Winter in Stalingrad

Three months later, on a remote island country.

Two cities disappeared from the world in an instant.

World War II is over.

1949

After the United States, the Soviet Union also successfully developed a new type of weapon of mass destruction - the atomic bomb.

A country is thus divided into two parts.

A 155-kilometre cordon has been erected in the country's former capital.The Soviets began building the "Berlin Wall" along this line.

There are two superpowers in the world that belong to the East and the West respectively, and they possess the power enough to easily destroy a country.Here, the world is officially divided.

In newspapers and on the radio, the word Berlin means division.

For the citizens of this city, it means that families are separated and life becomes more difficult.

They are victims of the Cold War.

1962

Chugoku

Harbin Railway Station

There are bustling Chinese passengers everywhere.

Old people, women, crying children.People were all wearing army green cotton coats.

Among the black-haired Chinese, there are two light brown-haired Europeans. Their appearance is so conspicuous that the passing Chinese couldn't help but pay attention to them.

The older man, with a disabled leg and a shoe on a metal prosthetic leg, sat in a wheelchair and was looked after by the younger man.To say he is old is only in relative terms.This man has clear eyebrows, distinct features, no beard on his face, and bright eyes, like a young man in his twenties.But the two faint nasolabial folds around his mouth revealed that his actual age was at least 30 years old.

The young people looked fifteen or sixteen years old at most, and they were probably younger. These light-haired Europeans and Americans were always taller than the Chinese.He looks somewhat similar to the man in the wheelchair, and the two should be related by blood.

This pair of people with a large age gap has been in this position for 10 minutes.From just now, the young man's stomach has been rumbling, making the woman sitting next to them with a baby and the old man with a big white beard snicker.

"Paverick, you'd better go buy some food."

The man in the wheelchair couldn't help but say.

"I'm fine." The young man replied, "Let's wait for him to come and go to dinner together."

Although he said that, Paverick's stomach made a noise, and he gave a completely different answer.

The man couldn't help smiling, raised the crutch in his hand, and tapped the boy's head lightly: "Don't be brave, if you starve your stomach, Dunisa will kill me."

His younger sister, who was already a bit blessed, was particularly opposed to her son mixing with his older brother who was a university professor. In short, he was accused by the school of being too loose in character, although he was very popular among the children.

While talking, the man took out his wallet and stuffed some Chinese coins into Paverick's hands: "To be honest, I don't know how long we have to wait, he might not come today. And... "

He scratched his hair in embarrassment: "I'm hungry too, you'd better buy me one too. Or what? Are you afraid that your Chinese is not good enough to go to the store to talk to Chinese people?"

"Who did I learn Chinese from? Of course you know the words best!" Paverick puffed up his mouth in disbelief, but he still accepted the money honestly.

Then he strode towards the canteen in the waiting room.

Now the man in the wheelchair was left alone for the time being. He put the crutches aside, raised his hands and began to exhale and rub his hands together to keep warm.He is in a strange country and city, even if he is well-informed, he will inevitably feel unaccustomed and uneasy.But at the same time, he knew that his expectations were overflowing.

"You've had a good time, Gennasi. This face doesn't look like a 37-year-old at all!"

A sentence of Russian sounded in the man's ear.

He suddenly widened his eyes, and then looked left and right to find the source of the sound.

Huh?Did he hear wrong?impossible?

"My eyesight has deteriorated, which is very disappointing to me."

Gennasi was stunned, looking at the middle-aged man with a white beard in front of him.He wears a scarf, a peaked cap on his head, a pair of sunglasses on the bridge of his nose, and an army green coat that all Chinese people wear.

This person has been standing beside him for more than 20 minutes...

"Felix?" Gennasi asked in disbelief, his eyes nearly popping out.

The man, who looked close to old age, took off his sunglasses, revealing the light blue eyes hidden underneath.The bushy beard covered his face, making it difficult to see his age and expression.

But judging from his eyes, he should be smiling.

"I'm standing so close to you, and you haven't even recognized me."

Bach shook his head: "It's too hurtful, you heartless guy."

Gennasi was so emotional that he used his cane and wheelchair to lift himself to his feet.

The next second, they held each other in their arms.

Bach didn't rush to say the wisecrack he had prepared.

This was the first hug in 20 years, and he didn't want to spoil the rare good anger.

Bach began to communicate with Gennasi by letter a few years ago, and it takes at least one month for each letter from sending to receiving a reply, in order to ensure that Gennasi can receive it.Bach sent letters from West Germany to England, which were forwarded to China and then sent to the Soviet Union.During this process, the letter will be translated from English to Chinese by a Chinese friend of Bach.That is to say, Bach pretended to be a Chinese and then communicated with the Soviets.

The reverse is also true, their letters will be read by a third party no matter what, except for the Chinese who is responsible for the translation, the governments of the Soviet Union and West Germany will take them apart and read them carelessly.

This kind of practice of having to open the letter halfway made their only remaining communication always timid.Those intimate words naturally missed the chance to be put into the letter paper.Their letters, which were less than ten years old, can be said to be written as innocently as friends, and the vocabulary used is all the same as if they accidentally met a pen pal somewhere.

But just being able to communicate this with Bach's letters has already made Gennaxi extremely gratified.

During the special period of the Cold War, it is okay to be wronged by this.

When Paverick came back munching on delicious Chinese meat buns, he saw his uncle hugging an elderly man with a white beard surrounded by a group of Chinese people.

Hey isn't that old man the one standing next to us all the time?

Paverick raised an eyebrow.

Is that Bach who has been in correspondence with Uncle Gennasi?

That's right, that's someone who had friendship with his uncle before he was born, so it's only natural that he would be very old.His notion that Gennasi was a normal 37-year-old was wrong.

The little boy thought about it, and decided to be more sensible, wait a few minutes, and then join in when the time is right.

I don't know how long it took, but it was probably finally unbearable to be watched by a group of yellow-skinned, dark-eyed, skinny Chinese.They finally let go of each other, and Bach waved his hands at the curious foreigners in embarrassment, begging them not to look this way anymore.

He helped Gennasi, who had trouble walking, to sit down on the seat in the waiting room.

The two started a conversation in Russian.

"Why are you growing such a beard again?"

When the people around finally began to return to normal and do their own things, the Soviets complained: "And why is your hair white?"

"Well, I've been working so hard these past few years, if I don't care about it..." Bach pulled his beard in a circle: "I worked so hard to meet you. Don't tell me you despise me?"

Gennasi shook his head. He shook Bach's hand and looked him over again.

After 20 years, he didn't know what to say for a while.

Just looking at Bach intently, Gennasi thought that he would have to spend a lot of time to get used to his current appearance.

One day in the tenth year of separation from Bach, Gennasi washed his face in the mirror, and under the yellowish morning light, he suddenly noticed a change in his appearance.

Some fine lines around the eyes appeared in the dark circles that I had never taken seriously before, and brand-new nasolabial folds can be vaguely seen on the original plump cheeks, and the chin and nose are a bit wider than before.

These are not subtle changes, but real, visible to the naked eye.

The mood at this moment is indescribable. Apart from missing, he began to fear.

What was your 17-year-old self like?

What about Bach at that time?Younger than the current self.

He didn't dare to think about these issues before, he thought they were indifferent.But now, these problems that everyone will encounter and are regarded as one of the topics of conversation at the dinner table are just so vividly before our eyes.

That morning, he was late for work for the first time and missed the students' morning reading.

He leaned against the sink in his residence, and the wound on his left foot started to hurt again.He covered his mouth, and what he saw in his eyes was the blurry ground and his trouser legs wet with tears.

For the first time in ten years he couldn't contain his emotions.

God—

Gennasi's low sobs began to break into fits of hopeless laughter.

He suddenly understood that it was okay to ask him to sacrifice his life.

He wants to face life, old age, sickness and death with Felix Moritz Bach!

"Thank goodness."

Gennasi spoke, and the noise around him seemed to be quiet for an instant.

"I can still recognize your face."

Finish

记事

Bach and Gennazie saw each other after 20 years, and they traveled together along the railway (Gennazi's bad legs can only go to a limited number of places).After that, they used their holidays to meet each other every year to travel to places where visas could be issued.

As time goes by, there are more and more places to go.

In 1989, the Berlin Wall was pushed down.

Bach officially retired in the same year. He bid farewell to his adoptive daughter's family and went to Gennasi's hometown alone.The two lived together until 1991.

In November of that year, Gennasi died of bone cancer.

After organizing his funeral, Bach returned to Berlin, Germany with the suitcase he had come to the Soviet Union and a box containing a small portion of Gennazi's ashes.

In his hometown, he lived peacefully until the day he died.

Extra 1

Daily life of two old men

Soviet Union

1989

A farmhouse on the outskirts of Yakutsk, Siberia

There are generally two seasons in the country of the Soviet Union. The optimistic and hardworking Soviets call it "winter" and "about winter".

Christmas is approaching and it is winter in the cold Siberia.

Bach has lived here for several months, and he has never experienced such a cold world. When he was young, he thought that the winter in Stalingrad was the coldest winter he had ever experienced.

But compared with his old lover's hometown, it pales in comparison.

Early in the morning, he got up earlier than his cohabitants, and after a brief freshening up (note: the water pipes in Russia are built on the ground, and heaters are installed along the way to prevent the water from freezing, so as to ensure the residents have access to water), he led him from his hometown Brought the dog, ready to take it out for a walk as usual.

As soon as he opened the door, he froze.His dog from Germany was also stunned, and the master and servant stared at the scene in front of them together.

What the hell is this?White snow wall?

What about the roads and gardens that were outside the door yesterday?

Calm down... Bach said to himself discouragedly after scratching his white beard.

He then decided to turn to the only local for help.

"Gennasi!!!" The old German really panicked.

Soon, the gay man he had been with for decades limped over with a cane.

Looking at the snow that perfectly printed the pattern of his own gate in front of him, Gennaxi didn't even frown.

"Oh, it will melt after a while, and there will be snowplows coming to clear the way, so you don't have to worry."

"Don't worry? Are we stuck at home? How long will it take before we can go out again?"

"Usually it's only a few weeks. If the snow melts quickly, the two of us can take the shovel and shovel a path, and we'll be able to go out in a week."

Gennasi smiled, and stepped forward to close the door again, lest the cold air enter the house in large quantities and freeze Bach to death.

"Don't worry, haven't we already stuffed the storage room with food and firewood? Surely we won't starve to death or freeze to death. Besides, it's only so cold, and the vodka hasn't frozen yet."

Winters are good and lovely before the vodka freezes.

"You! Alas~~" the German sighed resignedly.

Gennasi took his arm and moved to the sofa and sat down together.

Then he glanced at his own dog. This Hofwalt dog was tilting his head and looking at the two elderly people in front of him.

"Mick, consciously avoid!"

Gennasi gave an order in his unproficient German, and the dog, which understood human language, hung its tail and hid in the bathroom.

Bach looked at this face that was too close to him. After it was stained with the lines of the elderly, it was endowed with a new charm. It was a gentleman and quiet face that had been precipitated by time.

"Tsk, it's very early in the morning." Bach squinted his eyes: "I didn't even eat breakfast, but I'm hungry."

"Don't worry, I'll make breakfast in a while." He touched his lover's waist with one hand, while pressing his lips hidden under the beard.

"You have to pay attention to the order of eating, don't you?"

Extra episode