War Photographer's Notebook

After a long flight, when Wei Ran and Anfei Ya walked out of London Airport with their suitcases, they immediately wrapped their windbreakers tightly in unison.

"The weather in this shitty place is as cloudy and cold as the heart of the British old man." Wei Ran raised his head and looked at the drizzled sky and complained angrily.

"Boss, should we go to the address of that store now or find a place to settle down first?" Anfisa, holding an umbrella alone, asked while reaching out to stop a taxi.

"Hurry up first"

Wei Ran opened the trunk and put the luggage in and said, "After sending me to the place, you should go find a hotel nearby."

"Don't you need to rent a car?" Anfisa reconfirmed the question she asked before boarding the plane in Kazan.

"No need." Wei Ran said confidently, "You can even go back after sending me to the place."

"Boss Aurora told me to keep an eye on you." Anfisa got into the car and continued, "She's worried that you'll be tricked into getting free."

Waiting for Anfisa to report the address to the taxi driver in English with a London accent, Wei Ran fiddled with the phone and asked, "What if I want to go free?"

"My sister and I will help you hide it." Anfisa switched to Russian and said in a natural tone without thinking about it.

"I'll give you a bonus." Wei Ran smiled and drew a big cake for the other party.

"Thank you"

Anfisa said politely with a smile on her face. Although she and Anfeiya have nothing to spend money on at ordinary times, and they receive double wages from Wei Ran and Sui Sui respectively, they have long been A certain money-obsessed girl jumped into the eyes of money, so that she was so keen on saving money—even though they never thought about what to do with the money they saved.

The two reached a consensus, and followed the common habit to end the topic, never mentioning any topics related to sexual intercourse on public transportation.

In their respective silences, the taxi safely sent Wei Ran and Anfeisa to a historic-looking street in Enfield, and finally stopped at an intersection.

"The store you are going to is in that pedestrian street, on the left."

The taxi driver took the banknotes from the Anfisa landmine and said while making change, "I'm sorry, cars are not allowed to enter that street during the day."

"It's good to have it delivered here." Anfisa took the change with a smile, then opened the car door, put up the umbrella again, and took the suitcase from Wei Ran.

The two walked all the way along the pedestrian street for about 10 minutes. Anfisa, who was holding an umbrella alone, slowed down a little, and included the boss who had been drenched in the rain under the umbrella. He stopped and said in a low voice, "Road opposite."

Wei Ran raised his head and glanced at the shop across the street without a trace, Wei Ran smiled, just like what he saw in the screenshot provided by Anfia, this place has become a flower shop, and inside the floor-to-ceiling window, there is also a flower shop. It is full of various flowers.

After a little observation, Wei Ran pushed the suitcase to Anfisa, took off Hassan's leather briefcase fixed in the suitcase and said, "We seem to have passed a hotel just now, let's stay there, I'm done with work here Will call you."  …

"Ok"

Before Anfeisa could finish her sentence, she simply pulled the suitcases of the two of them, turned around and walked towards the direction they came from.

After waiting for a while, Wei Ran, carrying a briefcase, crossed the street and pushed open the glass door of this flower shop.Accompanied by the melodious knocking of wind chimes, a sense of warmth is also accompanied by the scent of flowers on the pavement.

Looking at the potted dragon boat flowers hanging around the bar, Wei Ran took a leisurely look at them.

This flower shop has an area of ​​about [-] square meters. In addition to the flower stands surrounded by flowers, there are several long tables in the middle. On these tables, there are also wrapping papers of various patterns and some such as Tools such as pruning shears.

"Need help?" A middle-aged Asian woman who was busy at the long table greeted gently.

"It would be best if I can speak Chinese." Wei Ran replied with a smile, "My English is not very good."

"Huaxia people?" The middle-aged woman asked in surprise. Although her Chinese had an accent from an unknown place, she could still be considered correct.

"right"

Wei Ran nodded, pointed to a pot of dragon boat flowers by the bar and asked knowingly, "Is this a dragon boat flower? A national flower for free?"

"Yes," the middle-aged woman said with a smile, "few people here know that it is the national flower of electricity-free."

"So you are actually a power-free person?" Wei Ran asked along the way.

Although I was surprised why this young man who broke into the flower shop without looking like he wanted to buy flowers asked this question, the middle-aged woman still smiled and shook her head, and asked, "What do you want to buy?"

"I'm sorry ma'am, I'm not actually here to buy anything"

While speaking, Wei Ran sat opposite to the middle-aged woman. Under the vigilant gaze of the other party, he opened the briefcase and took out a few printed photos and handed them to the other party.

"I'm here to find the recipient of this letter, Mr. Guochang"

Wei Ran pointed to the envelope and the unique logo in the two photos, and then pointed to the red pattern on the floor-to-ceiling windows next to the two, "I found information on the Internet about the sale of this store more than ten years ago. I saw the exact same logo on that envelope as it was for sale, and that's why I found it here, ma'am."

"The Mr. Guochang you are looking for is my uncle"

The middle-aged woman didn't wait for Wei Ran to finish, and said, "He passed away in the 80s of last century."

"Sorry" Wei Ran arched his body apologetically.

"It's okay." The middle-aged woman waved her hand, got up and poured Wei Ran a cup of hot tea with flowers floating in it, and said with emotion, "This store was run by my uncle before, and it was still a jewelry store at that time .”

"What's your name?" Wei Ran asked tentatively.

"Free, surnamed Zhou"

After a little hesitation, the middle-aged woman asked, "Where did you find that letter from the phone? What was written on it?"

"It was indeed found from Free Electricity, a place called Mo's Village."

Wei Ran nodded, "We haven't opened that letter yet. Originally, we planned to have Mr. Zhou open it himself, and hoped that he could help us unravel some historical mysteries."

"Mo's Village? Did you find it from Mo's Village?" The middle-aged woman asked in surprise, "Mansi Town, Sagaing Province, yes, Mansi Town, is that Mo's Village in Mansi Town?"...

"It's really there." Wei Ran nodded, looking forward to looking at the other party, waiting for the woman who seemed to know something to give any useful clues.

But she didn't want to, but she said after a little hesitation, "I have heard the stories between my uncle and the expeditionary army since I was a child, and the one he mentioned the most is Mo's village. Young man, what do you call it?"

"Wei Ran"

"If it's convenient for you, you can come home with me."

The middle-aged woman stood up while speaking, "Although my uncle passed away a long time ago, my father may know something."

"Of course it's convenient." Wei Ran also stood up while speaking, and put away a few photos on the table.

"Then come with me." Before the words finished, the flower shop owner had already put on his coat, and opened the glass door with an umbrella.

When Wei Ran came out with her briefcase, she immediately locked the glass door and put up a closed sign.

Holding an umbrella and walking out of the pedestrian street with Wei Ran, the two got into an old-looking Land Rover and drove straight out of the city.

"My home is in Epping, in the northeast corner of the City of London."

Ms. Zhou, the owner of the flower shop, said apologetically while driving, "So the journey is a bit long, and it will take more than an hour."

"It's okay, I have plenty of time." Wei Ran said politely, "It's disturbing your business."

"It's okay." Ms. Zhou waved her hand indifferently, "Can you tell me how you found that letter?"

"certainly"

Wei Ran paused for a while, and briefly described the orthographic characters on the helmet, and what Xia Shushi and the second emperor found in Mo's Village.

"Just for the straight characters on a steel helmet?" Ms. Zhou obviously didn't understand Wei Ran and his friend's seriousness.

Wei Ran smiled, "It's also for those soldiers who can't go home"

Ms. Zhou was stunned for a moment, and said subconsciously, "My uncle seemed to often say this before. I was younger than you at that time."

Hearing this, Wei Ran was also stunned, and then he sighed.

While the two were chatting, time passed quickly. When Ms. Zhou stepped on the brakes, there were already stretches of farmland around her.

"This area in front is my family's farm." Ms. Zhou pointed to the house surrounded by farmland directly in front of the car, and then opened the car door.

Following the other party out of the carriage, Wei Ran tightened his windbreaker again, and at the same time, he did not forget to observe the old-looking building in front of him.

Compared with this old house with a strong colonial farmer style, the glass greenhouse next to the house is obviously more attractive, and this glass greenhouse is even larger than the connected old houses.

Although separated by glass and water mist, he can still clearly see that this glass house is full of various flowers and tropical plants.

"My flowers are all grown there"

Seeing Wei Ran staring at the greenhouse, Ms. Zhou explained with a smile, and then led him into the room.

Before taking off the windbreaker that was stained with water droplets, Wei Ran saw a white-haired old man carrying a hoe coming out from the other side of the glass door connecting the greenhouse.

"Prayer is back"

The white-haired old man put down his hoe and said hello, then asked with a smile, "Why haven't I seen this young man before?"...

"Dad, this young man's name is Wei Ran."

Ms. Zhou, known as Qixiang, gave a brief introduction, and while beckoning Wei Ran to sit down on the sofa by the fireplace, she asked, "Where's my elder brother?"

"It's in the study," said the old man, putting the hoe in a wooden box next to the glass door.

"Sit down for a while, wait until I call my eldest brother over and talk together."

While pouring Wei Ran a cup of hot tea, Ms. Zhou explained, "My elder brother is my uncle's son."

"Thank you" Wei Ran got up slightly and took the fragrant tea brought by the other party.

"Dad, sit down too, let's listen together later."

After Ms. Zhou finished speaking, she walked quickly to another room next to the greenhouse. In less than a minute, she walked out with a middle-aged man who looked particularly elegant.

"Let me introduce"

After Ms. Zhou waited for everyone to finish on the sofa, she first introduced Wei Ran and his reason for coming, and then said to Wei Ran, "He is my eldest brother and also my uncle's son Zhou Qiguang."

"Hello, Mr. Zhou"

Wei Ran shook hands with the other party respectfully, then took out the photos from the briefcase again, and put the double-ended gun oil pot that he brought with him on the table, picking out what he could say and repeating it carefully.

"That's right, that's right"

The white-haired old man picked up the double-ended gun oiler and said, "I've seen this oiler before. Brother Shouzheng used to hold this oiler every day when he was alive. Young man, where's the letter?"

"The letter is still in Mo's village." Wei Ran looked at the other party and replied, "We haven't opened the letter yet, we were thinking about it"

"Ugh"

The old man sighed, put down the gun oil pot and said, "My elder brother passed away in 86. Before he passed away, he kept muttering that he would go back when the war was over, and he would send Brother Shouzheng and his brothers back together. .It’s been so many years.”

"Old man, back then" Wei Ran asked deliberately, "Do you know what happened back then? Also, the orthographic letter on that helmet"

"This matter has to start from 1942." The old man looked at the elegant middle-aged man walking in the majestic, "Pray for light, go, and bring all the boxes your father left behind."

"Hold on"

The middle-aged man named Qiguang nodded politely, got up and went upstairs to move a wooden box that looked very old.

As the wooden box was opened, Wei Ran's face couldn't help shaking.

In this box, the most conspicuous thing is a shiny wooden gun case, and a neat set of uniforms of the British Expeditionary Force. A set of British p44 water bottles and a second-generation FS fighting dagger.

In addition, there are many small items in this box. These small items include a pocket watch-style compass, a multifunctional knife seized from the devil, and even a Minghai brand camera produced by the devil back then, and A Gurkha scimitar that has probably cut through an unknown number of devils and vines.

"These are left by my elder brother"

The old man sitting opposite Wei Ran carefully opened the stacked uniform, took out a photo album with a slightly worn cover from under a pair of straw sandals, and handed it to Wei Ran, "Everything you want to know is basically in the It’s in this album.”…

"wait a minutes"

Wei Ran took out a pair of white cotton gloves from the briefcase beside him at the fastest speed and put them on, then took the thick photo album with respectful hands.

Gently flipping open the almost starched cover, the first photo Wei Ran saw was the one that Xia Shushi had sent over, a group photo of clinking glasses with a kettle in the cave.

However, around the photo fixed on the page, the name of the person pointed by the arrow was marked in detail with black pen writing.At the same time, when he opened the photo album, a fleeting but hard to ignore scorching heat flashed across the tiger's mouth in his left hand.

Rubbing the tiger's mouth through the glove, Wei Ran continued to flip back.On the second page, there is also a fixed photo. In this black and white photo, a bunch of burning bonfires are photographed.A kettle that Wei Ran was very familiar with was placed on top of the bonfire, and there were a few people sitting around who seemed a little out of focus because of being out of focus.

Around this photo, it is like writing a diary, with black traditional pen writing, recording everything that happened at that time.

"When this photo was taken, Mr. Lu Ke and I had been fleeing together for a whole day, and it was on this day that I met Squad Leader Liang and Tan Shouzheng."

Seeing that Wei Ran seemed to be caught in the story recorded in the photo album, the white-haired old man waved his hand gently, and led the elegant middle-aged man slowly to the glass door leading to the greenhouse not far away. Door.

When the door was closed tightly, the old man reached out and plucked a dragon boat flower that was in full bloom, and said casually, "Qi Guang, call your cousin and ask him to arrange a visit to Mo's village."

"How to deal with it?" The elegant middle-aged man had already reached out for his cell phone while speaking.

"Let's take a look first, that young man doesn't seem to have any malicious intentions."

The old man paused for a moment, and continued rather calmly and pretentiously, "But if anyone dares to do anything wrong in Mo's village, let your cousin send them directly to their mine to throw stones until they die! "

"I'll call right now." The elegant middle-aged man had already pressed the dial button before he finished speaking.

Not long after the old man returned to the room, Wei Ran also flipped through the photo album page by page.

However, before they, the old and the young, could speak, Xia Shushi discovered the call request.

"Sorry, I'll take a call."

Wei Ran smiled apologetically, and waited for the old man sitting across from him to nod kindly before pressing the answer button.

"Brother Wei Ran, have you been to England yet?"

As soon as the call was connected, Xia Shushi, who was only wearing shorts and a T-shirt on the screen, stammered and said tremblingly.

"Have you come to England?" Wei Ran asked in surprise.

"Gang. Acho! Just arrived!"

Xia Shushi wiped his snot, "Have you found Mr. Guochang? I brought that letter. Bring it! I brought it. Come to the airport to pick me up quickly, and remember to bring me a piece of clothing, ah sneeze!"

Glancing at the surprised old man opposite, Wei Ran twitched the corner of his mouth and asked, "You were robbed right after you got off the plane?"

"Grab a fart!"

Xia Shushi blew his nose vigorously, got into a fast food restaurant, found a seat in the back and sat down, and said, "I'm in a hurry, I've stayed in that ghostly place without electricity for so long and I forgot it's still winter, I I didn’t even bring my card with me—Ah Choo! Come here quickly, or I’ll freeze to death if I’m later, I’m at the airport.”…

"Wait for a while." Wei Ran buckled his phone on the table, and looked at the old man who couldn't hold back his laughter with an embarrassed expression on his face.

"Qixiang, ask your friend to pick you up at the airport." The old man said with a smile, "Young man, give me your friend's phone number."

Hearing this, Wei Ran quickly found out Xia Shushi's phone number and reported it to Ms. Zhou.

When the other party started calling, Wei Ran hesitated for a while, and finally pointed to the pattern of dagger and dragon boat flower on the photo album and asked, "Old man, I'm curious, what does this pattern mean."

"no special meaning"

The old man smiled and explained, "When my elder brother was alive, he took my two brothers-in-law to do business. The symbol is just their company's trademark."

"So that's how it is." Wei Ran acted like he had suddenly realized that he didn't care how much the other party's words were true.

"Since your friend has arrived in England with the letter, you should take a good rest first. After your friend arrives, let's take a look at what is written in the letter."

"I'm sorry to trouble you," Wei Ran said politely.

The old man waved his hand kindly, "Qixiang, arrange a room for this young man, and then get some food. When his friend arrives, we can have a meal together."

"Come with me." Ms. Zhou warmly greeted Wei Ran upstairs, and arranged for him a guest room that could just see the greenhouse outside.

Watching Ms. Zhou turn and leave, Wei Ran quickly checked the room, and immediately hid in the bathroom and took out the metal book.

Turning to the latest page, he saw at a glance that there was a blue swirl and a line of small words on the page - on the day of returning home, let's raise a glass and drink together.

The probe took out the floating items from the blue vortex, but this time it was the British Army p44 kettle that I had seen in the wooden box just now.The difference is that on the canvas cover of this kettle, there is also a slightly worn armband of the C war zone fixed on it.

Of course, no accident, the material of this kettle was replaced by titanium metal and stamped with an hourglass stamp, and even the metal lid seems to be much thicker than the original one.

Unscrewing the lid of the kettle, Wei Ran immediately smelled the rich aroma of wine. Although he only drank it once, he clearly remembered that Tan Shouzheng called this wine "earth cannon wine".

After screwing on the lid again, he opened the canvas cover and took out the kettle and matching cups, and then took out a simple filter made of nylon cloth.

Seeing that there was nothing else in the canvas cover, Wei Ran restored it to its original shape and took it back into the metal book.This jug of wine is of course to be drunk, but it is definitely not now.