War Photographer's Notebook

Chapter 1809 Trust

In the puppet army's stronghold bunker, Wei Ran covered the wound on his arm and wailed hard, and wiped the blood from his arm on his face and body.

After losing four or five people in succession, the puppet soldiers all hid in the bunkers of the stronghold, and just stretched the muzzles of their rifles outside, pulling the triggers one after another towards the sad 45-degree sky.

The enemy situation that the puppet soldier who was in charge of the phone call shouted out was, "We are under siege! Yes! Guerrillas! The main force of the guerrillas! If not a hundred, at least fifty! Yes, yes, yes! A Taijun is injured! Very seriously! Come here quickly!"

After exchanging a glance with Zhao Jingrong who was also smearing blood on himself, Wei Ran, trying not to laugh, glanced at the time on the silver-shell pocket watch in Zhongcun's hand. At the same time, he silently calculated that the guerrilla fighter who "fought one against a hundred" was most likely to have retreated.

"Wei Ran!"

But Zhao Jingrong opened his mouth and asked loudly at this time, "Who do you think it's aimed at?"

"Mr. Musashi!"

Wei Ran quickly realized the other party's purpose and responded loudly, "The other party must be coming for Mr. Musashi. At such a long distance, the person who fired the gun must have mistaken Nakamura for Mr. Musashi! But I don't understand why they chose this place to start the attack."

“I’m afraid they want to pull them in.”

Zhao Jingrong pointed at the puppet soldier who was lying not far away and was obviously eavesdropping and said, "If you hadn't dodged that shot just now, we would have all died far away. If they don't help us, Taijun will have to kill them. If they go to help..."

Many times, you don't need to finish what you are saying.

All the puppet soldiers subconsciously looked at the bodies of their companions around them, and shuddered. Because of the accuracy of the man opposite, the dozen or so of them who ran over to rescue people were probably being called out one by one.

"Who is in charge among you?" Zhao Jingrong asked loudly.

"The one lying over there"

A puppet soldier pointed at a corpse not far away and said, "The one with his head uncovered and a box gun slung over his shoulder."

"When will the main force arrive?" Zhao Jingrong asked nervously.

"It should be here soon!" the puppet soldier replied.

"Brother Jin, please help me bandage it." Wei Ran said at the right time, "I feel a little dizzy."

"Hurry! Call again to urge them!" Zhao Jingrong said as he had already untied the tie around his neck and helped Wei Ran to tie up the wound on his arm.

"boom!"

Just at this moment, another gunshot was heard from the distant graveyard. The puppet soldier who stood up to make a phone call had a cloud of blood mist burst out from his ears, and then he fell to the ground with a "thump", and he didn't even have time to twitch before he became silent.

At this point, the puppet soldiers hiding behind the bunkers were completely panicked, and one of them even blatantly suggested, "Brothers, how about we raise the white flag and run away?"

"Let's see who dares to run!"

As Zhao Jingrong spoke, he had already pulled out his pistol and nervously pointed it at the puppet army that had made the suggestion, "No one is allowed to run! Whoever dares to surrender, I'll kill him!"

"Don't run! Don't run!"

The remaining dozen or so puppet soldiers quickly made their attitude clear: they would definitely not run away, but they would definitely not show up either.

After waiting for more than half an hour in a somewhat tense stalemate, two Japanese trucks finally came over with full loads of soldiers, followed by more than a hundred puppet soldiers running behind them.

There was no need for Wei Ran and the other two to show up next. Nakamura Anxiang's battered body and the exaggerated descriptions by the puppet soldiers were enough.

As for the enemy, after firing a few shells at the mass grave with grenade launchers, they immediately urged the puppet soldiers to surround the grave with guns in hand.

As everyone expected, the "enemy" in the mass grave had long since disappeared somewhere unknown.

At this time, Wei Ran and others didn't care about all this. They were accepting the treatment of the Japanese military doctors with peace of mind. By the way, Wei Ran and Zhao Jingrong also told them about their experiences and Mr. Nakamura's identity in fluent Japanese.

After a not-so-long interrogation, the bodies of Wei Ran, Zhao Jingrong, Mr. Ji and Nakamura were found on a Japanese truck and driven towards the urban area. The car belonging to the photo agency was also towed back.

It was already dusk when Wei Ran, Zhao Jingrong and Mr. Ji saw Ichiro Hoshino rushing to the hospital.

"Mr. Musashi, I'm sorry. It was me who hurt Mr. Nakamura."

Wei Ran, who had just had four or five stitches on his arm, bowed guiltily after Hoshino Ichiro expressed his concern for Mr. Ji's health and said, "It was me who harmed him. I shouldn't have let him follow me."

“It’s not your fault”

Hoshino Ichiro glanced at the gauze on Wei Ran's arm, then looked at Mr. Ji, whose head was wrapped in gauze, and the murderous Zhao Jingrong, then sighed and asked, "I heard that the gunman was coming for me?"

"should be"

Zhao Jingrong said at this time, "The first shot almost killed Ryunosuke. I even suspect that the first shot was aimed at Nakamura. If Ryunosuke drove a little faster, the shot would have passed through the car window and killed Nakamura.

Mr. Musashi, I think the gunman mistook Nakamura for you, and his intention was to kill you."

"Why?" asked Ichiro Hoshino, frowning.

"Many of the weapons used by the nearby gentry and landlords for their protection were sold to them by us over the years."

Zhao Jingrong replied in a low voice, "I guess those guerrillas want to stop our business, and killing you is the best way."

"Teacher, you must pay attention to safety recently." Wei Ran said in time.

Hoshino Ichiro panicked for a moment, then nodded, "I'll pay attention, Feng Rongjun, organize the people as soon as possible."

“Give me a day or two.”

Zhao Jingrong then made a promise, "As for the gunman who killed Nakamura, I will catch him as soon as possible and give you an explanation."

"I believe you," Hoshino Ichiro sighed, "I'm going to go see Nakamura, you guys go back first."

"Teacher, do you need me to accompany you?" Wei Ran asked in time.

"No need, you should go back and have a rest too." Ichiro Hoshino said and waved his hand tiredly.

Seeing this, Wei Ran and the other two said nothing more, said goodbye to Ichiro Hoshino, who had a sad face, and left the hospital together.

"The next step is to code people," Mr. Ji whispered, "Arong, has anyone been selected?"

"Yes"

Zhao Jingrong took out a pack of cigarettes, took out two and gave them to Wei Ran and Mr. Ji, then whispered, "About a hundred people, that's the organization of two Japanese squads. We definitely can't have so many at once, it's too conspicuous.

I plan to gather 50 or 60 people first, and then recruit a few smokers and gamblers to be team leaders to take the blame, and the rest can be dealt with slowly."

“As fast as possible”

Mr. Ji held the flame of Wei Ran's lighter with his hand, lit a cigarette and whispered, "We will try to send a batch of supplies over before the New Year."

"Don't worry, cousin," Zhao Jingrong assured confidently.

"I'm going back to the shop first."

Mr. Ji raised his voice a little, "You should also avenge Mr. Nakamura as soon as possible. Also, Wei Ran, you take me back and help me bring a gift of apology to Mr. Musashi."

"it is good"

Wei Ran agreed, and with his unbandaged arm, he supported Mr. Ji, whose head was wrapped in gauze, and walked to the hospital entrance, where they got into a rickshaw.

Mr. Ji’s antique shop is located in the concession area where Japanese residents gather. The shop is really small and there are only a few things on display inside.

"Take this to Mr. Musashi."

After Mr. Ji took Wei Ran to the counter, he took out a wooden box from the drawer and handed it to Wei Ran.

"what is this?"

As Wei Ran spoke, he had already opened the wooden box. Inside were two pieces of "dried fish" made of jade. On the two pieces of dried fish, the word "same" was engraved in both negative and positive scripts.

"These are invaluable treasures. If it weren't for such a big incident, I wouldn't be willing to give them to Mr. Musashi."

As he spoke, Mr. Ji picked up the brush, dipped it in the brush washer, and wrote on the table, "Don't touch fake ones. They have been fermented in the chests of dead people and cesspools. They are unlucky."

Throwing down the brush, Mr. Ji wiped the water stains on the table with his sleeve, and continued in a particularly painful tone, "This is called a fish talisman, which is actually the tiger talisman of the Tang Dynasty.

In order to avoid the taboo of his grandfather Li Hu, Emperor Gaozu of Tang, Li Yuan, specially ordered to change the tiger seal to a fish seal. The two pieces of the fish fit together, and the yin and yang "same" characters fit together, which is what we often call a contract.

Wei Ran, you must hold this pair of treasures carefully and don’t bump into them. Many people died in a Tang Dynasty tomb just for this pair of fish symbols.”

"Don't worry"

Wei Ran, who was about to pick it up to have a look, closed the wooden box directly, then dipped his finger into the pen wash and wrote "Do walls have ears?" on the table.

"You should also persuade Mr. Musashi and not let him be too sad." Mr. Ji said, pointing to the wall on the right without leaving a trace.

"You should also take good care of yourself and change the dressing on your wound in time."

As Wei Ran spoke, he stuffed the wooden box, which was about the size of two cigarette boxes stacked together, into his arms and left this inconspicuous antique shop.

While lighting a cigarette, Wei Ran casually glanced at the rice shop next door on the right that specialized in selling rice to the Japanese. He retracted his gaze in time and got on the rickshaw, "Let's go to Musashino Photo Studio."

"Please sit down," the rickshaw driver greeted, and then he started driving away.

"This damn weather is really cold"

Wei Ran muttered this while wrapping his windbreaker, which still had some blood on it, more tightly to block out the cold wind and also to block out the smile that he was trying hard to hold back.

When he returned to Musashino Photo Agency, Ichiro Hoshino had also returned. He was sitting at the empty bar, staring blankly at the photo of him, Nakamura and Zhang Taichuan on the wall.

"Teacher Musashi, I'm back." Wei Ran bowed solemnly and said, "Please accept my condolences."

"Nakamura had already been my apprentice before I came to China."

Ichiro Hoshino sighed, "He has no talent for photography, but he is extremely hardworking and very careful."

"I guess he likes photography." Wei Ran put on a regretful expression and began to rub salt into the other person's wounds, "He was looking at my camera suitcase at the last moment."

"Did he say anything?" Hoshino Ichiro asked with a trembling look.

"no"

Wei Ran sighed regretfully, then took out the wooden box from his arms and pushed it to the other party, "This is Mr. Ji's apology, and he also hopes that you will mourn."

"This matter is not Mr. Ji's fault," Ichiro Hoshino paused and added, "It's not your fault either."

"I will live the rest of my life feeling guilty towards Senior Nakamura." Wei Ran's sincere sigh also made Ichiro Hoshino's eyes turn redder.

"Ryunosuke, lock the door and have a drink with me." Hoshino Ichiro said as he opened the wooden box. "What is this?"

"Mr. Ji said that this is a fish symbol from the Tang Dynasty."

Wei Ran said as he closed the shop and locked the door, “He also said that many people died in a Tang Dynasty tomb in order to obtain this pair of fish symbols.

If this incident hadn't happened this time, he really wouldn't have been willing to give away such a treasure. Teacher, this pair of fish charms seems to be very valuable."

"If you have a chance, tell Mr. Ji that he doesn't need to be too hard on himself about this matter."

Hoshino Ichiro pointed to the words engraved on the fish symbol and asked curiously, "What is engraved on it?"

"same"

Wei Ran followed the other party into the office and explained, "Mr. Ji said that the word contract comes from the two characters on the fish symbol."

“This is truly a treasure.”

As Hoshino Ichiro said this, he had already opened the display cabinet in his office and placed the pair of fish symbols inside.

After thinking for a while, he seemed to feel that this was inappropriate, so he took it out again, took out a red rope from the drawer, passed it through the small hole on the fish symbol, and hung the pair of fish symbols around his neck.

"good taste"

Wei Ran secretly gave a thumbs up. It can be said that Ichiro Hoshino was an honest guy. In the display case he just opened, various bronze and stone artifacts were placed next to each other and there were almost no duplicates.

He even suspected that these old items might have all been deposited in the cattle manure pit of Mr. Ji's family.

“These things are more valuable than gold”

Hoshino Ichiro pointed to the "artifacts" in the display case and said, "They are far more valuable than Mr. Ji thinks."

"I don't understand these," Wei Ran said truthfully.

"You'll understand later"

As Ichiro Hoshino was speaking, he had already taken out a large bottle of sake from another cabinet. Seeing this, Wei Ran took the initiative to help find the wine glass and started pouring the wine.

"Mr. Hirano will help Feng Rong to form a team."

Hoshino Ichiro said, "But it's not a clean-up team, it's a grain collection team. Our main job is to go outside the city regularly to collect grain for the Fourth Division. By the way, we can also conduct our business legitimately."

“The job of collecting grain is not easy”

Wei Ran poured wine while reminding him, "Will it take up a lot of time? If you have a conflict with the troublemakers, it might be bad."

"Don't worry about that. Requisitioning grain is just a cover. No one cares."

Hoshino Ichiro picked up the wine glass and drank it all, while saying, "From now on, you will go with me every time we collect grain."

"I'll follow too?" Wei Ran asked in confusion.

“Mr. Feng Rong cannot be trusted. I’m worried that he might bypass us and trade directly with Mr. Hirano.

In addition, Kawaguchi might follow you, so you should also keep an eye on him and beware of him colluding with Feng Rongjun."

"Teacher Musashi, rest assured!" Wei Ran patted his chest and made a promise, "I will definitely not let you down!"

"You are my most trusted student. Come, let's have a drink." Hoshino Ichiro said, raising his glass and clinking it with Wei Ran.

After drinking a glass of wine, Ichiro Hoshino continued, "Also, Mr. Hirano's sister will come to Shencheng soon. Please help her find a place to live. I promised Mr. Hirano that I would help his sister open a clinic in Shencheng."

"Do you have any requests, Musashi-sensei?"

Wei Ran asked bluntly while refilling the wine, asking about Ichiro Hoshino's request, not Daisho Hirano's request.

"In the future, all the share given to Mr. Hirano will be sent to his sister, so we have to find a place that won't attract attention," said Ichiro Hoshino.

“Where it won’t attract attention”

Wei Ran held the wine glass and pondered for a moment, then asked tentatively, "Teacher, what do you think of Dongyi Photo Studio?"

"Dongyi Photo Studio?"

"That's right"

Wei Ran said, "It's just opposite Mr. Mu's theater. Whether you or I, we can go there often to listen to opera."

"Are you willing to do that?" asked Ichiro Hoshino.

"Consider this my apology for Mr. Nakamura's accident."

Wei Ran sighed, "I can also take this opportunity to move to Kawaguchi's house. Feng Rong happens to live there, so I can keep an eye on them at all times to prevent them from betraying their teacher."

"Ryunosuke, you are loyal." Ichiro Hoshino said as he raised his glass, "Let me toast you."

"It's all thanks to the cultivation of Mr. Musashi." Wei Ran respectfully clinked glasses with the other party, then drank it all in one gulp.

That night, the "master and disciple" drank more than half a bottle of sake in the office. After Wei Ran successfully got Hoshino Ichiro drunk and sent him to the room upstairs, he developed the photos he took in the Ji family's old house overnight and placed them on the desk in Hoshino Ichiro's office. Then he left the photo agency and returned to Dongyi Photo Studio.

After taking a comfortable hot bath and changing into a set of clean clothes, Wei Ran turned around, went downstairs and walked into the Lihua Opera House, and then went to the third floor again under the guidance of Xiao Wu.

At this moment, the third floor was particularly lively, and several private rooms were almost all filled with people shouting and yelling.

Some of these people have traitor hair styles, some have smoking pipes on their waists, some have dog-skin plasters on their heads, and some have a bandit-like demeanor and speak in a nonsensical way.

It can be said that even a blind person, even if he just listens to their words, would probably subconsciously think of the word "hooligan", not to mention those who can see their appearance. These are the scoundrels that even a group of dogs would avoid.

Suppressing his curiosity, Wei Ran followed Xiao Wu into a private room farthest from the stairs. Only Lin Qiaoan, Zhang Taichuan, Zhao Jingrong and Zhang Zhengqi were sitting inside.

"Wei Ran, take a look at these people I found." Zhao Jingrong held the wine glass in one hand and pointed to several other boxes outside with the other hand.

"Very good," Wei Ran nodded, "He doesn't look like a good person."

"He really doesn't look like a good person." Zhao Jingrong smiled but didn't explain. Instead, he asked, "How is the situation over there?"

"The old ghost is quite sad," Wei Ran said, repeating what Ichiro Hoshino had told him.

"After this, he should have complete trust in you."

Zhang Taichuan said, "Tomorrow at noon, the weapons of the grain collection team will be distributed, and you will also be given a few mule carts, which will save you a lot of trouble. Jingrong, have you found the gunman?"

“Found it”

Zhao Jingrong looked at the wine glass in his hand and said nonchalantly, "Li Huyuan in the old house of Mr. Sun is a famous sharpshooter. Mr. Sun has conflicts with Mr. Ji in business, and he also has the support of the Anqing Gang.

Their guard Li went somewhere after lunch today. We will be able to catch him the day after tomorrow afternoon. We can then leave a whole body for Guard Li, which will be considered as cutting off the wings of Mr. Sun and getting rid of the harm to the people."

"That's fine"

Zhang Taichuan breathed a sigh of relief and whispered, "The day after tomorrow afternoon, the grain collection team will go to the military station before leaving the city. Hirano Daxiang is going to trade 20 pistols, 10 barrels of fuel, and some medicines. In addition, he also prepared some extra pistols for the grain collection team."

"This is the first transaction, so there might be some testing."

Boss Mu reminded in a low voice, "Well, before you leave the city, go to the coffin shop and put all the goods in the coffins to see what's going on. It just so happens that the county town is also short of guns and medicine, so you can send this batch to them when the time comes."

"also"

Zhang Taichuan raised his glass and clinked it with everyone else's. "But we have to put someone in the coffin shop as well."

"Uncle, I'll go." Zhang Zhengqi put down his wine glass and said.

"You can't do it. This troupe depends on you." Lin Qiaoan said.

"Uncle, I'll go." Xiao Wu followed up, "I'm more suitable than the young boss."

"What do you think?" Zhang Taichuan asked.

"Then let's go with Xiaowu."

Lin Qiaoan said, "There is not much work in the coffin shop. We just pack the coffins when the goods arrive. The main thing is to prevent the Japanese from following the clues."

"I can do it!" Xiaowu answered confidently.

“Be careful in everything you do”

Zhang Taichuan whispered, "Okay, I won't stay any longer. Hirano Daxiang is going to the Venus Dance Hall to dance, and I have to go and wait for him in advance."

"Did you catch it?" Zhao Jingrong asked with a smile.

"I added some Chinese toon medicine to his medicinal wine, but he still couldn't catch any fish. He went to the temple to become a monk and consider it his wish."

After saying that, Zhang Taichuan drank the wine in the glass, stood up and threw the glass on the table, "Let's not meet tomorrow, everyone should pay attention and don't delay the important work the day after tomorrow."

"It won't delay us." After everyone drank the wine in their glasses, they responded in unison.