War Photographer's Notebook

Chapter 1217 Lack of sleep
At 05:30 in the morning, the members of the Chunhua Opera Troupe on the first and second floors were sitting at the dining table as usual. Yumi, whose fingernails were still aching, did not see Wei until Qiushi came down and invited her to the second floor for dinner. Ran came out of the room.

Of course Wei Ran wouldn't come out. How could his cousin be so diligent? He could sleep as long as he could.

After half an hour of breakfast, the members of the theater troupe spontaneously helped clear the dining table and cleaned the first and second floors. Then, under the leadership of Qiushi, they went to the basement to continue practicing and learning opera.

As for Youmei, who originally wanted to go to the basement with her to have a look, she stayed on the second floor under Tao Canhua's invitation.

"Miss Youmei, let's learn some basic fingering techniques for playing the guqin today."

Tao Canhua didn't care whether the other party understood it or not, he just introduced himself in his native language. He was also the only person in the book who couldn't understand and had not learned Japanese.

As for how much Japanese he and his Aunt Meixiang have learned over the years, and to what extent, even Qiushi and Jasmine don't know.

But at least on the surface, Meixiang prohibited Tao Canhua from learning Japanese. As for the reason, in Meixiang's words.If you don’t speak Japanese, you won’t hear anything you shouldn’t hear when you play and sing for Ueda.Of course, this was meant for Xiao Su’s mother and Somegu’s wife.

However, there was no need to worry about Yumi not being able to understand, because sitting next to her was Jasmine who was helping her translate.What's more, who knows if Yumi really can't understand Chinese?
Although the three people on the second floor had their own thoughts, and although Tao Canhua taught extremely seriously and patiently, Yumei learned in a particularly painful way.

Not to mention that she didn't sleep well last night, just asking her to use her injured fingers to pluck the tight strings was tantamount to torture, and it required her to remain patient and smile on the surface.

Tao Canhua and Jasmine naturally couldn't see these details, and even if they could, they would never admit it.And Youmei, who thought she was pretending to be very good, couldn't help but feel a little smug even as she endured the pain - she was really strong, but these Chinese people were really stupid.

During the three-and-a-half-hour Guqin lesson from 09 a.m. to 30:[-] a.m., Tao Canhua, with the help of Jasmine, has basically taught Youmei several basic fingering techniques.

On the stage in the basement, the children also spent the same amount of time carefully playing a play they had been studying recently under Qiushi's command twice.

At the same time, Wei Ran, who had had a good sleep, was finally willing to get up and walk out of the room. He felt at ease and ate a bowl of wontons and two sesame seed cakes that were crispy on the outside and tender on the inside.

At 45:[-], Uncle Meng opened the fence gate of the small courtyard on time, and Youmei's guqin lesson was finally stopped when Meixiang came down from upstairs.

Correspondingly, Meixiang also scolded Tao Canhua, who had been teaching seriously from beginning to end. However, the words that came out of her mouth, such as "elm head" and "don't know how to pity fragrance and cherish jade", inevitably made Jasmine and Mother Yang, who came up with breakfast, wanted to laugh.

But for Yumi, Meixiang's hearty breakfast, which was obviously a higher level, also made her regret more and more why she didn't sleep a little longer. Not only did she not have a headache when playing the piano, but she could also catch up on her sleep, not to mention eating that she didn't want at all. My favorite is the roasted millet porridge with soybean curd.

Amidst the regret, pain and sleepiness, at 52:[-] in the morning, as two rickshaws stopped at the door of the study apartment, Mei Xiang finally stopped scolding Tao Canhua and sent him to the basement to make preparations.

Immediately afterwards, Meixiang also held Yumi's injured hand affectionately, and hurried downstairs while the latter groaned with difficulty, all the way to the foyer.

"The two sisters are the first to arrive." Mei Xiang opened the door and greeted warmly, "Come in and warm yourself up."

"Meixiang, where did you find another little sister?"

During the last tea party, the rich and graceful Second Sister You spoke like a female gangster. She stretched out her hand and pinched Youmi's little face gently, and at the same time praised, "Tsk, tsk, tsk, this little face, Even a young one can pinch water, and it's not much different from when I was young, but the teeth are a bit chipped."

"Second Sister You"

Meixiang quickly stopped the other party's hand, first squeezed Youmei's hand with an apologetic expression and explained apologetically, and then said to the second sister You, "This is the daughter of Mr. Tian, ​​my fellow villager in Fengtian. She is staying with me temporarily. After staying for a few days, she is still a young girl who has not left the court, and the second sister is not in the mood to talk nonsense."

She had just finished speaking, but tears already overflowed from the corners of Yumi's eyes.Seeing this, Second Sister You and the person next to her were immediately panicked. They quickly took out their handkerchiefs and apologized while wiping her tears.Of course, the two of them didn't know that Yumi shed tears because it hurt so much from Mixiang's grip.
It was a great comfort. When Yumei struggled to hold back her tears and expressed in Japanese that she just felt homesick suddenly, the second sister You was relieved.

It was at this time that rickshaws or cars stopped at the door one after another, bringing ladies one after another.

While she was greeting the people who came over, Second Sister You pulled Meixiang and asked in a low voice, "Meixiang, what did Mr. Tian's daughter say about the Japanese?"

"she"

Meixiang glanced at Yumei who was sitting by the fireplace and was being courted by Wei Ran with a slightly embarrassed look, and then said in a calm voice, "I heard that it was his concubine wife. Yes, it was his concubine wife who gave birth to the child for him. .”

"This is okay, Mr. Tian"

Second Sister You smacked her lips, "I've met Mr. Tian, ​​don't tell me. Mr. Tian is very dark, but his daughter is quite fair."

"Who said it wasn't"

Meixiang responded with a suppressed laugh, chatting casually while greeting the visiting guests.

By the fireplace, after helping Jasmine pour a cup of tea for each of the rich ladies, Wei Ran also diligently sent a pack of fried melon seeds, a pack of roasted peanuts and a large pack of chestnuts to Youmei. He looked at the other person with a fascinated expression, praising her nails for how beautiful they were, as if he didn't notice the faint trembling of her hand hidden in her sleeves.

At ten o'clock in the morning, Mei Xiang clapped her hands and said, "Sisters, how about we go down too?"

"Meixiang, what's the show scheduled for today?" asked the resentful young woman who seemed to be particularly interested in Tao Canhua at the last tea party.

"Don't worry, it's all what you like to see." Mei Xiang responded in a pretense of mystery, and then greeted many rich ladies to go to the basement.

Thanks to Uncle Meng's heating, it was naturally very warm in the basement. So as soon as these rich ladies entered the basement, they each took off their coats and handed them to Jasmine to hang on the top of the stairs. On the row of clothes racks in the distance.

Soon, everyone took their seats. Wei Ran, who was watching, also noticed that not only did Volker from Deutsche Matheson not come this time, but so did Someya and his wife.On the contrary, after everyone was seated, Xiao Su's mother walked down with two middle-aged women in kimonos, talking and laughing.

"Xiao Su's mother is here too." Mei Xiang immediately stood up and said hello, and then said hello politely to the other two ghost women who came down with Xiao Su's mother.

"I'm worried about Yumi's child."

As Xiao Su's mother spoke, she sat down next to Yumi, took her hand and started asking questions in Japanese. The two women in kimonos also used slightly off-key Chinese to chat with the other ladies. call.

There is no need to guess, just by listening to the names between them, you can tell that these ladies probably know each other, and their relationship seems to be pretty good.

At ten minutes past ten, when everyone was seated, with a wink from Mei Xiang, the accompanists on one side of the stage also started playing.

Soon, a man wearing a monk's hat and cassock was the first to come on stage and sang "Mr. Zhang, please——" in a high voice.

Immediately afterwards, Tao Canhua, disguised as a scholar, walked out from behind the curtain with a folding fan in his hand, "I have heard for a long time about the Hezhong Prefecture Pujiu Temple."

As soon as he opened his mouth, the rich ladies in the basement immediately fell silent. Even Xiao Su's mother focused on the stage, seemingly not noticing that the thing Yumi put into her palm was only the size of a business card. envelope.

Xiao Su's mother didn't pay attention to this place, and naturally the rest of the people in the basement didn't pay attention either. As for Wei Ran, although he was really not interested in drama, when Xiao Su's mother came down, he had already guessed that there might be This scene happened, so I didn't look over there at all, which gave Yumi enough face and opportunity.

However, just like Wei Ran, Youmei had no interest in the babbling art on stage, not to mention the lack of sleep and the carbohydrate intake in the morning made her even more drowsy.

Beside Youmi, Xiao Su's mother stuffed the small envelope in her hand into her pocket, secretly glanced at Youmi who was leaning on her shoulder and was about to fall asleep, and then glanced at the other side without leaving any trace. Sister You, who was lighting up a cigarette not far away, suddenly let out a series of violent coughs.

Such a movement naturally woke up Yumi who was about to fall asleep. But then, she saw Xiao Su's mother's face was red but she still waved her hand towards her. Then, the fat woman was also panicking. He stood up and ran outside.

Seeing this, Youmei was a little confused for a moment. Then, she saw Jasmine and Wei Ran following them out one after another.

After a slight hesitation, Yumi looked at each other with the two ghost women sitting on the other side. Then, she bowed slightly, stood up, picked up her skirt, and followed.

"Is Little Su's mother okay?" Jasmine asked, patting her back gently after chasing Little Su's mother out of the basement.

Xiao Su's mother, who had been coughing, raised her finger with difficulty and pointed to the window of the storage room. Seeing this, Wei Ran, who followed a little later, immediately opened the window to let in the cold wind from outside.Xiao Su's mother pushed Wei Ran away and lay beside the window, panting crazily.

"What's wrong with Aunt Su?" Youmei, who came out just a step behind Wei Ran, asked worriedly in Japanese.

"It's been an old problem for many years," Jasmine explained in Japanese. "She can't smell the smell of cigarettes. She coughs and wheezes when she smells the smell of cigarettes. Some lady must have choked her while smoking just now."

"It was so"

Youmei breathed a sigh of relief when she heard this, but then, she shivered due to the cold wind coming in from the window, and by the way, the last trace of sleepiness on her body was swept away by the wind.

"Youkekeke! Yumei, please go down first."

Little Su's mother, whose fat face was flushed from suppressing her eyes and even had tears in her eyes, said in Japanese with difficulty, "It's cold up there, so you don't have to stay with me. I cough! I won't wait if I wait... cough cough cough! No. Go down."

"I"

Before Youmei could finish her words, Meixiang also chased after her from the basement and asked with concern, "Mom Xiao Su, are you choked again?"

Xiao Su's mother, who was leaning against the window, waved her hands and coughed a few more times before saying, "It's okay, I'm getting back to my old habit. You can take Miss Youmei down to the theater. Don't keep those ladies waiting. I'll be upstairs." Sit down and let Wei Ran take me back later. Alas! I am getting older now, and my body and bones are...ahem! They are not as good as before."

"Okay, cousin, you take good care of little Su's mother, and don't dare to act stupid and make little Su's mother angry, otherwise you will get the best of you!" Mei Xiang held Wei Ran's ear and warned.

"Cousin, don't worry, don't worry!" Wei Ran promised, pointing to the sky and the ground, and then looked at Youmei lustfully, "Why don't you let sister Youmei stay on the first floor? It's so smoky down here. .Besides, how boring is it to listen to Canhua sing? I will take Sister Youmei upstairs to see the parrots later."

"Do you want to stay upstairs or go down to watch the show with me?" Meixiang suppressed her smile completely in her heart and asked Yumi in Japanese.

"I want to go downstairs and listen to Tao Canhua sing," Youmi replied in Japanese, while hiding behind Meixiang.

"Then let's go down."

Mei Xiang glared at Wei Ran with a well-hidden smile, and then asked Jasmine to deliver some fruits later. Then she took You Mei back to the basement, and deliberately squeezed in with the second sister You who was closest to the stage. on the first row of sofas.

Not only can you see clearly enough here, but the tinkling gongs and drums are also close enough - so close that sleepiness can't get close to Yumi.

At the same time, in the hall on the first floor, Wei Ran personally poured a cup of tea for Xiao Su's mother and whispered, "Thank you for your hard work, Aunt Su."

Xiao Su's mother nodded without trace, took a sip of hot tea, then looked out the window, then took out a corner of the small envelope from her pocket and showed it to Wei Ran. "It doesn't matter," Wei Ran replied confidently.

Hearing this, Xiao Su's mother immediately put the envelope sealed with lacquer back into her pocket, motioned Wei Ran to come over, and whispered into her ear, "The information about Boss Jiang of the Electrical Materials Shop was told to me by that kid from Furukawa. This is for you, I guess Ueda must have suspected Shuyu, no matter what you do or not, your hands and feet must be clean."

"Don't worry, Aunt Su." Wei Ran nodded, and then asked in a low voice, "Do you know Mr. Tian's identity behind the scenes?"

Hearing this, Xiao Su's mother shook her head, and then said, "Furukawa respects Ueda very much. You can even say that he is afraid of him. He just obeys his words. I guess his background is not simple."

"I'll let my cousin pay attention," Wei Ran responded in a low voice.

"And that Yumi"

Xiao Su's mother continued to remind Wei Ran's ear, "Don't ignore that little girl. I estimate that she is much older than she looks, at least 25 or [-] years old. "

Seeing Wei Ran's surprised look, Xiao Su's mother also showed a proud look on her fat face, "I've been hanging out in Yanliu Alley for so many years, what kind of girl movies have I not seen?"

"Thank you Aunt Su for your advice. I will remind Canhua." Wei Ran replied in a low voice. He had to admit that at least on this point, he really didn't see it.

"Just take care of yourself. Canhua is not as out of tune as you are."

After speaking, Xiao Su's mother patted Wei Ran's thigh, and then said to Jasmine, who was walking out of the kitchen with a fruit plate, "Moli, please bring my coat and bag up later. I'll let Wei Ran take me here." Sent back."

"Okay, wait a moment."

After Jasmine finished speaking, she walked into the storage room with the fruit plate, and soon after, brought up the fur coat that Xiao Su's mother had taken off before.

"Xiao Ma, please wait a moment. The lady said it's the beginning of the month and I have a tribute for you. Please take it back with you."

"Meixiang, you damn girl, you're really interested." Little Su's mother nodded with satisfaction, letting Jasmine run upstairs to get two envelopes of silver coins, and helped her put them into her bag.

"Explain it to the two ladies who followed me. I'll go back first."

After Xiao Su's mother finished speaking, she let Wei Ran help her get dressed. Carrying her much heavier leather bag, she walked into the garage in a familiar manner and got into the back of the black car.

"Is Mr. Tian still with you these days?" Wei Ran asked after driving the car out of the yard.

"No"

Xiao Su's mother shook her head, "The day we sent Yumi here, he got on the train going south. Furukawa and I put him in the carriage and watched the train leave."

"Who asked you to make that thing in your pocket?" Wei Ran asked curiously.

"Ueda, who else could it be?" Xiao Su's mother snorted, "On the surface, she was worried that Yumi would be homesick, so she asked me to go over and see her from time to time. Huh!"

"Who will you give it to then?" Wei Ran continued to ask.

"Give it to Furukawa." Xiao Su's mother sighed, and then asked, "Nephew, tell me the truth, are you secretly doing something big?"

"may not"

Wei Ran replied with a playful smile, "My cousin has always wanted to make the Chunhua Opera Troupe bigger. She also thought that one day she would be able to perform in the Seventh Heaven."

"Humph!"

Xiao Su's mother snorted again, and said as if talking to herself, "If you want to walk on the tightrope, you have to put your head in the waistband of your pants. You have to be careful and don't miss the mark."

"Isn't Aunt Su walking a tightrope?" Wei Ran asked with a smile, "Be careful, cousin, we are here anyway."

"Alas!" Xiao Su's mother waved her hands, closed her eyes and leaned against the back of the seat, muttering, "When will this day end?"

"There will be a day"

Wei Ran muttered the same sentence in a low voice, and when Xiao Su's mother didn't speak, he consciously closed his mouth.

After sending Xiao Su's mother back home in silence, Wei Ran immediately drove back to the study apartment.It only took less than half an hour to go back and forth. Tao Canhua, Qiushi and others in the basement had not finished singing "The West Chamber" yet.

"Still down there?" Wei Ran asked in a low voice towards Uncle Meng who was sitting in the lobby on the first floor smoking.

"Here you are," Uncle Meng responded in a low voice, "When someone comes out, I will fill the boiler room with coal."

"to make"

Wei Ran responded, grabbed a handful of spiced peanuts from the table next to Uncle Meng, rubbed off the skins in a leisurely manner, sifted the skins cleanly using his left hand and right hand, and walked away while eating. After going up to the second floor, he just bent down and took a look at the keyhole of the darkroom, and a smile appeared on his face.

Wei Ran didn't open the darkroom door at all. He just wiped a few chewed peanuts from the corner of his mouth to seal the keyhole again, and then climbed up to the third floor lightly but quickly.

Squatting in front of the door of Yumei's room to observe, Wei Ran put the peanuts in his pocket, wiped his hands on his pants and took off his shoes, and then carefully pinched a stick at the crack of the door. With an inconspicuous strand of hair, he finally took out the key to the door and inserted it into the lock.

Gently opening the door, Wei Ran glanced at the other end of the half-meter-long hair that was wrapped around the door handle on the other side of the door. Wei Ran couldn't help but smile. The other end of the long hair One end seemed to be smeared with something like cream, and if you didn't pay attention or grab it, the opening of the door would be enough to blow it to the floor.

Using the key to lock the other end of his long hair, Wei Ran looked at the pajamas hanging on the radiator and couldn't help but feel happy, then he focused on the three huge suitcases.

Perhaps there was really no time to pack. Although the three suitcases were all opened, they were placed side by side on the floor in front of the balcony.

Looking at the curtains that were not opened at all, Wei Ran looked at the suitcases one by one. The three suitcases contained basically all kinds of clothes from the inside to the outside as well as some skin care products and cosmetics.

Putting on a pair of silk gloves, Wei Ran gently pressed on the clothes, then opened one of the dresses, and then he saw a familiar Lignos pocket pistol and three spare magazines.

He still remembered that when he killed Mr. Ueda's female companion in the French Concession, he seized one from the other party. Later, he gave the small pistol to Jasmine, and it has been used by Jasmine.

Without touching the pistol, Wei Ran continued to press on his clothes. When he continued to open it, he found that there was also a delicate dagger called "Huai Jian" by the Japanese.

Without touching the dagger, Wei Ran continued to rummage, and then he saw a spy camera that was at most the size of a duck egg and a cardboard box full of spy films.

He picked up the camera and glanced at the red window counter behind him. Seeing that the camera had not been used, Wei Ran decisively put it back in its place.

Continuing to rummage through the suitcase, he also saw several sticks of red paint, a pen, a stack of envelopes and stationery the size of playing cards, a bottle of ink that looked as transparent as water and a thumb-sized bottle of ink. A silver seal, engraved on the seal seems to be two dancing white cranes.

The little devil cleaned up this gaudy and useless thing. Wei Ran muttered contemptuously, and then started to flip through the second suitcase.

In addition to what was on the surface of the box, he also found a dozen gold bars the size of a middle finger and two envelopes of silver dollars hidden in the layers of clothes.

In the third mezzanine used to hold underwear, he found, in addition to a large box of condoms and a small bottle of transparent oil with no label and no known purpose, there was also a dictionary that was slightly smaller than the Xinhua Dictionary of later generations. One size larger brown leather bag.

Carefully opening the cover of the cowhide bag, Wei Ran couldn't help but be startled. This turned out to be a radio, a 94-6 radio that the Japanese used extensively during World War II.

Even under those underwear, he saw several dry batteries and a hand-cranked generator fixed directly to the bottom of the suitcase!
There is no doubt that when Wei Ran saw this radio station, he already knew that the envelope sent by Youmi through Xiao Su's mother was still fishing!At the same time, that envelope was undoubtedly a fatal temptation for Xiao Su’s mother!

At this moment, Wei Ran also heard a faint knocking sound coming from the radiator.Without any time to think, he immediately restored his clothes to their original state and locked the door.

Finally, he pulled out the key and restored the hair to its original state. Wei Ran immediately picked up his shoes and ran down the second floor quietly as fast as he could.

At the same time, he also heard the first floor?The sound of conversation came.Without any time to think, Wei Ran took out the key and opened the door to the darkroom. He ducked in and immediately closed and locked the door.

Only then did he have time to put on his shoes, then lie down and sniff the floor.

when.When the vague smell of sesame oil entered his nostrils, Wei Ran couldn't help but feel happy again. He stood up and looked at the wooden box on the cabinet that seemed to contain countless secrets.

Taking off his gloves and putting them in his pocket, Wei Ran listened intently to the sounds outside the door. He waited until he heard someone coming upstairs and vaguely heard conversations in Japanese. Then he took out the camera from the metal book and took the time to open it. opened the door.

At the same time, Meixiang and Yumi happened to walk up to the second floor together.The three of them looked at each other, and Wei Ran immediately showed a hint of panic, "Cousin, why are you here?"

"What are you doing so sneakily?" Mei Xiang asked.

"Didn't do anything. Didn't do anything."

Wei Ran shook the double-lens reflex camera in his hand, "Why don't you go down and take some photos of Canhua and Sister Qiushi? What about you? Why don't you continue listening?"

"Don't ask about things that have nothing to do with you." Mei Xiang waved her hand impatiently, "If you want to take pictures, just go and take pictures."

"Hey! I'll lock the door and go down."

Wei Ran responded, watched Mei Xiang and You Mei go upstairs, then locked the door, took out a peanut from his pocket and threw it into his mouth. After chewing it, he wiped a little bit of the residue with his hand. The scum blocked a small part of the keyhole.

Carrying the camera downstairs, Wei Ran went back to his room to replace the camera with a new film and threw the original film into the food box. Then he went downstairs chewing spiced peanuts and presented himself to the stage in a decent manner. Tao Canhua played Zhang Sheng, Qiu Shi played Yingying, and I don’t know who played the matchmaker and took a few photos.

Not surprisingly, the camera in his hand also aroused the interest of the ladies in the audience who were eating melon seeds and chatting while watching the show.Immediately, several ladies called him over and asked him to take some photos of himself and his girlfriends at the same table.

(End of this chapter)