War Photographer's Notebook

Chapter 1749: Stars on the Back of the Flag

In the ruins of a dilapidated building next to the barricade, a meal of pasta, which was particularly precious on this winter evening, dispelled the cold and fatigue of everyone.

“We’re going back.”

After Clemont finished the last bite of pasta, he put aside the plate he had just found from the ruins and said, "Viola, we will take all the letters you have here back to the post office."

"Thank you," Viola said, "I will also deliver the letters you brought as soon as possible."

“This is for you and the comrades fighting here.”

Clemont said, pulling out the glass bottle of coffee powder from his bag and handing it to the other party, "My mother sent a lot of coffee powder, I'll leave these for you."

"Thank you"

Viola took the glass bottle of coffee powder, but didn't know what to say for a moment.

"We...we should leave," Clemont said, "We need to return to our position."

"Um"

Viola nodded, stood up, and shook hands with Wei Ran and the other two in turn, saying, "I hope we will have a chance to meet again. I mean, after the war is over."

"We will definitely meet then," Clement said firmly.

"That's right"

Yu Yanlin also said, "We will definitely meet again, and then I will treat you to some Chinese tea."

"Look forward to that day" Viola saluted the three of them.

"Let me take a group photo of you guys," Wei Ran said, "before the sun sets, how about that?"

“Here?” Clemont asked.

"Yes, it's here." Wei Ran nodded, "Can you take out the flag?"

"Yes, that flag!"

Clemont said as he quickly opened his backpack again and took out the flag that Vanguard Ran had stuffed in there.

“I never had time to do it before”

Yu Yanlin took out a three-pointed star collar badge from his pocket and said in French, "This is from another compatriot of mine. Pin his collar badge on this flag as well."

"And Dylan and the soldier who saved me."

As Wei Ran spoke, he reached into his pocket and took out two small packages wrapped in red scarves. He took out the triangular star inside and pinned it on the flag.

"Wait for me, wait for me."

Before Viola finished her words, she turned and ran out, running towards the house where her husband Bruno was housed.

Not long after, Viola came back with another three-pointed star in her hand. "This is my husband's. It's OK."

"Sure." Wei Ran and the other two answered in unison without waiting for her to finish.

"Thank you!"

Viola responded loudly, a bright smile appearing on her face.

After she pinned the triangle in her hand on the flag, Clemont immediately handed her the pen he had prepared in advance.

After looking at the three people, Viola took the pen and wrote the same words on the other side of the flag in Romansh, which only she could understand - Fight for your freedom and our freedom.

"Now is the time for me to take a picture of you?" Wei Ran said as he picked up the camera.

Clemont and the other two looked at each other. With Viola at the center, the two of them stood on the left and right, and worked together to unfold the flag with an additional language. They let Wei Ran help them take a group photo of the survivors.

Putting the camera on the windowsill next to the fireplace and pressing the selfie lever, Wei Ran ran over and stood next to Yu Yanlin and took a group photo with the three of them.

"Leave my collar badge on this flag, too."

Viola said, having taken off her three-pointed star collar and pinned it on the flag, "This way, even if I die, at least."

"I would also like to invite you to taste Chinese tea, so you all have to survive until the end of the war." Yu Yanlin once again did not give the other party a chance to finish his words.

"it is good"

Viola glanced at the collar badge with the triangular star on it and her husband's, and nodded vigorously. "In order to taste your Chinese tea, we must defeat the French invaders who are invading the world and survive until the end of the war."

"I will go to Italy and Switzerland when the time comes."

Yu Yanlin glanced at Wei Ran and said with a smile, "I'm also planning to go to Antarctica to have a look."

"I also plan to visit China," said Clement.

"That day will come," Viola said.

“That day will come”

Wei Ran said, and took out the PP pistol and spare magazine he found from the body of the short German-speaking soldier who saved him yesterday from his pocket and handed them to the other party. Then he pointed to the three-pointed star he had just pinned on and said, "Keep it for use. It was left by him."

"Thank you," Viola said, taking the gun.

"Okay, we really should leave and return to our battlefield."

As Clemont spoke, he had already carefully refolded the flag with a few more triangular stars and put it in his backpack.

After saying goodbye to Viola, the three of them walked towards the city under the last rays of sunset.

Compared to the lightning-fast speed of riding a bicycle here, the speed of walking back was undoubtedly much slower.

Fortunately, at least along the way, the enemies in the suburbs did not fire any more artillery, and they did not encounter any enemies.

By the time we hurried back to the field post office, it was completely dark, but this post office, which served the international brigade, was still brightly lit.

After sorting out the letters that Viola had asked them to bring and handing them in, the three of them, led by Clement, received three more bicycles. They then returned to the trenches near the suburban forest park with the letters and parcels belonging to their position.

Clemont had no intention of entrusting the two of them with the task of delivering the letter. So after lighting the small oil lamp he took out of his bag, he began to shout out the names of the recipients according to the different camps and began the busy work that only a postman could do.

These letters were definitely the best comfort for the new recruits of the International Brigade who had just survived a battle with heavy losses.

"Louis"

In the cold night, Clemont hurried back and said, "Here is a letter for you."

"There's mine?!"

Yu Yanlin, who was originally sorting out the new letters in the mailbox with Wei Ran, was stunned for a moment and quickly took the envelope handed to him by Clement.

"Your spring colors?"

Wei Ran asked while he was busy, and at the same time turned up the brightness of the oil lamp he had just borrowed.

"Hmm!" Yu Yanlin wiped his muddy hands on his trouser legs, then pulled out the bayonet from his waist and cut open the cover of the letter with extra care.

The envelope is not very big, but there are several thick sheets of letter paper inside.

Seeing Yu Yanlin looking at him slightly "shyly", Wei Ran smiled, withdrew his gaze in time and was no longer curious, but just sorted the letters in his hand carefully.

After a long time, Yu Yanlin stuffed the stack of letter papers back into the envelope, then clipped the envelope with his notebook and stuffed it into his arms.

"You haven't finished writing your letter yet?" Wei Ran asked casually.

“No, maybe I need to rewrite it.”

Yu Yanlin shook his head helplessly, but still said with a smile, "My adopted daughter-in-law Chuncai tore up the divorce letter I sent back, and said she would come to see me and see my new love."

"Then you better be careful," Wei Ran teased with a smile.

“She doesn’t know I’m here yet.”

Yu Yanlin sighed worriedly, "The letter was forwarded from Paris. I'm worried that she might have already boarded the ship."

"probably not."

Wei Ran's tone became much more vague this time. He didn't want to tell the other party about the current situation in the country. That would only add to the worries and would not bring anything else.

"Finish it as soon as possible," Wei Ran said with a sigh, "Finish it as soon as possible and send it out as soon as possible."

"Let's finish the battle as soon as possible." Yu Yanlin sighed, even though he had only been on the battlefield for two days.

For a moment, the shelter, which was safe and warm enough, became quiet. However, Yu Yanlin, who took out paper and pen again, was unable to write even a single word for a long time.

After an unknown amount of time, Clemont bent down and came in.

"Did your fiancée write to you?" Clemont asked before he sat down.

"Yes, I wrote a letter." Yu Yanlin smiled, "I wrote a reply letter in late summer or early autumn."

"What did you say?" Clemont asked.

"No, nothing." Yu Yanlin shook his head.

Seeing this, Clemont was stunned for a moment and didn't ask any more questions. He just handed his backpack to Wei Ran with confidence and said, "I won't be here today."

"Where are you going?" Wei Ran asked curiously.

"Go find my girlfriend Estelle," Clemont said hastily, "I'll be back early tomorrow morning."

As he spoke, he had already picked up the letters that Wei Ran had sorted out and put them into a shoulder bag. He then took the remaining uncooked pasta and the red sauce in a glass jar, as well as a can of beef and a bottle of wine, and turned around and hurriedly left the shelter.

"Brother Wei"

Yu Yanlin waited until Clemont was far away before he lay down beside the fire. He stared at the dancing flames and asked, "What do you think my adopted daughter-in-law Chuncai can do if she comes?"

"I'm afraid you understand this better than me," Wei Ran said.

“She probably learned a lot of French.”

Yu Yanlin said, "If she really comes, she can probably be a nurse like Clement's fiancée. She is also good at sewing, at least she can sew and mend. And she is also a good cook. I just don't know if these foreigners can get used to our Chinese food."

"They are used to it. They must be used to it." Wei Ran also lay down and said, "Look at what crap they are eating."

"I don't know if she can find this place," Yu Yanlin murmured to himself, his tone already filled with anxiety and uneasiness.

“Maybe.”

Wei Ran carefully maintained his lie that concealed too many truths.

"Oh, let's finish this battle as soon as possible." Yu Yanlin sighed again, then turned over and covered his head with the dirty blanket.

That night, sporadic artillery bombardments and attacks on directions that had not yet been fully consolidated repeatedly woke up Wei Ran and Yu Yanlin who were hiding in the warm bunker.

Fortunately, throughout the night, the enemy's numerous attacks were repelled, and their positions were never recaptured.

As the sky gradually brightened, the soldiers guarding the front-line positions began to retreat, and the soldiers resting in the rear also began to move forward.

Fortunately, Clemont had already rushed back before all this began.

"seen?"

Wei Ran handed the backpack to the other party and asked as he put away the muddy blanket.

“Of course I did.”

Clemont said as he put on his backpack, "They have admitted a lot of wounded people. They have been running short of medicine several times. And the rebels' artillery was firing at the city all night yesterday."

At this point, Clemont's tone was already filled with resentment. "Those shells all avoided the wealthy areas of Madrid. A considerable portion of them fell in the slums and set a lot of buildings on fire."

"We were also bombarded several times last night."

Yu Yanlin pointed to the collapsed soil in the middle of the bunker and said, "This was collapsed by the shells last night. There were several exchanges of fire on the front line. I don't know how many casualties there were."

"Let's go and take a look together." Clemont said as he bent down and crawled out of the shelter.

The three of them followed the main force out of the trenches and walked loosely towards the position they had recaptured yesterday. Along the way, they also saw the bodies of the wounded and the dead being carried back from the front line. Wei Ran and Clermont also raised their cameras again and again.

"Please wait!"

When Clement raised his camera to take a picture again, he was stunned involuntarily, then he shouted and ran towards the target he had originally intended to shoot - it was a stretcher carried by two soldiers, on which lay a broken corpse.

It was Gerard, Clermont's father-in-law. Wei Ran sighed, and he and Yu Yanlin, who looked over subconsciously, both recognized the enthusiastic old man.

"he"

When Clermont saw the broken body, his eyes were red. Even so, he gritted his teeth and asked, "How did Dr. Gerard die?"

"The rebels launched a counterattack last night"

The soldier carrying the stretcher said, "We have injured many people. When Uncle Gerard was rescuing the wounded, a mortar shell hit him near him. I saw it with my own eyes."

"Can I take a picture of him?"

Clemont asked, "He he is my girlfriend's dad."

"Let's shoot"

As the two soldiers spoke, they carefully placed the stretcher on the ground, then took a step back, making enough space for filming.

Carefully wiping the dried blood from the corners of Gerard's mouth and the dirt on his face with his sleeve, Clemont tremblingly took off the three-pointed star on his collar, then took out the flag and pinned the three-pointed star on it. He then turned it over, with the side with the same goal written in various languages ​​facing up, and carefully covered Gerard's chest with it.

Under the gaze of Wei Ran holding the camera, Clement raised the camera, bent down and aimed it at Gerard lying on the ground, and pressed the shutter almost at the same time as Wei Ran pressed the shutter.

There is one more star on this flag.