get down,” he said, frightening the director even more. “Karatai Isaevich, do not pay attention to him!” the director was alarmed. “Hey, you haven’t been drinking, have you? How is your speech?” “Why, I already told you…” The horseman pulled out his flat nose deafeningly. “I said, the grader is barely alive, it can stand in the middle of the road, but that’s about it. So no, I haven’t, I was told to ‘lie down like a corpse if you must but be there.’ Here I am lying dead!” The frankness of the machine operator to the head of the district infuriated the director. If they were alone, he would have shown him what was happening, but Karatai was present here, and the director was silent, ready to burst with anger. “Okay, we’ll talk tomorrow,” the director was angry. “Since your coffin is broken, why sit in it, why didn’t you leave with your friend?” said Karatai, not hiding his sympathy for the horseman. “He went forward immediately; he has a stronger grader. I told him if I stop, that he shouldn’t delay, time is precious after all. On his way back, he will definitely pick me up.” The director of the state farm did not like that the first secretary was so attached to some tractor driver and was trying to find out something from him. It seemed to him that Karatai wanted to leave a good impression of himself with an ordinary hard worker. When the conversation seemed to be over and it was possible to go further, Karatai suddenly asked: “Hey, sir, you look like a real hero. What size are your shoes?” From such an unexpected question, both the direc- tor, and Turgat, and the grader driver, who had already settled down in the “heavens”, were taken aback. But the question had been asked and had to be answered. “How do I say it…” the man sniffed again. “My size is forty-three, but I wear that I can get my hands on…” Karatai, suspecting something, looked at him searchingly: “Show me your legs!” The grader was confused. “Why? Here…” He stuck his right leg out of the cockpit. “Come on and the other!” “According to Sharia, putting your left foot in front of a person is not allowed.” “Hmm, you say it’s not allowed according to Sharia?! I see how it is. Volodya!” Karatai shouted to
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