red moscow

Chapter 3167

Sokov sat at his desk, feeling utterly bored. Apart from a desk lamp and two telephones, there was nothing on the desk. If he didn't find something to do, he would just stare blankly at the empty office before leaving get off work.

In his boredom, he suddenly remembered the notebook Rex had given him, which contained the phone numbers of the main leaders of the military region. He could call Lukin and ask him what he was doing, so he wouldn't be too bored.

Just as he was flipping through his notebook, thinking of calling Lukin, the black telephone on the table rang.

"I am Sokov, where are you from?"

A familiar voice came through the receiver: "Hello, Misha, this is Khrushchev. It's a pleasure to hear you again."

Sokov never dreamed that Khrushchev would call him. He quickly stood up and said politely, "Hello, Comrade Khrushchev!"

"After you were wounded some time ago, I called you many times to inquire about your condition, and the answer was always that you had not yet woken up," Khrushchev said. "Now that you have recovered and are back at work, it is a happy thing."

Hearing Khrushchev say this, Sokov was completely confused. He thought to himself that this was his first day at work, and even Lukin didn't know about it. How did Khrushchev, who was far away in Kiev, know about it?

With this question in mind, he tentatively asked, "Comrade Khrushchev, I'd like to ask, I just resumed work today, how did you know? And how did you find my phone number so accurately?"

"You are now the deputy commander of the Odessa Military District," Khrushchev explained. "According to procedure, your return to work was to be reported to the Kiev Military District Command. They informed me immediately upon learning of this, which is how I found out you were back at your post. How is your health?"

"Thank you for your concern." After figuring out what was going on, Sokov quickly and politely replied, "My injury has almost healed, and I am perfectly capable of handling my current work."

"If you encounter any difficulties, you can call me. I will try my best to help you."

Sokov knew very well that Khrushchev wouldn't call just to inquire about his well-being after hearing from the military district that he had resumed his work; he must have something more important to discuss. So he cautiously asked, "Comrade Khrushchev, do you have any instructions for me?"

"What instructions could I possibly give?!" Khrushchev said with a smile, "I was just very happy to hear that you have recovered your health and returned to work, so I called to catch up with you."

Sokov was momentarily at a loss for words, and could only express his gratitude once again.

After a few casual words, Khrushchev finally got down to business: "Misha, I remember on New Year's Day at Zhukov's house, you mentioned that Ukraine might experience a significant reduction in grain production this year due to drought. At the time, I scoffed at your statement, but now it seems you were right."

Upon hearing this, Sokov was startled, wondering if the higher-ups were preparing to requisition the 400 million poods of grain. With that thought, he tentatively asked, "Comrade Khrushchev, has the grain requisition quota been issued by the higher-ups?"

“That’s right.” Khrushchev sighed heavily, then said, “Moscow has already issued this year’s grain requisition quota—400 million poods.”

"What, four hundred million poods?" Sokov asked, feigning surprise. "With such a large-scale reduction in grain production, can we even meet the grain requisition quota set by the higher authorities?" "Before the war, four hundred million poods wouldn't have been a problem," Khrushchev said. "But because of this damned war, vast tracts of farmland have been destroyed, and countless farm tools have been ruined. In particular, when Manstein was building the Dnieper River defense line, he massacred the inhabitants of the left bank, causing population shortages in these major grain-producing areas. If we really do deliver the required amount of grain, then famine will occur after September."

"If that's the case, why don't you explain the situation to your superiors and ask them to reduce the grain collection quota?"

"Do you think I didn't report it?" Khrushchev sighed and continued, "But I was severely criticized by the Supreme Commander himself. He said that the grain requisition target was carefully studied and that the impact of the war on agricultural production had been taken into account, which is why the target of 400 million poods was set."

"I think we should do something to prevent famine from happening."

Khrushchev seemed to have been waiting for Sokov to say this. As soon as he finished speaking, he eagerly asked, "Misha, I know you have a lot of ideas, do you have any good suggestions?"

"While there's still time, let's quickly organize people to plant drought-resistant potatoes and corn," Sokov blurted out, "to alleviate the food shortage in the second half of the year."

"It's July now, and the growing season for corn is four months," Khrushchev said thoughtfully. "If we plant now, it will be almost December when it matures, which will be right in the coldest season. Corn is not frost-resistant. Do you think we can harvest corn in the cold winter?"
As for potatoes, you could give them a try. Their growing cycle is as short as 60-80 days, allowing them to be harvested before the harsh winter arrives.

“In that case, we need to hurry,” Sokov said. “If we wait any longer, we’ll miss the planting season.”

Before the call was even finished, Sokov heard a knock at the door. He quickly covered the receiver with his hand and said to the door, "Come in!"

The door opened, and Major Rex, the adjutant, walked in.

"What is it, Major?"

"Reporting to the Deputy Commander!" Rex replied, "The platoon leader of the guard platoon is here, right at the door. Would you like to see him?"

Perhaps Sokov hadn't covered the microphone properly, because Khrushchev on the other end of the line overheard Sokov and Rex's conversation and asked, "Misha, who are you talking to?"

"He's my adjutant; he has something to report to me."

"Since you have something to do, I won't bother you any longer. We'll talk again next time." With that, Khrushchev hung up the phone without giving Sokov a chance to speak.

Sokov put down the phone and said to Rex, who was standing in front of him, "Major, since you are my adjutant, I won't see the guard platoon leader. You can just give him instructions directly."

"Yes, Deputy Commander." Rex nodded quickly upon hearing Sokov's words, then turned and went out to assign tasks to the guard platoon leader.

The door closed, and Sokov stared at the phone in front of him, wondering whether he should report Khrushchev's call to Zhukov and mention the potato replanting to prevent a possible famine in the second half of the year.