red moscow

Chapter 2590

After dawn, Ding Rong called the Moscow Film Studio, hoping to talk to Eisenstein.

Unexpectedly, the person who answered the phone politely told Sokov: "I'm sorry, Comrade Eisenstein has been in poor health recently and is currently hospitalized. Please leave your name and contact information, and I will pass it on to him when he is discharged from the hospital."

Sokov was a little surprised when he heard this and asked, "What disease did he have?"

"Heart disease." The man sighed and said, "He fainted on the set and was sent to the hospital for a checkup. It turned out that he had heart problems. The doctor said it was caused by overwork, so he recommended that he stay in bed and rest for a while."

Sokov tried hard to recall Sergei Eisenstein's resume. He vaguely remembered that this famous director, screenwriter, producer, actor, writer and editor, who graduated from the Department of Architecture of the St. Petersburg Civil Engineering Institute, died of angina pectoris on the set in February 1948 at the age of 2.

"In that case, I will wait until Comrade Eisenstein is discharged from the hospital and then visit him at the film studio."

When Sokov put down the phone, Asiya asked curiously: "Misha, what happened to Comrade Eisenstein?"

"The comrades in his unit told me that Comrade Eisenstein fainted on the set a few days ago and was sent to the hospital for examination, where it was found that he had heart problems. The doctor said that it was an illness caused by fatigue and recommended that he stay in bed and rest for a while. I think it won't be too late for me to visit him after he recovers."

"Oh, that's fine." Asia then asked, "Do you have any other plans for today?"

Sokov thought for a moment, then said, "I haven't seen your parents for a long time. How about we go to Khimki to see them?"

"Really?" When Asiya heard Sokov say that he was going to Khimki to visit his parents, she seemed particularly happy: "If they saw you suddenly appear in front of them, I think they would be very happy."

"Do you have casual clothes at home?" Sokov didn't want to be too conspicuous, so he prepared to wear casual clothes to Khimki: "I don't want to attract too much attention, so I plan to wear casual clothes."

"Yes, yes. I bought you a set some time ago. I think it's suitable for you to use it."

Soon, Asiya took out casual clothes from the closet and placed them in front of Sokov.

Sokov put on his casual clothes and looked at himself in front of the dressing mirror. He was quite satisfied with the look and said to Asia, "Asia, I'll go downstairs and check on the car. After all, I haven't driven it for a month or two, and I don't know if it can still be driven."

"Okay, you go down first." Asia said, "If the car can be driven, you honk the horn twice and I will get down."

When they got downstairs, Sokov opened his bucket truck and checked it. It must be said that German cars are good. After not being driven for so long, they are still in good condition. So Sokov honked the horn twice to inform Asia to come downstairs.

After the car drove out of the compound, Sokov asked Asiya: "Asiya, should we go to the nearby officer's store and buy something for your parents?"

"I don't think so." Asia waved her hand and said, "The supplies in stores nowadays are much richer than during the war. Even the goods sold in ordinary stores are not much different from those sold in military stores."

Sokov heard that Asia mentioned the military store instead of the officer store, and thought to himself: "There is an officer store in Khimki. When I get there, I can buy some things there and go to meet my father-in-law and mother-in-law."

When the town of Khimki was just ahead, a traffic police station appeared on the road. A traffic policeman stood in the middle of the road and pointed the command post in his hand at Sokov's car, signaling him to pull over.

Sokov quickly followed the traffic police's instructions and parked the car on the side of the road. Then he rolled down the window, looked up at the traffic police who was walking over, and asked, "Comrade traffic police, what can I do for you?"

The traffic policeman came to the car and said expressionlessly: "Why didn't you turn on the lights when you were driving?"

Hearing the traffic policeman's words, Sokov's face turned red. After all, he hadn't driven for a long time and actually forgot that in Russia, you must drive with your headlights on, whether it's day or night. He quickly apologized to the traffic policeman and said, "I'm sorry, comrade traffic policeman, I forgot."

The traffic police snorted coldly, stretched out his hand to Sokov, and said expressionlessly: "Please show me your ID!"

Sokov quickly took out his military ID and handed it to the traffic police.

The traffic police opened the document, took a look at it, hurriedly closed the military ID, took a step back, straightened his body, raised his hand and saluted Sokov: "Hello, Comrade Admiral! I'm sorry, I don't know your identity..."

"It's okay, traffic policeman, this is not your fault." It was Sokov who violated the traffic rules this time, so he naturally did not blame the traffic policeman. Instead, he said reasonably: "I forgot to turn on the headlights when I was driving. I will drive now!"

After taking the certificate returned by the traffic police, Sokov continued driving forward.

Sitting in the passenger seat, Asiya asked with a smile: "Misha, if you were wearing a military uniform today, do you think the traffic police would still stop your car?"

"That's definitely not the case." Sokov knew very well that his admiral's uniform was the best pass. If he met a traffic policeman and happened to be stuck in a traffic jam, the traffic police might help him clear the road: "Not only will they not stop the car, but they will also stand on the side of the road and salute me."

After the barrel truck entered the town of Khimki, Sokov walked along the street to the door of the officers' store. After parking the car, he said to Asia: "Asia, let's go to the store to buy some things and then go visit your parents."

After the two got out of the car, they closed the door and walked towards the store.

Although both of them were wearing casual clothes, they were not stopped by the salesperson. Because with the end of the war, the market was rich in supplies, and the officer store no longer restricted ordinary people from entering and leaving. However, ordinary people could only visit the store but could not buy the goods inside.

After the two men walked into the store, they happened to see an officer in a captain's uniform buying a lot of things and checking out at the counter.

The saleswoman behind the counter said politely, "Comrade Captain, please show us your military ID. We can only check you out after we have completed the registration."

Unexpectedly, after hearing this, the captain just chuckled and said a little embarrassedly: "Comrade salesperson, I'm so sorry, I was in a hurry to go out to buy things today and forgot to bring my military ID. How about this, next time I come to buy things, you can register it?" But the female salesperson shook her head and said, "This is the third time you have said this. Every time you say that you will bring your military ID next time you come to buy things. But until now, I have never seen what your military ID looks like. If you can't show your military ID today, then I can't check you out."

Seeing that the saleswoman was unwilling to pay for him, the captain frowned and said in a stern tone: "Do you know why I always forget to bring my military ID? That's because I was injured in the head on the battlefield, which resulted in poor memory and frequent forgetfulness. If you must prove it, I will mortgage this medal here, and you can return it to me next time I come with my military ID." As he said that, he was about to take off a medal from his chest.

Seeing this, Asiya whispered to Sokov: "Misha, should we help that officer?"

Sokov looked at the vodka, bacon, sausage, bread, chocolate, etc. on the counter, and a strange thought came to his mind: if an officer ate so many things, it would last at least half a month. Since he was going to the officer's store to buy so many things, how could he forget to bring his military ID? This was really strange.

It was precisely because of this strange thought that when he heard Asiya's suggestion, he shook his head slightly and said, "Asiya, I think we should not meddle in other people's business."

The saleswoman was a little nervous when she saw the officer was going to leave his medal here. She waved her hands and said, "Forget it, Captain. Let's forget it this time. If you forget to bring your military ID next time, I will definitely not pay for you."

Watching the saleswoman check out for the captain, Sokov suddenly remembered an American show he had seen in later life. The crew arranged for a young male actor to push an old lady in a wheelchair to a downtown area, suddenly yell at her, and then pretend to throw away the medals she had won during the war to observe the reactions of the pedestrians around. In the United States, pedestrians coming and going are oblivious to everything that happens in front of them, as if nothing has happened.

In Russia, when the actor started yelling at the old lady, some passersby stopped to watch. When they saw the actor throwing away the old lady's medal, some enthusiastic people came forward, some picked up the medal thrown away by the actor, and some beat the actor. This shows that Russians value honor more than their own lives.

After the saleswoman finished the bill, the captain paid the bill promptly and walked out of the store with his items. When he passed by Sokov and Asiya, he smiled and nodded to them.

Sokov and Asiya came to the counter. Before they could speak, the saleswoman said, "Comrades, this is an officer's store. You cannot buy goods here without an officer's ID."

Sokov took out his military ID and handed it over, smiling and asking, "Comrade salesman, can you please take a look at my ID and see if I can buy anything here?"

The saleswoman took Sokov's military ID card and opened it carelessly. When she saw the contents clearly, she was shocked and said in a panic, "Excuse me, Comrade General, of course you can buy the goods in our store. What do you plan to buy?"

"Ashia." Sokov turned to her and said, "Go to other counters and see if there's anything you can buy."

When Asiya agreed and turned to check the goods at another counter, Sokov took back his ID and said to the saleswoman with a smile: "Saleswoman, my wife is also a soldier and a military doctor. I wonder if she is qualified to buy goods in this store?"

"Yes, of course." The salesperson replied hurriedly.

Sokov turned his head and looked outside the door. He found that the captain had disappeared, so he asked the saleswoman curiously: "By the way, what happened to the captain just now?"

"This captain moved to town last month, and he was accompanied by his wife and children," the saleswoman said. "He has bought items from us several times, but every time we asked him to provide his military ID, he always said that he forgot it at home. He will definitely ask us to re-register the next time he goes shopping. He just picked up a lot of things here, or maybe he forgot to bring his military ID, so I had some arguments with him."

After hearing what the saleswoman said, Sokov began to think: For soldiers, military ID cards, which can prove their identity, are always with them. But this captain forgot to bring his military ID card every time he came here to buy things. If it happened once or twice, it could be said that he forgot it due to negligence. But if it happened every time, then there might be something wrong.

"Do you know what his name is?"

"I don't know." The salesperson shook his head and said, "Because he never showed his ID, so until now, I don't know his name."

Sokov felt more and more that there was something fishy about the captain, and planned to go to the police duty point later to talk to the police chief in charge about the matter and find out who the other party was.

After buying things from the store, Sokov did not drive directly to the family area of ​​the instrument factory, but turned the car around and drove in the opposite direction.

Seeing this, Asiya quickly reminded Sokov: "Misha, you are driving in the wrong direction. My parents' home is on the other side."

"Yes, I know." Sokov nodded and said, "I plan to go to the police duty point."

"To the police duty station?" Asia asked in confusion: "What are you going there for?"

"Don't you think there's something wrong with the captain you just saw?" Sokov said, "I plan to talk to the sheriff about this and ask him to send someone to keep an eye on the captain and find out his true identity."

"Misha, are you a little overly sensitive?" Asiya heard what Sokov said, feeling a bit amused and said, "Now that the war is over, how could there be fake soldiers in the city? I think it's better not to go to the police duty point, so as not to make a fool of yourself."

But Sokov shook his head and said, "I still feel that there is something wrong with that man. Let the police check him out and find out his true identity."

Seeing that Sokov was so stubborn, Asiya had nothing to say and could only nod and agree.

Arriving at the police duty point, Sokov asked the policeman standing guard at the door: "Comrade police, is your chief of police here?"

The police officer looked at Sokov with a vigilant look and asked, "What do you do?"

Sokov took out his military ID, showed it to the policeman, and said, "I am Admiral Sokov, and I have something important to discuss with your chief of police."

The police officer was so frightened when he found out that the man in plain clothes in front of him was actually a general. He immediately raised his hand and saluted: "Hello, Comrade General! The sheriff is inside. If you have no objection, I will take you in to see him."

Sokov nodded, "Lead the way!"

The police officer opened the iron door next to him, and after Sokov and Asiya entered, he closed the door first, then walked up to the two of them and said respectfully, "Please follow me, I will take you to the sheriff's office."

Soon, they arrived at the door of an open room, and the police officer said to the police chief sitting in the room: "Comrade police chief, a general comrade wants to see you."