War Photographer's Notebook

In the gloomy night, a huge dog sled team stopped around the wooden house.

This sled team is indeed large enough, with 26 sleighs, each sleigh loaded with supplies.

But what is strange is that none of the people driving the sleds are wearing German uniforms, and some of their sleds even have a medium-sized Norwegian or British flag tied to them.

When the sleighs came to a stop one after another, a bearded man got out of the first sleigh, walked quickly to Major Schubert and saluted, then shook hands and said, "Major Schubert, long time no see."

"It's been a long time indeed, Major Aigner. What good things have you brought us this time?" Major Schubert asked with a smile.

"Everything you asked for has been delivered."

The bearded Major Aigner patted the briefcase he was carrying, "And I brought you a gift. Move the gift for them down!"

After giving the order, those driving the sleds immediately gathered around the six sleds at the front, silently lifting the things on them and taking them into the cabin.

What surprised Wei Ran was that among these "gifts", there was actually a sewing machine!

Is this surprising? Of course it’s worth it!

The fact that a small radio operator graciously complied with such a "rude" request is enough to prove how highly valued this cabin is!

There really isn't a 211 base, right?

At one moment, Wei Ran even had a moment of doubt about the authenticity of historical records.

"Come on, let's go in and talk!"

Major Schubert waited until the people carrying the gifts left the cabin, and immediately enthusiastically invited Major Aigner to go inside.

At the same time, Doctors Weiran and Yog, as well as the radio operator Hanno, also brought out the broth that had been cooked in advance and was full of penguin grease, internal organs, and possibly whale meat to replenish energy for the sled dogs. .

Those driving sled dogs, on the other hand, had no intention of entering the cabin after carrying the gifts. They just asked for a small cup of hot coffee from the kettle in Dr. Yog's hand. After drinking it all, they were busy taking the rest. The coal, fuel, or other unknown boxes or even bundles of wooden boards loaded on the 20 sleighs were moved down one by one and piled up in different categories.

At the same time, the six sled truck drivers who had emptied their cargo also kept all the sled dogs and sled cars they brought with them, and then took out the sled dogs in the kennels and hooked them up. The sleigh is obviously ready to be taken back later.

Even the sled dogs are rotated?

Wei Ran raised his eyebrows slightly and followed Dr. Cross and others into the wooden house.

By the time all six people stationed here were in place, Major Aigner, who had come to deliver supplies, had also taken off his fur robe, revealing the German uniform underneath.

The two sides greeted each other again, and Dr. Jörg also served Major Aigner a portion of the penguin meat stew that he had cooked by himself. He did not forget to complain about the dilemma that the seasonings were even more insufficient than the medicines.

"Don't worry, we brought enough supplies this time."

Major Aigner was particularly easy to talk to, “I brought 50 kilograms of sweet paprika alone, which is enough for you to eat Hungarian stew every day until the next supply is delivered.

"Where are the medicines?" Dr. Yog asked, "We still need medicines."

"Double supply according to your demand"

Major Aigner continued to explain, "I know you are going to ask about vegetables next. Don't worry, Dr. Yog. Whether it's carrots, onions, coffee, black tea and jam, we have brought enough for you to eat for a whole winter. And I came with a lot of lemons and cans.”

Having said this, Aigner looked at Wei Ran and said in a joking tone, "Even the film, cigarettes and spirits that Mr. Victor needs, we have prepared double the amount. Of course, we will also bring you Here are new clothes.”

"This is the best news," Dr. Cross couldn't help but say.

"Major Aigner, I just saw the sewing machine I need, but have you brought the radio and engine accessories?" Hanno also asked about the supplies he was interested in.

"certainly"

Aigner nodded immediately, "I brought them all, and by the way, I also brought the letters written to you by your mother and wife."

With that said, Aigner had already opened his briefcase, took out three envelopes from it, and handed them to Hanno, Carsten and Dr. Cross respectively.

At the same time, he asked bluntly, "Mr. Carsten, and Dr. Cross, I got news that you have made important discoveries in that location?"

"Indeed it is"

Dr. Cross put down the letter that he had not yet opened, walked to his bedside, opened the small locked wooden box, and explained excitedly, "We sent it in the coal seam."

"Dr. Cross"

Carsten interrupted his explanation and said bluntly, "Just give our findings and report to Major Aigner."

Hearing this, Cross was stunned, and quickly stuffed the things he was about to take out back into the wooden box and locked it.

Upon seeing this, Wei Ran, who was rummaging through the pile of supplies for cigarettes, immediately withdrew his gaze. In that quick glance, he only saw a lot of paper in Cross's box, and a man who seemed to be full of patina but couldn't see the outline clearly. object.

"Major Aigner"

Schubert picked up the cup and said, "Let's have a quick drink, and then it's time for you to leave."

"Do any of you plan to leave with me?" Major Aigner asked while picking up the cup.

Seeing Wei Ran and others holding up their cups, Major Aigner took the initiative to clink their cups with everyone, "It seems no one is planning to leave."

After drinking all the wine in the cup, Major Aigner sat down and concentrated on enjoying his portion of penguin meat, but he never started any conversation again.

After finishing a simple meal in less than half an hour, Major Aigner took out a handkerchief and wiped his mouth, then put on the furry leather robe, first took Cross's wooden box, Then he asked for the negatives of photos taken by Wei Ran - the ones in the suitcase on his bed. Finally, he took away a heavy briefcase from Major Schubert.

After loading all these things on the sleigh, Major Aigner saluted and said, "Gentlemen, we will see you in the summer."

"See you in the summer"

Schubert saluted and said goodbye, watching the other party get on the sleigh, lead the transport team away from here, and finally disappeared into the vast night.

"Winter has begun"

Schubert sighed as if talking to himself, then cheered up and said, "Hanno, Victor, you are responsible for counting the supplies. Of course, this is the work after opening the gifts."

Before they finished speaking, everyone immediately rushed to the wooden house and began to rummage through the wooden boxes with their names on them.

In the wooden box belonging to the sanitary ware, in addition to several sets of changes of underwear, socks, two sets of white jumpsuits and new shoes, there are hundreds of films in sealed tubes and a set of metal notebooks The same Robert camera.

Apart from these things, the rest of the boxes with his name on them were filled with gin and cigarettes stuffed into the gaps between the bottles!

I'm afraid this wicked book mistook me for Professor Alexei.

Wei Ran cursed, picked up two bottles of gin and two packs of cigarettes and put them on the table for sharing, pretending to be curious and looking at the supplies of the others.

Except for the new clothes and shoes, which are unified, the remaining supplies have their own characteristics.

Cross and Carsten's "gifts" mostly consisted of books. In addition to medicines and medical equipment, Dr. Yog received mostly various seasonings, a Leica camera and dozens of film rolls.

In addition to the sewing machine that could be used as a table, Hanno also got a large roll of silk fabric.

As for Schubert, except for a few bottles of wine, the rest of his gifts were all coffee beans and a grinder, and of course, a beautiful coffee pot.

Of course, in addition to these, there are more supplies stacked outside the wooden house.

During the subsequent inventory, Wei Ran also noticed that in addition to the coal and barrels of kerosene that had been helped to pile up, the most common items were various vegetables that had been frozen into ice lumps, various canned jams, and even adulterated products. Bags of flour, cereals.

Obviously, these things are enough for them to survive this long winter. But the return mission written in the metal book also let Wei Ran know that this winter might not be so easy.

While secretly guessing what would happen next, Wei Ran and Han Nuo carefully counted the supplies delivered.

This is obviously not a troublesome job, and Hanno doesn't even need to keep detailed records depending on what he means. The only thing they need to do is to follow the preservation requirements, or save them in empty oil drums outside the wooden house, or send them to Just go under the bed in the cabin.

By the time they finished the small amount of work, Dr. Jorg had already thrown a large piece of cooked penguin meat to each of the newly appointed sled dogs. In the room, Dr. Cross and Mr. Carsten were already waiting impatiently. I was flipping through the newspapers that were delivered to me.

Even Schubert had already brewed a pot of fragrant coffee at this time, and even took the initiative to pour a cup for each of Wei Ran and Hanno when he saw them coming in.

"Gentlemen"

Hanno took a sip of coffee and said, "Since Major Schubert hunted enough seals during the summer and I finally got a sewing machine, if any of you need additional reinforcements for your thermal suits, please send them over immediately. "

"I have been waiting for your words for a long time."

Before Dr. Cross finished speaking, he had handed over a set of one-piece thermal insulation suits and said with great assurance, "Leave it to you, Mr. Hanno." "And mine."

As he spoke, Carsten also put down the newspaper in his hand, pulled out a brand new thermal suit and handed it to Hanno.

Immediately afterwards, whether it was Major Schubert or Dr. Yog who came in last, and even Wei Ran, they all took out a new set of thermal insulation suits and handed them to Hanno. The latter took out several ones from under the bed that had been prepared in advance. Cut sealskin.

Not long after, in addition to the sound of newspapers being flipped through and the aroma of coffee, the noise of a sewing machine working could also be heard in this small wooden house.

Seeing that these people had found something to do and Yu Wang obviously had nothing to talk about, Wei Ran simply climbed onto the bed after drinking his own cup of coffee, and took a condescending photo of everyone in the cabin. photo.

After an unknown amount of time, Major Schubert, who was sitting by the fire, drank his last cup of coffee and lay down on his bed. Soon after, Dr. Cross, Mr. Carsten and Dr. Jörg also went to bed to rest. Only Hanno was still busy sewing extra sealskin for everyone's one-piece thermal suits on the sewing machine.

"Aren't you going to sleep?" Wei Ran asked Hannuo in a low voice on the lower bunk.

"I'll be on duty"

Hanno replied in a low voice, "Victor, can you give me a pack of your cigarettes? My weight quota is all used to transport this sewing machine."

"Of course, go get it yourself." Wei Ran responded generously, "Get me a pack by the way."

"Thank you!"

Hannuo immediately stood up with a smile on his face, took two packs of cigarettes from the supply box belonging to Wei Ran, and handed one of the packs of cigarettes and a tin can to Wei Ran.

Taking the cigarettes and the tin can and placing them on the bedside, Wei Ran took out a cigarette and lit it, then took out the cigarette case in the metal book and prepared to take out a cigarette holder from it.

However, when he saw that the cigarette box was empty except for two cigarette holders, his whole body immediately trembled!

broken! It’s broken, it’s broken!

Wei Ran almost subconsciously thought of the hot cocoa that he couldn't drink at the right time on the USS Johnston!

After patiently finishing the cigarette in his hand, Wei Ran immediately covered himself with a blanket in a slow motion and checked all the props that could be taken out in the metal book.

Sure enough, no matter whether it was the three oil drums or the wine bottle, they were empty and cleaner than their faces. Even the pen had no ink, and there was no smell of kerosene in the stove and lighter.

I wonder if the backpacks and airdrop boxes are also empty.

Wei Ran thought about it worriedly, but he was completely insomnia. If the supplies that could be used to satisfy his hunger were not available in those two important props, then he had to fill them with edible food as soon as possible - especially Vegetables that can supplement vitamins!

"Victor"

Just at this time, Hannuo in the lower bunk reminded in a low voice, "It's already eight o'clock in the evening, shouldn't you go add coal to the stove in the kennel? Don't blame me for not reminding you, if you let the stove go out again, I'm afraid the Major will punish you again."

"I'm getting ready to go"

Wei Ran got up before he finished speaking. He was in need of an excuse to leave the cabin!

Wei Ran quickly put on his boots and one-piece thermal insulation suit again, looked at the time displayed on the watch on his cuffs, and then left the wooden house with two doors.

After getting into the wooden house that didn't smell good and filling the small stove with coal, Wei Ran did not leave in a hurry. Instead, he took out the sled from the metal book under the astonished and even horrified gazes of the huddled dogs. car.

Fortunately, everything on the sleigh was still there, especially the various cans in the box, which gave him enough confidence.

This damn book won't secretly take away these things again.

Weiran muttered secretly, but there was no way to avoid this situation. In the end, he could only put away the sleigh and took out the airdrop box containing the cast iron stove.

However, when he opened the airdrop box, he found that there was not a single piece of coal that should have been in it, and even the firewood used to start the fire in the furnace was gone!

I knew there was a trap!

Wei Ran ignored the horrified looks of the dogs and poured all the coal from the iron bucket at the corner of the kennel into the airdrop box. Then he brought back a large bucket from outside until all the airdrop boxes and furnaces were empty. After filling it up, he took it back into the metal book with satisfaction.

On a rare occasion, he filled one of the empty oil drums with kerosene and then got into the wooden house.

Not shying away from Hanno, who was still working on his sewing machine, Wei Ran then filled his lighter and stove with kerosene, filled his bottle with gin, and finally filled his cigarette case with kerosene. After smoking 20 cigarettes, I climbed into bed and lay down again.

Amid unnecessary worries about whether the metal notebook would steal his belongings, Wei Ran slowly closed his eyes and fell asleep.

When he woke up again, he found that Schubert was putting on a jumpsuit with additional sealskin sewn on the elbows, knees and buttocks. Also in the jumpsuit is Dr. York.

Looking at the lower bunk, Hanno was already asleep. On his precious sewing machine were three other jumpsuits sewn with sealskin.

"Let's go hunting, Victor, make breakfast before we come back." Schubert ordered as he zipped up the zipper, "Hungarian soup, and bake some bread by the way, that's it, and, wait I'll start the generator next, remember to watch the radio and wake Hanno up immediately if there's a telegram."

"I know, Major, can you give me some of your coffee beans?" Wei Ran immediately responded enthusiastically and made his own small request.

But in his heart, he became increasingly disgusted with this major who sounded arrogant as if he was giving orders to his subordinates. Of course, he was inevitably looking forward to it, hoping that the other party would be an arrogant monster like the German bomber pilot Julian.

"Get it yourself," Schubert said, before taking a bottle of gin from the box belonging to Wei Ran, "Exchange this for it."

"Thank you!"

Wei Ran said gratefully, and this time he was really grateful - he really needed a can of coffee, not the cheap, unpleasant and not refreshing substitute coffee that was delivered yesterday.

Watching the other party leave, Wei Ran immediately got out of bed and started working. The Hungarian soup, which Germany had never had enough from World War I to World War II, was not that difficult, but baking bread was a troublesome technical task, and This is exactly what he is not good at.

Fortunately, shortly after Major Schubert and Dr. Jörg left, Carsten and Dr. Cross also woke up one after another, and took the initiative to take on the job of baking bread - these also required Weiran to pay for a bottle of gin. .

After the bread was put into the oven that came with the cast iron stove, Dr. Cross and Carsten also put on the jumpsuits modified by Hanno one after another. "Victor, the bread can be taken out in 20 minutes. Before that, we’re going to go out and get some air.”

After saying that, the two of them opened the door and left the cabin without waiting for Wei Ran's response.

Although there was only himself and the snoring Hanno left in the wooden house for a while, Wei Ran was not idle. Instead, he immediately picked up a small can of coffee beans and a pack of sugar cubes from Schubert's box. After pouring it into the grinder, it began to be quickly ground into powder, and all the sugar cubes were poured into an empty oil bucket taken out of the metal book.

In this precious 20 minutes, he only had time to pour two large pots of boiling water into the oil barrel and pour a few bottles of gin into the only other oil barrel left in the metal book.

Almost at the same time that the bread was baked, Dr. Cross and Mr. Carsten returned to the cabin on time. Less than 10 minutes apart, Dr. Schubert and Dr. Jörg also drove back in a sleigh and brought back two pieces of bread. A fat penguin.

"Jog, it seems that Victor is more talented than you when it comes to cooking." At the dinner table, Schubert said in a sincere tone after taking a sip of the soup.

“It is true”

Schubert took a bite of bread and said, "So are you going to hand over the kitchen work to Victor? He already does a lot of jobs."

"It's about to enter the polar night"

Major Schubert said matter-of-factly, "By then there will be no jobs that require photographers, so Victor, how about I leave the kitchen work to you?"

"My pleasure, sir."

Wei Ran said gratefully. This time, he was really grateful. Working in the kitchen was much more comfortable than working outside. What's more, the cook didn't steal the grains and didn't harvest them. He was eager to get this job.

"Then it's settled!"

Schubert seemed very satisfied with Wei Ran's attitude, "There are only a few pitiful hours left before dark, Yog, let's continue hunting later."

"Of course, it's an honor."

Dr. Yog agreed wholeheartedly, as if he didn't even see Dr. Cross's dissatisfied face.

After breakfast in a harmonious atmosphere, Major Schubert greeted Yog and left the cabin. Wei Ran took the initiative to clear away the dinner plates, and mixed the remaining food with some penguin meat and seal meat specially fed to dogs and cooked it. A big pot full.

"Are you sure?"

While Wei Ran was waiting for the pot of dog food to be cooked, he heard Dr. Cross sitting by the bed not far away asking in a low voice in Latin.

"Of course I'm sure, and it's definitely not wrong."

Carsten, who was busy at his desk drawing, replied firmly in a low voice in Latin, "I am a geologist, and I have been studying the geological structures here before coming to Antarctica. And it's not just me, I believe Dr. Jorg has also discovered .”

"He also discovered it?" Dr. Cross asked in surprise.

"He must have discovered something."

Carsten's tone became more determined, "Why else would he choose to stay so simply yesterday? I think if he had decided to leave yesterday, he would have been killed before even seeing the coastline."

"So this really isn't Queen Maud land?"

Dr. Cross said something in Latin that Wei Ran never expected.

"We're not allowed to go to the whaling stations in the oasis, we're not allowed to have weapons, we're not even allowed to have a compass, doesn't that mean anything?"

As Carsten spoke, he threw a small stone on the table that was about the size of a walnut and almost filled with pulp.

On that small stone, there is also a thin piece of iron cut into the shape of a pointer, but no bigger than a willow leaf, tightly adhered to it - that is a natural magnet!