Wei Ran randomly found a restaurant that was open at the pier. Taking the opportunity to have dinner, Wei Ran asked the local waiter a few casual questions.

After finishing all the food on the plate with special care, he drove back to the city of St. Petersburg overnight, sneaked into the archives of the St. Petersburg Conservatory of Music and rummaged around, and then returned to the hotel empty-handed, giving Suisui

I made a video call, and it was revealed intentionally or unintentionally that the investigation had some clues.

After hanging up the phone, Wei Ran took a scalding hot shower and then fell asleep. However, in his dreams that night, he inevitably returned to the basement where he suffered from hunger and wind and snow.

In the blink of an eye, the next morning, Wei Ran didn't even wait for the sun to rise completely, so he drove his car to Osinowitz again, rented an off-road vehicle locally and drove straight to the fenced yard he had visited yesterday.

.

Far away, he saw the old couple who had been observing all afternoon yesterday, busy harvesting potatoes in the morning sun.

The old man drove a small hand-pushed machine in the front to turn over the soil, while the old woman was in the back, picking up the turned-out potatoes into different bamboo baskets according to their quality.

Beside the bamboo baskets, there was a dog of some unknown breed sitting squatting. From time to time, the dog would go crazy and help the old lady dig the soil with its paws.

Or drive away wild pigeons flying from nowhere.

After observing for a moment, Wei Ran finally pushed open the car door, stood at the door of the fenced courtyard wrapped in flowers and vines, waved, and politely asked under the vigilant gaze of the dog, "Hello, can I exchange my labor for some potatoes or other things?"

What kind of vegetables? I guess you wouldn’t mind having an extra helper.”

"certainly"

The old lady waved her hand enthusiastically in response, "Come in! Our dogs don't bite."

Hearing this, Wei Ran opened the ajar wooden fence door and walked along the paved stone road to the edge of the potato field, "Hello, my name is Victor, what can I do for you?"

"

“What a polite boy.”

The old lady turned an empty wooden box next to her upside down and patted it. Then she took off the towel on her shoulders and patted it. Then she invited, "Sit down quickly and help me sort the potatoes."

, By the way, have you eaten? If not, we still have the leftover bread and beetroot soup from the morning. If you don't mind it, I can heat it up for you."

"Don't bother me. The fried fish I had at the pier this morning was very delicious."

Wei Ran responded while sitting on the wooden box, "What should I call you? Also, how should I classify these potatoes?"

"My name is Galina"

After speaking, the old woman with white hair wrapped in a scarf pointed to the old man who was digging the ground with a machine not far away, "That is my husband Zurab. If you want, you can call me grandma and grandpa."

We, I think, are certainly old enough to be your grandparents."

"It's my pleasure, Grandma Galina"

Wei Ran politely changed his name, and at the same time waved to the old man who stopped the machine and turned around to wave to him, "I originally wanted to find some wild fruits or vegetables in the nearby forest, but I overestimated

I have the ability, and then I saw you and Grandpa Zurab harvesting potatoes, so I wanted to ask if there is anything I can do to help.

Of course, it would be better if you could give me some potatoes, tomatoes, cucumbers, etc., so that I can tell my girlfriend that these are wild vegetables I picked in the forest."

"You little guy is so funny"

Galina was amused by Wei Ran's joke, "You can't pick such wild fruits and vegetables in the forest, but whether you are willing to help or not, I will give you some to take back."

"I will definitely help"

Wei Ran picked up a potato and asked, "How should I classify it? Should I ask about its height, weight or blood type?"

“What an interesting little guy”

Galina smiled like a child and raised her hand to point to a few bamboo baskets lined up in the distance, "The main thing is to pick out the bad ones, those that were eaten by insects, and those that were cut by the earth tiller.

The bad ones must be picked out, they cannot be saved and must be eaten first.”

"If this young man is willing to work harder, he can also help us send the divided potatoes into the cellar."

The man named Zurab reminded loudly, "Maybe we can harvest all these potatoes today. Young man, if you are willing to help, you can have lunch with us at noon, and we will also give you some canned food."

"Then it's settled"

Wei Ran agreed before Galina could speak, "Where is the cellar? I'll send the basket in now."

“The entrance is there”

Galina pointed to the garage-like wooden house with a smile, "There is a trolley there. You can take your time so as not to tire yourself out."

"Don't worry, I have plenty of strength."

After Wei Ran finished speaking, he had already walked along the stone road to the door of the wooden garage. There was no car parked here, but there were many farm tools hanging on the surrounding walls. At the innermost part of the garage, there was also a door leading to the cellar.

Cement gentle slope.

Pushing the cart back to Grandma Galina, Wei Ran carefully poured the potatoes he had picked into the cart. After the cart was full, he carefully pushed it into the garage and groped for the lighting in the cellar.

After the switch was turned on, the potatoes with soil still in them were pushed into the cool cellar.

This cellar is quite large. The surrounding walls, including the top of the head, are reinforced with thick logs and wooden boards. On the wooden shelves against the surrounding walls, there are also various cans and harvested products such as radishes and sweet potatoes.

Such tuber vegetables.

Under the command of Mr. Zurab, Wei Ran buried all the harvested potatoes in the corner of the cellar according to the ratio of one cart of potatoes to one cart of soil.

Obviously, even if the potato field is not large, and even with the help of Wei Ran, the job cannot be completed in one day. So after just busy working until about ten o'clock in the morning, Mrs. Galina walked to the baking field alone.

Beside the stove, I was busy working on lunch.

Wei Ran helped Mr. Zurab use a long pole with a net to pick the ripe apples from the apple tree and put them into frames.

It was through this busy work at noon that Wei Ran also learned a lot of information from side to side.

For example, these two are both 78 years old, and they were both teachers at the Leningrad Conservatory of Music.

They also have a daughter named Lydia, who is a music teacher at the local school in Osinowitz, and her husband is a dispatcher at the dock.

Lydia and her husband come back from get off work every day. They also have a son who is serving in the polar forces but has not been back for a long time.

During the chat, he temporarily sent the apples to the cellar for storage. Mr. Zurab also invited Wei Ran to the two-story wooden house.

As soon as he entered the door, he saw a brown Lilika piano made in the Soviet Union placed by the window on the first floor. There was also a bayan on the table next to the piano.

On the other side of the piano, there is a set of snare drums in a glass-sealed cabinet. However, the lower part of the glass cabinet is tightly surrounded by green velvet cloth, so it is impossible to see clearly what is placed underneath.

What.

In addition to these two items that were particularly familiar to the fire, he also saw a German airdrop box that he was more familiar with next to the fireplace in this room. This airdrop box also had a cast iron stove fixed to the side near the handle.

However, this set of objects obviously has a more commemorative significance, especially the cast iron stove, which also has an extremely clean kerosene signal lamp placed on it.

Except for these, the rest of the things in the rooms on this floor all bear the traces of time. It can even be said that a large part of them seem to be products of the Soviet era.

Before he finished the visit, Zurab asked him to wash his hands and then helped Galina bring lunch.

Hearing this, Wei Ran quickly withdrew his gaze and helped the old lady who was working outside to put the re-baked bread, a large pot of beetroot soup, a fresh vegetable salad, and a potato stew on the table against the wall.

On the dining table. At the same time, Zurab also dug out two small enamel cups and a bottle of vodka that seemed to be brewed by himself.

While eating, Wei Ran chatted with the old couple all over the world, talking about the not-so-distant St. Petersburg and the disappeared Leningrad, the road of life, and the distant Volgograd and Kazan, as well as

Talking about Huaxia, where he grew up, and the pain Huaxia has experienced.

At the end of lunch, Wei Ran also noticed that the two old men habitually wiped away the remaining soup on the plate with slices of bread. They even used slices of bread for their forks and spoons.

I wiped it very clean and ate the bread slices.

Although the old couple did not explain it, Wei Ran knew that this kind of dining habit was not due to poor living conditions or stinginess. It was probably the common shadow of the generation that had experienced the hunger war, and only those who had experienced the long-term

After 872 days of siege and starvation, and witnessing every living thing being starved to death, people truly understand the value and value of food.

Almost subconsciously, Wei Ran, who was already full, carefully tore a piece of bread into four pieces and carefully wiped the soup on his plate.

"Good boy, you don't have to be like this"

The kind Mrs. Galina stopped her gently, "You haven't experienced the Battle of Leningrad, so you don't need to be like us. This is just a habit we have developed since we were young. We don't want today's children to stay like this like us.

This habit will be laughed at."

"Yes...yes..."
Chapter completed!