I Became Stalin?!

Chapter 214

“So, you’re thinking of getting married, huh?”

“Yes! Mom. Katia is so kind and smart…”

“Well, I don’t think she’s very smart if she’s willing to marry you… But if you two are happy, what can I say?”

My mother kept making such remarks, but I ignored them. My father seemed more interested in something else than my marriage.

“So, how did you get that medal? You know, you can stay in the army with that, right?”

“Ah… um… I don’t think the army suits me very well.”

“Kid… You only care about getting paid.”

But I learned how to drive a tank, so maybe I could do something on the farm. 

That’s what I thought. I learned how to read and write, and do arithmetic, and I used to be a decent candidate for a collective farm.

“I… I was thinking of driving a tractor…”

“A tractor?”

My father looked at me with surprise as I said that.

“These days, there are plenty of young people who know how to drive. Look, Ivan’s son Vasily, and that Semen’s son Artur, they both drove tractors after driving tanks. There are many people who came back from driving tanks, but Artur got selected as a tractor driver after losing some fingers as a war hero.”

“Really???”

“Well, there should have been more tanks.”

Damn. The hill I was proud of turned out to be a small mound of dirt. I felt like my confidence crumbled all of a sudden, and I stuffed some spam into my mouth from the stew.

“I… I learned some writing, but the village clerk…”

“Everyone who went to the army learned how to write! Listen, son. It’s not easy to make a living these days… Why don’t you just stay in the army?”

You think your son, who got the People’s Hero medal, can’t be a tractor driver? I wanted to ask that, but I just shut my mouth.

You’ll probably ask me why I don’t stay in the army since I became a People’s Hero. To be honest, I didn’t want to push away my friends who got other medals by luck, like Artur who lost his fingers.

“Is there any farm work I can help with?”

“These days, you need more tractors and farm machines. We’re done with sowing, and we’ll probably need some labor when it’s harvest time.”

The career I had in mind was changed in a way I never imagined. I shook my head as I saw my hometown changed so much in a few years.

“Alright… I’ll go see the clerk tomorrow.”

“Okay. Do that. Just get some rest today. That’s your room over there… We left it alone since you never came back. It should be fine if you clean it up a bit.”

My room was full of all kinds of junk. My mother threw me a soft blanket and sat on the floor, patting my back.

“Son, why are you so worried? Don’t worry too much. There’s so much to do these days, you’ll find something to do.”

“Yes, mom…”

That wasn’t really the problem. Anyway, my mother comforted me and left.

“Sigh…”

What should I do to survive? I wondered.

If I think about it, I wasn’t good at anything. 

The things I learned in the army were things that many others learned and used, and I lost all the good positions because I stayed in the army for too long.

And staying in the army… Ugh, that didn’t seem right.

General Chernyakhovsky said there was something good for me, but I didn’t overestimate my abilities.

“I’ll probably k**l my subordinates if I go to a real war…”

Of course, the last two times, when I led a mission as a platoon leader and a company commander, none of my men got hurt. But that was because the enemy was weak, and I didn’t know what would happen if I went to a real war.

I wanted to live as an ordinary worker, not as a cowardly and incompetent officer that I always hated in my heart.

Honestly, I felt guilty for being overrated for a medal that wasn’t my ability. Katia always told me to have more confidence, but…

“I’ll think about it tomorrow.”

It was a long time since I slept in a place like this, not in a barracks full of snoring and sweaty men. I closed my eyes and fell asleep as I thought about various things.

Tomorrow, the sun will rise again.

***

“Hey! Nikolai! You’re back!”

The clerk looked the same as before, with a warm expression. He had more wrinkles and white hair and beard, but still.

“Yes, sir. Hahaha… You’re still the same?”

“Of course! I’m still the same. I’ve gained some belly fat lately, though…”

He patted his plump belly and chuckled. But that was only for a moment, he lifted his glasses and read the document.

“What, what is this? A… People’s Hero? Nikolai, is this you?”

“Haha… It just happened.”

“Hmm… I see… Wait a minute…”

He made a phone call and said something quickly. Words like People’s Hero, Soviet, and whatnot came and went, and I had to stand there awkwardly.

“Sorry for the wait, Comrade Petrov. Let’s go!”

“Sir, why are you suddenly being polite? And where are we going?”

“That’s the town office, of course! It’s only natural for a People’s Hero!”

“No, sir…”

He grabbed my hand and dragged me to the farm’s truck. Ivan, who was loading carrots on the back of the truck yesterday, waved at me.

“Hey, Nikolai!”

“Hey! Ivan Ivanovich! How rude of you to a People’s Hero!”

“Huh?”

Ivan looked stunned. He said he would borrow the truck for a while for the Soviet’s business, and he snatched the truck key from Ivan’s thick hand. He started the car.

“What, why…”

“Give it to me. I’ll do it.”

I had driven a truck a few times, so I could start it fairly well. The clerk looked at me with awe. He seemed to say, as expected, a People’s Hero… I felt an immense pressure from his expression.

“Sir… please…”

“Hahaha, I’m so proud that our village, our farm, produced such a hero! Come on, let’s go!”

The reaction at the town office was similar. The town head made a fuss and said he was proud that our town had such a hero, repeating the same thing he had said on the phone.

Then he brought out a large and thick piece of paper.

“Here, sign this.”

“What, what is this? A Communist… party membership card?”

“If you’re a People’s Hero, you should have the right to join the party, shouldn’t you? And since you said you were looking for a job after you retired… Ah! How about running for the town Soviet election? The previous representative, Comrade Anatoly, had to step down because of his poor health…”

The town secretary whispered that Comrade Anatoly was a drunkard who had a bad reputation up and down, and a useless incompetent.

“Me? I’m the town representative?”

“Yes! There were some people who were fighting over that position, but they would all agree without a word if they heard that the People’s Hero became the representative of his hometown. First, receive your party card and…”

“No, no! I want to go back to the army!”

“Excuse me?”

The town head and the town secretary, who were about to hand me a fountain pen and press my hand to sign the party card, both looked disappointed.

“Ha, haha, I have a lot of work to do in the army…”

“If you don’t like the town representative position, how about the army representative? It might be hard to get it right away, since you’re a People’s Hero, but maybe we can arrange it…”

“No, no, I really want to go back to the army!”

Of course, that wasn’t true, but I was willing to do anything to get rid of this burdensome position.

“Ch… Colonel Chernyakhovsky gave me a… uh, that… it’s classified! Anyway, it’s classified, but I have a classified mission. So I can’t accept this party card and representative position.”

“Hmm… that’s a shame.”

They really looked sorry. It was natural that if someone from our village, our town, got a high position, it would benefit the people around here. The road would be laid more favorably for this side of the village, or a big store would come in first.

But Nikolai knew that he wasn’t cut out for that.

He had never done anything political, and he was just a rookie who had just returned from the army. How could he dare to represent hundreds of lives! Nikolai was horrified by the fact that the old men had such thoughts.

“Ahem, I think I need to return to the base as soon as possible. I’m busy…”

“Understood, Comrade Petrov! If you ever retire, please do your best for our hometown!”

The town head got up and bowed, then grabbed Nikolai’s hand with both of his and shook it. Nikolai, who had his hand grabbed by him, shuddered at the pressure he felt.

‘What the hell…’

The town Soviet representative was a higher position than a major. At least Nikolai thought so.

And one more thing. Since Uncle Ivan had heard the word ‘People’s Hero’, it was only a matter of time before this news spread to the village.

He thought it would be better to go to the army sooner than to hear the rumors that he had stolen someone else’s merit and became like that.

“Yes! Thank you! See you later, next time!”

***

“Why did you come back and do such things if you’re going to the army again? That’s why you should do your job well…”

“Oh, he said he wanted to try something, just let him be!”

“You’re the same. You’re always looking around, and that’s why we ended up like this! If only you had stuck to one thing…”

Mother’s nagging seemed to go on endlessly. But even that nagging, he realized he wouldn’t hear it for much longer, and he felt like crying.

“Well, I’ll be back soon.”

“Okay. Come back healthy and well.”

“Eat well, brush your teeth, and say hello to that lady for us. Listen to your superiors and be nice to your subordinates!”

As he received his parents’ farewell at the train station, Nikolai got on the train. 

The way back to the base was still far away.

He felt anew that it was impossible to live a normal life after receiving such an excessive title as a People’s Hero. 

He was nothing but a lowly soldier, a peasant, but he received a shiny medal like the Legion of Honor or something, as if that changed his essence.

Chik-chik, the train spewed smoke and started to move away from his mother, who was wiping her tears and waving goodbye, and his father, who was smoking and waving his hand.

“Don’t worry~!”

“***!! *****!”

He couldn’t hear what they were saying, but Nikolai waved his hand harder.

When the train station was too far to see, he closed the window and closed his eyes. Back to the army.

Where would Colonel Chernyakhovsky send me? Could I adapt well there?

Anyway, he hoped his salary would be higher than now.

“Hoo…”

Nikolai sighed and took out a small box from his chest pocket. He had saved money for this by sparing the letters and postage he sent home.

Inside the box were a pair of small gold rings.

“Katya…”

Maybe this would make him feel more secure? 

It was better to charge with the protection of the Fire Bear and the Boar than with the Mosin-Nagant and the potato grenade. His senior captain had told him that. He had spent his meager salary to buy this ring, but…

He had a lot to do in the future. He had to find a place to live, and a way to make a living. He had to decide where to go and what to do first!

Ha, Nikolai sighed again.

Everyone said the war was over and went back to their daily lives, but he felt like he was jumping into a new war. 

As he had done so far, he could only hope that luck would kiss him.