War Photographer's Notebook

In the sound of the rumbling guns, the children and Wei Ran in the basement also woke up one after another.

Not long after, Alyosha stepped on the broken bicycle and stepped on the pedals hard, driving the generator to start working, and also driving the radio to start broadcasting.

In the step-by-step busyness, the children first drank the broth, and then each was given a piece of chocolate.

Unlike in the past, Ke Na was the only one who left the small concrete house and the warm basement today.

With Wei Ran and the children watching, the girl alone dragged the airdrop box that Wei Ran brought back, was pushed by the cold wind, and walked to the job she was about to join. At the same time, Wei Ran who was holding the camera, Her too thin back was imprinted on the film.

Until the girl completely disappeared from sight, Wei Ran put away the camera and said, "Okay, kids, just pretend that I don't exist, Alexander, and you will be responsible for the work arrangements of the brothers and sisters."

"Sasha, you are in charge of taking care of Galina."

Alexander immediately took over the command, and continued to issue work arrangements in an orderly manner.

"Olga, you are in charge of taking care of Bogdan and Anastasia and the other youngest children."

"No problem." Sasha and Olga responded in unison.

"Andre"

Alexander waved at the previous Kid King, "Take your people to look after the stove, just like before, don't let it go out, and don't waste too much firewood."

"Leave it to us!" Andre, who was less than 10 years old, responded confidently.

"Alyosha, Ivan, let's go." Alexander said, and he and Alyosha each dragged a sledge out of the small concrete house.

"Where are you going?" Wei Ran who just pressed the shutter button again couldn't help asking.

"We've been looking for things in the ruins of the school's cafeteria for the past two days," Alyosha helped explain, "We still go there today."

"Do you need me to follow?" Wei Ran asked proactively.

"up to you"

Alexander raised his finger and pointed in the direction of the distance, "We won't go far, we're just doing activities in the cafeteria, you can go over there anytime you want to find us."

"In this case, I will not follow you."

Hearing this, Alexander's face was obviously a little happier. Obviously, his trust in Wei Ran was very useful.

Watching the three boys walk away together, Wei Ran also closed the door, signaling to the rest of the children to do whatever they want.

Although he knew that Wei Ran would not help them, these children, big and small, were extremely happy.

Under the watchful eyes of the camera raised by Wei Ran again and again, whether it is the youngest baby Galina or the burning stove, they are all taken care of in an orderly manner.

Even, under the command of the former child king Andre, these children brushed their teeth and washed their faces with hot water in groups of three and two, and even briefly cleaned the basement and the first floor.

The girl named Oujia, also with the help of her classmate Sasha, took out the horse spine that had been boiled for two or three days from the pot, and chopped it into small equal pieces with an axe. Each child was given a sucking snack, and the pot was refilled with a new horse spine and half a jug of water to simmer.

But this overly sensible and precocious self-care ability did not make Wei Ran, who was a bystander, rush to comfort, but only felt helpless distressed.

If it weren't for this war, these children who are far from adults should be taught in classrooms, they should have parents who love them, instead of needing to cooperate with their peers to carry a bucket of snow into the basement and tiptoe Put it on the stove, let alone take care of people younger than themselves, help with breastfeeding, help clean up urine stains, and even sing the lullaby they should have heard before going to bed like a qualified mother .

Carefully took a picture of each child, and Wei Ran, who changed the film again, came to the first floor alone, and began to carefully calculate the supplies they currently have.

Thanks to venturing out of the city and paying the price of Lydia's life, the firewood piled up in the corner saved them from worrying about fuel for at least five or six days.

And between the shelves, there are still sausages that Ke Na led the children to make yesterday.In the unlocked wooden box on the shelf, there were two whole pieces of black bread, two dried fish and half a small pike, plus a glass jar wrapped in kraft paper.

Open the glass jar, and there is a can of Salo meat in it. On the lid of this jar, there is a large piece of medical adhesive tape, which is written in dark blue Russian. We agreed to eat this bottle of canned meat together on the day the war ends."

This is the last bottle of water in the desert
Wei Ran muttered to himself, and wrapped the canned food in kraft paper again. He knew that this canned food could not be eaten easily. Once the canned food was eaten, those children, including Ke Na, might not last long.

Close the lid of the wooden box, and there is one and a half army horse spines on the shelf.These things are also the main source of ingredients for the broth they drink every day.

Then open the metal cabinet squeezed by the shelves in the corner. In addition to a large jar of honey and a pot of succulent jelly, there are also glass jars with a total of about 20 liters of fuel. Next to the metal cabinet, the copper water storage tank that Wei Ran picked up was also filled with more fuel.

In addition to these things, on another shelf next to it, there is a German Gem brand gasoline stove, which is the only stove they can use that fuel on the surface.

Glancing at the direction of the entrance to the basement, Wei Ran turned around and took out the food box, and cleaned up the chocolates inside. After these days of consumption, the remaining chocolate in the food box now, if it is still in accordance with the standard of one per person per day With the speed of rationing, it can only last for about ten days at most.

But what date is it today.
Wei Ran thought about it secretly, and silently took back the food box, then took out the oil barrel, water jug, wine jug and even the pannier for inspection.

There are only two or three liters of honey left in the oil barrel, and the honey in the kettle and flagon is almost full. The ingredients in the basket can cook two pots of rice at most in addition to steaming a large pot of rice. It's just oil tea that everyone drinks.

Sighing secretly, Wei Ran put away the props belonging to the metal book, and found the girl named Oujia, and asked her to help lock the door from the inside, while he himself braved the cold wind, in this gloomy In the bad weather, he walked towards the direction of the ruins of the school cafeteria.

From a long distance, he saw those little scavengers rummaging through the devastated canteen ruins.

Braving the cold wind, these three little guys work together to lift large and small concrete blocks or bricks that are stuck together, or use a brush from nowhere to sweep off the snow, and use a small hammer and iron to remove the snow. The drill patiently smashed open the broken wall on the ground, and then tried to find something from inside.

From time to time, the three of them cheered because they found a wooden chair, or let out a scream because they dug up a buried body.But these three little guys, who were no more than junior high school students at most, did not give up. The sledge they dragged was also increasing their harvest little by little.

Without disturbing the three little guys, Wei Ran wandered through the ruins and successfully found the area where the kitchen was located.

It's a pity that this place has obviously been rummaged more than once. When he pushed away the snow with his feet again and again, except for some smashed pots and pans, he didn't find anything of value.

Without wasting any more time here, Wei Ran secretly took a photo of the three little guys, and told them to be careful, before turning around and walking towards the ruins of the building outside the school.

As expected, apart from the corpses that can be seen almost everywhere, there is also nothing decent found nearby. The only thing he can bring back are two cylindrical aluminum milk cans.

Returning to the concrete house with this little harvest, he heard the chorus from the basement and the bayan performance that was almost strummed.

When did I, a music idiot, have the right to say that others play the piano indiscriminately?
Wei Ran muttered something to himself, but he didn't go in. Instead, he sat on the icy steps outside the door, listening to the singing from the window at his feet, looking at the three little scavengers in the distance, and was always vigilant The battlefield a thousand meters above the head.

It was a rare day not to go out to collect supplies. Wei Ran fulfilled his wish to witness the children's reassuring and distressing self-care ability, and somewhat relaxed his tense nerves.

Of course, both Wei Ran and the children were actually worried about Ke Na who insisted on going out to work alone, worried about what accidents would happen to her, and looked forward to her coming back soon.

As the evening approached, the three of Alexander proudly returned to the concrete house with half a cart of wood that could be used for burning.Almost on foot, Ke Na also dragged the airdrop box and walked over from a distance.

In the welcome of the children, the girl walked to the door of the concrete house out of breath, and rested for a while while leaning on the cold wall, before pointing to the airdrop box behind her.

Seeing this, Alexander who reacted the fastest opened the box first.Then, everyone saw a large piece and a small piece of black bread in the box. Besides, there was an onion the size of a fist inside.

"Material supply restored?" Wei Ran asked in surprise.

"no"

Ke Na shook her head, "It's probably the stock that was delivered yesterday. How are the brothers and sisters doing today?"

"Very good." Wei Ran said truthfully, "I can't find any faults. I think I can go out tomorrow with confidence."

As soon as he said this, the children headed by Alexander immediately cheered.

"Okay, let's go eat."

Cora embraced Olga with one arm, and Sasha with the other, and said as she walked in, "I've been hungry all day, have you prepared dinner yet?"

"Of course it's ready," Sasha responded immediately, "I'm just waiting for you and the bread."

Complacently looking back at Wei Ran who had already raised the camera, Ke Na showed a tired smile, and walked into the warm basement surrounded by the children.

Maybe in that time and space without me, you supported each other and persevered like this
Wei Ran, who had already put down the camera, muttered to himself, and followed the children into the basement filled with the aroma of broth.