General Tugenev said that the reinforcements for the Guards Motorized Infantry would arrive on the evening of November 16, so Wang Zhong decided to get some sleep early that night.
But he woke up after only two hours, frozen stiff, and saw Nelly adding coal to the stove as soon as he got up.
Just as Wang Zhong was about to speak, he sneezed several times in succession.
Nelly, “You’re not feeling cold because of the coal stove, the problem is this bunker was only designed for defense against artillery, not for keeping warm. I went to logistics to get a hot water bag, but they hadn’t been resupplied yet. They didn’t expect it to get cold so quickly.”
Wang Zhong, while blowing his nose with a tissue, said, “If we don’t have a hot water bag, you could just come under the blankets to warm me up!”
Nelly stopped adding coal and looked at Wang Zhong with an expression that read “this useless master is spouting nonsense again.”
Wang Zhong added, “Ludmila wouldn’t mind, she’d even thank you for not letting me catch a cold!”
Nelly’s expression shifted slightly, just like the one she had when she was hitting flies with a flyswatter.
Wang Zhong, “Why are you looking at me like that? I’m just proposing a solution. Forget it, give me my clothes.”
Nelly put down the small bucket of coal and the tongs, took off her soot-covered gloves, and brought over Wang Zhong’s clothes.
She maintained a defensive posture, ready to unleash a groin kick at any moment.
Wang Zhong simply put on his clothes with her help, sneezing a few more times in the process.
Nelly, “Aren’t you going to take advantage of me?”
Wang Zhong, “Should I?”
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“No, you shouldn’t.” Nelly replied, “That’s good, just like this.”
After she finished speaking, she took out a kettle, “Although we don’t have a hot water bag, I’ve filled this kettle with hot water, so make do for now. It will scald you if you put it next to your skin, but it’s just right between the wool coat and the outer coat.”
Wang Zhong, “Nelly, why don’t you come be my mother instead… Ah, hot, hot, hot!”
Only then did Nelly take the kettle from Wang Zhong’s ungloved hands, “Too bad I can’t reach your face.”
You’re planning to scald my face?
Wang Zhong grabbed Nelly’s waist with both hands and lifted her up, the position reminiscent of an old baboon holding up Simba, the Lion King.
Since Nelly was also wearing a coat over her maid’s attire, her waist appeared twice as thick out of nowhere.
Wang Zhong, “There, now you can reach… Ow, you’re really hot!”
Wang Zhong, taken by surprise, let go, and Nelly landed gracefully, every bit the perfect and graceful maid.
Wang Zhong, “Is this appropriate?”
Nelly, “It’s actually not that hot. Look, I’m holding it directly with my hands. If it would burn you, I wouldn’t do it.”
“Just because it won’t burn doesn’t mean it’s appropriate, does it?”
“Educating a naive and ignorant master is also the duty of a servant, besides, you’re not my master anymore, I am hired by the Ante Army as a civilian porter, there’s no need to maintain those master-servant etiquette from before.”
Wang Zhong, “Is that so, well, then I don’t want you anymore, I want to replace you with an orderly who won’t scald me with the kettle!”
Nelly who was just talking back now pursed her lips, looking at Wang Zhong.
Seeing that this tactic worked, Wang Zhong immediately looked at Nelly with triumphant glee, “What’s the matter, not talking now? Hey, just now you were lecturing me, acting like you were so tough, but it turns out you’re just my little fangirl. Exposed now, aren’t you?”
Nelly picked up the coal bucket and turned to leave the bunker.
“Wait, give me the hot water kettle! Don’t go, I was joking! I don’t want to change, no change, no change! Nelly! Mama!”
…
Five minutes later, at the train station, Pavlov saw Wang Zhong and asked puzzledly, “Why do you look as frostbitten as an eggplant?”
Wang Zhong looked up at the goose feather snow drifting all around, “Is that strange? Although I don’t know what a frostbitten eggplant looks like, I reckon a person caught in this blizzard should look like me, right?”
Then he looked toward the rigidly standing Pavlov and Popov.
“You two are Ante People, you don’t count!” he yelled.
Pavlov and Popov exchanged glances, “Has he gotten frosty in the head?”
Popov, “He seems to be in good spirits though.”
Wang Zhong stepped onto the platform and joined them, “Yeah, yeah, still good.”
“Stand up straight, slouching like that will cause your clothes to not fit snugly in some places and let in the wind,” Popov said.
General Wang, “You should’ve said that earlier.”
He straightened his posture, and perhaps it was his imagination, but he felt a bit warmer.
Then Nelly appeared again, holding a small canvas bag in her hand.
Nelly, “I’ve put a thick canvas bag over the iron kettle and stuffed some cotton inside; it should be much better. Also, I’ve changed the water inside for freshly boiled water.”
Wang Zhong took the bag and indeed could feel the temperature of the kettle inside through the thick layer of cotton.
Nelly, “You can tie that rope to your coat button, so you can hang it inside your clothes.”
Wang Zhong, deeply moved, quickly stuffed the improvised hot water bag into his coat following Nelly’s instructions.
Now he truly felt warm.
Pavlov: “Why do I feel like a mother taking care of a son who can’t take care of himself?”
Popov burst into laughter.
At that moment, the switchman finished checking the tracks and began signaling the train with a green light.
But the people on the platform couldn’t see the train through the heavy snow.
Wang Zhong, with his two-kilometer overhead view, could see the train, but even the heavy snow affected his perspective. In the blizzard, only the train’s headlight stood out clearly.
The next moment, a whistle pierced through the wind and snow, reaching everyone’s ears.
The train’s headlight also entered the range of visible sight; since there were no flights for aerial reconnaissance in this weather, there was no blackout restriction on the train’s lights.
The train whistled again, then slowly slid into the station.
Behind the locomotive and coal-carrying cars were a series of armored freight cars. This train didn’t even have an anti-aircraft gun unit; it was entirely used for troop transport.
The door to the first armored freight car was opened from the inside. The reinforcing soldiers, wearing greatcoats and fur hats, crowded at the door.
Before the train even came to a complete stop, a burly man jumped onto the platform and let out a hearty laugh towards Wang Zhong: “Ohoho hahaha!”
Wang Zhong thought to himself, what’s this, are you about to start singing? In Peking opera, when a character with a painted face laughs like that, it usually means they are about to sing.
The burly man limped towards Wang Zhong, saying as he walked, “General! I’ve come to find you again!”
Wang Zhong squinted and after looking for a while, recognized it was Yegorov. He had been shot in the leg during the breakout at Orachi, so he went back to recover.
Just three months and his leg is healed?
Wang Zhong went up to shake Yegorov’s hand: “Hello, old buddy, no wonder General Tugenev recommended I prepare a potato and beef stew tonight! It’s to welcome an old friend like you!”
After shaking hands, Wang Zhong stepped aside to give Pavlov his place.
Pavlov gave Yegorov a hug: “You rascal, back so quickly! Didn’t you say you wouldn’t return for half a year?”
Yegorov: “It was supposed to be half a year, look at my leg, still limping. But I couldn’t stand it, man. Everyone says the war’s almost over, and this counterattack is going to push the enemies back home!”
Wang Zhong frowned: “Who says that?”
“Everyone’s saying it. The new wounded soldiers are saying that the Prussians’ firepower has weakened significantly, and the counterattack is destined to succeed.”
Before Wang Zhong could answer, Popov butted in, hugged Yegorov, and then said: “Now this idea of a swift victory is very common in the whole army; we here also have some contempt for the Prussians.”
Wang Zhong looked stern: “That’s not good.”
Yegorov looked puzzled: “Aren’t we about to counterattack?”
Wang Zhong: “The counterattack is indeed destined to succeed, but the war won’t end so soon. Prosen still has great war potential. They haven’t even started a total mobilization yet. We need to prepare for years of hard struggle.”
Yegorov paused for a second, then quickly said: “General, you indeed have your own insight into the war situation. I believe you. But others all think the enemy is done for, almost everyone feels this way. I’m afraid you can’t change everyone’s opinion.”
Wang Zhong nodded: “Well, anyway, you’re back. We’re about to counterattack, and you’ll command the incoming infantry troops.”
Yegorov: “Great! Looks like chatting up the doctor paid off!”
Wang Zhong hesitated, then asked: “Chatting up the doctor?”
“Yes, chatted her up, got her to agree to my requests. How else could I get a discharge certificate? Didn’t you see how I just walked? I gritted my teeth and walked properly even before getting on the train from the hospital.”
Wang Zhong: “That’s not good, what if you end up permanently lame?”
“No worries! Doctor Katya said that at worst, my leg will hurt when the weather changes, but walking won’t be affected. See, as long as I grit my teeth and bear the pain, I can still walk normally, even march in step.”
Wang Zhong was about to sharply comment when Yegorov said: “Oh right, I also brought Doctor Katya for you—surgeon, exceedingly skilled.”
Wang Zhong then noticed a sturdy Ante woman standing not far away.
Yes, the kind that can wrestle with bears.
She wasn’t bad-looking, but she really could wrestle with a bear.
Wang Zhong took Yegorov’s hand, welcoming her: “A pleasure to meet you, Doctor Katya. My boys will be in your care from now on.”
Just then, Wang Zhong suddenly remembered something and pulled Yegorov aside to whisper: “Didn’t you have a wife?”
Yegorov: “Killed by the Prussians.”
All of Wang Zhong’s words got stuck in his throat.
Yegorov: “You know why I’m eager to come back now, right? By the way, Katya’s husband was sacrificed, and her father died in an airstrike. We have a bit of a score…to settle with Prosen.”
As Yegorov spoke, his eyes were fixed dead on Wang Zhong.
Even in the poor light, Wang Zhong could still see the bloodshot in his eyes.
Wang Zhong: “I understand. You’ll get to thrash them with me.”
At that moment, a major ran over to Wang Zhong, saluted, and said: “The reinforcement troops for the Guard’s First Mechanized Infantry Division are assembled. Awaiting orders.”
Yegorov, pointing to the major and the neatly arranged soldiers behind him, said: “These are all battle-hardened veterans. When they heard they were being transferred to your unit, everyone was clamoring to join. We even had to be selective. Anyone whose battle involvement wasn’t fierce got cut. These are men returned from hell, just like you, General.”
Wang Zhong nodded, jumped onto a bench on the platform, and addressed everyone: “Men! Like you, I’ve returned from hell! Tonight you’ll join the various units, eat your fill, and tomorrow, we’ll give the Prussians, a taste of hell!”
Together, everyone roared: “Hurrah!”