War Photographer's Notebook

Chapter 1737

"How's the harvest?"

On the high-speed train from Tianjin to the capital, Qin II couldn't help but ask out of curiosity.

Glancing at Qin II, Brother Liu patted his shoulder affectionately and said, "Your foreskin is saved. In addition, your friend has given you an opportunity."

"What opportunity?" asked Qin II.

"Let's talk about it after we arrive at the station," Brother Liu asked with a smile.

"also"

Qin II was so happy that he didn't ask any more questions on this topic, and he didn't even start a new topic with the other party.

After just over half an hour of waiting, the high-speed train arrived at the station and the two men walked out of the carriage one after another.

"Wait for you to go to the airport"

Brother Liu said, "There is another flight to Osaka tonight. If you can catch that flight, I will reimburse you for the round-trip business class ticket. You will be back in two days. During these two days, you can go find a Japanese girl at your own expense to show off our country's prestige."

"No, what does it mean?" Qin II asked puzzledly, "Fire cannons in compliance with the order?"

"It's almost time. This is a rare opportunity. Don't regret it if you don't go." Brother Liu said as he quickened his pace.

"Would you like to explain it a little more?" Qin II asked, catching up.

"Hurry up and go. If you hurry, you can still catch the last flight of the day. When you come back, buy a portable hard drive and bring it back to me. Just say you found it."

Brother Liu smiled and reminded, "Don't worry, no one will dare to cut your foreskin this time. When the New Year comes, your father will have to pour you some wine."

"Really?" Qin II's eyes lit up. The first one was easy to say, but the second one...

"How many years have we known each other?"

Brother Liu said, "Have I ever lied to you? Also, let your friend named Xia Shushi meet me during the days you are away."

"Okay, I'll go right away! I won't come back until I've given those Japanese women a spark and thrown a mirror!" Qin II said straightforwardly and jogged towards the exit.

"What kind of friends do you have?"

Brother Liu muttered a little helplessly and also walked towards the exit.

Before he could pass through the turnstile, several men in plain clothes came up to him.

"Please send me back to work," Brother Liu said, "and arrange a dormitory for me in the next few days."

Hearing this, they nodded, took the phone that Brother Liu had handed over, and then surrounded him and left the high-speed rail station.

Wei Ran was naturally unaware of everything happening here. After he cleaned up the tea table in the basement and did a brief tidy-up and check upstairs and downstairs, he also turned on the surveillance system inside and outside the small western-style building, and then drove straight to the high-speed rail station.

Just as Qin II happily boarded the flight to Osaka, Wei Ran also rushed to the Baiyangdian high-speed railway station and met up with Marta and Lu Xinda who drove over to pick him up.

"Why are you two here?"

Wei Ran asked in surprise, "Didn't you guys go out to play? Where's Sui Sui?"

"You'll see for yourself later," said Marta, who was driving, with a hint of schadenfreude.

"What's going on?" Wei Ran looked at Lu Xinda who was holding a string of candied haws in her hand.

"I don't know, I don't know anything."

Lu Xinda chewed a candied haws while mumbling, "We just do whatever Sister Sui Sui tells us to do, and we don't know anything else."

Hearing this, Wei Ran thought for a moment and asked, "Are there guests coming?"

"Does it count?"

Marta looked at Lucinda, who was sitting in the passenger seat.

“It shouldn’t be counted, right?” Lu Xinda thought for a moment, “It seems to be counted, it doesn’t matter whether it is counted or not.”

"In short, someone is coming?" Wei Ran asked suspiciously.

"Yes, and it might be a bit too much," Marta kindly reminded.

"How much more?" asked Wei Ran, who already felt something was wrong.

“You’ll know soon.”

The two funny guys said in unison, one stepped on the accelerator of the car, and the other stuffed his mouth tightly with a candied haws.

Out of curiosity, he let the two of them drive him back to the gate of his grandmother's house. From a distance, he could hear the noise in the yard and smell the fragrance of the banquet dishes.

When he got out of the car, bent down, picked up the crooked-mouthed pug and walked into the yard, there was a particularly wonderful expression on his face.

In the yard, next to the vegetable greenhouse, a large glass sunroom was built against the wall. At this time, there were seven or eight large round tables in the sunroom that could seat 10 people.

Through the double-layer thermal glass, he could clearly see the Hela girls sitting around three tables, as well as the Kajianka sisters, Lola, and Lola's genius sister sitting at the same table, and even Sui Xin and Chen Luoxiang were there.

That would have been fine, he even saw the rich woman Koko and her Indian housekeeper around the same table, and he also saw Aniya sitting side by side with Daofeng, feeding each other.

As his expression became more and more wonderful, he finally saw him and Sui Sui's grandparents and his parents in the sun room.

This was not the end. While he was reading faces through the glass like a little match boy, several distant cousins ​​such as uncles and aunts who specialized in preparing rural banquet dishes also brought in trays of various banquet dishes that he had not eaten in years into the glass room like an assembly line.

I went around to the other side of the plastic greenhouse and took a look. I saw that there was a large tent there. It was bustling with frying, stir-frying, deep-frying, braising, and stewing going on inside.

"No, what is this for?" Wei Ran asked blankly.

“Too many friends came”

Sui Sui came over with a basket of steaming white steamed buns that were obviously just out of the pot and explained, "When we came back yesterday, Koko said she had already arrived, so I simply asked Sui Xin and the others to help pick her up at the airport and rush over, and by the way, asked them who was willing to come."

"Are all the results here?" Wei Ran asked in surprise, looking at the Hela girls who were almost stepping on the stools to grab food.

“I just asked.”

Sui Sui smiled and replied, "Since you're here, I can't refuse you as your boss, right?"

"And then what?" Wei Ran asked.

"Can I still trouble my grandparents to cook for so many people? I might as well pay my uncles who cook banquet dishes to come and help for a few days."

"How many days?"

“Just these few days”

"How many days is that?"

"After they finish drinking Laba porridge the day after tomorrow, they will go out to play by themselves, probably." Sui Sui answered unconfidently.

Before Wei Ran could say anything else, the elders from both families finally spotted him through the glass. Suddenly, Wei Ran had to quickly put down the silly dog ​​in his arms, hurriedly washed his hands, and entered the sunroom that had been built at an unknown time.

The following dinner was naturally exceptionally sumptuous, but inevitably, the joke of Sui Sui hosting a grand banquet at home to entertain friends spread throughout the village in a very short time.

That night, the row of large tiled houses built by the two elderly people were fully occupied. That night, the chattering sounds in each room seemed to have attracted rats and did not stop almost all night.

The next morning, Sui Xin and Chen Luoxiang said goodbye after breakfast and took the van driven by Wei Ran to the high-speed rail station.

After seeing the two off, before Wei Ran had time to return to his grandmother's house, a call came in from an unfamiliar domestic number.

"Who is this?" Wei Ran finally chose to answer the call after the other party called him for the third time.

"You finally answered the phone, come and pick us up quickly." As soon as the call was connected, Ji Ma's annoying voice came in.

"How did you come?"

"What nonsense are you talking about?" Ji Ma asked in Russian mixed with Chinese words, "They are also my grandma and grandpa, why can't I come?"

"I"

Wei Ran stepped on the brakes and asked helplessly, "Where are you?"

"High-speed Railway Station"

"Wait." Wei Ran hung up the phone, turned the car around and drove back.

But what he didn't expect was that it wasn't just Maya who followed Jima, but also Olga and Olena, and even Ninel!

"Why are you here too?" Wei Ran looked at Ninel as if he had seen a ghost.

"Why can't I come?"

Niniel asked slowly, "You don't welcome me?"

"welcome"

Wei Ran patted his forehead and said, "Get in the car."

Before he could even finish his words, Jima and Maya had already opened the trunk and started stuffing their luggage into it.

"You all come to my house to celebrate the New Year?"

Wei Ran asked as he helped Ninel stuff the luggage into the trunk.

"certainly"

Niniel said, "But we will leave tomorrow. We are here to travel. We are here today just to deliver the gifts."

"We saw the delicious photos that Marta and the others took yesterday, so we wanted to try some too." Maya said without even knowing how to be polite.

"There's still one today, right?" Jima asked.

"Have"

Wei Ran, who was too lazy to resist, asked these uninvited friends to get in the car, then got into the driver's seat and stepped on the accelerator into the fuel tank while answering their various questions.

But even so, when he drove the car to the door of his house, he unexpectedly found that Qin Qi's Sichuan brand SUV was parked in the open space outside the door.

What the hell.

Wei Ran heaved a sigh of relief, pushed open the car door resignedly, and called out to his friends behind him to get out quickly.

On the seventh day of the twelfth lunar month at the end of the year, eating and drinking is still the theme of this courtyard, which was originally spacious but seems to have become a little crowded.

Correspondingly, Wei Ran's parents as well as his and Su Su's grandparents also received various gifts from young people.

"Why are you here too?"

Wei Ran held a white steamed bun in one hand and chopsticks in the other, and asked Xia Shushi beside him while slurping the pork, cabbage and vermicelli stew.

"I'll be back when I'm done," Xia Shushi said vaguely while eating, with almost the same movements, "You're really not nice. You prepared a big feast but didn't call us."

"that is!"

Qin Qi, who was sitting next to Sui Sui, said across from Xia Shushi, "You are so disloyal. I was so greedy last night by the circle of friends that I got up in the middle of the night and ordered takeout."

"It didn't taste good at all," Xia Shushi added.

“Not bad”

"Try this, it's delicious!" Sui Sui said, and she stretched out her greasy paws, picked up a piece of fried fish and handed it to Qin Qi.

Seeing this, the latter also stretched out his greasy paws, took the fried fish, put it to his mouth and took a big bite.

"you"

"I also met the Brother Liu you met yesterday," Xia Shushi said in a low voice, "The Second Emperor's sister took us to meet him."

Wei Ran asked, also picking up a piece of fried fish.

"I have to ask you that."

Xia Shushi had already picked up the second steaming white bun while he was talking. "When will your client come to meet me?"

"If you hadn't told me, I would have almost forgotten."

Wei Ran took a big bite of the steamed bun and said while chewing, "I'll send him an email later."

"That brother Liu agreed to help make the copy."

Xia Shushi continued, "I will talk to your client when he arrives. If the deal is successful, he and I will jointly send the black mirrors from the Moss Battlefield and Mr. Grant Downey's battlefield notes to the museum in Dandong.

The copies of the aerial film will be sent to Hankou in my name to open an exhibition hall. You don't need to invest. Someone will provide the venue. He is a friend of the second generation."

"That's fine," Wei Ran replied nonchalantly, "What about the two photo albums from the Liberation War?"

"You also need to talk to your client. It is likely that he will also send it to the museum." Xia Shushi replied, "Also, I have good news for you."

"What good news?" Wei Ran put down his chopsticks and looked at the other party.

"The Yang Minhua that Mr. Grant Downey admired back then has descendants," Xia Shushi said with a smile, and as he wished, he saw the look of surprise on Wei Ran's face.

"Tell me quickly," Wei Ran urged.

"Senior Yang Minhua is an old underground person"

Xia Shushi explained, “She died, but she had a younger brother who lived until the end of the war. Although her brother died many years ago, he left behind a son and a daughter.

Moreover, they often heard their father tell stories about their aunt since they were young, and those stories mentioned the American journalist Tang Gewu more than once.”

After a short pause, Xia Shushi saw Wei Ran put down his bowl and chopsticks, so he also put down his bowl and chopsticks, "That Brother Liu said that when your clients come, I will take them to meet Senior Yang Minhua's nephews and nieces."

"You arrange it"

Wei Ran nodded, "Have you found the letter from the Spanish International Brigade that I asked you to bring back?"

"It's being repaired, but the progress is not that fast."

Xia Shushi replied, "The letter is completely stained with blood and has become sticky. It will take quite a while to finish."

"Can you two stop talking about work?"

Qin Qi joined the conversation, curiously gesturing towards Aniya and Daofeng who were sitting at another table nearby and asked, "What's going on with those two girls?"

“Don’t mention it.”

Wei Ran shook his head helplessly, "I'm blind, I can't see anything."

After saying that, Wei Ran looked at Ninel who was sitting next to him and asked in Russian, "Do you have any opinion on Aniya's matter?"

“She’s an adult.”

Ninel said slowly, then picked up a piece of fish scale jelly and said, "This tastes almost exactly like my mom's. Can you bring another plate up?"

"and this!"

Olga and Olena next to them said in unison, pointing to the same plate of braised pork elbow with only bones left.

These words sounded almost like a wolf howl in a husky's den. Immediately, the girls at the surrounding tables began to ask for more dishes.

"I was actually quite envious of your life surrounded by beautiful women."

Xia Shushi shook his head and said, "But now I feel like I'm squatting in a toad pit, and my head is about to explode."

“This is the first time we have seen so many people.”

Wei Ran grinned. It wasn’t really noticeable when he was in Kazan, but when the scene changed to his grandmother’s house, it did seem like there were more people.

However, compared to his secret headache, the old people of the two families were particularly happy. They all liked the hustle and bustle, and now with so many young people eating and drinking, their appetites were whetted and they ate more.

While Wei Ran, Sui Sui and their friends were eating and drinking to their heart's content, 1800 kilometers away in Osaka, Emperor Qin II was also busy promoting the country's prestige and punishing the Japanese pirates.

In the midst of their own busyness and happiness, whether it was Ji Ma, Niniel or Xia Shushi, they all lived contentedly in Wei Ran and Su Su's grandmother's house.

As a result, the Hela girls, who were already sleeping in a room of four, and even single girls like the Kajianka sisters, had to sleep on the floor and change the room into a room of five or even six to make room.

They spent the night like this. On the morning of the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, after Xia Shushi and Qin Qi each finished a large bowl of Laba porridge with rich ingredients, they not only took Jima and Maya away, but also took Ninel and Olga away. Even Aniya and Daofeng followed them out of the lively courtyard, leaving the single dog Olena behind.

Also leaving the courtyard and deciding to travel on their own were two groups of Hela girls.

Many of them are visiting China for the first time, so they are naturally curious about each city.

Just out of some tacit understanding, the two groups of young girls did not act alone, but still maintained their groups as units - even the Kajianka sisters didn't care.

Of course, the Kajianka sisters and others who have come to China to celebrate the New Year more than once know very well that compared to traveling to various cities, only by following the boss can you really eat, drink and have fun.

Also this morning, Mr. Grant Downey Jr., who had just received Wei Ran's email yesterday, immediately began to prepare for his trip to China, and sent an earnest email to the "evidence seller" Xia Shushi to begin preliminary communication.

On the same day, at noon, the unsteady Qin II boarded the flight back home on time. After landing, he was immediately picked up and put into a car.

On the afternoon of Laba Festival, enthusiastic citizen Qin Shu handed over a hard drive he accidentally picked up during the nuclear power free travel to his police friend.

That night, the hard drive that had been locked in the safe a few days ago was taken out again, and after a short wait, the encryption system was successfully cracked, which attracted considerable attention.

"Were these things really brought back by that bastard Qin Shu?" A refined man who looked to be in his thirties hurried over and asked.

"Absolutely true!" Brother Liu answered seriously.

"Where did he find it?" the man continued to ask curiously.

"I heard him say it was behind the TV in the hotel."

Brother Liu continued to answer seriously, "The boy thought it was for secret filming, so he simply tore it off and brought it back home, and asked me to help crack it to see if there are any free movies inside."

"It seems that my father-in-law will have to toast him this year."

The man smiled and said goodbye to Brother Liu warmly, "I'll pick him up and take him to my father-in-law's place."

"Aren't you adding fuel to the fire?" Brother Liu asked with a grin.

"Who would think it's a big deal to watch the fun?" Before the man who was having fun finished speaking, he had already walked towards the reception room not far away.

"It all depends on your luck from now on." Brother Liu said, turned around, went upstairs and walked into an office.

"Can you tell the truth now?" asked an old man who looked to be in his sixties in the office.

"It's the historian named Wei Ran," Brother Liu said immediately.

"Tell me what you found out"

“He is indeed a PhD candidate.”

Brother Liu said, "He has been in trouble a lot in the past few years and has been murdered more than once. He also has some business dealings with Jiaya. Most of the unreliable businesses of the Second Generation are probably related to him."

"Is there any criminal record?" asked the old man.

"The only thing that is confirmed is that he spent $50 to hire a bounty on Captain America in October, but he was not the one who issued the commission."

Brother Liu said, "The person is already dead. He beat him to death himself. Jiaya's people helped to deal with the scene."

"anything else?"

“No, but Xiao Yang and others think highly of him.”

"Very high?"

"An extremely dangerous lunatic"

Brother Liu answered briefly, "He keeps some of his stuff very secretive, but what is revealed on the surface, apart from his girlfriend and various gossips, is mostly positive information."

"You have too many girlfriends?" The old man looked up in surprise. "Bigamy?"

“We are not legally married.”

Brother Liu thought for a moment and added, "Yesterday he seemed to have brought all his girlfriends back to his grandmother's house for a big feast. There were nearly forty girls."

"How much more?"

“One or two short of 40”

Brother Liu replied with a smile, "They are all very beautiful, and one of them is a wealthy French woman."

"No wonder the second generation and he can pee in the same pot"

The old man waved his hand and said, "Since he seems clean, let's try to get in touch with him."

"Be friends?"

“Ask despite knowing the answer”

The old man laughed and scolded, "Don't be in a hurry to find out the details, first test the character of the person, make friends with sincerity, and be patient."

"I understand," Brother Liu nodded in response.