War Photographer's Notebook

At around [-]:[-] p.m., Xiao Su's mother and a few wealthy wives of the same age as her walked out of Taihua Building talking and laughing, chatted at the door and watched those mid-mature rich wives They each got into the car, and then walked towards Wei Ran twisting and twisting, allowing the latter to help her open the car door and protect the door frame with his hands, and sat in the back compartment like a proud old hen.

It wasn't until Wei Ran started the car that Xiao Su's mother lit a cigarette and asked slowly, "Is someone looking for you?"

"I found it." Wei Ran replied with a playful smile, "Thank my aunt for her love, and cheated three hundred oceans from that silly boy."

"How much?! Three hundred?!" Xiao Su's mother's tune was several octaves higher, and the cigarette she just lit almost fell on her cheongsam.

"three hundred"

Wei Ran smiled and replied, "One hundred belongs to your aunt, the other one hundred belongs to my cousin, and the last one hundred belongs to me. What do you think about the distribution?"

Xiao Su's mother looked at Wei Ran in surprise, and asked suspiciously, "Are you willing to give up so much?"

"If Aunt Su doesn't help cover this matter, I can't even get a piece of ocean."

Wei Ran explained with a smile, "Besides, this is 'betraying' my cousin after all, and I haven't discussed it with her, so I must have her share. Otherwise, if my cousin doesn't want to let me go, I still can't get a piece of the ocean, can I?"

"Hey! My good nephew! You are much more sensible than that loser!" The smile on Xiao Su's face and the praise in her mouth came out together.

"However, the hundred oceans cannot be given to you immediately."

After Wei Ran finished speaking, Xiao Su's mother, who was still smiling just now, immediately turned gloomy, but before she could speak, Wei Ran explained, "I got three hundred oceans on my front foot, and you can get more in your pocket when you go back." It cost 100 yuan. As for [-] yuan, even if you don’t check the bag, you can guess the weight by weighing it.”

Speaking of this, Wei Ran paused, "Think about it, if that big injustice finds out that you are also involved."

Before Wei Ran finished speaking, Xiao Su's mother nodded approvingly.

"Aunt Su has a hundred hearts"

Wei Ran patted the leather bag on the co-pilot, "When I send you back, after I get back to the book apartment, let Jasmine send all the three hundred oceans upstairs to my cousin's room, and when she comes back, ask her to share the bill with us." , what do you think?"

"Okay! That's great! Let's do it!"

Xiao Su's mother smiled again, and then pretended to be casual and asked, "What question did you exchange for these three hundred oceans?"

"The idiot asked where my cousin was going, maybe she ran away secretly because she thought there was going to be a war."

Wei Ran lit a cigarette distractedly while driving, and replied with a smile, "I said that my lady and my friends went to see a theater in Peking, and I also said that our lady can speak Japanese, so there is no need to run because it's not for someone else's business."

"That's it?" Xiao Su's mother looked at Wei Ran in astonishment, "That's the three hundred oceans?"

"Didn't I also expect that the big injustice would give money so happily?"

Wei Ran said with an innocent face, "He said that he might have to ask me about things in the future. I set the transaction location at the door of the small building where you live, so that you won't have to deal with him when he comes to me someday. Can't see."

"I have a pot of Xifu crabapple on the balcony on the second floor"

Xiao Su's mother smiled and said, "I don't know what I will ask you, but at least I know that I will ask you one day, and then I will move the potted flower to the sun."

"Just open the window to let the air in. How tiring it is to move potted plants around."

Wei Ran suggested without waiting for the other party to finish speaking, "The windows of the house facing the street face south, and when ventilation is done, draw the curtains so that the room won't be too hot."

"My nephew is still careful." Xiao Su's mother nodded in satisfaction.

"Aunt Su loves her nephew, and my nephew must think of Aunt Su." Wei Ran responded with a smile.

"This is in the car. When you get out of the car, don't expect me to treat you well." Xiao Su's mother reminded her in a cloudy voice.

"So you don't want to see Uncle Dumb and Jasmine doing the same?"

"They?! Hmph!"

Xiao Su's mother snorted, and said with a look of disgust, "Don't mention those elm bumps, I will get angry just thinking about it, tell me about your cousin who lost money, all the things she picked up in the past few years are missing arms and legs The rammed goods?

That dumb Cao is not as good at talking as that parrot raised by your cousin.

And Molly, oh my god!What kind of girl haven't I seen in so many years?The [-] cents casual bacon shop is not so ugly.

Tell me, what does she look like?That big face looks like a mahjong tile, and it's called a square. Thanks to the messy braids, otherwise it's even more of a man than a man. "

Perhaps because she knew Wei Ran's origin, this time Xiao Su's mother stopped talking after scolding Dumb Cao and Jasmine, and did not mention Wei Ran's real aunt Yang in name.

Even so, when the counting was over, the sharp-tongued little Su's mother still didn't forget to catch up with a cruel sentence, "If it weren't for the fact that those two bastards are still loyal and won't deceive my money-losing daughter, I would have found someone to take care of her." They have sunk the river."

"Aunt Su, can I ask you about someone?" Wei Ran asked with a smile and changed the subject.

"Who are you asking?" Xiao Su's mother, who was still cursing just now, asked a little vigilantly.

"What's the origin of that Miss Andy?" Wei Ran asked.

"Hi! Her!"

Xiao Su's mother breathed a sigh of relief, and said nonchalantly, "She is a nurse in a German clinic, and she and your cousin used to be classmates in the church school.

During the war in the 15th year of the Republic of China, her family was down and out, and this Miss Tang survived when she met a German comprador. "

"I thought she was"

"What do you think is wrong with her?"

Little Su's mother snorted, "Good nephew, don't blame me, my aunt, for not reminding you. If you don't want to die, you can stay away from her, let alone you, even the red-haired devils in the German Concession are not willing to provoke her .”

"How do you say that?" Wei Ran became more and more curious.

"There are rumors that the German she is sitting next to is the nephew of Mr. Dickson, the German ambassador to the devil, and he seems to have given birth to a little bastard with a white face and blue eyes."

Xiao Su's mother paused and continued, "Someone else said that the German guy she was next to was that Fa...Fa... Falkhausen? It seems to be the name, anyway, it is a high-ranking official sent by Germany. My son's secretary, do you know who that Falkhausen is?"

"Yes, his name is Falkenhausen, not Falkenhausen."

Wei Ran corrected with a smile, he is a history major, but he knows who that Falkenhausen is too well.

"Don't care what he does"

Xiaosu's mother waved her hand, "Anyway, no one dares to verify whether it's true or not. Although her good friend seems to have returned to Germany, she entrusted Andy, a little girl, to his German friend who runs a hospital." take care of."

Speaking of this, Xiao Su's mother's tone also carried some sarcasm, she snuffed out the cigarette butt and threw it out of the window, gossiping while knocking on a pack of roasted seeds and nuts handed over by Wei Ran, "You are so good, Don't look at that little girl's flirtatious coquettish fox, who can't control her waistband.

Actually, hum!She has no guts to sleep with any man, and no man has the guts to get into her bed. "

"It was so"

Wei Ran smacked his lips. Although he didn't quite believe that Andy could have something to do with that Falkenhausen or the German ambassador to Japan behind his back, but since the rumors are so pertinent, and under such rumors, no one has yet Having troubled that Miss Andy, that seems to be enough to say something.

At this point in the topic, Wei Ran also drove the car unhurriedly to the entrance of the Great Smokehouse on the edge of the Japanese Concession.

"These days I go out with a gun"

After finishing speaking, Xiao Su's mother, like a crazy woman, threw the roasted seeds and nuts in her hand into the carriage, and without waiting for Wei Ran's response, she opened the car door and got out, with a bang After hitting the car door, he yelled cursingly and loudly, "How dare you talk back to my mother, you stinking softie?! I will tell you from my grandma today! This car was bought by my mother for that loser. !When is it your turn to make irresponsible remarks? What if it gets dirty? You have to clean it up if it gets dirty!"

Amid Xiao Su's mother's shrew-like scolding, Wei Ran stepped on the gas pedal and walked away with a look of unhappiness. It was not until he turned a corner at the intersection that a hint of helplessness appeared on his face. smile.

Whether it's the little Su's mother who doesn't know where she is in Cao Ying's heart, or the cousin Meixiang who doesn't know where she's gone, or that Andy who looks like a goblin, they are all prostitutes who can't leave a word in the history books. , It is too difficult to survive in this dark age of cannibalism.

It's just that he didn't know that when he drove back the car with a bag of roasted seeds and nuts, in the basement where all the windows were blocked and the door was locked. Another scene.

On the wooden stage in the center of the basement, Meixiang and Andy, who were wearing silk pajamas and had towels wrapped around their heads, who obviously had a bath and haircut not long ago, and the little girl Qiushi who "went to Peking to see a play" together, were Watching a radio, listening to the radio while eating cold watermelon.

From time to time, one of the three girls would throw a few cards onto the small table they were sitting around.

"Looks like this battle is about to start soon"

Andy, with two white papers on his face, said worriedly, at this time, not only did she not have any romantic atmosphere on her body, on the contrary, there was a trace of chivalry like a woman who refused to let her eyebrows.

"Don't be silly"

Meixiang threw out two cards and complained softly, "We helped Teacher Feng and Xiaoguan prepare medicines and buy weapons, and we have done everything we can.

And you didn't hear what Jasmine said just now?That Mr. Ueda has already bought my eldest nephew, one piece of ocean and one problem.

It’s grandma’s, so my nephew earns more than me. I chatted with those stinky men for an hour, and it’s only 60 yuan for making coffee and playing the piano.

He is lucky, one question is worth a piece of ocean, that wicked devil can just ask me directly, how can my cheap nephew know my affairs? "

"It's really not low"

Andy waited for Qiushi to play the cards, then threw out two cards and mocked with a smile, "Your nephew is an honest man who can see through at a glance, the question is what is your cousin's background? I heard Jasmine said Meaning, it seems like he came up with this bad move?"

"It's as if you didn't give Jasmine any tricks."

Mei Xiang rolled her eyes at the former, and replied casually, "I don't know what his background is, but at present, let's put aside whether he is trustworthy or not, then Wei Ran must have been in a group of women eight hundred times at least. love veteran.

Tang Luoying, don't blame me for not reminding you, a man like Wei Ran is not as loyal as a wild dog picked up by the side of the road, don't take advantage of my delicate cousin. "

"What time is this?"

Andy rolled his eyes, took a deep breath and said, "Let's get down to business, no matter what, if there is a real fight, I will definitely not be able to hide here with you, I have to go to Teacher Feng and Xiaoguan and the others help."

"I knew I couldn't stop you"

Mei Xiang sighed, and when she was about to say something, an unremarkable dim yellow light began to flicker among the fluorescent tubes above her head.

Just looking at it, Meixiang put down the poker cards, turned off the radio and picked it up, then picked up the food box containing the watermelon, walked towards the big mirror and said, "Let's go, my cheap cousin Come back, let's go hide."

"You really can't trust him"

Andy muttered, collected the cards on the table and in Qiu Shi's hand, shuffled them in a fancy way and put them into his pajamas pocket, then jumped off the stage with one hand on the small kang table, and put it behind the wall Only then did she quickly catch up with Mei Xiang.

When the two of them came to the big mirror, Qiushi had already run to the corner of the handrail of the stairs, put his hand into the small gap behind the big mirror and turned a latch, then got up and hugged the mirror that blocked the mirror. Pull hard at the corner of the handrail of the stairs, making it turn 180 degrees.

Almost front and rear, Meixiang also reached into the gap at the other end of the big mirror, grabbed a rope and pulled it hard, pulled out a wooden wedge nailed with rubber, and then pushed it with one hand so that it was no longer blocked by the stair railing. The mirror slowly slid to the other side, revealing a not-so-big wooden door.

Familiar with the way, she pushed open the door and climbed down the ladder. Meixiang put down the radio in her hand, and then raised her head to take the food box from Andy.

When Andy also stepped down the ladder, Qiu Shi immediately ran over, hid in the small wooden door, pushed the big mirror with pulleys hidden at the bottom to slowly return to its original position, and then used the wooden wedge nailed with rubber to firmly stuck in the hole in the pulley track.

Before closing the wooden door, Qiushi forcefully pulled a metal pressure rod fixed on the wall. Driven by the connecting rod hidden inside the handrail, the corner of the handrail of the stairs also "clicked!" Frame for large mirror.

Almost at the same time that Qiushi closed the wooden door and began to climb down, Jasmine also walked into the basement, took out a not-so-clean rag from her pocket with her normal expression, and wiped the movable handrail of the stairs. position, then wiped the small kang table used for playing cards, then casually took a chilled watermelon from a wooden refrigerator, turned around and left the basement, and turned off the small dim yellow lamp and the glaring light tube, Finally, the door of the storage room was locked with a "click".

Almost as soon as she walked into the kitchen on the first floor with the cold watermelon in her arms, Wei Ran also backed the car into the garage, and then took the initiative to pick up the hanging watermelon while accompanying the babbling, dissatisfied Dumb Cao with a smiling face. The small broom on the wall began to clean up the roasted seeds and nuts scattered everywhere in the carriage.

After he finished cleaning up with great difficulty, and Cao Dumb, who was in charge of the acceptance inspection, was barely satisfied, Wei Ran was allowed to leave the garage with the heavy leather bag.

Glancing at Dumb Cao who was carefully inspecting the car with a flashlight, Wei Ran stretched out his hand and pushed open the small door leading to the first floor. After entering, before Jasmine greeted him to eat watermelon, he gave him a wink, and then got into his own s room.

After a while, Jasmine walked in with a watermelon in one hand, and asked gloatingly, "What's the matter? What's wrong with Xiao Su's mother?"

"It's really difficult for me"

Wei Ran took a bite of the iced watermelon handed over by the other party, and handed the purse to the other party while chewing.

"So much? Where did it come from?! Xiao Su's mother gave it? Shouldn't it be?"

When Jasmine opened the purse and saw the silver dollars inside, she immediately raised a series of questions.

Opened his mouth and took another bite of the watermelon, Wei Ran spit out the watermelon seeds in his mouth, and motioned for the other party to come over, and explained everything that happened in front of the theater gate, including the way the three hundred oceans were handled, without any hesitation He told the other party in a low voice without any concealment.

"You really know how to deceive people!" Jasmine couldn't help exclaiming after hearing this.

"Why are you talking so badly?"

Wei Ran ordered in a low voice angrily, "Anyway, this is the situation. From tonight onwards, we both have to confess to Canhua every day. There must be no mistakes. Besides, if the young lady comes back someday, you can You have to put in a good word for me. I’m going to cut it first and play it later, but it’s really impossible not to do it, and it’s worth three hundred oceans.”

"Don't worry, Miss will definitely not blame you."

Jasmine grabbed a handful of silver dollars and looked at them, then let them crackle and fall into the purse, and then said, "Go out and eat watermelon, I'll put the money upstairs in the lady's room first, When Canhua comes back, I will give a statement to the couple."

"he is not at home?"

"Going out with Mama Yang"

Jasmine explained as she walked out, "Mama Yang is going to do some shopping, she can't ride a bike, and Uncle Dumb doesn't want to move, so I asked Canhua to take her there."

"That's fine"

Wei Ran finished eating the watermelon in his hand in three or two bites, then pulled out the small PPK pistol attached to his waist and casually threw it on the bedside table, "I'll take a shower to cool off, and we'll confess when he comes back. .”

"Not urgent"

Jasmine nodded happily, and left Wei Ran's room with her purse in hand.

Watching the other party go upstairs, Wei Ran took a set of loose clothes and walked into the bathroom on the first floor with the washbasin in his hand. After taking a shower indiscriminately, he sat directly on the edge of the bathtub, taking advantage of the water in the faucet. When the bathtub was filled with cold water, he took out the cigarette case and lighter and lit a cigarette. While looking at the small vegetable field with peppers and other things outside the window, he quietly listened to the movement outside the bathroom.

Unfortunately, until the water in the bathtub was enough for him to take a cold bath, he didn't hear the door of the storage room not far outside the bathroom being opened at all.

Could it be that the beautiful cousin really hid?
Wei Ran muttered secretly, threw the cigarette butt into the toilet, then put away the cigarette holder, relaxed and lay down in the bathtub, immersing his whole body in the calming cold water.

He didn't know that while he was hiding in the bathtub in the bathroom exercising his lung capacity, Jasmine was in the living room on the second floor, skillfully unplugging the telephone line of the magnet telephone, and then removing the wire from the carved baffle on the wall. He pulled out a telephone cord and connected it to the telephone.

After vigorously shaking the phone handle, Jasmine pressed the receiver to her face and waited for a short while before hearing Meixiang ask in a low voice, "What's wrong?"

"Cousin earned three hundred oceans today!"

Jasmine paused, and relayed what Wei Ran told her to Mei Xiang on the other end of the phone.At the same time, she also vaguely heard what seemed to be Miss Andy whistling through the receiver, and Qiu Shi's surprised exclamation.

"Where did I pick up such a rich boy?"

Mei Xiang muttered vaguely, and then said seriously, "It's not a bad thing, let's see how my cousin behaves next.

In addition, a fight is about to start in the past two days, so you tell the two of them to be careful when they go out every day, and come back and hide in the basement if something is wrong. "

"Understood, then I'll hang up first."

As Jasmine said, she hung up the phone without hesitation, then tore off the phone wire and hid it behind the radiator, then reinstalled the carved baffle, and restored the phone to its original shape.

That night, Wei Ran and Jasmine accompanied Tao Canhua and hid in the grand banquet hall on the second floor, simulating all the inquiries they might encounter tomorrow until they unified all the confessions and all kinds of accidents they could think of in advance After familiarizing themselves with the situation over and over again, they went back to their respective rooms, waiting for the arrival of a new day and the beginning and end of the war.

But under the surface, in the hidden basement, three girls, Meixiang, Andy, and Qiushi, surrounded the slowly turning electric fan at the vent and a desk lamp, each holding a book and watching quietly. .

If Wei Ran photographed their young and beautiful faces and their hard-working looks, they would only be regarded as female students raised by some progressive families in the Republic of China era, rather than some popular ones. Prostitutes, socialites.

It was also the night before the big war, those gang members who used to fight on the streets and bully the city in the no-nonsense zone were also hiding in the dark and plotting something under the leadership of the various halls.

The cloth shop named "Cloth Shop" was also extremely busy, and people would come in and out of it from time to time.

In a dilapidated house on the edge of Sanwuer, Uncle Meng, who runs a food stall for a living during the day, and his son also used their modest savings to buy a small cart of white noodles and a dozen catties of sesame seeds, and ordered them In the hanging stove in the yard, crispy and crispy hanging stove biscuits were cooked all night long.

These biscuits are definitely not sold the next day. In Jinmen, even beggars are more willing to eat freshly baked biscuits if they have a choice.

Uncle Meng has been making biscuits all his life, so he naturally knows how tricky Jinmen people are.But even so, this night, he took his son, who was a cook in the local security group, to stay up all night making sesame seed cakes, and after letting the sesame seed cakes baked overnight cool, they wrapped them tightly in white cloth quilts and delivered them in baskets. Into the cellar where the rats were caught only during the day.These bamboo baskets containing all the biscuits were placed on the solid ice that was bigger and thicker than city wall bricks bought before dark, and then several layers of torn quilts were added.

Even in a dilapidated dilapidated temple on the outskirts of the city, those young cigarette sellers who spent the night together guarding two wooden boxes containing all their belongings were discussing something in a low voice. With a firm tone, they made a decision that shouldn't have been made at their age.

When this doomed busy night finally calmed down in the white belly that appeared on the horizon, it was already July 1937, 7 AD.

In this cool and quiet dawn, only three weeks have passed since the July [-]th Incident at the beginning of the month.

But regardless of Jinping, no matter whether it is a high-ranking official or a pawn.Those who have just fallen asleep, or have had trouble sleeping through the night, all foresee the same obvious thing very clearly.

The war will start again soon.