War Photographer's Notebook

Chapter 163
The abandoned military base covered by the blizzard accumulated more and more snow, and even the tail of the An-2 plane was buried in the snow.

And on the third floor of the Soviet building with iron gates on the right, the bonfire in the iron barrel released a warm temperature, and the fragrance from the four deer legs around the iron barrel covered the entire floor.

Around the bonfire, Wei Ran and the others were sitting on a thick wolf fur blanket, chatting, and at the same time, picked up a knife every now and then, and each cut a small piece of roasted fragrant venison from the deer leg , or tear open a pack of small snacks provided by Sui Sui, and finally have a sip of frozen cold vodka.

Talking about getting excited, Alili also took out a bone flute with pulp out of his arms, and skillfully played an unknown but very nice tune.

Not to be outdone, Sui Sui, who had already drank a little, wiped off the greasy paws on Wei Ran's body, then opened the suitcase full of snacks, took out a white harmonica, and played the classic "Hawthorn Tree".

I have to admit that although these guys are rougher than each other, they do have talents unique to the Slavic nation in the field of art.So almost at the same time as the sound of the harmonica sounded, Jima and Alili sang along.

Although it was a little weird how these two rough men sang a love song together, but when the atmosphere was here, naturally no one cared about these details.

When the song was over, Sui Sui shook the harmonica and threw it back into the box. The gloating Chao Wei raised his chin, "It's your turn."

This wicked little bastard naturally knows that Wei Ran is a music idiot who can sing the national anthem out of tune, but it's a rare opportunity to see him make a fool of himself, so of course he can't let it go easily.

If it was placed a month ago, maybe Wei Ran would really admit it, but during this time, he has also learned some basics of the guqin, and whenever he has time, he will take out the guqin and play it a few times.

Therefore, although he still couldn't play a complete piece of music, it was not a big problem to fool the two booing boys on the opposite side and the little girl next to him who was already drunk.

"Come on, I'll show you my skills today."

Wei Ran pretended to be confident on purpose, took the wet towel from Sui Sui to wipe off the greasy hands, and then took out his precious piano case from the meeting room.

After he pretended to cross his legs on the wolf fur blanket and put the guqin on his legs, he slowly plucked the strings.

I don't know if it is the sound quality of the guqin itself, or because of the catalysis of alcohol.Wei Ran really played the little piece "Xian Weng Cao" that he could barely remember.Although there are many mistakes in the middle, but fortunately, no matter whether it is Jima, Alili, or the confused Sui Sui, they don't seem to be able to hear it.

At least he got confused by the part of the talent show, Wei Ran hurriedly put away the guqin and put it aside, leading the topic to other aspects.

After eating a meal for nearly two hours, when the meat on the four venison legs was almost eaten by everyone, the two vodka bottles placed next to everyone were completely exhausted.

"It's getting late, it's time to rest."

Alili yawned, pointed to the two adjacent rooms facing the meeting room and said, "We lived in those two offices last time, and the beds are still inside. If we use kerosene for heating If you don’t have a stove, remember to open the ventilation window above the door.”

"Sui Sui, do you have a room by yourself?" Wei Ran shook the girl beside him, but unfortunately the latter had already fallen asleep using the wooden piano case as a pillow.

"Forget it, when I didn't say it."

Wei Ran got up unsteadily, stretched his numb legs, then pulled the wolf fur blanket under Sui Sui's body, and dragged the piano case on it into the nearest office.

"This drinking capacity is far from that of Professor Alexey."

At the same time as Ji Ma teased, he also helped to bring in the kerosene heater, wolf fur blanket and sleeping bag, and opened the ventilation window above the door by a fist-wide gap.

"But my stinky temper and my aunt are almost carved out of the same mold." Wei Ran shook his head helplessly, spread the wolf fur blanket on the hard bed, and then helped Suisui take off his shoes and hugged it on it again.

While he was covering the blanket, Jima also lit the kerosene heater and placed it on the table between the two single beds.After settling Sui Sui, who had started to talk in her sleep, the two left the room, sat next to the burning bonfire again, and placed the canvas bag they had put away on the floor between them.

"It's best to ask Mr. Nicholas or Mr. Karp about this thing as soon as possible," Wei Ran said in a low voice.

Jima took out a bottle of vodka from the wooden box behind him and unscrewed it, and asked while pouring the wine, "You want to use that spy to ask about the situation of this military base by the way?"

Wei Ran picked up his glass and took a sip, and after thinking for a moment, he said his guess, "More than that, according to the clues we found, the observatory on the top of the mountain was probably abandoned in the middle of the Soviet Union's Venus project. But at the same time, you can also see that the military base at the foot of the mountain was probably abandoned around the time of the disintegration of the Soviet Union. If there were no accidents in the middle, the Soviet Union at that time had no reason to abandon it.”

"You suspect that it has something to do with that spy?" Jima asked in surprise, having already picked up his second glass of wine.

"Perhaps only Nicola or Karp can give us the answer to this question."

Wei Ran waved his hand, indicating that Jima didn't need to pour himself any more wine, and continued with an empty wine glass, "But no matter what the reason is, as you just said, in the name of that spy, ask about the identity of this military base. Circumstances matter. Also, if we could try to get that telescope in the observatory back to work, it would be more attractive than those glass-roofed houses in Finland."

"Leave this matter to me!" Ji Ma promised eagerly.

"The other thing is this canvas bag"

Wei Ran pointed to the things on the floor between the two, "After Mr. Nicholas gives a positive answer, you can take this canvas bag to talk to Professor Alexei. It’s already out of date, but it’s probably okay to sell for tens of thousands of dollars, the only pity is that the most valuable spy camera in it was taken away by Sui Sui.”

"If it wasn't for her, I wouldn't be able to find these things, would I?"

Jima was exceptionally content. He pointed to the rooms on both sides of the corridor and said, "Besides, there are so many rooms here. Maybe we can dig out some other things by then."

Wei Ran shook his head noncommittally, "If other spy equipment can be found, it would be a big joke."

"How do you know if you don't try"

Ji Ma put away the canvas bag confidently, "Victor, is that computer on the top of the mountain worth anything?"

"Not only the ternary computer, but also those movie films are valuable things. But again, before we find out the real situation of this military base, whether it is the package of spy tools, or those films and computers , it’s best not to rush to sell.”

Jimabi made an OK gesture, "Don't worry, Victor! I won't cause trouble for myself."

"It's good that you know it yourself." Wei Ran stood up at this point, "I'll go back to sleep first, do you need me to help keep watch at night?"

"No need." Ji Ma took a sip while clutching the wine bottle, "This place is safer than the hot spring camp, let's rest at ease!"

Hearing this, Wei Ran pushed open the half-covered door, looked at Sui Sui who was still sleeping soundly and the heating stove emitting scarlet light and heat waves, then locked the door, dimmed the gas lamp, and put the The wolf fur blanket on the ground was spread on another bed opposite the table. He took off his shoes and covered it with a thick blanket, and closed his eyes with the piano box on his pillow.

In the early morning of the next day, when Wei Ran was woken up by the movement outside the door, Sui Sui on the opposite bed was still drooling and fast asleep.

When he opened the door, Alili, who got up early, was already cooking oatmeal porridge in a small stainless steel pot around the bonfire built with bricks, while Jima in the distance turned into a demolition worker, using a stick from nowhere. The crowbar I found was removing the bricks and cement that sealed the window.

Through the glass windows with mud and dust remaining, Wei Ran can vaguely see that the snow outside is still full of stamina, and even the raging cold wind is getting stronger.What made him even more worried was that not far downstairs, the An-2 plane, which was fixed with steel wire ropes, was like a kite at this moment, being blown up and shaking from time to time, shaking off the snowflakes accumulated on the wings. .

"woke up?"

Alili warmly greeted Wei Ran to sit down by the campfire, picked up the coffee pot and poured him a cup, "How did you sleep last night?"

"Forget it, I didn't sleep well all night."

Wei Ran couldn't help yawning. Sui Sui ran back and forth to the bathroom three or four times last night, and every time he insisted on calling himself up to accompany him, at four or five o'clock in the morning, he still turned off the light The kerosene heating stove and the gas lamp were refueled once respectively.It can be said that he did not have a peaceful sleep that night.

Ali, who didn't know the inside story, smiled, "It looks like the wind outside won't stop for a while, do you want to go back to sleep for a while?"

"No need." Wei Ran picked up the small enamel cup and took a sip of the hot coffee, "Do you need me to do anything?"

"There's nothing to do. In this kind of ghostly weather, all we can do is wait for the blizzard to stop."

Ji Ma, who was busy with the demolition, stopped his work, "Of course, if you want to have a drink to sober up, the time may pass faster."

"Forget it." Wei Ran quickly waved his hand, he didn't want to get drunk early in the morning.

Jima didn't care, put down the crowbar and walked over to sit on the blanket, "Victor, today I plan to search every room thoroughly."

Wei Ran curled his lips, "Do you really think you can find other spy equipment?"

"Anyway, idle is idle." Jima picked up the cold coffee and drank it up, then said with full expectation, "Maybe we can find some treasures hidden by the soldiers at that time?"

"Forget it, turn it over slowly by yourself." Wei Ran shook his head and refused without thinking, "I might as well practice the piano when I have time."

"Don't look at me," Alili said before Jima could speak, "I'd rather go back and sleep."

Ji Machao, Wei Ran and Alili each showed a middle finger, "I will find something good, and you will be envious."

Alili waved his hand indifferently, "Then we will be envious, and when you go to pick up junk, remember to bring some wood back."

(End of this chapter)