War Photographer's Notebook

Chapter 1647 Afraid of being too late
Zigong, when Wei Ran came to this city again, it was already past one o'clock in the morning.

Even if something big happened, you certainly can't go to visit Li Sui'an's descendants at this time, or you will definitely be regarded as a lunatic.

Because of this, Qin Qi, who was considered half a landlord, drove them directly to a high-end hotel in the city to stay.

"We'll go there at daybreak"

Qin Qi said before pulling Xia Shushi out of the elevator, "We'll contact you on WeChat then."

"See you tomorrow"

Wei Ran said goodbye to the loving couple and went into his room with the huge suitcase.

After the usual check, Wei Ran lay directly on the bed and covered himself with the quilt. Then he took out the flashlight from the metal notebook, and then took out another metal notebook.

Just as the car drove into Zigong city, he felt a flash of burning heat at the base of his left hand. Naturally, he wanted to see what kind of changes had occurred and where.

Sure enough, when he turned to the latest page, he found that under the two addresses in Ulan-Ude and Aodao, there was an additional address in Bingcheng and a domestic mobile phone number.

"You are deliberately making trouble for me, right?"

Wei Ran muttered silently, then heaved a sigh of relief and put away the metal notebook and flashlight.

That night, Wei Ran, exhausted both physically and mentally, slept exceptionally soundly. He even returned to the warm, sturdy and hidden abandoned mine in his dream, where he sat together with his friends and had a good meal of pork stewed with vermicelli and dumplings stuffed with pork and sauerkraut, making up for a New Year spent in the midst of war and despair.

When the dream was shattered by the ringing of the mobile phone, Wei Ran, who was suddenly awakened, wiped the moisture from the corners of his eyes belatedly, and reached out to pick up the mobile phone on the bedside table.

"Master, shall we go or not?"

As soon as the call was connected, Xia Shushi on the other end asked, "It's almost ten o'clock. We can't go at lunch time, right?"

"I've slept too much. Wait for me, I'll be down right away."

After Wei Ran finished speaking, he simply hung up the phone, changed into a suit as quickly as possible, and left the hotel pushing his suitcase.

Wei Ran was still driving. He followed his memory and drove to the old street that he had only been to once. When he finally stopped in front of the grain and oil store called "Cangbingzhai", he happened to see the owner Li Weizhong who was busy unloading rice from a pickup truck.

Coming here again after several years, he couldn't help feeling dazed.

Because of his inner depression, he had made an appointment with the Li family to visit again after the New Year, but he chose to break the appointment because he subconsciously wanted to escape the pain of Teng County.

Now when he revisited the old place, he still felt a little overwhelmed, as if he was homesick.

Taking a deep breath, Wei Ran pulled the handbrake and said, "Let's go, get out of the car and help."

"Is that the person you're looking for?"

"The grandson of Sichuan Army Li Sui'an, his name is Li Weizhong."

Before he finished speaking, Wei Ran had already opened the car door and walked towards the pickup truck that was blocking half of the road in front of him.

"Wait a minute, I'll let Wei Ran right away!"

Li Weizhong, who was busy moving rice, immediately recognized Wei Ran. He threw the two bags of rice in his hand directly onto the pickup truck and raised his voice and said, "You are finally here!"

"Uncle Li, long time no see."

Wei Ran hugged the man enthusiastically, then picked up two bags of rice and said, "Let me help you carry them!"

"Bring a hammer!"

Li Weizhong hurriedly snatched the two bags of rice from Wei Ran's hands and threw them into the car. He turned around and shouted in a loud voice, "Little one! Come out! Come out quickly!"

Following Uncle Li's call, a tall, thin, dark-skinned young man wearing a desert training camouflage uniform, who looked to be about twenty-four or twenty-five years old, ran out.

"This is my son Ziqiang! Li Ziqiang, he just retired last month."

Uncle Li introduced, "Little one, this is Wei Ran!"

"Brother Wei!"

The young man named Li Ziqiang subconsciously raised his hand to salute, but when Wei Ran subconsciously followed suit, the two young men forced themselves to shake hands.

"I've seen your news, the one about the Long March!"

Li Ziqiang said excitedly, "After I retired last month, I went to the museum to look at the photos you found! Brother Wei, let's take a photo together! I told our company commander that you came to our house, but he didn't believe it!"

"Okay!"

Wei Ran nodded happily and called Xia Shushi, who got off the car a little later, to come over, "Take him with you. We mainly rely on him to find those things."

"It's Brother Xia, right?" Li Ziqiang, who was busy taking out his cell phone, recognized Xia Shushi at a glance.

"It's me, it's me"

Xia Shushi, this scumbag, was unusually ashamed and seemed unable to adapt to this kind of situation.

After being pulled by Wei Ran and Li Ziqiang to take a group photo, Uncle Li Weizhong, who had already taken off his apron, smiled and asked in a positive tone, "You must be here to look for me, an old man, right?"

"I can't hide it from you"

Wei Ran asked with a smile, "How is the old man?"

"Okay, you're fine."

Li Ziqiang answered the question first, "My grandfather is in good health. He even recognized you on TV during the National Day holiday and kept asking when you would come back to Zigong."

When Li Ziqiang was halfway through his speech, he did not forget to switch to Mandarin which was easier for Wei Ran and others to understand.

"Little one, take them home first."

Li Weizhong said, "I will go back after I unload this truckload of grain."

"Let's help unload together!" Xia Shushi suggested while he and Qin Qi each picked up two bags of rice.

Seeing this, Wei Ran also picked up two bags of rice and walked towards the grain and oil store. Seeing that they could not be stopped, the Li father and son could only speed up the work at hand.

With the help of the three of them, they unloaded the rice, flour, grain and oil from the cargo box. At the invitation of Wei Ran and the others, the Li father and son squeezed into the off-road vehicle that had purchased some gifts on the road, and Qin Qi drove the car towards the Li family.

When the car stopped in front of the old house, Wei Ran also noticed that after not seeing it for a few years, there was a sign of "Home of Honor" on the lintel of this house and the lintel of the Zhou family opposite.

Not only that, at the gates of these two houses, old man Li Wangchuan was already waiting in advance with a cane.

"I just posted our photo in our family group," Li Ziqiang explained with a silly smile.

"I'm causing trouble for you."

Wei Ran said apologetically as he pushed open the car door. He did not say hello in advance this time. Although it was a bit rude, he did not want to put the old man of the Li family into an agonizing wait because of his advance notice, or make any grand preparations in advance to welcome him.

"You're finally here, kid!"

Old Master Li Wangchuan held Wei Ran's hand tightly and said, "Quick, quick, come in and talk."

After letting the old man and his family who had been waiting in advance walk into the old house and sit down, old man Li Wangchuan personally poured a cup of tea for Wei Ran, but at the same time he also blamed him, "You kid, you clearly said you would come after the New Year that year, but you made me wait so long for this meal."

"Old man, the reason I didn't come last time was that I found out something."

Wei Ran, looking full of apology, found an excuse for himself, "Now that some things about your father, the Sichuan Army soldier Li Sui'an, and his comrades-in-arms have finally been sorted out, I have the nerve to come to your house."

"Have you found something new?" Li Wangchuan looked at Wei Ran in surprise. "What did you find out?"

Hearing this, Wei Ran and Xia Shushi looked at each other, and the latter immediately asked Qin Qi to help open the huge suitcase he brought and take out the things inside one by one.

"This saber was found together with the original thing."

Wei Ran said vaguely, "I have actually been looking for the seller of this saber for the past few years. Fortunately, I found some clues not long ago."

With this sentence as the lead, Wei Ran revealed all the clues and history he had "investigated", and bluntly stated that he had found the descendants of the original owner of the saber.

"I came here this time to find the descendants of Hu Bazhi in the photo."

Wei Ran finally said, "Grandpa, I want to ask you if you know any news about this Hu Bazhi."

"The surname is Hu." Old man Li Wangchuan murmured, and then fell silent.

After a long while, he finally spoke, "There is such a relative named Hu, but he hasn't been around for a long time."

"Do we have a relative with the surname Hu? How come I don't know about him?" Li Ziqiang couldn't help but move closer to his father Li Weizhong and whispered.

"Yes, yes, of course not."

Li Wangchuan looked at the photo album on the table and sighed, "I remember clearly when I was a child, there were always one or two letters sent home from the Northeast every year.

I asked my old man, and he just said that he was the old accountant of our Cangbinzhai.

In 88, before my husband passed away, he asked me to send an urgent telegram to the Northeast. About a week later, someone from the Northeast arrived. He was a big brother named Hu Yuhu.

At that time, I was hanging on with only one breath left. That old man, Mr. Hu, kowtowed to me, and I stuffed him a letter before I died. I still don’t know what the letter said.”

At this point, Li Wangchuan picked up the worn-out photo album and explained, "Later in 97, I also received a long-distance call from Brother Hu announcing his death. He said that his old man had passed away. Wei Zhong, do you still remember? I took you there at that time."

"Remember"

Li Weizhong replied, "It took us several days to get here by train, and that's when I was discharged from the army."

"So many years have passed in a flash," Li Wangchuan sighed, pointing to the photo in the album that Li Suian took in the yard of Hu Bazhi's house, "When I rushed over with Wei Zhong, Uncle Hu had already been buried.

His wife was dying at the time, and she was holding this photo and a card in her hand.

I stayed at their home with Wei Zhong for half a month, helping to deal with the old lady's funeral before returning. Later, our two families gradually lost contact. "

"Grandpa, I want to go look for it. Can you show me the way?" Wei Ran asked.

"Come with me first"

As Li Wangchuan spoke, he refused the support of everyone around him, including Wei Ran, stood up with the help of a cane, and took Wei Ran into his room.

"Lock the door." Li Wangchuan said as he sat down on the armchair in front of the desk.

After a moment's hesitation, Wei Ran closed the door and locked it.

"Was that the one you left behind last time?" Li Wangchuan asked while making the number "eight" with his hand.

"Did it cause you trouble?" Wei Ran asked.

"It wasn't a problem, but I was really scared."

Li Wangchuan said with a smile, "You are not as steady as you are in the news."

What could Wei Ran say? All he could do was put on a smiling face.

The reason he kept the box gun was simply to fulfill his wish of returning it to its original owner and to leave some memories for the Li family.

What's more, at that time he was just a rookie among rookies in the Hongqi Forest Farm.

"I've already handed that thing in under the pretext of cleaning up relics I accidentally found in the old house. It's now in our local museum."

Mr. Li smiled when he said this, "Because of it, and also because of the story of me and my third uncle, a reporter from our city's TV station came to interview us."

"I didn't think it through at the beginning," Wei Ran thanked him earnestly, "thanks to the old man for protecting me."

"I know you have a pure heart."

Old man Li Wangchuan sighed, "But I still want to ask, what are you asking for? What made you waste so many years of time and energy on something that has nothing to do with you?"

Hearing this, Wei Ran smiled calmly, "On the way here, my companion asked me the same question."

“I want to hear your answer, too.”

When Mr. Li Wangchuan said this, the look in his old eyes became much sharper.

He thanked Wei Ran, but thanking him was not the same as being grateful. He also had to be careful to prevent someone from making a fuss about his parents' generation, even though he had seen news about the young man in front of him in the official media in October.

"I told my companions that someone has to do it." Wei Ran answered more calmly, "But my answer to you is different.

What I pray for is the sacrifices and contributions of Sichuan Army veterans Li Hexian and Li Sui'an, and I hope that heroes like them can be remembered by future generations.

What I ask is that you bring all the loyal and brave members of the Li and Zhou families to Shaocheng Park to personally retrieve the jar of loess that I brought from Teng County, so that their souls can return to their hometown.

I hope that more people who have not experienced war can remember those broken spears forgotten in the sand and the withered bones and loyal souls on the banks of the Wuding River. "

At this point, Wei Ran spread his hands and said, "Grandpa, I am a historian, and my job is to fill in the gaps that are omitted in history books.

Objectively speaking, I am still a rich man who has no shortage of money, or at least I am a rich man who can be picky even if I am living off a gigolo.

But as a human being, you must have some serious pursuits in your life.

My pursuit is to find those unsung heroes who have been playing hide-and-seek with future generations in the long river of history."

Hearing this, Li Wangchuan sighed, "No wonder you were able to find those Red Army veterans on the Long March."

"So, old man, are my reasons sufficient?" Wei Ran asked with a smile.

"That's enough, that's enough."

Old man Li Wangchuan waved his hand. "I'm not suspicious. I'm just curious. You are different from the crazy things that are circulating on the Internet."

"Are you still surfing the Internet, old man?" Wei Ran curiously changed the subject.

"What are you talking about?"

As Mr. Li said this, he once again refused Wei Ran's help and stood up, then walked step by step to the cabinet against the wall with his cane.

Under Wei Ran's curious gaze, he opened the cabinet door and revealed an old-fashioned safe hidden inside. He then took out a key from his pocket and said proudly while unlocking it, "My good grandson Ziqiang taught me how to use the Internet more than ten years ago.

Fuck it! When I have nothing to do, I still curse those spineless dogs and traitors on the Internet! "

While Wei Ran was grinning secretly, Mr. Li had already opened the heavy door of the safe, took out a few things from it and placed them on the table.

The first thing was a matchbox-sized plate wrapped in red cloth. The half-carved plum blossom and numerous scratches on the edge allowed Wei Ran to recognize that it was half of the rhino horn paperweight from that year!
"This thing was given to me by my old man before he died."

Li Wangchuan picked up the rhino horn plaque and explained, "I couldn't speak at that time. I kept reciting the poem on the box gun and my eyes were always on the plaque.

When I took Wei Zhong to attend the funeral, the old lady had a piece similar to this in her hand. "

As he spoke, he picked up the second thing. It was a paper shoe box. Inside it were yellowed letters!
"This is the correspondence between me and Hu Bazhi. As far as I can remember, there were one or two letters every year, but these are the only ones left."

Mr. Li introduced, "Since you came here a few years ago, I dug out these things from the bottom of the box, but I can't understand what is written inside."

As he spoke, Mr. Li casually picked out a letter and handed it to Wei Ran, saying in a joking tone, "Can you, a great historian, help translate it?"

"Grandpa, please stop joking with me," Wei Ran took the envelope with a smile.

This yellowed kraft paper envelope has a detailed address, and the blurred postmark still shows that the letter was mailed at the end of December 1984.

Wei Ran looked up at Mr. Li again, and waited until the other party nodded before he took out the letter.

However, after reading the few words on the letter, he was speechless.

This letter was written in a code language, or rather, it was most likely written in a code language that only Li Sui'an, Hu Bazhi, and at most Unakan and the other two could understand.

Even so, he could still vaguely guess that this letter, written entirely in jargon, might be saying that Zhao Jinyu's body had not been found yet.

He could guess, not because he could understand, but simply because he knew that the disappearance of Zhao Jinyu's body was a hurdle that Li Sui'an, Hu Bazhi, and even himself could not overcome.

“I don’t understand, but I guess.”

Wei Ran sighed, "I guess the two brothers may have been looking for the body and widow of the Anti-Japanese Allied Forces fighter Zhao Jinyu."

"I hope the address written on this envelope can still find the Hu family."

Mr. Li also held an envelope and sighed, "Why don't they want to say it?"

“Because it’s too difficult”

Wei Ran answered almost subconsciously, "Maybe it's because too many people died. I think they may not want to recall the pain."

"yes"

Old man Li Wangchuan, who had also served in the army and experienced war, was stunned. Obviously, he also thought of some people who were buried in his memory but could never be forgotten.

Wei Ran said seriously, "Grandpa, I plan to look for the Hu family at this address."

"Then I'll trouble you."

Mr. Li also said seriously, "Since it is my father's last wish, I will go to Ao Island while I am still strong and meet the descendants of the Zhao and Ma families."

"I will also give you the information of the seller who sold the box gun and saber that year."

Wei Ran said, "The seller is in Ulan-Ude, Russia, and he might have some connection with the Zhao or Ma families.

When the time comes, whether you, the Ma family, or the Zhao family want to meet them, you can contact me at any time, and I will definitely let you play the role of a good host.”

"Before that, let us show our hospitality!"

Old Master Li laughed and said, "You kid said you would come last time but you didn't, but you made us wait for a long time that year."

"Grandpa, I'm afraid I have to leave immediately this time." Wei Ran said apologetically.

"Leave immediately? What's this?"

"Those letters from home are already more than eighty years late."

Wei Ran sighed, "I'm afraid it's too late. If I'm one day late, maybe the recipient of a letter will never be found again."

"makes sense."

Mr. Li sighed and then said, "Well, I'll let Wei Zhong and Zi Qiang go with you. This will help them get familiar with the route and get started again."

"I'm sorry to trouble your family."

Wei Ran's attitude became more and more apologetic. At this moment, he really needed to use the name of the Li family to find the descendants of Hu Bazhi. This was the fastest and safest way.

"You are so polite, kid." Old Master Li waved his hand, "I will ask Wei Zhong and his son to prepare."

It seems someone said something like this back then.
Wei Ran looked at old man Li Wangchuan walking out alone with a cane, and was a little dazed for a moment.

Shaking his head, he took a step forward and helped the other person open the locked door.