Battle of the Rhine

Since Michael's punishment has not yet come out, he was put on a long vacation.But Sergey and several of his colleagues called, admiring him for "speaking evil for all mankind."Michael was very proud of this, and told the Charlie family at the dinner table of the weekend family gathering, and at the request of Erwin, told the office battle three times, each time with more details, the little boy listened with gusto, and Quincy coughed several times, and finally ordered Michael to shut up. The great dragon slaying hero then raised his glass and took a sip of the apple sparkling water.

"I'm telling the truth," he said to the displeased Quinnessy. "I didn't do anything bad, and that guy deserves a beating! If he had been beaten earlier, he wouldn't have dared—"

"You're teaching bad boys!" snapped Quincy. "And no talking at mealtimes!"

"We came here to comfort Mike." Charlie, a mother of four, was still very slender, "Little Carter rushed back from school—"

"His dormitory is just a few kilometers away from here."

"Brother, come on, don't keep staring!"

After so many years, Franz still cowers in front of Quincy, wanting to act according to his face.Carl Jr. is dead and studying at Quincy's alma mater.This child looks very similar to his uncle. Quincy takes Carl out and is often mistaken for father and son.Michael liked Carl Jr., but he and Quincy always had some vague concerns.Because Carl was adopted by Quincy, he came to live with Quincy from time to time.Quincy took care of his nephew's daily life, helped him with his homework, accompanied him to participate in competitions, and of course, Michael was indispensable.Michael treated the little blond boy like his own son, but occasionally they would discuss whether their "this" relationship would affect Carl Jr.Quincy worried about that.

"Great job, Uncle Mike," said Carl Jr., slicing up sausages with a knife. "That pervert—Uncle Carl should tell me that I've been practicing boxing lately, and I'm short of a target."

"No violence," said Quincy softly. "Have you started boxing?"

"Oh, because my brother wants to—" Ilona snickered, and Carl put down the knife, "Oh, shut your mouth!"

"How did you talk to your sister!" Franz scolded in a low voice, glanced at Quincy furtively, and then continued to deal with the pork knuckle in front of him.Ilona is not afraid of little Carl, and said loudly, "My brother is broken in love! I need to find a channel to vent out—"

"What?" Michael and Quincy glanced at each other quickly, "broken in love?"

"Ah, beautiful Helen, you are a disaster for the country—" Ilona raised her voice like singing an aria, "Your long golden hair—"

"It's long gone!" Little Carl blushed, "I, I'm not because of her!"

"Helen?" Erwin raised his head from the potato soup in surprise, "I remember... Isn't it called Herta?"

"Who is Herta?" Ilona also raised his eyebrows in surprise, "God, I don't know! Tell me!"

"Okay, okay, it's all over." Little Carl looked like he was about to smoke, "It's a girl!" He buried his head and cut the sausage vigorously, and muttered angrily, "What else? It's a girl in school. ...Don't ask me! Well, Uncle Mike, what are you going to do next?"

"Driving a taxi can make a lot of money. I've inquired about it!"

"Mike!"

"Really, Karl, taxis in Munich are the most expensive, I hear—"

"Mike!"

Quincy naturally wouldn't allow Michael to drive a taxi.Two weeks later, Michael's punishment came out.He remained in his old office, albeit at a lower salary, while "Davasili" dropped the charges against Michael.The alarm is cleared, Michael returns to the office, and Sergey gives him a bunch of restaurant discount coupons to celebrate the "triumph of a hero".

"How did you 'communicate' with that idiot?" Michael asked Quinnessy, and his college student shrugged. "He's actually pretty pathetic."

"For God's sake, he almost strangled me!"

"Sorry, I should have stopped you."

"He harassed you!"

Quincy tied Michael's tie and put his hat and scarf on. "I just talked to him. Really, he's learned his lesson. In fact, I think he's learned enough in his life that he's just covering it up like crazy. War syndrome, everyone who's been in a war More or less people have ... he is particularly serious."

"Then he should go to the hospital and get an electric shock." Michael bitterly said, "I bet no one will attend this bastard's funeral when he dies—you're not allowed to go!"

"Stupid assumption." Quincy put on his gloves. "Go, we're going to be late."

None of them could have predicted that Michael's words came true.After Alexander Schwarberg retired, he was dispatched by the Retired Expert Service Bureau of the Federal Government of Germany to guide local industrial production in third world countries as a technical consultant.He continued his own style, and the efficiency of the factory he worked in has leapt.After returning to China at the end of his term of office, he was rehired and continued to struggle on the front line. In 1992, after the New Year, the people in the company discovered that the "vampire", who had always been rainy or not, was absent from work.They tried to reach him, but the phone was never answered.The company called the police immediately.The police found Schwaberg sitting in a chair, wearing pajamas, with a newspaper on his lap, his eyes half-opened, and he was out of breath.Some people say that he had a heart attack in ecstasy when he saw the news of the disintegration of the Soviet Union.It was also said that he suffered some blows, and that the "vampire" was not in a normal mood in the days before that.All in all, Schwarberg's sudden death left no words or phrases behind.He has no relatives, no friends, and of course no lover.Ironically, the most hostile union in his life held his body and held a small funeral for him.The union notified Schwarberg's old colleagues, but no one came to see "Davasili" for the last time.Quincy didn't go either. He was in the United States at the time and had just suffered a minor illness and was being watched by his family for recuperation.Hearing the news of Schwaberg's death, he was very sad for a long time, and said to Michael, "If I were in Munich, I would go see him off. He has done a lot of bad things and suffered a lot... I hope God can forgive him, Although he doesn't believe in God."

"Your heart is getting softer." Michael peeled an apple slowly, "Lie down, you are not allowed to go anywhere."

Michael retired two years earlier than Quinnessy.After retiring, he was very bored at home, so he opened a small photo studio to pass the time, mainly serving the neighbors around him.Two years later, Quincy retired.He was not so energetic, and he did not return to employment after retirement, so he made some children's toys at home, took them to the weekend market, and sold them to children at a very cheap price.Carl Jr. went to study in the United States after graduating from the University of Munich. After graduating with a Ph.D., he stayed in a university in the United States.He married an English girl and soon had two daughters.Carl Jr. mentioned that he had a crush on three girls when he was in college, but none of them had the courage to confess.And he really felt that he was too timid, so he didn't dare to tell Uncle Mike and Uncle Carl, for fear of being scolded as a coward.Emily is lively and cheerful, and also works at the school.Michael and Quincy go to Karl Jr. for a while every year to visit their granddaughter and go shopping.Michael often attends comrade-in-arms gatherings and maintains close contact with most of his comrades-in-arms.

In this way, time passes like the rushing water of the Rhine.Michael has no regrets in his twilight years.His new goal is to live until 1995, as a veteran, to honorably participate in World War II victory celebrations.However, he never expected that the goal was achieved, but he encountered the biggest blow in his life——

Quincy quarrels with him and throws him out of the house.