War Photographer's Notebook

Chapter 1010 A Letter to Shota's Family

"Did Mr. Wei see anything interesting?"

The interpreter sitting in the co-pilot's seat, Wan Qiu, turned her head and asked with a smile, "Do you need to get out of the car for a stroll?"

"No need." Wei Ran waved his hand, "Go on, let's go to eat first."

Hearing this, Wan Qiu winked at the driver, who also increased the speed slightly.

In just over ten minutes, the car parked in the parking lot in front of a small Japanese restaurant.

Before opening the car door, Wei Ran took a look at the signboard of this small shop. Thanks to the Japanese he learned when he landed on Helen Reef for the first time, he could recognize it without any obstacles. The wooden signboard used The name "Shota Izakaya" is written in Japanese, and under the signboard, there is a small sign with a notice in English and Japanese that "this store only provides Japanese services".

"Are there many Japanese grocery stores like this in Palau?" Wei Ran asked Wan Qiu who had unbuckled his seat belt and was about to get off the car.

“Comparatively speaking, it is quite a lot”

Late Autumn paused, opened the car door and said, "But this is normal. At least a quarter of the people in Palau have more or less recruit-nuclei blood. There are even special constructions on some islands that only accept recruit-nuclei blood." A resort for tourists."

"Only recruiting tourists?" Wei Ran raised his eyebrows.

“It is true that only recruiting tourists are accepted”

Late Autumn helped Wei Ran open the car door, and explained without any surprises, "The resorts themselves are built and operated by recruiters, and even most of the tourism practitioners in Palau are recruiters.

And I don't know why, they are tougher here than in their homeland, not to mention that tourists from China or Southeast Asia are not allowed inside, even their American fathers will be blocked when they come. "

"interesting"

Wei Ran muttered noncommittally, and stepped out of the car.

"Monuments have been built in many places in this country, and many nuclear recruiting soldiers who colonized and invaded here are commemorated as heroes."

Wanqiu said here and pointed to the izakaya next to it, "And like this kind of shop, there are usually shrines enshrined inside, the difference is that some are openly enshrined, and some are enshrined inside. But the people enshrined in those shrines are basically They were the nuclear recruits who invaded and colonized here."

"Let's go, go in and see if it's as you said." Wei Ran said, walking towards the door of the izakaya with great interest.

Despite the small appearance of this izakaya, there are quite a few rules inside. Not only do you need to take off your shoes when you enter the door, but the young waiter who came to greet the guests with a bow also took out two pairs of white cotton socks from the cabinet next to them and handed them to each other. Went to Wei Ran and Wan Qiu, and helped them put their shoes in the shoe cabinet.

Although I don't know who made this stinky rule, since the metal book gave the address here, Wei Ran naturally doesn't mind going in to see what he can find.

Wearing an extra pair of socks, the two who had washed their hands walked through the few tatami tables to the devil-style music, and found a seat next to the window and sat down.

Fortunately, there is a space less than one meter square in the middle of the tatami, which can be used to put his feet, otherwise he is really not used to it.

"Come and order." Wei Ran said to Wan Qiu who was sitting opposite, "Just order what you like."

"Do you have any taboos?" Wan Qiu asked while picking up the menu.

"Forget it if you don't eat sea food, you just need to order cooked food for me, and a glass of cold beer is enough." Wei Ran responded while observing the surrounding environment habitually.

This small shop is not too big, there are not a few tables in total, and I don’t know if it’s not time for dinner. At this time, except for a middle-aged woman who is sitting closest to the small stage, drinking alone, and Wei There were no other diners outside Ran's table.

But even so, on the small wooden stage, which is not too big, there is still a woman dressed as a geisha with a paper fan in her hand, dancing to the music as seriously as a god. Unknown dance performance.

And on one side of the stage is a Japanese-style shrine with incense sticks.

Although the distance is a bit far, he can still see that there are many photo frames on the wall to the left of the shrine.

Below these photo frames, there is a dark black long table and matching high stools. There seem to be several thick notebooks on the table, as well as pens and even seals fixed on the table with threads.

"Ask the waiter, can I have a tour of the store?"

Wei Ran waved his hand to Wan Qiu who was sitting across from him, motioning for her to come over, and then asked in Chinese in a low voice close to his ear.

Hearing this, the girl immediately asked the waiter next to her in Japanese, and after getting an affirmative answer, she nodded towards Wei Ran.

Seeing this, he just stood up, walked around to the other side of the small stage, and looked closely at the photo frames hanging on the wall.

On the top of the photo on this wall, "Letter to Shota's Family" is written in Japanese.But with just one glance, he recognized that the people in that photo were exactly Akila who died on Helen Island and his Wendigo nephew Jiro.

In these black-and-white photos, the nephew and uncle are mostly wearing one-piece flight suits, and the background behind them is either on a warship or in an airplane, and there are even some battlefields that were clearly photographed from the cabin.

Under each photo, some titles such as "Battle in XX" and the time of shooting are written in Japanese.

Even, next to each photo, there are some Japanese letters and envelopes also kept in the photo frame.

Some of these letters are written by Akira to his son Shota, and some are written by Jiro to his parents.As for the contents of the letter, apart from the longing for the family, there are also some speculations about the situation of the war, and even the various dangers and so-called "military exploits" that the two of them encountered on the battlefield.

Even, Wei Ran saw large areas of land and houses or cities on the land with thick smoke in these photos.Below these photos, it is marked in Japanese - the battle in China.

Secretly clenched his fists, Wei Ran suppressed his emotions, and patiently looked at the bottom photo and the letter next to it.

Directly below this photo of Akira and Jiro wearing the "Must Victory" headband, in red Japanese is written the title "The last pen before the jade is broken". Smoke pot.

And in the letter next to it, there are the last words of the uncle and nephew describing how they are about to fly a kamikaze fighter against the US fleet, and asking their family members not to be sad.

On both sides of this photo and the letter, words of remembrance such as "This is my father Akira Kano and my cousin Jiro Kano" are written in small white Japanese characters on the wall, as well as affirmation of their heroic battles .

"Hmph! It's quite heroic."

Wei Ran sneered, and looked down at the long table against the wall.

There are several stacks of postcards in acrylic boxes on it. The content of the postcards is basically the old photos on the wall, some tropical island scenery or underwater coral reefs, and even some shots that seem to be war sites.

In addition to postcards, there are several thick guestbooks on the table, as well as a seal, several pens, and a large piggy bank in the shape of a beckoning cat.

Next to the piggy bank, there is also a wooden signboard, which says "Postcards are one dollar each" in Japanese.

Picking up the seal and looking at it, it was engraved with the Japanese sentence on the wall, "Letter to Shouta", and in the middle of the circle of words, there is a silhouette of a nine-nine bomber.

Put down the seal and open a message book at will, most of which are handwritten in Japanese, praise, gratitude, and even regret for Akira and Jiro.

But at the same time, Wei Ran also inadvertently saw a line of extraordinarily thick and big red Chinese characters on one of the pages - let your horse mother donkey father's dog stinky fart!You little devils still suffer from your beautiful father's atomic bomb!
"puff"

Wei Ran couldn't help laughing out loud, just in time the girl next to her with a paper fan covered in flour also finished the last dance to the sizzling Japanese music.

"My guest, is there something wrong with my performance?" The woman dressed as a geisha asked Wei Ran nervously in Japanese after she stepped off the stage.

Glancing at the plaques of "Kano Akira" and "Kano Jiro" and "Kano Shota" and "Kano Ichiro" in the niche, Wei Ran, who pretended not to understand Japanese, put down the thick message book in his hand, but only responded with a polite smile , and returned to the seat where he and Wan Qiu were seated under the gaze of the other party who didn't know why.

"Have you ordered the food?" Wei Ran asked happily.

"I've ordered. According to your request, it's all cooked food." Wan Qiu replied with a smile, "You seem to be in a good mood?"

"It's really good, I saw something very good for dinner." Wei Ran replied with a smile on his face, and at the same time couldn't help but glance at the photo next to the shrine again.

He wants to see, when the little rich woman Kou Kou finds out the results of her investigation, as well as the diaries and corpses of Captain Hawks and Captain Evans, and makes them public, the "family honor wall" How big a loincloth does it take to cover the glory and military exploits of the army.

Seeing that the smile on Wei Ran's face became brighter and brighter, Wan Qiu, the translator and tour guide sitting opposite, couldn't help looking at the shrine and wall of honor that Wei Ran had just been to, secretly thinking about the next time he had the opportunity to come by himself , also go to see what interesting things there are.

The two of them didn't have to wait long before the waiter brought two glasses of cold beer and some Japanese dishes.

After clinking glasses with the beautiful translator sitting opposite, Wei Ran took a sip of beer, picked up a piece of crispy tempura and threw it into his mouth.

Before he finished his first bite of food, a young girl in kimono who looked about 20 years old brought a plate of sushi and a small plate of Nagasaki cakes and walked over slowly and put them on the table. He got up at the table and said in Japanese, "My guest, this is my care. The performance just now made you laugh."

"Were you performing just now?"

After receiving Wei Ran's signal, Wan Qiu asked in Japanese, waited for the other party to nod, and immediately praised politely, "Your performance is very good, of course, thank you for your gift, we like it very much."

"It was actually my first performance on stage just now, and I didn't expect diners to come to the door at this time."

This beautiful girl who looked a bit like a mixed race explained as if she just remembered after she finished speaking, "I forgot to introduce myself, I am the daughter of the owner of this store, and my name is Kano Chika".

The owner's daughter?
Wei Ran, who nominally doesn't understand Japanese, was moved in his heart, but he didn't say anything. He just patiently listened to Wan Qiu's translation and said with a smile, "I didn't laugh at your performance just now. Besides, can you tell us about this performance?" The history of the store? The photos look like they're from World War II."

After Wan Qiu finished translating, the girl who claimed to be Kano Qianxia nodded immediately, knelt down at the table, and explained sentence by sentence under Wan Qiu's translation, "This izakaya was my grandfather's after World War II, and his Cousin Kano Ichiro and Mr. Ichiro's mother jointly bought and operated the place.

According to my father, there used to be a very famous izakaya here before the end of World War II, and it has a history of nearly 100 years.

As for those photos, they were actually sent back from the battlefield by my great-grandfather, Mr. Kano Akira, and my grandfather’s other cousin, Mr. Kano Jiro.It's a pity that they all died in battle, and even their bones have not been found so far. "

"Are your grandfather Mr. Shota and his cousin Mr. Ichiro still alive?" Wei Ran asked a question that was not considered polite.

Wan Qiu secretly shook her head. When translating, she took the initiative to add some condiments so as not to make this question seem obtrusive.

"They passed away one after another more than ten years ago. Now the izakaya is run by the respective sons of Mr. Shota and Mr. Ichiro, that is, my father and my uncle."

As she said that, the girl quietly pointed to the inside of the bar, and the man who seemed to be in his 30s whispered, "That's my cousin, my uncle is his father, and he will also retire after our respective fathers." After that, inherit this izakaya."

After finishing speaking, Kano Qianxia pointed to the young man who was at most only an adult at the door and introduced in a low voice, "That's my younger brother, he will take over the family with my cousin in the future. Izakaya."

"What about you?" Wan Qiu asked subconsciously.

"Of course building your own home"

Kano Qianxia also gave an answer subconsciously, and then blushed, and said in a little panic, "Well, I will return to the life of recruiting nuclear weapons in the future."

"So are your family Japanese or Palauan?" Wei Ran asked after Wan Qiu finished translating.

"Palauan"

Kano Chika paused, as if to prove something, and as if to distinguish something, he added, "But I am studying at Nagasaki University now. According to my grandfather, our hometown is Nagasaki. Sadly, that atomic bomb destroyed all memories."

"It's really a pity, this stupid beauty is a little bit pissed off, how can two be enough?"

After listening to Wan Qiu's translation, Wei Ran blatantly muttered a sentence in Chinese, but he didn't care whether the other party could understand him at all, and he didn't care how hard his beautiful translator worked to hold back his smile.

Seeing the girl named Qian Xia looking at her, Wan Qiu secretly clenched her small fists and tried to hold back her smile, and interpreted impromptuly, "Mr. Wei said that war is really too cruel, and he praised your dance just now. Looks very pleasing to the eye, asking if you're a dance student."

"I'm actually a first-year student in the Department of Multicultural Sociology. The performance just now was just for the practice of welcoming new students after returning to school. The small stage is usually used by my father and my uncle to perform comic performances for guests."

Kano Qianxia hurriedly explained that she was obviously not confident in her performance, but she was looking forward to other people's approval and suggestions.And this is probably why she took the initiative to send sushi and cakes.

"What is mancai acting?"

Wei Ran asked curiously after Wan Qiu finished translating.

"It's a kind of stage comedy similar to our Huaxia counterpart cross talk," Wan Qiu explained.

"Comedy"

Wei Ran smacked his lips, and began to look forward more and more in his heart, when the truth surfaced, how lively this family-style izakaya would be, and whether there would be comedy performances on that stage.

"Will Mr. Wei come to see tonight?"

Wan Qiu took the initiative to send out an invitation, "Koror is not too big, our hotel is very close to here, and the security in Palau is pretty good, even if you go out at night, you won't encounter any danger."

"Not necessary for now"

Wei Ran waved his hand, "Let's take a rest today, I have to overcome the jet lag."

As a translator and guide, Wan Qiu naturally had no objections, and the girl named Kano Qianxia did not leave, but instead brought a glass of cold beer and a few side dishes to accompany their only table of guests She had a drink, and tried to hear some suggestions from the two of them about the dance she had just done.

And Wei Ran also learned some seemingly insignificant trifles from this girl's mouth through Wan Qiu's translation.

For example, the mother of this mixed-race girl is actually French, but she chose to divorce shortly after giving birth and left here and her.

As for her father, shortly after the divorce, he married another woman who also had the blood of Zhaohe, and gave birth to her a younger brother—that is, the little Baga that greeted guests at the door just now.

For another example, no matter whether she is her father, stepmother or half-brother, or her uncle's family, she has always wanted to immigrate back to Zhaohe, but has been unsuccessful for various reasons.

For another example, although this girl was clearly told by her father that women are not qualified to inherit the store, she is also the only child among the two generations of their family who went to recruit local students to study.

And this also made her cousin and half-brother feel a little undisguisedly jealous of her.Of course, the last point was seen by Wei Ran, who nominally does not understand Japanese.

After all, which elder brother or younger brother would mock their younger sister or elder sister in front of guests, saying that she must be trying to strike up a conversation with a rich diner to marry him off—even if that guest didn't seem to listen at all? Can understand Japanese.

But thinking about the family tradition of these young people's grandparents, He Taiji, this small conflict between young people seems not worth mentioning at all.

After eating and drinking enough, and intentionally giving this optimistic and cheerful girl a hundred dollars as a chat tip, Wei Ran, who pretended to be drunk, greeted Wanqiu and left the izakaya that was gradually becoming lively.

"Shouldn't we take a look at the mancai performance of the two owners of this izakaya?" Wan Qiu asked while she was putting on her shoes, "Qian Xia said that the performance will start in half an hour at most."

"Forget it, I can't understand Japanese, I might as well go back and listen to cross talk when I have that time."

As Wei Ran said, he took off the socks he wore when he came in and threw them into the trash can, put on his shoes, and was the first to walk out of the gate under the enthusiastic bow of the girl who was very happy because of the huge tip.

Before getting into the car that had been waiting outside, Wan Qiu tentatively asked before helping Wei Ran close the door, "Mr. Wei, do you need me to ask Qian Xia to go to the beach at night? I guess she won't refuse." of."

"Forget it." Wei Ran waved his hands indifferently, "I'm not that beast of the second generation."

"Fortunately, you are not Mr. II." Wan Qiu teased a little, and then helped to close the car door.

After sitting in the car for less than 10 minutes, the car stopped at the entrance of a very beautiful hotel.

Under Wan Qiu's leadership, Wei Ran didn't even have to go through registration procedures, so he lived in a spacious apartment.

"Mr. Wei, where do you plan to go shopping tomorrow?"

Wan Qiu asked after helping Wei Ran carry his luggage into the room, "Or do you need me to give you some recommendations?"

"Let's go to Peleliu first, I'm here for the site of the Battle of Peleliu."

Wei Ran thought for a while, and continued, "In addition, I also want to go diving. To be honest, I am a diving enthusiast, and I especially like beautiful coral reefs, so if you can arrange a few diving spots outside the regular tourist attractions It's the best."

"There is no problem with these." Wan Qiu paused, "Do you have any other requests?"

"Try not to provide me with seafood and raw food these days. I am allergic to seafood and my stomach is not very good."

Wei Ran said apologetically, "Also, I need to overcome the jet lag, so I won't have breakfast tomorrow, and I won't go out for activities."

"I remember them all"

While putting away his mobile phone in late autumn, he made a promise, "Before lunch tomorrow, I will sort out a list of diving destinations that few people go to. You can choose the sea area you are interested in yourself. In addition, we will go to Peleliu early in the morning the day after tomorrow. Island visit, do you think it's okay?"

"Yes." Wei Ran paused and said, "Prepare another set of diving equipment for me, that's all."

"Okay Mr. Wei, then I won't disturb your rest." After Wan Qiu finished speaking, she helped Wei Ran close the door from the outside.

After waiting for a while, Wei Ran immediately inspected the room with floor-to-ceiling windows and a view of the sea carefully.

He didn't open the suitcase until he confirmed that everything was normal, changed into a set of clothes, and then took out the cosmetic bag and wig. After dressing up in disguise, he waited patiently until around eight o'clock in the evening, then quietly left the hotel and returned to the hotel. The "Xiangtai Izakaya" secretly took a few photos of the two middle-aged men who were performing on the stage.

(End of this chapter)