayed for Sokov.
A good manuscript can be approved by Stalin.
Two days later, Sokov received a call from the sentry at the door: "Comrade General, someone is looking for you outside the door!"
When he learned that someone was looking for him, Sokov quickly asked: "Did he say what his name was?"
The voice of the sentry asking about the other party came from the receiver, and then Sokov heard the sentry report to him: "Comrade General, he said his name is Chakovsky!"
Hearing the name Chakovsky, Sokov couldn't help but tremble. He was writing "The Siege" at this time, and unexpectedly the original author came to visit. But he quickly calmed down, thinking that he would copy it himself
"The Siege" was published in 1975, which was still thirty years ago. Even if Chakovsky put the whole book in front of him, he probably wouldn't know that it would be his most popular book in the future.
Bar.
Thinking of this, Sokov suddenly gained confidence. He quickly said into the microphone: "Comrade Sentinel, please ask him to wait at the door. I will go out to see him right away."
A few minutes later, Sokov came to the door and met the legendary Chakovsky.
Chakovsky was of medium build, with a Chinese-character face, a pair of glasses, and a black trench coat. Seeing Sokov walking over in a hurry, he hurriedly came up to him and asked politely: "Is this General Sokov?
?”
"Yes, I am Sokov." Sokov stretched out his hand to the other party and said in a friendly tone: "Hello, Comrade Chakovsky, nice to meet you."
"Me too, Comrade General!" Chakovsky said with a smile: "It is my honor to know such a famous general like you!"
After shaking hands, Sokov asked tentatively: "You came to see me today. What's the matter?"
"That's it, Comrade General." Chakovsky said cautiously: "I have a friend who read me a novel you wrote, "The Dawns Here Are Quiet."
I like it. Also, I heard that you are still working on a new novel, is it true?"
"Of course it's true." After Sokov figured out the origin of the other party, he suddenly felt more at ease. As long as he didn't come to accuse him, it would be fine: "The name of this book is "The Siege", which is based on the story of Leningrad.
Being besieged by the German army as the background..."
"What a coincidence." Chakovsky heard Sokov say that he planned to write a book set in Leningrad, and it was as if he had found a close friend. "I have written two books before, both of which were based on Leningrad."
Written as a background by Gullah, can you tell me about your new book? Maybe it can help me find some inspiration so that I can write more books."
"Of course." Sokov said, "But this is not the place we agreed to, so you should go to my house."
On the way, Sokov asked curiously: "Comrade Chakovsky, how do you know my address?"
"I was told by Xie Keluo, the editor-in-chief of the publishing house. He is an old friend of mine." After briefly introducing the situation, Chakovsky said with some embarrassment: "I came directly here without saying hello to you in advance.
It would be a bit presumptuous to ask you, I hope you don't mind."
"It doesn't matter, it doesn't matter." Sokov said generously: "I am writing books at home every day. I have quite a lot of time, but I am a bit bored by myself. Now a great writer like you comes to visit and chat with me.
, maybe it can also help me expand my ideas." After saying that, he burst into laughter.
After returning home, Sokov poured a cup of hot tea for Chakovsky and brought the manuscript he had written: "Comrade Chakovsky, this is the manuscript of my new book. You can read it and give it to me."
Let me give you my opinion."
Sokov said this, but he was muttering in his heart. Although this book was written by Chakovsky 30 years later, who knows if he has recently started collecting information. He asked him to read the beginning of the book just to test it out.
Give him a look.
Chakovsky read very quickly, and in less than forty minutes, he read all the more than 80,000 words written by Sokov.
After reading it, Chakovsky looked at Sokov and asked: "Comrade General, how long do you plan to take to finish writing this book?"
"I don't know," Sokov shook his head and said, "You are also a writer, so you naturally understand that the time and speed of writing a book are the hardest to control. If there is inspiration, then write faster; if there is no inspiration
Inspiration, I’m afraid I won’t be able to write a single word for ten days and a half.”
After hearing what Sokov said, Chakovsky shrugged helplessly: "Since you don't know how much time it will take, forget it. I just hope you finish the book as soon as possible."
"This will probably take a long time because I plan to write a novel," Sokov said.
"How long is it? Like "The Dawns Here Are Quiet", it has more than 200,000 words?" Chakovsky asked.
Sokov smiled: "Maybe multiply this by 10."
Chakovsky put his hand on his forehead and said: "Oh my god. Write 2 million words. Do you plan to write a masterpiece that will be handed down to the world?"
"Hahaha." Sokov laughed loudly. Books these days, even if they are novels with 20,000 to 300,000 words, are very rare, and books with 2 million words are even rarer: "I would like to
To write a masterpiece that will be handed down from generation to generation, it is a pity that my level is limited and I will never reach that height."
"Comrade General, I have two questions that I would like to ask you."
Sokov made a gesture of invitation: "Please speak!"
"From what I know about you, you have never been to Leningrad. How could you think of writing a book about Leningrad?"
Chakovsky's question had long been expected by Sokov. After hearing it, he slowly said: "Comrade Chakovsky, you are right. I have never been to Lenin."
Grad, but there are many commanders and fighters from Leningrad in the troops I command. I have listened to them more than once tell the story of what happened when the city was besieged by the German invaders. As time went by, a thought came to my mind.
I have the idea that when I have the opportunity in the future, I must write a novel set in Leningrad."
After saying this, Sokov remembered what Asya had said to him a few days ago, saying that he mentioned the place name of Leningrad in "The Dawns Here Are Quiet" just to leave a mark for the next book.
Now that Chakovsky asked, he just responded with this: "Comrade Chakovsky, since you have read my "The Dawns Here Are Quiet", you must have noticed that
I mentioned Leningrad in it."
"In your book "The Dawns Here Are Quiet", did you ever mention Leningrad?" Hearing Sokov's response, Chakovsky couldn't help but be stunned. His mind began to think quickly, recalling
The place name Leningrad is mentioned somewhere in Sokov's book.
After some recollection, he finally remembered where Leningrad was mentioned in the book, and asked cautiously: "It was in the words that Major Rostov said when he reprimanded Warrant Officer Vaskov in the military transport office.
, once mentioned Leningrad. Yes, the original words are: '...behind us, Leningrad stands tenaciously.' You did leave a foreshadowing. You wanted to use Leningrad to stand tenaciously.
This paragraph is used to hint at the perseverance and heroic tenacity shown by our heroic city when it faced the crazy attack and tight siege of the German army. Now I finally understand why the title of your book is called "The Siege". It is indeed very appropriate."
Seeing that Chakovsky was automatically filling in the details, Sokov neither spoke nor interrupted him. He just looked at him with a smile, waiting for him to continue.
After a while, Chakovsky finally finished what he wanted to say. After taking a sip of the tea on the table, he asked again: "Now let me ask the second question. In the first chapter of your new book?
Comrade Stalin was mentioned in the book, is this appropriate?"
Sokov did not expect that Chakovsky would ask the same question, and the corner of his mouth twitched violently. Is it really impossible to write about Stalin in this era? Just the first chapter.
He showed up and spoke a few words to the male protagonist. Everyone who has read the book felt that this seemed inappropriate. If this is really the case, did you choose the wrong time to write the book "Besieged" now?
However, in the face of Chakovsky's curiosity, Sokov still pretended to be calm and said: "Chakovsky, I am good friends with Comrade Stalin's eldest son Yakov. When he came here two days ago, he also mentioned
I had encountered similar problems, so I gave him part of the manuscript and asked him to pass it on to his father for review to see if he could continue writing."
"Then what's the result?" Chakovsky asked nervously, "Can you continue writing?"
"It's been several days, but I haven't received any news yet." Sokov shook his head and said with a wry smile: "As for whether I can continue to write according to my ideas, I don't know the answer yet."