With my rifle on my shoulder and a cloth bag of food in my hand, I cautiously descended the crumbling staircase. As I approached the exit, it occurred to me that I had been in such a hurry that I had forgotten to ask General Shilov how to get to Vladimir. When they saw that I didn't ask, they probably thought I knew the way, so they didn't talk much.

If you have the heart to go back and ask, you are afraid of being ridiculed by the two; Don't ask, I don't know the place in Leningrad well, and I really can't find a way out. I stood there and thought about it for a moment, and decided to go to the door and ask the sentry. Having made up his mind, he walked briskly towards the door. When I went out and looked at both sides, it was a coincidence that the sentry was still the same two who had checked the documents just now, and they were jumping lightly in place from the cold.

The sentry on the right, the older one with whom I had spoken before, I walked up to him and asked straight to the point: "Comrade warrior, I would like to ask you, how to get to Vladimir Avenue on the Neva River?" ”

The sentry immediately stopped beating, raised his left hand and pointed to the road in front of him, moved from left to right, and replied in a hoarse voice: "Comrade Major, you go out of here, and when you reach the road, follow the road to the west, and walk ten minutes to the river, and you will see a bus stop from where you take the tram. He withdrew his hand, bent it and counted it, and then affirmed: "Eight stops, you will be on Vladimir Street." ”

I was about to say thank you, and then I walked away, when the sentry added: "Comrade Major, many of the tram departures have been cancelled because of the lack of electricity in the city, and you may have to wait a long time before there are trains. If you're in a hurry, I recommend you take a ride. ”

I solemnly thanked the sentry who had given me the way, and then, carrying my things and carrying my gun, I walked west along the side of the road towards the Neva River.

There were very few pedestrians on the road, and I walked for a while before I saw five or six people, all dressed in thick clothes, with turbans or hats, and they could not tell from their appearances whether they were men or women, but they were all moving slowly and staggering forward in the same strange posture.

The houses on both sides of the road can hardly be found intact, brick and concrete houses, which have been turned into piles of construction debris two or three stories high. The walls of the marble buildings that did not collapse were full of holes, and when the side wall on the side of the road collapsed completely, the various types of furniture covered in snow could be clearly seen on the road.

In the distance, I saw seven or eight people lined up on the frozen Neva River, standing under a standing metal sign. Looking at the tracks looming under the snow in the middle of the road, I could conclude that this was the bus stop that the sentry had told me, so I quickened my pace and walked over without speaking to anyone, consciously at the back of the line.

The wind by the river was very strong, and the people in front of them were all tightly wrapped, revealing only a pair of eyes. Seeing their outfits, I also felt even colder, so I pressed the cotton military cap on my head hard, and wrapped my military coat more tightly.

Fortunately, there was not much time, and in the crisp sound of electric bells, a tram slowly stopped in front of the platform. As soon as the tram stopped, the line in front of me slowly moved towards the open front door.

There is no conductor on the bus, and every passenger who gets on the bus hands the money directly to the driver. I fumbled in my pocket, and luckily, there were a few coins in it, and in an era when prices were so low, it should be fine to buy a ticket.

When it was my turn to get into the car, I pulled out the coins in my pocket, picked up a five-kopeck, and handed it over. Unexpectedly, the driver waved his hand and said weakly: "Comrade commander, according to the regulations, all military personnel who take public transportation during the war will be free of charge. Then he ignored me and shouted directly behind me, "Next." ”

The seats were full, and there were quite a few people standing, but it wasn't too crowded. I was afraid that there would be too many people in the car later, so I tried my best to squeeze into the back door so that I wouldn't be able to squeeze in when it was time to get off.

My guess was correct, the tram made several stops along the way, and some people got off, but there were more people on board, and soon the whole car was packed.

As soon as I arrived at the eighth station, I jumped out of the open door. The tram stopped by the river, and across the road was a group of buildings, and the house I was looking for should be in it. I looked around and saw an underground passage not far away, so I didn't cross the road and went straight to the passage.

As soon as I descended a few steps, I saw an old lady with a wrinkled face, standing with her back against the wall, holding a pair of large black cotton pants in her hands raised flat to her chest. I don't know how long she's been standing here, and her head and shoulders are covered with snowflakes. Curious, I walked over and saw that it was obviously a pair of cotton trousers that had been worn for several years, with a piece of cardboard hanging on it, and a few black letters: "Change for 100 grams of bread." ”

Seeing this scene, I couldn't help but sigh secretly, in the current environment, people first think about how to fill their stomachs, as for dressing, they are not so particular. Not to mention the old cotton pants that have been worn, it is estimated that even if they are new, no one will exchange them for precious food.

I untied the bag and looked inside, and there were a lot of things that Kirianova and Orlova had prepared for me, in addition to five or six rusks wrapped in brown paper, a bottle of condensed milk, a bag of sugar cubes, a piece of cream, four or five sausages, and even a rare piece of salou (a salted meat product, similar to cured meat and bacon, but it is mainly made of fatty meat, lean meat is just a garnish, a Ukrainian specialty).

I took out a packet of rusks, weighed it, it weighed about a hundred grams, and handed it to the old lady. But she didn't react, just stared at me with a vacant, blank gaze.

I pulled her hands down, shoved the rusks into her hands, and said, "Grandma, this is a packet of rusks, please take it." ”

The old lady was stunned for a moment, and when she understood that what I had given her was an incomparably precious food, she suddenly made a move that surprised me, she suddenly held the rusks and cotton pants firmly in her arms, and squatted sideways against the wall, as if someone would suddenly come out and snatch the bread from her hand.

I tied up my cloth bag and carried it into the dark and unlit passageway.

When I walked out of the passage and looked at the dilapidated buildings in front of me, I couldn't help but be a little dumbfounded, which house was the Building 146 I was looking for? I walked towards the nearest house, and saw that the street sign on the house said Building 122, and then I walked to the building on the left, and when I saw the sign on it that said No. 120, I knew that I was going in the opposite direction, so I turned around and walked in the opposite direction.

When I came to Leningrad to meet Lida's family, I just went through the formalities, met her mother and son, chatted a few words, put down some food, and quickly got out under the pretext that there was a mission in the army. Unexpectedly, as I approached Building 146, my heartbeat actually began to accelerate uncontrollably, could it be that the family affection of Leda hidden in my body was activated, which made me so uneasy? Isn't this the legendary cowardice of close relatives?

Finally outside Building 146, the house was an old three-story building, which had been badly damaged by German shelling, and two-thirds of it had collapsed, leaving only one unit building relatively intact.

I walked to the door of the unit and looked inside, I couldn't see anything clearly in the black hole, and there was silence inside the door, as if no one lived there.

I walked in the door, groped my way through the darkness and took a few steps, and when my eyes adjusted to the light, I shouted, "Is there anyone here?" Is there anyone here? ”

As I shouted, there was a sound of the door opening on the left, and I turned my head to see a middle-aged woman standing at the door of the room that had just been opened, and she asked me in a dry voice: "Comrade soldier, do you have anything to do?" ”

I walked up to her and asked in a friendly manner, "Hello! I'm here to find someone. ”

The middle-aged woman looked at me and asked, "Who are you looking for?" I know almost all the people who live here, but many of them have been evacuated, and maybe the person you were looking for has already left. ”

She really stopped me when she asked. I don't know what Lida's son is called Alik, but I really don't know what her mother's name is. But after a moment's pause, I thought about how to ask so that I wouldn't show a flaw, so I said, "An elderly woman and a child who is only three years old. They were not from Leningrad, they had only been transferred from other cities after the outbreak of war. ”

"Oh, the old lady Liu Xia you said, she lives on the third floor, the first room on her right. Are people not there? Yes, she must be at home, because every time she goes out, she says hello to me, and there are only two of us left in this building who have not been evacuated. ”

After thanking her, I climbed to the second floor and then to the third floor, holding on to the cold railing. Because the walls are full of holes, the light is not bad. I walked over to the first door on my right, took a deep breath, and slammed the door.

After the knocking, I listened intently to the movement inside, but there was no sound at all. Isn't there anyone living there? No. The woman downstairs just now made it very clear that the old lady's family lives here, and she has never been out today, maybe my knock on the door is too quiet, she didn't hear it. Knock again!

So I slammed the door again, and this time there was movement coming from inside, as if someone was slowly walking towards the door. I dropped my knocking hand and asked aloud, "Is there anyone in the house?" ”

An old voice came out of the door: "Who? ”