War Photographer's Notebook

After taking a nap in the guest room arranged by Ms. Zhou, when Wei Ran was awakened by the knock on the door and went downstairs, Xia Shushi was sitting on the sofa next to the fireplace, chatting with Zhou Guochang's younger brother and son. What are you talking about.

On the tea table among the three generations of old, middle-aged and young people, in addition to the wooden box full of relics that Wei Ran had seen before and the photo album on the box, there was also a transparent file bag.

"Wei Ran, you didn't expect me to come here so soon, did you?" Xia Shushi warmly greeted Wei Ran when he saw Wei Ran coming downstairs.

Glancing at the other person's clothes that didn't have time to cut off the tag, Wei Ran smiled and sat next to him, "You guys came in such a hurry, and you didn't even say hello?"

"The second thought that you must have found the recipient, so he arranged for me to come over quickly."

Xia Shushi pointed to the transparent file bag on the tea table, "Mr. Zhou insisted on waiting for you to come down before opening it."

"You don't need to be like this, old man." Wei Ran bowed respectfully and apologized slightly, "We are just postmen delivering letters, and logically we are not qualified..."

"It's okay, do you want to eat something first? I didn't call you to get up just now when I saw you sleeping soundly."

"No, let's do business first." Wei Ran said politely, he was also curious about what was written in the letter left by Monk Sehao.

Hearing this, Mr. Zhou took out a multifunctional knife made by the Devil from the wooden box, took the envelope from Zhou Guochang's son Zhou Qiguang, carefully opened it, and pulled out a pale yellow letter filled with Calligraphy stationery.

"Qi Guang, after all, this letter is for your father, so you should read it first. After reading it, if you think you can show it to us, read it." Mr. Zhou said as he put the multifunctional knife back into the wooden box.

"Okay." Zhou Qiguang unfolded the letter paper and quickly scanned it, then cleared his throat and said:
Brother Guochang
By the time you read this letter the Civil War will have presumably ceased.Are you and Brother Shouzheng's comrades preparing to go home?

When I wrote this letter, I already had a premonition that I was about to die.Choosing to sit in this abandoned temple, I think there may be a chance to meet Shouzheng brother, drink a glass of wine together, and guess the number.

Back to business, I put some of the important relics of Squad Leader Liang and Brother Shouzheng on the attic of the bedroom in my secular home, where it is ventilated and dry, and will not rust and rot.

The rest of the things that were not afraid of decay were all placed in the cave in the back mountain, and kept together with the remains of Squad Leader Liang and Brother Shouzheng.When you send them back to Huaxia, take them with you.

In addition, there are still a lot of gold bars and silver dollars that you left behind, which can be used for burial expenses.My distant nephew's family, I have left enough property to them, so I don't need to take care of them too much.

Secondly, in the past few days, I have been dreaming every night, and in the wild man mountain in the dream, there are always lonely souls crying and crying.So after sending Squad Leader Liang, Squad Leader Shouzheng and others away, please relocate me to that cave and let me accompany them on behalf of Squad Leader Shouzheng and Squad Leader Liang.

Finally, the location of the cave and the events before his death need not be discussed in detail with my distant nephew.After the relocation, the entrance of the cave can be sealed directly, and there is no need to visit in the future. …

Foolish Monk Se Haoliu

"That's all." Zhou Qiguang sighed, "When I was young, I still have some memories of Master Sehao."

"The daughter of your aunt's family, your eldest cousin, is the child of Master Sehao." Mr. Zhou said in an astonishing way, without any intention of avoiding Wei Ran and Xia Shushi.

"What?!" Zhou Qiguang was stunned, and Wei Ran's heart trembled.

"Why have I never heard of this?" Zhou Qixiang, who was listening on the side, asked in surprise.

Mr. Zhou picked up his teacup and took a sip, "For no reason, what are you talking about these old calendars? Just listen to it, your cousin doesn't know."

"I definitely won't say it," Zhou Qiguang was the first to promise, and Zhou Qixiang nodded quickly.

"Master, the cave mentioned in the letter just now..." Xia Shushi asked tentatively while helping to change the subject, "Do you know where that cave is?"

"this…"

Mr. Zhou shook his head regretfully, "Young man, it's a good thing that you want to send those expeditionary soldiers home, but I still

I really don't know where the cave is. "

Seeing Wei Ran and Xia Shushi looking at each other suspiciously, Mr. Zhou took the initiative to explain, "The cave, only my brother, Master Sehao, and the brother Shouzheng I mentioned know where it is."

"What can we do?" Xia Shushi subconsciously asked Chao Weiran.

"Are you still going back to Mo's Village, where there is no electricity?" Mr. Zhou asked.

"I want to go back." Xia Shushi said before Wei Ran could speak, "We are going to..."

"In this case, let's rest here for a day."

Master Zhou said without waiting for Xia Shushi to finish, "I'll make arrangements for Qiguang to take you back, and help you find the location of the cave by the way."

"Do you have a clue?" Xia Shushi asked in surprise.

"no"

Mr. Zhou shook his head, "I only know that the cave they went to is in Dangtongnong Mountain behind Mo's Village, but that mountain is a virgin forest, and I want to find that mountain from there..."

"Old gentleman" Wei Ran, who had been flipping through the photo album just now, interrupted what the other party hadn't finished speaking rather impolitely.

"what happened?"

Mr. Zhou was well-mannered, and he was not angry because of Wei Ran's rudeness. No matter his tone or expression, he was still as kind as ever.

"If you can let me borrow this photo album temporarily to study it, maybe I can find that cave." Wei Ran looked at the other party and said seriously.

"How do you plan to find it?" Mr. Zhou asked with a trace of school examination.

“My geography is not bad”

Wei Ran opened the album while speaking, pointed to one of the photos and said, "This photo can capture the cave, two mountains in the distance, and the shadow of a stone. Through this information, and With information like this on other photos, I might be able to find the cave."

"How sure are you?" Zhou Qiguang asked proactively.

"It's better than sitting here, isn't it?" Wei Ran asked back with his arms stretched out.

Hearing this, Zhou Qiguang and Mr. Zhou looked at each other, finally nodded and said, "Yes, but"...

"I'm not taking these things out of the house"

Wei Ran said with a smile, "Also, can you let me take a closer look at the contents of this box? Maybe I can find some clues."

"Let's go to my study." While Zhou Qiguang was speaking, he had already taken the initiative to help Wei Ran pick up the wooden box on the tea table.

"I have caused you trouble." Wei Ran got up and said politely, picked up his briefcase and followed.

"I'll help you." Before Xia Shushi finished speaking, he also stood up and chased after him, and walked into the study together with Wei Ran.

After a while, Zhou Qiguang returned to the living room alone, and sat next to Mr. Zhou.

"Did your cousin reply?" Mr. Zhou asked while pouring tea.

"I'm back"

Zhou Qiguang lowered his voice slightly, "It seems to be contacted by official channels, and the level seems to be not low. But on the surface, it seems that it is not this Wei Ran, but a young man named Qin Shu."

"What? A beast?"

"Qin Xu, the garrison guarding the border." Zhou Qiguang explained from the side.

"What kind of stupid name is this?" Old Master Zhou was stunned when he said this, "Could it be the descendant of Brother Shouzheng?"

"doesn't seem to be"

Zhou Qiguang replied, "He is Qin, Qin Shihuang's Qin. And I heard from my cousin that there seemed to be media reporters with official station logos in Mo's village at the scene, and they seemed to be preparing to shoot a documentary."

Hearing this, Mr. Zhou thought for a while and said, "Since this is the case, let's see what help we can provide. In addition, let your cousin and the gold mine owners around say hello, don't make things difficult for them."

"In case that Wei Ran really finds that cave..."

“It would be nice to find it”

Mr. Zhou said without thinking, "Your father left so suddenly that he didn't even leave a route. Otherwise, how many kids will be able to do it?"

"Then what if..."

"Where did you get so many in case?"

Mr. Zhou sighed, "This matter is our

We haven't done a good job in these years, so as long as those little guys come from no problem, ask your cousin to help.In the end, if it really works, prepare a thank-you gift for each of those young men. It doesn't need to be too expensive, but the intention must come. "

"Yes" Zhou Qiguang said respectfully.

"and also"

Mr. Zhou reminded emphatically, "Remind your cousin, the rafters in the early years are rotten first, so just try your best to do what you can in secret. Don't make it known to everyone, let alone make a fuss about this kind of thing. Those of them People can't see the light, and it's not suitable to mix in."

"Understood, I'll talk to my cousin about these things later." Zhou Qiguang respectfully agreed.

"What is the origin of that young man named Wei Ran?" Mr. Zhou finally asked.

"It seems to be a historian from Maozi's side. It was in the news before." Zhou Qiguang thought for a while, and added, "It should be a Chinese."

"On the way to the free electricity, try to make it as comfortable as possible." Mr. Zhou said while walking towards the greenhouse with his hands behind his back, "But don't exaggerate."

"Don't worry, I will arrange it." Zhou Qiguang promised again.

"Go, remember to offer a stick of incense to your father before you leave."...

After finishing speaking, Mr. Zhou picked up his hoe again, walked through the glass door into the warm and humid glass greenhouse.

At the same time, in the study room next to the greenhouse, Wei Ran also called Xia Shushi to pack a solid wooden table after roughly observing the surrounding environment.

"What's the progress on your side?" While speaking, Wei Ran took out a pair of rubber gloves from his briefcase and put them on carefully.

"No progress, just waiting for news from here." Xia Shushi rolled up his sleeves and asked, "Do you think there are clues hidden here?"

"Only after inspection"

While speaking, Wei Ran patted Xia Shushi's hand that was about to pick up the wooden gun case, and reached out to take out a pair of gloves from the briefcase and handed it over, "You are responsible for taking pictures of that album, and take pictures carefully. Check it, there is no reflective place."

"Only take pictures?" Xia Shushi took out his mobile phone while speaking.

"Yes, just take pictures"

Before Wei Ran finished his sentence, he took out all the things from the wooden box and put them on the large solid wood desk by category.

However, what puzzled Xia Shushi was that after some observation, Wei Ran just carefully folded the old military uniform and put it in the box, and then wiped the other small items carefully. Put it in the box.

In the end, there was only an FS fighting dagger left on the table, a British P44 water bottle, and the Browning Hi-Power pistol in a wooden gun case.

He picked up the dagger first and took a look. Wei Ran put it into the leather scabbard and put it back into the box. Then he picked up the water bottle, carefully removed its canvas cover, and took out the cup and nylon filter.

Unlike the water jug ​​in the metal book, this canvas case also contains a glass vial for purification tablets.However, there is no purification tablet in this bottle, but a finger-sized seal that looks like it is made of ivory.

What's quite special is that although this seal is not big, its shape is the same as the pattern that Wei Ran and the two had seen before. It is a fs fighting dagger stuck on a cluster of dragon boat flowers.

On the bottom of this seal, or the root plane of the cluster of dragon boat flowers dyed red by the ink pad, there are engraved patterns that they had seen on the envelope.

"Wei Ran, does this seal have something to say?" Xia Shushi lowered his voice and asked curiously.

"Perhaps, it has nothing to do with us."

Before Wei Ran finished speaking, he had put the small seal back into the glass bottle and closed the lid.

"There seems to be water in this kettle," Xia Shushi said, and he had already unscrewed the metal lid of the kettle and smelled it, "It seems to be wine."

"Turn it on, I told you not to touch things that have nothing to do with us."

Wei Ran took the kettle back from the other party's hand, screwed the lid on carefully, wiped it carefully, put on the cup and canvas cover, put it back together with the glass vial, and put it in a wooden box.

"Hurry up and take pictures, take every one."

Wei Ran urged Xia Shu

With a sound, without waiting for the other party to respond, he stretched out his hand and opened the wooden gun case with the padding, and pulled out a Browning Hi-Power pistol from inside. …

After removing the magazine and fiddling with it, it may have been forgotten for too long. The gap in the slide of this pistol has been stained with black sludge. When the slide is pulled gently, jerky resistance can be clearly felt.

"clang"

Amid the crisp knocking sound, a bullet was pulled out of the gun chamber by the extractor and smashed on the thick table.

Picking up the bullet and looking at it, he weighed it extra.Undeterred, Wei Ran looked around, picked up a stapler, pressed the bullet and began to shake it left and right.

It's a pity that when he took a lot of effort to pull out the bullet, there was no secret in the bullet casing at all, only grains of propellant.

Not to mention disappointed, Wei Ran disassembled the other two bullets pressed in the magazine in the same way, until he was sure that there was nothing addicted in them, and then he stopped completely.Instead, he disassembled the Browning pistol into a table of parts, carefully wiped off the sludge on it, and then restored it to its original shape and put it back into the wooden gun case.

"Did you find anything?" Xia Shushi, who had been watching, couldn't help asking.

"Have you finished re-taking the photo?" Wei Ran took off his gloves and asked as he walked to the bathroom attached to the study.

"It hasn't started yet." Xia Shushi grinned, and quickly followed Wei Ran's request to remake the photos in the album.

While the two of them were busy, the time passed by, the sky outside the window gradually darkened, but the warm lights lit up in the greenhouse.

And in the hotel in downtown London, Anfisa patted Sui Sui with her chest inward and made a promise, "Don't worry, Sister Aurora, I will help you hide it from the boss and never let him know that you secretly returned to Volga Guller."

"With your words, I feel relieved!"

Sui Sui and An Feiya gnawed on their chicken paws and asked, "How is his situation?"

"I don't know, haven't contacted me yet."

Anfisa picked up a fake Huaxia passport and shook it while speaking, "But to reassure you, he already handed over his passport to me at noon. Without this, he can't go anywhere. But you, Be careful when contacting him, don't let him notice that you have gone back."

"Don't worry, don't worry!"

Sui Sui shook the chicken paw in her hand and said, "That's it, I'll bring you something delicious when I go back."

"Thank you, sister!" Anfisa thanked her with a smile on her face, waited until Sui Sui on the other end hung up, and immediately threw away the fake passport in her hand, and continued to sit on the plank in the hotel room.

In the blink of an eye the next day at noon, Wei Ran and Xia Shushi also took the car driven by Zhou Qiguang, bid farewell to Mr. Zhou and Ms. Zhou, rushed straight to the airport, and boarded a cargo flight to the free electricity without any problems.

Of course, even though it is a cargo flight, this plane still has a cabin, but there are only three people in the cabin, Wei Ran, and two beautiful Asian stewardesses in Temin.

Although Zhou Qiguang kept saying that the plane was arranged with the help of his business partner.But no matter the two extremely enthusiastic stewardesses or the captain who came out to say hello, Wei Ran and Xia Shushi wondered if this elegant middle-aged man really had such a so-called business partner. …

Regardless of whether what Zhou Qiguang said was the truth or a lie, after a long flight, when the cargo plane landed steadily at Mandalay Airport, there was already a middle-aged man in airport uniform under the gangway. The fat man has been waiting for a long time.

"Wei Ran, what do you think is the origin of this Mr. Zhou?"

Xia Shushi took advantage of Zhou Qiguang and the fat middle-aged man communicating in Burmese, and whispered in Wei Ran's ear.

"It doesn't matter where he came from." Wei Ran glanced at the ground service vehicle with police lights hanging behind the fat man without a trace, but he was also thinking about this question in his heart.

Before the two of them could come up with an answer, Zhou Qiguang waved at them casually, "Get in the car with me."

"coming"

Wei Ran and Xia Shushi responded indiscriminately, followed Zhou Qiguang into the ground service vehicle, and the middle-aged fat man in uniform, after helping the three of them pack their luggage,
After getting the trunk, he didn't forget to help close the car door eagerly, then got into the cab and stepped on the accelerator.

However, after the car circled the airport for half a circle, it finally stopped next to a red and white painted Airbus ec135 helicopter.

Wei Ran is particularly concerned that although most of the helicopter is white, the red areas are drawn with continuous dragon boat flowers.

"Let's go, so we can get there as quickly as possible."

Before Zhou Qiguang finished speaking, he pushed open the door, and the fat man in charge of the car also pushed the door open at the same time, and offered to help put the three people's suitcases into the cabin of the helicopter.

Looking at each other with Xia Shushi, Wei Ran pointed to the fuselage of the helicopter outside, "Is the dragon boat flower painted on the plane?"

Xia Shushi was taken aback for a moment, obviously thinking of something, "You mean..."

"I didn't say anything." While Wei Ran was speaking, he had already bent down and got out of the car, and followed Zhou Qiguang into the cabin of the helicopter.

When Xia Shushi also came up, the fat man also drove back a certain distance after the cabin door was closed, and then stood at the front of the car, waving enthusiastically like a plane caller.

It's a pity that this effort is destined to be seen by the blind, not to mention that Zhou Qiguang didn't notice, even the person in charge of piloting the helicopter didn't give him a second look, but turned back to look at Zhou Qiguang and others, and waited until they The three fastened their seat belts, and then they took off and flew away from the airport while communicating with the control tower.

Just over an hour later, the plane landed in an open space outside Mo's village.Through the porthole, Wei Ran also saw the meandering river next to Mo's village.

Compared with more than half a century ago, there is no military equipment discarded at will on the bank of the river, and even the size of the village has become much larger.But what remains unchanged is the way of life of the local people.

The continuous paddy fields, the leisurely buffaloes, the villagers wearing girdles and hats, and even the stilted buildings with cooking smoke, all of these seem to be the same as in 1942.

"It's been so many years, this damn place is still fighting." Zhou Qiguang, who was also looking outside, muttered to himself.

"yes"

Xia Shushi then sighed, "The longest civil war in the world started from the end of World War II, and it officially started in 1960, and it hasn't completely stopped until today. According to the current situation, the civil war without electricity is probably still possible. Hit half a century."

"The devils have been driven away, but the war has not." In Zhou Qiguang's emotion, the blades of the helicopter slowly stopped rotating.

"Come on, let's go and have a look."

Zhou Qiguang opened the cabin door himself, and said as he walked out, "This helicopter will always be waiting for us here. If you need to come over to say hello at any time, you can. The pilot understands Chinese."

Before he could finish his words, an off-road vehicle approached in the distance with its horn blaring, and before the off-road vehicle with a Chinese domestic license plate stopped, Qin Ershi poked his head out and pulled He greeted loudly with enthusiasm, "I knew it must be you! Brother Wei Ran, you are willing to come and help! This is Mr. Zhou, right?"