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Faced with this situation, Edward was also in a dilemma.

Fortunately, her friends were good, and they discussed it, and one of them came out and said to Edward, "It's time for dinner, there is no McDonald's in Rodsit, and there are actually very few restaurants here, so it is very unpalatable." If you don't mind, you can have dinner with us. ”

Edward couldn't ask for it!

So immediately sat down at the table, in the midst of a group of old ladies.

He specially chose to sit opposite Mishaeva.

Someone was cutting bread at the moment, so Edward brought up the old story and explained his purpose.

However, no one picked up.

Just when he felt a little embarrassed, these old ladies began to take the initiative to ask him.

From the year of birth to the occupation and family situation, this makes Edward feel that middle-aged and elderly women have a heart for gossip? Is it that you are planning to introduce yourself to a girl who can get married?

Then he denied his idea, and the other party was obviously testing him to see if he was someone he could trust.

So, he honestly told his ancestors for eight generations, especially since Rabbi Mizrasi was also a Jew from the Russian-Polish line, and the revolving door of the church during World War II was not missing.

As he spoke.

The first course came up.

It was a huge fish, half a meter long.

Don't know the variety.

Apparently pre-treated with some kind of pickling, etc.

This is not surprising either.

To Edward's shock, the fish was wrapped in newspaper.

Well, this one isn't too bad.

The scariest thing is that he found out that it was a Russian newspaper!

In other words, the fish came to Israel from Russia with the Mishaeva family.

So he pretended to be careless and asked, "Ms. Mishaeva, when did you and your family arrive in Israel?" ”

"It's been months......"

"God," he groaned inwardly.

Obviously, the fish was not fresh, but, for the sake of Pinkasov, he decided to bite the bullet and taste it.

After equally carelessly inquiring about the location of the nearest clinic and whether there were doctors and nurses on duty at night at the clinic, he almost trembled and picked up the piece of fish that had been given to him and took a small bite carefully.

The taste was unexpectedly ok.

It's not delicious, but apparently there shouldn't have been any protein spoilage, or at least not serious.

It seems that there is no need to bother the doctor.

Probably seeing Edward's face change and eating this fish that was quite terrifying to outsiders, Mishaeva's attitude eased a lot.

She even volunteered to tell Edward, "It's marinated in the Delbent way, because it's inland and it's not easy to eat fish." ”

When he heard this, he tried to squeeze out a smile that he thought was okay to show his happiness and joy.

And the aunt sitting next to her, apparently also a Soviet émigré, immediately filled the empty glass in front of him with vodka.

This made Edward feel uncomfortable again.

He likes to drink two glasses and is not averse to vodka.

After Russia, the United States is the second largest vodka market.

The difference is that in the United States, vodka is mostly used as a base for cocktails, and it is also used to drink directly, but it is somewhat mixed with soda, and then ice hockey is added to one.

Mishaeva and her friends, however, were boldly Russian – pouring straight down.

Vodka is actually 40% alcohol, not to mention the aroma, just to drink a stimulus.

Poor Edward Pinkasov is also out of the way.

He was almost in tears, cup after cup.

But then again, after three cups, my tongue was numb, my throat and eyes were burning and painful, and my brain began to faint, so I didn't have the heart to consider the freshness of the fish.

In addition, he drove for a day, and he was indeed hungry and panicked.

So they began to eat fish and bread in large gulps, much to the delight of the old ladies......

Middle-aged and older women all over the world love to see young lads show good appetites, which is the highest reward for their craft.

The fish was soon almost devoured.

Mishaeva was not as restrained and frightened as she was at first under the influence of alcohol.

"You're a good lad. You've just told us about your family history, so in return, I've decided to talk to you about me. She had another glass of vodka.

Then began to babble about her life experience.

From how she went to school when she was young, how she joined the regiment, and how she joined the party, until she was appointed by the organization as the deputy head of the supply section of the No. 2 Candy Factory in Delbent City.

"You probably can't believe it, but until now, I'm still a loyal party member. I never hide my political views. I am proud of my membership in the CPSU, although this may cause me a lot of trouble. But I don't care! She was drunk, and her face was heroic, as if she was a general going on an expedition "The West is deliberately slandering the Soviets, and I know this very well, because I used to be a citizen of the Soviet Union, I am familiar with everything, maybe the West cannot understand it, but I know that the Soviets are right!" ”

Edward was okay with that.

But it was clear that some of Mishaeva's friends could not accept this point of view, so the two sides began to quarrel.

Edward was terrified, the old ladies quarreled and it was the drunken old ladies quarreling, the brutality of the war was by no means something that a man like him could participate in, and the force field storm was enough to tear him to pieces, each piece no more than a square inch in size.

Immediately, Mishaeva's friend began to magnify his moves: "My dear comrade party members, since you are constantly defending that country, thinking that it is very good to its citizens, right? “

Mishaeva looked at the person who asked him with disdain - heroic!

The friend continued, "Then why did you immigrate to Israel?" There's nothing but yellow sand here! ”

Mishaeva immediately looked depressed and uneasy, her face was covered with a layer of gray, and she said something in her mouth; This time, it's all personal reasons, and some don't understand.

At this time, everyone also burst into laughter: the room was filled with cheerful air inside and outside.

In the end, Mishaeva was ashamed to admit the fact that in Russia the party did not support anti-Semitism, but this sentiment still existed among the workers and peasants.

She then began to introduce Edward to the part-time jury system.

"Cadres trusted by the Party will regularly serve as people's assessors, so that citizens can not be judged simply by dogmatic laws, and the judges (judges) will provide judicial opinions, while we, the people's assessors, will look at the case from a perspective closer to the people's feelings, and our opinions will be respected. Isn't there a jury in the United States? Mishaeva was clearly wary and tried to block Edward's attacking angle.

Of course, this kind of trick is really not worth mentioning in someone's eyes.

He didn't have the heart to refute or confront her, it was a dimensionality reduction blow, and it was too cruel to Mishaeva.

Besides, Edward still has a request for her.

"People's assessor is my second profession, I've been there for five years, it's a great honor," Misayeva couldn't help but feel a little proud when she saw that Edward didn't speak, thinking that her debating skills had succeeded in silting the mouth of the Western capitalist lawyer.

Looking at her flushed forehead and confident gaze, it was clear that Mishaeva was a little drunk, so much so that she probably thought she was still in Delbent: "I've tried a lot of cases!" ”

But when she said this, she seemed to suddenly come to her senses, and realized that she was in Israel, and that she was not surrounded by comrades, but by all kinds of Israeli nationals from all over the world.

The next second, her expression became serious, as if to say that I have nothing more to say.

Edward felt the same, and looked directly at the other party: "Can you tell us about the Pinkasov case?" You know that's what I'm here for. I would like to be informed first-hand. ”

Mishaeva didn't say anything, as if she hadn't heard.

So he decided to put a little pressure on a lawyer, who was a regular lawyer: "Don't you think you owe anything to Ping Kasov?" ”

"What you told me might save his life. Shouldn't you tell the truth on this issue? Have you forgotten all the teachings in the Talmud? ”

"This is Israel, anyone can rest assured to tell the truth, no one will embarrass you for this!"

Mishaeva replied angrily: "You don't know the actual situation at all!" You think I sent him to jail, right? ”

Mishaeva began to sneer: "Wrong. I'm telling you, I saved him, or he would have been in a worse place, you know? No, you don't understand! ”

As if opening the floodgates, Mishaeva seemed to ignore it.

Maybe those emotions have been pressed on her heart for too long, and being able to say it happily today is also a kind of psychological catharsis for her.

So, in the soprano that follows, almost roaring, Edward learns the other side of the story.

"You know what? The reason why I was sent to try Pinkasov is because I am also Jewish! ”

"Actually, it can't be called a trial, and the order given to me at the beginning of the organization was to persuade Pinkasov to give up the idea of emigration within the most generous possible terms."

"Generous range?" Edward asked

"Yes, organizationally let me and Judge Rasmasanov go to a showdown with Kasov, and if he is willing to withdraw his application to emigrate and call his family back from Israel, then the organization will drop all charges against him. And give him a larger, freshly built apartment unit. ”

Edward said lightly, "Sounds good"

"Yes, you should know that in a small place like Delbent, even a high-ranking factory official may not be able to get such an apartment unit. But what about Ping Akasov? He insists that he is innocent and that he doesn't listen to anything we say! ”

"I said to him, of course, because Rasmasanov can't say that. So I said, listen, it doesn't matter if you're innocent or not. If you don't do what I say, then the other judges will take you seriously! ”

Pinkasov refused. So the prosecutor's office filed a public prosecution, yes. I know all the circumstances. At that time, the prosecutor's office called 11 witnesses, all locals who had worked as carpenters for Pinkasov. They all said that Pinkasov was meticulous and conscientious, and that he always paid according to the prescribed price, and never asked for a word. ”

"Of course, there were two people who said that they had asked Pinkasov to drink two beers, and another person asked Pinkasov to do extra work, and of course it was a small amount of money - this is the kind that does not issue invoices."

"That's it?" Edward saw that Mishaeva was a little crazy, and his heart was quite different, obviously Ms. Yalta was right, Pinkasov was really an honest person.

But honest people are often also synonymous with stubbornness and stubbornness, which is easy to invite disaster.

Given the bad attitude of Pinkasov's guilty plea.

Judge Rasmasanov and another people's assessor intended to sentence the lame man to at least seven years in prison.

Mishaeva cautiously said that seven years seemed to be a bit much, after all, Pinkasov's case was worth only a few rubles at best.

"I know, you have to say, why did I sign the verdict!" Mishaeva shouted almost in a self-defeating tone. "If I don't sign, then Pinkasov will definitely be sentenced to seven years, and they will replace me and let someone else sign."

"And in that case, your future is over, right? The organization doesn't trust you anymore......" Edward said coldly.

Mishaeva seemed to be defeated, and in an instant she burst into tears: "I know that Pinkasov is innocent, I went through all the files before the trial of the case. He doesn't get involved in indiscriminate charges! However, I was instructed from above that unless she withdrew the immigration application, he must be convicted. ”

"Maybe that's why you immigrated to Israel, where you have to start with the most mundane and hard work, but at least you don't have to ......," Edward was a little unbearable.

Mishaeva lay on her friend's shoulder and wept silently, but eventually nodded.

Edward couldn't bear it, but he still asked, "Would you like to repeat what you just said to the tape recorder?" And then sign a testimony to prove Pinkasov's innocence? ”

"I'm ......," Misayeva asked weakly, "I want to know, what do you need all this for?" I think I should have known the purpose beforehand. ”

"Of course," Edward smiled, "you probably don't know about the legal protection program for Soviet Jews in the United States, it's a civil society organization, I'm the executive committee, and we'll use our influence to rescue those Soviet Jews." Pinkasov was my client, in fact I was Pinkasov's lawyer, and Moscow accepted the petition. I need enough evidence to prove Pinkasov's innocence! ”

"That means you're going to give the recording to Moscow?" Mishaeva asked weakly: "No, no, I can't, these things will be harmful to my relatives and friends in the country." Unless you can guarantee it. ”

"I can't vouch for your friend's problem," Edward knocked on the table, "After all, I'm an American lawyer, and I only have the law to help the victim." ”

Seeing that Mishaeva's face was gray, Edward thought for a moment and said, "But I can say that based on our experience with Moscow, there is a high probability that your friend will not be implicated by this. As you said before, the party does not support anti-Semitism, and we need to trust the wisdom of the upper echelons of the organization. Isn't it? What's more, since we are involved, it means that your relatives and friends have actually been paid attention to by us, and I don't think even the most stupid people will do anything retaliatory under our noses. ”

Mishaeva said in a tone that bordered on sad lamentation: "You are right. I do owe Pin Kasov, I grant you what you ask. I came here and it doesn't matter what country I have to do with that country anymore. ”