War Photographer's Notebook

Chapter 1706: The Auction in Madrid

On the night when the families of Marcal and his good friend Diego came to visit, the villa, which had been quiet for two days, became lively again.

As expected, both Macal and his friend Diego envied Wei Ran's playboy life surrounded by beautiful women, and received the love from their respective wives as they wished.

With the dinner and the frequent servings of tequila, cider and vodka, the farm's tourist business was quickly handed over to Diego's family, which made this taciturn but hardworking man feel a little relieved.

Naturally, the topic of conversation turned to the life of the Makar family after they were about to immigrate to Australia.

“I don’t want to continue the farm business anymore”

Makar said apologetically, "That always reminds me of the days when my mother was alive. I was planning to buy a house in Sydney with Jessica, and then we would drive a freight truck."

"This is not a good idea," Wei Ran reminded, "You still have children."

“That’s why we haven’t made up our minds.”

Jessica followed up, “There’s always a compromise between our lives and our children’s lives.”

"Victor, Aurora."

Makar, who had already drunk several glasses of vodka, picked up the glass again and said, "Tell me your suggestions again. We came here this time to hear your suggestions."

"You do it"

Su Su, who had no suggestions at all, gave the initiative to Wei Ran beside her.

“Why not run a hotel?”

Wei Ran suggested, "Maybe you can also buy a sightseeing boat."

"Like the former owner of my farm?"

Makar asked, "He and his friends also run a tour boat in Hawaii, Jessica, what's the name of their boat?"

"Time Flies"

Jessica spoke out the name of the ship that Wei Ran subconsciously said in his heart.

“I haven’t heard you talk about this.”

Wei Ran smiled as the Kajianka sisters secretly rolled their eyes and said, "But since someone has successfully transformed from a farm to a tourist boat, I think you might be able to do it too."

"We don't have enough money to buy another hotel and another sightseeing boat"

Jessica said, "It might not be enough even if we bought any of them."

Without waiting for Wei Ran or Sui Sui to speak, Makar added, "And we don't plan to borrow money from you."

“Maybe there is another option”

Seeing her man looking at her, Sui Sui picked up a glass of cider, took a sip and said nonchalantly, "Let's find a coastal city close to the Great Barrier Reef and buy a farm."

"and then?"

Wei Ran, Makar and Jessica asked almost in unison.

"Aurora, we really don't plan to..."

“I didn’t ask you to run a farm.”

Sui Sui let Wei Ran refill her glass of fruit wine and said proudly, "We can buy some cheap trailers and even some off-road vehicles. That will be enough."

"RV camp?" Wei Ran raised his eyebrows.

"It's much cheaper than staying in a hotel, isn't it?"

Sui Sui continued, "Anyway, that place won't be cold. I can send some low-priced customers there all year round. Then I can just find a yacht partner to take them to the Great Barrier Reef and make money."

Although Sui Sui's tone was particularly casual, this proposal easily impressed the Makar couple.

"When do you plan to immigrate?" Wei Ran asked promptly.

"After the New Year," Makar said, "we plan to start this matter after the New Year."

"I hope you can start your new life smoothly," Wei Ran said as he picked up the cup.

In another round of toasts, everyone drank up the wine in their glasses again.

That day, the families of Macal and Diego stayed at Wei Ran's house. It was also that night that Wei Ran sent the recording of the dinner to Gorman and Mrs. Uma, who had faked their death, through a secret email address.

Without waiting for their reply, Wei Ran helped the drunk Sui Sui into the bathroom.

At noon the next day, after having rested enough, the families of Makar and Diego, accompanied by Wei Ran, visited various scenic spots in Kazan.

At the same time, the girl Hela arranged by Kajianka was secretly keeping a vigilant eye on their backs and around their nest to see if there were any eyes following them.

Fortunately, after a whole day of walking around, neither Wei Ran nor Hela, nor even Karp who was hiding in a more secluded corner, noticed anything unusual. This was undoubtedly good news for everyone.

That afternoon, Gorman, who had faked his death, also sent a reply email with just one word - thank you.

Also on the afternoon of the second day after Makar and others came to visit, when Wei Ran drove them back home from the scenic spot, he found that there was another guest at home, a guest who also came from the United States.

It was Comrade Chanin who brought us the cider we drank last night.

"Comrade Chanin, when did you arrive?"

Wei Ran greeted them warmly, and Lola, who brought him here, pointed to the sidecar motorcycle outside the window with the flags of the Soviet Union, Russia and the United States.

“I arrived at noon.”

Comrade Chanin shook hands with Wei Ran and explained in French, "It was my fault that I didn't let them inform you. Of course, it's also my fault that I didn't have time to greet you in advance."

"Sister Aurora went to the studio this morning and she hasn't come back yet."

Lola followed suit and explained, "Comrade Channing, uh, was drinking milk tea in the library all afternoon."

"it does not matter"

Wei Ran waved his hand, inviting Channing who suddenly came to visit to walk to the next door and asked, "Comrade Channing's sudden visit, I'm sure you're not just here to drink coffee, right?

Whether it is Lawyer Carlos or the late Mr. Henry, we are all friends. So Comrade Channing can save the courtesy beyond friendship."

Although Wei Ran said this politely, he actually only expressed one meaning, "Just say it, I'm in a hurry."

"I came to see you suddenly because I have something very important to tell you."

Channing, an idealist from the Communist Party of the United States, also seemed to have no intention of being polite with Wei Ran. He followed Wei Ran and asked, "Victor, are you interested in going to Spain with me?"

"Going to Spain?" Wei Ran was stunned for a moment, "What are you going to do in Spain?"

"I want to take a picture of something very memorable," Channing explained, "Victor, I need your help."

"So what exactly is it?" Wei Ran asked involuntarily.

"Look at this," Channing said, having already taken out his phone and pulled out a set of photos and handed them over.

After taking a look at the first photo, Wei Ran couldn't help but raise his eyebrows.

This is a flag composed of red, yellow and purple horizontal stripes, with a red triangular star in the middle of the yellow stripe.

"Do you know what this is?" Channing saw Wei Ran stop and also stopped and asked.

"Of course I know," Wei Ran nodded, "This is the flag of the Spanish International Brigade."

"Keep reading," Channing raised his hand and gestured, his tone full of pride.

After glancing at Channing, Wei Ran slid the screen to the next photo.

This seems to be the other side of the flag, on which there are red triangular star badges.

In addition, there are lines of text written on this side.

There are German, Italian, English, French, Russian, some languages ​​that Wei Ran doesn't recognize, and even Chinese.

But all of these languages ​​say the same thing - fight for your freedom and ours.

Without rushing to turn to the next page, Wei Ran stopped and enlarged the photo. He carefully counted the three-pointed star badges on it. There were 27 in total.

I continued to turn to the next page, and this time there were some seemingly insignificant things.

A harmonica with bullet holes in it, a Mauser bayonet, and a heartbreakingly ugly Astra M400 pistol.

He continued to flip through the pages and saw that the photo had turned into a selfie of Comrade Channing on a motorcycle. He then returned the phone to the other party and started walking again.

Without Wei Ran asking, Channing followed and explained, "These things were found in a safe in the basement of an old house in Madrid a week ago. They were wrapped in newspapers and placed in a German gas mask can."

"Where are these things now?" Wei Ran asked.

"After they were discovered, they were promptly bought by a local antique buyer."

Channing said with a slight headache, "He plans to organize an auction and has invited a small number of collectors."

"Does it include you?" Wei Ran asked. "To be precise, it is the late Henry."

Channing said, "It was his daughter who passed the invitation to me, otherwise I might have missed the auction."

"so."

"Victor, I hope you can come to this auction with me."

Channing said earnestly, "I want to buy that flag. It means almost as much to me as the Bible does to Christians."

"I will also make a bid, Comrade Channing." Wei Ran said half jokingly and half as a reminder.

"If the auction price is beyond my budget, I certainly hope you can buy the flag."

Channing said rather generously, "And with you here, at least I don't have to worry about the flag being fake."

“Please allow me to remind you again”

Wei Ran had to say, "I am a historian, but I am not an appraiser of antiques and cultural relics. I am not good at this kind of work."

"Are you going to join us anyway?" Channing invited again, "That flag is so precious, I must get it."

6◇9◇Book◇Bar

“I do have some interest.”

Wei Ran said with a bit of embarrassment, "But I'm sorry, I had a guest at home yesterday."

"Hey! Makar! Why are you here too!" Before Wei Ran could finish his refusal, Channing exclaimed.

"Mr. Channing! Why are you here too!"

Makar, who had just been brought back here by Lucinda, also called out Channing's name in surprise. Then the two men did a classic American fist bump and a slightly awkward shoulder bump.

"Wait, do you two know each other?" Wei Ran asked in Russian in surprise, and then repeated it in French.

“We met on the plane to Kazan”

"He was across the aisle from me and we talked almost the entire way there, and Diego even gave him a bottle of tequila," Makar explained.

"If it wasn't for the bottle of tequila that Mr. Diego sent me, I would have come here to see Victor yesterday."

Channing said in English, "Where's Mr. Diego? His tequila is very good. It made me sleep very comfortably last night. Macal, I will order some from him when I return to the United States."

"He's in there, preparing Mexican food for everyone." Makar said, then looked at Wei Ran, "Victor, you know him too?"

“We are old friends.”

Wei Ran deliberately raised Channing's value to him, "We have some business cooperation."

"What a coincidence," said Makar's wife Jessica, "This world is really small."

"The only coincidence was that we chose the same time to visit Victor and that I was willing not to fly business class."

Channing also hugged Jessica gently, saying, "Assuming we have the same destination and the same flight, the only coincidence is that we chose the same row of seats."

"And we didn't mention Victor's name during such a long journey," Makar said with laughter.

Channing spread his hands, "Who could have thought of this?"

"No one really could have thought of it, so Mr. Diego might have to help prepare an extra Mexican dish." Wei Ran said with a smile after listening to Lu Xinda's translation.

It was indeed impolite to ask visiting guests to cook, but there was no other way. Everyone present, even the security captain Apoli next door, praised the Mexican food.

Because of this, after playing all day today, the honest and hardworking Diego family took the initiative to occupy the kitchen and started preparing a Mexican dinner.

After everyone entered the villa and found a place to sit down, when Channing was asked by Makar whether he came to see Wei Ran for work-related matters, he simply evaded the question by saying, "I often come to Victor to ask some historical questions."

Obviously, although this man is an idealist, his emotional intelligence is not low, especially since Wei Ran seemed ready to refuse just now.

Makar was not stupid either. He just smiled and did not continue the topic. Instead, he talked about the purpose of their two families coming to see Wei Ran.

For a moment, Wei Ran actually had the illusion that these two friends, whom he was not sure whether they could be considered friends or not, were allocating their time being "entertained by Mr. Victor" in an extremely polite and mutual understanding manner.

This ridiculous scene made Wei Ran, Lu Xinda, Lola, and Liu Bofu, three girls of almost the same age who came to help serve tea and water, but who did not speak the same language, all try their best to hold back their laughter. They were all staring at the translations given by the automatic translation software on their mobile phones.

After some friendly negotiations, Makar once again bumped fists with Chanin, then switched to Russian and said, "Victor, we and Diego's family were actually planning to go to Moscow and St. Petersburg to have a look. If you have work to do, you don't have to take care of us. Anyway, I can speak Russian."

"without"

"We also don't want to take up Aurora's time. That hardworking girl is not as leisurely as you."

Makar patted Wei Ran's shoulder like an older brother and said, "Victor, don't learn the bad habit of Slavic men who need women to support them, even though there are so many beautiful girls around you."

"I"

“I wanted to ask this last time I came here.”

After listening to Jessica's translation, Channing asked, "Victor, are all these beautiful girls around you your girlfriends? And if I remember correctly, are there more than before?"

"I"

"Anyway, we can take care of ourselves."

Makar said, "In addition, we plan to follow Aurora to visit the small polar town she runs in a couple of days.

Victor, my good brother, if you have work to do, just go and do your work. You have helped me enough, so you don’t have to delay your work to accompany us.”

"no."

"It seems that Makar has made time for you."

Channing picked up the glass he had just filled with tequila and handed it to Wei Ran and Makar, then picked up another glass for himself and asked, "Victor, now you have time to go to Spain with me, right?"

Before Wei Ran could say anything, his cell phone rang.

"Sorry, I'll answer the phone."

Wei Ran, who had not had a chance to speak just now, took out his cell phone apologetically, only to find that the person calling was Mr. Hans from Germany.

"Mr. Hans, long time no see." Wei Ran greeted in German after answering the phone.

“It’s been a long time indeed.”

Mr. Hans on the other end of the phone said in a full voice, "Victor, do you have time before the New Year?"

"Mr. Hans, is there anything I can help you with?"

Wei Ran asked politely. This Mr. Hans had really helped him a lot. Although they hardly contacted each other, every time he encountered trouble, this old man would take the initiative to send greetings and provide help in his ability.

"Help? No no no, I'm not helping you this time."

Hans on the other end of the phone smiled and said, "Victor, if you have time recently, why don't you take a few days off to go to Madrid with me? I plan to give you a small gift."

Why Madrid again?
Wei Ran glanced at Channing, who was toasting with Makar, with a strange look on his face, and asked with a smile, "Mr. Hans, the little gift you are talking about is not a flag of the Spanish International Brigade, right? The flag with 27 triangular star emblems on it."

"Yes, it seems you got the news too."

Hans laughed and explained, "Diane told me the news. She said some thieves found it in an old house. When I saw the photo, I thought I should buy it and hang it in your library."

After saying this, Hans didn't even give Wei Ran a chance to speak, "It just so happens that we haven't seen each other for a long time. I heard that some of the Warts are still looking for trouble with you. Victor, when will you arrive in Madrid?

We should meet, and I will help you wake up those idiots who covet the beautiful girls and all the property around you."

You also have Vertigo ancestry, right?
Wei Ran grinned. Since the other party had already said this, it would be difficult for him to refuse. Thinking of this, he responded, "Thank you for your help, Mr. Hans. I need to discuss the itinerary with my friends to confirm the time to rush there, but I will definitely catch up with the auction."

"In that case, I feel relieved."

Father Hans laughed and said, "I will leave for Madrid tomorrow, Victor, remember to contact me when you and your friends arrive."

"We will get there in time," Wei Ran grinned and accepted the sincere invitation.

After hanging up the phone, Wei Ran switched to French and asked, "Chaning, when is the auction?"

"Four days later," Channing replied immediately. "Victor, I see you agree?"

“Other friends have also invited me.”

Wei Ran shook his phone helplessly, "Didn't they say they only invited a few people on a small scale?"

"That's because there are too few people who are eligible to be invited," Channing said enviously, "If it weren't for Mr. Henry, I wouldn't have gotten this opportunity."

"And I'm afraid you can't buy that flag."

Wei Ran muttered to himself, but in fact he was wondering if these coincidences were a trap set by someone.

After all, there are more CIA and FBI in the Communist Party of America than file clerks. After all, Mr. Hans also has the blood of the warty people.

As for whether to go or not, of course I will go.

Wei Ran has a lot of confidence, including the newly acquired KPV anti-aircraft machine gun.

He wanted to see if someone really had bad intentions towards him, could he withstand the enthusiastic greetings of more than 14.5 rounds of mm machine gun bullets.