War Photographer's Notebook

Chapter 1838 Analysis in the Darkroom
In the darkroom of Musashino Photo Studio, Wei Ran had just developed the film sent by Hirano Aoi into a negative that could be seen by light, when there was another knock on the door.

He quickly threw the film he had just wiped into an unused developing tank, picked up the gun again, opened the door and looked outside, but found that it was Zhang Taichuan who knocked on the door this time, and beside him was Zhao Jingrong.

After feeling slightly relieved, Wei Ran walked out of the darkroom again and opened the door that was locked from the inside.

"You came at the right time," Wei Ran said, "Ms. Hirano was here just now."

"Is she here to develop photos again?" Zhang Taichuan, who was about to say something, asked with a smile. He seemed to be in a very good mood.

"more than"

Wei Ran motioned for the two to come in, and after locking the door again from the inside, he led them to the darkroom and said, "She also brought two pieces of news and a request."

"What news and request?" Zhao Jingrong asked and looked at Zhang Taichuan.

"First, two days later, Hirano Daisho left Shencheng for Southeast Asia."

Wei Ran didn't say this until he took them into the darkroom, and then he took out the negative film that he had just hidden.

"We already know this news," Zhang Taichuan said with a smile, "We knew it a few days ago and have already sent the news out."

"Secondly, Ms. Hirano said that her brother was preparing to urgently deliver a large amount of supplies before evacuating."

As he spoke, Wei Ran put the negative film he had taken out into the film holder of the enlarger. As the lights came on, the three of them also saw what Hirano Aoi had taken.

"There are indeed a lot of things," Zhao Jingrong said involuntarily.

In this list, various things that are not needed in the tropics, especially medicines, account for a large proportion, followed by weapons and matching ammunition that are obviously captured.

"You just said that Miss Hirano has another request?" Zhang Taichuan asked.

"That's right," Wei Ran nodded and told them that Hirano Aoi wanted to ask them for help in getting the photo album.

"This"

Wei Ran didn't expect that after he relayed Hirano Aoi's request, Zhang Taichuan and Zhao Jingrong looked at each other hesitantly.

"What's wrong?" Wei Ran realized the problem.

"Let me tell you"

Zhang Taichuan sighed, "We have long received news that Hirano Daxiang is about to evacuate Shencheng. Since we received the news, we have been discussing whether to kill or capture Hirano Daxiang alive."

"We came to you to hear your opinion," Zhao Jingrong added.

With just one sentence, Wei Ran understood the problem. After learning about the transaction information brought by Hirano Aoi and the matter about the photo album, it might be impossible to capture Hirano Daisho alive, let alone kill him.

"Whether we kill them or capture them alive, it will bring danger to all of us on this line."

Zhang Taichuan sighed, "I still suggest not taking action against him for the time being."

"Aren't you going to take revenge?" Zhao Jingrong frowned.

"Report, but not now."

Zhang Taichuan took a deep breath and said, "Let him live for now. When we have time, we will have plenty of opportunities to deal with him."

"When?" Zhao Jingrong asked with red eyes.

"I don't know, but certainly not now."

Zhang Taichuan took out a pack of cigarettes, took out one and lit it. "I don't dare to risk the lives of the living for the sake of the dead. You know how important our line is now."

Before Zhao Jingrong could say anything, Zhang Taichuan added, "I still say the same thing, I don't intend to convince you, but I hope you can consider the consequences.

Now Xiaowu has finally become the leader of the firewood collection team, and we have Miss Hirano to cover for us. If we kill him or capture him alive at this time, the current situation will definitely be broken."

"What do you say?" Zhao Jingrong looked at Wei Ran.

"You can escape from the monk, but you can't escape from his sister."

Wei Ran said calmly, "At worst, his family will be harmed. Doesn't he still have family? When the war is over, we will kill them all, starting with his sister."

Whether it was Zhang Taichuan or Zhao Jingrong, they could see that Wei Ran was not joking, but was extremely serious.

"I know what you want to say"

Before the two of them could speak, Wei Ran said, "Why? They are allowed to kill innocent people, but I can't kill a few people by mistake? Killing Hirano Daisho is capital, and killing his family can be interest."

"What do you say?" Zhang Taichuan looked at Zhao Jingrong, "Are you satisfied with Wei Ran's answer?"

"Oh!" Zhao Jingrong sighed with all his strength, obviously having made a decision.

"I'll take you to see someone in the evening."

Zhang Taichuan added, "Now let's talk about how to help Miss Hirano get that photo album."

"That's easy. Just find a chance to get him drunk and steal the photo album." Zhao Jingrong said.

“Timing is important”

Zhang Taichuan said, "If we act too early, he will easily notice us. We have to do this before he leaves."

"Let's go to the dock and let Liuzi do it. He's quick." Zhao Jingrong said.

"Let's go home first." Zhang Taichuan took a deep breath and temporarily put aside his hatred. "By the way, let's discuss the deal with the beast tonight."

"When will this day end?" Zhao Jingrong was the first to walk out of the darkroom, shaking his head and sighing.

However, before the three of them walked out of the photo studio's door, a Japanese postman stopped at the door on his bicycle, knocked on the door, and handed a letter to Wei Ran who opened the door.

After politely seeing the postman off, Wei Ran couldn't help but frown when he looked down at the letter in his hand. This letter was sent from an ink pad, and the sender was actually Mr. Musashi!

"Where did this old guy come from?"

Zhao Jingrong came over to take a look and said in surprise, "I thought he had died a long time ago."

"Look what was said"

As Wei Ran spoke, he had already carefully torn open the envelope and took out the folded letter from it.

“It’s really this old thing.”

Wei Ran spread the opened letter on the table for the three of them to read together.

However, after reading just a few lines, they all frowned.

In this letter, Ichiro Hoshino stated that he had finished dealing with the ink matters and returned to Zhaohe's home, and had heard about the misfortune that Mr. Aoi had encountered.

Currently, he is preparing to come to Shanghai. This letter is to inquire whether the photo agency needs to purchase any equipment, which he will bring with him from the recruitment process.

In addition, in this letter, he also asked about the recent situation of Mr. Mu, Mr. Hirano and Miss Hirano, and said that he brought them many gifts, some of which have been sent to the Hirano family, and the other part will be delivered personally after he returns to Zhaohe. He hopes that "Musashi Ryunosuke" who received the letter will convey his greetings on his behalf.

"This old man is not asking about the store's products. I think he is just testing the waters."

Zhao Jingrong snorted and said, "I guess he must be worried that he will no longer have a share in this business."

"His timing of coming back is quite good," Zhang Taichuan snorted. "I do have a guess."

After looking over the letter and envelope, Wei Ran said, "I guess this old guy has probably already sent back to recruit nuclear weapons."

"Tell me in detail," Zhao Jingrong became interested.

"It didn't come earlier or later, but it arrived at this time."

Wei Ran thought for a moment, snapped his fingers and asked, "Do you still remember the statue of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva?"

"Remember, why did you bring this up?" Zhao Jingrong asked puzzledly.

"I remember my second uncle seemed to have told me that after the Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva statue was brought back to Osaka by the old ghost, it was bought by a businessman with double the weight of gold and given to the wife of Sugiyama Motoko, the then Chief of Staff of the Japanese army. It was also placed in the Buddhist shrine in their home?"

"That's what happened. I remember it was between Aoi and me."

Zhang Taichuan was only halfway through his words when he keenly realized the key point that Wei Ran wanted to say, "You mean to say that Lao Gui has also received the news that Hirano Daxiang is about to leave Shencheng?"

"And he may have known the news earlier than Mr. Hirano."

Wei Ran paused for a moment, "I even suspect that the reason why Hoshino Ichiro didn't return to Shencheng was probably because he learned that his business had been taken away by Hirano Daisho."

'That doesn't make sense'

Zhao Jingrong said, "If Laogui had information channels from the top, why would he be afraid of Pingye?"

“This is not fear”

Zhang Taichuan shook his head. "That old man is very cunning. For him, it's actually a good thing that Hirano Daisho took over his business in Shencheng."

"Good thing?"

“It’s a good thing indeed”

Wei Ran helped Zhang Taichuan explain, "Whether it's smuggling on the black market or reselling military supplies, these are not minor crimes.

In fact, I had always wondered how Mr. Hirano, a small quartermaster, could sell so many things without any trouble.

Now it seems hard to say whether the old ghost secretly helped to give a heads-up in advance. "

Seeing that Zhao Jingrong didn't seem to understand, Zhang Taichuan continued to explain, "The risk of reselling materials is borne by Hirano Daxiang. The antiques obtained through these businesses are now placed in the theater that belongs to Mr. Aoi.

As long as Hirano Daisho leaves and Miss Hirano is captured, those things are not all dowry."

"Fuck!" Zhao Jingrong finally reacted.

"I'm wondering if Ichiro Hoshino had already made such a plan when he left Shencheng." Wei Ran continued to speculate.

“He’s not afraid.”

"What is he afraid of?"

Zhang Taichuan snorted, "The Hirano siblings' families are all in Osaka and can't escape. As soon as we take those antiques back, I'm afraid he will get the news. By then, we can threaten him with the crime of reselling military supplies. Do you think Hirano Daxiang will not obey?"

"What if it's in."

"In Shencheng, those antiques can't be sold at a high price."

Wei Ran analyzed, "Hirano Daisho is not stupid, he certainly knows this. It's even possible that the reason why he didn't send those things back to Zhaohe is to prevent this."

"Why didn't we think of this earlier!" Zhao Jingrong slapped his thigh.

"It's fine if they treat those scraps of copper and iron as treasures just to wipe their butts, but why do you treat them as treasures too?" Zhang Taichuan asked back.

"Hey! I almost forgot!" Zhao Jingrong slapped his forehead.

“None of this matters”

Wei Ran said, "Although the old ghost calculated these things correctly, there is one thing he definitely didn't calculate correctly."

"Aoi's Death" Zhang Taichuan immediately followed the train of thought.

"That's right"

Wei Ran nodded, "From what I can see now, Aoi might be someone left behind by the old ghost."

"It's bad, it's going to be exposed!" Zhao Jingrong slapped his thigh and asked in a low voice, "In the beginning, we put the blame for killing Aoi on the old ghost!"

"That's the yellow mud that fell into the crotch," Wei Ran said nonchalantly, "No matter how stupid the beast is, he won't ask it to my face."

"That's right"

Zhang Taichuan nodded. "From this perspective, the beast really can't die. He must be alive."

"Will you take the blame for us?" Wei Ran asked with great joy.

"That's right"

Zhang Taichuan smiled and nodded, "If he dies, Lao Gui will definitely doubt us whether he comes back or not. But if he is alive, if Lao Gui really returns to Shencheng, this business can still be done.

According to my guess, given the old ghost's temper, as long as the beast that takes the blame for him is still alive, even if he knows what we are doing, as long as there is profit, he will probably do this business anyway."

“It seems that things are simple.”

Wei Ran said this but shook his head regretfully, "It seems that he really can't die."

“There will be plenty of opportunities in the future”

Zhang Taichuan was confident about this. "The barking dog never bites. This old ghost almost fooled us by not showing his true colors. Now that he has fooled us, we must be on our guard against him."

"We still have to bow and scrape our way through life," Zhao Jingrong sighed, "I thought I could relax a bit."

“There will be opportunities later.”

Zhang Taichuan smiled and said, "Okay, this is a good thing. With Lao Gui coming, we can continue to do some extra business on this line."

"I don't know when the old ghost will come?" Zhao Jingrong said.

"I'm afraid it will be after the Osaka Division leaves Shanghai."

Wei Ran said, "If I were Lao Gui, I would not meet him, but I must have arrived in Shencheng or on the way to Shencheng by now."

"We can't rule out this possibility. We need to be more careful next time."

Zhang Taichuan said, "Let's go home and discuss what to do next with Miss Hirano. By the way, we should also remind her that if I remember correctly, the old ghost has always been greedy for her body."

"These damn little Japanese devils are so exciting!"

Zhao Jingrong patted the back of his neck while speaking, and said irritably, "Let's go home!"

"After fighting the beasts, now you have to fight the ghosts. When will your hard times end?"

Wei Ran took the film with the transaction list of the evening with a silent sigh, followed the two people out of the darkroom and the photo studio, each of them got on a rickshaw that was burned by the sun, and rushed back to the Shikumen building that was rented by all kinds of people, but they were all their own people.