grow food,

Some of them were busy peeling potatoes, some were washing carrots, and there was an unfortunate girl with tears in her eyes, holding a knife and chopping onions on a small wooden board.

Continuing to walk in, after passing two rooms filled with clothes, in the only room with complete windows that survived in this collapsed building, there was a girl holding a rag, wiping the long table and

There are matching chairs and a sewing machine placed by the window. At the same time, there is a tall girl standing on the windowsill, wiping the glass window which is actually very clean.

Wei Ran noticed that the two windows were hung with thick canvas curtains inside and outside, and in the wooden box against the wall, there was a heater and a clean National Defense Force oil drum. The one on the side of the door

The bookshelf, which is not that big, is filled with all kinds of books.

"This is where we do our daytime activities"

Dominic, who followed, explained, "We will read and tell stories here. On the day I came, Sophie even asked everyone to rehearse a play."

When Wei Ran was about to say something, several children, who looked to be about ten years old at most, also walked in, each carrying a US military or German helmet with flowers and plants, and placed them in the room.

throughout.

I picked up a U.S. military helmet with unknown wildflowers planted on it and looked at it. On the outside of the helmet, there was a frame made of wooden strips.

It is the existence of this frame painted with patterns in various colors that allows this helmet filled with mud to be placed firmly on the table.

"We made these ourselves," the girl who was cleaning the table explained, "Sister Sophie taught us, and we also grew these flowers ourselves."

"How long have you... been here?" Wei Ran asked subconsciously.

"I came in October," the little girl said, pointing to another girl who was cleaning the glass. "She was the earliest, she came in July."

"July? Summer?"

Wei Ran was stunned. The Battle of Hürtgen Forest only started in mid-to-late September. So she came before the war started?

"right"

This girl, who looked a little older, but could only be sixteen or seventeen years old at most, replied while busy cleaning the glass, "I came here with sister Sophie, and there was another girl who came here together.

By the way, I’m Heike.”

"Victor" Wei Ran asked after announcing his home, "Where is Sophie?" "Sister Sophie is cooking, I will take you there."

Before Dominic finished speaking, he had already pulled Wei Ran's sleeves and left this relatively warm room, walked along the corridor outside to the end, and then walked into a room on the left.

This room has no windows, but on the wall facing the door, there is a thick curtain modified from canvas and an American duck down sleeping bag. In addition, there is a circle of faces placed against the wall.

Basins, and several iron buckets filled with water.

After passing through this curtain, the hot air mixed with the aroma of oatmeal hit his face, and Wei Ran immediately realized that he had entered the basement of the main building of the castle.

Far away, he saw several rooms that looked like cells, as well as a hissing kerosene lamp hanging on the ceiling above his head.

Taking a few steps forward, he couldn't help but widen his eyes, because right at the original entrance to the basement, at the doorway under the tower, there was a German-style cooking cart placed against the wall!

However, this door has been built tightly with stones. By the way, the chimney of the cooking cart has also been built in.

As a result, the tower that was supposed to be the entrance to the basement became an oversized chimney.

It’s not clear whether the chimney is functional or not, but at least he didn’t notice any smoke outside just now, and in this warm basement, he didn’t smell any choking smell other than the smell of oatmeal.

.

Continuing to walk a few steps forward, he also noticed that the basement was divided in detail. The row of "dungeons" with iron railings had obviously been turned into dormitories, and canvas fabrics were installed inside.

curtains.

In addition, he even saw two bathtubs and two piles of clothes waiting to be washed in one of the dungeons!

In the two dungeons closest to the dining car, he also saw wooden boxes filled with various supplies, and two big fat cats lying on the boxes!

Look at Sophie who is busy in front of the dining car. She is taking a girl who looks about the same age as her and is busy filling the lunch boxes on the table next to the dining car.

Curiously, I got closer and saw that these lunch boxes all had different names written in bright yellow or white paint.

Under his watchful eye, Sophie was responsible for filling the lunch box with hot oatmeal, and the other was responsible for putting boiled eggs in the tray. By the way, she also took care of the goat's milk that was being heated on the gasoline stove.

"Do these children usually sleep here?" Wei Ran couldn't help but ask.

"There's not enough room for so many people to live up there, and it's safe and warm enough here. You can even take a shower."

While explaining, Sophie pointed to the table next to her, "Put your lunch box there."

Hearing this, Wei Ran quickly untied the lunch box from his waist and opened it. He took out a few pairs of new socks and a pack of sugar cubes and put them on the table as usual. Then, under the surprised eyes of the two girls,

I took out several boxes of R6 cigarettes from the fortress and several zippo lighters.

Finally, after gently knocking the tray and the main body of the lunch box against each other, Wei Ran placed his lunch box on the table.

"May I have your name?"

While the girl in charge of distributing boiled eggs asked, she had already picked up a paintbrush and a tube of white paint from the table on the other side of the dining car.

"Victor! Victor Loew!"

Dominic answered the question that was supposed to be answered by Wei Ran himself, and said with pride, "Victor is my brother! He is the one who brought me here from Ruhr!"

"Victor, how about giving me a pack of cigarettes?"

As the girl holding the paintbrush spoke, she squeezed out a small amount of paint as big as a soybean, dipped the thin paintbrush in the paint, and carefully wrote his name on Wei Ran's lunch box.

"Of course..." "Of course not"

Sophie said angrily, "Qiqi, you are not allowed to smoke in the basement, let alone smoke outside."

"I can..." "No!"

Sophie put her hands on her hips and said, "The air here is already very bad, so you are not allowed to smoke. We have hidden so much fuel outside, and we can't let you smoke! If the dead grass outside ignites, all of us will have to smoke."

...""Alright alright!"

The girl named Qi Qi reluctantly placed the cigarettes and lighter she was already holding on the table.

This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! "If I find you secretly smoking, you will be responsible for washing the socks of all the boys!"

After Sophie finished speaking, she scooped up a large spoonful of oatmeal mixed with carrot chunks and potato chunks and put it into Wei Ran's lunch box. The girl named Qi Qi also put down her paintbrush and turned off the heating plate.

Gasoline stove for milk.

"Don't I have boiled eggs?" Wei Ran asked jokingly. "The chickens we raise can only lay up to six eggs a day."

Qiqi pouted and explained, "Before you came, there were a total of 22 of us. Not counting Sophie and I and Heike who you may have seen outside, there are 19 people here. These six eggs and three meals a day

A cup of goat's milk can only be enjoyed by the 18 youngest friends in turn."

"Although there are not many eggs and goat's milk, we have enough bacon and sausages." Sophie said, having picked up three pieces of sausages from a plate and placed them on Weiran's lunch box tray, "Of course, at most

We still have rainbow trout, but it’s usually only served at dinner.”

"Dominique, call everyone to come and get breakfast!" Sophie said while handing out sausage slices.

"I'll call them over right away!" Before he finished speaking, Dominic ran out quickly.

After a while, young boys and girls lined up and walked in, waving their wet hands. Each took a lunch box with their name on it, and then lined up and left the basement the same way they came, talking and laughing.

It wasn't until the last child left with his lunch box that Qiqi followed him with an enamel milk jug, while Sophie poured some water into the cooking pot and put the lid on, then took it off and hung it above her head.

While holding a kerosene gas lamp, he asked, "Want to take a tour?"

"Of course," Wei Ran, who had been waiting nearby, responded quickly, "it would be best if you could introduce me, so that I can know how I can help."

"Including Dominic, there are a total of 9 boys here, the oldest is 16 years old, and the youngest is only 12 years old. In addition, there are 13 girls, the youngest is only 8 years old, and the oldest besides me is Qiqi. She

18 years old.”

After a pause, Sophie pointed to a cell and said, "Each cell can sleep 6 people. Dominic suffers from congenital epilepsy. In order to take care of him more conveniently, he lives with me in the church. After all, this place is not absolute."

It’s safe, so it’s better to have someone watching outside.”

After briefly and comprehensively introducing the general situation, Sophie moved a few steps, pointed to the two cells closest to the cooking cart and said, "These two cells are one of our food warehouses. In addition to these, there are some stocks outside."

"Those children..." "Alas..."

Sophie sighed, and after a moment of silence, she turned off the kerosene vapor lamp she was carrying, replaced it with a square box flashlight as a lighting tool, and walked around the basement with the weiran to solve the problem.

Shi said, "Those children are all orphans found by Uncle Carsten and Aunt Heidi in the city. Most of the remaining older ones are Dominic's classmates.

Before this fall, my father received an order to recruit children to dig trenches and repair fortresses in this forest. Dominic's classmates were all included in the recruitment. They were all students of Aunt Heidi, but Dominic, who suffered from epilepsy,

It’s more serious and not within the scope of the symptoms.”

"So before that there was only..." "Right"

Sophie nodded, "Before recruiting those children, only Qiqi, Heike and I were hiding here. They are all my good friends."

"Are they Jews?" Wei Ran asked subconsciously.

"Jews? Huh..."

There was a trace of sarcasm in Sophie's tone, but in the end, she shook her head and said, "Don't worry Victor, there shouldn't be half a Jew here."

"So why are they hiding here?" Wei Ran asked rather inquisitively.

This time, Sophie remained silent for a longer period of time. Finally, she turned off the flashlight and led Wei Ran to the small windows on the edge where cats had difficulty getting in.

When the early morning sunlight hit their faces through the narrow window, Sophie lowered her voice and uttered one word - "white rose".
To be continued...