Just as the middle-aged female painter said, after passing a Mumu restaurant, she saw an old bookstall.
The old bookstall occupies an open space that is not spacious but can accommodate many book lovers. In the middle are a few worn-out wooden tables put together, piled with yellowing books. There are plastic sheets on the ground around them, and they are also neatly placed.
Thousands of old books.
A bald middle-aged man was sitting on a low horse, staring at the customers who were picking out used books. Maybe it was because the customers who were picking out books read more and bought less, so his eyes looked particularly melancholy.
When Sokov came to the bookstall, he did not immediately squat down to select books, but wanted to know the price first.
I glanced at the stall and saw a paper sign placed next to it, which read: Three books on the floor cost 100 rubles; one book on the table costs 100 rubles.
"Boss," Sokov saw that there were at least four to five thousand books on the old bookstall. If he searched for them locally, he didn't know where to find them, so he walked up to the middle-aged man and asked politely: "Excuse me, do you have any military books here?"
A novel about the subject? It would be best if it reflects the Great Patriotic War."
"Yes." The middle-aged man nodded, pointed to the table and said feebly: "One Inch of Soil and Forever Nineteen by Grigory Yakovlevich Baklanov, especially
The latter one won the Soviet State Prize in 1979."
Sokov had never heard of the writers and works mentioned by the middle-aged man. He asked tentatively: "Are there any other writers? For example, Simonov, Chakovsky, Vasilyev and other writers
Works?"
"Yes." The middle-aged man pointed to a corner this time: "There is Vasilyev's "The Dawns Here Are Quiet" there. I also have many military novels at home, but because the space here is limited, I can't put them there, so I don't have them.
Bring them out. If you really want them, I'll bring those books tomorrow."
Hearing the middle-aged man talk about "The Dawns Here Are Quiet", Sokov couldn't help but feel moved. He secretly said that he had published this novel in a dream-like time and space. He didn't know whether the author of this book was himself.
Or is it the original author Vasilyev?
He quickly came to the corner, and after some searching, he found "The Dawns Here Are Quiet". When he saw the words "By Boris Vasilyev" written on the cover, he couldn't help but smile bitterly.
Xin said that it seemed that everything he experienced in the underground fortifications was just a dream.
At this moment, he suddenly heard someone calling him from behind: "Misha, Misha!"
Hearing this rapid and familiar voice, Sokov turned around suddenly and looked in the direction of the sound.
Next to the old books stall is a second-hand goods stall. There are many old items on the stall, such as old-fashioned dial telephones, waist-high radios, piles of old cameras, and wooden tables that look old.
There was an old-fashioned TV set on the table, and a person on the screen was shouting his name anxiously.
After Sokov saw the person on the screen clearly, he was stunned: the person calling him was actually Yakov. He was calling his name non-stop at the moment, his face full of anxiety.
But when Sokov quickly came to the table and wanted to communicate with Yakov on the TV, the screen suddenly went black, and Yakov who was calling him disappeared without a trace.
The owner of the secondhand stall was an elderly man. When he saw Sokov rushing to the table and repeatedly looking at the TV series placed on it, he walked over and asked politely: "Young man, do you want to buy a TV?"
Machine?"
"I just saw someone talking on the TV."
Unexpectedly, the old man was stunned for a moment after hearing this, and then he said, dumbfounded, "Young man, you really know how to joke. This TV doesn't even have a power cord. How could someone appear on the TV?"
After hearing what the old man said, Sokov checked carefully and found that the TV did not have a power plug. He couldn't help but curiously asked: "Since this TV series has no plug, what is it doing here?"
"Some people like old things," the old man replied: "They like things that have a sense of time from the past and put them as decorations at home."
Sokov muttered to himself, could it be that he was hallucinating?
With such doubts, he walked back to the owner of the used bookstall and said politely: "Please help me find "One Inch of Soil" and "Forever Nineteen".
The boss stood up, rummaged through the pile of books for a while, then took out two books with yellowed covers and handed them to Sokov.
Sokov took it and saw that it was indeed the two books he was looking for. He quickly took out his wallet and asked the boss: "Is it two hundred rubles?"
Unexpectedly, the boss shook his head and said: "One book is five hundred rubles, two books total one thousand rubles."
"Isn't it written on your sign that the books on the table cost 100 rubles each?"
"The starting price is one hundred rubles, there is no upper limit."
Seeing that the bookstall owner went back on his word and wanted to take the opportunity to raise the price, Sokov was naturally not used to his bad habits, so he put down the book and walked away.
Halfway through, Sokov took out his cell phone and entered Baklanov's name for a search. He discovered that this man had served as a director and standing committee member of the Soviet Writers Association and the editor-in-chief of the "Flag" magazine. He had participated in the Great Patriotic War and was awarded the rank of captain.
, graduated from Gorky Academy of Literature in 1951.
In the late 1950s, he began to write novellas describing the Great Patriotic War, including "Nine Heavens", "An Inch of Soil", and "One Death Covers All Ugliness". His works mainly describe the "trench reality" of ordinary soldiers and junior officers in local battles.
" and the psychological state during the test of life and death, became one of the representative writers of the "Trench Realists". His "Inch of Earth" and Bondarev's "The Last Bombardment", and Chekov's "The Third Signal Bomb"
" is considered a representative work of the "trench realists".
After searching for information about Baklanov, I happened to arrive at the painting stall. At this moment, the middle-aged female artist's sketch for Anna was coming to an end.
"Misha," Anna called Sokov's name and asked with concern, "Have you found the used bookstall?"
"Found it." Sokov nodded: "But there is no book I want, so I came back. How about it, how long does it take for you to finish the painting?"
"Sir, please wait a moment, the painting will be finished in a few minutes."
Sokov did not rush him, but stood aside and waited patiently.
Soon, the female artist finished the last stroke, then handed the finished product to Anna, and asked with a smile: "Miss, do you like it?"
Anna took the painting and looked at it carefully. She did not express her opinion immediately, but pointed the painting at Sokov: "Misha, what do you think of this painting?"
People who can set up a painting stall on Arbat Street usually have a few brushes. To draw a sketch like this, it is not just a matter of holding a handful in hand. Sokov nodded and said repeatedly: "Not bad, not bad, the painter is clever."
He makes careful use of light and shadow contrast to highlight your facial features, and uses soft tones to depict the lightness and elegance of your clothes. The lines in the picture are smooth and rhythmic, whether it is the soft and elegant hair or the wrinkles of your clothes.
, are all expressed in detail, and the paintings are really great.”
When the female painter heard Sokov's praise, she couldn't help but smile knowingly. As a painter, it is the greatest recognition for her that her works can be praised by others.
Sokov took Anna out of Arbat Street, returned to his car, and asked tentatively: "Anna, where do you want to go next?"
"Didn't you agree to let me go to your home tonight?" Anna looked at Sokov and asked with some displeasure: "Have you changed your mind?"
"Anna, you misunderstood." Sokov said without changing his face or heartbeat: "I was just worried that you would change your mind and not want to go to my place, so I asked specifically."
On the way, Anna asked curiously: "Misha, most people today read books through computers or mobile phones, and very few people buy physical books. Why do you think of buying used books?"
"The books on the Internet are quite complete," Sokov said, "but some old books published decades ago cannot be found online at all."
"Oh, that's it." Anna said, "If you really want old books, I can think of a way for you." After saying that, she took out her mobile phone from her bag, "I'll make a call first and ask.
, see if we can find old books.”
While driving, Sokov listened to Anna's call: "Hey, is this Liuba? I'm Anna... Your house was sold?... Where are you, your old house?...
Okay, I understand, I will be at your place in about half an hour."
After hanging up the phone, Anna pointed forward and said to Sokov: "Misha, turn right at the intersection ahead and keep driving."
Sokov asked Anna curiously: "Anna, when I just heard you on the phone, you asked whether someone else's house was sold. Are you ready to buy it?"
"Misha, you misunderstood. How can I, a working man, have the money to buy a house?" Anna shook her head and said, "My friend's father used to be a university professor and he had many books at home. Now that he has passed away, my friend
She plans to sell this house. And the books her father left behind have become a burden, so she plans to throw them all away. When I take you there later, you can see if there are any books you want. If so, just go ahead and throw them away.
Take it home."
Sokov couldn't help but be overjoyed to learn that Anna could help him find old books. If it was really the book left by the old professor, there must be many books he wanted in it. Thinking this in his mind, the car could not help but go a little faster.
Unexpectedly, as soon as I turned the intersection, I heard the siren of a police car coming from behind. It sounded for a while and then stopped, indicating that I was allowed to pull over.
Sokov secretly cursed his bad luck and quickly pulled over the car.
As soon as the car stopped, a police car with red and blue flashing lights on its roof drove past the car and stopped steadily not far ahead.
Seeing the colors of the car's roof lights clearly, Sokov felt much more at ease. The traffic police's roof lights were one red and one blue, and the police's police car roof lights were double blue. At this moment, there were red and blue two-color flash lights, indicating that what was coming was
The traffic police, not the police, should have just violated the rules, rather than encountering a rogue policeman who blocked the road and extorted money.
The door of the police car opened, and a policeman got out. He was wearing a gray rim of a large-brimmed hat, which is a special police hat for traffic police.
He came to Sokov's car, raised his hand in salute, and said politely: "Sir, please show me your driver's license."
Sokov quickly took out his driver's license and handed it over.
After checking the driver's license, the traffic policeman said: "Sir, you just exceeded the speed limit and were fined two hundred rubles. If you choose to go to the bank to pay the fine, I will issue you a ticket now. If you pay it now, I will not issue a ticket."
"
It’s not his first day in Russia, so Sokov naturally understands all the hidden rules. If the other party issues a ticket, it will leave a stain on his record. When renewing his visa next year, he may be fined for traffic violations.
The visa was refused, so he decisively chose to pay the money directly to the other party to avoid leaving a bad record.
After the traffic policeman put the fine paid by Sokov into his pocket, he said: "Good luck!" Then he turned back to his police car and drove away.
After the traffic police drove away, Sokov restarted the vehicle.
Anna, who was sitting in the passenger seat, quickly reminded him: "Misha, don't worry, drive slowly. My friend is waiting for us at her house, so you don't have to worry."
"Yes, I understand." Sokov was too excited just now, so he accidentally speeded. At this moment, his mood has calmed down, and naturally he will not violate the rules again.
Seeing that the destination was getting closer, Sokov asked tentatively: "Anna, when we go to someone else's house, should we go empty-handed? Should we buy some gifts?"
"If you didn't remind me, I almost forgot." Anna pointed to the front and said to Sokov: "Misha, there is a flower shop next to McDonald's in front. I'm going to buy a bouquet of flowers for Liuba."
Sokov parked the car next to McDonald's and said to Anna: "Anna, I'll wait for you here. You go buy flowers."
After Anna got off the car and left, Sokov took out his mobile phone and searched for the history of the Soviet Union on the Internet. You know, although he knew the history of the Great Patriotic War very well, what he knew about the history from 1946 to 1991 was
Very limited.
The first post he saw was titled "Analysis of the Causes of the Food Crisis in the Soviet Union in the Early Postwar Period (1945-1953)". Sokov suddenly became interested. He remembered that he had returned to the present in 1946. Was it true that then?
There was a great famine. Let’s see if we can find the ideal answer from this post.
As soon as he clicked on the post, before Sokov could take a closer look, he heard a woman's voice coming from next to him: "Sir!"
Sokov turned around and saw that it was a young girl with dyed red hair, wearing sexy suspenders and low-waisted denim hot pants. She was lying on the window on the passenger side of the car, exposing a large area of snow-white skin, and asked softly
He said: "Sir, are you interested in chatting? The price is very cheap."
Seeing this, Sokov thought that these must be the legendary lost women. He didn't expect to meet them here. He quickly waved his hand and said, "Thank you, no need!"
"Sir, the price is really not expensive." The red-haired girl gestured and said, "It's only 250 euros."
250, you are 250, and your whole family is 250. After scolding the red-haired girl a few times in his mind, Sokov continued to shake his head and said: "Thank you, no need!"
Seeing that Sokov was unmoved, the red-haired girl stood up, muttered a few slang words that Sokov didn't understand, turned and walked away.
As soon as the red-haired girl walked away, Anna opened the car door and sat in, holding a bouquet of perfume lilies in her hand. She looked at the red-haired girl going away and asked curiously: "Misha, who is that, your friend?"
?”
"No." Sokov shook his head: "Just someone asking for directions."