War Photographer's Notebook

Chapter 143 Dessert Shop ([-]-in-[-] Update)

Early in the morning of the second day in Kyiv, when Wei Ran walked out of the room, he happened to see Jima in the opposite room stuffing a few banknotes into the pocket of a young girl's chest.The latter wrapped his down jacket tightly around his body as if no one was there, and left a fiery red lip mark on Ji Ma's face with his probe. Then he walked into the elevator with a leather bag, and even turned towards Wei Wei when the elevator door closed. The winking eyes flew away.

"This is the guide you're looking for?" Wei Ran turned his head and teased Jima, who still had an expression on his face.

"It's enough to have a mobile phone for navigation. How can I find a guide for such a fortune?" Ji Ma waved at Wei Ran with a silly smile, and said in a low voice, "Come with me first."

Walking into Jima's room for some unknown reason, the former pointed to the backpack on the bed as if asking for credit, "That's the main reason why I asked for that pretty girl."

"what?"

Wei Ran opened his backpack curiously, and at a glance, he saw that there were two rotten Makarov pistols, two spare magazines, and two cardboard boxes of bullets inside.

"I got it from the local gangsters, so at least we can be safer." Jima said in a low voice, "Although I have never been to Kyiv, this is Ukraine after all."

"Speaking as if Russia is safe"

Wei Ran muttered to himself, picked up one of the pistols, disassembled it almost subconsciously, and checked it, then put the magazine into his jacket pocket.

"Don't worry, I checked it last night." Jima picked up another gun and stuck it in his waist, shaking the car keys in his hand shamelessly, "Even the girl who rented the gun to us has checked it carefully. As a thank you, he even rented a car for me."

"Rented?" Wei Ran looked at Ji Ma who was loading bullets into the magazine, "Can this thing be rented?"

Ji Ma took it for granted, "It's much cheaper than buying it. Anyway, we can't take it back, and it's not worth it at all. Why spend money to buy it?"

"He is a good comrade who is diligent and thrifty"

Wei Ran, dumbfounded, took the magazine from the other party and put it in his pocket.Although the gun was rented and there was a high probability that it would never be used at all, the attitude of the other party made him very satisfied.

After Jima filled the other spare magazine with bullets, the two divided the remaining bullets into their pockets, then left the hotel and drove a dilapidated old Lada to the northwest corner of the city Podli district.

With the help of navigation, the dilapidated car drove out of the city along the road, and finally drove into a community surrounded by cemeteries, farmland and forests on three sides at the edge of the city.

Just from the dilapidated buildings on both sides of the street, it can be known that the people who live here may not be very happy.And those gangsters with fierce faces who were obviously looking for targets on the street, and the girls who were also screening customers on the street, made Ji Ma, who was in charge of driving, keep sighing that he had prepared self-defense weapons in advance.

All the way through the streets and alleys, when Ji Ma stepped on the brakes during the navigation prompt, there was a wooden house facing the street outside the car window, next to the window side of the street, and there was a fluorescent signboard with cartoon characters on it Although neither of them knew the Ukrainian language they wrote, they could at least understand the ice cream, egg tarts and coffee cups painted on it.

"Dessert shop?" Ji Ma leaned his head to the edge of the phone screen, "Victor, did you get the address wrong?"

“It should be here”

Before Wei Ran finished speaking, he pushed open the car door, stepped on the steps inlaid with various colored stones, and walked to the window with a signboard. There are several tables and corresponding wooden chairs, as well as a slide that looks quite old.

Slightly bent down and looked in through the glass window, in the spacious room, there are many equipment that should be in a dessert shop against the wall. busy before.

But in addition, on the wall facing the window, there are two crossed double-barreled shotguns. Right above the shotguns, there is a flashing fluorescent sign that reads " The gun is loaded, please go to the next door for robbery."And above this Russian language, there is another line of similar Ukrainian language, presumably it should express the same meaning.

Wei Ran couldn't help laughing, and after hesitating for a moment, he raised his hand and tapped on the glass window lightly.

The girl who was busy inside saw a customer coming, and quickly put aside the egg tart that she just took out from the wall, then opened the window and asked a question in Ukrainian.

Seeing Wei Ran's blank face, the girl immediately switched to Russian and asked, "What do you want?"

"Is the table in the courtyard available?"

Wei Ran put his upper body on the window sill and asked, "If you can use it, some egg tarts, and two cups of coffee, if you have other things, you can also have some."

"Of course." The girl pointed to the car parked on the side of the road, "but you'd better drive the car forward, so as not to affect my business."

"Of course." Wei Ran took a step back, straightened his waist and waved to Ji Ma who was standing beside the car, "Drive forward, and then come over to eat something!"

Ji Mabi made an OK gesture, and without starting the car, he pushed it forward a few meters, put on the handbrake and locked the door, and ran over.Before the two of them could sit down, the girl in overalls had brought various desserts, two large cups of coffee, and a receipt on the table.

"Let's eat first." Wei Ran winked at Jima, who immediately took back the words that had reached his mouth, and honestly picked up an egg tart and stuffed it into his mouth.

While eating dessert, Wei Ran was also looking at this not-so-big yard. It could be seen that all the things here were prepared for children, and even the table they were using was shorter than normal Not a lot.

"Victor, are you sure the person we are looking for is here?" Jima asked in a low voice.

"Eat first, let's talk after eating." Wei Ran was not in a hurry, as if all his attention was on the desserts for breakfast.

Ji Ma secretly glanced at the girl who was busy in the room, and couldn't help but said, "Even if you can't find that old soldier, it's not a loss, at least that girl is really pretty."

Wei Ran pointed to the oak tree not far away, "If you're not hungry, go play on the slide, or build a castle or something in the sandpit under the tree."

Jima grinned, and obediently picked up the second steaming egg tart and stuffed it into his mouth.

After slowly eating the dessert brought by the other party, Wei Ran picked up the receipt on the table, walked to the window facing the road again, handed in a large bill, and took advantage of the girl's change of money. Kung Fu asked, "Excuse me, there used to be an old man named Ivan who lived near here. He was a veteran of the Soviet Red Army. Do you know where his home is?"

The girl who was looking for money didn't stop at all, and asked in a flat tone, "You don't look like a Ukrainian, what do you want him for?"

"I just want to meet." While speaking, Wei Ran took out the manuscript of the memoir that had been photocopied in advance from his satchel, "I want to know what happened behind this story."

Pushing a bunch of change to Wei Ran, the girl picked up the manuscript and glanced at it, then returned it to Wei Ran, and said simply, "He died, he died decades ago."

"Does he have any descendants?" Wei Ran stuffed the manuscript and change back into his bag and continued to ask.

Unexpectedly, the girl actually took out a small PSM pistol from the pocket of her overalls, and said in a cold tone, "There are still several months before April 4th, do you idiots really think that I Don’t dare to shoot?”

Wei Ran slowly raised his hands, and asked for no reason, "Did you recognize the wrong person?"

Just as he raised his hands, Jima, who had been watching this side, immediately took out his pistol and rushed over, aiming at the girl in the room outside the other window.

"Jima! Put the gun away!"

At the same time when Wei Ran stopped Jima, a rich woman wearing an apron also ran out from another room on the first floor, while wiping the foam on her hands on the apron, she shouted anxiously, "Anna! Put the gun away!"

Ji Ma glanced at Wei Ran, then simply put away the pistol.It was the girl in the room, who held back her anger and put the pistol back into her pocket until the fat woman who seemed to be in her fifties hit her head gently.

"How much do you want?" The rich woman had already opened the cash register while speaking, "We just opened today, and we haven't made much money."

"Mom!" The girl named Anna watched helplessly as the former handed out the big ticket that she had just received from Wei Ran along the window, and immediately couldn't help but took out the pistol again.

"Ma'am, I think you may have misunderstood, we are not here to rob." Wei Ran reluctantly pushed the money back, then took out the copied manuscript again and handed it to the pleading woman, " We're just here to find the author of this manuscript."

For some unknown reason, she took the manuscript, and the woman took out a pair of glasses with medical tape wrapped around the temples from her apron pocket and put them on. She only glanced at the beginning, then looked at Wei Ran suspiciously, "I know you are aiming at Wei Ran." My grandfather came, but"

"Can we sit down and talk?" Wei Ran pushed the money on the window sill forward again.

After hesitating for a moment, the woman returned the copy of the manuscript to Wei Ran, turned around and took the pistol from her daughter's hand and put it in her apron pocket, and ordered angrily, "Go make a pot of coffee, use coffee beans, not instant coffee."

After the girl named Anna reluctantly picked up the coffee pot, the woman pointed to the yard outside the other window, "Sit in the yard."

Wei Ran turned around and went back to the yard, and at the same time whispered to Jima, "Go to the car."

Jima glanced at the middle-aged woman who was coming out of the room with a tray, and responded in a low voice, "Be careful yourself."

It wasn't until Wei Ran nodded that he walked out of the yard, holding the gun in his hand again under the cover of the old Lada.Under the oak tree, Wei Ran and the middle-aged woman sat down on both sides of the table.

It wasn't until Anna poured them a cup of fragrant coffee that Wei Ran asked, "Ma'am, can you tell me about your relationship with Mr. Ivan? It's related to whether we should continue the conversation."

The woman sitting across the table sighed, "Ivan is my grandfather, if you don't believe me, I can show you a group photo of our family, young man, now tell me about your background."

"Can I have a look at the group photo you mentioned?" Wei Ran asked in a casual manner.

"Bang!" Anna, who was standing aside, put the tray in her hand heavily on the table, turned and walked into the room.

"Never mind," said Anna's mother with a wry smile, "because of my grandfather, we were often robbed."

"Often robbed?" Wei Ran became more and more confused, but the woman sitting opposite didn't mean to explain.

In the silence between the two, Anna took out a group photo. In this old color photo, Wei Ran saw Ivan missing a leg at a glance.Compared with the battle in Berlin, Ivan in the photo is already a late old man, but his military uniform is still exceptionally tall and straight, and there are far more medals hanging on his chest than recorded in the cowhide book.

Anna's mother pointed to the young couple standing behind Ivan in the photo and said, "Those are my parents."

Before Wei Ran could say anything, she pointed to the little girl sitting on Ivan's only remaining leg in the photo, "Although the change is a bit big, it was when I was young. Alright, young man , now can I tell you why you came here?"

Wei Ran flipped through the copy of the memoir manuscript that he had been picking up in his hand, and found out the content of Ivan’s memories during the Battle of Berlin, as well as the memory of attending Mario’s wedding, and put them on the table. Introduction, and then briefly recounted the ins and outs of this incident.

"I have seen this manuscript"

Anna's mother took a copy of the manuscript and said, "It was after the explosion of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant that my grandfather began to write, but before he finished writing, he died in 88 due to burglary. But , where did you find this manuscript? I remember it seems to have disappeared after that robbery."

"It took me a lot of effort to find this manuscript, and it was even more difficult than finding your address." Wei Ran explained vaguely, then changed the subject and asked, "You just said that because your grandfather, Mr. Ivan, Why are you so often robbed?"

"Because my grandfather was robbed on April 4"

Anna's mother sighed and explained, "You are not Ukrainian, so you may not know. Since the disintegration of the Soviet Union, there have been some Xinnacuis here who worship the mustache, because the birthday of the mustache is April 4, but I His grandfather was not only a Red Army soldier who entered Berlin, but also died at the hands of robbers on April 20."

Seeing that her mother didn't want to continue talking, Anna, who was sitting on the side, simply took over and continued with righteous indignation, "So in the eyes of those idiots, robbing our house has almost become their repertoire on April 4 every year. Even Usually, people often come to our dessert shop to make trouble."

"Why don't you?"

Wei Ran's question just started and he couldn't continue. If they have the ability to move, how can they continue to struggle in this kind of place?

"moved"

Anna seemed to see what Wei Ran wanted to ask, and said in a flat tone, "My father moved away more than ten years ago, and even took all the savings of the family. Now we have satisfied your curiosity, Is there anything else you want to ask?"

Wei Ran opened his mouth, and after a moment of silence, he opened his satchel and took out the original manuscript of the memoir, and handed it to Anna's mother with both hands, "I didn't come here to satisfy my curiosity, I just wanted to return this manuscript to you .Besides, the son of Mario mentioned in Mr. Ivan's manuscript may want to meet you."

Anna and her mother looked at each other, and after a moment of hesitation, the latter returned the original manuscript in a kraft paper bag to Wei Ran, "When I was young, I often heard my grandfather mention a fool named Mario , don't get me wrong, that's what he said, a fool named Mario."

"So would you like to meet that stupid Mario's son?"

Wei Ran's question finally made the unsatisfactory mother and daughter amused. Anna's mother nodded after thinking about it, "If he wants to come, let him bring the manuscript. I also have something. I want to give it to him."

"I forgot to ask, what's your name?" Wei Ran put away the manuscript and asked.

"Mola" Anna's mother replied with a smile, "My name is Mora, and it is said that that idiot Mario named it to me."

Wei Ran was stunned when he heard the words, and couldn't help but think of that little Jewish girl who was very strong and smart despite being taciturn.

"Ms. Mora, I believe we will meet soon." Wei Ran stood up and said very formally.

Mora patted her daughter on the shoulder, "Go and pack some egg tarts for Victor to eat on the way."

Anna rolled her eyes, "They ate a lot just now."

"Go!" Mora patted her daughter's butt, and the latter reluctantly picked up the tray and walked into the dessert shop.

Wei Ran did not refuse the kindness. After receiving the paper bag full of egg tarts, he politely bid farewell to the mother and daughter, got into the car and chose a random direction, and drove to the unremarkable dessert shop. left behind.

"So the harvest this time is just a bag of egg tarts?" Jima asked disappointedly.

“Back to the hotel first”

Wei Ran took out an egg tart with oven temperature from the paper bag, stuffed it into his mouth, and said vaguely, "We may need to stay here for a few more days before going back."

"I have no objection!" Jima immediately turned the front of the car and drove the car in the direction of downtown Kiev along the way it came.

Behind them, the middle-aged woman named Mora had already climbed up to the second floor with her daughter, stepped on a ladder and took out a dusty wooden box from the dusty attic.

"Mom, what is it here?" Anna asked curiously.

Mora found a rag, wiped the dust off the wooden box, and then slowly opened it, revealing a box full of obsolete toys and a brightly colored nesting doll the size of a thermos pot, explaining full of memories, "These toys were a gift from my grandfather to Mario's son a long time ago, and I used to argue and want to play with these toys when I was a child, but my grandfather never agreed.

He said that after the Berlin Wall was torn down, he would surprise that little boy who was about my age.Unfortunately, the Berlin Wall was still there until his death.However, shortly after his death, the Soviet Union disintegrated. "

"Haven't you seen the man named Mario?" Anna asked curiously.

Mora shook her head, "Don't talk about me, my parents have never met each other, my grandfather is not a rich man, he only went to Germany once after the end of World War II, according to my father, at that time In order to make up for the travel expenses, he sold all the TVs at home."

Anna rolled her eyes, picked up the big and scary nesting doll from the box, "Why don't you let me play with these things before they are sent away by you?"

"Before that, aren't you going to explain where this pistol came from?" Mora said, pulling out the thin, scary little pistol from her apron pocket.

"Of course I bought it with my pocket money"

Anna carelessly fiddled with the matryoshka, which she had opened layer by layer, "There are no bullets in there. I didn't realize that the bullets in the pistol were so bad after I bought it. Mom! Look at this!"

Mora, who was about to teach her daughter a lesson, took a few steps towards the table, and then saw that the doll that had been dismantled into the innermost layer contained a gold bar the size of half a thumb!
　Thanks to Zuifeng for rewarding 3000 points

　　Thank you Flying Hands for rewarding 100 points

　　
　
(End of this chapter)