War Photographer's Notebook

Chapter 1812 The Game Has Been Set

In the mass grave, Old Yan, who had just called back, deliberately raised his hand with a dislocated finger, and together with Zhao Jingrong and Zhang Taichuan, they stepped on the gunman's body and allowed Wei Ran to take a photo of the three of them.

As for the other members of the grain-collecting team, since the captain didn't mention it, Wei Ran naturally wouldn't take the initiative to take pictures of them. Besides, there was no guarantee that the members of the grain-collecting team would be replaced by someone else today and tomorrow, so naturally he couldn't take pictures of them.

"Old Yan"

Zhao Jingrong spoke without waiting for Wei Ran to put away the camera, "Your hand is injured, so don't waste time here. Take half of the brothers and go back immediately. Take the bodies of the two brothers with you. When you pass by the coffin shop, buy them two thick coffins."

While saying this, Zhao Jingrong also winked at the other party.

"Thank you Captain Jin for your care!"

How smart is Old Yan? He immediately understood Zhao Jingrong's hint, "Then I will take the brothers back first, and then temporarily store the bodies of the two brothers in the coffin shop?"

"Okay, go ahead. Remember to deliver the food you collected to the military depot today. Don't let the Taijun miss their meal."

Zhao Jingrong said, "Boss Wei, you can go back with me, and give Mr. Musashi a message. Also..."

Having said that, Zhao Jingrong first glanced at Old Yan, then whispered a few words into Wei Ran's ear.

"Okay, you guys should be careful too."

Wei Ran said this and returned the camera to Zhang Taichuan, who immediately took out the film and returned it to him.

"Develop the photos when you go back," Zhang Taichuan instructed.

"give it to me"

Wei Ran took the film and put it in his pocket, then followed the grain-collecting team led by Deputy Captain Lao Yan, escorting the sacks on the mule cart and the bronze tripod hidden in the sacks and continued towards Shencheng.

Wei Ran had no idea what Zhao Jingrong and the other half of the brothers who stayed behind would do next, or whether they were going to massacre Sun Laocai's house.

He only knew that Old Yan, who was now putting on airs, would probably have to bear the blame for "stealing grain."

Especially the members of the grain-collecting team have already started to think about how to distribute the grain to them after Captain Jin returns.

These topics made Old Yan even more itchy. He wished he could pull Captain Jin aside right now and have a good discussion about what to bring out of the city next time.

When the five mule carts were halfway there, two Japanese trucks drove towards them. Old Yan stood on the side of the road with his chest and head held high, saluted, with a flattering smile on his face.

Unfortunately, not only did his enthusiasm get a cold shoulder, but he also got hit with a face full of exhaust fumes - the two trucks didn't even slow down and drove past in a hurry.

"Let's go!"

After the trucks and the group of puppet soldiers running behind them had gone far away, Old Yan immediately resumed his deputy captain's style, led the grain-collecting team, and drove the mule carts again.

"Old Yan"

Wei Ran waited until the other party finished his work before waving and calling him to the last cart.

"Mr. Wei, what do you want?" In front of Wei Ran, Old Yan put himself in an especially humble position.

"Those soldiers who just tried to take credit are standing by, so Captain Jin can't speak out."

Wei Ran lowered his voice and repeated Zhao Jingrong's instructions almost close to Old Yan's ear, "Captain Jin asked me to tell you that this grain-collecting team has just been established and has made great achievements, so we should celebrate it. You should organize it today and hold a celebration banquet for everyone at Lihua Theater tonight.

If Captain Jin and his men can come back tonight, we will share a share of the profits. If they can't come back, you can take your brothers out for a meal to shut up their mouths, and then we can share the expenses equally from the profits."

"Leave this matter to me, Old Yan. I will definitely make arrangements for the brothers." Old Yan immediately patted his chest and made a guarantee.

"Captain Jin asked me to give you an extra reminder"

Wei Ran slightly emphasized his tone and said, "You guys can spend your own money on smoking opium and playing with women. He doesn't have the spare money to entertain the brothers. Also, don't embarrass yourself in Boss Mu's theater."

Before Old Yan could say anything, Wei Ran followed Zhao Jingrong's instructions and whispered in his ear, "Captain Jin has taken a fancy to the top girl in the Lihua Opera Club's female troupe. You just need to know about this. If you act recklessly, Captain Jin will be blamed."

"I understand! I understand!"

Old Yan nodded repeatedly, "Don't worry"

"You should tell Captain Jin about your promise later," Wei Ran said, "You will know what to do when we get to the coffin shop, right?"

"Yes, I definitely know!"

"That's fine. I won't go in when we get to the coffin shop. I have to go back and inform Mr. Musashi. The rest of the things will be left to you." Wei Ran said.

"You can rest assured!" Old Yan said quickly.

"Come on, smoke, smoke!"

While Wei Ran was passing cigarettes to the other party, he also changed the topic and chatted with this veteran traitor about all sorts of things. At the same time, he secretly added spice in his words, helping the other party to deepen the fact that this time they were "lucky" and relied on their large numbers to kill the gunman.

They returned to the coffin shop without any obstruction. Wei Ran jumped off the car without waiting for it to stop. He anxiously asked Xiao Wu to borrow a bicycle and rode away.

Of course, Old Yan didn't know that Wei Ran came back immediately after leaving the coffin shop, hiding behind a hole in the wall and watching secretly.

Although it was the first time for Old Yan to do such a thing, he was very familiar with it. After the door of the coffin shop was closed, he immediately called Xiao Wu over. He first put the 1,000 kilograms of new rice into the two coffins, and then carried the bronze tripod in the wooden box into the other coffin and nailed the coffin shut.

Finally, the two brothers who were beaten to death were placed in single coffins and the lids were closed. Old Yan did not delay at all. He immediately called half of the grain-collecting team members and hurriedly rushed to the military station with the remaining 1,000 kilograms of old rice on a mule cart.

Old Yan also has his own little thoughts. He hopes that Taijun will notice him. What if he can become the captain of the grain-collecting team in the future?

Because of this, he did this task with extra efficiency and dedication, but he did not notice that no matter he was directing the members of the grain-collecting team to hide the rice or the big tripod, they were all secretly photographed by Wei Ran who was hiding outside the hole in the wall.

He didn't even notice that Wei Ran was following him from a distance on his bicycle from the coffin shop to the entrance of the military station.

Watching the five mule carts enter the military station, Wei Ran immediately rode his bike to Musashino Photo Agency and told Musashino the good news that the real murderer had been caught.

"Really?!" Ichiro Hoshino asked immediately.

"It's absolutely true, Mr. Musashi. I saw the gunman being shot dead with my own eyes." Wei Ran said, "Kawaguchi even took a picture of the body with his camera. I brought back the film."

Having said that, Wei Ran did not give the other party a chance to speak, pretending to be mysterious and lowering his voice, "Also, Mr. Musashi, this time Mr. Ji has prepared a big gift for you!"

"Oh? What treasure is it?" Ichiro Hoshino suddenly became interested.

"It's a large bronze tripod!"

Wei Ran whispered, "Teacher, the big tripod is hidden in the coffin shop on the edge of the county town. The current owner of the coffin shop is the former waiter of Lihua Opera Company.

Feng Rong asked me to tell you that you should buy a coffin for Senior Nakamura. You can’t let him lie in the hospital morgue forever.”

"Makes sense!"

Hoshino Ichiro nodded immediately, "Ryunosuke, go buy a coffin for Nakamura now."

"Teacher, where is this coffin?" Wei Ran asked.

"Put it in the back yard!"

Ichiro Hoshino made the decision without thinking twice. There was a small yard behind the photo studio. Although it was not very big, it was enough to place a coffin.

"I'll make arrangements right away!"

Wei Ran said this, and immediately stood up, left the office, and left Musashino Photo Agency.

Just as he was riding his bicycle back to the coffin shop, Old Yan was shaking his dislocated finger and praising the grain collection team's achievements in front of Hirano Daxiang.

Unfortunately, this seductive look was once again shown to the asshole.

Why did Hirano Daxiang care about this? He didn't even look closely at the rice brought back by the grain collection team. He just hurriedly wrote down how much rice was brought back, and then ordered Lao Yan to lead the members of the grain collection team to deliver the rice to the warehouse.

He now wanted to see his translator and ask when he could get his share of the dividends. The grain-collecting team members were no fools. When they sent the bags of rice to the warehouse, they deliberately scattered them here and there.

That would have been fine, but these daring guys didn't even forget to take advantage of the Japanese guards' inattention and stuff a few of the Japanese canned food they had picked up into their arms - this stuff was more valuable than rice!

After handing over the requisitioned rice, Old Yan and his team members bowed and nodded to bid farewell to the absent-minded Hirano Daisho, and then informed everyone of the good news that there would be a celebratory banquet at the Lihua Opera House in the evening. Then he could not wait to get on a rickshaw and rushed to the Chinese medicine shop, his finger was still dislocated.

Of course, even so, he also stuffed a few cans of Yamato boiled food in his arms. He was a puppet soldier, so why did he expect the puppet soldiers to be clean? What was he thinking?

Before sunset that afternoon, Wei Ran took a coffin shop's cart and delivered a coffin to the small courtyard behind Musashino Photo Studio.

Just as Wei Ran and the guys who delivered the coffin were struggling to lift the wooden box containing the bronze tripod out of the coffin with wooden bars, Zhao Jingrong finally entered the city with the other half of the grain-collecting team and Zhang Taichuan.

Zhang Taichuan went straight to the military station and presented the "agate cup from the Liao and Jin Dynasties" he brought back to Hirano Daxiang, and said with certainty that it was just a gift, the transaction amount was another matter, and he hoped that he could do more business with Mr. Musashi.

While Hirano Daisho, with his ears wrapped in gauze again, was drinking a full cup of sake that was full of sincerity and the taste of time with this "cleaned antique", Zhao Jingrong also walked into the Lihua Opera House with half of the grain collection team members.

No one noticed that when one of the puppet soldiers walked into the toilet and came out, his appearance seemed to have changed slightly.

Of course, this is not important.

On the third floor of the Lihua Theatre, six large tables of members of the grain-collecting team raised their glasses, one after another, to celebrate this "great victory", and also toasted Captain Jin and Captain Yan one after another, expressing their loyalty again and again.

After three rounds of wine and five dishes, Zhao Jingrong pressed his hands and whispered, "This first trip is just to test the waters, so we only brought back about 54 kilograms of rice. We have 52 brothers in total, and two of them died today, so there are left."

After a short pause, Zhao Jingrong said in a particularly righteous manner, "Captain Yan and I will not share the rice. Our two portions will be given to the two brothers who lost their lives. In addition, I will take out a small yellow croaker and share it with the two brothers as compensation."

"Captain Jin is so righteous!" one of the members of the grain-collecting team shouted.

"Shh-"

Before the other team members agreed, Zhao Jingrong made a silent gesture and pointed downstairs, "Let's calculate it based on 20 kilograms of rice per person. The owner of the coffin shop is an employee of this theater.

Later, the manager of the troupe will give everyone a photo of the female troupe in the opera house, which has the signatures of the female troupe members and the seal of Manager Qi.

You can each arrange for your family to take photos to the coffin shop to get rice. Those who don't want rice can also get money.

But there is one thing, everyone keep their mouths shut. If anyone dares to mess up our business, they will not get rice in return. "

"It's a special bullet!" Old Yan threatened.

"Don't worry, Captain Jin! Don't worry, Captain Yan!"

The members of the grain-collecting team patted their chests and made promises, and each of them took the "autographed photos of beauties" personally given to them by Zhang Zhengqi.

After sending away the members of the grain-collecting team, Zhao Jingrong first pushed the small yellow croaker in his hand to Old Yan who was sitting at the same table.

"Old Yan"

"Captain Jin, please give your orders." Old Yan quickly retracted his greedy gaze at the gold bars and spoke with extreme respect.

"This gold bar is for the two brothers who died in the battle. Each family will get half. If they have parents, give it to the parents. If they don't have parents, give it to the children. If they don't have any brothers or sisters, give it to their loved ones. If they don't have any, use the money to make the funeral as splendid as possible."

Zhao Jingrong asked seriously, "Can you do it?"

"Yes! You can rest assured!"

Although Old Yan coveted the gold bar, he knew that it was a test for himself. He also knew that if he coveted the gold bar, not only would he lose the position of deputy captain, he might even be shot.

He also knew that as long as he was not greedy this time, he could rely on the grain-collecting team in the future and exchange anything he took out of the city for gold bars.

"If you can, just go ahead and do it."

Zhao Jingrong pushed the gold bar, then took out another gold bar and shook it, "The grain collection team is our big cart, and those team members are the donkeys pulling the cart. Be nice to them and don't compete for their fodder."

"Understand! I understand!" Old Yan's eyes were attracted by the gold bar, and he answered hurriedly.

"I won't necessarily follow this grain-collecting team every time they leave the city."

Zhao Jingrong threw the gold bar to the other party and said, "You kid, just focus on your work. You won't lose anything. You will get everything you deserve, even a small amount. You will get everything you don't deserve."

"Don't worry!"

Old Yan patted his chest again and made a promise, "From now on I will be Captain Jin's dog! If you tell me to eat shit, I will eat shit. If you tell me to bite someone, I will bite someone!"

“No need to say it so harshly.”

Zhao Jingrong smiled and said, "The most important thing about this matter is to keep it secret. You lead the team, but don't put anyone in. If you put one in, I'll chop off one of your fingers."

"Don't worry, Captain Jin. Old Yan knows his limits."

"Go ahead." Zhao Jingrong waved his hand and watched Old Yan go downstairs holding the two gold bars.

"Done?"

Not long after, Lin Qiaoan came out of one of the private rooms that was not open to the public, bringing Wei Ran, who was invited from the photo studio across the street.

There is a staircase in this private room leading to another private room downstairs that is not open to the public. The two of them had been listening in here just now.

"It's done"

Zhao Jingrong smiled and said, "Is everything done over there?"

"It's done. The photos have been developed. The old ghost didn't suspect anything at all."

Wei Ran said with a smile, "He wanted to hug that big tripod and kiss it from head to toe."

"That big foreign horse has also been bought."

Lin Qiaoan said, "Just now, that beast followed Taichuan to the Venus Dance Hall, and now he is walking back in a daze."

“The game is over”

Before he finished speaking, Zhang Taichuan also went upstairs and put half a bottle of medicinal wine on the table. "The beast used that agate cup to get himself drunk, so I took the opportunity to replace it with a bottle of medicinal wine for replenishing blood and regulating menstruation."

"Puff" Wei Ran almost choked himself to death as he just picked up the wine glass.

"I promised to find a way to help him get the big horse back."

Zhang Taichuan smiled and said, "Before this, he probably didn't pay attention to the grain collection team."

"Old Yan also took the blame"

Zhao Jingrong picked up his wine glass and whispered, "Let's work hard and try to deliver more goods before the New Year."

"Have a drink!"

At Lin Qiaoan's suggestion, everyone raised their glasses and clinked them together.

After drinking the wine in the glass, Zhang Taichuan opened the camera case hanging on his shoulder and said, "The New Year is coming soon, let's take a group photo."

"It's time to take a picture," said Lin Qiaoan.

"I'll get ready, everyone take a seat."

As Wei Ran spoke, he had already taken the camera, skillfully connected the flash and made adjustments, then pressed the selfie lever, ran to the crowd and stood up straight.

"Snapped!"

Amid the blinding flash, a strong white light also rushed towards him, swallowing up everything in Wei Ran's sight.