War Photographer's Notebook

Chapter 1705 Visiting Friends
After returning to reality, Wei Ran, who had come back to life, became much lazier, while Sui Sui, who was preparing to make a good movie, was extremely busy.

However, Wei Ran's laziness only lasted until the third day, and he had to end it because of Ninel who came to his door.

"Why are you still wasting time?" Ninel, who came with Olga, said dissatisfiedly.

"Why are you so anxious?" Wei Ran said with the same dissatisfaction.

"Of course I'm anxious. I want to be in."

“There are still many days.”

Wei Ran apologized and nodded to Chen Luoxiang and Sui Xin who followed him back, then said, "Come with me. I have already found out some things. The rest will probably depend on you."

"What did you find out?"

"I was just about to contact you"

Wei Ran yawned and spoke vaguely, then asked Ninel to leave home and go to the basement of the library next door.

"What did you find out?" Ninel asked patiently, and his originally slow tone became a little faster.

“You’ll know soon.”

Wei Ran deliberately kept him in suspense, slowly opened the heavy door of the basement, and took him into the studio.

Under Ninel's gaze, Wei Ran placed the things that the other party had sent him on the large table in the studio one by one, and then said, "Among the missing crew members, there is a military doctor named Kirill. He is not dead."

"Not dead?" Niniel was stunned for a moment, "How did you find out?"

"Trade secrets"

Wei Ran snapped his fingers and continued, "I have almost found this person's address. If you can find him through this address, if he is still alive, you will probably be able to get something out of him."

"Where is he? I'll go right away."

"Do you have any suitable reasons?" Wei Ran asked back.

"What's a suitable reason?" Ninel looked at Wei Ran in confusion.

"When you find the other person, he will always ask you where you found him, right?"

Wei Ran asked the other party to sit down on the sofa, "What will you say then?"

"I"

"According to my investigation and analysis, the other party may have faked his death in the ambush in 1988."

Wei Ran reminded, "If he asks you and you can't give a reason, it will probably be a problem for you as well."

"So how did you find it?" Ninel asked with particular interest.

"According to my research"

Wei Ran cleared his throat and said seriously, "His father's name is Ninel. Yes, it's the same name as yours. That Ninel also participated in the Soviet-Afghan War, and he was probably killed in 1980.

He, I mean Kirill, he also has an adoptive father. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, his adoptive father's family immigrated to Italy. I found Kirill through this clue. "

At this point, Wei Ran said before the other party could speak, "But I haven't had time to go to Italy to verify whether the information is accurate, so if you are in a hurry, you can try it yourself."

“Give me the address.”

Ninel resumed his slow drawl, "I can handle the rest myself."

"Do you need me to go with you?" Wei Ran opened the drawer, took out a piece of paper with the address written on it in advance, handed it to the other party and asked.

"I want the daughter of the missing co-pilot Ruslan to go directly to him," Ninel said, "I don't intend to intervene in this matter."

"fair enough"

Wei Ran nodded, but he couldn't help feeling a little regretful in his heart. He actually also wanted to meet Kirill and the others and wanted to know how they were doing.

Ninel just glanced at the contents of the note, then picked up a disposable lighter on the table, lit it and threw it into the ashtray, then took out an outdated BlackBerry phone and sent an email.

"Remember to turn on your phone next time"

Ninel snorted in dissatisfaction, "Also, I promised to introduce you to a business deal. Do you need me to ask that friend to come meet you?"

"If you're not in a hurry, let him wait."

Wei Ran, exhausted both physically and mentally, yawned. "When your current friend finds Kirill, remember to tell me about his situation. I want to see if the investigation is accurate."

"no problem"

Niniel agreed nonchalantly, then changed the subject and asked, "What's wrong with you lately?"

"What's going on?" Wei Ran asked after a moment of surprise.

"Seeing you looking so bored reminds me of a hibernating brown bear," said Ninel.

"I've been too tired lately," Wei Ran said and yawned again.

"You have too many girlfriends," Ninel "kindly" reminded.

"To shut up"

Wei Ran gave him a middle finger in return, "How can an honest man like you make such a joke?"

“I’m not kidding”

Ninel spread his hands, stood up and walked out while saying, "Also, your uncle Chabu asked me to tell you that he will send two Mi-34Bs to Kazan at the end of the month. Remember to find a parking space in advance."

“Send it to the studio.”

Wei Ran stood up and walked out while casually answering, "I don't have a place to park the helicopter here."

"I'll tell him."

"Are you ready to leave?"

"Can't you just invite me to stay?" Ninel asked as a matter of course.

"Why do I always make friends like you?"

Wei Ran shook his head helplessly, "What do you want to eat tonight?"

"Chinese food, thank you." Ninel began to order without being polite.

Based on the humanitarian spirit of "if you drive one sheep, you should let a flock of sheep go" and "if you have an extra pair of chopsticks, it's better to have one more pair of chopsticks", Wei Ran, who was helping out, not only did not get any benefits, but also cooked a table of his specialty Chinese dishes with the help of Chen Luoxiang that afternoon.

That night, Ninel and Olga, who had no idea what politeness was, as well as Sui Xin and Chen Luoxiang, were visiting Wei Ran's home.

In the United States, a white couple in their forties also boarded the fastest flight to Italy with a young man who looked to be around 20 years old.

But the reunion of these people obviously had nothing to do with Wei Ran, and those photos he had taken personally were destined to never be hung in the Library of Time, just as that period of history had been gradually obliterated and forgotten with the disintegration of the Soviet Union.

The next morning, Ninel and Olga, accompanied by Wei Ran and Sui Sui, rushed to the airport with Sui Xin and Chen Luoxiang. They were either going back to St. Petersburg or preparing to return to China.

This time, Lola's sister Korava also returned to China with Sui Xin and the others. Naturally, the one who was most reluctant to leave was Lola, who came along to see them off.

Regardless of whether they were reluctant or not, after seeing off these friends, Sui Sui and the others immediately plunged into their busy work after returning home, and Wei Ran was not surprised to have free time again.

However, at least he had gotten rid of Ninel, this life-threatening friend of his. Wei Ran, who had relaxed a little, finally had some motivation. He was busy in the library alone for a whole morning, hanging up all the old photos that he had accumulated before, except for Afkhan, above his head.

He had just finished his work when Sui Sui opened the window of the office upstairs and waved a laser pen at the photo he was looking at.

When he turned back subconsciously, Sui Sui had already turned off the green laser pen and waved at him quickly.

Wei Ran also waved to the other party, took the coffee prepared by Mrs. Samantha, walked out of the library and walked up the stairs to the office on the second floor.

"What's wrong?" Wei Ran asked as he handed the coffee to the other party.

"We have another friend coming to visit us," Sui Sui said, but she just took the coffee and put it on the table, "Guess who it is this time?"

"How should I guess?" Wei Ran thought for a moment, "That scumbag Xia Shushi?"

"It's not that scumbag. Oops, that's not right. It's not that scumbag this time." Su Su corrected.

"How can we have friends who are not scumbags?"

Wei Ran pondered for a moment, "Koko?"

"I knew you couldn't guess"

Sui Sui snapped her fingers and subconsciously lowered her voice and said, "It's Makar, the American Makar."

"he?"

Wei Ran was stunned for a moment, and subconsciously tensed his nerves, "What is he doing here?"

"He just said he wanted to discuss business with us," Sui Sui said, "but he didn't mention what kind of business it was in the email."

"Come to Kazan?" Wei Ran asked with a frown.

"Let's decide on an address"

Sui Sui looked at Wei Ran with burning eyes. Obviously, she was also worried about what Wei Ran was worried about, even though she didn't know what was going on.

"When?" Wei Ran asked.

“Still undecided”

Sui Sui paused and said, "But they plan to come before the New Year, and they sent an email to ask when we have time and where it would be convenient for us to host their two families."

"Two families?"

"He and his Mexican friend Diego and his family"

As Sui Sui spoke, she had already taken the tablet computer handed to her by Anfia and handed the email from Makar to Wei Ran for him to read.

In this email, Makar just vaguely said that there were some problems with the farm they jointly ran, and he was planning to come over to meet with Sui Sui before the New Year to discuss next year's business, so he sent an email in advance to ask when and where it would be convenient to meet.

Apart from that, there was nothing else in the email.

"How should I reply to his email?" Su Su asked after taking the tablet.

"Let me think about it first."

Wei Ran thought for a while and gritted his teeth. "Well, they are welcome to come anytime. We will be in Kazan before the end of the month. We may return to China after the New Year. Let them decide the time and place of the meeting."

“I’ll email them back.”

As Sui Sui spoke, she had already sat down and was typing away on her tablet to reply to an email.

To their surprise, they received a reply within less than three minutes after sending the email.

"He said."

Sui Sui looked at Wei Ran, "He said they have already processed the visas, and if it is convenient for us, they will come to Kazan in two days."

"Then let's do it in two days."

Wei Ran thought for a moment and asked again, "When will the professor and my aunt come over?"

“They want the end of the month.”

Sui Sui replied, "I'm more curious about what problems Makar and his business have encountered."

"Why not just send an email and ask?" Wei Ran reminded. "That's right!"

Sui Sui slapped her forehead, tapped the screen again, and asked the core question carefully considering her words.

This time, Makar just replied, "Let's talk in person."

"Why are you keeping it a secret at this time?"

Wei Ran and Sui Sui muttered something in unison, and then smiled at each other in tacit understanding.

"Forget it. Since the other party intends to keep us in suspense, let's just wait and see. We will know in two days." Wei Ran said with a smile.

“No”

"will not"

Wei Ran waved his hand but did not say the second half of the sentence. As long as the Makar and his two families could get to Kazan smoothly, there would be no trouble. But if they did not arrive after two days, they would have to be vigilant.

“We need notifications”

6◇9◇Book◇Bar

"Let me do it"

Wei Ran hugged the other person gently and said, "Don't worry about anything else. Just think of it as entertaining a partner."

"Okay," Sui Sui nodded, but ultimately did not ask any further questions.

After comforting Sui Sui, Wei Ran was not idle either. He drove to the studio outside the city with his dog Belia and informed Kalp of the emergency.

"What is he doing here?" Karp asked with a frown. Obviously, he did not expect this situation.

"It's just a business matter with Aurora," Wei Ran answered truthfully, and then repeated his decision.

"Since you've agreed, then so be it."

Karp paused and said, "Just don't bring him to the studio. Even if you blow up the Volga River with him, it has nothing to do with me."

Why would I blow up the Volga River?

Wei Ran snorted unhappily, then changed the subject and asked, "How are you going to spend the New Year?"

“Go to Volgograd”

"Let's go and keep Mr. Nicola company," said Culp.

"us."

"You've been in too much trouble lately," Karp said with a hint of disdain, "so you shouldn't go."

"Okay, one last thing."

Wei Ran pointed to the top of his head and said, "That big-eared uncle Chabu is going to send me a few helicopters. Two Mi-34Bs will fly over at the end of the month. Ninel informed me of this. How about I ask him to park the helicopters here?"

“There is a helipad on the rooftop”

Karp agreed to Wei Ran's arrangement nonchalantly, and followed up the topic by asking, "Have you found out anything about the matter that Niniel asked you to help with?"

“It has been basically resolved”

Wei Ran answered truthfully, but did not explain in detail.

Sure enough, Karp, as usual, was not overly curious and just asked casually, "I heard you are interested in nuclear warheads and chemical warheads?"

"I don't mind having a few more cards in my hand," Wei Ran said bluntly, "You can."

"I can't get any nuclear or chemical warheads"

Karp didn't even give Wei Ran a chance to finish his words, "I'm just an unknown director now."

"You will become a famous director," Wei Ran said with a smile.

"I hope there will be such a day," Culp smiled, "treat your friends well."

"Of course, I won't bother you then."

Wei Ran tactfully said goodbye and got into the car with his dog Belia, who was chasing and playing with his good friend.

Watching the eye-catching armored pickup truck leave the studio, Karp shook his head helplessly.

"Is this the monster you cultivated?"

Behind Culp, inside the main door of the studio building, Uncle Chabu, who was hiding in the shadows, taunted.

"He is indeed a monster, but he is more reliable than your white bandit friend."

Culp turned and walked inside and said, "Are you satisfied now?"

“I like monsters like this”

Uncle Chabu's tone seemed to become particularly satisfied again. "Anyway, at least I don't have to worry about you useless old guys anymore."

"Thank you for worrying about us useless old guys."

Karp snorted in annoyance. "If I remember correctly, you hid two chemical warheads when the Soviet Union collapsed."

"You're not mistaken."

Uncle Chabu said with particular candor, "Now the only one who knows that the two chemical warheads are in my hands, besides me and my sister, is you."

"Leave one for that little monster," Karp said nonchalantly, "He might need it in the future."

"no problem"

Uncle Chabu answered just as nonchalantly, not seeming to think there was anything wrong.

Wei Ran was destined not to hear the idle chatter at the entrance of the studio's main building. When he drove his car back home, snowflakes began to fall from the sky again.

On the same day, a comic submission contest with a prize pool of $50 was quietly launched on the Zhaohe website.

On the same day, Makar and his Mexican friend Diego also boarded the long flight to Kazan with their families.

Almost at the same time, a flight from the United States finally landed smoothly in a city in Italy after several transfers.

Two days later, Wei Ran, Sui Sui and others arrived at the airport early, and met the Makar family and his friend Diego's family who came together half an hour earlier than expected.

"Victor, we finally meet again." Makar enthusiastically gave Wei Ran a bear hug.

“You’ve changed so much.”

Wei Ran sighed, it had only been half a year since they last saw each other, but Makar had visibly lost a lot of weight.

“There have been some changes”

Makar smiled unnaturally, obviously thinking of something.

“It’s a rare opportunity for you to visit Kazan”

Sui Sui said promptly, "Let's go home first. I'll take you on a tour around Kazan in the next two days. If you want, you can even stay and celebrate the New Year together."

"We'd love to, but I'm afraid we don't have the time."

Makar's wife said apologetically, "Aurora, we came here this time because we actually have something very important to discuss with you."

"What's going on?" Sui Sui asked curiously while inviting everyone to get in the car.

"I want to leave America," Makar said abruptly.

"What did you say?" Wei Ran and Sui Sui asked in unison.

“I said, I’m planning to leave the United States.”

Makar waited for the car to start moving before continuing, "Ever since my mother's accident, I've always had nightmares, and I always feel like she's still alive. My concentration has also become less focused over the past six months, and I've also been diagnosed with depression."

"So where are you going to live?"

Wei Ran and Sui Sui looked at each other and asked, "Russia?"

"No, no, no, forget about Russia."

Makar shook his head, put his arm around his wife who was sitting next to him and said, "Jessica and I are planning to move to Australia."

"Australia?"

Wei Ran raised his eyebrows. For a moment, he didn't even know whether this was a coincidence or a connection between mother and son. After all, Mrs. Uma, who had faked her death, was in Papua New Guinea, which was right next to Australia.

"At least it's an English-speaking country, and both of us, including our children, will be able to integrate into local life easily."

Jessica explained, "And of course, there's the coastline and sunshine that these Slavs can't resist."

"If this can make you happier, I think it's a good decision." Wei Ran said with a smile.

“I’m glad you can say that.”

Makar breathed a sigh of relief and said, "We came here mainly to discuss the business of our farm after we move to Australia.

Victor, Aurora, I will never forget the help you provided me when I was in the most difficult time. I don't want to cause you any trouble, so I plan to let Diego's family inherit the business, which is also the main reason why we came here in person. "

"Business matters are easy to deal with. As long as the management strategy remains unchanged, it doesn't matter who does it."

Sui Sui spoke up just in time, "But what about you guys? What are you going to do for a living after you move to Australia?"

"After I sell the farm to Diego, I'll have a lot of money in my hands."

"We may move to Sydney to see if there is any business that suits us, but it certainly won't be a farm," Makar said.

"Cowboy, please allow me to remind you."

At this time, Sui Sui snapped her fingers and said, "There are so many rabbits in Australia that we can continue our business."

"And Aurora is considering sending some tourists to the Great Barrier Reef recently. Even if you don't plan to make money from rabbits, you can at least run a hotel, and we can continue to cooperate then."

"Ah! That's right! The Great Barrier Reef! Yes! The Great Barrier Reef!"

Sui Sui snapped her fingers again. Although she didn't know why her man mentioned this attraction, she quickly took over the conversation, "If you hadn't mentioned it, I would have forgotten about it. Ever since we traveled to Australia, I've always wanted to open up a route to the Great Barrier Reef.

How about it? Makar, Jessica, shall we continue to work together to make money? "

"This is a pleasant surprise," Makar said. "Maybe we can actually talk about this."

"So you are not in a hurry to leave?" Wei Ran asked with a smile.

"If you don't mind staying with us to celebrate the New Year," Makar said with a smile while holding his son.

“Then there’s no rush.”

Sui Sui immediately said, "Jessica, we haven't had Mexican food for a long time. How about asking your friends to help?"

“Diego won’t say no”

"We even brought in his tequila," Jessica said with a smile, holding her son in her arms.

"Looks like we can have a good drink tonight," Wei Ran and Sui Sui looked at each other and said in unison.

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