OBS Chapter 924 Ms. Natasha
Chapter 924 Ms. Natasha
Chapter 924 Ms. Natasha
St. Petersburg, let's rewind twelve hours.
The cold February wind whipped up black smoke from the factory chimneys, turning the sky into a dirty rag.
The melting snow turned into muddy water, which seeped into the poor people's worn-out shoes.
In front of the bakery, the line for people to receive their bread rations stretched all the way to the end of the street.
The crowd, wrapped in tattered cotton-padded clothes, moved with difficulty like penguins in the Arctic.
Miss Anna wrapped her patched scarf tightly around herself, and the paper bag she had made of newspaper to hold bread rustled in the cold wind.
She stood on tiptoe, looking at the endless queue, silently praying that Mary would bless her so she could receive her share of bread. Her family had been without food for several days, and her younger sister had a high fever. Her mother stuffed her ill-fitting, worn-out boots with the last scraps of cloth so that she could come out and get her bread.
The whole family is counting on her.
A slight commotion suddenly broke out ahead. Anna peeked out and saw a woman with long flaxen hair fall to the ground, her forehead buried in a puddle of water. The newspaper bag she used to carry bread was soaked.
"It's Luginichna!"
Anna remembered that woman. Her mother always said she was a hardworking and capable woman who would go to the harbor before dawn every day to collect fish scraps. Sometimes she would even boldly carry her disabled husband's "Order of George" to show the boatmen who were unwilling to give her alms that her family had served the Tsar.
How did she end up collapsed here?
Anna wanted to help him up, but she couldn't bear to leave the queue she had been waiting in for hours.
The military police maintaining order nearby turned her over and saw the George Medal pinned to her chest, the symbol of her "fiery" confidence. They couldn't help but make the sign of the cross in front of them: "Poor thing."
The people in line also made the sign of the cross to pray for her; in times of difficulty, people are always reluctant to squander their kindness.
The team continued to move forward.
Anna would occasionally turn her head to look at the poor woman lying by the wall, worrying about her bleak future.
"I'll come help you once I get the bread."
She was very close to the bakery, which exuded a rich aroma of wheat; the smell of food felt like sharp thorns piercing her empty stomach.
After receiving the bread, she would cook a large pot of porridge in the stove, which had been without food for many days, using dried moss mixed with it. Her sister needed some hot food, and luckily she had borrowed a small bundle of firewood from the neighbor the day before.
boom--
The bakery staff began banging on the anvil hanging outside the shop.
"Today's rations are all gone. Please come back tomorrow."
The line suddenly broke into chaos, with those who hadn't received bread starting to clamor.
Anna's pale face was filled with panic, and she cried out, "No, this can't be!"
The military police maintaining order waved their batons: "Behave yourselves! There's only one quota per day. There will always be people who don't get bread. It's your fault for being lazy and arriving late!"
"In this kind of weather, are we supposed to stand here and wait in the middle of the night?"
"How many frozen corpses do you have to clean up every morning!"
The citizens were furious. They were struggling to survive in the ruins of the city like rats, enduring the most arduous work. If this was considered "lazybones who deserved to die," then what way was there for the poor to live?
boom--
An officer pulled the trigger into the sky, and the group, mostly women and children, fell silent in fright: "Scatter, scatter! If you gather here again, we'll put you on a train to Siberia! Get out there and dig potatoes in the frozen ground!"
The bakery owner tried to smooth things over: "Alright, everyone, I know you're all unhappy about not getting any bread, but there's only so much bread available. You'll just have to come early tomorrow."
Some people left dejectedly, racking their brains to find a way to survive.
Anna also left the group. Her legs, stiff from standing for so long, became increasingly heavy. She didn't know how she would face her mother and sister's expectant eyes when she got home. The pain even overshadowed the hunger in her stomach.
Da da da--
A Cossack officer, riding a chestnut warhorse and dressed in a brightly polished uniform, passed by her.
For some reason, Anna mustered her courage. She stepped forward and grabbed the officer's leg. Under his wary gaze, she pleaded softly, "Please, kind sir, if we don't have food, my whole family will starve to death."
The Cossack company commander, Tennisky, with the "George Medal" pinned to his chest, coldly averted his gaze: "Please remove your hand, madam. I have military duties to attend to and cannot help you."
Ms. Anna withdrew her hand somewhat awkwardly. Her remaining dignity made her unwilling to beg for food like a beggar, but in the end, dignity could not overcome hunger, could not satisfy her stomach, and could not save her loved ones.
Anna bit her bloodless lips: "Please, just a bag of bread, and I'll stay with you for the night."
Tenniski hesitated for a moment, then used his riding crop to lift the woman's chin and saw a beautiful face.
"I am beautiful and clean."
Tennis sighed softly, took a wad of rubles from his pocket and handed it to Anna, waving the woman away: "Go on, go back, go find your family."
Anna's eyes widened in surprise: "I will repay you, sir!"
"I don't need your repayment, just leave."
As a Cossack cavalryman who frequently crossed the border to plunder the enemy, Tennis rarely showed kindness, but Anna was very much like his wife in the Don military district, and he worried that his wife and children might suffer the same humiliation when he was away from home.
He figured it probably wouldn't happen; he knew his own Gatman (the military district leader)'s style of doing things.
He quickened his pace, brandishing his whip to intimidate the citizens who had just witnessed the scene and were trying to plead with him.
Anna carefully tucked the wad of rubles into her pocket and hurriedly disappeared into the crowd. She couldn't care less about Ms. Luginichna lying on the roadside; she had to hold onto the money until the black market opened, and then take some food home.
The Cossack officer was very generous; based on her last experience at the black market, it was enough for her to buy a large loaf of black bread, a dried fish, and several cans of pickled cucumbers or peas that she had obtained from the army.
To avoid being followed by prying eyes who might see her acquire a fortune, Anna rejoined the line lingering outside the bakery.
I must say, this is not a good idea.
Because immediately afterward, riots broke out.
Someone shouted, "It's Ms. Natasha!"
"Ms. Natasha has come to uphold justice for us!"
People surged forward one after another.
Anna was swept along by the crowd and had no choice but to walk in the opposite direction from where she wanted to go.
She saw a tall woman standing at the front of the line, being carried on the shoulders of several burly men dressed as coal miners, who were scolding the military police.
I suppose she is the Natasha people are talking about.
Anna had heard the name before; her mother had said she was a disreputable woman who spent her days with men. But now she was like a passionate warrior, loudly rebuking the police and soldiers who were dispersing the crowd.
"The bravest soldiers died on the front lines, their wives and children suffered from hunger and were bullied by conscripted thugs and villains. Fellow soldiers, are you not the children of workers and peasants, but the children of the powerful and wealthy?"
The soldiers looked at each other in disbelief. How could the sons of the powerful and wealthy become ordinary soldiers?
The officer's expression changed slightly, and he raised his pistol and fired two shots: "What are you all standing there for? Disperse these thugs! Arrest that manipulative woman. I suspect she's possessed by a banshee, or she's simply a German spy."
"Soldier brothers, are you going to stand on the side of those who oppress you and use batons and bullets against your fathers, brothers, and sisters?"
Natasha shouted angrily.
"Haven't you read what the declaration says? Who are our enemies? Who are our comrades? Those lords who ride on our heads, high and mighty, are our enemies! These ragged, hungry workers and peasants are your brothers!"
The line outside the bakery turned into an angry mob, with some people smashing windows and throwing stones, venting their rage.
Anna squeezed through the crowd and saw a mother holding a baby being pushed to the ground; the baby's cries were sharp and piercing.
"Bread! We want bread!"
"The Tsar abdicate! Stop the war!"
Someone shouted, and the roar of thousands of people instantly drowned out the entire street.
People poured in from all directions, waving rags, sticks, or even just frozen fists.
Anna was being jostled by the crowd. If it weren't for the Cossack officer's charity, she might have willingly gone with Natasha, but now she carried the hopes of her entire family and just wanted to get away from the crowd as quickly as possible.
boom--
The military and police finally opened fire on the crowd.
But the bullet hovered in mid-air, and Ms. Natasha rose from the crowd, bathed in golden light as if she were the Virgin Mary descending to earth. She said to the people, "Follow me and take back what is rightfully yours!"
“By God the Father, Lady Natasha is indeed a noble spellcaster.”
"With Ms. Natasha protecting us, we have nothing to fear!"
Deprived of their support, the ordinary soldiers and police were knocked to the ground by the crowd. The angry mob rushed into the bakery and soon saw a small mountain of black bread piled up behind it.
"Why say there's no more bread when there's still so much left?"
The shop owner swallowed hard: "These are all to be handed over to His Majesty the Tsar."
Someone shouted angrily, "Bullshit! These are things you're going to sell on the black market! I've seen your people transporting things to the black market with my own eyes!"
"Kill him, and distribute the bread!"
Ms. Natasha shouted, "Everyone gets a share, and no one is allowed to scramble for it!"
(End of this chapter)