War Photographer's Notebook

Chapter 765

This afternoon, until the setting sun was about to be completely blocked by the buildings on the other side of the Volga River, Professor Alexey picked up Zhou Shujin and others who were carrying large bags at the pier, and returned home amidst laughter.

After Professor "Victor" Alexey waited for Wei Ran, who was helping to carry the bag, to finish his work, he pointed to the garage next door.

Seeing this, Wei Ran immediately helped open the iron door of the garage, and after the other party drove the car in, he trotted into the co-pilot's seat.

Looking at the pies and some small gifts that have all been delivered, Wei Ran asked expectantly, "Did you find anything?"

“Not much to discover”

Professor Alexey extinguished the engine and replied, "This village is the same as Stalingrad. A large part of the people have moved from other places. Although I also found several aboriginal families, the oldest of those families Some of them were only around 70 years old, and when they were born, World War II had already ended."

"So there's nothing to gain?" Wei Ran couldn't hide his disappointment in his tone.

"There are still some harvests"

Professor Alexey replied proudly, "To the east of us, there is the largest town on this island. There is a small memorial hall there, and you may find something valuable in it. And it happened to be in the It’s a New Year’s celebration, and I heard it’s very lively.”

"When are we going?" Wei Ran asked immediately.

"Tomorrow!"

Professor Alexey pushed open the car door while speaking, "I have already asked your aunt, and they will come to have a look tomorrow, then we can ask Mr. Nicholas, if he wants to go, he can send He took it too."

"Go all?"

"What's the matter?" Professor Alexis, who was about to close the door, asked in confusion.

"Nothing." After all, Wei Ran didn't mention what he found in the forest, and also opened the car door and replied, "Then let's go together!"

"What about you? Have you found anything?" Professor Alexey asked as he walked out.

"not yet"

Wei Ran shook his head, "So far, we haven't found too many detailed records about this island in the archives of the 8th Army of the Soviet Air Force and the Stalingrad Air Defense Force."

"Don't worry, we still have enough time." Professor Alexey was not in a hurry at all, "In short, let's enjoy the holiday first!"

Hearing this, Wei Ran nodded with a smile, helped the other party take out all kinds of food and drink from the trunk, and walked into the room together.

Amidst the clinking of pots, pans and pans and the girls chatting with each other, the dining table was gradually filled with hearty dishes. Three foxes and a dog were familiar with each other with their mouths in their mouths. My own wooden bowls or stainless steel rice bowls are lined up early, sitting at the table waiting for the meal.

Sisters Katenka and Lola are also acquainted. After getting along these few days, Zhou Shujin did not treat them as outsiders at all, especially for Lola and Korava. After the encounter, it was even more caring and caring like a flood of maternal love.

Even old man Nicholas made a special call to Jima, warning him not to let Lola's aunt out of prison, otherwise he will be sent in.

Correspondingly, sisters Katenka and Lola finally let go of their restraints and fears of varying severity, completely relaxed and began to enjoy this rare and pleasant vacation.

After dinner with laughter and laughter, the whole room was either sitting on the mahjong table, or getting together to play the rankings.But outside the brightly lit wooden house, in the mixed forest on the opposite side of the road a hundred and ten meters away, there was a small figure in a blanket, holding up a binoculars to secretly look at the house where Wei Ran and others lived.Less than a hundred meters behind him, there was a white light off-road motorcycle lying in the low bushes.

After observing carefully with the telescope for a long time, the figure finally retracted his body behind the pine tree where he was hiding, turned around and walked slowly towards the motorcycle.

A moment later, amidst the deep panting sound of the engine, the figure was driving a motorcycle, and with the help of headlights, he turned around on a field road where few people walked at this time, and drove into an abandoned factory.

Whether it is Wei Ran, Sui Sui, or Ruslan, or even the police on the island, if any of them stand here, even if they just take a look, they can recognize that this abandoned factory happened just a few days ago. Catch the scene with those few gypsies.

In the cold night, this off-road motorcycle with no headlight at all drove the car at high speed into an abandoned workshop in the deepest part of the abandoned factory just by relying on the headlight on its forehead.

At this time, a tent that looks very warm has been set up in this workshop. Not far from the tent, a stove converted from a gas tank is still burning with charcoal fire, and a stainless steel stove is placed on it. soup pot.

Although the pot wasn't clean, it had to be admitted that the steam emitted from the vent hole of the pot cover was full of rich aroma.It's just obvious that no matter how fragrant the food in the pot is, the environment here still doesn't seem to have any festive atmosphere.

But soon, the little man who got off the motorcycle took out a string of colors from his bag and hung it on the handlebar of the motorcycle, and connected one end of it to a car battery for a car by the stove .Immediately, the colorful lamp beads lit up one after another, illuminating the little man's face.

Just at this moment, an electronic polyphonic bell sounded from the arms of this young man who seemed to be sixteen or seventeen at most.

Taking off his dirty leather gloves, he took out an old-fashioned push-button mobile phone from his pocket. When he pressed the answer button, the person on the other end of the phone immediately asked, "Did you find it?"

"I found it," the young man replied bluntly, "I have found what was stolen."

"Where is it?" the person on the other end of the phone asked eagerly.

"When will my wife, as well as my parents, brothers and sisters be released by the police?"

When the young man asked, he got out of the car unhurriedly, walked by the stove, reached out to lift the lid of the soup pot, and scooped out a large spoonful of thick curry-like food from it with a wooden spoon , while blowing gently, while patiently waiting for the other party's answer.

"It's not up to me to decide, maybe they will be sent back to Romania."

The person on the other end of the phone replied in a frenzied tone, "But at least I can decide whether to let your family live in it during the period of time, whether it will be more comfortable or more painful."

Hearing this, the young man immediately made a second condition, "I need a sum of money and a place to live until they are released."

"No problem, of course no problem."

The person on the other end of the phone was very straightforward, "I will have a warehouse in the Red Army City on the other side, you can live there, it doesn't matter how long you want."

"Money," the young man reminded.

"How much do you want?"

The young man was prepared to answer, "One hundred thousand rubles."

"No problem," the person on the other end of the phone agreed without thinking.

Hearing this, the young man immediately asked, "Can you come again tomorrow? I will take you there as soon as I receive the money."

"Tomorrow night! We have other things to do during the day."

"You better hurry up, I'm not sure if those things will still be there by night."

"As long as they don't leave the island, you don't have to worry." The person on the other end of the phone was extremely confident, "Okay, we will take the last ferry to land on the island tomorrow, and you can wait for us at the pier then!"

"See you tomorrow, sir." Before the words finished, the young man hung up the phone.

"Mr. Nicholas, won't you go to town with us tomorrow?"

In the warm wooden house, next to the card table, Professor Alexei, with several notes on his face, asked regretfully, "I heard that it is very lively there. Not only are there traditional Cossack dance performances, but also There are all kinds of delicious food."

"I won't go." Nikolay, who also had two notes on his face, smiled and threw a few cards, "Tomorrow my students Karp and Darya will come to Kazan to spend Christmas with me. , so I’m still going to rush back to the bookstore.”

"Are they coming too?" Wei Ran and Sui Sui, who were also sitting at the poker table, asked in unison, and then said in unison, "Why don't they come here to celebrate the festival together?"

"That's right"

At another table next to her, Zhou Shujin, who was playing mahjong with sisters Katenka and Lola, said, "I haven't seen Ms. Daria for a long time, and I haven't had a chance to thank her for lending the house to Victor. live."

Nicholas hesitated for a while, but finally nodded with a smile, "Okay, but you can continue to play in the town as planned tomorrow, and I can entertain them myself."

"If you need us to bring something from town, you can call us anytime."

Wei Ran hurriedly said before his aunt and the professor spoke, he naturally understood that Karp and Teacher Daria came here not just to spend the holidays with Mr. Nicholas, they definitely need some private space.

After his interruption, Zhou Shujin and the professor also reacted one after another, and immediately nodded in agreement.

"Buy me three geese and come back"

Nicholas threw out two kings and said at the same time, "Tomorrow I will cook you the most authentic Christmas goose. This is my best dish."

"Christmas goose, what a nostalgic dish."

While muttering, Alexey picked up a piece of colored paper, licked it with his tongue, and stuck it on his face. At the same time, Nicholas also threw out the last two tickets in his hand. .

"I haven't eaten it yet." Sui Sui also stuck a note on her face as she spoke.

"I don't know how to cook that kind of food," Professor Alexey spread his hands innocently.

"That's not what you said at the time"

Wei Ran, who was also sticking a note on his face, rolled his eyes and complained, "When I first came to school here, you made a Christmas goose, and then told me that was your specialty, and told me that Christmas goose It's normal to be bloodshot."

"I remember too"

Zhou Shujin, who was busy building the Great Wall at the next table, took over the conversation with a smile, "I dare not tell your mother about sending you to the hospital on Christmas night."

Seeing that everyone at the table was looking at him, Nicholas promised with a smile, "Don't worry, as long as you can buy the ingredients tomorrow, I will definitely let you eat authentic Christmas goose."

(End of this chapter)