red moscow

Chapter 3159

Seeing that Yakov was willing to stay for dinner, Asya chatted with him for a few more minutes before turning around and going out to arrange the dinner.

Watching Asya's departing figure, Yakov sighed softly and said regretfully, "Misha, if that accident hadn't happened, your child with Asya would be a year old by now."

Hearing Yakov say this, Sokov felt as if his heart had been stabbed by a needle. If Asya had not suffered that unexpected car accident, he and her child would be toddling and babbling by now.

After a brief silence, Sokov forced a smile and said, "Perhaps we were not meant to be with this child, so he was taken away by heaven before he even had a chance to meet us."

Yakov stood up, walked over to Sokov, patted him on the shoulder, and comforted him, "Misha, don't be sad. You and Asya are still young, and you'll have your own child sooner or later."

Sokov nodded, not continuing the somber topic, but instead abruptly asked, "Yasa, you just came from Moscow. I wanted to ask you, how are the supplies there?"

Yakov hadn't expected Sokov to ask this question. After a moment's thought, he said, "The shops are full of goods, after all, it's the capital. With the influx of supplies from all over the country, the queues at the shops have eased. Some military stores have even been closed and turned into ordinary stores that residents can freely enter."

Sokov asked Yakov this question to find out if Moscow's food supply was tight, in order to determine whether the great famine of 46, as recorded in history books, would occur. After listening to Yakov's words, he felt that even if a famine did occur, the main affected areas would be Ukraine, and the impact on Moscow would be much smaller.

Asya came back in from outside and greeted the two, saying, "Dinner is ready, you can go to the dining room now."

After saying that, Asya walked to Sokov's side, pushed the wheelchair over, and said, "Misha, I'll push you to the restaurant."

But Sokov waved his hand: "No need, Asya. My injuries are almost healed, I can walk there myself."

Asia asked with concern, "Are you sure you can do it?"

“No problem,” Sokov said casually. “When Yasha came just now, I went to the door to greet him by myself.”

Seeing that Sokov was unwilling to sit in the wheelchair, Asya did not force him. She pushed the wheelchair aside and helped Sokov walk towards the restaurant.

Upon arriving at the restaurant, the three sat down and waited for the chef to serve their meal. Gulia hurriedly entered the restaurant and reported to Sokov, "Comrade General, Deputy Commander Lukin has arrived."

"Quickly, invite him in!"

A moment later, Lukin followed Gulia into the restaurant. Upon seeing Yakov sitting at the table, a look of astonishment crossed his face: "My God! Comrade Yakov, when did you arrive in Odessa?"

Yakov stood up and walked over to Lukin, shaking his hand and smiling as he replied, "I just arrived today. I thought it had been a long time since I'd seen Misha, so I came straight here."

At this point, Yakov glanced down at Lukin's legs and asked with some surprise, "Comrade Lukin, why aren't you in a wheelchair? Do you have prosthetics?" "Yes, Yakov!" Lukin gave Yakov an affirmative answer: "Before I came to the Odessa Military District, I had prosthetics installed at a military hospital in Moscow. This makes it much easier for me to go anywhere."

Asya was worried that Lukin and Yakov would keep chatting there, so she quickly called out to Lukin, "Comrade Deputy Commander, we're about to have dinner. If you have anything to say, please sit down and talk it out."

Lukin was a frequent visitor to the Sokov family. Hearing Asya say this, he nodded quickly and said to Yakov, "Yakov, Asya is right. Let's sit down and eat while we talk."

The chef and two guards carried trays into the restaurant and placed the food from the trays onto the table one by one.

Lukin turned to Yakov and asked, "Yakov, where do you live?"

"The comrades who received us arranged our accommodation at the guesthouse of the Municipal Bureau of Industry."

Upon hearing Yakov's words, both Sokov and Lukin couldn't help but frown slightly.

Yakov keenly noticed the change in their expressions and tentatively asked, "Is there something wrong with this arrangement?"

“Of course something’s wrong,” Sokov interjected. “I don’t know what the staff who received you were thinking, putting you in the city’s industrial bureau’s guesthouse. Didn’t they know that it would be difficult to guarantee the safety of such important people as you staying there?”

As soon as Sokov finished speaking, Lukin continued, "Yakov, the security situation in Odessa is not good these days. Someone of your status would be in danger living in such a place. If you don't object, I can immediately call someone to change your accommodation to the military district guesthouse, which will ensure your safety."

“That’s right, that’s right,” Sokov continued. “The people who arranged your accommodations are simply making a mess of things, putting you in such an unsafe place. I think you should follow Lukin’s advice and move to the military district guesthouse as soon as possible.”

"Wait a minute," Yakov asked, completely bewildered. "I want to ask what's going on? Wasn't the war over a long time ago? How come the security situation in Odessa is so bad that even our safety is not guaranteed?"

“Yakov, Odessa is located in an important geographical position. Even though the war is long over, the various forces in the city are deeply entrenched. It is not possible to eliminate them in a short period of time.” Lukin explained to Yakov, “Therefore, for your safety, we have arranged for you and your colleagues to be placed in the military district guesthouse. This is the only way to ensure your safety.”

"May I ask who you mean by the various forces you mentioned?" Yakov asked cautiously. "Are they the remnants of the Germans?"

“It wasn’t just the Germans who occupied Odessa back then, but also the Romanians,” Lukin said. “Now, in addition to the Germans and Romanians, the remaining forces in the city have also been strengthened by British and American forces.”

Upon hearing this, Yakov's expression turned serious. He lost his appetite and abruptly stood up, saying, "I never imagined the situation in Odessa would be so complicated. I must return to the guesthouse immediately and move my colleagues to a safe place."

“Yakov, I’ll go with you,” Lukin said, standing up as well. “With my help, you can check into the military district guesthouse as soon as possible.”