Red Moscow.

Chapter 2672

Just as the middle-aged female painter said, after passing a Mumu restaurant, she saw an old bookstall.

The used bookstall occupies an open space that is not spacious but is large enough to accommodate many book lovers. In the center were several old wooden tables pieced together, piled with yellowing books. Plastic sheets were spread on the ground around it, and thousands of old books were neatly arranged.

A bald middle-aged man sat on a low horse, staring at the customers who were picking out used books. It may be that the customer who picked the book read more and bought less, and his eyes looked particularly melancholy.

When Sokov came to the bookstall, he did not immediately squat down to select books, but wanted to know the price first.

I glanced at the stall and saw a paper sign placed next to it, which read: Three books on the floor cost 100 rubles; one book on the table costs 100 rubles.

"Boss," Sokov saw that there were at least four to five thousand books on the old bookstall. If he searched for them locally, he didn't know where to find them. So he walked up to the middle-aged man and asked politely: "Excuse me, do you have any military books here?" A novel about the subject? Preferably a novel that reflects the Great Patriotic War.”

"Yes." The middle-aged man nodded, pointed to the table and said feebly: "One Inch of Soil and Forever Nineteen by Grigory Yakovlevich Baklanov, especially The latter one won the Soviet State Prize in 1979."

Sokov had never heard of the writers and works mentioned by the middle-aged man. He asked tentatively: "Are there any other writers? For example, Simonov, Chakovsky, Vasilyev and other writers "

"Yes." The middle-aged man pointed to a corner this time: "There is Vasilyev's "The Dawns Here Are Quiet" there. I also have many military novels at home, but because the space here is limited, I can't put them there, so I don't have them. Bring it out. If you really want it, I'll bring those books tomorrow."

Hearing the middle-aged man talk about "The Dawns Here Are Quiet", Sokov couldn't help but feel moved in his heart. He secretly said that he had published this novel in that dream-like time and space. He wondered whether the author of this book was himself. Or is it the original author Vasilyev?

He quickly came to the corner, and after some searching, he found the poem "The Dawns Here Are Quiet". When he saw the words "Written by Boris Vasilyev" written on the cover, he couldn't help but smile bitterly, saying that it seemed that everything he experienced in the underground fortifications was just a dream.

At this moment, he suddenly heard someone calling him from behind: "Misha, Misha!"

Hearing this urgent and familiar voice, Sokov turned around suddenly and looked in the direction of the sound.

Next to the old books stall is a secondhand goods stall. There are many old items on the stall, such as old dial telephones, waist-high radios, piles of old cameras, and wooden tables that look old.

There was an old-fashioned TV set on the table, and a person on the screen was shouting his name anxiously.

After Sokov saw the person on the screen clearly, he was stunned: the person calling him was actually Yakov. He was calling his name non-stop at this moment, his face full of anxiety.

But when Sokov quickly came to the table and wanted to communicate with Yakov on the TV, the screen suddenly went black, and Yakov who was calling him disappeared without a trace.

The owner of the secondhand stall was an elderly man. When he saw Sokov rushing to the table, he repeatedly looked at the TV series placed on it. Then he came over and asked politely: "Young man, do you want to buy a TV?"

"I just saw someone talking on the TV."

Unexpectedly, the old man was stunned for a moment after hearing this, and then he said in a dumbfounded voice: "Young man, you really know how to joke. This TV doesn't even have a power cord. How could someone appear on the TV?"

After hearing what the old man said, Sokov checked carefully and found that the TV did not have a power plug. He couldn't help but curiously asked: "Since this TV series has no plug, what is it doing here?"

"Some people like old things," the old man replied, "They like things that have a sense of time from the past and put them as decorations at home."

Sokov muttered to himself, was he hallucinating?

With this question in mind, he walked back to the owner of the used bookstall and said politely: "Please help me find "One Inch of Earth" and "Forever Nineteen".

The boss stood up, rummaged through the pile of books for a while, then took out two books with yellowed covers and handed them to Sokov.

Sokov took it and saw that it was indeed the two books he was looking for. He quickly took out his wallet and asked the boss: "Is it two hundred rubles?"

Unexpectedly, the boss shook his head and said: "One book is five hundred rubles, two books total one thousand rubles."

"Isn't it written on your sign that the books on the table cost 100 rubles each?"

"The starting price is one hundred rubles, and there is no upper limit."

Seeing that the bookstall owner went back on his word and wanted to take the opportunity to raise the price, Sokov was naturally not used to his bad habits, so he put down the book and walked away.

Halfway through, Sokov took out his mobile phone and entered Baklanov's name for a search. He discovered that this man had served as director and standing committee member of the Soviet Writers Association and editor-in-chief of "Flag" magazine. He participated in the Patriotic War and was awarded the rank of captain. He graduated from the Gorky Institute of Literature in 1951.

In the late 1950s, he began to write novellas describing the Great Patriotic War, including "Nine Heavens", "An Inch of Soil", and "One Death Covers All Ugliness". The works mainly describe the "trench reality" of ordinary soldiers and junior officers in local battles. " and his psychological state during the test of life and death, becoming one of the representative writers of the "trench realists". His "Inch of Earth", Bondarev's "The Last Bombardment" and Bykov's "The Third Signal" are considered masterpieces of the "trench realists".

After checking the information about Baklanov, I happened to come to the painting stall. At this moment, the sketch drawn by the middle-aged female artist for Anna also came to an end.

"Misha," Anna called Sokov's name and asked with concern, "Have you found the used bookstall?"

"Found it." Sokov nodded: "But there is no book I want, so I came back. How about it, how long does it take for you to finish the painting?"

"Sir, please wait a moment, the painting will be finished in a few minutes."

Sokov did not urge him, but stood aside and waited patiently.

Soon, the female artist finished the last stroke, then handed the finished product to Anna, smiled and asked: "Miss, do you like it?"

Anna took the painting and looked at it carefully. She did not express her opinion immediately, but pointed the painting at Sokov: "Misha, what do you think of this painting?"

People who can set up a painting stall on Arbat Street usually have a few brushes. To draw a sketch like this, it is not just holding a handful in hand. Sokov nodded and said repeatedly: "Not bad, not bad, the painter is clever." The contrast between light and shadow is carefully used to highlight your facial features, and the soft tones depict the lightness and elegance of your clothes. The lines in the picture are smooth and rhythmic, whether it is the soft and elegant hair or the wrinkles of the clothes. , all expressed in detail, the painting is really great." When the female painter heard Sokov's compliment, she couldn't help but smile knowingly. As a painter, it is the greatest recognition for her that her works can be praised by others.

Sokov took Anna out of Arbat Street, returned to his car, and asked tentatively: "Anna, where do you want to go next?"

"Didn't you agree to let me go to your home tonight?" Anna looked at Sokov and asked with some displeasure, "Have you changed your mind?"

"Anna, you misunderstood." Sokov said without changing his face or heartbeat: "I was just worried that you would change your mind and not want to go to my place, so I asked specifically."

On the way, Anna asked curiously: "Misha, most people today read books through computers or mobile phones, and very few people buy physical books. Why do you think of buying used books?"

"There are quite a lot of books online," Sokov said, "but some old books published decades ago cannot be found online at all."

"Oh, that's it." Anna said, "If you really want old books, I can think of a way for you." After that, she took out her mobile phone from her bag, "I'll make a call first and ask. , to see if I can find any old books.”

While driving, Sokov listened to Anna's call: "Hello, is this Liuba? I'm Anna. ... Your house was sold? ... Where are you, your old house? ... Okay, I understand, I’ll be at your place in about half an hour.”

After hanging up the phone, Anna pointed forward and said to Sokov: "Misha, turn right at the intersection ahead and drive straight on."

Sokov asked Anna curiously: "Anna, when I just heard you on the phone, you asked whether someone else's house was sold. Are you ready to buy it?"

"Misha, you misunderstood. How can I, a working man, have the money to buy a house?" Anna shook her head and said, "My friend's father used to be a university professor and he had many books at home. Now that he has passed away, my friend I plan to sell this house, and the books her father left behind have become a burden. I plan to throw them away when I take you there later. You can see if there are any books you want. If there are, just go ahead. Take it home.”

Sokov couldn't help but be overjoyed to learn that Anna could help him find old books. If it is really a book left by an old professor, there must be many books that I want in it. With this thought in mind, the speed of the car was inevitably a bit fast.

Unexpectedly, as soon as they turned the intersection, they heard the siren of a police car coming from behind. It sounded for a while and then stopped, indicating that they were allowed to pull over.

Sokov silently cursed his bad luck and quickly pulled over.

As soon as the car stopped, a police car with red and blue flashing lights on the roof drove past the car and stopped steadily not far ahead.

Seeing the color of the car's roof lights clearly, Sokov felt much more at ease. The roof lights of traffic police cars are one red and one blue, and the roof lights of police police cars are double blue. At this moment, the red and blue lights flashed, indicating that it was the traffic police, not the police. He should have just violated the rules, rather than encountering a rogue policeman who was blocking the road and extorting money.

The door of the police car opened, and a policeman got out. He was wearing a gray hat with a large brim, which is a special police hat for traffic police.

He came to Sokov's car, raised his hand in salute, and said politely: "Sir, please show me your driver's license."

Sokov quickly took out his driver's license and handed it over.

After checking the driver's license, the traffic police said: "Sir, you just exceeded the speed limit and were fined two hundred rubles. If you choose to go to the bank to pay the fine, I will issue you a ticket now. If you pay it now, I will not issue a ticket." "

It was not the first day Sokov came to Russia, so he naturally knew all the hidden rules. If the other party issued a ticket, it would leave a stain on his record. When renewing his visa next year, he might be refused due to traffic violations, so he decisively chose to pay the other party directly to avoid leaving a visa. Leave a bad record.

After the traffic policeman put the fine paid by Sokov into his pocket, he said, "Good luck!" Then he turned back to his police car and drove away.

After the traffic police drove away, Sokov restarted the vehicle.

Anna, who was sitting in the passenger seat, quickly reminded him: "Misha, don't worry, drive slowly. My friend is waiting for us at her house, so you don't have to worry."

"Yes, I understand." Sokov was too excited just now, so he accidentally exceeded the speed limit. At this moment, his mood has calmed down, and naturally there will be no more violations.

Seeing that the destination was getting closer, Sokov asked tentatively: "Anna, when we go to someone else's house, should we go empty-handed? Should we buy some gifts?"

"If you didn't remind me, I almost forgot." Anna pointed to the front and said to Sokov: "Misha, there is a flower shop next to McDonald's in front. I'm going to buy a bouquet of flowers for Liuba."

Sokov parked his car next to McDonald's and said to Anna: "Anna, I'll wait for you here. You go buy flowers."

After Anna got out of the car and left, Sokov took out his mobile phone and searched for the history of the Soviet Union on the Internet. You must know that although he knows the history of the Patriotic War very well, his knowledge of the history from 1946 to 1991 is very limited.

The first post I saw was titled "Analysis of the Causes of the Soviet Food Crisis in the Early Postwar Period (1945-1953. Sokov suddenly became interested. He remembered that he had returned to the present in 1946. Whether the Great Famine really happened that year, he would like to see if he could find the ideal answer from this post.

As soon as he clicked on the post, before Sokov could take a closer look, he heard a woman's voice coming from next to him: "Sir!"

Sokov turned around and saw that it was a young girl with dyed red hair, wearing **** suspenders and low-waisted denim hot pants. She was lying on the window on the passenger side of the car, exposing a large area of ​​snow-white skin, and asked softly He said: "Sir, are you interested in chatting? The price is very cheap."

When Sokov saw this, he thought that these must be the legendary lost women. He didn't expect to meet them here. He quickly waved his hand and said, "Thank you, no need!"

"Sir, the price is really not expensive." The red-haired girl gestured and said, "It's only 250 euros."

250, you are 250, and your whole family is 250. After Sokov scolded the red-haired girl a few times in his mind, he continued to shake his head and said, "Thank you, no need!"

Seeing that Sokov was unmoved, the red-haired girl stood up, muttered a few slang words that Sokov didn't understand, turned and walked away.

As soon as the red-haired girl walked away, Anna opened the car door and sat in, holding a bouquet of perfume lilies in her hand. She looked at the red-haired girl going away and asked curiously: "Misha, who is that? Is that your friend?"

"No." Sokov shook his head: "Just someone asking for directions."