War Photographer's Notebook

Chapter 686
On the night when they came to the polar town of Tula, Wei Ran and others stayed in the guest room on the third floor.Contrary to his expectations, the guest rooms in such an unremarkable small hotel looked more comfortable than some hotels in Kazan.

Although the facilities are a bit outdated, every room here has a real fireplace that can be lit and is also covered with fluffy animal skin carpets.

Forget it, even the big solid wood bed is bigger and more comfortable than most of the hotel beds that Wei Ran has stayed in.Even, this room not only has a washing machine and dryer, a bathtub with massage function enough for two people to lie side by side, but also a large-screen TV and supporting game consoles.

This is a remote town on the banks of the Lower Tunguska River. It is not a tourist attraction or the city center of those big cities in Europe. Usually, there may be no outsiders who come here, so naturally there will not be much demand for staying in hotels.That being the case, is it necessary to prepare such luxury?

Fortunately, the answer to this question was instantly found when the curtains of the floor-to-ceiling windows were opened.Because, here you can just see the lights of the helicopter landing pad in the center of the town lit up all night.

Obviously, these rooms were probably not intended for miners or loggers.And this just explains why a letter of introduction is required to stay in such an unremarkable tavern.

Pulling the curtains again, Wei Ran walked into the spacious bathroom under Sui Sui's warm invitation, ready to experience the big and amazing bathtub together.

Meanwhile, in the room next to them, the Katenka sisters were also amazed at the speed of the Internet and the various high-end skin care products found in the bathroom.

After resting for one night in this small tavern in Neixiu, it was around ten o'clock the next morning that the talkative Dmitri knocked on the door of Wei Ran and others, and took them to the door that stopped at the door. A van left the town along the snow-covered streets all the way north.

It is still a slag road in the forest covered with snow and wrapped in coniferous forest.But after only driving for four or five kilometers, an open space surrounded by barbed wire suddenly appeared right in front of him.

Looking around, this open space is at least 200 meters square. Although the surrounding barbed wire has been rusted and even condensed with frost, it is a full three meters high. The containers were erected about one meter high, and some of them even had sundries such as waste tires on them.

That’s not to mention, from a long distance away, they heard a low, threatening dog bark, and the dog Belia, who was lying at Wei Ran’s feet, also struggled to stand up, pouted his butt, and pointed at the outside of the car door. A childish growl.

It wasn't until Dmitry stepped on the brake outside the gate of the barbed wire fence that Wei Ran looked at the wooden house and the iron workshop inside the barbed wire fence and asked, "What is this place?"

"The vehicle maintenance plant in Tunguska Coalfield, of course, also provides vehicle rental services. If you give enough money, you can even rent large mining trucks."

While Dmitry explained, he also pressed the car horn.Immediately afterwards, an old man with a pipe in his mouth leaned out most of his body from the wooden house.

"Old Peter, it's me!" Dmitri yelled, sticking his head out of the car window, "lock your children up."

"Wait a moment!"

The old man with a pipe in his mouth responded angrily, turned around and brought out a large pot of bones and meat from the room, and while whistling, led the dogs into a container.

"This picture is a bit familiar." Wei Ran couldn't help but look at Gouzi who was still pouting at his feet and growling.The parents of this little thing were also raised in the container at the beginning.

"I was just wondering where I saw it before." Sui Sui had already hugged the dog Beria's two front legs, shaking it left and right to distract him.

Of course, compared to this little thing that doesn't know how to be afraid, the two big-eared foxes have been hiding in the arms of sister Katenka since they went out, and at most they just poked out the tip of their noses or ears from the neckline.

Waiting patiently until the old guy named Peter came out of the container with an empty basin, closed the door of the container and opened the gate of the barbed wire fence, then Dmitry stepped on the accelerator again and drove the car in.

When I was outside, I couldn’t see it clearly because of the cover of the container, but after entering, Wei Ran and others discovered that the open space turned out to be like a large parking lot, with all kinds of cars parked in rows. .

Even in the iron sheet workshop that keeps making noise, there is a MAZ537 heavy-duty tractor truck that is changing tires.

"Don't you have a flight today?" Old Peter asked as he walked into the cabin after Dmitry opened the car door.

"For the next week, Sergey and Sister Tasha will be on duty."

While Dmitry replied, he handed the letter of introduction he had just received from Wei Ran to Old Peter, and warmly greeted everyone to follow them into the wooden house, explaining non-stop, "I There is a reception job, and I came here today to bring them to pick up some transportation."

"let me see"

After old Peter walked into the wooden house, he picked up a reading glasses from the table and put them on. He went to the bedside and carefully read the letter of introduction from Dmitri by the light. Then he opened the locked drawer solemnly, and went to He took out a seal from inside, stamped it on the letter of introduction, and picked up a pen to sign his name and time.

After re-locking the seal, this serious old guy got up again and opened the metal cabinet against the wall, took out a folder from inside, put the letter of introduction in it and locked it.Then he picked up the walkie-talkie hanging on the wall and shouted, "Old man, blow the snow, someone will pick up the car, and blow it all clean."

"Wait a moment." On the walkie-talkie, a simple and honest voice responded and then there was no movement.

"You're welcome, just find a place to sit."

Old Peter signaled Wei Ran to sit down, slowly took out a few cups from the cabinet, and made a cup of cheap instant coffee for Wei Ran and the others.

"Wait a minute, it will take some time."

Old Peter picked up the dog who was sniffing around the house, "This little guy looks good, what's his name?"

"Belia" Wei Ran responded with a smile, and the dog that was picked up also struggled to run back to Wei Ran's side when he heard his name.

"The name is scary"

Old Peter pinched the dog's mouth lightly, then squeezed the thick dog's paw, then let go of his hand and said sincerely, "Take care of it well, this little guy will grow into a big man in the future."

Before Wei Ran could say anything, the roar of the engine was already heard outside the room.Even the roar easily overwhelmed the conversation in the room, as well as Beria's yelling at old Peter with his fat butt pouted.

Getting up and walking to the door, Wei Ran pushed the thick door open a gap, and then saw a snow blower modified with MAZ535 already started working.

In the deafening roar, the wind provided by the aircraft turbofan engine carried by this behemoth easily blows away the snow on the ground and the body, leaving only a five-meter-wide clean concrete road behind. .

After closing the door again, Wei Ran tried to say something, but found that even he couldn't hear his own voice clearly.Dmitry spread his hands, took out a bag of disposable earplugs from his pocket and distributed them to everyone.

Sitting in the wooden house and waiting stupidly for almost 10 minutes, the roar outside the room stopped abruptly.Old Peter also pushed open the door, and said as he walked out, "Okay, now we can choose a car."

"Let's go." Wei Ran took out the earplugs and put them in his pocket, and Sui Sui also let go of the dog ears that had been tightly covered just now.

A group of people followed Old Peter out of the room, walked around the parking lot along the clean concrete floor, and at the same time listened to his simple and direct explanation beside him, "You can borrow any car here. Since you have Letter of introduction, so no rent is charged, but you need to refuel yourself. Of course, the gas here is not expensive, and if you have extra letters of introduction, it may be cheaper to refuel.”

"Dmitry, what do you recommend?" Wei Ran asked the chatter who brought them here.

"The one with tires is not as good as the one with tracks"

Dmitry replied bluntly, "The one with the track is not as good as the one with the propeller, but it's really not a wise choice to take a helicopter in the terrible weather here."

"Not safe?" Sui Sui asked subconsciously.

"At least it's bumpy," Dmitry replied bluntly, "and a letter of introduction is not enough to rent a helicopter."

"Let's drive, at least it's safer."

Wei Ran made a decisive decision. It is a pity to say that although he learned a lot in Hongqi Forest Farm, he did not include helicopter piloting.

"If you want to drive something with tires, I recommend this car."

Old Peter led them to a row of cars that were nearly in the shape of a standard cuboid and stopped. "These cars are new cars purchased last year. They are in relatively good condition and their performance is really good."

"This is a tracker brand (Burlak) off-road vehicle. As old Peter said, it is indeed a new vehicle purchased last year. Many people I have met have rented this vehicle, including Mr. Jima who came here yesterday."

Dmitry opened the door and explained, "This kind of car can not only take four people, but also has a kitchen and toilet inside. And even if it falls into the water, you don't have to worry about it. There is even a propeller behind its buttocks to push it in." , very suitable for running on the just-frozen Lower Tunguska River this season."

"That's it?" Sui Sui, who had already climbed into the car on the ladder, poked her head out and asked,
"It's a really nice car and the bed is huge."

Wei Ran was not in a hurry to make a decision, turned his head and asked again, "What if it's a tracked vehicle?"

"there"

Old Peter raised his finger in a direction, led the crowd for a few steps, pointed to a row of big red cars and said, "The small one is DT-10, the big one is DT-30. The medium one is DT-20 .They're also the best passing cars here, but I wouldn't recommend renting them."

"I don't recommend it either," Dmitry followed up.

"Why?" Wei Ran looked at the two curiously.

"First of all, the river has just frozen this season. Even the smallest DT-10 driving on the river is likely to crush the ice. Although they can also float on the water, they are definitely not as flexible as the car just now, and driving them requires You have to learn how to drive first."

Just after Peter finished speaking, Dmitry also expressed his opinion, "And if you rent this kind of car, you have to rent an additional fuel tank truck to follow it, this exaggerated big guy consumes too much gas. "

"Forget it, it's still the kind of car just now."

Wei Ran said resolutely, as the saying goes, listen to people's advice to eat enough, as long as you have a good mind at this time, you will be right to listen to these two.

"It would be great if the leaders who came to inspect the coal fields had brains and ears like these young people."

Old Peter muttered in satisfaction, turned his head and walked back and asked, "Do you have any special requirements?"

"Help pack more supplies inside."

Wei Ran thought for a while and continued, "Can you install more searchlights on the roof, and we may also need some self-defense weapons."

"We can provide everything except weapons. Of course, you need to pay for it." Old Peter said bluntly, "And it will take some time."

"Let me figure out a way for self-defense weapons." Dmitry took the initiative to accept the errand, "Of course, it will cost some money."

"About how long?" Wei Ran asked back.

"How many cars do you need?"

"Two cars," Wei Ran said without thinking.

"Let Dmitry bring you over to pick up the car after dark." Old Peter lit a cigarette on his own, "I'll help you prepare all the dog food."

"Then I will trouble you." Wei Ran's attitude became more polite, and the expression on Old Peter's face became more and more satisfied.

After bidding farewell to old Peter, everyone took Dmitry's car back to the small town and stopped directly at the door of an inconspicuous grocery store.

"Can we get weapons here?" Wei Ran asked before getting out of the car.

"certainly"

Dmitry nodded as a matter of course, and led everyone into the grocery store, walked through the counters and shelves familiarly, pushed open a metal door and walked into the interior.

This room is not big, but the surrounding walls are covered with all kinds of common civilian shotguns and various models of AK series rifles.

"Where's your father?" Dmitry asked a little boy in a wheelchair watching TV.

"He went hunting with Uncle Ivan." The little guy replied in a childlike voice, "I left half an hour ago, and now it's only my sister and I looking after the shop."

"I want to rent a gun, do you know the price?" Dmitry continued.

"of course I know"

The little guy turned off the TV, took out a mobile phone from his pocket and turned on the camera function, "Your driver's license."

Hearing this, Dmitry took out his driver's license and handed it to the other party, allowing him to take a photo of the driver's license.

"Choose what gun you want"

After putting away his documents, Dmitry said, "The quality of his weapons is the most reliable, and the rent is not expensive, only 700 rubles per day."

"I want that SVD." Before Dmitri could finish speaking, Anfisa pointed to the weapon hanging on the wall.

Hearing this, the little guy in the wheelchair stood up, walked to the side alive and kicking, stepped on a chair, took off the weapon and handed it to Anfisa. Sister, you are so beautiful."

I don't know if it's because of such a naive compliment, whether it's Anfeya or Suisui, each chose a weapon, and by the way, they got what they wanted to hear from the little guy who knows how to do business.

Seeing Sui Sui contentedly fiddling with the pump-action civilian shotgun that Anfeya helped her choose, Wei Ran couldn't help secretly requesting that this girl who enjoys slaughtering fat sheep all day long has also been slaughtered. one day.

"Is there a pistol?"

Wei Ran asked that sweet-talking little guy, just now Anfeiya had chosen an AK74 with a folding stock, and because of the combination of firepower, he also subconsciously wanted to rent a pistol—even though he had no shortage of weapons at all.

The little guy looked at Dmitry, saw him nodding, then motioned Wei Ran to squat down, leaned into his ear and whispered, "The daily rent for a pistol is [-] rubles, enough for a week. It's yours."

"What kind of pistol do you have?" Wei Ran asked with a smile.

"Only Makarov and TT33, which one do you want?" the little guy asked in a low voice.

"Makarov?" Wei Ran said with a smile.

Hearing this, the little guy immediately opened the cabinet under the TV and pulled out a cardboard box, "You pick it yourself!"

There is nothing to pick, Wei Ran, who was just pretending, took one from it at random, and didn't even need a spare magazine.

After buying some extra bullets, Wei Ran paid off the one-week rent and paid an additional deposit of [-] rubles. Then the little guy asked a little girl who was watching the store outside to help bring in a fishing tackle bag.

Leaving the grocery store with the rented weapons, Dmitry waited until everyone got into the van before asking, "Victor, where are you going next? Yukta is still the one five hundred kilometers away." Coordinate points?"

“Go to Yukta”

Wei Ran replied without thinking, he knew better than anyone else that there would be no clues at all in the camp that was originally used as the base camp of the exploration team.

After making an appointment to pick up the car together in the evening, Dmitri sent Wei Ran and others back to the small restaurant.

When he drove away, Wei Ran immediately greeted Suisui and sister Katenka and sat down on the first floor of the tavern by the window.

"What's wrong?" Sui Sui asked subconsciously after picking up Gou Zi.

"Let's stay here for two more days"

Wei Ran raised his chin towards Maya and Jima who were sitting with a middle-aged man not far away, "Suisui, do you want to help Maya? It can be seen that she is not good at business negotiations. good at."

"Shall I help her?"

"It's just like buying the workshop back then." Wei Ran pointedly glanced at Anfeiya who was sitting opposite, "The network speed here is quite good, isn't it?"

Sui Sui's eyes lit up, and she immediately handed the dog in her arms to Wei Ran, stood up and greeted vigorously with her fists clenched, "Xiao Kamei, take the notebook! Let's help Maya!"

Hearing this, Anfeiya, who had just pulled the little fox out of her arms, immediately handed the little guy called Zhaocai or Jinbao to her sister, and took out the gaudy notebook from her backpack. Computer stuffed another lollipop into his mouth, then got up and followed Sui Sui.

"Do you need me to do anything?" Anfisa, who was still sitting opposite Wei Ran, asked with a smile.

"How about you replace Jima?" Anfisa nodded, handed the two big-eared foxes to Wei Ran, got up and followed.

After a while, Ji Ma came over with a plate of food, sat down and said happily, "It's a good thing you brought Aurora with you, and it's a good thing you're willing to let her go to help."

"The owner of this tavern is difficult?" Wei Ran looked at him with interest.

"It's not difficult to deal with, he just doesn't plan to sell this place."

Jima ate a piece of fried fish in two bites, and added vaguely, "He's a very stubborn old guy."

"Leave the negotiation to the girls." Wei Ran looked around and said in a low voice, "You have to do me a favor."

"No problem." Ji Ma agreed without thinking, "What do I need to do?"

"Ask people in this town for me to see where this photo was taken."

While talking, Wei Ran took out a colored photo from his pocket and handed it to the other party. This photo was reproduced by him in that pet hospital.The content in the photo is the Soviet national emblem and Khrushchev's head hanging in the auditorium of the abandoned mine.

And, of course, the corn on the cob hanging on the other side, and that quip from Beria — our potato politicians.

"I guess it's going to be hidden from Dmitry, right?" Jima put away the photo and asked in a low voice.

"Help it if you can." Wei Ranhun's indifferent attitude immediately let Jima who was sitting across from him know what to do next.

"I'll ask now." Jima took a big gulp of cold beer, got up and left the tavern.

At the same time, Wei Ran also took the two big-eared foxes into his arms, carried the fishing gear bag and returned to the upstairs room with the dog.

The reason why Jima was asked to investigate the location of the auditorium in the photo was actually to "prepare a case" at Hongqi Forest Farm, and the reason for doing so was only out of distrust of Kajik.

As for whether Ji Ma will disclose the photos to the teachers at Hongqi Forest Farm, and whether he can find the shooting location, it doesn't matter at all.

Leisurely waiting until dark, Wei Ran brought Anfisa to meet Dmitri who came to pick them up, and went to the parking lot outside the town to drive back the free rented car.

It's just that I didn't see them for a day, and the two cars already had an extra four-wheeled trailer behind their buttocks.

These two trailers not only use the same large-sized low-pressure tires as the car, but one of them also has several spare tires that are not inflated.As for the other, there was nothing on it.

Led by Dmitry, Wei Ran and Anfisa drove two cars to the only gas station in this small town. After the main and auxiliary fuel tanks of the car were filled with fuel, 5 extra barrels of fuel and 6 liquefied natural gas cylinders protected by tires were added to the empty trailer, and then they drove slowly back to the entrance of the tavern parking lot.

Watching Dmitri leave again, Wei Ran glanced at the tavern behind him, and said to Anfisa in the other car through the car window, "Check the car."

Anfisa nodded, turned on the lighting system inside the car she was driving, and took out a thing that looked like an electric mosquito swatter from her bag to start a detailed scan.

In another car next to him, Wei Ran was doing the same thing.Fortunately, after this inspection, nothing unclean was found.At the same time, Wei Ran became more and more satisfied with this square-headed 6X6 all-terrain off-road vehicle.

Among other things, at least behind the driver's seat and the co-pilot's seat, there is a square table that can accommodate four people sitting around eating and resting, and there is a double-burner gas stove next to it, and there are scrubbers in the small stainless steel cabinet against the wall. Clean kitchen utensils and various unopened seasonings.

Going through a small sliding door from here, there is a storage room that is only half a meter wide at the front and rear. On the lowest floor on both sides of the storage room, a gas tank with a tire is fixed on each side, and the gas tank goes up. In the stainless steel cabinet, consumables such as towels, bath towels, and toilet paper were placed in a patchwork order, and Wei Ran even found two boxes of the elves in sealed packaging.

Going through a sliding door again, there is not only a large animal skin blanket under the feet, but also a fairly spacious bunk on the left and right sides.

Forget it, the two bunk beds below can be folded in the middle to form a big bed.And under the bed, there are wooden boxes containing various cans, wine, and medical medicines.

Continue to go through a sliding door with a threshold again. The rear of the car is a relatively spacious bathroom. There are not only toilets and sinks in it, but also a shower head that can produce hot water at any time. Take a shower, and even a complete set of toiletries are prepared here.

Finally, he jumped out of the car and checked around. Wei Ran was still near the main and auxiliary fuel tanks, and found a fuel heater and a fuel generator that could be taken down and operated independently.

And on the top of the car, as he requested, a circle of searchlights was installed.Finally, after checking the two spare tires fixed on the front and rear bumpers of the car, Wei Ran satisfactorily locked the door.

"There is nothing to discover about this car" Anfisa jumped out of another car almost at the same time.

"How's the progress of their negotiations?" Wei Ran asked while locking the trailer cover at the rear of the car.

"It's time to negotiate the price"

Anfisa responded while checking the bottom of the car, "The final price should be negotiated at noon tomorrow at the latest."

"What did your sister find again?" Wei Ran asked in surprise.

“Not a big deal”

Anfisa stood up and said in a flat tone, "This time it's all thanks to Aurora. She encouraged the owner of this tavern to go to Kazan to work for us."

"The tavern owner agrees?" Wei Ran's eyes widened.

"It should be agreed"

Anfisa spread her hands, "Aurora seems to be planning to let the owner of this tavern run the five-story building in Hongqi Forest Farm, and she also convinced Ms. Dalia."

"Is that okay?" Wei Ran looked in the direction of the tavern in astonishment.

"Aurora spent about an hour praising and analyzing the boss's business philosophy, and spent another 10 minutes expressing regret that he wasted his life in such a small place, and then the old man agreed. she said"

Anfisa paused for a moment when she said this, and popped out a weird word in Benben Kankan's out-of-tone Chinese, "Be bigger and stronger? It seems to be pronounced like this. This is what Aurora told us. She said No businessman in his right mind can refuse those four words."

What the hell. Another flicker?
Wei Ran swallowed, and inexplicably came up with a bold idea, whether it is possible to let Sui Sui go to be Gorman's student for a few days, and learn the brainwashing stuff from that old guy.

Suppressing this dangerous thought, Wei Ran changed the subject and said, "Go and take down the weapon."

Anfisa nodded, simply walked into the tavern and returned to the room on the third floor.

Pulling back the curtains of the floor-to-ceiling windows, he waved the flashlight at Wei Ran. After the latter also turned on the flashlight, Anfisa immediately found an action camera with a suction cup bracket from the box sent to her sister and fixed it on the window. , and then used a data cable to connect to the laptop on the table next to it as a monitoring device.

Shaking the flashlight again, after Wei Ran downstairs also turned off the flashlight, Anfisa tapped on the notebook a few times, and after confirming that the real-time monitoring screen appeared on the screen, he made some adjustments to the lens angle of the action camera. After making some adjustments to ensure that the two vehicles and the surrounding areas could be photographed clearly, he took the fishing tackle bag with weapons and left the room.

Almost at the same time as she was putting the weapon into the car, Jima also wandered back from the town.

"You also rented this kind of car?"

"I heard from Dmitry that you rented it too, so we rented two too."

Wei Ran opened the car door while speaking, "Go in and have a seat?"

"Of course." Before Ji Ma finished speaking, he had already climbed up quickly.

When Anfisa, who was the last to get into the car, closed the car door, Jima immediately took out the photo Wei Ran gave him in the morning from his pocket and pushed it over, "I found six or seven people in this small town who have worked in the coal field all their lives. miners, but no one knows where the auditorium in this picture came from."

After receiving the hot water from Anfisa, Jima held the cup in his hand and continued, "But someone told me that there is a town called Needham more than [-] kilometers downstream, where there is a A retired teacher might know something."

"retired teacher?"

"I heard from a bulldozer driver at the pier. He said that in Needham, there was a German prisoner of war who was sent to work in the Tunguska coalfield during World War II. He lived until the labor correction camp here closed, but he did not Instead of returning to Germany, she married a local woman and had a child."

Jima put down his glass and continued, "The teacher I'm talking about is the son of this German prisoner of war. Even the dock worker I asked was a student of this teacher. He said that his teacher had been to a village near the Lower Tunguska River. A lot of places, a lot of miners and loggers were photographed, so he definitely knew something."

"Son of a prisoner of war, this is interesting"

Wei Ran muttered to himself, took a sip of hot water and said, "Tomorrow I will go there with you to have a look."

"Maya over there."

"We're already negotiating the price," Wei Ran said proudly, even though he didn't help at all.

"In this case, Victor, what are you going to do next?" Jima put down his glass and asked.

"Help Maya's teacher Kajik find something." Wei Ran raised his head and glanced at Jima, "Do you want to follow?"

"Of course I want to follow"

Jima put on a shy face, and said foolishly, "This way, maybe I can return to Kirov a few days later, and maybe there is a chance to live in the same car with my Maya."

Wei Ran and Anfisa, who rolled his eyes and looked disgusted, looked at each other, and nodded dumbfoundingly, "As long as Maya has no objection, I guess her teacher must have no objection."

"Then it's settled!" Before Ji Ma finished speaking, he got up and opened the car door, and ran into the tavern in a hurry.

　A new chapter

　　
　
(End of this chapter)