War Photographer's Notebook

Chapter 1583: The winding road

"Brother Wei, do you agree?" Hu Bazhi asked seriously.

"Agreed, how do you want me to help you?"

As Wei Ran spoke, he also picked up a wooden block and sat down next to the stove. He also stuffed the knife and chopsticks given by the other party into the boots of the pair of boots on his feet.

After saying this, Hu Bazhi was completely relieved, and laughed loudly, saying, "With what Brother Wei said, I have confidence! There is no rush to kill the devils, Brother Wei, take a break first, and let me make some plans!"

"Okay," Wei Ran agreed indifferently, and turned to sit by the stove and chat about other topics.

About an hour had passed, and seeing that only a few embers were left in the stove, Hu Ba got up, left the cave and walked into the shack.

When he came back, he had an enamel rice helmet and a small broken gong made of sorghum stalks in his hands.

With the help of Wei Ran, they shoveled the pancakes stuck to the edge of the pot into the basket and filled half the pot with dog meat. Then they left the cave and returned to the dugout.

At this time, a small square table has been placed on the kang of the dugout. In the middle of the table, there is a large bowl filled with hot water and an old-fashioned Zhaowu kettle used by the Japanese. There is no doubt that it was 99% likely stolen.

"Get on the bed!"

Hu Bazhi greeted him warmly, put the dog meat in his hand on the table, then picked up the slender kettle and filled the only two small porcelain bowls on the table with white wine.

Seeing this, Wei Ran did not refuse. He took off his sandals and took the small gift given to him by the other party. He and Hu Bazhi, who had also taken off his shoes, sat on the kang across the table.

Before he started eating, he took a special look at Hu Bazhi's shoes. He was also wearing a pair of slippers, the only difference was that they had an extra layer of wooden soles that were three fingers thick.

"Come on! Let's go first!"

As Hu Bazhi spoke, he picked up the wine cup, clinked it with Wei Ran, and drank it all up.

After taking a sip of hot wine, the last trace of coldness in Wei Ran's body was dispelled.

Before he put down his bowl of wine, Hu Bazhi had already picked up the kettle of hot wine and enthusiastically poured him a second bowl of wine.

"Come on, come on! Eat meat! Don't be shy! Just get started!"

Hu Bazhi greeted them warmly. He rolled up his sleeves, picked up a piece of dog meat with the only three remaining fingers on his right hand and took a big bite.

With wine, meat and a common enemy, the two men's conversation soon turned to the matter that Hu Bazhi wanted him to help with.

“It’s about 20 miles from here.”

Hu Bazhi drank the wine in the bowl again, raised his hand and pointed in a direction, "There is a road leading directly to the county. Every time the puppet army conscripts men, they have to go through there, and sometimes they bring some devils with them. Brother Wei, I plan to attack them on that road."

"Is there any suitable place to start?" Wei Ran asked while chewing on the fragrant dog meat.

"When this road passes Gaoliangtun, you have to cross a ditch."

Hu Bazhi drew a simple topographic map on the table with his soup-stained hands. "Most of the people in Gaoliangtun have already fled. There is only a temple left there that was donated by old rich man Xu when he was in Tao Jinsha near Gaoliangtun.

The temple of the God of Wealth is right next to the road next to the ditch. I want to go there and guard it, and then wipe them out in one fell swoop."

"When do we leave?" Wei Ran asked simply.

"There's no need to rush for that day. Let's drink first." Hu Bazhi said as he picked up the small porcelain bowl and clinked it with Wei Ran again.

After he finished drinking it, he continued, "Wait a few more days, wait until the snow gets heavier before setting off."

"also"

Wei Ran looked like he was following the other party's instructions. He took the kettle soaked in hot water and filled it with wine for the other party. He asked casually, "Brother Hu is not just a hunter, right?"

"These days, being a hunter is not a good thing. Besides, every prey in these mountains and caves has an owner."

Hu Bazhi picked up the wine bowl and clinked it with Wei Ran's. After drinking it all, he continued, "When my grandfather was alive, he saved the life of Cao Dazhanggui from a blind bear. At that time, Cao Dazhanggui was still a driver for a businessman.

Later, the Japanese invaders came, and Manager Cao had no choice but to rely on the brothel (join a gang), and within two years he became the top leader.

It was also because of this relationship that my family was able to get a job as a sentinel and report news from the shopkeeper Cao.

During festivals, we have to pay tribute to Cao Dazhang and the four pillars of the mountain with a coat. Otherwise, we can only hunt wild dogs in the mass graves and make dog-skin hats to earn a living."

"Well, some of it I understood, and some of it I didn't."

Wei Ran scratched the back of his head with a bit of embarrassment. He knew that he would most likely use some jargon this time, but he deliberately did not learn it.

This thing is just like the Martian language of later generations, it has the limitations and particularities of the times. No matter how much he learns, if he blurts out a 1937 slang in the snowy forest of 1950, making a fool of himself is a small matter. If a word is misinterpreted, used in the wrong place or with the wrong gesture, he might even be in danger of death.

In this case, it is better to be an amateur like a blank sheet of paper.

Of course, he also admitted that deep down he was expecting a certain living ancestor to give him a language task. Unfortunately, although his plan worked, the ancestor had no intention of fulfilling his wish.

"You don't understand this?"

Hu Bazhi reacted very quickly, muttering something in a rather amusing way that Wei Ran still couldn't understand but could guess almost exactly, "How did an outsider like you survive without being kidnapped?"

Having said that, Hu Bazhi still changed his words and patiently explained it again in a way that Wei Ran could understand.

To put it simply, Hu Bazhi's grandfather saved a rickshaw driver in his early years. Later, the rickshaw driver became a bandit leader. Relying on this favor, Hu Bazhi escaped from the bandit's nest and got a job as a sentry and reporter, similar to the mountain patrol work of Benboerba and Babolben. By the way, he also used this "official status" to make a living by hunting.

According to Hu Bazhi, this job was neither important nor unimportant. He was not the only one on guard duty on the hills surrounding the bandit's den. He had never even been there, let alone where the bandit's den was exactly.

The only thing he knew was that if he saw anyone entering the mountain from his usual activity area, he would set off a few bombs.

Of course, Wei Ran did not ask who had fired the bombs, and he believed that the other party would not easily tell him about it.

When Wei Ran deliberately acted stupid and asked why he didn't ask that shopkeeper Cao to help kill the devils, Hu Bazhi shook his head more helplessly, "I'm not that close to shopkeeper Cao, and he doesn't want to provoke the devils.

Let me put it this way, if the shopkeeper Cao knew that I was planning to attack the devils, he might shoot me dead. "

At this point, Hu Bazhi realized that he had let the cat out of the bag, so he simply picked up the wine bowl and drank it all, and said bluntly, "Brother Wei, if you are afraid of provoking the gangsters, just finish this wine and ride the donkey in the cave away. I, Hu Bazhi, will never..."

"I really like the outfit that Brother Hu gave me."

After Wei Ran finished speaking, he also picked up the small porcelain bowl and drank the red sorghum wine inside. Then he took out the knife given by the other party, slowly cut the meat from a dog leg, picked it up with the chopsticks and put it into his mouth. Then he continued, "I like this gift too. The meat is delicious and the wine is good. It would be unreasonable if we don't kill a few devils."

"That's very clear!"

Hu Bazhi picked up the kettle and refilled Wei Ran's glass with wine. "I toast to Brother Wei!"

Now that the conversation was over, there was naturally less verbal probing in the following chat, and it finally became a simple drinking party on a snowy day.

The two men were sweating profusely after eating the dog meat. When they finished drinking all the wine in the kettle, Hu Bazhi got off the kang and put on his shoes and said, "You can take a good nap here."

Looking up at the snowflakes coming in through the round ventilation window above his head, Wei Ran burped and asked, "What about you?"

"I'll go check out the condoms in front of me." As he spoke, Hu Bazhi had already put on his shoes, picked up the leather coat hanging on the pillar and put it on.

"Do you need my help?"

"No, just around here."

As Hu Bazhi spoke, he had already left the warm shack with the leftovers.

Seeing this, Wei Ran wisely did not follow, but just helped to clean up the kang table. Then he put on his shoes and walked out of the shack. He casually grabbed a handful of snow to wipe the grease off the knife and chopsticks, then slowly put them back into the sheath and stuffed them into his boot.

It was not until Hu Bazhi's figure was completely blocked by the surrounding trees not far away that he turned and walked into the cave next to him.

Walking to the wine jar like a thief, Wei Ran picked up the wine bucket and filled his kettle with red sorghum wine. Then he took the dog-skin coat that had been placed here and put it on. He then picked up the two golden hook rifles and returned to the warm shack. He sat on the kang and carefully maintained the two guns.

Before he finished his work, there was movement outside the shack. He lifted a corner of the curtain and glanced outside. He saw Hu Bazhi walking back with two prey that looked like pheasants in each hand.

"Catching a few flying dragons"

Hu Bazhi said, lifting the prey in his hands to show it to Wei Ran, "Brother Wei, take a rest first. I'll go tan those leather tubes."

"I'll take the gun to the shack and wipe it," Wei Ran said proactively, so as to avoid causing misunderstanding at this time.

Hu Bazhi nodded without saying anything, bent down, went into the cave and started working.

Not long after, when Wei Ran walked into the cave carrying the cleaned rifle, Hu Bazhi was already busy dealing with the dozen or twenty dog ​​skins.

Wei Ran couldn't help with this work, so he simply turned back to the shack, took out Robert's camera bag, selected a suitable lens and installed it, then went back into the cave and took a picture of Hu Bazhi.

"You are really the son of a wealthy landlord, how come you have this thing?"

Hu Bazhi looked at the not-so-big camera in Wei Ran's hand curiously, "Is this for taking pictures?"

"Yes," Wei Ran nodded and handed the camera in his hand to the other party.

"I wish I had met you earlier"

Hu Bazhi looked at the camera in Wei Ran's palm, but did not take it. He just continued to work while saying, "If I had met you earlier, I could have asked you to take a picture of my father, mother and wife. I was planning before that when our children were born, I would sell the tiger skin that my father and I had killed, and take them to the photo studio in the city to take a picture of them, alas."

"Feel sorry."

Wei Ran took a deep breath and said, "I am late."

"What are you talking about, Brother Wei?"

Hu Bazhi said quickly, "It's not your fault. I just... I just miss them." For a moment, the cave became quiet again. It was so quiet that one could hear the donkey ruminating, the sound of leather being processed, and the sound of snow falling heavier outside the cave.

For most of the next day, Hu Bazhi, who had drunk at least half a catty of wine, was busy tirelessly, and Wei Ran beside him also helped him with some work within his ability - chopping wood.

As the two were busy, it darkened early, and Hu Bazhi went to the stove and threw two potatoes as big as fists into it.

By the time it was completely dark, the leather tubes had been propped up and hung in the cave. Hu Bazhi easily made a pot of Feilong soup with not much seasoning but a handful of dried mushrooms.

"Don't drink too much at night," Hu Bazhi said, "We have to get up early tomorrow to continue hunting dogs. It snowed heavily these past two days, and those wild dogs will definitely not want to part with the meat from the mass grave."

"I'll go with you then?"

Wei Ran took over the job of pouring wine and said, "At least I can help you skin the dog or something."

"If you're up and don't mind the cold, come with me." Hu Bazhi, who was busy serving rice, was as easy to talk to as ever.

After bringing the food and drinks into the dim shack, Hu Bazhi dug out a glass can filled with waxy substance from a corner. He borrowed a piece of kindling wood from the stove and lit the wick in the middle of the can.

Before the candle flame was completely lit, the wick began to crackle and produce candle flames and wisps of black smoke, which was mixed with the unique smell of pine oil.

There is no need to ask, it is most likely a pine oil lamp made by themselves. Apart from the heavy smoke, this thing is not much worse than a regular candle. Moreover, since the raw materials are everywhere, the wick is much thicker and the brightness is naturally much higher.

Hu Bazhi put a black glass lampshade on the mouth of the can, placed the earthen candle on the side of the kang table, then took off his shoes, got on the kang and picked up the chopsticks.

At the same time, Wei Ran had already served a large bowl of Feilong Soup to the other party and himself.

"If you plan to go with me to beat the dog tomorrow, you have to get up early."

Hu Bazhi sat cross-legged, picked up the wine bowl and clinked it with Wei Ran's. He drank the hot wine in one gulp and said, "We have to go out before dawn. If we go too late, the wild dogs will smell the scent and won't dare to come."

"Don't worry, I can get up." Wei Ran also drank up the bowl.

"Where is Brother Wei from?" Hu Ba asked, pointing at the pipe.

"Hebei Province." Wei Ran also lit a cigarette and answered in a puff of smoke, "Cangzhou, Hebei Province."

Compared with the mutual testing during lunch, the casual chat at this time has turned into a way to get to know each other and increase understanding.

Of course, Wei Ran had to admit that although the legendary Flying Dragon Soup looked bland with only meat and mushrooms, it tasted really delicious.

After filling their stomachs with bowls of broth and glasses of white wine while chatting, Hu Bazhi insisted on giving the warm kang to Wei Ran, and he himself spread several layers of dog-skin mattresses on the ground. Under the influence of alcohol, he fell asleep while hugging the iron sand gun, which had a lethality almost equivalent to that of a shotgun in close combat.

Soon, the only things left in the shack were the warmth and faint light from the stove and Hu Bazhi's loud snoring.

Lying on the kang, Wei Ran looked at the snowflakes occasionally floating down from the ventilation window above his head, and couldn't help but wonder secretly whether he would meet Zhao Jinyu or Zhao Jinge tomorrow.

While daydreaming, Wei Ran, hypnotized by the alcohol and the crackling sound of the charcoal fire, gradually fell asleep with a hint of vigilance.

This time, he unexpectedly slept very soundly.

But when Hu Bazhi woke him up, he was inevitably frightened by the small knife he had made himself and was placed on his neck.

"I really thought you were the son of a wealthy landlord."

In the dim but warm dugout, Hu Bazhi took a step back to avoid the knife on his neck and said in surprise.

"If I were really the young master of a landlord's family, I would be waiting to be fed to the dogs at the mass grave by now."

While Wei Ran was speaking, he had already climbed up and put the food-cutting knife that he had been holding in his hand all night back into the scabbard.

"I believe you have the guts to kill the devils together."

Hu Bazhi breathed a sigh of relief, rubbing his neck with his hands while praising, "Really, the real person never shows his true colors. That move just now was so beautiful that it made my hair stand on end."

"I can't always retract my knife with my skill."

Wei Ran hinted in a joking tone, while busy putting on his cotton coat and trousers.

"Don't worry, I'll stay farther away next time and wake you up."

Hu Bazhi grinned and lit the pine oil lamp, then said as he put on his clothes, "Brother Wei, take one of the Japanese's guns later."

"Okay," Wei Ran agreed straightforwardly, but did not ask what he was going to do with the gun.

Hu Bazhi dressed himself up quickly and put some firewood into the clay stove and kang. Then he wrapped two cakes and some dried meat in rabbit skin and handed them to Wei Ran along with a potato that had been roasted overnight next to the clay stove. "Eat the roasted potato while it's hot. We'll set off after that."

As he spoke, Hu Bazhi had already sealed the fire doors of the stove and the kang, and left the dugout with a roasted potato in his hand.

Soon, accompanied by rustling sounds, the snow on the roof of the shack was swept down by Hu Bazhi, and then he covered most of the skylight above his head with a piece of animal skin.

By the time Hu Bazhi bent over and came in with two pairs of skis, a Golden Hook rifle, the Berdan Type II rifle and the Iron Sand Gun, Wei Ran had already finished eating the hot baked potatoes.

"Will the fast horse be useful?"

As Hu Bazhi spoke, he handed over a pair of skis and said, "If you don't know how to use it, I'll teach you."

"will use"

Wei Ran also glanced at the hunting bow and quiver hanging on the other party's waist, and then took the skis and golden hook rifle.

There was nothing much to say about the rifle, as Hu Bazhi had already loaded it with bullets. However, the ski board was a bit primitive, with several finger-wide leather ropes fixing the wooden body, and a layer of furry animal hide was firmly nailed to the surface in contact with the snow.

Glancing at Wei Ran suspiciously, Hu Bazhi turned around and walked out while saying, "Since you know how to use it, I won't teach you."

Knowing that the other party was testing him, Wei Ran did not delay and also put on a dog-skin hat, carrying his skis and weapons and crawled out of the shack.

In just one night, the snow on the ground was almost a foot thick, and finger-sized snowflakes were still floating overhead.

If we go to other places or return to our own era, such heavy snow will only remind people of the iron pot relying on the big goose and the literary saying "auspicious snow indicates a good harvest".

But at this moment, in this era of suffering and this man-eating snowy forest, this "auspicious snow" was equivalent to hell for the anti-Japanese fighters.

Taking a deep breath to clear his mind, he skillfully tied the primitive skis to his shoes, then picked up the hand muffs prepared for him on the ski poles next to him and put them on. He gripped the ski poles tightly and followed Hu Bazhi's footsteps.

After deliberately marching quickly for about ten minutes, Hu Bazhi saw that Wei Ran could really keep up with him, so he slowed down a little.

Just like when they brought Wei Ran back, the two of them kept quiet tacitly, and walked towards the cemetery where they met, using the reflection of the snow.

They crossed over one ridge after another and slid down from them rapidly again and again. Like two ghosts running in the snow, they arrived at the entrance of the cave where Hu Bazhi had imprisoned the donkey in less than an hour.

Inviting Wei Ran to walk into the cave, Hu Bazhi did not take off his skis at all. He used his ski poles to take down a broken basket hanging on the top of the mountain, took out a few bombs from it and put them on his belt.

Following the principle of not asking questions unless Hu Bazhi explained, Wei Ran changed direction with him and continued to move towards the graveyard.

Not long after, Hu Bazhi led him to a place about a hundred meters away from the mass grave.

"Just stay here and guard it."

Hu Bazhi stopped and whispered, "Go hide in the crooked pine tree next to it. Unless you are unlucky and encounter a tiger, there will be no danger."

"What about you?" Wei Ran asked.

"I'll get closer"

Hu Bazhi explained, "I won't set the trap today since I didn't bring the donkey with me. Brother Wei, don't shoot easily. Just watch from here."

"Then when can I shoot?" Wei Ran asked.

"You shoot again if I shoot," Hu Bazhi said, "If I don't shoot, you don't shoot either."

"It's up to you"

Wei Ran said cheerfully that this time coming along to beat the dog was more of a run-in before the two of them worked together to kill the devils, rather than helping. He could vaguely see that Hu Bazhi wanted to determine the priority between the two of them.

  Is this necessary?

Of course it is necessary. The two people are not familiar with each other. If they continue to play their own games, it will only harm others and themselves.

After assigning the task to Wei Ran, Hu Bazhi supported himself with his ski poles and skied down the ridge for dozens of meters until he stopped behind a tall and lush pine tree.

Seeing this, Wei Ran took off his skis, leaned against the tree, and climbed up the crooked pine tree by the branches.

Although the light was not good as he climbed up, he noticed that the branches were almost covered with pulp from being trampled on. It was obvious that Hu Bazhi must have climbed this tree many times.

In particular, when he climbed to a height as high as the roof, he found that not only was there a rope tied to the tree trunk, but also a torn sack was wrapped around one of the branches, which was as thick as a thigh.

Riding on the branch wrapped in a sack, facing the tree trunk, Wei Ran first passed the rope through his belt and tied a buckle, and then took off the gun he was carrying and placed it on the branch.

Although blocked by the branches of the pine trees, from this angle you can clearly see the mass grave a hundred meters away.

Unfortunately, because of the angle, although he could see the graveyard clearly, he could not see Hu Bazhi at all, let alone where he was hiding.

Wrapping his dog-skin coat tightly around himself, Wei Ran secured his gun with a gun belt, took off his gloves, took out his camera bag, replaced the Robert camera with a telephoto lens, and pressed the shutter button towards the mass grave that was almost buried by the snow.

So will Zhao Jinyu or Zhao Jinge appear later?

While putting away the camera, Wei Ran was secretly looking forward to it, but at the same time, he was conflicted and did not want the other party to appear in the mass grave - in the form of a corpse, or in the form of something close to a corpse.