"Gentlemen, it is the duty of every Russian citizen to contribute to the war of the Empire!"

The middle-aged man hiding in the corner of the wall took out a piece of the lens he was carrying in his pocket and slowly placed it diagonally in front of his eyes: the light reflected and the situation on the street was clearly visible. I saw that three fat men had appeared in the street port at some point, dressed in pitch-black suits and long boots, which were very conspicuous in a silvery white snowy scene. And seeing this group of people appear, the few dozen pedestrians on the street instantly dispersed like birds and beasts; He staggered and panicked, as if he had encountered a demonic robber!

"If you see us and run away, then you must all be spies sent by the Germans, or Ersshevik revolutionaries!" The man in black in the lead laughed strangely, and quickly cast a color on the two people next to him. In the astonished gaze of a middle-aged man in the far corner, three secret policemen scurried through the snow with agility disproportionate to the size of their buckets; Even a well-trained professional soldier is afraid that it is nothing more than that!

Just a dozen seconds later, a blunt object hit the flesh and a heart-wrenching scream suddenly resounded all around. Due to the limited angle, the middle-aged man could not observe the situation through the reflector, but the terrifying wail of fear from the heavy blow fell like a wedge into his heart. He slowly exhaled heavy white gas under his trench coat, and his hands were already clenched into fists; The grief, anger and hatred radiating from those eyes had already revealed his state of mind at the moment.

"Is this your Russian secret police? How do I feel like robbers more than any other profession? The tall Kuzov spoke lightly, and the contempt and mockery in his words were unmistakable. The middle-aged man took a deep breath and said softly, "The country is unfortunate. As a result, the toiling masses are always in a miserable situation of enslavement and oppression. Hardly any difference from cattle and horses. Let you, Mr. Kuzov, make fun of you. But one day, these lackeys and eagle dogs who worked for the Tsar will be completely swept away and drowned by the torrent of revolution, along with all the parasites that attach themselves to the people and feed on the blood and marrow. The evil reactionary forces of imperialism can only be arrogant for a while at best, and the ultimate victors will and will only be the glorious proletarian workers! ”

In the end, the middle-aged man suddenly found that there was something wrong with his words; His lips moved, and he wanted to say something remedy, but he scraped his stomach. But I was embarrassed to find that this kind of thing was in fundamental conflict and opposition to my own beliefs, and I couldn't come to my mouth at all. A strange atmosphere permeated the two of them. Kuzov glanced at him and said, "Mr. Ulyanov, I think you'd better observe the movements of those secret policemen first and wait for an opportunity to move." After all, what matters most is our business. ”

The middle-aged man's eyes froze, and then he nodded slightly. He quietly flipped the mirror in his hand again, and returned his gaze to the snow-soaked main street.

In just a few minutes between their conversations, all three secret police officers were captured. A fat-headed, big-eared man in black was stomping on the face of a fallen passer-by with his boots, holding a wallet, counting cash bills with a scornful face. Not far ahead. The other, fleshy secret policeman, was still beating the emaciated figure curled up in the snow, his elbows and kicks fierce. Even the middle-aged man who was secretly observing couldn't help but be frightened. The most fat secret policeman frowned and said, "Little Wajing, don't kill people. If this reptile dies here, how can you expect his family to come to the police station and pay bail? ”

The eyes of the secret police, who were trembling with flesh, were fierce, and the movements in his hands stopped, and he scolded and said, "What the eldest brother said is right. Although the bail money given to the police station could not be paid directly to me, the bonus at the end of the month was probably in the hands of my brothers. I was unlucky on this trip, this old guy looks decent, but I didn't expect it to be a bastard with only 20 kopecks (1 ruble = 100 kopecks) in change! Now this little money is not enough to buy him warmth! He picked up the thin old man who was bleeding from his nose and mouth, and handcuffed him almost in the blink of an eye, and said with a cruel smile: "Old thing, if you are conspiring to rebel against the Tsar's majesty and arrest, go to the police station for a few days." Don't forget to write to your family and ask them to prepare 10,000 rubles to ransom you out of prison within three days, otherwise we will arrest you alone. ”

A short time later, a third secret police officer appeared in the middle of the street, and it was evident that he had eaten enough of his goodies, judging by the fact that he had not arrested anyone. Looking at the joyful look on the face of the person who came, there was a hint of envy in the eyes of the secret police officer holding the collar of the "criminal", and the fiery gaze seemed to strip all the pockets of the clothes and trousers of the person in front of him. The fat man let go of the boots that were stepping on the faces of passers-by, threw his empty wallet on the snow, and said with some displeasure: "Okay, little Watin." Everyone chooses their own goals, and it is up to the Virgin Mary to decide whose benefits are. Didn't I buy more than 200 rubles this time? You bring the men back first, and we'll meet at the north end of Morrif Street in an hour. There's still a lot of time to hunt today. ”

In a faint unwilling mutter, the short and fat man with a meaty face began to push the thin old man with his hands handcuffed and turned back; The march slowed slightly, and there was a violent fist of knee blows. During this time, the beggars on the street witnessed the tragedy of the city, but their eyes were undoubtedly insensitive, as if nothing could touch their nerves anymore. Naturally, the secret police showed no interest in these poor creatures, who were ragged and could not squeeze half a tael of oil, and the two sides presented this strange scene in the streets and alleys of St. Petersburg.

Seeing that the eyes of the other two secret policemen were turning, and there was a tendency to turn in their own direction, the middle-aged man in the corner of the wall hurriedly put away the lenses in his hand, lest the reflected light reveal his own existence. After a while, the sound of footsteps in the snow began to fade away; It wasn't until the voice became completely imperceptible that the middle-aged man took out the reflector again, and after repeatedly checking the situation, he cautiously walked out of the corner. The two who experienced this change did not delay any longer, but involuntarily accelerated the pace of progress.

After nearly an hour of hiking in the snow, the two finally stopped in front of a café. Walking into this warm room, the middle-aged man couldn't help but feel relieved, and moved his already frozen stiff muscles a few times. Kuzov, who was next to him, was quietly and carefully looking around, as if he wanted to keep everything in this house firmly in mind.

As a result of the Russian government's inexplicable prohibition of alcohol during the war, the thriving Russian brewing industry was almost destroyed: with the number of alcohols on the market drastically reduced, these militant peoples were left to spend their time in cafes that did not suit their original desires. As a result, there are still a few tables of customers in this shop who are quietly enjoying their meals, and there is no such thing as before. Seeing that another customer came to the door at this time, the waiter standing behind the counter had a smile on his face and said, "What do the two gentlemen want to do?" We have more than a dozen varieties of coffee here such as sour, bitter, sweet and neutral, including affordable lattes and high-end cappuccinos, and we also offer a variety of meal services. ”

"Excuse me, do you have any of the slightly bitter Moshvador from the Don River here? The Virgin Mary, I tasted it three years ago when I went back to my hometown in Rostov-on-Don, and I have never been able to leave that feeling since. The middle-aged man walked to the counter and said to the waiter in a calm tone.

The waiter's figure trembled slightly, and he replied unhurriedly: "Of course, this affordable coffee has always been the main brand of our restaurant. However, our Moshvado coffee beans are not grown in Rostov-on-Don, but on estates outside Volgodonsk. ”

"It doesn't matter, I've actually drunk coffee beans from the Lebejiang River, and they all taste almost no different. However, I would prefer to buy 100 Solotniks (426.6g) of the beans and brew them at home rather than brewed coffee. The middle-aged man made his own request. The smile on the waiter's face remained unchanged, and he said, "Sir, if you really insist on buying coffee beans, then please go to the back room with your companion to rest for a while, and I will call the boss to negotiate with the two of you." After all, now our supply has become very unstable, and I can't be the master of this matter. ”

Hearing these words, the pupils in Kuzov's eyes couldn't help but shrink slightly: the middle-aged man would never bring him to buy any coffee beans, this must be the code word that the two sides agreed to meet in private. After receiving an affirmative reply from the middle-aged man, the waiter immediately stepped out from behind the counter and twisted open a door to the living room. Kuzov froze, and then walked in with the middle-aged man. The two of them seemed to have evaporated, and there was no trace of them.

For this situation, the diners who were dining next to them did not feel the slightest difference. They checked out and left after spending as usual, until there was no one left who witnessed the two entering the store. When the business of the coffee shop was sluggish, the waiter walked to the door and looked around for a moment, then hung up a sign that it was closed and quietly closed the windows and doors. (To be continued......)

PS: Thank you for the monthly ticket support of F4U forever, and the reward of zhouyu1976~~~ The number of subscriptions is still sad, and this is still cold in the heart of the rare recommendation week author