War Photographer's Notebook

Chapter 11 Earnings

Chapter 11 Earnings
"Bang bang bang!"

The hasty knock on the door woke up Wei Ran, who was drowsy and asleep on the chair, and subconsciously picked up the submachine gun at hand.

It wasn't until he opened his eyes and saw the familiar studio that he struggled to stand up and staggered towards the locked rolling door.

"crash"

As the shutter door was opened, the impatient Professor Alexey immediately poked his head in, and even sniffed exaggeratedly.

"I knocked on the door for 5 minutes and didn't answer. I thought you were discussing the origin of life with the girls." Professor Alexey said with a disappointed face.

"Even the trash cans are public in our studio, where is the girl from?"

Wei Ran yawned, and woke up immediately after accidentally seeing the tattoo on the tiger's mouth, and quickly clenched his fists into his pocket, "Why are you here so late at night?"

"Didn't you call me?" Alexey said with a hellish expression, "Did you fall asleep?"

"Oh oh oh!"

Changing his hand and patting his forehead, Wei Ran pulled down the shutter door and walked towards the workbench, "Come and have a look!"

After taking the press card that Wei Ran handed over to him, Professor Alexis was already trembling with excitement, "It's him, it's Polevoy! Let me see those photo albums!"

"It's all in the box." Wei Ran pointed to the wooden box on the side.

"We got rich, this time we got rich!"

Professor Alexis was so excited that he was almost rolling on the ground, holding a wooden box full of photo albums like a fool, chanting the same sentence back and forth nervously.

"Professor Alexey, Professor Alexey."

Wei Ran shook the press card in his hand, "This card, as well as the clothes, shoes and briefcase of the war correspondent, were all found in the gift you gave me."

Professor Alexey, who was concentrating on looking at the negatives, said nonchalantly, "What does that matter, even if they are not in the same box, it can still prove that these negatives came from Polevoy!"

"No, no, I mean, these things belong to me."

Wei Ran suffocated a smile and said, compared to the tragic scenes experienced in the Battle of Stalingrad, being able to continue bickering with this delusional old man who drank all day is almost like God talking to Wei Ran. He is as happy as chatting.

"Forehead"

Professor Alexis, who was still having fun just a moment ago, froze immediately, and turned around dryly, "What's yours and mine, it's okay"

"It's mine"

Wei Ran pretended to be proud and shook the ID in his hand, "After all, it was you who gave me my graduation gift, are you embarrassed to ask me to return them to you? Well, needless to say, I knew you must be embarrassed, so It's mine, and I'm going to take it home and treasure it."

"You bastard can't do this!"

Professor Alexey yelled sadly, without that certificate, it would be a big project to prove that these negatives were made by Polevoy.

"So how are you going to compensate me for letting me work overtime, and you go to the next door to enjoy the benefits?" Wei Ran asked while playing with the press card in his hand.

"Why don't I give you another gift?" Professor Alexey said in a dignified manner, "A gift worth at least [-] rubles."

"Forget it, they are yours." Having joked enough, Wei Ran directly pushed the certificate against the table to Professor Alexei.

"You don't want it anymore?" Professor Alexis asked in surprise, he thought that this little bastard would have to make some demands anyway.

Wei Ran reached out and tapped the copy board, "Those things are yours, but these negatives are mine. Of course, I can help you develop a few."

"What film?"

Professor Alexey threw aside the press card he had just obtained, picked up the magnifying glass and moved over. When he saw the shots in the negatives, the old man trembled as if he had epilepsy and asthma. While panting heavily, "chihhhhhhh!"

"This is also... found it together?"

Wei Ran couldn't hold back the smile on Alexi's stammering question, "It was in that press card before, so now I choose one of the two, these negatives, or other than these few negatives Other than that, which one do you want?"

"Those negatives are yours! The investigation fee for that tank is also yours, but as you said, I need you to help me develop some photos."

Professor Alexei said without thinking, the investigation fee of that T-34 is far inferior to Polevoy's relic, no, it should be Polevoy's art work to be precise!

"No problem," Wei Ran said, and he was about to put the film negatives that he personally shot into the film holder for laser scanning.

"Wait, wait first."

Professor Alexey quickly stopped Wei Ran, "These great works of art cannot be printed in such a vulgar way by computer."

"What? Are you planning to develop it with photo paper?" Wei Ran looked towards the corner of the studio, "As for the trouble?"

"Of course, come with me."

Professor Alexey led Wei Ran into the rarely used darkroom with great interest, and as the red light was turned on, he also began to explain, "If these precious photos are printed with a computer, It can’t show the unique texture of film at all, so even if it is printed out, it can only be called data at best. Only when it is washed out with silver salt photo paper, will it have richer grayscale and full graininess. Correspondingly, They are also qualified to be called works of art."

"It's not troublesome," Wei Ran muttered.

"It's not troublesome, it's just that the current camera procedure is too simple."

Alexey pouted, opened an old iron box, and took out a box of vacuum-bag silver halide photo paper from a pile of desiccant.

"Can this thing work?" Wei Ran asked looking at the pattern on the packaging box with the characteristics of the times.

"They're not as old as you think"

While adjusting the various liquid chemicals used in photo development, Alexey proudly explained, "These are the photo papers I customized from Kazan Photosensitive Company last year. The technologies and materials they use are similar to those of the Soviet era and even World War II There is no difference in era. I dare say that Polevoy must have used the same Kazan paper when he was alive."

"So?" Wei Ran asked without knowing why, and at the same time let Alexei fix the negative on the film holder, and then clamped it on the enlarger that was also produced in the Soviet era.

"So they can be used for fakes," said Alexey, half-stopping abruptly, "anyway, these photographic papers are the most suitable."

Wei Ran didn't bother to ask any more questions, and stood quietly on the side, watching Professor Alexei's 10-inch square black-and-white large photos developed one by one.

When Professor Alexei hung those photos on the rope one by one, Wei Ran looked at the familiar people and background environment in the photos, and inexplicably remembered what Lieutenant Lev asked him to do—if he could start from He survived the war and went to see Mamayev for him.

"not bad"

Alexey turned on the light in the darkroom with great satisfaction, "Victor, I will leave the rest of the negatives to you. You don't need to do anything else in the next few days, just develop them all, and use this kind of film." Paper washing. Don't look at me, this kind of thing can't trouble you, last year I saw you specially developed photos for a beautiful female tourist from China."

"Shut up! That's because someone raised the money!" Wei Ran hurriedly explained with a pale face.

"The big fat guy also added more money last month, didn't you just print it out on the computer?" Alexei accepted it as soon as it was ready, and continued to look at the negative albums after leaving the darkroom.

"That's because I know how to do business." Wei Ran looked like a dead duck.

"I hope so. A pot of coffee, thanks."

Professor Alexei said without raising his head, all his attention was put on the photo albums, and from time to time, he wrote down names of people or places that Wei Ran had never heard of in his notebook.

Time passed by every minute and every second. When the big pot of coffee was full, Professor Alexey stood up suddenly, closed the negative photo album in his hand, and walked out. At the same time, he kept saying, " Develop all the other negative albums, now I'm going out, remember to help me find a suitable excuse."

"Where are you going?" Wei Ran, who was playing a game to divert his attention, raised his head and asked in astonishment. It's almost eleven o'clock in the evening. I'm afraid the old man is going to find a bar to dance?

"Of course we are looking for a way to sell those negatives at a high price."

Professor Alexey shook the photo album in his hand, and said as a matter of course, "Besides, as I said just now, the income from that T-34 and the income from the few negatives you left behind are all yours. However, if the buyer wants to buy the photos that have just been developed, without the negatives, my suggested price is [-] rubles each, and if he can’t afford it, he doesn’t have to sell it.”

"One hundred thousand rubles for a photo?" Wei Ran's eyes widened, "Do you think the client is a fool?"

"You can try calling for a higher price, trust me, the other party will not counter-offer."

Alexey had already opened the shutter door while he was speaking, and said while pressing the car key, "Okay, I will leave the matter here to you. If there is no accident, I will be back before noon tomorrow."

Seeing the professor who drove away and disappeared, Wei Ran held the rolling door above his head with both hands and started counting down again.

Sure enough, within half a minute, the other party reversed the car and said, "Where is Mr. Polevoy's press card? Give it to me quickly. Without it, those negatives will not be sold."

Turning around to get the press card, before Wei Ran had time to say anything, the money-obsessed professor had already stepped on the gas pedal, and disappeared again in a puff of smoke.

(End of this chapter)

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