War Photographer's Notebook

Chapter 646 A workshop with a long history

"Mr. Joseph, can I visit your yard?" Wei Ran, who had been silent just now, asked abruptly.

"sure"

Although Joseph was a little confused, he nodded happily after hesitating for a moment, "But you have to stay away from the workshop. The roof of that workshop can be repaired if it is damaged, but I don't want to kill anyone."

"Of course, I'll be more careful."

After Wei Ran finished speaking, he handed Sui Sui a paper bag full of rough diamonds in his hand, and then gave her a wink until the little clever ghost greeted the Katenka sisters and the other spectators. Maya turned and entered the room, and then he followed Joseph and walked around to the gate of the yard where the workshop was located.

In comparison, this workshop and the attached yard occupy the same area as Wei Ran's yard, but the workshop itself occupies an absurdly large area.

Not to mention the width of nearly 30 meters, the length from east to west alone is about 70 meters, except that there is a ten-meter-square area at the end of the easternmost lakeside road that is full of various garbage, almost horizontal It crosses the area from the lakeside road on the east side to the urban road on the west side.

Even the remaining long yard with the same east-west orientation is the same, but this yard is also overgrown with grass, and the walls on three sides are also tightly wrapped with colored steel tiles.

Of course, just like the yard where Wei Ran took over Teacher Dalia back then, it is also full of waist-high weeds, and even because the yard is adjacent to the road on the east, west, north, and three sides, passers-by even pass by. Landfill.

Not only are all kinds of household garbage thrown in and the most common beer bottles and cans almost piled up in the corner of the wall, but you can even see a few stray dogs smelling the food that may exist in the garbage dump. He has already regarded this place as his own territory.

But compared to these, what made Wei Ran take the initiative to come here to have a look was the two huge anchors stacked together next to the garbage dump in his yard in the southeast corner, and a few rusty T-34 tank turret.

As early as when the courtyard wall adjacent to this place was being rebuilt, he had taken a fancy to these scrap copper and rotten iron that had been put there for an unknown period of time. A large anchor was bought and placed as a decoration at the door.

It's a pity that the gangsters that Ji Ma asked for help didn't know who the owner of the yard was, and because of the tight financial situation at the time, it didn't matter.

Now the owner of the workshop, Joseph, jumped out on his own initiative, just in time to ask if the other party wanted to sell those two anchors that looked very old.

After listening to Wei Ran's thoughts, Joseph nodded happily, "Of course it can be sold! Even if you want to buy this yard, you can. Mr. Victor, how much do you plan to pay for these two anchors?"

"How much do you plan to sell it for?" Wei Ran asked back, "And why is there such a big anchor here?"

"How about seven million rubles?"

Joseph asked unceremoniously, "700 million rubles, I promise to use it to dismantle that workshop, and the other tank turrets can also be given to you for free."

"Mr. Joseph, those anchors are just scrap iron, they are not worth so much money." Jima, who followed to watch the excitement, reminded.

"Why not worth it?" Joseph retorted, "They are anchors installed on warships during World War I."

"World War I? Why don't you say it was a fishhook used for fishing in the age of dinosaurs?" Ji Ma mocked not to be outdone.

"I'm not lying"

Joseph pointed to the dilapidated workshop not far away, "During World War I, this was the earliest foundry, which was responsible for casting anchors and various accessories for inland warships docked in Kazan Port."

"Why haven't I heard of such a place in Kazan?" Jima asked suspiciously.

"Of course you don't know"

Joseph stepped on the hook of an anchor, distributed a cigarette to Jima and said, "During World War II, Kazan was a safe rear area, and this foundry was also used to cast tank turrets. Even your yard At that time, they were all storage yards for storing raw materials, and the winery, which also produced shells at that time.”

"That winery has become a cultural relic, but this workshop seems to be..." Jima took the cigarette and continued, implying that he is a local who is very familiar with the door.

"This is something that can't be helped. There was a fire here in the 80s. Although there were no casualties, the workshops at that time were completely burned down. What you see now are all rebuilt from the beginning."

Joseph pointed to Wei Ran's yard again, "A candy company was operating there at the time, and they bought half of the land from here after the fire to build a candy factory. The money from the sale of the land was used to rebuild the workshop , also installed the most advanced crane at that time.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, this bankrupt factory was also bought by my father.He has worked in this factory all his life.

But it is a pity that more than ten years ago, factories were not allowed to exist here, and it gradually became what it is now. "

Speaking of this, Joseph kicked the rusty anchor, "In short, if you are willing to buy it, I promise to use all the money to dismantle the workshop, so that the land may be sold .”

"Joseph, how much do you plan to sell this piece of land for?" Jima asked rather excitedly.

"It's only 5 million rubles. Of course, this price does not include the cost of dismantling the workshop. If the workshop is dismantled, I plan to buy 20 million." Joseph replied without thinking. Obviously, many people have already asked about it. price.

"Forget it, when I didn't ask."

Jima immediately gave up the plan just now, and said with a bit of self-deprecation, "Victor, it seems that I have no chance to be your neighbor."

"I'm also relieved, I don't want to be your neighbor."

Wei Ran teased Jima, looked up and looked at the steel beams that had been hoisted from his yard, and asked after a moment of hesitation, "Joseph, can you stop your crane temporarily, I want to see the workshop situation."

"Do you want to buy it?"

Joseph immediately became interested, and tried his best to sell, "This is a good idea. Your yard and this workshop are meant to be together, if you can."

"I just wanted to see what was going on inside first"

Wei Ran reminded, not knowing whether to laugh or cry, "And even if I want to buy it, I'm afraid I won't be able to spend that much money."

"I am sure you will be satisfied here"

Joseph, who finally got caught, immediately took out his mobile phone to call the crane driver to stop his work, and then pushed open the iron door that was not locked at all, revealing the whole picture of the workshop.

Standing at the easternmost end of this workshop, you can see the westernmost end at a glance.In the spacious space that has been sunken by one floor, the most conspicuous thing is a khaki gantry crane spanning the left and right, and the rusty tracks on the left and right sides that match the movement of the gantry crane.But apart from this gantry crane, there is nothing else in this workshop.

Looking up at the top of the head, the three floors of walls on the ground, the bottom two floors are all concrete walls without windows, and the top third floor is supported by steel frames. The lighting in this workshop also depends on [-]rd story windows.

The steel beams that fell in not long ago are stuck on one of the steel frames and are precarious, and there is a risk of falling down at any time.

Jima swallowed and said, "I'm not surprised that the workshop will collapse by itself in a second."

"Don't worry, maybe the steel beams above the head will span, but the walls will definitely not."

Joseph patted the dirty concrete wall and said, "The base of the wall here is more than one meter thick, and even the sinking layer was poured together with the wall.

Not only did they bear the weight of the furnace, but many large forging equipment were supported by the walls and the ground, so it took a lot of effort to rebuild it in the 80s, otherwise I would not have to worry about how to dismantle it now. "

"What about the equipment you mentioned?" Jima asked subconsciously.

"Shortly after I took over the factory from my father more than ten years ago, we moved out of the city together."

Joseph looked up at the gantry crane and said with emotion, "At that time, I had always planned to move it there too, but I haven't had time until now."

"Jima, go and call Aurora."

Wei Ran winked, and then asked with a smile, "Mr. Joseph, why don't you transform it into an office building?"

"Of course I want to, but who would come to work in such a place without windows? Besides, the cost of renovating this place is much more expensive than tearing it down. If I have so much money, why should I let this place panic?"

Joseph spread his hands helplessly. He just can't speak Chinese, otherwise he would have sent Wei Ran to the ceiling with the sentence "Why don't you eat minced meat".

While waiting in silence, Sui Sui followed Ji Ma to the grassy yard, and Wei Ran stood next to the two rusty anchors again.

"Jima said that you want to buy two pieces of scrap iron, this is it?" Sui Sui asked curiously in Chinese, pointing to the anchor beside Wei Ran.

"I want to buy that workshop"

Although Wei Ran pointed at the anchor, he aimed at another target when he spoke in Chinese, "That Joseph offered nine thousand and five million rubles, and you are more professional than me in negotiating such things."

"Why did you buy it?" Sui Sui also pointed to the anchor and asked in Chinese with a shocked expression.

"Of course it's useful." Wei Ran slightly lowered his voice, "Anyway, you should bargain first and see how much you can get here with the lowest price."

"Are you really planning to buy it?" Sui Sui finally asked.

"Why don't you buy it if the price is right?" Wei Ran's tone became more and more certain.

"It's a big business"

Sui Sui took a deep breath and clenched her fists, "Mr. Joseph, we plan to buy this place, but the price you offered is too high."

"The price of 7 million is not high at all. They are World War I. Wait, you mean you plan to buy this place? This yard?" Joseph asked in surprise.

"The price is right, maybe there is a possibility." Sui Sui pointed to the next door, "Why don't you go to our place and have a chat?"

"Of course! Of course!" Joseph heard that he didn't even bother to close the rusty iron door, and followed Sui Sui to the yard.

"Are you going to buy this place?" Jima asked incredulously, "Victor, you don't want me to be your neighbor"

"You think too much, I just want to avoid you being my neighbor." Wei Ran responded jokingly.

Naturally, his whim to buy here had nothing to do with Ji's flattery, but the real reason was related to more and more photos in the upstairs next door.

When he decided to print out all those photos and hang them up, he thought about having a place where they could be displayed.Although the room on the third floor of the villa that Dalia lent her was still enough, it was only enough for display.

He wants more people to see those photos and understand the stories of those people in the photos—whether the stories are good or bad, whether the protagonists and supporting actors in the photos are Soviets, Germans, Americans Still Chinese.

Originally, he had planned to hang these photos in the building of Hongqi Forest Farm, but obviously, this huge dilapidated workshop might be more suitable.As for whether he can buy it, he is not too worried.

Leaving aside the fact that he has made a lot of money with the metal book in the past two or three years, the commission paid by Mr. Edward, who has 500,000 minds, was [-] euros during the last trip to the desert alone.

In other words, even if measured in euros, he has already been promoted to the ranks of millionaires, but usually he really has nothing to spend money on.

So no matter how much Sui Sui can lower the transaction price, it is not a big problem to buy this place and renovate it.

"Are you going to demolish this place and build a house again, or renovate it?" Jima, with a stern face, leaned over and asked curiously.

“Just a refurbishment”

Wei Ran thought for a while, then walked back and said, "In the future, the office of the Inta camp may also be here, of course, if you are willing to help, there can also be your office here, although I am not sure about your office. Do you need a gym?"

"Of course I need it!" Ji Ma said without thinking, "Not only I need it, but my agent also needs it."

"And preferably in an office?"

Jima's eyes lit up when he heard this, and he patted Wei Ran's shoulder vigorously and said happily, "Victor! You are really my good brother! That's right! As you said, just give us an office. , if possible, it would be better to have another lounge. By the way, what do you plan to ask me to do?"

"Wait until we can really buy this place. Before that, go buy some food and drink."

Wei Ran noncommittally arranged a job for the other party, "Remember to find out where you can buy rabbits, buy some for both adults and minors, and if you want to live, we will eat rabbits for dinner."

"Leave this kind of thing to me!"

Before Ji Ma finished his sentence, he solemnly greeted Maya who didn't know why, and got into the off-road vehicle with him and drove away.At the same time, under Wei Ran's signal, Joseph let the suspended crane drive into the weedy yard next door to stand by.

Taking Joseph into the lobby on the first floor, Wei Ran took the lock box on the table and found a corner and sat down, making it clear that he would hand over the negotiation work to the sisters Suisui and Katenka.

I have to admit that business negotiations are not his strong point, so it didn't take long for him to lose interest in listening.Instead, he hugged the two young fox cubs and the Caucasian cub from Inta on the sofa, urging them to pinch them like an American politician hiding behind the scenes.

Needless to say, the two little foxes, who had known each other for a long time, were bullying the puppy, who was less than two months old, by virtue of their status as seniors and their nimble and petite body.

Obviously, the two of them couldn't imagine how big the little male dog in front of them, which was bigger than their adult body, would swell in the future.

Of course, Joseph who was sitting across the long table at this time also secretly admitted that he underestimated the three girls sitting opposite.

And as the negotiations progressed, the girl named Aurora actually knew that the foundry he was running now seemed to have encountered business difficulties not long ago, and she even sold the car under her name last month. Everything is crystal clear.

"8000 taels million rubles"

As the evening approached, when the aroma of the food wafted to the first floor, Joseph gritted his teeth and made the final offer, "This is the lowest price I can offer, and this price does not include the cost of dismantling the workshop and cleaning up the garbage."

Using the mobile phone to report the quotation to Wei Ran who was busy in the kitchen, Sui Sui said cheerfully after receiving Wei Ran's reply, "But the crane in the workshop, the anchor in the yard and the tank turrets must be left to us. "

"Deal! When will we trade?" Joseph asked rather urgently.

Just like what Sui Sui mentioned during the negotiation process, there are indeed some problems in his foundry outside the city. Although he has successfully resolved the difficulties not long ago, if more than [-] million rubles are included in the account, yes For him and his small factory, it is definitely the most powerful shot in the arm.

"Today is obviously impossible, so if Mr. Joseph has time, why not stay and have dinner together!"

Sui Sui issued an invitation in accordance with the habits of Chinese people. At the same time, the Katenka sisters who were sitting on her left and right also buckled up their laptops in unison. All the meals were served on the long table.

What everyone, including Jima, didn't expect was that Maya's cooking skills were unexpectedly good, and she actually knew how to ride a lot of rabbits.As for Wei Ran, in addition to the spicy rabbit head in a pressure cooker, what he served was a large portion of braised rabbit meat for everyone.

Seeing these delicacies being served on the table, especially when Jima brought out a few bottles of good wine from the storage room, Joseph accepted the invitation to have dinner without hesitation.

As for the price of 8000 taels million rubles, it is hard to say whether the workshop next door will lose or win.

If it is an apartment with an area as large as a workshop, even if it is a deserted apartment, even if it is two 80 million, it is impossible to win it.

But it's just a workshop, and Joseph also admitted that due to legal restrictions, there will be no apartment building here.So even if the city center is across the lake, it can't be sold at a high price.

But obviously, at this time, everyone's focus has shifted from the transaction itself to the dinner table.

Needless to say, sisters Suisui and Katenka, these three girls almost took over the spicy rabbit head that was still steaming in the pressure cooker.

And Maya is very interested in braised rabbit meat. As for Jima and Joseph, obviously like Wei Ran, they prefer to drink and eat Maya's rabbit riding dishes.

A meal lasted until eight o'clock in the evening, and Joseph, who drank too much, was picked up by his wife in a car, and Jima and Maya also stayed unceremoniously.

Sui Sui didn't have time to ask until everything was arranged, "Can you really come up with 8000 taels million rubles?"

"No problem"

Wei Ran replied confidently. Before dinner, he went to his account and the safe in the attic to check separately. The money he earned over the years is added up, and it is really not a big deal to scrape together more than [-] million rubles. The problem, right now, is just not sure how much it will cost to renovate that workshop.

"Aren't those who study history all poor?"

Sui Sui, who was obviously shocked, muttered, and then asked, "What will happen after you buy it? What are you going to use it for? Turn it into a hotel like the canned fish processing workshop that my family bought?"

"I don't have such a plan." Wei Ran shook his head, and then confessed his previous plan without reservation.

"My mother knows that you have money and nowhere to spend it, but my father will definitely worship you." Sui Sui gloated and gave a pertinent prediction.

"Don't hide it from them"

While speaking, Wei Ran took out the lock box that he got from Teacher Dalia during the day and handed it to Sui Sui, "But it's best to keep the things here from everyone."

"What is this?"

Sui Sui had already opened the lock box while speaking, and then said disappointedly, "Just some broken stones?"

"Broken stone?"

Wei Ran picked up the largest stone, stuck it on the bedside lamp and said, "These are all diamonds, unprocessed diamonds."

"Diamond?" Sui Sui glanced suspiciously at the stone in Wei Ran's hand, "Don't you be tricked?"

"Proper South African Diamonds"

Wei Ran handed the stone the size of a ping-pong ball to the other party, "This thing is a survey fee paid by my last client, you can pick a few you like, and pick some for my aunt, I will figure out a way by the end of the year Take it back to the country and find a place to process it."

"Really a diamond?"

Seeing that Wei Ran didn't seem to be joking, Sui Sui looked down at the box full of music buttons, and asked with a vibrato, "All of them?"

"Except for the box." Wei Ran gave an answer that made the opponent's heart skip a beat, and then hugged him to the big round bed with the remote control.

In the next morning, Wei Ran and Joseph who arrived on time completed the real estate transaction, and logically put the workshop they just bought under the name of Sui Sui.

Glancing at the document with his name written on it, Sui Sui handed it over to Wei Ran indifferently. Since seeing the box full of stones of various colors last night, this dilapidated house worth 80 million rubles is right. She has long since lost any attraction.

　Two in one
　　
　
(End of this chapter)