War Photographer's Notebook

Chapter 849 A Bowl of Camellia Camellia and Two Bottles of Loess
The fiery red sunset passed through the gap between the forests, and passed through the dense trunks of two camphor trees, and finally sprinkled the afterglow of the stars on the cleaned red emerald stele.

Ten meters away from the stele, a cast iron pot was placed on top of three bluestones. Under the pot, there were also three gas tanks with burners.

Beside the pot, Wei Ran, who had washed his hands clean, opened the bamboo tube containing the meat oil, scooped up a large piece of meat oil with the long-handled bamboo and wooden spoon inside, and threw it into the pot.

When the oil was hot and smoking, he immediately imitated Tan Shouzheng's behavior, took out the bamboo tube from the basket, and poured a large handful of golden yin rice into the pot.

With the repeated turning of the frying spoon, the grains of yin rice turned into fragrant rice flowers, which were immediately poured into four bamboo and wooden bowls.

Throw a small handful of tea leaves into the pot and continue to stir-fry. When the aroma of the tea leaves diffuses, Wei Ran immediately takes out a few bottles of mineral water from his bag, unscrews the lid and pours them all into the pot.

Covering the wooden pot, while waiting for the pot to boil, Wei Ran followed his memory and added fried yin rice, oily fruit, and crushed sesame and peanuts to the four bamboo and wooden bowls.

As the surrounding fragrance became more and more intense, the tea soup in the pot gradually boiled.After opening the lid and cooking for a few minutes, Wei Ran sprinkled some coarse salt into it, and then used a bamboo strainer to stir it repeatedly until the coarse salt grains in the pot were completely melted, then he used the strainer to isolate the tea leaves Dregs, use a frying spoon to pour the fragrant tea soup into the bamboo and wooden bowl one by one.

"It's the first time I cook camellia oleifera, please bear with me if my skills are not good enough."

While talking to himself, Wei Ran respectfully placed three bowls of camellia oleifera on the altar, and then put a pair of bamboo and wooden chopsticks on each bowl.

"crop!"

In the dense water vapor, he seemed to hear Tan Shouzheng's voice in a trance, and seemed to see Squad Leader Liang in the uniform of the expeditionary army, and countless shadows behind him holding large celadon bowls.

"crop!"

Wei Ran raised the British army kettle with a little bit of local cannon wine, and brought it to his mouth to take a big gulp.

When he swallowed the wine in his mouth and turned his sights to the stele again, the three celadon bowls on the altar were empty, and the three bowls of camellia oleifera just made, together with the bamboo and wooden bowls containing the camellia oleifera, were also empty. They disappeared without a trace together.

"crop!"

Wei Ran wiped the corners of his eyes, held up the kettle and lightly touched the stone tablet, and raised his head again to take a sip from the boss.

"crop!"

After the third sip of wine, the kettle had already been emptied, and Wei Ran was choked up by the last sip of earth cannon wine, coughing up unstoppable tears.

After a long time, he finally regained his composure, holding the only remaining bowl of camellia oleifera alone, leaning against the thick trunk of the camphor tree, drinking in small sips—just like in the cabin of the plane that crashed, Just like the dragon boat flowers at the gate of the temple after the war.

Only this time, he was the only one who drank camellia oleifera, and those who were as young as him were hidden on the other side of the thick stone tablet, thinking day and night about their homeland with a savage mountain behind them.

After an unknown amount of time, Wei Ran drank the camellia in the bamboo and wooden bowl.The setting sun in the distance was also blocked by the continuous canopy, leaving only a bloody halo on the horizon.

And in front of him, the only thing that could provide a light source were the three gas tanks that were still burning and chirping under the pot.

He got up and poured the last oil tea left in the pot into the bamboo bowl, and added a handful of oily fruits and crushed peanuts.It's a pity that when this bowl of oil tea is drunk into the mouth again, it already has two flavors.

But even so, he still drank the rest of the oil tea, and then cleaned up the scene carefully.

Almost at the same time as he finished his work, Qin Ershi's call came from the walkie-talkie hanging on his shoulder.

"Wei Ran, can you hear Wei Ran?"

After rubbing his face vigorously, and then clearing his throat, Wei Ran pressed the launch button and replied, "I can hear you."

"How is the situation over there? Do you need Brother Yang to meet you?"

Qin Ershi asked with concern, "The deep mountains and old forests are not safe. It's too dangerous for you to spend the night alone."

"fine"

Wei Ran paused for a while, then pressed the launch button again and said, "Second King, at dawn tomorrow, let Brother Yang rush to the first valley along the trace I left, and then walk to the left along the valley, be sure to leave enough Conspicuous traces can go as far as they can.”

"Cut Channel 5" Brother Yang's voice came out.

Hearing this, Wei Ran immediately switched to Channel [-], and immediately heard Qin Ershi asking, "Wei Ran, did you find it?"

"found it"

Wei Ran paused, then said again, "Brother Yang, at dawn tomorrow, follow the trail I left to the first valley, and then walk to the left along the valley, be sure to leave enough conspicuous traces, Go as far as you can."

"Understood." Brother Yang answered very simply, obviously guessing what Wei Ran wanted him to do.

"Second King, you can go to Mr. Zhou for help later."

Wei Ran continued, "At eight o'clock in the evening, take his helicopter into the mountain, and I will guide you with the lights, and return to prepare immediately after confirming the location. In addition, Mr. Zhou, please organize enough people to board the mountain after dawn tomorrow. Helicopters go into the mountains to set up landing sites."

"It's not good."

Qin Ershi was halfway through his speech, and obviously noticed Wei Ran's intentions, so he immediately changed his tone and said, "I'm going to see Mr. Zhou now."

"That's it, call me anytime."

After Wei Ran finished speaking, he supported the tree trunk and stood up. He walked to the distant water pool without looking back, led the mule back down the mountain, and finally stopped in the valley between the two mountains. The rubble made a large enough fire ditch, and then picked up dead wood that could be used as fuel from the surroundings and placed it in the campfire.

At the same time, on the edge of the jungle outside Mo's village, Qin Ershi, who was sitting in an off-road vehicle, looked at Brother Yang puzzled, "What the hell is Wei Ran planning?"

"Can't you see that?"

Xia Shushi, who was also sitting in the car, lit a cigarette, "Wei Ran is obviously guarding against the people in Mo's village, and didn't I say that, the suicide note of the monk Sehao said, waiting for the expeditionary army After the bones were sent home, it was hoped that he could be buried in that cave.

Regardless of whether the villagers in Mo's village will have the idea of ​​​​that cave, Wei Ran's doing so has at least avoided the possibility of those villagers discovering the cave along the road we drove. Master Sehao will not be disturbed in the future. "

"When did you become so smart?" Qin Ershi teased.

"It's not like you, pretending to be confused." Xia Shushi lowered the car window and looked at the village in the distance. "What should I do now?"

"Of course I'll do what my good brother Wei Ran says." Qin Ershi flicked the cigarette butt away, "Brother Yang, let's go, let's go see Mr. Zhou."

"Sit still." Before Brother Yang finished speaking, he stepped on the accelerator and turned the front of the car.

At 58:[-] p.m., Wei Ran, who was waiting in the valley, opened the titanium alloy oil barrel filled with fuel, dragged the bottom of the barrel with his hands, and along with the arranged firewood, drew a big slash on the gravel beach at the bottom of the valley. X.

At eight o'clock in the evening, Wei Ran put the oil drum back into the metal book, took out a retro trench lighter, lit a torch made of bamboo and wood and a towel soaked in kerosene, and then ignited the firewood in front of him.

With a roar of "boom", the flames chased the kerosene and spread all the way, easily igniting all the firewood.

Taking out a strong flashlight from his bag and adjusting it to the strobe mode, Wei Ran put it on a boulder and aimed the lamp at the starry night sky.

"Crack!" With a crisp sound, Wei Ran loaded the Bayi bar with bullets, and then sat on a stone the size of a millstone with his gun in his arms and waited quietly.

In less than 10 minutes before and after, the helicopter propeller roared from far to near, and the strong airflow also blew the canopy on both sides of the valley.On the radio channel, Qin Ershi's call also came.

To his surprise, the helicopter dropped a rope after a short circle.Immediately afterwards, figures slid down the rope one by one, and with absolute professional cooperation, a ring-shaped defensive circle was established directly under the helicopter.

After a while, the screaming Qin Ershi, and Xia Shushi who was also screaming, were lowered down by the people in the cabin with ropes.

Before the two bastards who landed on the ground first stood firm, another wooden cargo box was pushed out of the cabin, and it slowly landed in the center of the defensive circle.

In a total of less than 5 minutes, the helicopter cut the rope from the cabin and took off. Then even the navigation lights were turned off, and it circled and disappeared into the night sky.

At the same time, Qin Ershi and Xia Shushi were also helped up, patted their buttocks and shouted stimulation while meeting Wei Ran who came empty-handed.

"Why are you two here?" Wei Ran asked puzzled.

"Aren't you worried that you will be taken away by the tigress?"

Qin Ershi patted Wei Ran's shoulder affectionately, "pointing to the wooden box that was being eaten and said, "By the way, I will bring you some food and drink. I told you in the morning, I will definitely let you Eat hot and drink iced. "

"It cost you money"

Wei Ran followed the two of them to the side, and raised his chin towards the people who were carrying eight-one bars and were busy unpacking boxes, "These people are..."

"Brother Yang's subordinates, they all belong to a security company."

Qin Ershi held up a bright flashlight, looked around and touched with Xia Shushi, and kept asking, "Brother Wei Ran, where is that cave?"

"It's halfway up the mountain"

Wei Ran picked up the flashlight in strobe mode, switched to light beam and pointed in the direction of the mountainside, then moved the head of the lamp horizontally and said, "There is a water pool there, and you can get there by walking for more than half an hour. Why don't you all work hard and go there How about camping? This is a valley after all, although it is the dry season, if it rains, maybe we will all be washed away."

"Brother Yang, what do you mean?" Qin Ershi turned his head and asked.

It wasn't until this time that Wei Ran noticed that Brother Yang was also among the few people who followed, but he had been wearing a mask just now, and his back was facing him, so he didn't recognize him.

"Just do as Mr. Wei said"

Brother Yang waved his hand, and the other four people who came with him immediately carried all kinds of supplies from the wooden box on their backs.

"Tomorrow morning, there will be two other teams randomly exploring the confusing direction along our route into the mountain."

While Brother Yang was speaking, he had already carried a small fuel generator on his back. By the way, he also helped Wei Ran catch the mule that was blindfolded by a T-shirt.

"In this case, let's go." After Wei Ran finished speaking, holding a flashlight, he led the strange Qin Ershi and Xia Shushi to the front.

"Wei Ran, how did you find it?" Xia Shushi asked curiously.

"there"

Wei Ran pointed with a flashlight at the two mountains that could only be seen faintly in the night, and said perfunctorily with an excuse that he had thought up in advance, "When I walked here, I saw those two mountains. Pretty much the same as in the photos."

Speaking of this, Wei Ran deliberately paused, and then asked, "Do you remember what was written in the photo album? Back then, Zhou Guochang and his party found a small waterfall next to the cave, where they caught a lot of fish."

"Remember, there is such a description." Xia Shushi nodded.

"So I fed that mule a lot of salt and a pepper."

Wei Ran pointed to the mule led by Brother Yang behind him and explained indiscriminately, "It was so thirsty that it couldn't die, so I took it with me and found a small stream, and I followed the stream around quite a long way to find the source. waterfall, and found the cave near the waterfall."

"Can it still be like this?" Qin Ershi asked in surprise.

"just a coincidence"

Wei Ran lowered his voice a little, then changed the subject behind Bibi and asked, "Second King, you come here tonight, who will bring those reporters tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow morning I will take a helicopter back to pick up those reporters."

Qin Ershi said indifferently, "By the way, Mr. Zhou will also come. He originally wanted to come tonight, but Brother Yang said that the helicopter may not be able to take off and land at such a late hour. He is so old, like us. It would be troublesome to come down with a rope and flash your waist, so I persuaded him."

"makes sense"

Wei Ran nodded, quickened his pace a little, and rushed to the edge of the waterfall by chatting all the way.

"You are really good enough, you can find everything here." Qin Ershi said out of breath.

Compared with the rainy season, the water flow of this small waterfall is much smaller. Coupled with the cover of the surrounding dense bamboo forest, if Wei Ran hadn't just used a flashlight to guide him, he didn't even realize that this was the waterfall that he had been talking about on the road.

"The light is good during the day, of course it is easier to see than at night." Wei Ran turned around while speaking, "Brother Yang, I will trouble you about camping."

"Don't worry, you guys find a place to rest first."

While Brother Yang was talking, he tied the mule to a bamboo, and then he untied the generator on his back, beckoned to the few people who came, and set up a bright enough camping lamp as quickly as possible. .

Taking advantage of the time when the few of them built the tent, Wei Ran also took Qin Ershi and Xia Shushi to the cave not far away to have a look.

"May the day when the soul of Britain returns to its homeland coincides with the time when the country is prosperous and the people are strong."

Qin Ershi and Xia Shushi read the words on the tombstone together, and then bowed in unison.

"It's a bit late, but luckily it's not too late."

At this time, Qin Ershi had long since lost the playful smiling face on the road just now, and even while muttering, he took out from his pocket a bottle of Moutai and three large bowls that he had prepared earlier, as well as a knife of yellow paper and a box of incense sticks.

While Wei Ran watched silently, Xia Shushi also took out a large pack of toffee and two cigarettes from his bag, and unpacked the outer packaging and placed them on an enamel tray.

When Emperor Qin II lit the white candle, Xia Shushi actually took out another incense burner from his bag. Immediately afterwards, the two brothers each took out a glass bottle which was not too big, and put the clay inside into it. Poured into the incense burner.

It seems to be to explain to the person on the other side of the tombstone, or it may be to explain to Wei Ran who is watching.

In the night filled with the sound of insects, Xia Shushi screwed on the bottle cap and said, "I dug this bottle of soil from the top of Zijin Mountain in Jinling before I set off. You can see the whole city clearly."

"This bottle of soil was dug from the flower garden on the roadside of Andingmen in the capital."

Qin Ershi also put away the emptied glass bottle, "My grandfather said that in the past, the troops returning to the court after winning the battle all entered the city through Andingmen."

"The old era when any cat or dog can bully us is over"

During Xia Shushi's words, he had already lit a handful of incense sticks with the white candle on the side of the stone tablet, divided them into three parts and handed them to Qin Ershi and Wei Ran, then bowed respectfully, and planted the incense sticks in his hand In a censer filled with moist earth.

"I'll take you home tomorrow," Qin Ershi finished, and planted the incense stick in his hand into the incense burner.

"Now you can rest assured."

Wei Ran murmured something in his heart, bowed and bowed, and planted the incense stick in his hand into the incense burner filled with two-color soil.

(End of this chapter)