Chapter 174 Guidance
Looking at the middle-aged man walking over, Angelica took the lead to greet him. She took the middle-aged man's arm, looked at where Yuri was, and whispered something in the middle-aged man's ear.
Seeing the middle-aged man looking at him with a smile, Yuri finally confirmed the other party's identity. However, in his heart, he was muttering to himself: There is no similarity between father and daughter. Not to mention that the daughter is almost a head taller than the father, and there is no similarity in their appearance. So, is there some color on the old father-in-law's head that shouldn't be there?
While muttering obscenely in his heart, Yuri stepped forward, shook hands with the other party politely, and greeted him respectfully: "Uncle, I am Yuri, Yuri Arkhipovich Kulyokov, you can call me Baolenka or Yuri."
"Haha, I know you. I've known you for a long time." Although he knew Yuri's identity and his current status, and of course, he was also concerned about his achievements, Vadim was still very calm when they met face to face. With a restrained smile on his face, he shook hands with Yuri and said in a somewhat reserved tone, "Your name often appears in the war reports and various newspapers issued by Moscow."
"Oh, that's all in the past. I'm no longer on the front line. I've moved to work in the rear." Yuri said modestly.
"Whether you are working on the front line or in the rear, it is needed by the country," Vadim said with a smile. "Sometimes, the work in the rear is even more important than the front line."
"That's right," Vitim came over and interrupted with a smile, "For example, the position you hold now as the Chief of Operations is an extremely important one. The perfection of an operational plan is directly related to the life and death of our frontline soldiers."
"Okay, Vitim, stop making fun of me," Yuri said with a wry smile, "You don't know, I've been dreaming about commanding operations on the front line lately. As for the clerical work now, it's really not suitable for me."
This time Vitim didn't say anything else. He just smiled, obviously not believing what Yuri said.
"Father, let's not waste any more time here," Angela finally got the chance to speak, shaking Vadim's arm and saying with a smile, "Let's go, we can talk about it at home first."
"Yes, yes, uncle, let's leave here first," Yuri invited, "I have already arranged the accommodation."
Vadim nodded and looked at Vidim and Daniel standing aside.
"Come on, let's go together," Vitim said, making a gesture of invitation. "This time when we come to Moscow, we plan to stay at Yuri's house. Please don't think we are bad guests."
After some politeness, the few people walked out of the station hall chatting and laughing.
It was still raining heavily outside, but Vitim and his friends had their own car, so they didn't have to worry about the distance.
When getting in the car, Vitim was very tactful and pulled Arseny into his car, leaving the other car for Yuri, Angeliya and their two daughters so that they could talk in the car.
Although it was the first time he met his future father-in-law, Yuri was not too nervous and he behaved very at ease.
"How is working in the General Staff?" Vadim was sitting in the back seat of the car. He could see Yuri's face through the rearview mirror.
"It's okay, but a bit complicated," Yuri replied casually while driving.
"Yes, in general, the position of Chief of Operations is different from ordinary military positions," Vadim found a good starting point for the conversation and said, "It can be said that this is a position that requires relatively strong comprehensive abilities and is also a position that can train people very well. If you can do well in this position, then after the war is over, you can also consider moving from the military to politics."
It was not a very long conversation. After listening to it, Yuri looked in the rearview mirror and happened to meet Vadim's eyes.
"I think so too," Yuri smiled at the old man and nodded, "So, I am also trying to adapt to this role. Well, as for the work I did some time ago, I feel that I am still capable of doing it."
Angelica was listening on the side. She could tell that this conversation between her father and her future husband actually involved a process of testing. Her father asked Yuri about his future ambitions through questions and answers, asking him whether he planned to stay in the army or turn to politics if he had the chance. Yuri's answer showed that he was indeed preparing for the change. Once the war was over, or if he had the chance in the future, he would go into politics.
"It would be better if I could spare some energy to care about politics while doing this job," Vadim said. Then, as if he had suddenly thought of something, he smiled and said, "When I came to Moscow last week, Comrade Kalinin and I went to visit Comrade Voznesensky. I borrowed a book from him. I have occasionally read it recently and I feel very inspired."
Yuri listened quietly, digesting the information revealed by his future father-in-law.
The Kalinin mentioned by Vadim is obviously the current first deputy secretary of Belarus. As for Voznesensky, needless to say, he is also a real big shot.
"The book itself was written by a Westerner, and the main topic of discussion is politics," Vadim continued. "The book believes that politics is the skill of using certain means to harness the power of the public and thus realize one's own subjective wishes."
Yuri glanced in the rearview mirror again. He felt that his father-in-law was a little unconventional in his thinking. It was obvious that if his words were heard by others and spread, he would be in trouble.
"Of course, what I mean by this is not that you should get in touch with these dross things," Vadim quickly changed the subject and said, "I mean that if you still have extra energy, you should read more books and get in touch with more knowledge and information at other levels. This will be of great help to your future work."
Yuri nodded. He knew that Vadim was advising him not to focus on military issues all day long. If he had enough time, he should think about other things.
"Thank you, uncle. I'll try my best," Yuri nodded.
"Well, that's good," Vadim said, then changed the subject and said, "I don't intend to interfere too much in your marriage with Angelica. You are both adults, and you should be very clear about the suggestions and opinions I can give. What I want to say is that once you become husband and wife, your interests will become one. In other words, your future development will be closely linked. The progress or retreat of either party will inevitably affect the other party. You must be prepared for this."
Yuri said nothing, and neither did Angelica. In fact, both of them knew this already.
To Yuri, Angelia was undoubtedly a shrewd woman, and she was also very ambitious. Generally speaking, men did not like women with big ambitions, because such women were difficult to control, but Yuri did not care about that, after all, he had never thought of controlling the other party.
Ambitious women generally seldom make low-level mistakes. Because of this, Yuri is not worried that Angelica will implicate him in the future.
As for Angelica, there is no need to consider it. Her current position is still far away from Yuri, and most of the time, she still needs the help of her husband.
"I heard from Angelica that you intended to let her go to work in Ukraine after the Battle of Kursk?" Vadim continued.
Yuri had discussed this matter with Angelica, and it seemed that she had already discussed it with her father.
"Yes, there is such a preliminary idea," Yuri nodded.
"I heard that you have a close relationship with Comrade Khrushchev. It seems that this rumor is not false," Vadim said after a moment of silence. "If that is the case, it is good that you have this arrangement. However, my suggestion is that you try not to focus too much on Ukraine. If there is a job arrangement, try not to choose Ukraine."
Yuri was a little confused, and he glanced at Vadim in the rearview mirror again.
"As a person with great political ambitions, you should try not to let others' glory stain your path forward," Vadim said. "So, precisely because of your special relationship with Comrade Khrushchev, you cannot choose Ukraine, because no matter how well you do there, others will think of Comrade Khrushchev first."
Yuri suddenly realized that he had never thought about this question.
"If you are willing to follow my advice, I hope you can consider the Baltic coastal areas," Vadim continued, "such as Lithuania or Estonia. The situation in these places was very complicated before the war broke out. However, precisely because of the complexity of the situation, it is easier to achieve results. Such results are very important for your future."
Although Vadim's position is not very high, his knowledge is unmatched by a newcomer like Yuri. It has to be admitted that the advice he gave is very objective and very useful.
In his previous life, although Yuri did not know much about the situation in the Soviet Union, he knew that many big figures in Soviet politics in the 1950s and 1960s had experience working in the Baltic coastal areas - complex situations are the most challenging, and this will never change.
