War Photographer's Notebook

Chapter 1253 Disappearing Radio
In the warm tent, Weiran re-wrapped the album of negatives and the photo album that made him sick to his stomach with newspapers, and then stuffed them into Suisui's backpack.

"What are you going to do with these two books?"

Suisui safely handed her backpack to Lu Xinda to carry. She shook her phone and said, "I just checked and found that the photographer's archives are in East Sussex, not far from here. Not so far.

Considering that the stall was run by gypsies, do you think it's possible that the album of negatives was stolen from the archives?

After all, the Grand Museum can be stolen from time to time. I really don’t think the security of an archive can be that good. "

"Not too possible"

Wei Ran made a firm judgment, "If those gypsies had the ability to steal things from the archives, they wouldn't have to set up stalls in such a place, and if they stole the negatives from the archives, they wouldn't be able to use them. Selling at such a cheap price.”

"That's right." Suisui couldn't help but nodded. Wei Ran's analysis did make sense.

"But what if the owner of the two lost books calls the police?" Lu Xinda asked while adding tea to the cups of the three of them.

"At least we don't have to worry about the owner of the second book calling the police."

Wei Ran spread his hands, "If he dares to call the police, the photos inside will be enough to send him to jail."

"What about the album of negatives?" Suisui asked.

"If it's the same owner as that photo album, we don't have to worry either."

Wei Ran analyzed with an indifferent expression, "If there is another owner, considering that the cover of the album is moldy, I'm afraid he doesn't care about this album. Besides, even if he wants to look for it, he has to catch the person who stole it first. If it catches up with us, I'm afraid Northern Ireland will have to establish a separate country."

"So you plan to take it as your own?" Suisui asked with a smile.

"Keep it, I bought it with money." Wei Ran replied more matter-of-factly.

Ask him to send this photo album back?He's not that kind.Of course, he would not easily display the contents of the album, especially those negatives in which the female war photographer Lee Miller appeared.

At any rate, he was half a colleague, and he actually knew something about this female war photographer.

Not to mention her experience on the battlefield, this beautiful, angelic woman suffered from severe post-traumatic stress disorder after the war, to the point where she could no longer pick up a camera.

She avoided her experience in the war and even hid all the photos and negatives she had taken and everything she had in the past, retreating into the ordinary farm life.

It was not until after her death that the secrets that had been shelved were discovered by her family and made public.

No matter what the war brought to this legendary woman, Wei Ran subconsciously felt that even out of the most basic respect, those negatives should not be released.

Perhaps guessing Wei Ran's thoughts, Suisui nodded happily, "Then keep it!"

After making arrangements for the future whereabouts of the two books, the smart girl immediately changed the subject and asked, "How about we go to the auction?"

"I don't care, do you want to go?"

After Wei Ran finished speaking, he lowered his head and looked at the mud stained on his shoes. It was a huge gain to get the album of negatives by accident today. He didn't think he could find anything more interesting at the auction.

"Forget it, it's as dirty as a pigsty outside. I thought I was back in medieval England."

Suisui also looked at her muddy boots and decisively gave up the idea of ​​attending the auction for the second time.

As for Lu Xinda, this girl was busy scraping the mud on her boots with a piece of firewood. These boots were the brand name that Suisui's mother took them to the county town to buy during the Chinese New Year.

Seeing that neither girl wanted to move, Wei Ran simply stood up, took off the windbreaker he bought not long ago and hung it on the tent pole. Then he put on the complimentary sheepskin gloves again, wiped the mud off the soles of his shoes, and excused himself to go Get some firewood, climb the ladder and get into the bed of the truck.

The cargo bed of the truck was covered with a thick military green rain-proof tarpaulin, and there were several oil lamps emitting a dim yellow light hanging on the metal scaffolding overhead.

In the cargo compartment lit by the dim light, boxes of firewood that had been chopped in advance were placed on a metal shelf on the rear side of the car.

On the shelf on the other side, there is a generator that has not started, a wine rack filled with various foreign wines, a gas bottle with unknown gas, a box full of weather balloons, plus two A cable shaft fixed to the rear transverse panel of the cargo bed.

There is no need to ask. These gas bottles, balloons and the two axes are estimated to be a hundred meters long, and they must have cables with metal wire cores. Ninety-nine percent of them are used for radio antennas.

The reason why he was so sure was that near the cab, the metal welded shelves were filled with various types of individual radio stations, receivers of various powers and equipment equipped by the German and British troops during World War II. Sending machine.He even saw a B2 spy radio station that he had recently obtained!

Not only that, there is an antenna mast that can be raised and lowered by hand on the left hand side of the cargo compartment door!

He even easily guessed that Henry's enthusiastic and trusting entrustment just before leaving was more like hoping that he would take the initiative to discover the treasures he collected and praise him after he came back from the auction.

A man is a boy until death. Wei Ran smiled noncommittally, pulled out a box of firewood and moved it into the tent.

After he filled up the wood stove with fuel, Suisui and Lu Xinda finally cleaned the mud from their boots and were studying the Delisle silenced carbine together.

"Is this gun expensive?" Suisui asked curiously while looking around the tent with the carbine without bullets.

"It's not cheap. Only a little over 100 pieces were produced in total."

Wei Ran responded casually, and then reminded, "Look, stay away from it, this gun is not clean."

"Not clean?"

Suisui was stunned and asked subconsciously, "Do you have a soul ring?"

"I don't know if it has a soul ring or not, but this gun has radiation."

As Wei Ran spoke, he took the carbine from the opponent's hand, pointed at the position of the front sight and said, "When this thing was produced, the possibility of using it at night was considered, so the front sight was painted with something that can glow at night. radium."

"Why didn't you say it earlier"

Suisui grinned, and without thinking, she took off her free sheepskin gloves and threw them under the truck. Then she called Lu Xinda to take off the gloves she had just put on and threw them out.

Upon seeing this, Wei Ran, who was about to say something, smiled, pointed outside the tent and said, "I'll go take a look in the cab of this truck."

"Did you find something good again?" Suisui suddenly became interested again.

"There are so many good things, but there are quite a few old antiques in the cargo compartment."

Wei Ran smiled and said, "If you two are bored, go and have a look inside the cargo compartment, but I guess there's nothing that interests you two."

Even so, the two girls got up in no particular order, climbed the metal ladder and got into the cargo compartment.

Seeing this, Wei Ran put on his windbreaker again and lifted up the tent door. He tried to pull the door of the truck. When he saw that it was not locked, he opened it and got in.

Although this truck is indeed ugly on the outside, the cab is spacious enough, and thanks to the large glass windows, the lighting is good.The only drawback is that the canvas-covered sunroof above the co-pilot's head is leaking.

Of course, Wei Ran was not here to find fault, so when he closed the car door, he noticed something on the hood between the driver's and passenger's seats.

There is a metal fence on the hood that seems to have been welded on later and is less than ten centimeters high.

Inside this circle of fence, there is not only a beautiful blanket, but also several rattan picnic baskets neatly placed.

Opening the lids of these picnic baskets one by one, one contained various brands of tea and cartons of milk.In a basket adjacent to it, there is a set of exquisite tea sets.

Continuing to look down, the third basket contains pipes and various brands of cut tobacco, as well as tubes of cigars, boxes of cypress sticks, matches, a few sets of keys and other small miscellaneous items.

He looked at the fourth basket without giving up. It was like a medicine box, containing antihypertensive medicine, first-aid medicine for heart disease, some anti-allergic medicines, gauze bandages, iodine, and other items.

In the last basket, there was a hardcover Bible and a set of hardcover Harry Potter books. The Bible looked like there were no signs of being turned, but one of the Harry Potter books was. Holding a delicate metal bookmark.

So which one is better, God or the magic wand?

With this doubt, Wei Ran continued to rummage in the basket, and then pulled out a small four-fold photo frame from under the Harry Potter set.

This small photo frame is no more than the size of a cigarette box when folded. After opening, it contains six photos on the front and back. In addition, the outer two sides are a small mirror and a hanging image of God hanging on the cross. That kind of look.

Among these six photos, the first one is an intimate photo of Henry and a woman of the same age who is about the same size as him but just touching each other.

In the second photo, in addition to the two of them, there were two men and three women, middle-aged people who seemed to be their children, and five children of different ages.

The third photo is still a group photo, but Henry in this group photo is far less fat and old than he is now.In the photo, he, who is about 30 years old, and his companions around him are all wearing the fourth-class cannon fodder uniforms of the US military.

In particular, he was carrying a set of individual radios on his back and an assault rifle in his hand.

No wonder the radio is so slippery.
Wei Ran muttered to himself and turned to look at the fourth photo. In this photo, a group photo of a young couple was taken at a wedding. Through the features between the eyebrows and eyes, it can be vaguely distinguished that it should be Henry when he was young. look.

Looking at the fifth photo, it was taken by Henry, who was wearing a bachelor's uniform and holding a graduation certificate, standing behind an old couple.Just by looking at the appearance of these three people, Wei Ran could guess that they should be Henry's parents.

The last photo in this folding photo frame is of two shirtless young men and a beautiful girl in a dress, sitting side by side on the deck of a rescue buoy half buried in the sand. Photo below.

The three little guys in this group photo look to be only twelve or thirteen years old, with bright smiles on their freckled faces.In their hands, each held an ice cream cone.

Beside the rescue buoy, you can vaguely see a Matador truck, a man dressed somewhat similar to Mario the plumber, and a woman wearing an apron with a simple smile. In the hands of this couple, they also have their own Holding a wooden box full of milk bottles.

After restoring this exquisite photo frame and putting it back to its original position, Wei Ran finally had [-]% confidence in Henry's childhood memories he mentioned before.

After looking around in the cab again, he carefully removed the Stanley thermos bottle from the metal pot holder on the wall between the driver and co-pilot, unscrewed the lid of the pot and put his palm on it to test the temperature. He restored everything that had been moved to its original state and left the cab.

Instead of rushing back to the tent, Wei Ran walked to the front of the car, leaned against the front bumper and took out the cigarette case, took out the cigarette holder and cigarette, lit it and took a deep puff in his mouth.

You have to quit smoking.
Wei Ran muttered secretly and took two sharp puffs, then decisively put out the cigarette, put the cigarette holder and the cigarette holder back into the cigarette case and put it away.

He took out the flask, took a sip of gin and rinsed his mouth. As soon as Wei Ran spat out the mouthwash on the muddy ground, he saw Henry taking the young man named Robert to have sex with him from a distance. Qian walked back with a kick.

Compared to Henry who was empty-handed, the camper that Robert was holding clearly contained a lot of things.

"How was the harvest?" Wei Ran asked in French from a distance.

"I was cheated, but there was also an unexpected gain."

Henry said helplessly at first, "I was deceived. The auction tonight is just a rotor of the Enigma cipher machine, and it is also a rotor of a commercial cipher machine."

"How's the windfall?" Wei Ran asked with a smile. "Although the cipher machine did not appear, I bought a complete set of FU12 radios!"

Henry's tone also became more excited, "It is said that it was removed from a half-track reconnaissance communications vehicle. The two receivers and one transmitter are intact! And there are matching generators. This is A rare good thing!”

As he spoke, Henry had already lifted a corner of the tarpaulin covering the camper that Robert was pulling, turned on the flashlight in his hand and looked inside, and proudly showed the stacks in the camper to Wei Ran. The metal box together and the GG400 generator that alone occupies half of the camper van space.

With such a set of [-] kilograms of iron lumps, it's no wonder that the young man named Robert had a hard time walking.

“Really a rare good thing”

Weiran said with sincere admiration that FU12 was almost the radio station with the longest communication distance and the highest power among the German military vehicle communication systems at that time. It is really rare to find such a complete set.

"Have you looked in the cargo compartment?"

Henry covered the tarp again and asked as he walked towards the tent.

"I have seen it," Wei Ran replied truthfully, "This is also the first time I have seen so many radio equipment."

"Those are all things I have collected over the years."

Henry said proudly, "Most of them are bought in such markets. Buy them, repair them, and use them. No matter what, you can gain a lot of happiness."

"When did Mr. Henry become interested in radio?"

While Wei Ran asked along the topic, he also helped lift the tent door.After a while, there was already a bottle of sweet wine on the table between Suisui and Lu Xinda, and the two girls each held a goblet in their hands.

"when I was young"

Henry first greeted Suisui without any pretense of being a rich man, and then motioned Robert to move the purchased items into the cargo compartment while explaining, "My father is a sailor, and he taught me Morse code." .Since I learned it, I often practice sending Morse signals with a flashlight.”

Having said this, Henry had already sat down on the chair that originally belonged to him. "You won't believe it. The reason why Sean and I became friends when we were young was because he understood the Morse code I typed with a flashlight. and responded with the same flashlight.”

"Shawn knows Morse code?" Wei Ran raised his eyebrows, "Did his father also teach him?"

"It's his mother"

Henry explained while pouring himself tea, "Sean's mother worked in the telegraph office back then. When I left Brighton with my parents, I made an agreement with Sean and his sister Kate to communicate by telegraph. "

"So did you contact me later?" Wei Ran sat down and asked curiously.

"Never again"

Henry spread his hands regretfully, "By the time I own my first radio station, it will be my time in college."

At this point, Henry and the black guy who was busy transporting the radio said, "Robert, you stay and pack your things. Drive slower when you go back. This old guy is a slow driver."

"I'll drive slowly on the road," Robert responded with a silly smile, baring his small white teeth.

"Let's go"

Henry, who had only drank half a cup of tea, stood up again, took the car key from Robert and threw it directly to Wei Ran, "Let's go back now, Victor, how about you help me drive?"

"As long as the police on the road don't have any objections," Wei Ran said with a smile as he took the car keys.

"Don't worry, they won't have any objections."

Henry made the promise nonchalantly, drank the remaining half cup of tea, and then put on an English pot helmet as a rain hat and walked out of the tent again.

"Let's go too"

Wei Ran greeted Suisui and Lu Xinda who were secretly drinking. He led the two girls, while interpreting the conversation just now, and followed Henry out of the tent, stepping on the increasingly sticky mud to the outside of the market.

After they passed through the sentry box filled with the aroma of fried fish, Wei Ran immediately pressed the car key.

However, when Lu Xinda helped open the car door, she found that lawyer Carlos was not here.

"Mr. Carlos called me before noon and said that his joints were in severe pain, so he went back first."

As Henry spoke, he had already opened the car door and sat in the passenger seat. He was an extra gentleman and gave up the relatively more comfortable rear compartment to Suisui and Lu Xinda.

"How did you and Mr. Carlos meet?" Wei Ran waited for Sui and Sui to sit firmly before starting the car and slowly leaving the still lively slope.

"I was sitting in the dock more than ten years ago"

Henry explained calmly, "It was Carlos, that sharp-tongued bastard who easily defeated the plaintiff's lawyer and left the court with me innocent."

"So you know Mr. Dominic?"

"Of course, of course I know Mr. Dominic." Henry replied matter-of-factly, "That's a very wise old guy."

Now that they have a common acquaintance, the two of them will also have common topics to talk about on the way.

When Henry finished talking in French about how beautiful and sexy Ms. Lily was when she was young, Wei Ran also followed his memory and drove the car into the barn of the farm again.

"Go down and see for yourself. The light switch is on the wall to the right of the door."

Henry said, taking out two keys strung together from his pocket and handing them to Wei Ran, "After we finish reading, we will go back to Brighton. We have already arranged a dinner at home in advance."

"So you won't be staying on this farm tonight?" Wei Ran asked with a smile as he took the key.

“Of course I don’t live here”

Henry replied nonchalantly, "Of course, if you want to live here, that's okay, even if you live in that buoy."

"Let's discuss this issue later."

Wei Ran opened the car door as he spoke and greeted Suisui and Lu Xinda at the same time, "Do you want to come with me to take a look?"

"Go!" Suisui replied without thinking, and Lu Xinda opened the car door first.

Turning on the barn lights, Wei Ran led the two girls back to the iron cabinet next to the buoy, and opened the locked cabinet door with the key he had just obtained.

At the same time, Lu Xinda, who had just come down carrying Wei Ran's briefcase at Suisui's suggestion, also opened Wei Ran's briefcase in a serious manner, took out a pair of rubber gloves from inside and handed it over.

After taking the gloves and putting them on, Wei Ran turned on the flashlight function of his phone and observed the contents of the cabinet with Suisui who was watching the excitement and Lu Xinda who was overly curious.

The first cabinet contained several sets of clean clothes held up on hangers, neatly stacked blankets, and several pairs of shoes.Without exception, these items are vacuum packed.

In the second cabinet, in addition to a "People's Radio" with the model number "VE 301 Dyn GW", there is also a glass jar labeled "Sugar" in German. Holding the "bacon" finger that I saw in the photo before.

In addition, there were several brandy bottles, an incomplete medical kit, playing cards and a chess set.

Looking further down, there is a wooden hammer and a bag of wooden nails of different thicknesses, as well as two kerosene lamps, two oil stoves and an English square oil drum.

On the next floor, there were signal guns, flares, a battery in a wooden box and several stacked iron barrels.Also on this floor, an inconspicuous jewelry box contained the skull ring that was also seen in the photo.

Don't be afraid of losing it either.
Wei Ran picked up the jewelry box and observed it carefully while muttering secretly. Due to its scarcity, this inconspicuous ring could easily sell for tens of thousands of dollars even if it didn't go to auction. If it went to auction, It’s not uncommon to sell for more than $[-].

Of course, the one in front of me will definitely not work. Not only does it not have the original matching wooden box, but the identity information of the original owner has been artificially erased, and there is no crucial issuance certificate.

But even if these are missing, this ring can be exchanged for seven or eight thousand beauties at least.

But when you think about it, Mr. Henry, who is sitting in the car outside and seems to have a lot of money, is interested in collecting radio equipment. There seems to be nothing unreasonable about putting this thing here.

After observing the cabinet, Wei Ran frowned, then signaled Suisui and Lu Xinda to take a step back, and locked the cabinet door with the key in his hand.

"What's wrong?" Suisui looked at Wei Ran curiously.

"There is something missing here," Wei Ran said, but he had already turned around and walked towards the outside of the barn.

"What's missing?" Suisui and Lu Xinda asked curiously as they caught up.

"Lack of a radio station"

When Wei Ran answered this question in Chinese, Henry, who was sitting in the passenger seat and smoking a cigar by the window, also said in French at the same time, "You must have noticed that there is a radio station missing in those two cabinets. In fact, from my I had no impression of seeing a radio when I first saw it, but this rescue buoy should be equipped with a radio."

"Could it be that Sean's father hid it or used it?" Wei Ran asked in French while helping the girls open the carriage door.

Henry spread his hands, "I don't know about that. If I make everything very clear, I won't have to trouble you, right?"

"makes sense"

Wei Ran got into the driver's seat as he spoke, "Mr. Henry, let's find a place to sit down and have something to eat first."

"Wise choice," Henry said, reaching out and pressing the navigation on the car screen, "Just follow it."

"I have a question," Wei Ran said as he started the car and drove out.

"What question?" Henry asked casually.

"What exactly is your purpose?"

Wei Ran asked bluntly, "Do you want to know the origin of this buoy, or do you want to make your childhood friendship with your friend into a movie?"

"Victor"

Henry patted Wei Ran's shoulder affectionately, "I want to do all these, so use your ability to investigate to the best of your ability. I can afford the investigation fees."

It's not easy to make your money.
Wei Ran muttered secretly. In his heart, he had no interest in this rescue buoy or anything about the fat man's childhood. Instead, he wanted to return to his hometown as soon as possible to take a good look at the precious shots left by the beautiful war photographer. What happened?

With these different thoughts, Weiran also drove to Brighton with the help of the navigation system, and then passed through the city and stopped at a building that was not too big and the location was not that big. What a nice entrance to the villa.

(End of this chapter)