War Photographer's Notebook

Under the setting sun, a bunch of bonfires exuding the aroma of pine wood were lit beside the small lake in the sparkling forest.

Beside the bonfire, three outdoor folding tables put together side by side are already filled with all kinds of delicacies.

There are not only roast suckling pig cooked by Ji Ma and Maya, but also stewed pig's trotters with soybeans made by Wei Ran and Sui Sui, chopped pepper fish and pork belly soup made according to the recipe, as well as Sui Xin and Luo Grilled fish with sauerkraut and Da Lieba made by Laheli, and cucumbers and tomatoes mixed with white sugar carefully prepared by the Katenka sisters-these are also the two dishes that the sisters are best at so far and will never overturn.

Of course, the cold beer and the wine brewed by Ji Ma's parents are indispensable on the table in the open air.

A meal lasted from 03:30 in the afternoon until the sun set, and everyone who hadn't drank less simply left the table and sat down in twos and threes around the warm campfire.

"Guys, let's have another drink!"

Jima threw a few sticks of firewood into the half oil drum that was burning on the bonfire, raised the beer in his hand again, hiccupped and said, "It's been a long time since I met Victor, the fake bastard. It’s been so relaxing, and it’s been a long time since I’ve camped in the wild.”

"Did you often camp in the wild?"

Maya, who completely regarded the quarter horse as the back of the seat, touched the beer hall in her hand with Sui Sui, who was leaning against Wei Ran in the same posture, and asked drunkenly.

"Of course."

Jima also took a sip of wine, "Every autumn, I take some rich people from Kazan to Inta to hunt, from September to April of the next year, when I'm lucky, I can at most You can earn one hundred thousand rubles."

"Where did you know so many rich people?" Sui Sui, who was almost in a daze, asked drunkenly.

"The bar, of course, of course the bar."

Jima raised his glass to Wei Ran through the two girls, then took a bite of the pike perch grilled by the campfire, and then continued to explain, "I spent the whole summer looking for Rich people, make friends with them, introduce them to Ukran or Polish girls, and then in autumn, invite them to play in Inta, and make a lot of money by the way.”

"Look... it seems that you miss your old life?" Maya asked bewilderedly.

"Forget it, I don't miss it at all."

Jima stroked his hair subconsciously, took a gulp of beer and said, "At the beginning, I never imagined that I would be able to live the life I am now, so now I also don't want to go back to the life I used to be."

"I didn't expect either." Wei Ran also took a big gulp of beer, "and I don't want to go back to the old life."

"My father treated you badly?" Sui Sui asked while belching, wiping the foam from the corner of her mouth.

"Of course not. I still miss the days of getting along with the professor, especially the days of going to the farm market next to Chahu Lake every week and going hunting together in autumn and winter."

Wei Ran sat down by the bonfire, secretly rubbed the tattoo on the tiger's mouth, and secretly muttered, "But I don't have the courage to go through those things again."

"yes"

Sui Sui sat down next to Wei Ran, "My father likes hunting very much. Although his marksmanship is not very good and he only dared to shoot wild ducks, the beer duck made by my mother is very delicious."

"Is it the kind you eat during Chinese New Year?"

Lola, who was holding half a glass of self-made wine in her hand, immediately lit up, while sisters Katenka and Maya subconsciously looked at Sui Sui, and even Sui Xin, who was crowded with Lola and Korava, They all raised their heads, obviously she had eaten too.

"It's that kind!" Suho swallowed involuntarily.

"Tomorrow I'm going to eat wild ducks." While Maya spoke, she also picked up the wine glass and touched the beer can in the hands of Jima, who was leaning against her.

"no problem!"

Ji Ma, who was originally a hunter, confidently made a promise, and then pulled out a wooden whistle from his neck and blew it vigorously.

Immediately, the quacking of ducks spread from the other end of the whistle to the lake, to the water surface, and to the surrounding forest shrouded in the setting sun.

"I almost forgot that you are a hunter." Wei Ran raised his beer again with emotion and gestured to Jima from afar.

"Majie is also a hunter"

Sui Sui changed into Chinese, and while raising her cup, she blatantly muttered, "High-end hunters often appear as prey."

While they were arranging Jima and Maya, Sui Xin, who was less than one meter away, also wrapped Lola and Korava who were leaning against her with a woolen blanket, while sipping red wine , while describing in a low voice the various delicacies of her hometown in her memory.

Also about one meter away from them, the Katenka sisters were also holding a glass of wine, separated by the sleeping dog Beria lying between them and Beria's crotch, Two little foxes sleeping on all fours, chatting in low voices that only they can hear.

As the night fell completely, everyone's chatting tacitly turned into telling ghost stories—just like in the No. 52 mine, they never tired of scaring Lola, who was the least courageous.

Baptized by one after another of the supernatural stories, the little bun finally took the earplugs handed by Sui Xin to plug his ears, and then took the initiative to drink a large glass of self-made wine that can strengthen his courage.

Until the drunken little bun started talking nonsense, Jima got up lightly, took out several kerosene lamps from his car, lit them one by one, and hung them on the doors of the surrounding tents. on the light stand.

Wei Ran was also not idle, and under the cover of the carriage, he also took out a kerosene lamp from the metal book and lit it, and placed it on the roof of the pickup truck.

Under the icy blue light, sisters Katenka picked up Lola, who was drunk, and Sui Xin, who was also too drunk, and sent them into the same tent. Wood stove in the tent.

Helping the two girls to close the tent door, the Katenka sisters also took Korava to the tent that belonged to them and prepared to rest.

At the same time, after Wei Ran ignited the heating stove with the bonfire, he carried Sui Sui into their tent.

Not far away, Jima also sent Maya back to the tent where the stove was already lit, but before he left, the drunk Maya grabbed her by the sleeve.

"If you dare to touch me, I will kill you and commit suicide."

Maya reminded Jima before the surprised expression appeared on his face, and then fell asleep deeply by pulling his sleeve.

"Jima, you are a genius!"

Jima clenched his fist and waved it vigorously, turned around and closed the tent door, and while helping Maya take off her coat and get into a warm sleeping bag, she praised herself fiercely.

Soon, the lights in the colorful tents by the lake were turned off one after another and fell into silence. Only the dog Beria and his two little foxes were left lying on the edge of the burning bonfire. Gnawing on the leftover roast suckling pig and stewed soft trotters that Wei Ran and others ate.

There was nothing to say all night, when Wei Ran, Jima and Katenka sisters were the first to be awakened by the barking of dogs and foxes, there was already a dim light outside the tent.

However, compared to Wei Ran who had already picked up the shotgun at the door and got out of the tent, and the Katenka sisters who each held a small PSS pistol and guarded Korava who was still sleeping After looking at Maya who was sleeping soundly on her chest with her arms on her pillow in the sleeping bag, Ji Ma immediately closed her eyes decisively again.

But outside the tent, Wei Ran, who was the first to get out of the tent, was completely awake by the cold air. Then, he also saw the dog Beria who was facing a wild boar in the distance, and Two little foxes who are hiding under the car are cheering with big ears.

With a bang, he buckled the three-barreled shotgun that had been loaded with bullets before going to bed. Wei Ran quickly took a few steps forward, and then saw a female wild boar with several piglets behind her, fidgeting with the pig. The hooves scratched the ground, as if they would rush up at any moment.

And

Behind Beria, lay two unweaned piglets whose necks had been bitten through.

Watching behind the wild boar vigilantly, Wei Ran decisively opened the shotgun, let the buck bullet and the slug fly out, and loaded the two slugs as quickly as possible.

"Belia, come back!"

Wei Ran issued an order in a loud voice, and Beria immediately shook his ears, and took a few steps back cautiously.But at this moment, the wild boar screamed and rushed towards it!
"Crack!"

Wei Ran immediately re-engaged the broken shotgun, lifted it up and aimed at the crazy wild boar that was getting closer and closer to Beria.

It's a pity that the wild boar's speed is too fast, and the distance between it and Beria is too close, and even Beria has already started to move.

At this time, Wei Ran didn't dare to shoot anymore, for fear that he would accidentally hit Beria with a slug.

Under his anxious gaze, when the two sides were about to come into close contact, Beria jumped up, easily jumped over the wild boar with its head bowed and its fangs bowed, and then swooped down on a piglet Next to the little piggy, he opened his big mouth and accurately bit the little piggy's neck.

Almost at the same time that the wild boar that almost rushed into the lake turned around, Beria also easily bit off the neck of the little piglet, quickly shaking the big furry head from side to side and forcefully biting the head through the neck and throat And the little piglet with eyes throws a bloody parabola.

Before the little piglet landed, Wei Ran also recovered from Beria's astonishing performance, pointed his gun at the wild boar that was about to launch a second charge and pulled the trigger!
"boom!"

Amidst the muffled gunshots, the mother of the wild peggy also stretched her four legs and fell straight on the grass by the lake when the lead bullet hit the ear.

Before the gunpowder smoke cleared, Beria went in circles and drove the other little piggies back to the shore.

It wasn't until this time that Wei Ran realized that the Caucasus was actually a shepherd dog just like the border collie, but he dared to swear that he never taught Beria any herding skills from the beginning to the end, or more bluntly Said, whether he or Sui Sui have always treated these pets at home as waste.

On the contrary, sisters Katenka and Lola, who also like small animals, train the three pets to help them pick up something and other tricks when they have nothing to do.

So was this skill taught by Katenka and Lola, or was it taught by Teacher Daria during the Chinese New Year?Hmm... It shouldn't be Teacher Dalia, she probably doesn't have that much time...

While Wei Ran was walking towards the wild boar corpse with his gun in his hands and breathing wildly, the Katenka sisters also zipped the tent door again, each put away their guns, and yawned into the two sides of Korava. sleeping bag.

And in another tent a little distance away, Ji Ma, who was pretending to be asleep with his eyes closed, also greeted Wei Ran, who was always shooting, in his heart.

In the same tent, Maya yawned and opened her eyes, and casually saw the quarter horse lying beside her.

Subconsciously opened the sleeping bag and glanced at the warm pajamas she was still wearing, Maya patted Jima's cheek angrily, "Stop pretending, I know you're awake, go and see what happened .”

"I'm going to have a look!"

Ji Ma, who was still snoring a second ago, sat up immediately, and got out of the tent with his pants and coat, but he didn't notice at all that in another tent in the distance, Sui Sui, who had woken up earlier, was With his hips pouted and his phone held up, there was only a gap in the tent door, and he took a picture of the moment he got out of the tent that he pushed out with his clothes.

When this little gossip reached Wei Ran's ears, everyone got out of the tent one after another.

Under Wei Ran's call, the people who had just woken up worked together to catch the little wild boars that could not run after being chased by the dog Beria, and after Wei Ran castrated them, they were directly thrown into Ji Ma's pickup truck Keep it in the bucket.

After eating breakfast while chatting about Beria's heroic performance, Jima was the first to leave the camp with a shotgun and asked Beria to help him with a two-wheeled cart.
Ground.

Sui Sui also completely forgot about picking mushrooms, and enthusiastically called Maya for help, helped Sui Xin to the driver's seat of the sidecar motorcycle, and carefully taught her how to start the motorcycle and how to change gears.

After entrusting her younger sister Korava to Wei Ran who was guarding the bonfire, Lola also took Katenka sisters and walked into the forest with a basket, preparing to pick more mushrooms.

Although he has become an idler looking after his children, Wei Ran is extremely content. At least in this forest, he can light a bonfire without any restraint. mines.

"When there is no war, camping in the forest, hunting and fishing is really interesting..."

Wei Ran glanced at Korava who was having fun with the two big-eared foxes, then looked at the girl who was teaching Sui Xin how to ride a motorcycle in the distance, and finally sat contentedly lying on the deck chair by the campfire in the muttering center , squinting his eyes, lazily killing this rare and precious pleasant time.

In the blink of an eye, it was the morning of the third day of camping. Wei Ran, who woke up early, cooked a large pot of fragrant coffee by the campfire. Opposite the crackling campfire, Ji Ma was also busy cooking a large pot. Oatmeal with various stem vegetables.

A little farther away, Lola was tiptoeing on the tailgate of Ji Ma's armored pickup truck, feeding all kinds of washed vegetables and the leftovers that were not eaten last night to the food that was caught yesterday. The dozen or so little piglets.

At the lakeside farther away, Sui Sui and Maya also seriously danced the weight-loss exercises that are said to have a good effect under the supervision and leadership of the Katenka sisters.

At the same time, Sui Xin, who had thoroughly mastered how to drive a sidecar motorcycle after a whole day of study yesterday, also couldn't wait to put on her helmet after getting up, and driving the sidecar motorcycle around the area by herself was not considered a problem. The big lake yelled and went around in circles—even though the speed of the car was actually not as fast as Beria's running speed.

"What's the plan for today?"

Wei Ran poured Jima a cup of coffee, then lowered his voice, and asked gossipingly, "Didn't you sleep in Maya's tent the night before yesterday? How did you get out of your own tent this morning?"

"Because we didn't tell ghost stories last night"

Jima muttered regretfully, and then took the initiative to change the subject and said, "Lola and Katenka already picked a lot of mushrooms during the day, why don't we go back after breakfast? Those mushrooms need It needs to be processed as soon as possible and then hang it to dry. The humidity in this forest is too high, and it won’t dry at all if it’s just hung on the roof of the car.”

"Let's listen to your arrangement." After Wei Ran finished speaking, he bent down and picked up a stick that was still burning and waved it back and forth, calling the girls to come back for breakfast.

"We'll be back after breakfast"

When everyone found a place to sit down, Wei Ran took advantage of Jima's time to distribute oatmeal to everyone and said, "Jima said, we have to dry the mushrooms we picked before noon, otherwise they will all rot . "

"Wait, can I drive the motorcycle back by myself?" Sui Xin asked a little nervously.

"No problem!" Suho agreed happily before everyone could speak, "but I want to sit on the sidecar."

"But I'm afraid..."

"It's okay to slow down," Sui Sui said and looked at Wei Ran, "Right?"

"right!"

Wei Ran nodded as a matter of course, "When the time comes, your motorcycle will be in the middle, and we will help you control the speed."

"otherwise…"

"That `s a deal!"

Sui Sui couldn't help but make a decision for Sui Xin, "Later, you will drive the motorcycle and take me to Jima's house, but I will be the only one to come back to the city from his house, otherwise it will be troublesome if I get caught by the police up."

"Well! I know! I'm already very satisfied!" Sui Xin said excitedly.

"Where is this?" Sui Sui ate Liu Xin's fried egg in two or three bites, "After I go back, I will accompany you to take the driver's license test when I find time!"

After comforting Sui Xin, everyone chatted and laughed after eating breakfast and making an appointment to come here for camping after a while.
They worked together to dismantle the tent and cleaned up all kinds of guys and garbage that were scattered all over the floor.

Finally, the three pets got into the carriage, and the quarter horse, who was pulling a load of father-in-law Paige, stepped on the accelerator first, and after a slow U-turn, he drove towards the village while crushing the ruts where he came.

After a while, Katenka also drove to keep up and slowed down further.

Turning her head to look at Sui Sui, who was sitting on the sidecar with a camera in her hand, ready to shoot, Sui Xin gritted her teeth and put on the helmet, started the engine and put it in gear, twisted the accelerator, and steered the old but still vigorous motorcycle slowly. followed.

At the end of the convoy, when Wei Ran was about to step on the accelerator to keep up, a crisp and pleasant ringtone came from the cell phone placed in the co-pilot position.

"Why did this person remember to call me?"

After Wei Ran frowned and hesitated for a while, he finally pressed the answer button, and greeted him very politely in German, "Hi, Mr. Edward, long time no see."

"Really long time no see"

Edward on the other end of the phone also responded in German, and then said straightforwardly, "Victor, are you interested in helping me investigate another matter?"

"If the commission is suitable and the time does not conflict, of course I am interested."

Wei Ran bluntly set out the prerequisites, "Of course, before that, you'd better tell me what this investigation is about. If you still want me to help you find gold in the Egyptian desert, I really don't have it." So much time and confidence."

"Don't worry, I'm not looking for gold this time."

Edward paused for a while, seeing that Wei Ran was silent, he continued, "To put it simply, I want to find a cemetery this time."

"The cemetery?" Wei Ran thought for a while, then stepped on the brakes and turned off the engine after jumping and double flashing, "What cemetery?"

"I don't know much. I'm just an intermediary to help introduce you, just like Mr. Charlotte who introduced you to me."

"In this case, do you know any other key information?" Wei Ran asked patiently.

"Yes, but not many"

Edward said in a flat tone, "First, the commission this time is only about 5 euros, but if you can find the cemetery, you will get other non-cash rewards."

"What is a non-cash reward?" Wei Ran asked more and more suspiciously.

"The other party didn't say, but the other party has a diamond mine and several gold panning ships in Africa. I guess his non-cash rewards should not be too bad."

Edward responded to Wei Ran's question in an extremely irresponsible manner, and then continued, "Second, and I'm not sure, what I want you to help investigate this time is not the history of World War II, so I'm not sure if you competent."

"Mr. Edward" Wei Ran paused, and said with extra confidence, "My investigation time range fluctuates positively based on the commission."

"Young man, I like your confidence and greed."

Edward on the other end of the phone laughed and asked, "Well, if you've been in Kazan recently, how about I ask my friend to visit you directly in the near future?"

"Of course." Wei Ran replied happily, "Just call me one day in advance before coming."

"As long as your phone works"

Edward made a small joke, and then took the initiative to end the topic, "Okay, that's it, Victor, I will contact my friend right now. If she has time, she may come to visit soon .”

she?Wei Ran was stunned for a moment, but before he could say anything else, the other party had already hung up the phone.

"It's not the same person that Mr. Carlos is going to introduce, right? No, no, no, it's impossible, this world shouldn't be that small."

Wei Ran murmured to himself, but he remembered it clearly. Before leaving Germany, lawyer Carlos also said on the shuttle bus at the airport that he would introduce him to a business, and the other party also used "she ".

With this small expectation and doubt, Wei Ran also started the car again, slightly increased the speed, and easily chased

Get on the sidecar motorcycle driving slowly on the logging road.