War Photographer's Notebook

Chapter 1241 Reunion
Waiting quietly for the white light to dissipate, Wei Ran found that this time he was standing on a bench on the side of the road.

On this bench was not only myself, but also two other young people whom I didn't know at all, but who were trying to stand on tiptoe and look forward.

Looking around again, not only were there many people standing around the bench, there were even four or five people riding on a big tree in the distance.

What are you looking at?Wei Ran murmured to himself while following everyone's gaze.

American soldiers?American soldiers standing guard?

Wei Ran was stunned for a moment, then looked behind the soldiers on guard duty. Then, he saw the American flag and the flag of the Republic of China.

Is this the surrender of Jinmen?

Wei Ran's heart moved, and he quickly touched his body, took out his pocket watch from the jacket pocket of his tunic suit, and took a glance at it.If this pocket watch is accurate, there will be only one minute left before nine o'clock in the morning.

Look at what he is wearing, a black tunic suit and a top hat of the same color. He is also wearing soft sheepskin gloves on his hands. On his feet, he is still wearing the Oxford boots provided in the study apartment.

The obviously autumnal attire, as well as the happy and excited expressions on the faces of the people around him and the two young people standing on the same chair, made Wei Ran more and more certain that what he was watching at this time was October 1945. The surrender ceremony will begin at 10 a.m. on the 6th!

Without any time to think, Wei Ran took off the glove on his left hand and put it into his arms as a cover. He took out the telescope from the metal book. He stepped on the bench with one foot and the back of the chair with one foot. He also used his other hand to raise the telescope. Then he took out the Rolleiflex dual-lens camera from the metal book and pointed it in the direction of the venue.

With the help of a telescope, he could clearly see that in the center of the small square surrounded by crowds of spectators, there were eight iron trees on the steps facing them. Directly in front of the steps, there was a tablecloth-covered table. Long table.

At this moment, the surrender representatives from both China and the United States stepped forward and announced the beginning of the surrender. Soon, a car drove over from the west. When the car stopped, a group of seven Japanese soldiers were escorted by American soldiers to the table. side.

As Wei Ran pressed the shutter from time to time, the seven Japanese representatives took off their sabers one after another and brought them to the long table, where they put them down to sign and then returned to their original positions. When the American representative signed, the two sides handed over some rosters that could not be clearly seen.

After the delivery was completed, the surrender ceremony came to an end. Immediately afterwards, the American flag was hoisted and the American national anthem was played at the venue, and the surrounding crowds burst into cheers.

"This is wrong, this special code is wrong!"

A young man standing on a bench with Wei Ran said, "Even if Americans surrendered, why are the American flags raised and even the national anthem sung by Americans? What's going on? "

"What else can happen?"

Another young man standing on the same bench said angrily, "This old beauty is here to pick fruits. I heard that since the end of last month, Americans have been in Tianjin and Pinghai. There are also soldiers stationed along Shanhaiguan and Zhangjiakou."

"More than that!"

Under the bench, a middle-aged man holding a lamppost sighed and said, "I heard from people who went fishing that the American warships are almost arriving in Taku. I see, this is going to be very difficult." Let’s start a fight.”

"This American is so shameless"

A girl dressed as a schoolgirl spat, "What does it have to do with this little devil surrendering to us? How embarrassed are you to send someone here with such a big face?"

"I see, I'm afraid our Chairman has a knee cramp again."

Not far away, a middle-aged man wearing a long gown and a beard sighed, "After all, we are not strong enough, otherwise how could we have suffered such humiliation for nothing!"

"You guys, what are you talking about with the special code!"

As soon as the middle-aged man in the long gown finished speaking, a scoundrel voice from behind the crowd yelled arrogantly.

As soon as the voice reached his ears, the group of people dispersed in a circle of less than two meters. When Wei Ran turned around, the two young people standing on the bench with him had even just spoken. The female student and even the two middle-aged men quickly disappeared into the crowd.

There is no doubt that in the center of this less than two-meter circle, only Wei Ran is left, who has no intention of running away.

Wei Ran slowly jumped down from the bench, turned around and put away his binoculars. Then, he saw a man with a big belly and dressed as a policeman looking at him with an arrogant expression.

"Are you Wang Gui'er?" Wei Ran looked at the other party suspiciously. He had an impression of this policeman. He was the one who led the people to search the study apartment to find Guan Bingwen.I just didn't expect that now that the Japanese have surrendered, this guy can still keep his position.

"Hey! You have such a big leg, you can call Wang Guier too?"

While the policeman was talking, he rolled up his arms and sleeves and grabbed a baton from the follower behind him as if to hit him.

"You should be careful before taking action." Wei Ran took off his hat as he spoke and looked at the other party with a smile.

"Hey! Hey! Aren't you the young master cousin?"

Wang Gui'er recognized Wei Ran at a glance, but although his tone was more friendly, it was clear that he had some evil intentions.

Weighing the baton in his hand, Wang Gui walked up to Wei Ran and stabbed Wei Ran in the chest with the baton, "Master Biao, now we have changed the world, and you don't have a Japanese backing."

"Didn't your Japanese master surrender too?" Wei Ran asked with a smile, "We are evenly matched now."

"Half a pound? Hey! That's not necessarily the case!"

Wang Guier proudly poked Wei Ran in the chest again with his baton, "I'm still a policeman now. How dare you, a traitorous traitor, to compete with me? By the way, I heard that your bitch-like cousin was raped by the Japanese." Kidnapped and died on the train?"

"What did you say?" Wei Ran frowned immediately after hearing this.

"It's just right to die"

Wang Guier came closer and said, "Thief Sun, don't blame Mr. Wang for not taking care of you. The brother-in-law you wanted to kill in your dreams is now a big shot in our bureau with hands and eyes as wide as the sky. How dare you at this time of year?" You came out to show off, but don’t blame me for taking you to your brother-in-law in exchange for reward money!"

"Really?" Wei Ran asked with a smile.

"It's you."

"Brother-in-law, why are you here? But you made it easy for me to find you."

Wang Gui didn't say any curse words, but someone behind him called him brother-in-law enthusiastically.

"Whose special code is your sister?"

Wang Gui turned around arrogantly, but was shocked when he saw that the person calling him brother-in-law was none other than Guan Bingwen, who was wearing a formal suit!
"Guan Guan Guan Guan Master!"

When Wang Guier stuttered and shouted, the baton in his hand fell to the ground while he was trembling, and then he used his feet to pull it to the bottom of the bench.

"Who is your special code?"

Guan Bingwen glanced at Wang Guier and waved his hand impatiently, "Quickly get out of here."

"Hey! I'm leaving now!"

Wang Guier quickly nodded and bowed in response, but he didn't dare to look at Wei Ran at all. He lowered his head and packed his stomach and prepared to run.

"Wait a minute"

Wei Ran stopped the other party with a smile, put on his hat again, walked up to Wang Guier who was begging to please, leaned into his ear and asked with a smile, "Are we even the same now?"

"Yes, yes! Oh no! No! I'm just a fart! How dare I compete with my young master!" Wang Guier trembled and hurriedly accompanied her.

"Who did you call a bitch just now?"

Wei Ran asked, while gently patting the other party's big, greasy and fat face.

"Me! I'm a bitch! I'm a bitch! My ancestral bitch!" Wang Gui didn't care about his face at all. As he spoke, he slapped himself twice in the mouth.

"Brother-in-law, has this person offended you?" Guan Bingwen came up and asked casually, "What is your special code name?"

"never mind"

Wei Ran waved his hand before Wang Guier spoke, "He and I are old friends. We were joking."

"Yes, yes! Master Biao is joking with me." Wang Guier said hurriedly.

"Really an old friend?" Guan Bingwen asked pretending to be suspicious.

"may not"

Wei Ran patted Wang Guier on the shoulder, "This guy used to be in charge of security in the British Concession. The Japanese wanted to arrest you, but thanks to his help, if it weren't for him, you would have been captured by the Japanese."

"What's more, why didn't you tell me?"

Guan Bingwen immediately became very intimate. He reached out and took out two cigars from his pocket and threw one of them to Wang Guier. "What's your name? I'll talk to the director in two days and arrange a lighter job for you." Son."

"Ouch! Ouch!"

Wang Gui hurriedly took the cigar from the former, clamped it to his ear, and said with a smile on his face, "Wang Gui'er, my name is Wang Gui'er, yes"

"Okay, let's go back and wait for the letter. I'll have a chat with my brother-in-law, so don't get in the way here." After Guan Bingwen finished speaking, he waved his hand, greeted Wei Ran warmly, and walked away.

"Boss, this is what we are doing"

A young policeman stuck his buttocks out and picked up the baton from under the chair, approached Wang Gui and asked with a look of joy on his face.

"Hehe! It's stable now! Let's go! Let's go to Taihua Building and have a good time!"

Wang Guier said hello energetically, then took off the cigar pinned to his ear and smelled it, then couldn't help but mutter, "Does any of you know how to smoke this thing?"

The policemen gathered in a circle and were busy studying the cigars. Guan Bingwen also waved Wei Ran away from the crowd and walked to a four-door Buick sedan.

"Let's get out of here first." Guan Bingwen opened the door and got into the cab as he spoke.

Seeing this, Wei Ran took one last look at the direction of the landing site, and then got into the co-pilot.

Before he could sit firmly, Guan Bingwen started the car, turned around and drove towards the British Concession.

"Xiaoguan, cousin, she."

"You already know that Sister Meixiang is coming back?"

Guan Bingwen turned his head in surprise before Wei Ran finished speaking, "I also plan to give you a surprise."

"When will she come back?" Wei Ran asked curiously. At this time point, it has only been two months since Mei Xiang and others went to hunt cranes.

"Tonight," Guan Bingwen said in a slightly lowered voice, "but only Sister Meixiang and Uncle Mute are back."

"What about you?" Wei Ran said casually, "When did you come back? Has Canhua come back?"

"In a few days, Canhua also came back."

Guan Bingwen explained with a smile, "He has made great contributions. Canhua can speak their local dialect and is versatile. Within three or four days of our arrival in Lu'an Mansion, he was in the local dance hall with several officers' families." We are familiar with the wife, young master and so on.

Then there was a fight there, and Canhua got a lot of useful things out of the mouths of those officers' wives, young ladies and young men.On the contrary, for me, all my talk has become a burden.

Later, the Japs here in Jinmen surrendered, and we were called back by Mr. Feng. I asked my father’s former friend to find a job driving for the police chief. Canhua was sleeping outside the city, and we will meet him tonight. Sister Meixiang and the others are back together. "

"Are they still leaving?" Wei Ran asked tentatively, "Are they still leaving?"

"Canhua is not leaving"

Guan Bingwen paused, "Sister Meixiang and Uncle Mute, I'm afraid they have to leave."

"Continuing to hunt cranes?"

Faced with this question, Guan Bingwen shook his head, "I don't know, I guess I won't know until we meet."

"Are you coming over tonight?" Wei Ran asked the final question as he watched the car drive into the former British Concession.

"I can't make it"

Guan Bingwen shook his head, then parked the car on the side of the road, then opened the car door and said, "Brother Wei, you can drive this car back. It was collected from a traitor's house some time ago. I want to read a book After all, it is convenient to have a car in the apartment." "Okay, I won't be polite to you." Wei Ran, who followed the door and got out of the car, happily accepted the gift.

"Of course you're welcome, but this car also has a job tied to it," Guan Bingwen said with a smile.

"Work? What job?" Wei Ran couldn't help but ask.

Looking around, Guan Bingwen walked to Wei Ran, lit a cigarette, lowered his voice and said, "When I get back, take a photo of this car and develop it, and ask Canhua to deliver it to Jinmen Republic Daily early tomorrow morning. Go ahead and place an advertisement for renting a car and driver on a daily basis, and let him raise the price as long as it doesn't go too far."

"Who wants to rent a car?" Wei Ran also lit a cigarette and asked in a low voice.

"Mr. Feng"

Guan Bingwen said in a low voice, "He will ask his assistant to come over and take the driving test. Either you or Canhua can take the test."

After saying that, Guan Bingwen knocked on the car door behind him and said, "The assistant's picture is under the car seat. In addition to renting the car to him, you can also rent it to a few other people. Mr. Feng only needs to use the car every Wednesday and Saturday. You can make arrangements for the rest of the time."

"What time will my cousin arrive? Do you need to be picked up?" Wei Ran asked in a low voice.

"No need to pick her up, it will be late at night when she arrives." Guan Bingwen paused and continued, "Someone will take them home, and someone will pick them up."

"Okay, I got it." Wei Ran nodded in agreement while smoking.

"Just leave it like that."

Guan Bingwen flicked the cigarette butt away, "I won't go to the study apartment. In the evening, prepare a table of good wine and food, and give Mr. Feng and I a toast to Sister Meixiang and Uncle Mute."

"it is good"

Wei Ran finally responded, and after waiting for the other party to cross the road and get into a rickshaw and drive away, he walked around to the other end of the car, got into the cab of the car, started the car and drove towards the study apartment.

When he drove the car into the small courtyard of the study apartment, he was familiar with the road and immediately saw Uncle Meng holding a stack of bamboo brooms to clean up the ginkgo leaves that had fallen all over the courtyard.

On the other side of the courtyard, Qiushi and the three girls who used to maintain the operation of the underground printing room were each wearing cotton masks and rubber gloves they didn't know where they got, peeling and cleaning ginkgo fruits. Where's the core?

"Ah! Brother Wei, where did you steal the car from?"

Qiushi was the first to notice Wei Ran, and immediately walked around the green Buick car, "This car is really good-looking, better than the two cars we had before, but it's so ugly. A little bit."

"What did you just grab?"

Wei Ran shook his head and asked in a low voice, "There are no outsiders at home, right?"

"There are no outsiders," Qiushi replied immediately, "Mother Yang is coaxing her friends to play, and Miss Andy is upstairs not yet up."

"Come on, come upstairs with me."

Wei Ran greeted in a low voice, and then ran up the steps and walked into the foyer without waiting for Qiushi's response.

In just two months, this book apartment has undergone a lot of changes. Among other things, the rooms that were originally occupied by the members of the Chunhua Opera Troupe have all returned to their original appearance. Some of the Japanese-style furniture originally placed in the rooms All the stylish decorations were removed, and some calligraphy and paintings from unknown sources were hung instead.

After saying hello to Yang's mother, who was playing flower rope with a friend of hers by the fireplace, Wei Ran quickly ran up to the second floor with Qiu Shi.

The changes on the second floor are similar to those on the first floor, but the big parrot, which is still alive, has moved in early because of the getting colder weather. It stands proudly on the wooden shelf in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows and licks melon seeds leisurely.

Continuing to run up to the third floor, Wei Ran finally stopped and looked at Qiushi who was running up behind him. He walked to the small living room and sat down and said, "Cousin Andy, please come out."

"No need to invite me, I've already heard the big noise."

Before he finished speaking, Andy, wearing a loose silk nightgown, walked out of Mei Xiang's bedroom with disheveled hair, sat down next to Wei Ran, took out a tortoiseshell cigarette holder from his pocket and handed it to Wei Ran. Ran, yawning with a slight alcohol smell, asked in confusion, "What's wrong?"

"Cousin Meixiang is coming back tonight." Wei Ran whispered while taking the cigarette holder.

"What did you say?!" Andy and Qiushi exclaimed in unison.

"Canhua and Uncle Mute are also coming back together," Wei Ran added while busy putting a cigarette in Andy's cigarette holder.

"Really? You, you didn't lie to me?!" Qiushi covered her mouth before she even got a reply from Wei Ran, and her big eyes instantly overflowed with tears of surprise.

"Xiaoguan just told me"

Wei Ran handed the cigarette with the holder to Andy and tried to light it for her while explaining, "The car downstairs was given to me by Xiaoguan."

"When will they get home?" Andy pushed away Wei Ran who was holding the lighter in his hand, and even threw the cigarette he had just handed to him on the table.

"Later in the night" Wei Ran simply put away the lighter, "Xiaoguan asked us to prepare a table of good wine and food."

"Yes, yes, yes! We need to prepare a table of good wine and good food!"

Andy was so excited that he was a little incoherent, "Qiushi, please ask Mama Yang to go shopping for groceries, buy more, and make more of Meixiang, Canhua, and Uncle Mute's favorite food!"

"Hey!" Qiushi responded happily, turned around and prepared to run downstairs.

"Qiushi, bring me two packs of cigarettes." Wei Ran said, taking out a piece of ocean from his pocket and handing it over.

"The front door and the camel, right?" Qiushi asked as she took Dayang.

"Buy a few more packs of Fairy brand cigarettes, Meixiang likes to smoke that one." Andy ordered.

"Okay! I'll go shopping with Mother Yang right now!" Before Qiuzhen finished her sentence, she had already run to the stairs and disappeared.

"What else did Xiaoguan say?"

It wasn't until Qiushi was sent away that Andy suppressed his anxiety and asked, "Are Meixiang and the others injured?"

"Probably not"

Wei Ran paused and repeated everything Guan Bingwen mentioned.

"You and Canhua are asked to advertise to rent a car? Do you have to rent it to Mr. Feng?" Andy frowned involuntarily.

"right"

Wei Ran hesitated for a moment and couldn't help but ask, "Cousin Andy, what is Mr. Feng's identity?"

"Him? What else can he be?" Andy responded matter-of-factly, but did not give a detailed explanation.

Seeing this, Wei Ran didn't hesitate to ask any questions, so he simply lit a cigarette and said, "I hear what Xiaoguan said, my cousin may have to leave soon."

"I know, you just mentioned it."

When Andy said this, her tone became more and more uneasy. Then, she simply walked to the balcony, opened the window, stuck her head out, and shouted into the small courtyard, "Xiaoyan, Liying, Meijuan, you guys Come up quickly!"

"Hey!" The three girls downstairs responded in unison.

Was it originally called this?
Wei Ran muttered secretly, but at the same time he also knew that the three sisters most likely did not have this name originally.

When the three girls ran up, Andy walked into the bedroom in a hurry. He just closed the door to prevent Wei Ran from peeking. While changing clothes, he said, "Put it aside first, and let's put this aside together." Please clean upstairs and downstairs.”

"This little devil has surrendered. It's time to sweep away the bad luck!" One of the three girls said happily.

"Wei Ran, please help too." Andy, who was still changing clothes in the room, said loudly.

"Yes." Wei Ran, who was standing by the balcony to avoid suspicion, immediately responded.

Soon, Andy changed his clothes and walked out of the room while wrapping a headscarf on his head. He took Wei Ran and the three girls with him, starting from the third floor, floor by floor, room by room. Work.

While they were busy, Qiushi and Yang Ma also bought back abundant ingredients and called upon Uncle Meng to help. The three of them started preparing in full swing in the kitchen on the first floor.

Taking advantage of the cleaning, Wei Ran also had the opportunity to take a look in the basement and the hidden printing room.

Not to mention the basement, the stage and sofas were still in place, but a lot of dust inevitably fell.

In contrast, the underground printing room remains the same as before. The only change is that on the vermilion iron door entering the printing room, a piece of Xinhua Daily published on August 1945, 8 is firmly pasted. ——"Accept the Potsdam Declaration and Japan's unconditional surrender!" 》

Not only that, the printing room without anyone hiding seemed to be still running. This could only be guessed from the various leaflets that had not been sent out after printing.

Of course, there is one more thing in this printing room - a British B2 radio station that was seized from the opium den on the dock!

The difference is that this radio does not seem to have to leave the printing room to work. The antenna extending from the vent is connected to the radio, and there is also a car battery on the table where the radio is placed.

By four o'clock in the afternoon, the small courtyard was carefully cleaned upstairs and downstairs, both indoors and outdoors, as everyone was busy.

After taking good care of hygiene, everyone, including the children with the same hatred, took a bath and changed into new clothes. Even the big parrot had its mouth and paws pinched by Wei Ran and soaked it in the basin for a good warm bath. Water bath.

After a lot of busy work, except for the exhausted children who were also running around and wanted to eat on time, the others all agreed to skip dinner and just put a few pastries on each side like they did at noon.

"When will Miss come back?"

Next to the fireplace on the first floor, Yang Ma asked in a low voice with suppressed joy while bringing a pot of strong tea.

"It's late at night"

Wei Ran whispered, "You and Uncle Meng can go back and take a nap first."

"Hey! I'm getting older, so I don't get much sleep." Uncle Meng lit the cigarette pot, "Besides, can you still sleep at this time?"

"That's what Uncle Meng said."

Qiushi said expectantly while pouring tea for everyone, "I didn't expect Miss and the others to come back so early."

"You girl, I'm afraid it's not just Sister Meixiang you're looking forward to, right?"

Andy, who was also fuming, smiled and joked, "I see, this Qiushi misses Canhua."

"That's not good," Yang's mother joked with a smile.

"You all know how to laugh at me!" Qiushi curled her lips but was not angry. The look of anticipation on her little face became even stronger.

As everyone chatted and endured, the sky outside the window became darker and darker, and stars gradually appeared in the sky.But everyone sitting by the fireplace was more energetic than the other.

At eight o'clock in the evening, Andy coaxed the children with the same hatred to go upstairs to sleep, and the tea on the table on the first floor was replaced with a new pot.

At 09:30 in the evening, Andy, who had coaxed his enemy to sleep, quietly went downstairs and sat on the chair next to the table again.

"Why hasn't it arrived yet?" Yang Ma said uneasily, "Wei Ran, why don't you go pick her up?"

"I don't even know where they are coming from, how can I pick them up?" Wei Ran spread his hands helplessly.

"Oh! It's true!"

After Yang Ma finished speaking, she stood up and said, "No, no wait, Lao Meng, let's go stir-fry those vegetables! They'll be back as soon as the Baobuqi is done."

"Don't panic"

Uncle Meng is patient enough, "There are only a few vegetables that can be fried right now. When they come back, let's start the fire and eat them without delay. If they fry it so early, it will still have to be heated until they come back later. It will be hot in and out of time." It doesn’t taste good.”

"That's right." Ma Yang sat down again while holding her apron, poured herself a cup of warm tea that was already tasteless and colorless, and drank it in one gulp.

During the increasingly difficult wait, when the clock on the first floor rang exactly 12 times at once, a black car also stopped at the door of the courtyard.

(End of this chapter)