Student of the port school. market square

MARKET SQUARE

“The market square (meaning the former square near the garden with a square and the so-called“ dog battery ”) was occupied by the Manza and Koreans, which is why it represented a real cholera nest. The Koreans arriving in Vladivostok, in order to find a living for themselves, without the permission of the city government, take their places on the market square, already quite cluttered with the buildings of the Manzov fanz, settle near these fanz, arranging for themselves dugouts for housing, due to which the density of those settled in this way market square of the Koreans and Manz infects the air and produces a stench in this area, which has a harmful effect both on the people living there and on the supplies they sell to the residents of Vladivostok. Taking into account that with the approach of spring this stench will increase and may cause diseases, the city government asked the Duma not to leave its decision on the removal of Korean dugouts from the marketplace.

N. Matveev. "A Brief Historical Sketch of Vladivostok"



Returning home, the young man heard a universal noise and scream, the policemen tried to evict the Koreans and Chinese from the market square. While some were caught, others returned to their place, and since for the police officers all the Chinese and Koreans were on the same face, there was no end to this resettlement. In Nikolai's opinion, the resettlement should have taken place a long time ago. The square was the heart of the city, and the Asians littered that heart. Manzy and Kore not only traded on the square, but also lived there, lived with whole families. On market days the stench was terrible. Kolya never bought anything from the manz, preferring fresh meat and fish, which he got himself, but not all townspeople, of course, had such an opportunity. The young man had already completely moved away from the square, when he suddenly felt that someone took his hand.

“Hide me,” someone whispered and fell silent, “I know you understand me!”

Kolya looked. Twilight did not allow to see the person completely, but whoever asked Kolya for help, he was very small and spoke Chinese.

- Who are you? - Kolya also switched to a whisper - how can I help you? And how do you know that I know Chinese?

You have a tattoo above your left eyebrow. You are a white gentleman, but your tattoo is the same as they do in my village. Help me! Big brother from Canton will kill me!

Only now Kolya saw the one who was in front of him. It was a boy of nine years old, he was small in stature and severely emaciated.

— How can I help you?

“If possible, take my hand!” No one will dare to approach if the white gentleman is with me!

- OK, let's go! However, I want to tell you that I am not a master!

The boy did not answer, only smiled pitifully and timidly took Kolya by the hand. Kolya looked around, no one was looking at them. Bustle still reigned in the square, women screamed, children sobbed. The fathers of the family tried to explain something to the police officers.

After walking a few meters, the boy let go of Kolya's hand.

Thanks, I'm on my own!

“Wait, tell me at least, are you no longer in danger?”

“Not now,” the boy smiled, “big brother from Canton is afraid of the white gentlemen!”

“Then,” Kolya hesitated, “then goodbye!”

- Goodbye!

The boy disappeared into the November twilight, and Kolya touched his eyebrow.

Chen made him a tattoo when Kolya got his first one in the taiga, with the help of Chen, of course, ginseng root. Only an initiate could see the tattoo. The silvery, vegetable paint was not conspicuous, but was perfectly visible to those who knew what this sign of perfection looked like.

Kolya looked around, it seemed to him that a shadow flickered around the corner. The boy shivered, he knew Chinese, but he was not a master of martial arts. Kolya did not like to fight, Chen tried to teach Kolya several tricks, but the boy was reluctant to use this knowledge. And so now the young man hurried to take refuge in the house. Recently, Kolya has fallen in love with long sleep. Sometimes this happened even to the detriment of reading. The young man did not understand what was happening to him. For an extra hour of sleep, he was ready to sell his soul. In a dream, Kolya wandered the streets of the underground city, but in the morning he could not remember anything that he dreamed about.

In the meantime, life has returned to normal. They were waiting for an answer from the capital, but they understood well that miracles do not happen. Postal communication will be restored only by spring. In the meantime, Christmas has come. Father Semyon made an excellent Christmas dinner from the parishioners' offerings for the children from the Port School. The Christmas choir sounded, the priest told Christmas parables, the statue of the Virgin hugged the baby so tenderly that Kolya had tears in her eyes. Nikolai thought about mom and dad. Always at Christmas, when the fuss receded, mom and dad hid a big toy for Kolya under the tree, and little Kolya searched for and found many small toys wrapped in rustling paper all over the house.

Christmas is noisy, the January frosts have come. Graduation was soon to come at the Port School. A month later, Kolya's training ended! This does not mean that Kolya should have been denied access to the school and the library. On the contrary, after la will be over, Mr. Ratynsky invited Kolya to come and help in the library on weekends. The librarian, Kapiton Nikodimovich, was old, could not see or hear well, and sometimes even poorly oriented in space, and Kolya's help would have been most welcome to the old librarian! Kolya immediately agreed to the offer of the head of the school, he was afraid to think that another month and his life would change dramatically, and the connection with the school promised, albeit illusory, but hope for inviolability.

Thinking about his mother, Kolya involuntarily thought about his stepfather. He was tormented by the thought of what happened to his mother after he, Kolya, left her and fled!? Thoughts spun and spun, bringing the young man to tears.

One day, Kolya was already completely dressed and was about to go to Katorzhanka, but he suddenly stopped halfway. He could not understand why he was going towards the convict, if it was so dangerous there!

However, what danger threatens him there, and who is ready to harm him, Kolya, the young man could not remember.

It was cold and already very late. Nikolai walked, overcoming his fear, he knew that the answer to all his questions that had accumulated over the past month was ahead, but still something prevented him from going. When the vaguely familiar place, the inn, was no more than fifty steps away, a siren sounded in my head, ordering me to stop!

The sound rose higher and higher, and Kolya stubbornly walked forward. Finally the boy gave in, the pain in his stomach bent him in half, and Kolya fell. The sound stopped, but the nose started to bleed.

The snowfall has begun. Kolya got up. He could easily find his way back, even though the blizzard had covered all the traces, but he did not want to.

Nikolai wanted to remember, but the guard, who had recently settled in his brain, did not allow this to be done.

Kolya wanted to sleep, he lay flat and let the snow gently cover him from head to toe. It was warm and calm. Nikolai didn’t want anything else, didn’t aspire anywhere. Just him and the snow, and no one else!

The snow coat had already almost completely covered Kolya, when suddenly the young man heard a whisper.

“White master, don’t sleep, it’s dangerous!” Get up!

Kolya kicked and tried to shake off the hand that was lifting him out of the snowdrift. However, the one who tried to help the young man was so small and weak that he did not even resist!

“If the master does not get up, I will lie down with him, and in the spring they will find our two corpses!”

The Chinese boy, and it was him, defiantly lay down next to Kolya.

Kolya's sleep was gone, giving the boy his hand, he got up, dusted himself off and wandered forward through the snow!

- How did you find me? - that's all Kolya asked the boy

— I saw the gentleman in the city. He was upset.

- So what?

- I have to go, white master! Sleep no more in the snow!

“I won’t,” Kolya answered, but the boy had already disappeared into the snow haze.