War Photographer's Notebook

Chapter 1564: Knowing each other but not recognizing each other

In the evening of the second day after returning to reality, Wei Ran and Sui Sui took the girls to Kazan Airport in two cars.

"You're bringing them along again this time?"

In the waiting room, Wei Ran took the opportunity to ask Sui Sui who was sitting next to him in his native language while waiting to board the plane.

“We’re not here to play.”

Sui Sui seemed to have already found a sufficient reason for this action, "We are going to the castle on a business trip, and we want to see how the ski resort next to it is running."

"so what?"

Wei Ran asked with interest. He didn't really care about bringing a few pretty light bulbs with him. He just wanted to see what kind of excuses this girl could come up with.

"I haven't thought about it yet." Sui Sui gave an excuse with a smile, which she learned from someone.

After chatting, they boarded the plane and first flew to Paris to meet up with the wealthy woman Koko who had been working for three days and resting for two days. Then they boarded a flight to Salzburg, Austria without stopping.

When the flight landed, the Leia couple, who were responsible for maintaining the castle, had been waiting at the airport for a long time.

However, Wei Ran did not follow the girls out of the airport. Instead, he boarded a flight to Graz as they watched him leave.

"Let's go!"

In the airport lobby, Koko snapped her fingers and said in a drunken voice, "Let's go to the castle! We won't kneel down until we're drunk tonight!"

Although Sui Sui didn't understand French, it did not prevent her from understanding the slightly flawed Chinese idiom mixed in with the French.

"That's right! We won't go home until we are drunk!" Sui Sui cheered.

Under the gazes of many passengers at the airport, this group of young and beautiful girls attracted most of the attention as they left the airport in a hurry.

Time passed quickly and it was the early morning of October 10th. While Sui Sui and the other girls were still hungover from drinking in the castle which had closed for business, Wei Ran had already arrived in Graz, Austria alone, exhausted.

For Chinese people, this place is not as well-known as Governor Schwarzenegger, who was born here.

There was no time to rest. Wei Ran rented a car at random, and then followed the address provided in the metal notebook, drove to the edge of the city, and finally stopped in front of a slightly remote auto repair shop.

The shape of this auto repair shop is similar to the travel agency run by my aunt in Volgograd, and even her own library. The main building is a red brick workshop building that looks very old.

The outer wall of this factory building, which is almost three stories high, is covered with climbing plants. It is October now, and most of the leaves of these plants have turned into beautiful red or gold. From time to time, chirping birds fly in and out.

Compared to the building itself, what attracted Wei Ran's attention were the two rows of off-road vehicles parked in the parking spaces on both sides of the central gate of the workshop.

They were brand new Pinzgauer 6X6 off-road vehicles. Just by looking at the raised "pig nose" at the front of the vehicle, you could tell that it was the latest model 718 diesel vehicle.

Look at the workshop door that is wide enough for two trucks to drive in side by side. On the right side, there is a sign with the name "Hole's Automobile Modification Factory" written in German.

After a moment of hesitation, Wei Ran drove the car forward about a hundred meters and turned onto another road. Then he pushed the door, got out of the car, looked around, and made sure that there were no pedestrians or surveillance cameras here. Then he took out the Mauser bayonet under the cover of the car door, placed the sharp tip of the knife against the tire, and stabbed it in with force.

"laugh--"

Only when he heard the sound of air flow did he step on the wheel hub to pull out the Mauser bayonet, then he opened the trunk, took out the spare tire and threw it into the bushes on the side of the road.

Turning around and getting into the cab, he turned the car around as quickly as possible and drove back to the original road. Before the air pressure in the tire ran out, he parked the car on the side of the road about thirty or forty meters away from the gate of the auto repair shop.

Wei Ran slowly lit a cigarette and put it in his mouth, then pushed the door and got out of the car, slowly pushing the rented car to the door of the auto repair shop.

Before he could even take the initiative to say hello or ask for help, an old man who looked to be in his fifties, wearing a brown leather apron, walked out of the auto repair shop. Behind him, there were two or three strong young men who looked to be about seventeen or eighteen years old, also wearing leather aprons.

"Young man, do you need help?" the old man asked loudly and enthusiastically in German from a distance.

"Of course, sir!"

Wei Ran straightened up and patted the roof of the car lightly, saying helplessly, "My car seems to have run over something terrible and the tire burst. I wonder if you can help me change a tire. I don't have a spare tire in my car."

"No problem at all!"

Before the sturdy old man finished his words, the young men behind him rushed forward and pushed Wei Ran's rented car into the workshop.

"Thank you for your help. What should I call you?" Wei Ran asked, following the Chinese custom, handing the other party a cigarette.

"Kurt Holler"

The old man took the cigarette and let Wei Ran help him light it. After taking a deep puff, he pointed to the workshop behind him that was about 40 to 50 meters long and said, "I'm the boss of this car modification factory. Come in and have a seat. Those good guys will help you fix the tire quickly. Also, what's your name? You don't look like an Austrian."

"My name is Victor, and I'm from China." Wei Ran followed the other party into the workshop and gave a brief self-introduction.

"Huaxia? Victor?"

The old man turned his head and looked at Wei Ran, and said uncertainly, "I'm sure I've never seen a Chinese person, but why do I feel like you look familiar?"

"Maybe to you, all Chinese people look similar."

Wei Ran pretended to be calm and said, and then without waiting for the other party to say anything, he seamlessly changed the subject, "Mr. Holler, are these vans for sale?"

“They are not for sale”

The old man who called himself Kurt Holler did not explain in detail, but just asked Wei Ran to follow him into the auto repair shop.

Compared to the overly lush layer of climbing plants covering the outside, the workshop is exceptionally clean and bright.

Without paying any attention to the lame car that had been lifted up by the lift, Wei Ran followed Kurt Holler inside, looking around the slightly busy workshop.

Along the way, there were only two things that attracted his attention the most.

First, there are the photos of all sizes hanging on the surrounding walls.

These photos are either of a single person or a group photo, and most of the people in the photos are young people in their 20s. They are either standing at the gate of a university in a bachelor's gown, or standing around a ruin in a white coat.

But without exception, all the young people in the photos he saw, whether men or women, had bright yet extremely determined smiles on their faces.

Secondly, what particularly concerned him was a heavily modified 718 Pinzgauer off-road vehicle.

The overall color of the car is common and inconspicuous white, and there are many meaningful patterns painted on the body of the car.

Among the patterns, there was an edelweiss the size of a washbasin, a sewing machine pattern of the same size, as well as patterns of cradles, hot air balloons, bats and flies, but there was no logo of Doctors Without Borders or anything like the Red Crescent.

Wei Ran stopped involuntarily and walked quickly to the side of the SUV under the slightly surprised gaze of Mr. Holler.

Through the front windshield, he could clearly see the high-tech equipment installed inside, such as the radio, loudspeaker, navigation computer, etc.

He could also clearly see two things that seemed like spiritual heritage - a beautiful bunny-shaped blue-eyed pendant hanging on the manual gear lever, and an orange-red Polaroid 600 instant camera fixed on a special holder in the passenger glove box.

He walked a few steps to the rear of the car and looked through the open tailgate. He could clearly see the various medical equipment tightly arranged in the rear compartment, the small shadowless lamp above his head, and even the not-so-large treatment bed and the exposed pipes everywhere around it.

Obviously, the car has not been modified yet. Combined with the row of cars parked outside the door, he is more convinced that this modified car is definitely not the first one, and probably not the last one.

"Come sit with me in the lounge."

Kurt Holler spoke to Wei Ran with a slight vigilance, while at the same time he unnoticeably placed his hand on the Glock pistol fixed in the quick-draw holster inside the apron.

Coming back to his senses, Wei Ran said apologetically, "I'm sorry, I rarely see such professional modifications, and I was a little confused for a moment..."

"It's okay, come with me."

Mr. Holler extended the invitation again and took Wei Ran to the lounge not far away. At the same time, two young men covered the modified car with a car cover.

Following Mr. Holler into the lounge which was quite some distance away from the gate, Wei Ran noticed at a glance that, before he had time to sit down, there was an old man sweating profusely on a treadmill at the edge of the lounge.

The old man, who was only wearing shorts and a pair of high-waisted boots, seemed to be a few years older than Mr. Holler, but his body shape was maintained quite well.

  But compared to his well-proportioned physique that was almost comparable to Mr. Culp's, what made Wei Ran shiver was the conspicuous round scars on the other's legs!

It's him!

Feeling the burning sensation at the base of his left hand, Wei Ran had already recognized the other person. He was precisely the child whose legs were pierced by steel bars that he and Ed had rescued from the ruins!

Before he could say anything, and before Mr. Holler could say anything, another old man wearing jeans and a leather jacket, with gray hair and gauze tied around his chest, came running down the stairs leading to the second floor from the lounge.

Behind him followed a fat and strong St. Bernard with a small oak barrel hanging around its neck.

"Kurt! Check out the news! Our brother Yashar has boarded the new China..."

Before he could finish his words, this sharp-eyed old man, who also looked to be in his fifties, noticed Wei Ran who turned his head to look at him.

  Just like recognizing the old man just now, Wei Ran recognized it at a glance. This old man is Hanwad! Hanwad who inherited the code name "Sewing Machine"!

"You are."

Hanward glanced at Wei Ran with sharp eyes, then looked at the tablet in his hand in confusion.

When he raised his head again, his eyes, which were obviously so sharp because he was used to seeing life and death, softened a lot when he looked at Wei Ran again.

"Are you Victor? The Chinese historian who lifted up the Americans' miniskirts and showed the world their tiny dicks and pink lace panties stained with shit and piss?" Hanward asked in an extremely confident tone.

"I"

Before Wei Ran could speak, Hanwad had already walked down the stairs and asked in a more determined tone, "Did Yashar ask you to come to us to look for his parents who disappeared in Beirut? Otherwise, you wouldn't be here."

As soon as these words came out, the old man running wildly on the treadmill stopped and looked at Wei Ran. Even Mr. Holler finally let go of the pistol on the inside of his apron.

"you"

Wei Ran was stunned for a moment, took a deep breath and asked, "How do you know? Can't it be a coincidence?"

"how could I know?"

Hanward smiled and said, "Young man, try to prove my guess first. Then I will tell you, but the premise is that you probably need to keep it a secret from Yashar."

Turning his head to look at the other two old men, Wei Ran smiled, sat down happily on the sofa, then opened his briefcase, took out the relics that Yashar had entrusted him to keep and placed them on the coffee table next to the sofa.

“It seems that I was right.”

Hanward stared at the things on the table, then turned to look at Holler and the old man who got off the treadmill. "Guys, Yashar's messenger has found us. I think we should invite Mr. Victor to sit upstairs."

"So repairing the car is just an excuse?" Mr. Holler asked Wei Ran with a smile.

"The first intersection on the left side of the gate is about 20 meters in."

Wei Ran said very frankly, "I threw the spare tire of the car into the bushes nearby."

"What a careful and honest guy"

Holler laughed and waved his hands, saying as he walked out, "Take him upstairs and sit for a while. I'll go help him find the spare tire."

"Sorry to trouble you," Wei Ran said politely. "Nothing, just follow those two old guys upstairs, I'll be there soon." Before Mr. Holler finished speaking, he had already left the lounge.

"Come with me"

Hanward patted the head of the St. Bernard dog beside his leg and said, "Don't be afraid, it has a very gentle personality and never bites anyone."

"What's his name?" Wei Ran asked as he followed the two men upstairs.

"Adolf"

The one who answered Wei Ran's question was the old man with scars on his legs and covered in sweat, "Yes, it's the Adolf you were thinking of."

“It seems I was right.”

As Wei Ran spoke, he reached out and touched the head of the St. Bernard that came forward. This was certainly not the Adolf that had raced with Edelweiss on the farm, but he was just as cute and lovable as that Adolf.

"Aren't you curious about why I can guess why you are here?" Hanward, who was walking in front, asked with a smile.

“I’ve probably guessed it.”

Wei Ran, who was walking in the middle with Gou Zi, paused and asked, "Have you ever had any contact with Yashar's grandfather?"

"What a smart young man," said the old man walking behind Wei Ran with a smile.

"I still don't know what to address you two gentlemen."

"My name is Hanward Kearney"

As Hanward walked up to the second floor, he said, "Out of trust in you, you can also call me sewing machine."

"Aladdin Abu Usha, also out of trust in you, you can call me a fly."

The man walking behind Wei Ran gave out a name and code name that made Wei Ran's throat sore, and he almost instantly guessed the origin of this name.

  "Abu Usha" obviously comes from the siblings Rama and Ed. And "Aladdin".

Aladdin may represent the magic lamp that Edelweiss wanted most when she was most desperate.

Arriving at the second floor amid endless speculation, the first thing Wei Ran noticed was a glass display case facing the stairs.

In the display case there was a prisoner of war watch and some blue eyes of the Rabbit Knight, a military ring with a shift position on a platinum necklace, and an orange-red Polaroid 600 camera that seemed to have traces of dried blood and sand on it.

Compared to these things that brought back countless memories for Wei Ran, what were more in this display case were various certificates.

The names and photos on these certificates are all young men and women, and the time span ranges from 1990 to 2020.

Standing in front of the locked glass display case, he could clearly see that most of those certificates came from well-known colleges in various European countries.

Among them, about half are from the medical profession, another half are from the journalism profession, and the rest are from various fields such as mechanical manufacturing, finance, shipping, etc.

In the bottom row of the display cases, he also saw a number of various medals and awards awarded outside the law.

"I want to hear the story about you and Yashar's parents"

Wei Ran turned around and looked at the two old men, then raised his hand and pointed at the display case in front of him, "And the stories of this generation of young people."

"Unless you can keep it a secret from Yashar," Hanward put forward his conditions.

"Also, the investigation fees that Yashar needs to pay must be waived in full," Aladdin also followed up with his conditions for firing him.

"By the way, keep everything here a secret."

Mr. Holler, who came up from downstairs, also put forward his conditions before Wei Ran agreed to the first two conditions.

"No problem, I agree to everything." Wei Ran spread his hands, "Before you decide to speak, I have one more question."

"Tell me"

Holler motioned him to sit on the sofa by the window and asked as he brought him coffee.

"Are you going to decide to trust me so easily?" Wei Ran asked with a smile.

Hanward smiled and said, "Just keep what happens next secret from Yashar."

"Before the story begins, can this be replaced with wine?" Wei Ran picked up the coffee cup, took a sip and asked with a smile, "A good story needs good wine."

"What an interesting young man!"

Holler laughed and walked towards the wine rack in the corner and said, "We have the best red wine brewed by Libanen, and it also has a pretty good story."

“I just have plenty of time”

Wei Ran spread his hands and said, "If I don't have enough time, please let me go downstairs and puncture the other three tires later."

“I love your humor!”

Hanward smiled very happily. While Holler was pouring the wine, he gave Wei Ran a cigar and a cigar cutter. Then he took the half-smoked cigar on the ashtray and took two puffs. Then he said, "It was the summer of 1982. I was just 15 years old."

Amid the increasingly thick cigar smoke and the repeated raising of wine glasses, Wei Ran heard from the three old men stories that were almost exactly the same as his own - the only difference was that there was no gentleman codenamed Veterinarian or Dongfeng.

In the second half of this story, Wei Ran also heard things that were not recorded in the metal book.

Five years after Bat was assassinated, the man who adopted them and was also Bat and Hot Air Balloon's outlaw comrade took them to visit Yashar's grandfather secretly and told him in detail what had happened and the dangers they might face.

By the way, Hanward and Dalal also expressed their gratitude on behalf of all the people the Sewing Machine couple had helped, and expressed their apologies for not being able to protect them.

Although Yashar's grandfather was saddened by what happened to his son and daughter-in-law, he was also proud of what they did.

Similarly, in order to protect the young Yashar, the old man, after discussing with Hanward and others, finally decided to hide the truth from Yashar and gave up the plan to bring the Sewing Machine couple home.

In addition, he also learned during the chat that Kurt Holler was indeed Edelweiss's younger brother.

Kurt inherited this auto repair shop from his parents. Over the past few decades, he not only ran the auto repair shop to its current size, but also ran a not-so-large but very profitable gun company and a trading company.

On the other hand, ever since his "little nephew Ed Holler" accidentally met Hanward and others more than ten years ago, this modification factory has also become the second home for those war orphans.

In addition to providing a safe haven, Kurt Holler also provides practical support to these brothers and sisters.

Outside the lounge, the ambulances that were almost the same model as the ones his sister used but were updated were just basic help.

In addition, he also sponsored those war orphans who escaped to pursue further education. When the topic came to this point, Kurt Holler also pulled Wei Ran to proudly show the completion certificates and various honors in the window.

However, when asked why he had kept it a secret from Yashar for so many years, Aladdin, codenamed Fly, drank the wine in one gulp and said gloomily, "Because those people didn't find the negatives in Uncle Varta and Uncle Bat's house."

"For years, those warts have been hunting people who try to tell the truth"

Hanward said, "Our adoptive father, the man who adopted and took care of us after Uncle Bat died, was assassinated the year after he took us to visit Yashar's grandfather."

"My little nephew Ed, I mean, my sister's adopted son, was also killed by them."

Kurt clenched his fists and said with a gloomy face, "He died in the air raid launched by Yisheli, but he told me in a phone call a week before that he was under surveillance and even his communications might have been monitored."

"He also filmed many of the tragedies happening in Gaza at the time."

Hanward pointed to the gauze on his chest and said calmly, "I got this injury more than a month ago when I was doing humanitarian aid at the Beirut explosion site. A car rushed directly into my clinic. Although it didn't hit me, it knocked over the steam sterilizer, and almost all the hot water splashed on me."

"Yashar has sacrificed his father and mother for our motherland and land"

Aladdin said guiltily, "So don't involve him in these dangers anymore. I've met his grandfather, and the only thing the old man asked for was that Yashar could grow up safely."

"I understand"

Wei Ran sighed, picked up the refilled glass and said solemnly, "I will keep it a secret from Mr. Yashar."

"Mr. Victor"

Kurt Holler suddenly asked at this time, "I wonder if you are willing to accept my employment?"

"What would you like to hire me for?"

Wei Ran put down the goblet from which he had taken a sip, endured the fleeting burning sensation at the base of his left hand, and asked with a normal expression.

"Help us find those photo negatives that the guy has been looking for," Kurt asked with a smile, "How much commission do I have to pay for this?"

"After finding those negatives, what are your plans?"

Wei Ran asked the second and third questions, "Do you plan to meet Mr. Yashar by then?"

"Once we find them, of course we will publish them all."

Without even thinking, Kurt said, "It's like you lift up Americans' miniskirts and show them their tiny dicks and shit-stained pink lace panties to the world."

"But forget about recognizing Yashar," Hanward said, "it will bring him danger."

"Okay, let's change the question. Where did that disgusting description of "longer than the stockings on Uncle Sam's legs" come from?"

Wei Ran put down the wine glass he had just picked up, and asked a new question with a rather amusing look.

Before leaving Kazan, he had heard a similar description from Apoli, and at that time he naively thought that the old man was just being mean.

"Of course it's on the Internet." The three old men in the lounge laughed and gave exactly the same answer.

"It's your turn to answer my question"

Kurt picked up the cup. "Can you help us find the missing negatives? If so, how much would I have to pay you?"

“Not a big problem”

Wei Ran also picked up the cup and said before he stood up and clinked glasses with the other three old men, "Before I find those negatives, I hope to go to the graves of Ms. Edelweiss and the graves of the Sewing Machine couple to lay a bouquet of flowers respectively. The above is the commission I need."

"Mr. Victor, no, Mr. Wei"

Before clinking glasses with Wei Ran, Kurt changed his address to the transliterated Chinese surname he saw in the news, "Thank you for your kindness and selfless help."

Wei Ran clinked glasses with the three people opposite him and asked with a smile, "So, when do we leave?"

"Now!"

Kurt drank the red wine in the glass and threw it on the sofa behind him, "Let's go now!"

I wish all active and retired People's Liberation Army comrades, the people's soldiers, and the most lovely people a happy holiday.

I wish our motherland prosperity and strength, eternal peace, and peace for the people.