War Photographer's Notebook

Chapter 45 Alexander's Gift

"I remember you said you were going to organize a private auction? Why did you sell it so quickly?" Wei Ran asked without knowing why.

Professor Alexei handed the fragrant coffee to Zhou Shujin, and then sat down on the sofa and explained proudly, "I originally wanted to organize an auction, but Mr. Alexander offered a high price of 40,000 taels, which is already Far exceeded my highest expectations for an auction. And most importantly, he offered us a job."

"Don't talk about work"

Zhou Shujin interrupted Professor Alexei's showing off, took over the topic and said, "Wei Ran, what I mean is, send the money for selling guns back to your parents, and you don't lack food or drink here. , such a large sum of money might as well be kept by your parents."

"But I think it's up to Victor to make his own decisions about the proceeds from that gun, not to mention us, even his parents have no right to decide for him how to spend the money."

Alexei directly ignored Zhou Shujin this time, "So I didn't agree with her suggestion. I want to let you decide how to spend the money after you come back."

"You two wait first." Wei Ran looked at Professor Alexei after finishing speaking, "What do you mean, the money for selling the gun is mine?"

"Could it be me?" Alexei asked back, pointing to his nose.

"Forehead"

Professor Alexey stood up, walked to the inside and opened the safe, took out a small bulging leather bag from it, put it on the coffee table and opened it, "I said it was a gift for you, so even if there is someone inside who is still smoking a pipe Stalin, that is also your personal property. Victor, you decide how to spend the money, and whatever you decide, I support you."

Looking at the stacks of dollars in the opened wallet, Wei Ran swallowed hard, took out the thinnest stack and stuffed it into his bag, and then buckled it with a "snap!" The wallet, and pushed it to the aunt who was sitting beside her, "It's still a decision? Of course it's sent to my mother!"

"Look at it?! Look at it?! It's my godson!"

Zhou Shujin rubbed Wei Ran's messy hair vigorously, picked up the wallet containing tens of thousands of dollars and went out, and at the same time did not forget to ask, "I will send the money to your mother this afternoon, remember to send it in advance Tell her, so as not to think that I have sold her precious son."

When Zhou Shujin hurriedly left the studio, Wei Ran and Professor Alexei each let out a sigh of relief in no particular order.

"You just said that Mr. Alexander offered us a job?" Wei Ran threw his backpack on the sofa and asked.

Professor Alexei nodded and said cheerfully, "Mr. Alexander is going to invest in the construction of a museum in Volgasky. He wants me to be the curator. I also asked for a consultant's job for you. Every month A salary of one hundred thousand rubles!"

"Your university professor is gone? Is this studio closed?" Wei Ran asked with his head tilted.

"These jobs do not conflict with each other," Professor Alexey explained triumphantly, "We only need to go to his museum to work for two days every Saturday and weekend."

"No." Wei Ran shook his head and refused without even thinking about it, "And I'm sure, my aunt will definitely not agree with you to go."

The expression on Alexei's face froze, and then Wei Ran said, "And professor, have you ever thought about it, once we work for Alexander, who will get the benefits we bring from tracing the truth of history in the future? Or you Do you think he really just asked us to go to the museum he invested in for free? I am afraid that we have to check the history of every exhibit in that museum. By then we should Normal fee, or free labor?"

"this."

"Anyway, I won't go." Wei Ran said firmly, "I don't want to work for capitalists."

"Alright alright"

Alexei spread his hands helplessly, "Your point of view is almost exactly the same as your aunt's. Since you all said so, I will pretend that I haven't mentioned this matter. Now tell me about you, what have you been doing these days? ? Did you really not go to fool around with girls?"

"What a fool!" Wei Ran picked up the coffee on the table and took a sip, "Of course I'm going to investigate the clues of that anti-tank gun."

"Checked it out?"

"There is a clue." Wei Ran said noncommittally, "I guess it will be clear in a day or two."

"In that case, I'll leave the job of the anti-tank gun to you." Professor Alexey stood up after speaking. "It just so happens that I'm going to Moscow with your aunt to discuss a business in these two days."

"Don't rush away, there is one more thing."

Wei Ran grabbed Professor Alexei who was about to get up, "I told you before, I want to learn German, and I also want to learn how to use weapons and equipment from World War II. You won't forget, right?"

"Is there such a thing?"

Professor Alexei muttered, then patted his chest and assured, "How could I forget! You don't have to worry about German, you can go to class directly after the summer vacation is over, as for the weapons and equipment of World War II. Just wait!"

Before he finished speaking, the drunken old man rummaged through the boxes and chests to find a business card and handed it to Wei Ran, "Call this number, mention my name, and just say what you want."

"Valley? What is this?" Wei Ran asked puzzled.

"Valley Search Party"

The drunken Alexei explained vaguely, "It is a relatively large-scale digging party team in Russia, and they are also the largest war reenactment group. In them, you can experience all kinds of Soviet-German weapons of World War II. equipment."

"War again? Forget it, pretend I didn't say it."

Wei Ran suddenly lost interest, and directly returned the business card in his hand to the other party.Admittedly, Mao Zi’s reenactment of the war is indeed quite similar, but it is also worth comparing with others. Based on my two personal experiences in the Battle of Stalingrad and the reenactments I saw every year on Victory Day, I really compare those "actors" "Throwing them on the battlefield of World War II, if 100 out of 10 people can survive, it may be regarded as the Germans letting go.

Professor Alexey didn't care, he threw his business card into the trash can, got up and walked out, "It's fine if you don't go, it's useless anyway, it's better to read more historical files when you have that time. Alright, The studio will be left to you. If there is business during this period, you can decide whether to accept it or not. We will come back in about a week, and we will bring you a gift then."

After sending away Professor Alexei, Wei Ran took out his mobile phone and called his mother, notifying the other party of the good news that tens of thousands of dollars were about to be sent back, which inevitably caused the other party to worry a lot.

After dealing with all the trivial matters, Wei Ran turned out the glass jar that Kazan had put away before, took out the paint block inside, and carefully unscrewed a piece of paint sticking to it with the help of turpentine and rust remover. Identity Capsule.

Using tweezers, he took out the note with his identity information inside the capsule, and opened it carefully, where the name column was clearly written with Aleutian's name.

According to the detailed information on it, Wei Ran opened the official website set up by the Russian Ministry of Defense and easily inquired about the other party's general information.

According to the information found on the official website, Vaaleushin was indeed from the Correctional Battalion, but before that, he even participated in the battle to defend Moscow!And he was sent to the correctional camp for desertion!

If Aleutian is a deserter, what about Captain Vanya?There is also the last group of veterans added before the collapse of the 19th position. They are obviously very familiar with Aleutian and Vanya. So does it mean that Aleutian and those veterans are also deserters in the same battle?

The questions are more than these. Since they are deserters, since they have been sent to the correctional battalion, how did they come to the Stalingrad battlefield?

You know, the defense of Moscow ended in early 1942, and the firefight at position 19 took place in July 1942. In other words, they only stayed in the correctional battalion for less than half a year?

Suppressing the doubts in his heart, Wei Ran continued to browse the content on the webpage. According to the records about the Aleutians, he was indeed sent to the 19th position of the Don River, and even the place where he died was the 19th position of the Don River.But other than that, there is no record of any military exploits related to him at all.

It seems that I have to talk to Nicholas when I have time, maybe he knows something.
After making up his mind, Wei Ran put the identity paper back into the capsule that was still solidified on the paint and tightened it, put it into the backpack together with the printed resume about Aleutians, and drove straight to the factory on the other side of the Volga River.

On the way, I called Federer and made an appointment to meet him. When he arrived, Federer had already been waiting at the gate of the factory for a long time.

"Why are you so anxious to see me?" Federer opened the door and got into Wei Ran's van directly.

"That anti-tank gun has a clue"

While speaking, Wei Ran showed some paint blocks that were still in the glass jar, and then handed the file bag to the other party, "According to the information found in the identity capsule, I found the last combat record of this soldier named Aleutian .Oh, by the way, I found the paint in the can in the barrel of an anti-tank gun."

After a quick review of Aleutian's experience in the war, Federer took the glass jar in Wei Ran's hand and looked at it, "The other two identity capsules haven't been opened yet?"

"No." Wei Ran shook his head, "Also, I want to meet your boss."

"Meet our boss?" Federer looked at Wei Ran strangely, and asked tentatively, "About that anti-tank gun?"

Wei Ran nodded, and said solemnly, "Federer, tell your boss that we may have discovered a batch of unrecognized Soviet heroes."

Seeing the suspicious expression on the other party's face, Wei Ran reluctantly opened the backpack, took out the photo frame he got from Nicholas and showed it to the other party, "This is a survivor who I found after a lot of effort. provided by the

"I'll contact Mr. Alexander immediately!"

Federer just glanced at the application report for the title of Hero of the Soviet Union and the signature of the applicant Aleutian, immediately opened the car door decisively, and dialed Mr. Alexander's phone number.

Less than 2 minutes before and after, Federer opened the car door again, "Victor, go to the city, the auto repair shop you went to a few days ago!"

"Sit still." While Wei Ran spoke, he had already stepped on the gas pedal to the bottom, and rushed to the destination in the city center at lightning speed.

When he stepped on the brakes again, Alexander, who had already changed into a formal suit, had already been waiting for a long time under the sun at the gate of the auto repair shop, and the other party's solemn attitude also made Wei Ran treat this capitalist a little bit more goodwill.

"I heard that you found a group of Soviet heroes?" Alexander asked impatiently before Wei Ran got down from the cab.

"A group of unrecognized heroes of the Soviet Union" Wei Ran corrected his tone with a trace of regret.

"Heroes don't need to be recognized by the Soviet Union or Russia. Come in with me." After Alexander finished speaking, he helped Wei Ran open the car door and led him to the gun modification studio in the innermost part of the Li Auto Repair Factory.

After the two sat down on the sofa in the lounge, Alexander lit a cigar and asked, "Young man, what's your name?"

"Victor"

Wei Ran briefly introduced his name, and then handed Aleutian's resume and the glass bottle containing the solidified paint to the other party, "I cleaned out a shell casing in the barrel of that anti-tank gun, and the paint was in the Found in that shell casing."

"What else?" Alexander looked at the things in his hands carefully, and finally put them on the tea table covered with flannel.

"There is also this application report for the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, which I borrowed from a survivor. If there is no accident, the applicant for this report is the Aleutian you just saw in the information." "While speaking, Wei Ran handed the photo frame to the other party.

After carefully reading the contents on the photo frame, Alexander thought for a moment, and returned the photo frame to Wei Ran, "Young man, now tell me why you want to see me."

"I want to know what you plan to do with that anti-tank gun." Wei Ran asked the first question.

Alexander smiled, "If there is no accident, it will be placed at the entrance of the topography exhibition hall together with the T-34 last time."

Wei Ran secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and continued to ask, "What do you plan to do with this application report?"

"Are you going to sell it to me?" Alexander asked expectantly.

Wei Ran shook his head, "I need to know your decision before I can decide whether to hand over this report to you."

"Of course it's with that anti-tank artillery." Alexander naturally asked Wei Ran's most anticipated question.

Wei Ran relaxed completely, and after a moment of hesitation, he pushed the photo frame to the other party again, "Mr. Alexander, according to the wishes of the survivor, this application report for the title of Hero of the Soviet Union will be donated to the monument you set up free of charge. The only condition is, You're going to put it and that anti-tank gun on permanent display for free."

Alexander glanced at Wei Ran in surprise, then waved to Federer who was standing behind him, and said something in his ear.

Federer bowed slightly and left the lounge, while Alexander lit a cigarette and asked himself, "Victor, as far as I know, you seem to be a Chinese?"

Seeing that Wei Ran nodded, Alexander continued to ask, "Since you are a student of Professor Alexei, you should know the value of this application report. If that stingy old guy came over, this report would be at least as good as mine. It’s not a problem to sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars.”

Wei Ran smiled, and replied in a flat tone, "We have a saying in China that a gentleman loves money and gets it in a proper way. However, if Mr. Alexander is uneasy about this donation, he can pay some remuneration, and I will help you pass it on to donor."

"Although I don't understand what you mean in Chinese just now, I don't see the greed in your eyes." Alexander smiled after speaking, "Have a cup of coffee."

Wei Ran suppressed the uneasiness in his heart, picked up the coffee and took a sip, the bitter taste did not have a trace of sweetness, but the unique aroma of coffee was extraordinarily strong.

For the next half hour or so, the lounge fell into silence, and the two people sitting opposite each other seemed to have lost the memory of talking, each thinking about their own thoughts.

It wasn't until Federer knocked on the door that Alexander just woke up. After taking a page of A4 paper from the other party and reading it carefully, he wrote his name in the lower right corner and handed it to Federer to write on the name. Stamped with a big red seal.

After reading it again, Alexander handed it over to Wei Ran across the coffee table, "Victor, give it to the donor."

Taking the thin A4 paper in doubt, Wei Ran raised his eyebrows in surprise. It listed the promise made by Alexander in detail, and even as long as he holds this paper, he can take away the crucial part at any time. The application report for the title of Hero of the Soviet Union and the anti-tank gun!

The other party was so open, Wei Ran no longer had any doubts at this time, but before he could open his mouth, Alexander continued, "Besides, I have another thing that I need your help with, of course, I will pay you a fee." Your reward."

"What's the matter?" Wei Ran asked vigilantly.

"I want to know why this Aleutian is a deserter, and why he was sent to the battlefield after only staying in the correctional battalion for half a year. I also want to know why he didn't get any medals."

Alexander paused, and continued, "This matter has nothing to do with the promise I just made to you. Even if you don't want to investigate, it doesn't matter. The promise on that piece of paper is still valid."

Wei Ran hesitated for a moment, and then said, "Mr. Alexander, I need to think about this matter before I can give you an answer."

"no problem"

Alexander once again beckoned to Federer behind him. The latter placed a very familiar metal gun case on the coffee table and opened it, and then put two stacks of brand new banknotes beside him.

Alexander cupped his hands at the guard, "I am very satisfied with the results of the investigation on that artillery. Of course, I am far more generous than your teacher, Professor Alexei, so in addition to the agreed commission, this pistol will be given to you." Take it as thanks!"

"Give it to me?"

Wei Ran asked in surprise, but he remembered clearly that the price of this pistol that used a large amount of titanium alloy was a full [-] US dollars, which was far more than the investigation cost of that artillery.

Alexander smiled, and pushed one of the banknotes on the coffee table to Wei Ran, "Besides that, I need you to hand over the other fifty thousand dollars to the donor."

"Aren't you worried that I'll run away with the money?"

"Assume that I bought the exhibition rights of that report with this money, and they deserve these paltry payments. And, even if you do run away with this little money, Alexei Isn't the professor still there?"

Without waiting for Wei Ran to say anything more, Alexander stretched out his hand very freely, "A week later, that cannon and this report will appear together at the entrance of the topography exhibition hall in Volgasky. Welcome you and that Survivors of Don 19 position come and visit at any time."

"Thank you for your generosity"

Wei Ran no longer had any doubts, shook hands with the other party respectfully, and left the auto repair shop with the gun case on the coffee table, the two stacks of banknotes and the letter of commitment signed by Alexander himself.

　Two in one chapter
　　Thank you Laughing Grapefruit for rewarding 2000 points

　　Thanks to Yu Fanke and Apprentice Heroes for rewarding 500 points respectively

　　Thank you for the emptiness and silence and cold reward of 200 points

　　Thank you Flying Hands for rewarding 100 points

　　
　
(End of this chapter)