War Photographer's Notebook

Chapter 706 The Work Record Found in the Attic Mezzanine
On the first day of December, Ji sycophant, who came back from Kirov, picked up Maya who had been staying at Wei Ran's house for half a month. By the way, he also took away the scanned half of the project.

After seeing off Jima and Maya, Wei Ran also found an excuse to go to the old site of Yudino Library to find clues, drove away from the house, and drove slowly along the Volga River to the upstream direction.

However, after arriving in Utino, Wei Ran did not step on the brakes, but turned the steering wheel to the north, and drove along a dilapidated road into a forest covered with a thin layer of snow.

Finding an open space with no one around to stop the car, Wei Ran took a deep breath, opened the Soviet Medical Encyclopedia on the passenger seat, took out the Nagant revolver inside, and then took out the A rocket pocket watch.

"It depends on whether we can have a good year." Wei Ran gritted his teeth, reached out and took out the metal book.

However, one second, two seconds, three seconds, more than ten seconds passed, Wei Ran looked at the metal book in his left hand, then at the revolver and pocket watch in his right hand, and finally he did not give up. He glanced at the metal quill stuck on the cover of the metal book like a dead body.

"Why didn't you respond? Are you moving?"

Wei Ran accidentally poked the quill on the cover with the barrel of the revolver in his hand, then picked up the pocket watch and put it on the cover of the metal book without giving up.

However, from the beginning to the end, the metal book did not respond at all.

Resisting the panic in his heart, Wei Ran threw the gun and pocket watch aside, and looked at the metal book in his hand over and over again.He even tried to take out some of the things inside and have a look.

This book is not bad, why is there no response?
Wei Ran tried to pick out the quill stuck on the metal cover, but unfortunately, it seemed to grow on it, and he couldn't get it off at all.

Forcing himself to calm down, Wei Ran put away the metal notebook and picked up the revolver on the passenger seat again.

If not, there is no need at all. If the metal book is a three-no product of unknown origin, it is impossible for it to have any problems such as malfunctions.

Since there is no problem with the metal book, the problem appears with the pistol and pocket watch.But what was the problem that made this metal book so unreasonable?

After a lot of hard thinking and meditation to no avail, Wei Ran simply restarted the car, turned around and returned to Udino, and continued to drive upstream for five or six kilometers. Finally, under the guidance of passers-by, he found the library that was rebuilt in the bustling part of the town .

Compared with the original one, the location of the rebuilt library is much better, and it basically belongs to the CBD of this small town.

There was also a basketball court built beside the library. Although the weather was freezing cold, there were still a few young men on the basketball court divided into two factions vying for a slightly tattered basketball.

Parking the car in the parking space next to the entrance of the library, Wei Ran casually pushed open the glass door of the library.

The heat blowing against his face made him shiver uncontrollably. Immediately afterwards, he saw the exhibition walls on both sides of the entrance, fixed with various card bookmarks that those punks dug out after Wei Ran bought the old books.

He had let the old man named Sergey take these things away from his home not long ago, but he didn't expect that they were all fixed in the exhibition wall this time.

He even saw a girl who was probably in high school, standing in front of the exhibition wall, taking a picture of a colorful card, and whispering to the boy next to it that she put it in a certain book when she was a child of.

Without stopping, Wei Ran walked into this library with only one floor but not a small floor space with a smile.

As far as the eye can see, there are not many bookshelves in the middle of the library, but there are tables one by one around the windows. At this time, there are three or five old men and old ladies sitting at the tables, or Reading a book, or holding a cup, leisurely looking at the boys playing basketball outside the window, recalling his healthy and healthy figure when he was young.

Of course, in addition to these elderly people, there are also some children who are also obediently sitting on the edge of the table that is at least half shorter on the other side of the bookshelf, carefully reading their favorite books.The difference is that on the table in front of these little bean sprouts, there is a glass cup filled with milk.

While he was observing the environment, an old man followed the movement and looked over at the bar on the side of the door.

"Mr. Victor, why are you here?" Sergey asked in a low voice in surprise.

"Come and have a look." Wei Ran smiled and walked to the edge of the bar, "Do you need me to apply for a library card?"

"Of course not"

Sergey took a white porcelain cup from the cup holder above his head while speaking, "Black tea or coffee? Of course, we also have hot milk for children."

"Milk bar" Wei Ran gave an answer that was beyond the other party's expectations.

"no problem"

Sergey put the white porcelain cup back into the cup holder, took a transparent glass cup from another cup holder, took a large cup of slightly hot milk from the thermos bucket behind him, and pushed it to Wei Ran.

"Why is it so expensive to get a borrowing card here?" Wei Ran took a sip from the cup, and pointed to the poster on the wall behind the bar counter.

“This is more than just a bookstore”

Sergey also took a glass of milk for himself, took a sip and said, "We are right next to the railway line. You know, being next to the railway line means danger. After all, adults are busy with work."

"Children?" Wei Ran raised his eyebrows.

"Not only children, but also the elderly."

Sergey added, "Old people need care too, so the best way is to have a place like this. Our library card does cost a bit, but both the elderly and children can get a dinner and unlimited food here. Milk, coffee, black tea, and even help to call an ambulance when necessary."

This is a nursing home with a small dining table care class plus daytime reading?Wei Ran instantly understood the existence consciousness of this library.

"Mr. Victor came to us, I'm afraid he didn't come to buy used books?" Sergey took the initiative to change the topic.

"Do you want to buy back those old books?" Wei Ran asked back with a smile.

"Um..." Sergey grinned awkwardly, "I don't need it for the time being."

Wei Ran smiled, did not delve into this matter, and instead asked, "Sergey, is the previous library still there?"

"That library has already been demolished." Sergey spread his hands, "It was demolished the day after you bought those old books."

Before Wei Ran could say anything, Sergey tentatively asked, "Mr. Victor, is there something important hidden in that library?"

"Why do you ask that?" Wei Ran asked curiously.

After hesitating for a while, Sergey sighed, "To tell you the truth, before I went to your house to buy those old books more than half a month ago, a woman with a certificate from the Ministry of Internal Affairs came to look for you. I asked the same question."

"This?" Wei Ran asked after finding a photo of Aunt Lola from his phone.

"It's her"

Sergey nodded, and hinted frankly, "Although I don't think she is really from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, I have no reason to refuse the [-] ruble cash she offered."

"So you won't refuse the [-] ruble cash I offered?" Wei Ran took out his wallet while speaking.

Sergey licked his lips and nodded without thinking, "Who would refuse?"

"Tell me what that woman asked? How did you answer her question?" Wei Ran said while pushing the counted [-] rubles in cash to the other party.

"She first asked the same question as you, where is that library?"

Sergey spread her hands, "Of course, she came a bit late, and the library had already been demolished. Then she asked about Sercy Koka and whether his home was still there. "

After a short pause, Sergey pointed to the children not far away and replied, "I know Selsey. When he was a librarian, I was like those little guys, spending time in books every day." In the library, even though we didn’t have a library card, he was more than happy to let us in.”

"Can you tell me about Selsey's family?" Wei Ran took a sip of milk and asked, "For example, his parents."

"I don't know that"

Sergey spread his hands, "I haven't seen his parents since I can remember. I just remember that he met a woman who used to work here, and then they got married and had children. Later, around 82, I can't remember. So clear, he quit his job and left here and hasn’t been back since. Running the library has been my job ever since.”

"Does he have any relatives here?"

"He had a sister who married upriver in Volgask."

Sergey talked about his hands, "That woman also asked this question at the time, or I found out her address in Volgask after asking many people in the town. Unfortunately, that woman passed away a year ago .

According to the neighbor next door, her husband also passed away a long time ago, and they seemed to have no children left behind due to physical reasons. "

When Sergey said this, he also took a sip of the milk on the table, and then continued, "The lady who paid the money seemed to bring two girls, one big and one young, to live in that shabby house. It was the car I rented for them.”

"Here's another ten thousand rubles." Wei Ran shook the banknote in his hand, "Tell me something that the woman doesn't know."

"Things I don't know."

Sergey thought hard for a long time, and finally patted his forehead and said in a low voice, "There is indeed one thing that the woman didn't know at the time. The library before was actually Selsey's home."

"What did you say?" Wei Ran was stunned.

"What I'm saying is true"

Sergey took away the second message fee from Wei Ran, looked around, put some cut fruits and three small pastries on a small plate, walked out of the bar and beckoned the latter to follow, and said as he walked, "You're in luck. Someone must know about it, and he's in the library right now."

While talking, Sergei brought Wei Ran to the edge of a table. On the left hand side of the table was an old man, and on the right hand side were two old ladies who seemed to be in their early 60s.

Seeing the faces of the two old ladies covering their mouths and giggling while whispering to the old man opposite, it was obvious. It suddenly made the man envious of the old man who was so old and could flirt with girls so much.

"Uncle Onegin"

Silgay greeted politely, and put the two small plates in his hands on the table, "This young man bought all the old books at a high price last time, and not long ago, he even marked the books left by the children. The person who sent it here, he wants to ask you some questions."

Onegin?this name.
Wei Ran twitched the corners of his mouth. Thanks to a certain masterpiece by Pushkin, the name Onegin is definitely not a good name in Slavic culture.

Especially considering the old man's age, it is estimated that even if he is younger than Mr. Nicholas, he will definitely not be younger by a few years.It's hard to imagine, what kind of enmity did his parents have against him back then, that they could use such an unpopular name as Onegin.

"Come and sit"

The old man known as Onegin supported the table and slowly moved in, giving Wei Ran a spacious enough seat.

"Young man, you must be wondering about his name, right?" The old lady sitting opposite Wei Ran asked with a smile.

"Is the expression on my face obvious?" Wei Ran exaggeratedly rubbed his face and asked jokingly, "Is it not obvious now?"

"When you've lived long enough, you can see it without your eyes."

Another old lady said with a smile, "Onegin is not his real name. Speaking of which, what was your original name?"

"Joseph" Onegin spread his hands, "But since I played Onegin in that stage play in 76, no one in this town calls me by my old name anymore."

"So you were a stage actor when you were young?" Wei Ran asked curiously.

"That's my hobby at best"

Mr. Onegin stretched out his finger with a smile, tapped his temple lightly, and said jokingly, "I was a brain doctor before I retired, of course, if you can see, I haven't touched a scalpel for a long time. So little guy, your problem better not be about the brain."

"I wanted to ask about Mr. Cersey Koka."

"Selsey Koka?"

The old man Onegin thought for a while, pointed to the top of his head and asked uncertainly, "That Sercy Koka who used to be the old librarian?"

"right"

Wei Ran nodded, "I heard from Mr. Sergey that the old library used to be Selsey's home?"

"Indeed it is"

Onegin nodded, "That library was actually built by Selsey's mother for Selsey and his children in the earliest days. I remember very clearly that after school, especially on weekends, Will go to his house as a guest.

Selsey's mother vacated the entire second floor for us to read and study, and went to Kazan to buy a lot of books, of course, and all kinds of snacks made by his mother, which I remember the most What is clear is that the apples are dry. "

Onegin smiled when he said this, "At that time, she was recognized by all the children in the town as the best mother. Later, the parents of other children in the town would also buy some books suitable for children to read and send them to Selsey's house. On the second floor, I remember that my dad also specially helped to make bookshelves and chairs.

Then Selsey grew up, and we grew up, but the second floor of his house was still open to the children in the town, and it had almost the most books in the town. "

Onegin spread his hands to Wei Ran and the others, "Unfortunately, Selsey's mother died one winter in order to save two children playing on the railway line. Has applied for the title of hero mother.

Although she didn't get that title later, the people in the town used Selsey's home to build the library at the suggestion of the director, and let Selsey, who had no job at that time, be the administrator. "

"Mr. Onegin"

Taking advantage of the time when the other party picked up the cup, Wei Ran asked, "Can I ask a few questions about what you just said?"

"Of course." Onegin pointed to the pastries on the table, "For the sake of sending these food to the two beautiful ladies opposite."

"Really good at teasing"

Wei Ran unobtrusively glanced at the two old ladies who were almost smiling, and asked with a normal expression, "Who is the comrade director you mentioned just now?"

"There used to be a neurological institute here"

Onegin pointed out the window, "Did you see the house with the red roof? The research institute was there before, but after Comrade Andropov took office to deal with corruption, that building is useless The institute was cancelled, and many people in this town lost their jobs. I think Selsey left here after the institute was closed, I think,"

"He went to Harkoff, and his wife is Mrs. Harkow."

An old lady sitting opposite said, "I remember that woman. She was the most beautiful nurse among the nurses in the institute at that time and loved to study. It seems that it was for this reason that she married Selce."

"That's true, I remember it too."

Another old lady said, "I even attended their wedding, it was on the first floor of the old library, when I was assigned here."

"Didn't the wedding between you and Andre be held at the entrance of the library?" Another old lady said with a smile.

"Aren't weddings held there at the time?"

Sergey also said, "I still remember that people who got married in the town had to buy two books for Selsey's library, but I don't know who made the rule."

"It's Comrade Director"

Onegin explained, "Actually, in the earliest days, it was not just about marriage, but about any happy or unhappy things, everyone would buy a book and send it there to share with the people in the town.

Even some bold young people will put love letters about meeting girls in the book, after all, the town is so big, isn't it?There will always be a girl who sees it.But as far as I know, those love letters were used by that bastard Selsey to chase his wife. "

"I've done this kind of thing too." Sergey grinned and said with a smirk, "But I will always send the love letters I sent back to the mailboxes at the door of their respective homes."

Seeing the topic getting farther and farther away, Wei Ran couldn't help but smack his lips, and asked another question, "Mr. Onegin, do you know anything about Selsey's parents?"

"his parents"

Onegin rubbed the beard at the corner of his mouth, "This question is difficult for me. I only remember that his mother is a ticket inspector on the railway line. As for his father... I seem to have never seen it, and I have never even heard it mentioned. .”

"I remember he has a younger sister," Sergey added beside him, "I remember his younger sister was also a teacher at the school in the town."

"Yes, that's true."

Onegin raised his eyebrows at this point, hesitated for a moment and said, "I don't remember exactly, but I'm sure I've never met Selsey's father, but Selsey's sister is bigger than Selsey. West is at least five or six years younger.

Young man, what is your expression?I don't mean that Selsey's mother had an affair with someone else's man.

That pretty girl seemed to appear out of nowhere, I remember at the beginning, his sister was only in town every winter, and then she went to school with us. "

"last question"

Seeing that the topic was going to be diverted by the two old ladies opposite, Wei Ran hurriedly asked, "Did Selsey live in the library the whole time before she left?"

"It was like that before the library was built"

Onegin raised his finger in another direction, "Later, after the library was completed, the Institute allocated a new house to Selsey, but that house was sold when he left."

"That house was demolished almost ten years ago," Sergey continued. "It's now the town's warehouse."

"So there is no sign of Selsey in this town now?" Wei Ran looked at the few people present and asked.

"That's about it"

Onegin said sadly, "This town used to be glorious. At that time, many intellectuals in the fields of psychiatry and brain science lived and worked here. Every weekend, everyone even organized dance parties. We ourselves The proposed library was often full. But look at it now, it is no different from a small freight station along the railway line."

Seeing that the old man and the two old ladies opposite were lost in memories, Wei Ran sighed indistinctly, got up and bid farewell to Onegin and Sergey, and walked out of the newly built library alone.

At this time, on the exhibition walls on both sides of the entrance, the young men and women who were taking pictures and telling stories just now hugged each other like no one else, hiding in the corner behind the glass door and busy exchanging their saliva enzymes.

On the basketball court outside the glass door, those young lads are still sweating wantonly in this cold winter, as if everything is moving forward so logically, and at the same time, it is natural to forget the people in the window from another The old man of the age.

Driving away from Udino, Wei Ran continued to drive upstream along the road on the edge of the river, and at the same time dialed the phone number of Jima's younger brother Greva, and asked the reason why Aunt Lola was caught at that time. The exact location of that house.

After driving all the way to Volgask, when he found the dilapidated house on the edge of the city, he found from a distance that its doors and windows had been nailed to death by strips of wood.

On the wooden board nailed to the door of the house, two patterns of thorns, one red and one black, are intertwined and intertwined like DNA.

He has known for so long that this pattern is the logo of the gang headed by Greva on the surface.But the meaning of the red and black thorns, neither Jima nor Greva, has never accepted it from beginning to end.

Of course, in Wei Ran's eyes, this sign is exactly the same as Beria's pee marking site, although it is a bit of a second-guess.But according to Lao Li, the contractor, since their truck was sprayed with this sign by Greva's people, those little gangsters who went to the construction site to trouble them all took the initiative to come to the door with gifts to express their apology.

Not to mention, even the outer wall of his yard was painted with this thing a long time ago.As a result, at least it’s been so long, except for Lola, an outsider, there really hasn’t been any petty thieves who have gone in to find themselves uncomfortable.

But even so, before getting out of the car, Wei Ran took out the titanium alloy pistol with the silencer screwed on from the metal book and loaded it with bullets.

No wonder he was careless, this kind of half-abandoned broken house is so attractive.From a two-legged homeless man, a drug addict, to a four-legged wild cat, wild dog, and wild fox, he feels normal even when he encounters wolves.After all, this small community itself is surrounded by forests.

Putting on rubber gloves and shoe covers habitually, Wei Ran took out a crowbar from the tool box in the cargo bucket, easily lifted the wooden board nailed to the door frame, and pushed open the door that was not locked at all. went in.

Because all the windows had been nailed up, the house that had been abandoned for a while was also very dark.

Fortunately, when Wei Ran tried to flip the switch, the fluorescent lamp fixed on the ceiling finally turned on as he wished after flickering.

After closing the door, Wei Ran put on an extra mask and checked each room one by one.

I don't know if it's because there are neighbors helping to take care of it, or because it hasn't been abandoned for too long, but the furniture in this room is quite complete, except for some appliances such as TV, refrigerator, washing machine and so on.

After carefully turning around the room on the first floor, except for some cigarette butts and beer cans, the room is fairly clean.

Going into the only bedroom on the first floor, there were three sleeping bags of different colors on the iron frame bed, and there was even an electric heating fan made by Huaxia next to it.

In addition to these things, there is a waist-high solid wood cabinet in this bedroom, the only photo frame on it is buckled on the countertop, not far from her, there is also a pot of dead plants.

Gently pick up the photo frame, the photo inside is an old couple, the background of the photo seems to be this house, but it seems to be in summer when the photo is taken, and there are many flowers planted on both sides of the door.

Putting down the photo frame, Wei Ran turned over the cabinet, but unfortunately, there was nothing in the drawers that were opened continuously.

Reluctantly stepping on the dusty stairs to the second floor, thick dust accumulated on the floor of this floor, as well as scattered footprints.

Looking at the only few rooms, there are all kinds of sundries piled up inside, and it is obvious that they have been rummaged roughly not long ago, so that all kinds of objects are piled up like garbage. together.

Stepping over the lame chair lying on the floor, Wei Ran walked to the end and stood under the ladder leading to the attic.

Stepping on the ladder to climb up to the attic little by little, there are not many things in the space with a triangular cross section, and it is obvious that it has also been rummaged.

But soon, he realized something was wrong, turned around and climbed down the ladder, glanced at the window at the other end of the corridor on the second floor, then stretched his upper body into the attic, and glanced at the end of the attic in the same direction.

After comparing back and forth several times, Wei Ran even went downstairs and ran outside, and went around the side of the house to observe carefully.

"It seems that there is really something hidden in this house," Wei Ran muttered to himself.

The reason why he was so sure was that when he entered the attic, he found that only the side near the ladder had windows, and the other side was completely solid walls.

Although from the outside, there were indeed no windows on the other side of the attic, but he always felt that the attic was slightly smaller than the space on the second floor.

As for why he is so sensitive to this, the reason is quite simple. Teacher Dalia borrowed the attic of the house where he lived, and Wei Ran used the same method to get a mezzanine, in order to hide a storage of "historical ammunition" " safe.

Quickly running back to the second floor, Wei Ran searched and got into the restroom on the side.Then he stepped on the edge of the long-abandoned toilet and the bathtub full of debris, and gently poked the ceiling with a chair leg he picked up.

There was a soft "crash", and the ceiling on which the lighting was fixed was pushed up by the legs of the chair, and the dust falling down instantly fascinated Wei Ran's eyes.

Hurriedly lowering his head, Wei Ran threw away the chair legs in his hand and walked out. He waited until he left the bathroom, then took out a wet towel and wiped his eyes, and then moved the aluminum alloy ladder at the entrance of the attic into the bathroom.

Carefully pushing open the wooden ceiling with lighting, Wei Ran sent it into the hidden attic, then flipped the light switch in the bathroom and waited patiently for a moment.

When he climbed up the ladder again, the inside of the hidden attic was completely illuminated by the light bulb on the ceiling that Wei Ran had sent in, which also allowed him to see the situation inside.

Carefully poking his head in and looking around, Wei Ran tried the hidden attic floor with his hands, and after confirming that it could bear his own weight, he crawled in lightly.

At the highest point of this sandwich-shaped room that has been magnified countless times, a fluorescent tube is fixed.There is a table and a chair next to the wall under the light tube, and there is even a dusty map on the wall.

After scanning the pins pinned to various locations on the map, Wei Ran refocused on the safe placed on the side of the table.

I don't know if it's because the roof leaks rain in summer, or because the airtight and stagnant moisture in this small airtight space, this small safe has almost rusted into scrap iron, so that even if Wei Ran is sure to pry it Open, there is no way to guarantee that the locking mechanism inside can still operate normally.

After a rough study, Wei Ran turned and went downstairs, took out two cans of chemical cleaning agents from the car, and took a bunch of lockpicking tools left in the glove box before returning to the attic where it was hidden.

Holding the cleaning agent, aiming at the keyhole code plate and the crack of the handle of the safe, Wei Ran waited for a while, and then poked the unlocking tool into the keyhole to crack this outdated mechanical lock.

There was no wasted time at all, and with a light click, the lockpicking tool that had been stuck in the lockhole turned [-] degrees smoothly.

Trying to turn the handle, Wei Ran slowly opened the rusty cabinet door with a slightly sour feel, revealing a few things that had been kept inside for an unknown amount of time.

Unexpectedly, in addition to a few stacks of rubles that had already become waste paper, there were also some Japanese-style things in the safe, the most common of which were seals of various materials.

In addition, on the upper floor of the safe, there are also a Nagant revolver, a rocket brand polar pocket watch, a barrel-shaped hand warmer, and an extraordinarily exquisite portable flagon.

What is quite special is that there is actually a red flag medal inlaid on this obviously custom-made jug, and a bullet is stuck in the middle of the medal.

Except for the special jug, the rest of the items are exactly the same as what Wei Ran found in the wooden box containing the three subjects. There is even no difference in the style and model of the hand warmer and pocket watch.

Without rushing to move the revolver, Wei Ran reached out and picked up a palm-sized notebook from the box of ammunition.

The outside of this book is made of red plastic. Not only is the national emblem of the Soviet Union printed on it, but there is also a mottled Russian gold lettering "The proletariat of the world unite" under the national emblem.

Gently flipping through this small book, there is a black and white photo on the first page. In the photo are two young men wearing sea soul shirts, one of whom is wearing glasses and the other has a bald head.

The two of them sat on both sides of a small table, and each of them held a Nagant revolver and an enamel cup in their hands.

On the table between the two of them, there was a dinner plate, but there seemed to be only a few large and small stones in it, and behind the table stood a young girl in a nurse's uniform.

"Those aren't demantoids, are they?"

Wei Ran turned a page back, and immediately saw a few lines written in neat but definitely unattractive Russian on the yellowed page:
Mine 52 - Mikita Dusov

December 1946, 1 - 18 person

No. 724, limb frostbite
No. 291, grabbing food and fighting
No. 1014, grabbing food and fighting
December 1946, 1 - 26 person

No. 433, Prison Break
No. 298, Prison Break
Flipping back, Wei Ran raised his eyebrows, this book is full, and all the records are similar information!
There are two records on each page, each of which only involves the date, number, number, and reason, and there is no nonsense of a single letter other than that!

In a trance, Wei Ran has roughly guessed what this thing is.

To put it simply, this thing is called a work record.

To be more specific, this is likely to be a work record of the executioner.

The executioner's job. Isn't that killing people?
　9K update, repay the one thousand words owed yesterday, and the interest will be calculated if there is more.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)