War Photographer's Notebook

Chapter 1857 Waiting for news

"Wrong? What for?" Xia Shushi asked breathlessly after the voice call was connected.

"What are you doing?" Wei Ran asked with a smile.

"I'm exercising," Xia Shushi responded, which was not clear whether it was true or not. "What's the matter?"

"I found some new things in your house." Wei Ran turned on the speaker and said it as a matter of course, even sounding a little shameless.

"What the hell?" Xia Shushi asked blankly, "What did you find in my house?"

"You really found some things at home," Wei Ran repeated before giving a brief explanation of his findings.

"You found it so quickly?" Xia Shushi asked in surprise.

“Thanks to the power of the Internet”

Wei Ran once again used a worn-out excuse, "Anyway, that's probably what happened. I've already agreed to Mrs. Mao Musashi's request, so you should prepare as well."

"Okay, I'll get ready here." Xia Shushi promised, "When will you be back?"

"It hasn't been decided yet. We just arrived in Kyoto yesterday." Wei Ran glanced at Sui Sui beside him, the three little ones who were obviously eavesdropping, and the girl named Chihiro.

He did not mention the true identity of the Japanese cartoonist just now, and also concealed some related things - this was a promise to Mao Musashi.

"In that case, let's hurry up and prepare," Xia Shushi said cheerfully, "Remember to let me know when you decide when to come back."

"Continue exercising," Wei Ran said, and simply hung up the phone.

"He'd better be working out," Suo Sui muttered in Russian.

"Young people"

Wei Ran smiled and was about to say something, but Qianxun said, "Mr. Wei, if it is convenient, I would like to bring my sisters to China with you. Of course, we will bear the travel expenses ourselves."

"Are you planning to witness the cartoonist's choice?" Wei Ran easily guessed the other party's thoughts.

"That's right." The person who answered this question was Mao Musashi who had already walked out of the restaurant.

"Mr. Wei, please let my children be witnesses and secretly observe what choice the cartoonist will make." said Mao Musashi.

"Mrs. Musashi, my reputation is not very good." Wei Ran reminded self-deprecatingly, "You don't worry about these beautiful girls..."

"If you're a single man, it would be a great dating option for girls."

Although Mao Musashi was still hungover and her eyes were still a little red, she saw it very clearly. "In fact, I can see that you and Miss Susu have a very good relationship. And there are so many beautiful girls around, even twins. I don't have to worry about the safety of the children."

At this point, Musashi Mao didn't wait for Chihiro to say anything and added one last sentence to shut her daughter up, "Besides, Hirano Aoi went to China when she was their age. Since they want to be someone like Miss Hirano Aoi, even without your care, I think they should be able to deal with some troubles."

“But it’s school.”

"Don't worry, I'll ask your mother to take a long vacation for the three of you. Let me think about it. How about acute enteritis caused by food poisoning?"

Without waiting for the Hoshino twins to say anything, Mao Musashi responded to their troubles, and she looked particularly skilled.

"We've had acute enteritis twice this month, but if the air tickets are available, that's fine."

"I will sponsor your round-trip air tickets to China, but the rest is up to you." Without waiting for Chizuru to finish speaking, Mao Musashi solved most of the problems for the other party.

"When do we leave?"

The twins who were particularly in sync asked again in unison, as for the reason for the sick leave, let their mothers worry about it, they want to go to China to see the giant pandas who can do Kung Fu!
"Let Mr. Wei and Miss Sui Sui make the decision."

Mao Musashi said in an especially casual tone, "Before you decide to return to China, you can live at home no matter how long you plan to stay in Kyoto.

Of course, my cooking skills are not very good, so if you want to eat something, you can ask Chihiro to cook for you. She is a very good cook.

Or you can do what I did last night and go to a few restaurants nearby and get some takeaways; they know which ones taste the best.”

As she spoke, Musashi Mao had already stood up and walked back, saying, "Mr. Wei, Ms. Sui Sui, let them take care of your reception.

Please forgive me for being rude, but I can't wait to visit Gentaro and Chiyoko's graves and tell them the news I got from you."

"Aren't you planning to go to China with us?" Sui Sui asked subconsciously.

"I won't go," Musashi Mao said with extra confidence, "Let the children do it for us."

"We will take good care of them." Wei Ran stood up, "Also, you need us to accompany you."

“That’s not necessary.”

Musashi Mao refused Wei Ran without a second thought, "I can go by myself. If a celebrity like you follows me, it's inevitable that someone with ulterior motives will see me. Whether it's the Musashi family or the Hoshino family, I'm very satisfied with the peaceful life I have now."

"I understand," Wei Ran nodded, "Please help us bring a bouquet of flowers to them."

"no problem"

Musashi Maou stopped talking, turned her back to Wei Ran and said, "If...if it's convenient, I want to buy a photo of me and my parents. I wonder...Is it convenient?"

"I will find a way to help you get that photo and give it to you as a thank you gift," Wei Ran promised.

"Thank you, and I hope you have fun in Kyoto." After saying that, Mao Musashi walked into her room and closed the door.

"So when do we leave for China?"

The two twins, who seemed to have forgotten how to grow brains, happily asked the same question, "Can we go see the giant pandas? I want to see the giant pandas in every city in China!"

"Where do you want to go in Kyoto?" Chihiro and Chizuru ignored the twins and asked another question in unison.

"Do you have any plans recently?"

Sui Sui asked. She remembered that they had listened to Marta's translation in the basement of the bar yesterday and that the He girl would have a performance soon.

"We have an underground performance in Gunma Prefecture on Saturday night two days from now," Chizuru and the Hoshino twins said in unison.

"The second day of the Lantern Festival," Sui Sui said to Wei Ran, "When are we going back?"

"Not urgent"

Wei Ran shook his head. "Let's at least wait and see if we can find Musashi Mao's father before we go back. No matter what, we have to give her an explanation first."

"In this case!"

Sui Sui snapped her fingers, "Can we go with you to watch your show then?"

"Really?" The three little idols asked in unison with a surprised tone.

"of course it's true"

Sui Sui nodded and said, "Before that, if you have time, you can take us anywhere to play. We came here in a hurry this time and didn't make any plans at all."

"Leave it to us!" This time, in addition to the three of them, Chihiro also gave the answer in unison.

The joy of preparing to go out and play together obviously diluted the sadness brought by the photo Wei Ran had just found.

While the girls were excitedly changing their clothes, Wei Ran sent another "purchase" email to Yashar, and truthfully explained the reasons why he wanted to buy the photo.

When everyone, including Kajianka who had deliberately gotten up late, had changed their clothes and went downstairs to get ready to set off, Yashar asked for Mao Musashi's address and said that he would send the photo as soon as possible.

Earlier than this email, Mao Musashi, who had changed her clothes, had already left home alone with her bag in her car.

"Let's go too!"

Chihiro excitedly invited everyone to follow her out of the house, and in the name of making it easier to introduce them, she asked the three little ones to replace the Kajianka sisters and Lu Xinda in Wei Ran's car.

"She isn't still planning to sign them, is she?" After the car started, Wei Ran switched to Russian and asked Sui Sui in a low voice.

"It's still uncertain who will sign whom," Suo Suo responded proudly.

"What are you planning to do?" Wei Ran asked vigilantly.

"I own two film and television companies."

Sui Sui made a scissors gesture in front of Wei Ran and said, "Since you have so many beautiful girls around you, maybe you can really form a few girl groups or something."

"Excuse me, how did all the girls around me come from?" Wei Ran asked unhappily. "Oh! How they came from is not important at all!"

Sui Sui waved her hands vaguely, "Anyway, I plan to invest some money to give it a try. Since a scumbag like Ji Ma can be packaged into a star, there is no reason why so many beautiful girls can't be packaged into a star."

"What happens after it's packaged?" Wei Ran asked subconsciously.

"It can also make money and increase public opinion influence."

Sui Sui said, "I am acting as the group leader for you. Only those with influence can have a say. You can refer to Marta for details."

"Aurora is right," Marta, who was driving, agreed without even thinking.

What she said was right?
Wei Ran shook his head helplessly. He was too lazy to continue asking, otherwise he would definitely be accused of not knowing how to make money and do business. So he might as well do whatever he wanted. His reputation was already ruined anyway.

"What are you two whispering about?" the Hoshino twins asked in unison, with a rare directness that was rare among recruiters.

"We were saying that you three are very beautiful and cute, and your facial features are very three-dimensional. I even suspect that you are mixed-blood like Chihiro." Sui Sui switched back to Chinese and spoke.

"Thank you!"

The two twins who were particularly smart were easily fooled. One of them explained, "We are one-quarter American. My mother is a mixture of Zhaohe and American."

"Sister Sui Sui is also very beautiful and has a great figure. Would you like to consider joining our group of He Girls?" The other twin made a direct invitation.

"My mother is of British and Chinese descent"

Chizuru, who was sitting between the twins, spoke in time to cover up the overly straightforward invitation, and brought the topic back to the topic, saying, "She used to be my father's business partner, but now my father has become my mother's secretary and driver."

Why are all the members of this family members strangers?

Sui Sui and Wei Ran looked at each other and read their own thoughts from each other's eyes.

After smiling at each other in tacit understanding, Sui Sui and the three little idols sitting in the last row of the carriage began to praise each other, but they also easily avoided the twins' persistent "invitation to join the group" time and time again.

A similar scene also took place in another car driven by Chihiro, but while responding to the girl's enthusiastic invitation, both the Kajianka sisters and Lu Xinda, who served as the translator, were laughing secretly in their hearts.

They would not tell Chihiro that the Queen was ready to buy her and her He Girl last night.

“We’ll be colleagues soon,” Lucinda muttered to herself as she helped translate once again.

In a kind of "two-way" chat, Chizuru and the He girls took them to the first nearby scenic spot - Arashiyama.

Although they came at the wrong season, the scenery here still met the basic requirements of Sui Sui and others for taking photos and checking in.

"This is the poem monument of the handsome Prime Minister of China"

Qianxun, the tour guide, took them to a stone tablet in a park at the foot of the mountain. She introduced it quite skillfully, "Many Chinese people come here to play, in fact, just to see this stone tablet."

"I didn't know there was a stele of the Prime Minister's poems here," Wei Ran said in surprise.

“I don’t even know anything about the tourism major I studied,” Sui Sui followed.

"This poem monument was erected by a non-governmental group in 78 to commemorate the signing of the Treaty of Peace and Friendship between the two countries."

An old lady wearing a silk scarf who was about 60 years old and who was also visiting here during this season said enthusiastically, "It's normal for you young people not to know. When I was younger than you, the completion of this monument was even reported in our domestic newspapers."

"Auntie, are you from Chengde?" Wei Ran asked almost subconsciously.

"How do you know?" the old lady asked curiously.

"I can tell from your accent," Wei Ran smiled.

"Old man, do I have an accent?" the old lady asked an old man next to her who had a camera around his neck.

"My sister has an accent."

The old man responded and handed the camera to Wei Ran with confidence, "Come here, young man, stand here and take a picture for us two old people."

"okay!"

Wei Ran agreed cheerfully, took the camera, took a look at it and said, "Is it a film camera? You really trust me."

"Don't worry. I've adjusted everything. Just press the shutter button. Look here. This button is the shutter button. It doesn't matter what the picture looks like."

The old man pointed at the shutter, then took a few steps back and stood next to the poem monument. The old lady wearing a silk scarf in the middle of winter also took his arm.

Hearing this, Wei Ran smiled, looked at the old Seagull TLR in his hand again, aimed it carefully at the two elderly people, completed the composition with great skill, and pressed the shutter.

"Uncle, can I hear your opinion on the friendship between our two countries and the devils?"

Qianxun asked at this time. Her Chinese had a slight Shanghai accent, which made it easy for her to disguise herself as a Chinese.

"You ask interesting questions, little girl."

The old man took the camera that Wei Ran handed back with both hands and hung it around his neck. After looking at his wife, he smiled and said, "I won't comment on the friendship between the two countries. The leaders of our country have a much longer-term vision than a retired worker like me. But I can say what I think about the devils."

The old man pointed at the stone tablet and said, "When the tablet was erected, the people were poor, the country was poor too, how could China be as prosperous as it is now?

Being able to establish friendship with the devils was good for the development of our country, especially when the reform and opening up began that year, it really made our people richer little by little."

At this point, the old man smiled brightly with anticipation, "But now, I really hope that the devils will show their teeth and claws to us. It would be even better if they could invade us again."

"What are you talking about, old man?"

The old lady next to him glared at her husband and said, "It would be best if there is no war. Once there is a war, the common people will suffer.

Also, we are here to meet the Japanese relatives, so you better watch your mouth and don’t talk nonsense, otherwise if our son becomes a bachelor, I will break your legs!"

Without waiting for her to finish, the old lady hurriedly pulled her husband away - there were already other tourists around who could also understand Chinese and were either grinning or giving the thumbs up.

"Why do you ask this question?" Wei Ran asked Qianxun with a smile.

"China is no longer the China that Ms. Hirano Aoi used to be. I don't know how many recruiters can realize this fact."

After saying that, Chihiro smiled, changed the subject and said, "Let me take a picture for you!"

"OK"

As Wei Ran spoke, he stood in the position of the old gentleman, while Sui Sui stood in the position of the old lady and held Wei Ran's arm.

Let Chihiro take the group photo for them, and the group continued to tour Arashiyama, which was still hidden in winter.

While Wei Ran was accompanying the girls to enjoy the mountains, someone became busy because of him.

It was still around three or four in the morning, but the fat man Yashar, who had been woken up by the late-night email alert more than an hour ago, had been on the phone with Mr. Holler for almost an hour.

Back in China, Xia Shushi finally got up from bed after spending enough time with Qin Qi.

"Isn't it too fast?"

Qin Qi got up and walked towards the bathroom, saying, "He found it in just a few days? How did he do it?"

"Fortunately you said the second half of the sentence," Xia Shushi, who followed in, pretended to be relieved.

“You’ve been here long enough.”

Qin Qi laughed and teased, "You've been procrastinating on this matter since the beginning of the year, but they found it in just a few days."

"It would be better if there was no second half," Xia Shushi complained with pretended sadness.

"How about starting over?"

"Okay, okay!" Xia Shushi agreed immediately, and in the blink of an eye he completely forgot about the business.

“I hope you can bring more surprises.”

Jiaya, who was passing by the Musashi family by car, looked at the Japanese garden outside the window and prayed silently, then put on large sunglasses. She had already met the people she should meet, and now it was time to leave here.

"Can this man really find the lost things?"

The owner of a Japanese-style B&B lit Wei Ran's photo and threw it into the ashtray while muttering to himself, his tone full of anticipation.