War Photographer's Notebook

When Wei Ran and Ninel drove back to the wooden house in the glade, Ania was already sitting obediently on a log pier, holding a large bowl of oatmeal and vegetable porridge in both hands, acting very well.

Sui Sui and Kou Kou, who were sitting opposite her, were chatting with each other under the translation of Anfisa.

A little further away, Tantu, an Indian woman with a shotgun on her back, was leaning on a four-wheeled motorcycle a little awkwardly. From time to time, she seemed to be answering some questions raised by Sui Sui.

However, before Wei Ran stopped the car, these men and women stopped the conversation among them one after another.

Seeing this, neither Wei Ran nor Ninel wisely asked any more questions.Sui Sui took the initiative to say, "Niel and Ania came just in time. We just decided to go to the forest to pick mushrooms and go hunting. Do you want to go together?"

"Just like the logging camp next to Jima's village?" Wei Ran asked with a smile.

"Correct!"

Sui Sui swallowed subconsciously, "Sister Tantu said just now that a particularly delicious mushroom and a particularly sour berry grow in that redwood forest."

"Victor took a piss in the redwood forest just now." The honest and honest Ninel looked down upon Wei Ran for his good deed.

"When the time comes, remember to circle the territory you marked," Sui Sui reminded, rolling her eyes.

Honest people cheat people and kill people

Wei Ran gritted his teeth and glanced at Ninel, who was taking the oatmeal from Aniya's hand, but the other party held up the oatmeal and said to Wei Ran as if he understood and pretended to be confused, "This kind of porridge tastes so good. Nice, would you like some?"

"Thank you, that's the porridge I made." Wei Ran snorted coldly.

"Your workmanship is good." After Ninere finished speaking, he slowly picked up a wooden spoon and poured a spoonful of vegetable porridge into his mouth.

Helping the other party resist the charge of urinating indiscriminately, after breakfast, everyone took up their weapons and followed Tantu on their four-wheeled motorcycles to the redwood forest covering both sides of the river.

While most of the girls followed Tantu to find berries and edible mushrooms, Wei Ran also took the opportunity to introduce Anfisa to Niniel.

"Talk to him about things that require fresh blood"

Wei Ran pointed to Niniel, and whispered to Anfesa, "I've already paid, just ask for your request, please let him find a way."

"Understood," Anfisa said, and handed the small basket containing mushrooms to Wei Ran, and took the lever rifle in his hand by the way.

Regardless of the two people who were obviously guarding each other behind him, Wei Ran strolled around the redwood forest with a basket in his hands, and by the way, he was also eavesdropping on Sui Sui and Kou Kou's translation during Anfei Ya's translation. Below, questions to Tantu and Tantu's answers in English or French.

Of course, most of these issues have nothing to do with the berries and mushrooms they are collecting, but are just opinions on popular American terms such as ethnic minorities, homosexuality, blacks, guns, and the legalization of child unconsciousness.

From time to time, Ania, who was wandering in the forest with her, would express her opinion at the invitation of Sui Sui.

Of course, perhaps because she has been with Ninel for too long, the youngest American girl among the women present, her views are much more radical, straightforward and efficient.

In this small chat, they had gotten to know both Tantu and Ania, and Koukou also formally sent out an invitation to Tantu.

Being able to become Kou Kou's housekeeper was beyond Tantu's expectation, and after listening to the salary offered by Kou Kou and some work requests from Sui Sui's help, the Indian woman also readily agreed.

Under the suggestion of Sui Sui, Kou Kou sent out the invitation in a timely manner, "In this case, why don't we go to Houston today? My great-grandfather, Mr. Dominique, took back the property that was originally given to Ms. Lily before he passed away. Although Ka Lawyer Ross has been urging me to take over, but I haven’t been there yet, how about you going with me this time? It is said that there are many precious jewelry in that house.”

"Coco, does your invitation include me?" Ania asked in surprise.

"Of course, we are also friends, aren't we?" Kou Kou said unnaturally under the hint of Sui Sui's eyes, "Of course, if you don't have time, you can."

"No! I have time, I have plenty of time!" Ania immediately stated without waiting for Anfeya to finish the translation, "I will go with you!"

"In this case, how about we set off at noon?" Sui Sui took the right to speak and said to Ania in English, "Sorry, you just came, we are leaving here."

"It's ok!"

Ania said a little excitedly, "If you have time, you can go to Las Vegas with me after we finish our work in Houston. I will take you to the largest casino in the area, and you can also go to Nigeria Drag racing at the racetrack where Nell works!"

Sui Sui and Kou Kou's eyes immediately brightened at this proposal, and even Anfeya, who was in charge of the translation, showed emotion on her face.

Seeing Sui Sui and An Feiya looking at him, Wei Ran was about to say something, but Ninel, who was standing a little further away, came over and said, "Aurora, why don't you take your Victor?" How about lending me a few days?
In the morning, I introduced a business to him. The other party was a veteran of the Vietnam War who had helped me a lot, so I wanted to take Victor to meet him as soon as possible. "

"Let them be busy first!" Aniya said first, "I will treat you well when we arrive in Las Vegas!"

"Don't worry boss, I'll make her stay away from Sister Aurora." Anfisa, who came around from behind a redwood tree, made a joke to Wei Ran before the rest of the people could speak. ensure.

"What about you?" Wei Ran looked at Sui Sui, making it clear that he had left the decision to her.

"In case I lose all my money, remember to pick me up as soon as possible." Sui Sui made a decision jokingly.

Now that they decided to leave, the group of young people did not delay any longer, packed their luggage, and returned all their weapons to Tatanka who had heard the news.

The old Indian man who used to drive for Dominica was so happy when he learned that his daughter had become Kou Kou's housekeeper, so much so that when he drove the yacht back to Sault Ste. Choked up tears.

Let this emotional old father send everyone to the airport.Kou Kou pointed at the suitcase that Anfeya was pushing, and said to Wei Ran in a joking tone, "The shell casing and the ax inside are temporarily kept by Anfeya, Victor, I hope you can help us investigate as soon as possible." What, this is related to Lili and my plan."

"Okay, don't worry, Kou Kou." After making a promise in French, Wei Ran joked in Chinese, "And you, don't worry."

"You're the only one! You're disgusting." Sui Sui rolled her eyes with her teeth bared, "Anyway, go to Las Vegas and join us as soon as possible."

"We will rush over there as soon as possible." After Wei Ran finished speaking, he followed Niniel into the security checkpoint.

Under the leadership of Ninel, Wei Ran followed him on the fastest flight to the United States.

After two transfers in a row, when Wei Ran got off the plane with Ninel for the last time, he had already arrived at Sucomel Island, a tourist resort in Mexico.

Flour-grade fine sand, blue waves, holiday cottages less than 100 meters from the coastline, of course, there are bikini girls everywhere on the island, and a wide variety of tropical fruits at cheap prices, and even across the strait, everywhere in the Yucatan Peninsula Visible Mayan ruins.

Everything here can almost meet most people's expectations for a seaside vacation, but for Wei Ran, who has traveled across the entire United States from north to south, he just wants to take a bath and sleep well.

Near midnight, Ninel woke up Wei Ran, who was still sleeping, with a plate of spicy Mexican tortillas.

While he was eating, Ninel held a glass of watermelon juice and said, "Later, a ship will take us directly to Pinos Island in Cuba."

"What's there?" Wei Ran asked while eating tortillas.

"Didn't you say it? A mental hospital." Niel replied slowly after taking a big gulp of watermelon juice.

"I mean, is there anything special about the residents in that mental hospital?"

Wei Ran stared straight at the other party, "If it's just mental illness, there are quite a few in Gorman's hospital."

'Psychiatry is different there'

Ninel gulped down the watermelon juice, and briefly summarized, "The people who can be sent there are all psychopaths with anti-social personality, and quite a few of them were even members of the anti-Cuba forces."

"Anti-social personality? Anti-Cuban forces?" Wei Ran raised his eyebrows, "Is this a special prison?"

"You are a historian, so you must know about the Elian incident, right?" Ninere asked as he put down his glass.

"The crisis caused by a six-year-old boy?"

"right"

Nie Nie paused, "At that time, a considerable number of people in the United States held anti-Cuba demonstrations."

Seeing Wei Ran looking at him in puzzlement, Ninel continued, "But under the instigation and arrangement of those with a heart, some psychopaths with anti-social personality joined the anti-Cuban forces in Miami.

Because of the existence of these people, those idiots really took a more radical approach, ignoring the laws of the United States, using violence against the police, and finally caused a split between the anti-Cuban exiles in Miami and the United States. The Elian incident was also due to the impulse of those idiots. Known as Castro's victory. "

"You mean?" Wei Ran rounded his eyes.

"Comrade Castro has always been my idol, so I have always used Fidel as my pseudonym."

Ninel tapped his temple, "His political wisdom is far superior to those stupid leaders in the United States. And in the mental hospital we are going to, there is a staff officer who once worked for Mr. Castro .”

"Are you kidding me?!" Wei Ran widened his eyes, "Let's go now!"

"Of course not kidding"

Ninel took Wei Ran out of the hotel and said as he walked towards the shore in the night, "The staff officer I just mentioned not only led the plan to inject crazy cells into the anti-Cuban forces in Miami during the Elian incident, Earlier, it was said that he was also involved in planning the Mariel smuggling incident."

"The Mariel smuggling incident in the 80s?" Wei Ran raised his eyebrows, "How old is this person you're talking about?"

"More than 60 years old"

Ninel lowered his voice slightly, "For a staff officer, this is a golden age."

"If that's the case, why is he in prison?" Wei Ran asked somewhat inquisitively.

"Comrade Castro retired before he died."

Nie Nie paused and continued, "Shortly after retiring, he had mental problems and his physical health was deteriorating. After that, he returned to his hometown of Pinos Island, and was later admitted to the mental hospital. At the invitation of the director, he chose to be admitted to the hospital as a patient."

"You seem to be familiar with the situation there?" Wei Ran asked curiously.

"certainly"

Niel stopped in his tracks, turned to look at Wei Ran, hesitated for a moment, and said in the night, "That dean belongs to Mr. Gorman. Maybe it's more accurate to call him 'senior sister'."

"Sister?"

Wei Ran was stunned for a moment, then nodded with a normal expression, and asked a seamless topic, "So you have checked with Gorman or Teacher Dalia about my need for manpower? "

"Already asked while you were sleeping"

Nie Nie paused, and said slowly, "They said, I can trust you unconditionally. If you betray me, they will kill Aurora and her family for me as revenge."

"You guys are so straightforward"

Wei Ran snorted angrily, but was not angry at what the other party said.After all, the prerequisites that the other party has stated and the "unconditional trust" that they have given, if he really betrays Ninel at that time, and the Dalia people kill Aurora and her family as revenge, he deserves it retribution.

"I just trust you unconditionally, but I don't obey you unconditionally." Ninel spread his hands, "so of course I can be more straightforward."

"That makes sense, where are we going now?" Wei Ran asked as he followed the other party.

“Coming soon”

As Ninere said, he stopped by a white tent on the shore, opened the tent and found a wetsuit with packaging inside, and handed it to Wei Ran, "Put it on".

"Swim over there?" Wei Ran joked while changing his clothes. It is at least 300 kilometers away from Pinos Island, so you must not be able to swim there.

"That's right." Ninel nodded as a matter of course, and also took out a diving suit and put it on.

Almost when Wei Ran was thinking about whether to change into flippers, two jet skis slowly drove over from a distance.In the tent, someone also folded the clothes they had changed into different categories and put them into waterproof bags.

"Let's go." Ninel put on his mask and walked towards the sea while speaking.

Seeing that the other party didn't change his flippers or carry an oxygen bottle, Wei Ran simply put on his mask and chased after him.

Each took a jet ski, and amidst the splashing water and the noise of the engine, the two motor boats drove straight to the Yucatan Peninsula on the opposite bank.

However, after driving to the sea for less than 10 minutes, two motorboats sent the two of them to a sightseeing yacht. At the same time, two people got off the yacht and drove back on the two motorboats. .

On a not-so-big yacht, Wei Ran and Ninel got into the deck cabin under the leadership of a girl who only wore a bikini but wore a cowhide holster around her waist and carried an American net. , put on a set of beach pants and a large T-shirt.And the girl also closed the cabin door from the outside, and seemed to lock it.

"Go to sleep, we have to change boats in the middle of the night."

After Nineir finished speaking, he lay down on a fairly clean bed, and by the way left Wei Ran with a single bed with little bits and pieces such as underwear and stockings.

"Is this also your smuggling route?" Wei Ran asked curiously looking at the boxes of Cuban cigars under the bed.

"No, no, even Ania doesn't know about this route."

As Ninere said, he took out a small box from under the bed, took out a metal tube from it and threw it to Wei Ran, and then took out a lighter, a cypress stick, and a A cigar cutter with signs of heavy use.

"Try it, it's a good product you can't buy in the market." Ninel skillfully lit the cigar, and stuffed the burning cypress stick into a mineral water bottle filled with water.

Following the example of the other party, Wei Ran lit the cigar, took a light puff, and then coughed again and again due to choking.

"Don't inhale it into the lungs, it's enough to let the smoke swirl in the mouth, the capillaries will help you absorb the harmful substances in the smoke." Ninel reminded puffing.

"Thank you for your reminder, and thank you for my capillaries." Wei Ran rolled his eyes and took another breath.

It's a pity that he, a historian who doesn't know how to enjoy it, couldn't figure out what is so good about this thick thing like a strip of dried black shit. All he knew was that after taking one bite after another, his brain began to feel a little dizzy .

Taking advantage of the dizziness, Wei Ran rested comfortably on the small bed that smelled of perfume and body odor and squinted for a while.

When he was woken up again by Ninel, the cabin door had already been opened, and through the glass window beside the bed, he could still see a location not far away, which seemed to be a fishing boat parked there.

It was still Ninel who was at the front and behind, and when the fishing boat was handing over the catch to the yacht, the two jumped on the fishing boat like no one else, and helped to carry some shrimps and crabs to the yacht.

When a man dressed as a fisherman took a stack of banknotes from the bikini girl, this small fishing boat also sailed towards the northeast with the chug of the engine.

After sailing so slowly for several hours, when a blood-red morning glow appeared on the eastern skyline, a continuous land shadow and a huge island appeared directly in front of it.

Before the sun completely jumped out of the sea level, the fishing boat full of catches also drove into a wharf full of fishy smell. Some locals who had been waiting for a long time also rushed forward holding banknotes, snapping up fresh seafood. goods.

Before the crowd dispersed, Wei Ran and Niniel, who each held a box of sea fish in their hands, also walked towards an old small truck parked by the pier through the crowd.

After sending the two boxes of catches into the cargo bucket, Ninel and Wei Ran got into the cab, and then started the car and said, "Friend, welcome to Cuba, welcome to Pinos Island."