War Photographer's Notebook

Chapter 1796: Ghost Talk and Ghost Compensation

At Musashino Photo Studio, Zhang Taichuan recorded in detail the quantity and size of prints Wei Ran needed and sent a receipt. He even took the initiative to leave his address, saying that he would help deliver the prints if he had time.

After bidding farewell to the enthusiastic "Kawaguchi Friendly", Wei Ran did not rush back after leaving Musashino Photo Agency, but instead strolled around the area.

Naturally, he would not do any boring plot like "returning to the murder scene". This era was not the future. The Chinese people's love of joining in the fun was innate, and under the threat of "getting into trouble", it was a normal reaction to stay away - especially when it came to the fun of the devils and gangs.

Just like yesterday, Wei Ran purchased various supplies, both useful and unused, at a series of prices that made a person like him in later generations gasp in astonishment. Then he got on a rickshaw and returned to the photo studio where he had to guard it all the time.

However, when they came back this time, the door of the six-story building was closed and the Japanese soldiers at the door had already withdrawn.

Suppressing his curiosity, Wei Ran couldn't help but start thinking about another thing. There was a sentence in the note that Lin Qiaoan sent to Liuzi, "The other party cannot be trusted." So when he said untrustworthy, did he mean that Musashino Photo Agency could not be trusted, or that Zhang Taichuan who worked there could not be trusted?

Although he considered that the return mission required him to unconditionally trust Lin Qiaoan and Zhang Taichuan, out of caution, he decided to wait until he went to the opera in the evening to ask them. This was not a suspicion, but perhaps something went wrong.

After returning to the photo studio, Wei Ran opened the studio for business without even taking a rest. There was no way as someone was already waiting at the door.

He didn't know the person who came, but the work was similar to what he did yesterday, which was to go to a nearby dance hall to take pictures. He also said that this job was "introduced by Boss Mu."

Boss Wei, who had "newly arrived", naturally could not refuse Boss Mu's courtesy, so he picked up his camera without saying a word and followed the visitor to a dance hall not far away.

This so-called dance floor is, of course, a place for dancing, and what he photographed were the dancers in this third-rate dance floor where “one yuan and five cents for a dance” were charged.

Although it was a third-rate dance hall, there were some "top stars" here, and the ones he wanted to photograph were these dozen or so top stars - dancers from Poland, or rather, young and sexy dancers from Poland.

"Brother, where do these foreign devil dancers come from?"

Taking advantage of the short break in the shooting, Wei Ran changed the film in his camera and asked curiously in a low voice to the manager who greeted him.

"These"

The manager, who spoke with such a heavy accent that Wei Ran couldn't tell whether his last name was Xu or Yu, said in a mocking tone, "How can we say that things change over time? Before Gui Taijun came in, these foreigners were the best in the world. They didn't hesitate to come to our small dance halls."

"What happened next?" Wei Ran slowed down the pace of changing the film and asked curiously.

"Then the devils came, and they were no different from us."

As the manager spoke, he roughly pulled over a pretty blonde dancer who looked to be about 17 or 18 years old and handed her to Wei Ran, "This girl and her parents first fled from Germany to Poland, and then when the Germans attacked, the family fled to our Shencheng.

Her father originally opened a foreign company specializing in foreign liquor and opium, and he looked down on us at that time.

When the Japanese invaded last year, the old yellow-haired man was willing to sacrifice his life rather than his wealth, and his warehouse of foreign liquor and opium was completely destroyed by the Japanese artillery shells.

There is no other way, so we can only ask his young girl to come to our place to dance and pay off the debt."

“How many years will this take?”

Wei Ran hooked the chin of the young girl and looked at her while asking. This girl did look okay, but just okay. The only attractive thing about her was the arrogance hidden in her eyes.

But he knew that this arrogance would be polished away completely in no time.

"Dance"

The manager said nonchalantly, "If someone redeems her, she's lucky. If no one redeems her, hmm, she'll be the one to die. What? Boss Wei plans to buy her back for fun?

They are all Boss Mu’s friends, so I’ll give you a price out of friendship. When you’ve had enough fun, I’ll sell it back as long as it’s not damaged or broken.”

"I'm done with it"

Wei Ran decisively refused. While greedily touching the foreign girl's face, he said regretfully, "I still have to wonder whether my photo studio can support myself. If it weren't for my brother's care, I wouldn't even be open today. How could I afford to keep a canary like this?"

"Boss Wei is young and promising. He will definitely be successful one day. Don't forget me when the time comes."

"Thanks for your good wishes," Wei Ran said hurriedly, "Shall we continue shooting?"

"Shoot! Keep shooting!"

The hot-tempered old man said as he tore off the fur coat on the blonde's upper body. "Wearing so much, what the hell are you doing hatching eggs? Show me all your flesh!"

“My brother understands art.”

Wei Ran praised sincerely, raised his camera and pressed the shutter again and again towards these beautiful parasites.

They spent the rest of the morning taking photos and agreed on the required size and quantity. Wei Ran declined the other party's offer to have dinner with him. The manager generously packed a lunch box with a sumptuous meal for him and asked a waiter to carry it directly to the photo studio.

Deliberately without eating lunch, Wei Ran immediately got on a rickshaw and delivered the two rolls of film he had just taken to Musashino Photo Studio.

However, the person who entertained him this time was not Zhang Taichuan, but a genuine Japanese overseas Chinese who could be identified by his accent.

"Dongyi Photo Studio?"

The Japanese who was receiving Wei Ran thought for a moment and repeated to confirm, "Is it the one across from the Lihua Opera House?"

"That's right," Wei Ran responded briefly.

"Are you Chinese?" asked the expatriate.

"That's right," Wei Ran still responded.

"please wait for a moment"

The clerk said this indifferently, without even bowing, and turned around and walked into an office.

Not long after, a middle-aged Japanese soldier in kimono came out with a stick of incense in his hand.

“You.”

"Sir, I can speak Japanese. Why don't we communicate in Japanese?" Wei Ran switched to Japanese language and spoke

"You speak Japanese very well," the middle-aged devil exclaimed.

“Thank you for your compliment”

Wei Ran said with a smile, "I have lived in Zhaohe for a long time and have been to many places."

"Come with me"

The middle-aged devil took Wei Ran to another office and asked, "Where have you been?"

"Tokyo," Wei Ran replied with a smile, "Nagoya, Osaka, and Kobe."

“You’ve been to more places than I have”

The middle-aged devil said this, enthusiastically pouring a cup of tea for Wei Ran, and asked, "What impression do those cities give you?"

“The night view is very beautiful”

Wei Ran said in an extremely sincere tone, "The night views of those cities are the most beautiful I have ever seen. I must go and see them again in my lifetime."

It was obvious that Wei Ran's pilgrimage-like demeanor greatly pleased the middle-aged devil. After a burst of laughter, he said with pride and pride, "The cities you have been to are the most prosperous cities in our great Japanese country."

"Those cities are really lively, really, really lively, and the people there are as passionate as fire."

Wei Ran's tone was still extremely sincere, he could even swear that what he said was true.

"You're right!"

The middle-aged devil said happily, "My people are as passionate as fire."

"really"

Wei Ran said, "If there is a chance, I will definitely go and try to recruit nuclear weapons again."

"Oh?"

The middle-aged devil seemed willing to continue the topic, "If there is another chance, where are you going to go?"

"If I were still young"

Wei Ran smiled and said, "If I were still young like a little boy, I would definitely go to Hiroshima to have a look."

"Hiroshima? Why there?" the middle-aged devil asked in confusion.

“I like architecture, especially Japanese architecture.”

Wei Ran responded with a smile, "But I heard that there is a neo-baroque building designed by a Czech in Hiroshima. I hope I have the opportunity to see it when I am young."

“Why when you were young?”

The middle-aged devil was obviously attracted by Wei Ran's topic, and he didn't seem to be in a hurry to talk about his purpose of keeping Wei Ran.

"When I get old, I won't have the energy to travel to different cities."

Wei Ran replied seriously, "Maybe by then I'll have become a fat man with a triple beer belly like Mr. Churchill of Britain, then I might be more willing to go to Nagasaki."

"Why Nagasaki?" asked the middle-aged devil.

“That’s where I got off the ship the second time I went to recruit nuclear weapons.”

Wei Ran smiled and replied, "I met a beautiful lady there whom I deeply love. Her last name is Qiu. I have always been looking forward to meeting her again in Zhaohe. I am willing to wait for her there for the rest of my life."

"It sounds very sad," the middle-aged Japanese soldier sighed, and seemed to remember someone.

"We talked so much that I forgot to ask your name, sir." Wei Ran ended the previous topic apologetically.

"My last name is Musashi," the middle-aged devil introduced himself with a smile, "Musashi from Musashino."

"Are you organizing Team Rocket for me? I'm still Kojiro!"

Wei Ran cursed inwardly, thinking that the other party's surname was most likely made up.

Even so, he took a sip of tea and asked with a smile, "I don't know, Mr. Musashi."

"The previous owner of Dongyi Photo Studio and I are old friends."

Mr. Musashi said, "I just want to ask where he has been. He still has a lot of developed photos that he hasn't taken away with him."

"This"

Wei Ran said in bewilderment, "To be honest, I asked my agent to buy Dongyi Photo Studio for me more than a month ago. I just vaguely knew that the previous owner seemed to be in a hurry to return to Shancheng or somewhere else before selling the shop."

“So that’s how it is”

Mr. Musashi was about to say something when Wei Ran spoke first, "If Mr. Musashi wants to find your friend for something important, why don't I help you find out his whereabouts?"

"fair enough"

Mr. Musashi sighed, "To be honest, the previous owner of Dongyi Photo Studio hasn't been back for a long time. I have been looking for him. We have been friends before the war started, and we have been working together for a long time."

"What a touching friendship," Wei Ran said, patting his chest. "I'll ask for you."

"Then I'll leave it to you, Mr. Wei."

Mr. Musashi took the initiative to say, "If Mr. Wei intends to continue to run the photo studio in the future, we can continue to cooperate. I will give you a fair price and give priority to developing your photos. And in the future, you don't have to make a special trip back and forth, just find a servant to deliver it to you."

“This couldn’t be better”

Wei Ran hurriedly expressed his thanks, but at the same time he was also guessing what Mr. Musashi's intention was.

With his sensitive sense of smell, he was almost certain that Mr. Musashi, who had changed his real name for some unknown reason, was definitely not a spy like Mr. Ueda from Tsumon. He seemed to be just an ordinary person.

Putting aside the many doubts in his mind, Wei Ran continued to chat with Mr. Musashi about photography for more than half an hour. Only then did he say goodbye with a feeling of "still not having enough" and took a rickshaw to leave Musashino Photo Agency.

Returning to his Dongyi Photo Studio, Wei Ran was too lazy to open the shop, so he simply closed the shop, went upstairs to heat up the food that the dance hall had just packed for him, then took out the half bottle of white wine that he had not finished last night and poured himself a large glass, and poured the rest into the wine flask he carried with him.

However, before he started eating, the door on the first floor was slammed, and then Lin Qiaoan called out, "Boss Wei, are you back?"

"came back!"

Wei Ran opened the window and responded, "Boss Mu, wait a moment, I'll be downstairs soon!"

"I've prepared good wine and good food!"

Lin Qiaoan pointed to the food box in his hand and said in a loud voice, "I came to your place to find some peace and quiet."

"You've arrived just in time!"

After Wei Ran finished speaking, he deliberately picked up a pair of chopsticks and ran downstairs, opened the locked shop door, warmly greeted "Boss Mu" to come in, and then locked the wooden door again.

"You saw it?"

Lin Qiaoan asked in a low voice as she walked upstairs carrying the food box.

"I saw it"

Wei Ran said, "I ran into Mr. Qin Lichuan who was working part-time in the morning, and I met Mr. Musashi in the afternoon. Which one of you is unbelievable?"

"Of course it's Mr. Musashi."

Lin Qiaoan smiled and said, "Could it be your second uncle?"

"That's right." Wei Ran smiled. "Is his last name really Musashi? Is this guy special?"

"It's fake. His last name is Hoshino, and his real name is Hoshino Ichiro. He is a photographer who is relatively well-known among the Japanese. It is said that he once took photos of the Japanese royal family."

As Lin Qiaoan spoke, she had already placed the food box in her hand on the table by the window, then opened the curtains to let the bright sunlight outside shine into the room.

Wei Ran was not in a hurry to ask further questions. He just moved the food that had just been heated up from the stove to the table, and then poured a glass of wine for the other party.

Seeing that there was ready-made food, Lin Qiaoan did not open the food box he brought. He just picked up the cup and clinked it with Wei Ran. Then he deliberately sat sideways against the windowsill, with his back almost to the window, and continued to explain while putting food into his mouth.

"This Hoshino Ichiro himself has some aristocratic blood from the devil. This makes him very popular and prestigious among the expatriates in Shanghai."

"So this Dongyi Photo Studio was actually opened just to get close to him?" Wei Ran also leaned against the windowsill with his back slung across his waist, raised the wine glass to his lips and asked in a low voice.

"That's right"

Lin Qiaoan replied, "We can get in touch with many people through him. Your second uncle used this as a springboard to work as a translator in the Japanese newspaper. The people you killed yesterday were actually introduced to by this Ichiro Hoshino."

"So where is the previous owner of this photo studio?" Wei Ran asked.

“The previous owner was a woman”

Lin Qiaoan explained, "She was specially used to seduce that Hoshino Ichiro, and she is also your second uncle's nominal distant cousin."

"Did Ichiro Hoshino regard the previous owner as his muse?" Wei Ran asked as he helped him refill his glass.

“It seems you really understand photography.”

Lin Qiaoan looked at Wei Ran in surprise, then clinked his cup with Wei Ran's and said, "Yes, everything was fine. But that stupid woman who couldn't hold her crotch still should not have fallen in love with that old devil."

"Where did they go?" Wei Ran drank the wine in the glass, picked up a piece of food and put it into his mouth and asked.

"I sent her back to Malaysia. She might be useful in the future. She was originally a high-class dancer that I found from Malaysia. She came to Shanghai in the name of looking for her relatives."

"My second uncle is the relative she is looking for?"

"That's right"

Lin Qiaoan said, "It's good for you to know these minor details. There are many days ahead. You should try your best to become friends with him. With him as a shield, it will be easier to act in this concession."

"This is not the first time I have dealt with a Japanese photographer."

Wei Ran mumbled something incoherently. Last time he had a good "friendly exchange" with the Japanese photographer on that whaling ship.

"One more thing"

Lin Qiaoan said, taking the initiative to pick up the bottle and pouring a glass of wine for Wei Ran, "I heard from Zhengqi that you had a great time last night?"

"Not bad," Wei Ran smiled harmlessly.

"In that case, assign you a job that you like." Lin Qiaoan said, holding up the cup.

"Kill the devils?"

“Kill traitors too”

After Lin Qiaoan finished speaking, the two of them clinked their glasses together again.

"How to kill?" Wei Ran asked.

"From now on, I will arrange a photography job for you every day during the day. After the photo shoot, you will personally go to meet Ichiro Hoshino to have a relationship. In the evening, you can go to my theater to drink."

Lin Qiaoan said, "If you are drunk, just start fighting. You and Zhengqi should team up."

"Starting tonight?" Wei Ran asked.

"That's right, starting tonight." Lin Qiaoan said, then raised his head and drank the wine in the glass.

"This dad finally feels sorry for me for once."

Wei Ran muttered as he poured the wine in the glass into his mouth. He found the wine particularly comfortable to drink.

The following afternoon, the two of them drank one cup after another by the window. When the street lights outside came on, the two drunken men changed their scene and ran to the box of the theater opposite to listen to the opera while continuing to drink.

However, before Wei Ran was sent back after getting drunk, an unexpected piece of news was delivered to the theater.

"What did you just say?" Lin Qiaoan, who had been drinking sugar water, was stunned for a moment.

"The building where we fought last night"

Zhang Zhengqi lowered his voice, almost with his cheek against the table, and whispered, "There was a fire just now. The first to sixth floors were on fire. Now the Japanese are organizing people to put out the fire."

"But the damn thing will make up for it"

Lin Qiaoan snorted. It was obvious that the traitor had reached a deal with the Japanese. After all, death in a fire could only be an unfortunate accident, and it was different from a vendetta that affected relationships.

"Since they are so good at making up for it, let them make up for it more." Wei Ran said in a low voice.

"We need to make them make up for it," Lin Qiaoan muttered to himself, "I want to see how these bastards make up for it."

(End of this chapter)