War Photographer's Notebook

On the last day of February, under Suisui's deception, Mr. Lothar happily rented the White Rose Ski Resort at a high price that was enough to cover the wages of Leya and others as well as the maintenance costs of the castle, and promised to invest in the reconstruction from Cable car route from ski resort to castle.

In the past few days, more than this has been negotiated. In the future, one-third of the ski instructors used by the White Rose Ski Resort will come from Inta's hunter families who have learned Chinese.

On the other hand, because this castle is rented in the name of the Golden Fleece, a considerable part of the castle's profits will also become the funds for the Golden Fleece's activities.

Correspondingly, the hair of this golden fleece is long, ah no, the identity of the president has also been given to the rich woman Kou Kou who contributed money, effort and venue.

And Suisui, who was hiding behind the scenes and planning all this, in addition to a commission, also got the position of "Deputy Chief of Staff".

Also not at a loss is the maintenance team led by Leya and his wife. In addition to still being responsible for the maintenance of the two castles, they are also responsible for the future operation of the castle hotel, and they will soon have the Katenka sisters. A commitment to help them recruit enough people.

At noon that day, everyone who had had enough fun at the castle took the sightseeing train together and left this quiet town and rushed to the airport.

First sending away Kou Kou and her housekeeper, and then sending away sisters Katenka and Lola, but Wei Ran and Suisui kept Lu Xinda, their little follower, with them.There is no other reason. This little girl knows English.

"Let's go too." Carlos shook the ticket in his hand and took the three Weiyan people on the flight to London, England.

"Uncle Carlos, who is that collector?"

After the passenger plane took off, Suisui curiously asked in Chinese, and Lu Xinda, who was sitting next to her, immediately translated it into English intact.

"Mr. Henry is a Wall Street elite," Carlos explained with a smile. "Of course, he is also a military collector."

When Lu Xinda translated it into Chinese, Wei Ran immediately asked in German, "So he is an American? How did he find the rescue buoy?"

"Mr. Henry is indeed American, but he actually grew up in England as a child."

Carlos explained in detail, "He retired six months ago, and after that he just wanted to move back to England, so he went to Brighton and tried to pick a house that satisfied him."

"Then you discovered those things?" Wei Ran asked after translating them into Chinese.

Carlos spread his hands, "Not so lucky. At first, he just found an old photo of the tin can in the house he was interested in. He spent a lot of effort to find the location where the photo was taken."

"You're not really going to take this job that only costs [-] pounds, are you?" Suisui waited for Wei Ran to finish translating again, then asked in a low voice in Russian that only the two of them could understand.

"Let's see"

Wei Ran replied without any psychological pressure, "Anyway, the other party will bear the travel expenses, so we just treat it as a fun trip. Besides, what do you mean it's only five thousand pounds? It's only forty or fifty thousand in RMB."

“You might as well change it to Vietnamese Dong”

Suisui rolled her eyes, "Don't blame me for not reminding you. You are considered a celebrity now. So many high-priced employments have raised your worth. If you accept this 5000 yuan job this time, Son, it will be difficult to raise prices in the future."

"I will think about it carefully"

After Wei Ran responded, he changed to German and asked, "Carlos, is there anything worth visiting near Brighton?"

“If you go there in the summer, there are indeed many places worth visiting.”

Carlos spread his hands, "It's a pity that it's winter now. As far as I know, the only places to have fun there now are probably bars and museums."

“Looks like we picked the wrong season.”

Wei Ran echoed, saying that neither bars nor museums were places he and Suisui usually liked to go.

In the midst of chatting without a ride, the flight finally landed smoothly at the London Airport.After Carlos took them through the border, he guided them familiarly to the train bound for Brighton.

It only took less than 40 minutes for the group to arrive in Brighton. As expected, the unique cold and wet weather in the UK made them all gasp as they walked out of the train station. Shivering.

"I hate this damn place. My joints are starting to hurt." Carlos complained, and then he took out his cell phone and made a call.

Soon, a black man in a windbreaker trotted over and led them into a commercial vehicle that was big enough for everyone.

"Is Mr. Henry here?" Lawyer Carlos asked before the car door closed.

"Mr. Henry went to attend a local military fan event the day before yesterday."

The young black man who got into the cab replied as he slammed the door, "It's a four-day event, so he won't be back until tomorrow afternoon. He asked me to tell you and Mr. Victor that you can stay at home When he comes back, if you are interested, you can go to the event to find him, and I will send you there then."

When Carlos translated this into German, Wei Ran immediately said, "If you can, take us to see the canned lobster first."

"No problem, please fasten your seat belt."

The black driver waited for Carlos to translate the words into English, then gave a kind reminder, and then drove the car smoothly and left the train station.

Next, the car left the city all the way north, then passed through a large area of ​​farmland, and finally drove into a small farm.

Perhaps because of the season, at first glance, this farm did not seem to be growing any decent crops, and even the few large trees of unknown species had lost all their leaves.

While he was waiting, the commercial vehicle drove straight into a barn that was almost two stories high before stopping.

Because of this, before he even got out of the car, he noticed the rescue buoy, which was more than four meters high and was painted with gaudy graffiti.

Perhaps thanks to the protection of the barn, the buoy is indeed as well preserved as shown in the photos.

But what is different from the photo, perhaps due to the shooting angle, is that the cross-section of the base of the rescue buoy is not square, but a hexagon.

From this point alone, it can be determined that this life-saving buoy is most likely a "later improved model". Compared with the entry-level model, this buoy at least has a much larger internal space.

After pushing the door open and getting out of the car, Wei Ran, Suisui and Lu Xinda subconsciously looked around at their surroundings.

The barn, built with wooden planks and steel frames, contained stacks of stacks of organic fertilizer and bales of fodder, as well as two tractors and various farming equipment they didn't recognize.So inevitably, the taste and sanitary conditions here are not that pleasant.

And the buoy, like a door god, was placed about four meters away from the entrance.

Behind it, there is a sandy area that occupies nearly half and a third of the barn. In the center of this sandy area enclosed by a wooden fence, there is also a set of children's slides and a set of children's slides hanging from the beams overhead. Several sets of swings came down.

Looking at Carlos, who was walking down from the car and beating his knees, Wei Ran looked at each other. Wei Ran waited for the latter to nod indifferently, and then he and Suisui walked to the front of the buoy and walked around in a circle.

It was only then that he discovered that there were two iron cabinets with wire mesh windows on the wall next to the buoy.

Through the glass window, he could clearly see that there were many things stored in these two iron cabinets.

There are the ring that I saw in the photo before and the finger buried in a salt shaker or a sugar shaker, as well as radios, signal guns, oil stoves, and oil lamps that look very dated. Batteries and radios, wine bottles and playing cards, even clothes, blankets, shoes and towels.No need to ask, most of these things were once standard supplies in this rescue buoy.

"Go up and take a look?" Wei Ran asked Suisui beside him.

"Uh-huh!"

Suisui, who was already eager to try, nodded quickly, climbed up the wooden ladder on the buoy, and then Lu Xinda, who was acting as a follower, also climbed up curiously.

Unlike Suisui and Lu Xinda who were eager to get into the buoy with their mobile phones in hand, Wei Ran looked up at the mast of the buoy after climbing up.

On the top of the "control tower", the mast that should have been there has been broken at the middle, and clear traces of tearing can still be seen at the break.

And this injury, which cannot be seen in the photo, seems to be the only "flaw" of this buoy.

Just as he was stunned looking at the broken mast, bright lights suddenly lit up inside the "control tower".

Passing through the half-open iron door on the command tower, the first thing Wei Ran saw was a light bulb that was emitting dazzling light.

"Come down quickly, this place is really nice!" Suisui exclaimed in surprise from inside the buoy.

Hearing this, Wei Ran climbed down the ladder. Then, he saw two double beds placed against the wall, saw the carpet with cat and mouse patterns spread under his feet, and even saw the bed facing the On the cabinets of the two beds were TVs, game consoles, various game cards, game discs, and even books, comics, and various toys.And wallpaper around and on the ceiling.

Especially under the big ass TV, there is a refrigerator that is not too big, but looks very old.There is also an orange intercom hanging on the door of the refrigerator.

"If I had such a secret base when I was a kid, I could live here for a summer vacation." Suisui said with envy.

"I had a game console like this when I was a kid," Lu Xinda said with memories, pointing to the game console that was still connected to the TV.

"These are two. No, this seems to be a secret base used by generations of children." Wei Ran walked to the edge of the cabinet and pointed to the photo frames on it.

Hearing this, Suisui and Lu Xinda, who were studying and trying to turn on the TV, immediately stood up and came over.

At the focus of the three people's gaze are four photo frames. Among these four photo frames, two are black and white, and the other two are color.

The protagonists in the photos are also children. There is one child in one photo, two children in two photos, and there are four little ones in one photo.

And these little guys, who seemed to span several generations, were obviously very happy when taking pictures, and the background of the pictures were all standing on the "deck" of this rescue buoy.

Especially in a color photo of two children, the two little guys were specially dressed in pirate and medieval navy costumes.

Of course, even in the photos, it can be seen that their clothes seem to be made of newspapers and various colored papers.

"Who would be willing to sell a secret base with so many memories?" Suisui couldn't help but mutter.

"It will happen when you are short of money." Lu Xinda couldn't help but give a true answer that was inconsistent with her age.

"Children have their own joys, and adults have their own worries." Wei Ran sighed, "Just like our friend Makar, his farm was almost bankrupt. If he had such a buoy, as long as he could exchange money , I’m afraid I’ll sell it even if I’m reluctant to part with it.”

"That's right," Suisui said with a grin and clenched her fists, "So I have to make money, make a lot of money."

"Stop being encouraging here." Wei Ran touched the top of the other person's head in a dumbfounded voice, "Let's go, go up."

"Aren't you going to check this place again?" Suisui asked in surprise.

"The renovation here has been so thorough that nothing can be seen anymore." Wei Ran pointed to the top of his head, "Let's go take a look at the contents of the two iron cabinets."

"Wait for me"

After Suisui finished speaking, she immediately turned on the flashlight function of her phone, and then gently pulled the pull-rope switch hanging from her head on the side of the stairs to extinguish the lights inside.

After the two girls climbed up first, Wei Ran also climbed up.Standing on the deck of this buoy, he asked, "Mr. Carlos, can I see what's in that cabinet?"

"I'm afraid not," the black driver who sent them here spread his hands and replied after listening to Carlos's questions. "The key to the cabinet is in Mr. Henry's hand."

When Lu Xinda took the initiative to translate this to Wei Ran, who actually understood English, he changed the question again, "Then do you know about the original seller? Or do you know where the seller is now?"

As expected, after the question was translated, the black young man spread his hands again.

"In this case, we can always visit this farm, right?" Wei Ran changed the question again.

Fortunately, after the question was translated, the black young man finally nodded. After Wei Ran and the other three climbed down the ladder, they immediately enthusiastically led them to the two-story English-style building only 20 meters away from the barn. Rustic wooden house.

"Let's see if there's anything valuable"

Before Wei Ran walked in, he whispered to Suisui in Russian, "This affects whether I want to take over this job or not."

"Leave it to me!" Suisui stretched out her little hand and made an OK gesture, and her big eyes looked around to touch the valuable object.

Unfortunately, after wandering from the first floor to the second floor, and then from the second floor to the attic in the name of looking for clues, the only thing that could be considered valuable was a large porcelain plate that looked like an antique.

Unfortunately, it only looks like it.

Even a girl like Suisui, who has little interest in history and cultural relics, can tell at a glance that this large plate with gorgeous color patterns is full of rich Baga elements, and it is really comparable to traditional Chinese porcelain antiques. Not.

After walking around for a while, the two looked at each other rather disappointedly. Wei Ran finally turned to look at Carlos and said bluntly, "Mr. Carlos, I really can't see anything else in this farm except that one." There are other valuable things besides the rescue buoy, so even if I take this job, I’m afraid I won’t get the ideal expected benefits, so..."

"No, no, no, don't refuse in a hurry."

Carlos waved his hand quickly before Wei Ran finished speaking, "Haven't you not seen the two iron cabinets in the barn yet? Why don't we wait here for one more day and wait for Mr. Henry to come back and open the iron cabinets to take a look inside? before making a decision?"

After looking at Suisui next to him, Wei Ran hesitated for a moment and looked up at the sun, which was not as bright as the light in the refrigerator. He finally made a decision and said, "Well, why don't we go find Mr. Henry now?" How about it?"

"Of course, of course."

Carlos nodded immediately, changed into English and greeted the black boy, and then drove them to the so-called military fan event.

"So Mr. Henry has bought this farm now?" Wei Ran asked when the car started to drive.

"The farm has been bought. Only the tin can has not been paid for." Carlos replied frankly.

Hearing this, Wei Ran and Suisui each hummed in their hearts in tacit understanding.

It was obvious that Mr. Henry, whom he had not yet met, was willing to offer such a price. It was clear that he had already calculated that there was nothing valuable that could be taken away from the farm.

Or rather, the shrewd Henry had already placed the valuable items he could take away in the two locked iron cabinets in the barn.

Obviously, although everyone in the car except Lu Xinda was probably aware of this dirty little idea, it was obviously not the time to scratch through this layer of tissue paper.

After chatting all the way around the world, the car drove about 20 kilometers, and freezing rain started to fall in the sky.At the same time, a large number of World War II military vehicles appeared on the slope directly in front, as if they had traveled through time and space.

On this slightly muddy grassland, there are sidecar motorcycles and half-track motorcycles equipped by the Germans in World War II, as well as larger half-track trucks and almost useless American two-and-a-half-ton ten-wheel Jimseys, as well as even worse ones. Willys, Jeep and so on. The sharp-eyed Weihan even saw a Geese 5 truck produced by the Soviet Union during World War II.

The Germans were not able to land in England, but these vehicles did. Weiran looked at the military vehicles equipped by Germans in World War II outside and muttered with a strange expression. At the same time, he couldn't help but wonder, if he took out the metal book at this time, what would happen to that feather? The nib of the pen must be worn bald?

In his wild thoughts, the commercial vehicle they were traveling in drove towards the beech tree next to them.

Different from the various classic cars on the grass just now, rolling around in the freezing rain and mud like a mechanical Peppa Pig, although there are also many World War II vehicles parked here, there are still large or small props on the sides of each car. There are various small tents with a military style.

Not only that, there were fires burning inside or outside most of these tents. He even saw more than one dining car equipped by Germans during World War II. These dining cars were also not decorations. They were basically cooking various kinds of food for the sanitary ware. A meal that is both familiar and off-putting.

When the car stopped, there was a ticket gate like a sentry right in front of it. On the wooden sentry stand, there was even a middle-aged man with a big belly wearing a British military uniform and carrying an Enfield rifle. He was leisurely swimming by the lever. Zaidi was smoking his pipe.

As the car door opened, the middle-aged soldier with a big belly and a pipe in his mouth greeted enthusiastically, "Motor vehicles produced after 1945 are not allowed to enter. The entrance fee is 5 pounds per person. For motor vehicles produced before 1945, every tire that touches the ground Tickets are also £5.”

After Lu Xinda translated this sentence into Chinese, Wei Ran said with a smile, "Ask him how much he charges for a tracked military vehicle."

When Lu Xinda, who was being held by Suisui, translated this sentence, the fat man immediately replied enthusiastically, "Beautiful lady, each road wheel is 5 pounds."

"This is discriminating against German tracked vehicles," Wei Ran waited for the girl to translate before he couldn't help complaining.

The girl Lu Xinda didn't know what she was thinking, so she translated this sentence without even thinking about it. As expected, the fat man laughed and admitted it simply, "You are right. , this is the war reparations paid for the Germans, but don’t worry, this money will be used to improve the lives of the children in the orphanage.”

The goodwill behind hiding the war in this way won everyone's favor. After the black driver helped everyone pay for the tickets, the fat man immediately took out the corresponding tickets from the bullet casing collection bag on his waist and distributed them to them. Everyone - that is the cricket whistle used during the Normandy landing. Of course, it can be used as an admission ticket, so it is undoubtedly a replica.

With this interesting ticket in hand, the group stepped on the mud and followed the black young man into the market-like venue. Under the guidance of the phone, they looked for his boss, Mr. Henry. .

For the people following them, Suisui and Lu Xinda were particularly glad that they were wearing long boots that could cover their calves, just as Wei Ran was glad that he was wearing a pair of hiking boots that he had left in the castle last year.

But for Carlos, who is no longer young and is accustomed to living in a clean city, along the way, the almost reflective leather shoes he originally wiped have been kissed off by the mud that is stickier than chewing gum. , If Wei Ran and the black boy hadn't supported him, he would have fallen down countless times.

So before finding the legendary Mr. Henry, Carlos backed down and said, "Victor, why don't you follow this guy?"

At this point, Carlos switched to English again and asked the black man, "By the way, what's your name?"

"Robert," replied the skinny black guy with white teeth showing when he smiled, "Robert Hardy."

"Okay Robert"

Carlos lifted up his leather shoes with difficulty, rubbed them on the grass next to him and said, "Robert, my joints are so painful that I'm going to hold a protest march, so I'm going back to the car, and you'll be the one to take the lead next time." Take Victor to see Henry."

After speaking, he switched to German again and conveyed this idea to Wei Ran.

"Let Robert take you back first," Wei Ran said with a smile, "We will wait here for Robert."

“Also good”

Carlos knew very well that when you get old, you should listen to advice, so he simply agreed to Wei Ran's suggestion and let Robert help him towards the ticket gate, which was only 20 meters away.

While waiting, Wei Ran and Suisui took Lu Xinda around, who was curious about everything.

It’s interesting to say that in the tents on both sides, in addition to various military vehicles, tents and various potato-fried fish that are either free or low-cost but somewhat cookie-cutter, there are also many interesting stalls and competitions.

The most popular among them are stalls selling various small items related to World War II, as well as some paid entertainment items such as air rifle shooting.

To put it simply, this is purely a themed "comic exhibition" or military temple fair for middle-aged and elderly military fans.

Everyone was waiting. Suisui simply spent 5 pounds to play with an air rifle and successfully won a whistle made of bullet casings. Even Wei Ran suspected that he was the one who looked 70 years old. The old stall owner let it go.

When Lu Xinda also succeeded in using her sweet words to receive a bullet shell whistle from the old man setting up the stall, Robert finally came over and led the three of them deeper and deeper into the "temple fair". walking.

Finally, when Robert, who was leading the way, stopped, Weiyan also noticed the Matador truck equipped by the British in World War II parked on the roadside.

This car is a rare six-wheeled version. On one side of it, the car body is used as a tie-down point, and a large military green tent is supported.

Not only was there a firewood stove and several kerosene lamps hanging in this tent, but there was also a fat man who weighed at least two hundred pounds and was about 60 years old. He was wearing a World War II British Army uniform. Wearing headphones, he controlled a MK3 No. 18 individual radio station equipped by the British Army in World War II and skillfully sent telegrams.

If nothing else, this physique alone can be regarded as a faithful restoration of the British soldiers in World War II, and the extremely rare Delisle silenced carbine hanging on the tent pole beside him also hints that this fat man is a rich man. people.

On the wood stove next to him, there was a steaming kettle, a large plate of food wrapped tightly in tinfoil, and it was hard to see what it was but it had an attractive aroma, plus a few open Remove the lid and heat the can.

On the table with the radio station, there was also a plate of exquisite snacks that didn't match the surroundings, and a beautiful bone china tea set that shouldn't be there.

"This is Mr. Henry"

The black boy Robert introduced in English, and then took advantage of Lucinda's translation to greet the big fat man familiarly, "Dad Henry, your guest Mr. Victor is here."

"Hold on"

Henry waved enthusiastically towards the three Wei Ran people, and at the same time, the speed of his newspaper shooting suddenly increased a lot.

The rapid but clear sound of the telegram also made Wei Ran immediately recognize that what he was sending was a clear telegram, "My guest has arrived, goodbye."