War Photographer's Notebook

Chapter 610
In the dense forest at dusk, Liu kicked Wei Ran and Lao Gao's Jack with swollen cheeks to the edge of a white-painted GAZ truck.

Under the truck's bed, a green enamel kettle was steaming on top of a smokeless stove.Under a tall pine tree next to it, there is a simple small wooden table. On this small table are several enamel jars printed with the words "Resist U.S. Aid Korea, Defend the Home and the Country", and a few volunteers wearing winter padded clothes are sitting around them. warrior.

"One kick, did you really bring back the captives? And two?"

The volunteer soldier who spoke was about 25 or [-] years old. Although his face was covered with horrific wounds after healed burns, his attitude was exceptionally enthusiastic. Before Liu Yijiao, Wei Ran and Jack sat down, he had already Picking up the kettle placed in the center of the table, he poured a cup of steaming hot water for each of the three.

"It's still a step late, and I saved these two unlucky bastards."

While Liu Yijiao was speaking, he beckoned Wei Ran and Jack to sit down, and then untied their hands behind their backs, and the volunteer soldier with a burn scar on his face also poured an enamel jar full of hot water into them. Pushed in front of him.

Glancing at Liu Yijiao who was putting on leggings, Wei Ran said thank you in English, and then held the slightly hot enamel jar with both hands.

"Looking at their skin color and badge, they must be porters again?" Another soldier asked firmly.

"It's probably true," Liu Yijiao said nonchalantly, "Let's take it back and let the instructor ask."

“This trip is not easy”

The volunteer soldier with burns on his face said in a low voice, "We have to go through a blockade to go back. I don't think it will snow tonight. Maybe the American planes will be flying overhead again."

"They hang around theirs, we run ours."

Liu Yijiao responded nonchalantly, quickly tied up his leggings, picked up the enamel jar in front of him, and was about to go to the truck not far away, "I'll take a nap first, you guys take a good look at these two, Especially this one."

Liu Yijiao pointed to the old Gao's Jack with swollen cheeks, "This black boy is dishonest, be careful not to let him take the gun. The other one looks honest, but I guess he has a lot of tricks."

"Take it easy and take a nap"

The volunteer soldier with burn marks on his face inadvertently put the submachine gun that was at hand across his knee while speaking.

"Victor"

"To shut up"

Wei Ran didn't give Jack a chance to finish his sentence at all, "I surrendered, and I am willing to be a prisoner, so if you want to die, you'd better stay away from me."

"You"

"What are you?"

Wei Ran rolled his eyes angrily, "Do you really want to go back to work as a stevedore or wait to be beaten to death as cannon fodder?"

Jack licked the thick lips that made Wei Ran sick just looking at them, and finally held up the enamel stick obediently.

Ignoring Jack any more, Wei Ran put down the enamel stick, waved at Liu who was about to leave, and at the same time said "hello!", and after attracting the other's attention, he pointed at himself cotton-padded jacket pocket, and then gestured for a photo-taking pose.

"What is he going to do?" Liu Yijiao asked his companion in confusion.

"Does he mean to take out the things in his pocket?" The volunteer soldier with a scar on his face subconsciously held the submachine gun.

"be careful"

After Liu Yijiao finished speaking, he walked to Wei Ran's side and took out the camera in a hard leather case from his pocket.

With a small face on Wei Ran's face, he pointed to Liu, then pointed to the other volunteer soldiers, then pointed to Jack, himself, and the platoon leader not far away, and finally pointed to Pointing to the camera in Liu Yijiao's hand, he gestured again to take a picture and press the shutter.

"Do you want to take pictures for us?" Liu Yijiao subconsciously asked in Chinese, and then asked his companions, "How do you say the American words for taking pictures?"

Before waiting for the other volunteer soldiers to respond, Wei Ran began to nod frantically, and at the same time made a clasped fist gesture that all Chinese people could understand.

"Hey?! Can you understand Chinese?" Liu Yijiao looked at Wei Ran in surprise, "Why do you still bow?"

Hearing this, Wei Ran nodded subconsciously, but then found that his gaze did not move at all. Obviously, this metal book blocked all the loopholes, making him only a "Chinese radio" at best.

"One foot, let's look at him, you go ask the platoon leader." Said the soldier with the scar on his face.

"By the way, check if there is anything else on them." Liu Yijiao reminded, and he was about to go to the direction where the platoon leader was.

Hearing this, Wei Ran ignored the muzzle pointing at him, unbuttoned his coat, put his left hand into his inner pocket, and then slowly withdrew his hand as if he had just noticed that this action might cause misunderstanding. , and signaled to Liu who was about to leave.

"This Yankee is quite interesting"

Liu Yijiao returned the camera to Wei Ran, reached into the inner pocket of Wei Ran's cotton coat, and then took out a delicate wine jug from inside.

"Please!" Wei Ran tried to use simple English words to communicate with the other party, and at the same time made a gesture of drinking.

"Is this asking me to drink?"

Liu Yijiao laughed loudly, but without thinking about it, he stuffed the hip flask into the inner pocket of Wei Ran's coat, and at the same time said "Three Qs!", he walked towards the direction of the platoon leader.

"You have a drink"

Wei Ran, who just wanted to make up for the regret last time, yelled from the bottom of his heart, and at the same time, because he was deprived of his mother tongue, he couldn't help but feel powerless.

"Victor, are you going to take pictures of them?" Jack also came up at this time, "You still have wine? Give me a sip?"

"Fuck off!"

Wei Ran angrily pushed Jack away, and then allowed a volunteer soldier to point a gun at one of his own men, and raised his hands to let the soldier with the scar on his face search him.

After a lot of searching, Wei Ran himself realized that he had so many things on his body. In addition to his documents, cameras, and the wine jug that he had just secretly put in his pocket, he also found a stack of United Nations soldiers on his body. A range of military bills, a few packets of chocolates.In addition, there is a ZIPPO lighter, two packs of Camel cigarettes and an unused film, and on his soldier brand chain, he also wears a silver cross.

As for Jack, he has more things on him. In addition to the condoms filled with a first aid kit, there are two wrist watches that obviously do not belong to him and a thick wad of military bills. In addition, in his water bottle , there are more than a dozen gold rings hidden from nowhere!

"Those are my personal property!"

Jack, who was held down, yelled manically, but then he was stunned, because after the search was over, the volunteer soldier returned all these things to him.

"Look, Victor! They were frightened by me, and they even returned all the things to me." Jack said while frantically stuffing those things back into their respective positions.

Hearing this, Wei Ran rolled his eyes, he didn't want to talk to this idiot at all, he just slowly packed his own things.

After such a short time, Liu Yijiao came back with the platoon leader. Seeing this, Wei Ran immediately shook the camera in his hand.

"Platoon leader, this American seems to want to take pictures of us." Liu Yijiao pointed to Wei Ran and said.

The platoon leader looked at Wei Ran, then at Jack, and finally at the volunteer soldiers around him. After hesitating for a moment, Chao Weiran nodded cheerfully, and then said with a kick to Liu, "After the photo is taken, You take his camera first, and if you encounter something on the way, pull out the film from his camera first."

"Understood!" Liu Yijiao immediately stood at attention and responded.

"This sense of secrecy"

Wei Ran muttered to himself, as if he really couldn't understand the mother tongue that had accompanied him all his life, he warmly greeted everyone and stood side by side on the side of the GAZ truck with the bonfire under the car, and deliberately Jack, with his hands full of gold rings, was arranged at the front.

Squinting his eyes to see the setting sun that was about to be completely blocked by the mountain, Wei Ran thought for a moment, then brought the enamel jars on the table and handed them to everyone including Jack one by one.

"Jack!"

After finding a good angle, Wei Ran yelled at the other party.

"What's wrong?" Jack looked at Wei Ran puzzled.

"321 Cheers!" Wei Ran signaled.

"Understood!" Jack immediately understood Wei Ran's arrangement.

"3, 2, 1! Cheers!" Wei Ran, holding a camera, shouted in English.

"Cheers!" Jack immediately raised the cup in his hand, and then the volunteer soldiers behind him also raised their cups.

It wasn't until this time that Wei Ran pressed the shutter, and took a group photo as he wished, and then took a single photo of everyone including Jack.

Before Liu Yijiao came over, Wei Ran took the initiative to hand over the camera and a pack of cigarettes to the platoon leader.The latter was stunned, took the camera with a smile, and waved his hand to reject Wei Ran's cigarette.

"Victor, what are you going to do?" Jack asked puzzled, "Where's your hip flask? Can you give me a sip?"

"No..." Wei Ran pulled Jack away again, but did not give any explanation.

Jack pouted, "We might die at some point, so you can't share generously"

"Can't..." Wei Ran put his hand into the inner pocket of his coat while speaking, and put the jug back into the metal book.

Hearing this, Jack gave Wei Ran a middle finger helplessly, and sat down on the edge of the wooden table in boredom, purring his big black and white eyes, wondering what the hell he was thinking.

When Wei Ran also sat down, Liu Yijiao also sat opposite him, and then unexpectedly took out a small iron box from his pocket, took out the only two fruit candies from it, and handed them to Wei Ran. Wei Ran and Jack.

"One kick, you are really willing!"

The volunteer soldier with a scar on his face said, "That's the fruit candy given out by the condolence team to perform in autumn, right?"

"They took pictures of us, why don't you express it?" Liu Yijiao responded with a smile, and put the iron box containing a few candy wrappers back into his jacket pocket.

After receiving the fruit candy, Wei Ran secretly sighed, the packaging design is extremely simple and has a strong imprint of the times.On the yellow candy paper, words such as "Peace Fruit Candy", "Delicious Pineapple Candy" and "Shenyang No. [-] Candy Production Cooperative" are written in different fonts.

It could be seen that Liu Yijiao protected these two candies very well.Perhaps in later generations, no one would be interested in trying such two pineapple-flavored fruit candies, but in this era, candy is an undisputed hard currency, especially on this battlefield, where one candy may save a life. It sounds exaggerated, but when climbing ice and lying in the snow, having such a candy in your mouth might really be the difference between life and death.

Looking at Jack who had a slightly disgusted face after stuffing the candy into his mouth, Wei Ran carefully unwrapped the wrapping paper and stuffed the pineapple-flavored hard candy into his mouth.

When the saliva soaks the hard sugar, the rich pineapple flavor also sweeps the mouth, and at the same time, it is inevitably mixed with a little bitterness unique to the essence.

Smiling at Liu Yijiao and the others, Wei Ran carefully flattened the candy wrapper, and carefully put it into the pocket of the cotton-padded jacket.

(End of this chapter)