Battle of the Rhine

Not only were Quincy's bookshelves filled with pornographic novels—everything with "sex" in it, so the pastor in Michael's hometown said so—but there were other horrible books, more than "The Psychology of Sexuality."More than anything.For example, "Das Kapital: A Critique of Political Economy", Michael touched the spine of the book curiously, and Quinny told him that the author of this book was also called Karl, Karl Heinrich Marx, and was the founder of communism theory.

"...God," Michael withdrew his hand, "this is horrible, you should read something healthy."

"Healthy books, you mean the Bible?"

"The Bible is the healthiest book to read, and you should read it several times."

"So you believe that Jesus fed at least five thousand hungry mouths with five loaves of wheat and two fish?"

"That's a miracle." Michael wiped the partition of the bookshelf with a rag, "of course mortals can't do it."

Quincy said, "Then I'd rather worship five boxes of biscuits, at least I'll live two weeks longer."

"Don't use the word adoration! What can you do with a smart head, you fellow?" Michael found a heavy black velvet box the size of a book.The box made Michael feel unexplainably uneasy, and Quincy took the box away without opening it, but stuffed it into a drawer, "My... Iron Cross."

Michael had captured a few Iron Crosses, and this thing was a nice trophy. "I've got a medal, too," he said, "but it's useless. You get one for passing the infantry test."

"Let me remind you that the Iron Cross has been awarded since the time of Wilhelm III, and it wasn't just the Nazis who got the Iron Cross - Wilhelm III was king of Prussia in the middle of the nineteenth century. You know the 'nineteenth century ' mean?"

"Understand, understand, my history is the best in all subjects!"

"America still offers history classes?"

"Von Quinnessy!"

……

At the end of August, the sun was still hot and bright, but there was a hint of coolness in the wind.On Saturday, when Quincy worked overtime in the morning, Michael went to see Oliver.Oliver called a few guys and got together drinking beer and playing poker. "The Germans are miserable," Oliver said with a cigarette in his mouth. "East half, west half. My grandpa's hometown is on the east half...'Mayan', don't cheat!"

"I wasn't careful." said Ma Yan, Michael had seen him before, it was the freckled kid, "Plum Blossom K!"

"Club K, club K, alas, K, the king," Oliver muttered, "seriously, old Mike, if Miss Charlie wasn't the sister of 'The King', I would pursue her to the death! Such a lovely girl, always It's smiling."

"Have you harassed Charlie?" Michael threw down a pair of A's, "Come on, she's engaged!"

"I know, I didn't harass her." Oliver shuffled a pile of playing cards and asked "Mayan" to shuffle them. "I'm just feeling emotional, is feeling illegal?"

"It's not breaking the law." Michael had a flash of inspiration, "Do you really want to find a girlfriend, or just for fun?"

"I really want a fucking wife," said Oliver, throwing away his cigarette butts. In Germany, for some reason, cigarette butts can be thrown everywhere, as if cigarette butts are not counted in the garbage. "You've been divorced once! I don't even have girls Haven't touched it yet!"

"If you really want to find a girlfriend, I can introduce one to you. But don't play tricks." Michael drew a card, the king of spades, "I sometimes go to a choir, there are a few singles there Miss."

"Could you introduce one to me!" "Ma Yan" and the two young soldiers eagerly said, "I want to find a girlfriend too!"

"Get out, how old are you two?" Oliver lit another cigarette, and leaned over to look at Michael's cards, "Hey! Why do you have so many kings, it seems that the 'King' likes you——"

"Who's the 'King'?" Ma-Eye asked. "The guy who was so crazy that he blew up the embankment?"

"Yeah, that's him, a real jerk," said Oliver, staring at the cards in his hand, "not bad looking, I'll admit, but very gloomy - 100% German, silent, looking through his nostrils , arrogant as hell. He's old Mike's sweetheart..."

"If you keep talking nonsense, I won't introduce you to a girlfriend!" Michael pulled out three 5's and threw them out, "What an asshole!"

"...It's a pity that his life is not good. At the beginning of 1945, there was no weapon for him." Oliver laughed and avoided the three cards. Why didn't Mulley get him into the SS Panzer Division? How fit he is, looks like that, has a German madness in him, and he will never die in Tiger... Boom boom boom! Old Mike was killed Run over!"

"You soft-tailed monkey—"

"I don't even bother to talk about you, Mike, you're swearing like pickles now!"

Michael played a few rounds of cards, checked the time, guessed that Quincy would be off work soon, so he became absent-minded. "Old Mike is missing his beautiful landlady," Oliver yelled. "How many months is she pregnant? Is she going to give birth soon?"

"Fuck your ass!"

"That's about to give birth, can I be the godfather?"

"Ma Yan" was envious when he heard "beautiful landlady".A young guy in his early twenties, that's all he can think about.Michael grabbed a few poker cards, "Are you planning to get married in the future?"

"Nonsense," said Oliver, "my grandpa will kick me out of the will if I don't marry—and I'd like to have a family so much I've even thought of names for the boys, Joachim for the boys and Joachim for the girls." It's Lina. What's the matter, don't you want to marry the landlady?"

"Shut up," Michael drank the last bit of beer, "I've been thinking about the nature of marriage recently."

"Fuck, listen up," Oliver said, his eyes widening. "I'm going to freak the shit out of me—old Mike is thinking about 'the nature of marriage'! Isn't that the kind of bullshit that college students should be thinking about!"

"It seems that people don't necessarily have to get married, right?" Michael shrugged, and looked at "Mayan" questioningly, "What do you think?"

"My grandma said that only the worst men can't find a wife." "Mayan" said, "I must get married, otherwise my grandma will be sad in heaven!"

"Why can only men and women marry?" Michael said again, "I can't figure it out, why?"

The others looked at me and I looked at you, "You really brainwashed the Germans." Oliver patted Michael's head, "Isn't marriage a man and a woman together? Otherwise, what should I do? Man Marrying a man, and a woman marrying a woman? Even the 'big girl'-"

"'Big Girl' always liked girls."

"Oh, the 'big girls' are married anyway, we must hurry up." Oliver shuffled the cards skillfully, "Men and men? No, I can't stand it. Let me spend my whole life with a man? I might as well kill myself. The two girls are okay, they can always take care of themselves. Don't be fooled, man, Germans like philosophy, that's why they talk about it. We Americans don't talk about this, pragmatism, understand? Life is It comes first."