Past events in Beicheng

Nanjing?Where is it?Ivan was looking for an atlas on his bookshelf, but the world map he found was too rough, and he couldn’t find Nanjing on the map of China, but it’s not his fault, this is the map issued by his middle school geography class , Even the name of China is not printed in detail enough.

So when Ivan took out his "diary" today, he also wrote down his depressed mood:

I don't even know where Nanjing is!I only know that there is also a big river passing through her. This is what Wang Yao told me, not something I already knew.Where is the most beautiful place in the world?Of course it is the Soviet Union, there is no more beautiful place than here.

Ivan looked out of the window. He knew that this place not only has the quiet beauty in summer, but also the solemn beauty in winter. Which country in this world can compare with it?

But now I regret that I don't know China. I want to know what kind of country it is, so that it haunts him!Have I read Chinese writings?Sorry, nothing, I don't know China, really not at all.I once saw a small fan in Wang Yao's luggage. There were several lines of "Chinese characters" on it, which were completely incomprehensible letters.I didn't even know if it was a word or a sentence.

As for the Chinese, there is one beside me. When I saw him for the first time, I only saw his profile. Should it be described as too soft?I feel like a person who doesn't have a temper at all.Of course, now it seems that I was really wrong.His views on many issues surprised me, he seemed to represent this kind of indomitable sentiment, without our Soviet/Soviet-style sadness, he was always optimistic, even after learning about things like "Great Purges" Can keep calm.Alas, but I think he understands the sadness in my heart, and understanding the sadness has nothing to do with whether the other party is optimistic or not. I think he is different from Torres, and different from everyone else.People who don't understand you will comfort you and tell you: It's okay, the future will be better, you have to be strong.But you know, he doesn't understand, he's just talking politely.But Wang Yao understands, I know he understands when he looks into my eyes, and every word he says shows that he understands.

When I was understood for the first time, I was very moved.

But I didn't understand him. When I looked at him, I thought he was looking at me, but in fact he was homesick.

Ivan wrote here, sighing:

homesick?Should Wang Yao have such emotions?I thought he was indestructible, I even thought that his tenacity was an innate ability, so he would not miss, not be sad, not be vulnerable, but this is not the case.I love the Soviet Union, but for the first time want to know other places.I once asked him: Do you love the Soviet Union?Do you love the USSR enough?So do I love China?Did he also ask such words in his heart?

I can't answer rashly that I love her, because I have never understood it. However, how can I understand it?All I have is a map from middle school, and it's a map of the world!

At this point, Ivan couldn’t write any more. This was the saddest page in his diary. He could even imagine that if one day, when he opened this page again, he would still worry about it. Recorded things and low for a long time.

"What's wrong with you?" Wang Yao put down the book and looked at him: "Is there any question?"

Ivan closed the notebook and locked it in the drawer again.

"Is Chinese difficult?"

"It's hard to say," Wang Yao thought about it seriously, "There are no foreigners around me who are learning Chinese."

"For example, how do we greet each other when we meet?" Ivan thinks this is the first step in learning a language.

"Why do you suddenly want to learn this?" Wang Yao lowered his head and continued to read his book.

"I just suddenly wanted to learn."

"There must be a reason?"

"I don't need a reason for this, right? Even if I want to greet you in Chinese?" Ivan walked around behind Wang Yao's chair: "I want to say hello to you in Chinese now, how should I say it?"

Wang Yao looked back at him: "Chinese is completely different from Russian and German, and it's useless for you to learn it."

"I just want to speak Chinese with you," Ivan began to shake Wang Yao's chair: "Tell me!"

"Okay, okay!" Wang Yao had no choice but to tell him in order to continue studying.

"Hello," Ivan repeated. He thought it was very simple: "The pronunciation of Chinese is very short, and every word is very short."

"Writing will be more complicated." Looking at Ivan's proud face, Wang Yao suddenly had an idea: "Do you want to try writing?"

"No problem at all."

Wang Yao wrote two Chinese characters at the beginning of a piece of white paper: "Try it."

Ivan was a little dumbfounded when he saw these two symbols, but he still took out a pen, sat down and tried to write the first character first: "This letter is like a painting!"

"It's not a letter, it's a character. In fact, his strokes are equivalent to Russian letters, but you are arranged horizontally. The strokes of Chinese characters need to have their own structure. The same strokes are placed in different positions, and they are different."

Ivan showed a look of incomprehension: "The first word is okay, but the second word is too complicated! Can you write it again?"

Wang Yao wrote it again in block letters.

"No, no, I didn't see clearly, write it again!" Ivan stared at the pen tip carefully.

Wang Yao pulled Ivan's arm, let him hold the pen, and then held his hand: "I will teach you how to write."

Ivan buried his head and said nothing, the temperature on the back of his hand made his heart stop beating a little.

"Have you learned it?" Wang Yao sat back in his seat.

"Hmm." Ivan didn't look up.

"It's such a big piece of paper, you should write it several times, so as not to waste it."

After confirming that Wang Yao had buried his head in the book, Iwan breathed a sigh of relief, raised his head, and carefully looked at the "Chinese characters" in front of him—well, this is the first step for me to understand China.Before starting to write again, Ivan glanced at the other party again, Wang Yao's face was expressionless, as if nothing happened just now.

Ivan calmed down again, and began to "draw" on the paper.

Wang Yao glanced at the "primary school student" who had finally calmed down before him and heaved a sigh of relief—he should be able to play quietly by himself in the next hour, right?

Wang Yao rubbed his sore neck, changed a piece of draft paper for himself, and before picking up another book, he couldn't help but chuckled when he saw Ivan's earnest tracing.

"Ah!" Ivan finally filled the paper, and he stretched a lot: "I will definitely remember it now! But Wang Yao, your second word is too complicated, just say hello It takes so many gestures! As the language with the longest words, German is not as complicated as yours!"

"Because these two words are not good for you." Wang Yao didn't even raise his head.

"Ok?"

Wang Yao put down the book and looked at the other party's puzzled eyes: "This is my name."

After finishing speaking, he laughed so hard that his pen rolled to the ground.

"Hey!" Ivan looked at Wang Yao, then at his "homework": "You must have done it on purpose!"

Seeing the crooked words written by Ivan, Wang Yao couldn't straighten his waist with laughter: "Every time you greet me, isn't it Wang Yao, Wang Yao? You don't need to say hello when you talk to me. , I want to teach you something useful."

"Is my writing not good?" Ivan could see what Wang Yao was laughing at.

"Very well, just like a matchstick is broken. Well, well, don't be angry, I'll make a cup of tea to apologize to you."

After Wang Yao walked out of the study room, Ivan picked up the piece of paper and looked at the "matchstick" he wrote. Compared with Wang Yao's beautiful handwriting, he was a little ashamed, and he casually pressed the paper under a book , stood up and walked to the living room: "A cup of tea is not enough!"

A cup of tea is indeed not enough. This is summer, but when we were about to go out, it rained heavily, like a waterfall, the sky was thunderous and lightning, and the wind was blowing everywhere.

"It's getting dark," Wang Yao refilled a glass for himself: "It's raining so hard!"

The sky suddenly darkened, and Ivan turned on the light: "It's just dark clouds, does it rain like this in summer in China?"

"There is such heavy rain in summer everywhere, and it also happens in Germany."

"I don't want to know about Germany, I want to know about China."

"In summer, we actually don't stay in Nanjing very much. Like you, my family has a house in the countryside, but it's not this kind of villa, it's my old house. My grandfather expanded his old house when he came out to be an official. In the summer we went there to cool off. My father had a German missionary as his teacher when he was a child, and of course he became my teacher until his death.”

"That's why you went to study in Germany."

"Yes, my father didn't continue to be an official. He chose to go into business. China didn't face difficulties after [-]. She has been weak for a long time. So, even if my father gets old, he I am also willing to let me go out and learn something and come back." Wang Yao paused: "I have been away from the motherland for too long, or rather, I have been away from Nanjing for too long, some of the past has been blurred, but those summers in the countryside are still fresh in my memory. New. The scenery of the water town is quite different from here, and it is more elegant and crafty. I don’t have many playmates in Nanjing. I like the countryside, where I have my cousins, and we can catch loaches together.”

"loach?"

"Maybe it's loach? I don't know how to translate it. It's such a kind of fish, maybe it's not fish." Wang Yao gestured.

"I can't imagine you catching fish." Ivan didn't know what the elegant and well-crafted countryside was like: "Is the house the same as ours?"

"It's not the same, it's like this," Wang Yao gestured at the roof and the raised horns: "Ours, how should I put it? It's raised."

"Like my hair?" Ivan pointed to his slightly curly hair.

Wang Yao was amused by him: "Well, maybe, but when I see your hair, I can't think of the roof of my house."

"Look, here's a poke of my hair that's sticking up."

"But your hair is soft." Wang Yao felt that when he said these words, he really wanted to touch his hands. Sometimes he envied his elders and imagined how they felt when they rubbed their hands inside: "My family The roof is not soft."

"By the way, here's something for you," Wang Yao suddenly put down his tea, walked to the study, and picked up a piece of paper.

"What are you doing?"

Wang Yao was flipping a piece of paper, and after repeated several times, the piece of paper turned into a bird: "Look, when you pull the tail, its wings will move. I used to play with this when I was a child."

"I can do this too!" Ivan recalled his elementary school lessons: "We made Russian bouquets, and I won a prize, oh my god, I didn't keep any of them! Wang Yao, I must make a new one, You're an engineer, you're bound to be fascinated by this!"

Wang Yao has never heard of Russian flower ball, but he just finds it difficult to connect such a term with the future commander of the armored company, but it should not be surprising, after all, he can also make beetroot soup.

While the two were chatting, the heavy rain gradually stopped, the sun came out from behind the dark clouds again, and the air was filled with the smell of mud.

"Let's go out for a walk!" Ivan opened the door: "How can you stay at home in such good weather?"

This time Wang Yao didn't object, he changed his shoes and followed.After the heavy rain, the road was somewhat muddy, and Ivan took Wang Yao across the garden to the paths paved with gravel.

There are birch trees on both sides of the path, and bullfinch shuttles between the branches. A beautiful woodpecker stands on the tree trunk and combs its feathers. When people approach, it flies away with a clatter.After walking for about a mile, the field turned into a lake. The heavy rain made the lake water a little cloudy. The swimmers might not have rushed over yet. The lake was quiet, except for a slightly trembling wind.

Ivan walked to the lake and stood on the shore of fine sand. He looked into Wang Yao's black eyes and suddenly remembered a song:

"A war horse laden with marching equipment,

Neighing in front of the church, those who waited for the expedition.

Grandma and grandson cry in the church yard,

The young wife's face was stained with tears.

Cossacks in armor,

Stepping out of the gates of the temple,

His wife led him a war horse,

Nephew handed me a spear..."

Ivan's voice is full of magnetism, which reminds Wang Yao of the singing on the radio that he heard on the train and car, but his songs are a little different from those singers, and he has never heard of them before. such a song.

"This is what my father taught me to sing." After Ivan finished singing the song, he turned his head and looked at Wang Yao: "This is the song of the Cossack cavalry. The destiny of the Cossack is to fight. Leningrad is my hometown. So is the unexplored Don."

"That's why you came to join the army?"

"Yes," Ivan looked at Wang Yao: "Although I did not inherit those black eyes, I think I am still a Cossack. I chose to be a soldier, just like all the young people in the Don River Valley. So far, I don’t know what fighting is, why I’m fighting, but it’s like there’s something telling me that I belong there, that’s what I’m meant to be.”

Yes, he is a soldier. When he said that, Wang Yao felt that Professor Belyayev might never understand why Ivan with purple eyes became a soldier.He will never understand why the person he loves has such a choice.

"What are Chinese songs like?" Ivan suddenly thought of Wang Yao's words—elegant and skillful?Jiangnan water town?What kind of songs would there be in this kind of place?

This question stumped Wang Yao, he spread his hands: "I don't have much research on music."

"Songs from my hometown will always be sung!" Ivan had never heard Wang Yao sing, and at this moment he was suddenly full of curiosity.

"I don't know how to sing," Wang Yao was suddenly embarrassed: "I really haven't sung before."

"No, no, how can there be people who can't sing? You can choose a simple song and sing it to me. There is no one here. Your voice is so beautiful, singing will not be unpleasant."

This time Wang Yao really blushed: "But I really can't sing, well, don't look at me like this, let me think about it."

Wang Yao searched in his mind for a long time, but he still couldn't come up with a reason: "How about this, I will sing a few words casually, you promise me, don't laugh."

"Never laugh!" Ivan found a rock and sat down.

Wang Yao cleared his throat: "Absolutely not laughing?"

"absolute!"

Ivan rested his cheeks, enjoying this moment, haha, especially his embarrassed expression, why didn't he think of asking him to sing earlier?His expression is really too cute.

Wang Yao was silent for a long time, and finally spoke, this is indeed a fresh tune, twisting and turning, like whispering in your ear, Wang Yao's voice is very nice, his eyes are slightly closed because of nervousness, and his back is very straight , like a good student.

"I just thought of this one, don't force me anymore!" Wang Yao breathed a sigh of relief after singing.

"It's wonderful!" Ivan applauded sincerely.

"It's not exciting, I can't sing well, and this song should be sung by a woman, I sang a lot lower."

"But what do the lyrics mean?"

"The lyrics are very simple." Wang Yao was stunned suddenly: "But the lyrics are not easy to translate after all, probably they are about the scenery of the four seasons."

"Can you write the lyrics to me when you go back?" Ivan wanted to know the hidden meaning behind such a tune.

"Well," Wang Yao blushed again unconsciously: "Look, I'll write to you when I'm free."