War Photographer's Notebook

Chapter 199 The Barbershop and Photo Studio in the Snowstorm (Two in One)

In the hunter's hut illuminated by kerosene lamps, Dr. Jason, with the assistance of Wei Ran, meticulously performed the eyeball removal operation for Kenon.

Around them, the other five wounded were either sitting or lying down by the fireplace where the bonfire was already lit, while the Markla father and son and the young German soldier Flory had already entered with axes, saws and weapons. The taiga surrounding the hunter's lodge.

As Markla said before, the blizzard is coming soon, and they must stockpile enough firewood for heating and food for food before the blizzard arrives.

As the operation progressed, the howling cold wind outside the window became more and more violent, and the only small window was covered by blowing snowflakes, blocking all sight.

Under the gust of wind, the window frame made various disturbing noises, as if a ghost was crying and flapping outside.But even so, Dr. Jason was still performing the operation meticulously.

Finally, with a soft clang, a cannonball skin the size of a fingernail was thrown by him with tweezers next to the eyeball on the tray.

Almost at the same time that Dr. Jason finished bandaging Conon's wound, Markla and his son walked in with Flory through the door.

"How's the harvest?" Jason asked without looking up.

"Fortunately, I hit a wolf."

The young Carl said proudly, "In addition, we also found a hibernating bear not far from us. When we need it, we can invite it to sit here."

"How is our partner?" Markla, who came in later, asked while patting the snow on his body.

"The operation was a success." After finishing the final work, Jason took off his gloves. "Although one eye was blind, at least the other one was saved. In addition, he may be in pain for a few days."

Markla and his son were relieved when they heard the words, but then they became worried again, worrying that the second pole, Kenon, would hurt everyone by talking nonsense after waking up.

Seeing Markla winking at his son, Wei Ran immediately took up the topic, and asked with ulterior motives, "Doctor Jason, do you want to treat the wounds of the other wounded?"

"Come on." Dr. Sen gave Wei Ran enough trust, "The medicine they changed four hours ago, you take care of it, I want to take a rest."

"thank you for your trust"

Naturally, Wei Ran was so happy. He wanted to take the opportunity of helping those wounded with their wounds to see if there was Yannick he was looking for among them.Since the other party handed over all the work to himself, it was naturally the best.

In order not to arouse suspicion, Wei Ran started from the simplest injury, changed the dressing, and relieved the pain, chatted with each wounded by the way, and finally identified a wounded whose face was covered with bandages It was Yannick he was looking for.

According to Jason, Yannick encountered a sniper while driving back. The bullet shot into his left cheek and came out of his right chin, almost knocking off his entire chin.

It was also thanks to the fact that he was turning his head to talk to his companion in the same car, otherwise the bullet would have taken his life directly.But even if he survived for the time being, his condition is not optimistic, and there is a risk of death at any time.

Taking the time to go to the bathroom, Wei Ran secretly took out ten penicillin from the medical box, which they didn't have at all, and took out all the Snickers bars in the food box and put them all in the bag. I went around the hut inside and out.

Although the hunter's hut made of logs is small in size, it is fully equipped. In addition to a simple toilet with air leakage, there is also a small utility room, which contains various animal traps and a large bucket. Nearly 20 liters of kerosene and a dusty sleigh.

In addition to these unexpected joys, there is a deep enough cellar under the floor of the utility room. According to Markla, this cellar has been dug to the permafrost layer. For prey, even in the hottest summer, the cellar can maintain subzero temperatures.

After a brief visit to the hunter's hut, when Dr. Jason threw the cut wolf meat and several boxes of canned food distributed by the German army into the pot and cooked it, the Markla father and son had already carried their precious anti-tank weapon into the pot. In the hunter's hut, it was disassembled into parts and carefully wiped.And Wei Ran took over Carl's job, and stayed by Conon's side who was still in a coma.

"Where did you get this obsolete weapon?" The young German soldier Flory sat on the edge of the bearskin blanket spread out by Markla, and curiously asked Wei Ran who was not far away.

"It was left when you retreated." After listening to Wei Ran's translation, Markla gave the answer in a flat tone.

Flory reached out to pick up the huge magazine full of bullets, took a look at it and laughed, "You have taken the wrong one, these magazines contain training bullets, solid bullets, you can't hit them with this kind of metal block. Wear armor."

"I know it's a training bomb"

Marka took the magazine, "Victor, tell our friends that we didn't intend to shoot at them, otherwise we would bring armor-piercing bullets, and this anti-tank gun, if they use it, can be taken back at any time go."

Dr. Jason raised his head in surprise, hesitated for a while, then got up and walked over to have a look, and checked with Flory, until it was confirmed that the magazine contained training ammunition, the serious-looking middle-aged man The man said apologetically to Markla in proficient Finnish, "My friend, I misunderstood you before, and you and your partner are still loyal to our friendship."

"We are still friends, aren't we?" Makela asked flatly.

"Privately, you are indeed still our friend." Doctor Jason sighed, "But you betrayed your motherland by doing so."

The young Carl took over the conversation and said nonchalantly, "It's just Mr. Stalin who betrayed the Soviet Union. Anyway, that dwarf who is not as tall as a pipe would not come to such a ghostly place to check our anti-tank gun magazines. In fact, He probably won't even steer a sled, so don't worry about it."

I have to admit that Karl the tongue-in-cheek was quite popular before Conon woke up. After his words were translated into German by Jason, everyone who was still awake immediately laughed out loud.

"Is that Carl?"

The usually serious doctor Jason slapped the table with a smile, and said out of breath, "This is the funniest sentence I have heard in Finland for two years."

Carl put down the flannel in his hand and said modestly, "Mr. Jason, this is also the most sincere compliment I have ever heard in Finland for 19 years."

"Tell Carl he should be a comedian, like Chaplin."

Flory patted Wei Ran's shoulder vigorously and said, "Although that dwarf Chaplin often mocks our round heads, I have to admit that he is really a master of comedy!"

Speaking of this, Flory stood up, imitating Chaplin, and walked a few steps with a virtual cane.Now, even without Wei Ran's translation, Markla and his son immediately laughed along with them.

After Wei Ran translated what Flory said, Carl said happily, "After the war is over, if I have a chance, I might really be a comedian. Maybe I will go on a tour in Germany."

"I believe Lian Yuan will come to see your performance at that time!" Flory made a promise.

"Round head?"

Dr. Jason shook his head indiscriminately. There was not much smile on his serious face, but instead he was confused and worried about the future, "The current situation is not very good. When we evacuate from Finland and Norway After leaving, the Soviet Union without containment is far more terrifying than what we have seen."

After Wei Ran finished translating Dr. Jason's words, the warm hunter's hut fell into silence. After a long time, Flory said, "I heard that the Americans are about to enter Germany?"

"A bridgehead has been established on the banks of the Rhine"

A wounded man who was still awake said, "I heard it on their radio some time ago."

"Are we going to lose this war?" Another wounded man's voice was not loud, but almost all the Germans who were still awake in the room frowned.

"No, we will definitely not lose!" Flory's young face showed a trace of fanaticism, "We can definitely drive them away, just like what we did in Dunkirk, France 40 years ago Like that."

Dr. Jason stood up silently, walked to the vent not far from Conon, lit a cigarette, and muttered to himself in Finnish that only Wei Ran and others could understand, "It's not the same Yes, even if everyone in our army can drive back smoothly, it would be a miracle to drive the enemy out of Germany. Although I don’t want to admit it, I’m afraid it won’t take long for this war to end.”

"How about you stay in Finland?" Markla walked to Dr. Jason and whispered his thoughts, "As long as you take off your military uniform, no one will be able to find you, not even the Soviets. .”

Dr. Jason smiled, and asked in a flat tone, "Are you sure your Soviet companion with an eye injury won't tell?"

"What are you?" Marka's eyes widened, and panic appeared on her face.

Wei Ran, who was not far from the two of them, also secretly tightened his nerves at this time. While eavesdropping on their conversation, he looked at Dr. Jason from the corner of his eye, and he was relying on gestures and a few simple Finnish words and Karl AC young soldier Flory.

Dr. Jason spread out his palms and showed a black Soviet soldier capsule to Markla. Before the other party could reach out, he put it into his pocket again. He raised his voice slightly and continued in Finnish, "Here No nationality, just friends and the wounded. How about maintaining your current identity, at least until the blizzard stops?"

"I have no objection," Markla said solemnly, "Thank you, my friend."

"Let's taste the wolf meat!"

Dr. Jason flicked the cigarette butts along the vent, and continued to speak in Finnish and German respectively, "Of course, if possible, before eating, I suggest that everyone put their weapons outside the door of this hut. ?”

"I have no objection!" Carl was the first to say, picked up the rifle leaning against the corner and walked towards the door.

"I have no objection!" Flory was the second to stand up and picked up the submachine gun at hand.

These two people took the lead, and the weapons of the others, together with the anti-tank weapon, were wrapped by Markla in a rabbit fur blanket, and then carried to the icy and snowy field at the door with the help of Wei Ran.

"Doctor Jason, you really can consider staying in Finland."

Markla extended the invitation again with a bowl of broth, "I can guarantee that Conon will not reveal your identities."

Dr. Jason shook his head slowly, "Finland can choose to withdraw from this war that has nothing to do with you, but Germany has no choice, and neither do the Germans. We are like the snow on the rock wall. The moment they float down from the sky, the final choice has been made."

"At least let those wounded stay," Carl said, looking at the wounded sitting or lying around, "or at least let them heal their wounds before they can leave."

Doctor Jason smiled and said firmly, "The injured snowflakes are also snowflakes, they also have their mission and the glory that must be guarded."

"Stick German guy, good words can't persuade a ghost who wants to die."

Wei Ran muttered to himself, not bothering to mix up their questions about Snow Flower, he poked a piece of wolf meat with a strong fishy smell with a fork and took a bite, then frowned and made up his mind to wait for this After the event, be sure to stock your food container with some condiments that will turn smelly insoles into something delicious.

After eating his own broth in two or three bites, Wei Ran once again took the initiative to change the dressings of all the wounded, and took the opportunity to give each patient a dose of penicillin, which is a life-saving medicine for them. .

Secretly putting away the medicine bottle, Wei Ran was about to stand up but was grabbed by the corner of his clothes by Kenon.

"Are you awake?" Wei Ran asked in Finnish in a low voice.

Conon touched the gauze-wrapped right eye and the gauze on his face, and looked at the wounded lying around with his remaining right eye and Flo, who was humming a German folk song not far away. , and then asked hoarsely, "We were captured by the Germans?"

"To be precise, we were saved by the Germans."

Wei Ran pointed to Dr. Jason who was chatting with Markla by the fireplace, "It was the German doctor who completed the operation for you. He already knew your identity and agreed to open the room before the blizzard stopped. There are only the wounded and those who care for the wounded."

"The Germans saved me?" Conon couldn't believe it for a while.

"You're just a wounded man now"

Wei Ran emphatically reminded, "At present, only Dr. Jason, a German, knows your nationality, so if you don't want me and Markla and my son to be shot to death by other Germans, you'd better speak pure Finnish, or Just shut up."

Conon reached out and touched the cowhide holster on his waist, then touched the inner pocket of his jacket, and asked a little nervously, "Where are my weapons and my interview notes?"

"All weapons are outside the door"

Wei Ran took out a Snickers bar from his pocket and stuffed it into Conon's mouth, "As for your interview notes, I have lost them. This dessert is my compensation. In addition, I will borrow your camera for you." .For the sake of us saving you, from now on, how about you, Conon, a member of the Civil Guard who came with me from Viborg?"

Conon was silent for a long time after hearing the words, and finally closed his eyes, took off the Snickers bar from his mouth, and nodded unobtrusively, "After this matter is over, I will truthfully report what you have done to Pravda. everything."

"Whatever you want," Wei Ran said angrily, "as long as you don't care about killing Markla and Karl."

Covering Conon's mouth with a piece of dessert, Wei Ran also secretly heaved a sigh of relief. He was as worried as the Markla father and son about the impulsive stupidity of this second-rater.But at present, it seems that he is not too stupid, at least he still has a brain.

However, shortly after Wei Ran dealt with Conon, the wounded man with an abdominal injury developed a high fever without warning.

The situation was urgent, and in order to maintain the rare peaceful and harmonious atmosphere in this hunter's lodge, Wei Ran didn't care too much, and took out all the four penicillin tubes left on his body.

These four precious penicillins made Dr. Jason feel like a treasure, but unfortunately, even though he gritted his teeth and used two of them on the wounded man who was shot in the abdomen, when it was dawn outside the window that was raging in the blizzard, the man The wounded who hadn't woken up all the time couldn't get through in the end.

"His name is Luka, Luka from Hamburg. He was once awarded by Finland. Forget it, the medal has been returned."

With a sad tone, Flory finally introduced the name and history of the soldier who had turned into a corpse, then gently took off the oval metal soldier badge around his neck, skillfully broke it in half, and put on the chain Put half of it into a palm-sized tin box, then stuffed the other half into Luke's mouth, and finally helped him close his eyes.

On the other side, Dr. Jason had already taken out a certificate, a pen, an exquisite Finnish hunting knife and a wedding ring from the corpse.

Under everyone's gaze, Dr. Jason tore off a strip of cloth from Luca's trousers, carefully wrapped the things he had just taken out, and handed them to Flory.

"Let me take a picture of him"

"Let's take a group photo." Flory, whose eyes were red, lifted Luca's body. "He is my college classmate. We joined the army together, and we agreed to go back together."

Wei Ran sighed, nodded and said, "Then let's take a group photo."

Dr. Jason stood up and reached out to adjust the kerosene lamp hanging above his head to the maximum brightness, while the remaining soldiers who were still awake also struggled to get up and moved to Luka's side.

"Come too," Flory invited Markla and his son, "Thank you for bringing us here before the blizzard."

Although there was no one to translate for them, Markla and his son looked at each other and walked to Dr. Jason silently.For a moment, only Wei Ran with a camera and Kenon lying beside him were left in the warm hunter's hut.

"Together?" Wei Ran turned to Kenon and asked.

Conon hesitated for a moment, finally struggled to stand up, and walked to Dr. Jason just like Markla and his son.

With the crisp sound of the shutter, a sad and contradictory photo was frozen on the silver halide photo paper.

In addition, he took a group photo of Flory holding Luca, and waited for Markla and his son to send Luca's body to the ice cellar under the floor of the utility room while Markla and his son saluted the rest of the German soldiers who were still awake. Offer to take a picture of everyone.

At this time, the wind was howling and the snow was raging outside the window, and Jason and the others had just lost another companion and needed something to divert their attention, so this proposal was immediately approved by everyone except Conon.

For a while, Dr. Jason and Flory took the initiative to get two large tin buckets of snow from outside the door. Before the snow was melted by the bonfire and turned into hot water, the two of them were helped by Markla and his son. Next, carefully organize the environment in the hunter's hut, try to create a warm background as much as possible, and at the same time transfer away the sadness of losing another companion as much as possible.

During their busy work, the hunter's cabin became unprecedentedly clean and tidy, and Dr. Jason even dug out a razor and matching shaving brushes, shaving soap and A small bottle of aftershave.

This is not over yet, this middle-aged doctor with superb medical skills and a serious face actually took out a pair of barber scissors, a large box of pomade, a very neatly folded apron, and a mirror with a metal shell from the box.

At this time, the seriousness on the doctor's face became extraordinarily kind and enthusiastic. While shaking the cloth vigorously, he asked, "Which gentleman would like to get a haircut and shave along the way?"

"I come!"

Carl, who has a venomous mouth but no heart, was the first to jump out, "Dr. Jason, I hope your haircutting skills can be as good as your medical skills!"

"Relax young man"

Dr. Jason warmly invited Carl to sit down on a simple stool, and said with some pride, "I originally wanted to be a barber, but my father sent me to medical school, but even so, I I still secretly learned haircutting skills. And as you promise, my haircutting skills are actually better than medical skills."

Carl sat upright, but his mouth was not idle at all, "Please help me make my hair handsome, so maybe Shatu, the most beautiful girl in our town, would like to go on a date with me."

"Why did that good girl, Shatu, fall in love with you, an idiot?"

Markla pouted and said, "She is already a captain of Lota (Lotta Swader, a female militia organization that provides logistics and auxiliary work for front-line soldiers in the Finnish Army during World War II.), how about you? In the Civil Guard It's not as useful as the two cattle at home."

"I'm sure I'll get her to agree to a date with me!"

Carl was so stunned that he was speechless, his face was flushed with pimples, and after Dr. Jason translated the conversation between their father and son into German, the ensuing laughter also Let that young face become more red.

But I have to admit that Dr. Jason's haircutting skills are indeed comparable to his medical skills. It took less than 20 minutes before and after. They were all coated with pleasant aroma foam amidst the jokes of the crowd, and then shaved clean with a sharp razor.

Carl, who was cleaned up by Dr. Jason, was like a living advertisement. For the next half a day, everyone, including Wei Ran and a few wounded people whose heads were not wrapped in gauze, became "Jason the barber" Customers on chairs.

Looking at himself in the mirror with a "Prussian hazel head" on his head, and touching his extremely clean shaved chin, Wei Ran gave a thumbs up to Dr. Jason in satisfaction.

The latter took off his hat gracefully, and then picked up the broom himself, sweeping the hair dregs all over the floor to the corner.

After all this tossing, more than two hours have passed.But everyone did not forget the original intention, so after tidying up, everyone who was active took turns to sit on the edge of the table next to the window, posing in poses that are very characteristic of the times, and let Wei Ran take pictures of them respectively A solo photo with a little smile and sadness.

(End of this chapter)