War Photographer's Notebook

Chapter 1462 Reporters from different camps

"It's you."

"Come with me!" When Zach and Wei Ran recognized him, Ruan Qingcha also said a sentence with standard English pronunciation.

Knowing that now was not the time to ask any more questions, Wei Ran and the other two hurriedly followed Ruan Qingcha into the dense forest.

Not far forward, a meandering stream appeared directly in front of me. On the edge of the stream, there was a woman wearing black clothes and black trousers, a hat on her head, and a Type 56 submachine gun on her shoulder. .

"Take off your shoes and walk with her," Ruan Qingcha said in English.

Hearing this, Wei Ran and Wei Ran quickly took off their tire slippers and handed them to each other. The former took the shoes and immediately turned around and walked towards the direction he came from.

"Come with me"

The woman carrying a submachine gun said hello in English, and without waiting for Wei Ran and Zach to respond, she waded upstream in the stream that was barely submerged to her ankles.

The two looked at each other and hurriedly followed with bare feet in the stream.

"I am Charlie's wife"

The woman walking in front introduced herself without looking back, "I will send you to American territory, but I hope you will keep the help we provide secret. It will kill us."

"Okay, I swear I."

"Keep quiet and keep up" Charlie's wife said and quickened her pace.

Having had his promise interrupted, Zach opened his mouth and then shut it honestly.

After walking behind her for more than half an hour, Ruan Qingcha also caught up from behind.

"Is there anyone behind you?" Charlie's wife asked in Yuejun without looking back.

"no"

Ruan Qingcha replied in a low voice, "I have cleaned up all the traces. Let's go up the mountain."

"it is good"

Before Charlie's wife finished speaking, she had already left the creek and started climbing to the top of the mountain with Wei Ran and Zach. Ruan Qingcha, who was walking behind, also began to help them clean up the remaining traces.

In the next few hours, the two women took them to the other side of the mountain before dark, and found a cave covered by lush vegetation and shrubs.

"You just hide here, try to hide inside, everything is prepared for you."

Charlie's wife stood by the entrance of the cave, picked up a flashlight hidden under a bush and handed it to Wei Ran, "We will come to pick you up in about three or four days. Before we come, don't leave the cave, and don't make too much noise." movement and light.”

After saying that, the two women began to place the animal traps prepared in advance at the entrance of the cave without waiting for Wei Ran and Zach to respond, and carefully arranged the shrubs and weeds that blocked the cave.

After a while, the two women went somewhere unknown, and the cave fell into silence.

"let's go"

Wei Ran covered the lamp head with his hand and turned on the switch of the American flashlight. He walked toward the end of the cave on large and small gravels using only the light coming from the gap between his fingers.

The interior space of this cave is not large, but it is extremely winding and winding. There is even a section in the middle that looks like a water curtain cave. Not only is there a narrow skylight above the head, but there is also a door curtain flowing down from the skylight. A wide stream of water.

After going around a few more turns, Wei Ran completely let go of the lamp head and pointed the dim light beam at a stone at his feet.

There were two straw mats spread on the stone. In addition to two blankets and two sets of black clothes and black pants and tire slippers, there was also a wooden ammunition box placed on the straw mat.

There are quite a lot of things in this ammunition box, including two packs of candles, a box of matches, two 65 aid Vietnam kettles and twenty or thirty pieces of compressed biscuits produced in China.

In addition to these, there are also two bars of soap wrapped in newspapers, two old-fashioned razors that seem to be also produced in China, a nail clipper and a glass bottle of Analgin, also produced in China.

He took out a match, struck it, lit a candle, and fixed it on the edge of the stone with wax oil.

"First change your clothes and eat something, then take your medicine."

Before Wei Ran finished speaking, Zach couldn't wait to take off his still damp prison uniform, picked up a set of black clothes and black trousers, put them on, and then wrapped himself in a blanket.

By the time Wei Ran also changed his clothes, Zach had already picked up a piece of compressed biscuit and handed it to Wei Ran. Then, he couldn't wait to tear open the package of a compressed biscuit and took a bite.

"I have never thought compressed biscuits are so delicious before," Zach said with a cry while chewing hungrily.

"Drink some water and don't eat too much."

Wei Ran said, picked up a water bottle, unscrewed the lid and handed it over, "Just eat one piece, otherwise you will starve to death."

"I know I know."

Zach nodded hurriedly, wiped the biscuit crumbs off his hands, and then took the kettle and took a drink.

They each devoured a piece of compressed biscuit. Wei Ran stopped Zach before he reached for the second compressed biscuit, then found the bottle of Analgin and poured two out of it.

He gave one of them to Zach, and Wei Ran took one himself, then closed the lid and reminded him seriously, "Zach, you'd better not eat compressed cookies secretly, otherwise you will definitely be strangled to death. of."

"Okay, okay" Zach, who had also taken a large pill, responded hurriedly, but his eyes did not move away from the wooden box at all.

"Get some sleep"

Wei Ran was too lazy to say anything more, so he spread out one of the straw mats and lay down on it. At the same time, he put his feet on the wooden box to hold it down, and then covered himself with a blanket while Zach looked helpless.

After a while, Zach, who was also lying down, blew out the candle, and the cave became quiet and dark again.

It didn't take long for Wei Ran and the other two to fall asleep first.

Almost at the same time, the car driven by the black prisoners Robert and Clint was also stopped. Unexpectedly, they were caught and, after a not-so-friendly interrogation, they were thrown back to the prisoner of war camp. Put into solitary confinement.

A few hours earlier, Charlie, who had pretended to fall into the water, was rescued from the water further downstream by nearby villagers.

Facing the soldiers who came after hearing the news, Charlie stated with certainty that he not only snatched back his pistol, but also wounded both the two prisoners of war who had kidnapped him.

But unfortunately, due to the strong current, he did not catch the two prisoners of war, and could only watch helplessly as they were washed further downstream along the current.

On the same night, another reporter "Ruan Chengzhu" who originally arrived at the hospital in advance to "wait for filming and interviews" also rushed over from the hospital to visit his colleague after receiving the news that his colleague had been rescued.

Not to mention how the two reporters acted, when Wei Ran woke up from his sleep, he found that someone seemed to be trying to lift his foot on the box.

Quietly, he took out the pistol from the metal book and listened. Wei Ran put away the gun angrily, and then lit up the flashlight at hand. Then he saw Zach, who was being caught, looking silly and happy. Look at yourself.

"I'm so hungry, I want to eat a cookie." After Zach said it, his stomach growled to prove that he was right.

"Are you still having a fever?" Wei Ran moved his leg that was pressing the box as he spoke, and at the same time touched his forehead.

"No more burning"

While answering, Zach quickly opened the box, found a match inside and lit the candle, then took out a piece of compressed biscuit, tore it open and took a bite, "I feel better."

“The medicines of this era are really useful.”

Wei Ran muttered secretly. He naturally knew that it was not necessarily how effective the medicine was. It was just that people in this era were "uninformed" and the disease could be cured by just giving some medicine.

They each devoured a piece of compressed biscuit. They each took soap and razors, and went out with flashlights to the edge of the water curtain hole.

"Do you think Robert and Clint are still alive?" Zach squatted on the edge of the small waterfall. After washing his face, he asked in a low voice while soaping his beard.

"You must be alive if you are alive"

Wei Ran, who was also soaping his beard, said firmly, "But it doesn't matter whether he is caught or not."

Speaking of which, when he "hijacked" Charlie with a knife yesterday, he originally had the opportunity to shoot Robert and let him stay to attract firepower, but Charlie, who was kidnapped by him, secretly made a gesture to stop him.

"I really hope they all survive," Zach said abruptly.

"Why do you say that?"

While Wei Ran was talking, he had already soaked his feet in the puddle, then took out the nail clippers he had just brought, and carefully trimmed his fingernails covered with black mud using the light from the narrow gap above his head.

"If I had a chance to come back to the United States alive and receive the photos Troyer sent me."

Zach, who had already picked up the razor, glanced at Wei Ran, "If I can tell the truth through CBS, then the two of them are the best witnesses."

"I think we need to kill them."

Wei Ran said casually while trimming his nails, "I won't comment on Clint, but that nigger is a person with no bottom line. If he can betray George the Wild Boar for $500 and let Clint take the blame, then he will do the same." Can commit perjury.

In general, having him as a witness is not as convincing as having those turkeys you fed in the prisoner of war camp crowing twice. "

"Maybe"

Zach muttered in response, then closed his mouth and concentrated on shaving the thick beard on his face.

"Keep your beard and hair out of the water"

Wei Ran kindly reminded, "Once it's rushed outside, it might cause trouble."

"You are so cautious," Zach said, but still took a few steps back.

Amidst the splashing sound of water, Wei Ran trimmed the long nails on his hands and feet neatly, then picked up the razor, sat on a stone, and carefully shaved his beard that had been softened.

This wasn't over yet, the two of them helped each other again. Wei Ran shaved the other's head which was not perfect, and Zach helped him shave a decent American pot head.

After washing away the remaining hair residue, the two of them filled their kettles with water and immediately returned to their hiding places. They even blew out the only candle just to be safe.

As the saying goes, there is no sun or moon in the mountains. In the next few days, the two of them ate every day when they woke up and went to bed when they were full. Only the occasional sunlight or starlight seen above the small waterfall reminded them of the change of day and night. .

I don’t know exactly how many days passed. Just when Wei Ran, who was constipated, soaked his butt in the cold water and tried hard to pull something out, stones suddenly came from the direction of the cave entrance. The sound of impact.

Reacting very quickly, Wei Ran wiped his butt with the tattered prison uniform in his hand, picked up his pants, and called Zach, who also heard the noise, to hide. After a while, Ruan Qingcha and Charlie’s wife walked into the cave holding a flashlight.

"We are here"

After making sure that there was no one else behind these two people, Zach, who was hiding behind a stone, said hello cautiously.

"come out faster!"

Ruan Qingcha, who was startled, immediately greeted in a low voice.

Upon hearing this, Wei Ran and Zack immediately came out from their hiding places.

"Leave with me quickly, we don't have much time."

Ruan Qingcha said hello, turned around and walked out, but it was Charlie's wife who walked towards the place where the two of them had been hiding for the past two days.

"How is the situation outside?" Wei Ran caught up with Ruan Qingcha and asked in a low voice the same question that Zach wanted to ask.

"The other two prisoners of war were all taken back."

Ruan Qingcha whispered, "As long as you have been hiding here, they have been detained for as long as they have been. When Troyer left the prisoner of war camp at noon today, they had not been released yet."

"Where are Troyer and Charlie?" Zach asked another question that was equally concerned, "They're not in trouble, are they?"

"No," Ruan Qingcha replied, "walk faster, you will see them soon."

Hearing this, Wei Ran and Zach immediately quickened their pace. Under the leadership of Ruan Qingcha, the two left the cave and braved the rain to go down the mountain and cross the bridge, and finally hid in a sugar cane field on the roadside.

We waited in the rain for almost half an hour. Almost at the same time that Charlie's wife came out of the mountains, a green three-wheeled motorcycle with a metal shed also drove over from a distance.

A 28-inch heavy-duty bicycle made in China was firmly tied to both sides of the cargo compartment of this three-wheeled motorcycle. The whole body and roof were camouflaged with elephant grass.

Just as Wei Ran and Zach subconsciously leaned down, Ruan Qingcha and Charlie's wife standing on the opposite side of the road waved to the car at the same time, followed closely by the "Tuk Tuk Car" that also stopped.

"Get in the car quickly!"

Charlie, who was driving the car, opened the window and said hello in English. At the same time, his wife also opened the door and squeezed into the not-so-spacious cab, sitting side by side with Charlie.

After coming back to their senses, Wei Ran and Zach followed Ruan Qingcha to the back of the car. At this time, the canvas curtain at the back of the car had been opened, and Li Youfu, who was sitting inside, even stretched out his hand in advance.

He allowed the other party to drag him and Zach into the car. After Ruan Qingcha also squeezed into the small cargo compartment, the three-wheeled motorcycle, which may not be overloaded but was definitely overcrowded, started running again. .

"We're going to the front line next."

Li Youfu opened a wooden box next to him and took out a pack of cigarettes. Then he took out a tin can used as an ashtray and placed it among the three of them. At the same time, he kept saying, "I will try my best." Get you close enough to the U.S. military camp, and then the rest is up to you.”

"Will it bring you trouble?" Zach asked subconsciously.

Li Youfu smiled and said, "Not if we are not discovered on the road."

"What if it's discovered?" Zach asked rather seriously.

"If you are discovered, you will be the prisoner we just captured." Li Youfu said with a smile.

Hearing this, Zach breathed an inexplicable sigh of relief, hesitated for a moment and then asked, "How have you been these past two years?"

"not bad"

Li Youfu gently patted the Leica camera that belonged to Zach and the half-frame camera hanging around his neck, "Charlie and I are both frontline reporters now."

"Where's Miss Ruan?" Wei Ran joined the conversation and asked.

"She is our postman."

Li Youfu replied quite knowingly, "She helped send the photos that Charlie and I took back to the rear."

"Speaking of which, Troye, do you keep all those negatives?"

“They are still in their original positions.”

Li Youfu replied with a puff of smoke, "The Cowshed Camp has not been captured, and the films hidden there cannot be obtained. For those hidden in other places, I am worried that one day I will die on the front line or in an American bombing, so I I only dug out the shots you buried when the helicopter crashed and continued to use them, and the rest."

"I understand" Zach nodded.

"As long as you can escape back to the United States alive, I will immediately take out those negatives and send them to you!" Li Youfu promised.

"To be on the safe side, you'd better send it back in batches." Zach immediately suggested.

"I will, I will."

"Instead of planning this so early, why don't you tell us where we will go next?"

Wei Ran had to remind him that although the two reporters were in different camps, their personalities or professional personalities were quite similar. They did not notice that Ruan Qingcha, who was sitting closest to the tailgate, had already turned out in annoyance. Are you rolling your eyes?

“The plan is simple, but it’s also difficult.”

It was Ruan Qingcha who took over the conversation, "We can only send you near Hue, and then you will have to rely on yourself."

After saying this overly simple plan, Wei Ran frowned. Before he could say anything to Zach, Li Youfu also said apologetically, "We can only do so much. After all, helping you escape from the prisoner of war camp is almost the same." For treason, we.”

"It goes without saying, Troye, I understand."

Zach said before Li Youfu finished speaking, "I won't reveal it's you. No, I won't even reveal that I entered a prisoner of war camp. I will make it harder for me to leave."

Perhaps in order to change the subject, Zach then pointed to the camera hanging around Troyer's neck and said in a joking tone, "I will lend you these cameras temporarily. After the war is over, you must Give them back to me with your own hands."

"I will return it to you with my own hands."

Li Youfu paused and said calmly, "Zach, I...my mother."

"As long as I can go back, I will take good care of her."

Zach stretched out his hand seriously and swore, "I swear by my career as a reporter, as long as I can go back alive, I will take care of her like my mother."

Is this also the reason why Li Youfu helped Zach escape again and again? Wei Ran, who looked strange, looked at the other three people in the narrow carriage and secretly guessed.

"I believe you"

Le Huu Phuc sighed, pressed down Zach's arm, and after a moment of silence he sighed, "After you were captured, I participated in the Battle of Hue as Nguyen Thanh Cha's cousin, and then I applied to become a frontline reporter.

During that time, I have been looking forward to getting news from you. I always thought that you had returned to the United States or been murdered by George the Wild Boar of Team T. I really didn't expect to see you in a prisoner of war camp. "

"We didn't expect that you and Miss Run would let us go again." Zach said seriously.

"There will be no next time," Ruan Qingcha replied in English, but this time, there was obviously a lot more joking in her tone.

"Let's talk about now." Zach patted the car gently, "So this is your work vehicle?"

"Charlie's wife's work truck to be precise"

Li Youfu explained, "She is a mobile doctor, and the rest are military secrets, so I can't tell you. In short, we are just taking her car for a short distance, and we will need to change to other modes of transportation later."

"The Ho Chi Minh Trail?" Zach asked subconsciously.

Hearing this, Li Youfu smiled, but did not answer the question, "Let's rest first. We have a long way to go."

"How about we take a group photo if we have a chance?" Zach changed the question again.

Wei Ran reminded Li Youfu before he spoke, "That will kill them."

"He is right, it will indeed kill us." Ruan Qingcha said seriously, "It is better to wait until the war is over and take a group photo then."

It seemed that there was no chance. Wei Ran sighed secretly.

"After the war is over"

Zach patted Li Youfu on the shoulder hard, "We will go to the beach in Nha Trang to take pictures, just like the group photo we took on the beach when I first came here. You have to bring your Miss RUN with you." , and call Charlie and his wife, you must go, you must go. "

"Then it's settled"

Li Youfu patted the camera hanging around his neck again, "Just use these cameras to take pictures, and I will return the cameras to you when the time comes."

"no problem!"

After Zach finished speaking, he immediately closed his mouth and even closed his eyes, "I want to sleep for a while, remember to call me when you get there."

Knowing that he was worried about another question that Li Youfu couldn't answer, Wei Ran simply stopped asking any more questions, pretended to be sleepy and yawned, then closed his eyes naturally.

Li Youfu may have belatedly realized the embarrassment and awkwardness caused by the two parties' identities at this time, so he just sighed silently and lit a cigarette again.

"Aren't you going to escape with them this time?" Ruan Qingcha, who was sitting face to face with Li Youfu in the slightly bumpy carriage, asked in Yuenan dialect, "This is a rare opportunity."

"Why are you making such a joke again?" Li Youfu asked slightly dissatisfied.

"I always feel that you will return to the United States sooner or later," Ruan Qingcha replied matter-of-factly, "Maybe as soon as the war is over or if we are defeated."

"Will not"

Li Youfu shook his head before Ruan Qingcha finished speaking, lifted the canvas curtain at the rear of the car and looked at the receding farmland outside and said firmly, "Even if the war ends this time, even if I die here, I will never leave again. "

"Really?" Ruan Qingcha asked suspiciously.

"Of course it's true," Li Youfu said helplessly, "Why don't you always believe me?"

Hearing this, Ruan Qingcha glanced down subconsciously, and then snorted, "If you dare to leave, I will arrest you as a traitor!"

(End of this chapter)