War Photographer's Notebook

Chapter 1861 The World is Actually Very Big
"I have to admit that I seem to be impressed by your handsomeness."

At the staircase leading to the first floor, something suddenly popped out of Qianxun's mouth, almost causing Wei Ran to trip and fall. "If I want to have a child in the future, how about we cooperate? I will keep it a secret."

"No way, you little bastard, don't even think about sharing our Wei family's food ration land."

Wei Ran muttered to himself as he quickened his pace, not paying any attention to the confused look on the face of the girl standing at the highest point of the stairs behind him. Apparently, she only understood the first half.

As for Wei Ran, he was too lazy to figure out whether Musashi Chihiro, who he felt had an unusual way of thinking from the first time he met her, was joking or serious. But how could such an honest man get himself into such trouble?
Besides, except for those prettier than Sui Sui, what kind of beautiful girls hasn't he seen?

When Wei Ran returned to the restaurant with the developed film in his hand like a proud goose, the breakfast on the table had been cleared away. The only people still sitting at the table were Mao Musashi, Mr. Holle and the nuclear recruiter whose French name was Renault.

Of course, there were also the relics on the table, especially the radio, which had been turned back on and seemed to be stuck on a channel that did not receive any broadcasts.

"They helped Chihiro and the Hoshino family pack their luggage."

Mao finished her explanation and pointed to the radio and the small metal photo frame next to it. "The frequency band it is receiving is the communication frequency band that my father left behind."

At this point, Mao asked, "Mr. Wei, did you find anything in those negatives?"

“There are indeed discoveries”

Wei Ran sat down and said in French, "Mr. Renault, if it's convenient for you, could you please help me translate?"

"No problem," Renault responded in French with a strange accent, and then turned around and explained in Japanese.

"I have developed all the negatives from these rolls of film, and I have also developed additional prints, but those prints have not dried yet."

While explaining, Wei Ran picked up the tablet computer that Renault brought, turned it on, swiped to the settings page with a white background, adjusted it to constant light and maximum brightness, covered it with a napkin, then spread the film strips on it, and held down the two sides with the camera and other objects still on the table.

While he was getting ready, Renault finished translating. Seeing this, Wei Ran continued, "These negatives record Kentaro Musashi's life in the Bekaa Valley, as well as his battles, revenge, and even the last moment before his death."

After a short pause, he switched to German, a language that perhaps only Holler could understand, and said, "Mr. Holler, I also found your sister Clara Holler, codenamed Edelweiss, a doctor without borders, and her partners in these negatives."

"What did you say?!" Holler exclaimed.

"This time you found your sister yourself"

Wei Ran said as he adjusted his phone and covered it with a tissue. He then pressed a piece of film that he had separated out earlier on top and handed it to Holler. "It's a color photo. I think I'm not mistaken."

"It was Kentaro Musashi who took the photo of my sister?"

Holler confirmed that he deliberately changed to French to imply that Wei Ran did not need to keep it secret.

"That should be the case. I can't think of any other possibility." Wei Ran also responded in French.

"It's a small world," Holler sighed.

“The world is actually very big”

Wei Ran shook his head. "It just happened that Beirut needed people like them at that time, so they had intersections because of their common characteristics."

Before Holler could speak, Wei Ran had already turned off his phone and put it in his pocket. While handing the film to Holler, he switched to German and asked, "Mr. Holler, did you come here just to deliver these?"

“It is true”

Holler said frankly, "I know better than anyone how important these relics and information are to the living, so I came here in person, just like you ran into my auto repair shop without even saying hello and delivered those surprises."

Hearing this, Wei Ran smiled, switched back to French and said, "In this case, I can go to the show with peace of mind.

Mr. Holler, Mr. Renault, let Mrs. Musashi entertain you, and I hope you can establish a new friendship. "

As he spoke, Wei Ran switched back to Chinese and said in a slightly impolite tone, "Mrs. Musashi, you will be the one entertaining Mr. Holler and Mr. Renault."

"Me...what about you?" Mao Musashi asked in surprise.

"Of course I went to see the He Shoujo performance and took a dip in the hot springs."

Wei Ran said as a matter of course, "I believe that you will definitely establish a long-lasting and deep friendship because of these relics you sent me."

"In that case, leave it to me. I will treat them well." Mao Musashi responded before Holler was about to say anything.

"Mr. Holler, you won't mind if I leave you behind and go to another city to play, right?" Wei Ran asked back in German.

Holler shook his head, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. "Victor, we are friends. You don't have to be like this."

“I’m a young man”

Wei Ran joked, "If I have a choice, I would definitely like to work with young and beautiful girls."

"In that case, I wish you a happy time." Holler said with a smile, "But thank you anyway."

“This matter has nothing to do with me”

Wei Ran waved his hand and stood up. "Okay, you guys can discuss the rest. I also need to go back to my room to prepare my luggage."

After saying that, he simply got up and left the restaurant, going upstairs back to He Suisui's room.

"This historian is really rude," Renault couldn't help but say in French.

“This is not disrespectful”

Holler patted Renault on the shoulder and said, "This is the unique interpersonal relationship philosophy of the Chinese people."

"You're right. This is indeed the unique philosophy of interpersonal relationships of the Chinese people." Mao Musashi said abruptly in French - her French also had a strange accent.

"Mrs. Leia can speak French too?" Holler asked in surprise.

Leia, this is written on the back of the photo, the name of the baby, and also another name that Mao Musashi should have had.

"Which nuclear recruiter doesn't yearn for Paris? And which nuclear recruiter won't be disappointed with Paris?"

Mao Musashi spread her hands as a matter of course, "I once seriously considered settling in Paris, but because my children need my care, and because the streets of Paris are filled with urine smell and many scary rats.

Although I managed to learn French, I eventually gave up my plan to live in Paris.

Of course, this is a secret, please don’t tell my daughter, she doesn’t know about it.”

"Or should we talk about the Chinese people's unique philosophy of interpersonal relationships?"

Holler said in a joking tone, "If I understand correctly, Mr. Victor doesn't seem to want me to thank him for accidentally finding my sister's photo in Mr. Kentaro's film."

"If I understand correctly"

Mao Musashi picked up the camera that was holding the film and shook it. "He also didn't want me to thank him for sending these relics of my father so quickly because of his friend."

“So I want to thank your father for taking the photo of my sister,” Holler said with a smile.

"And I want to thank you for sending my father's relics," said Mao Musashi, extending her hand towards the other party.

"In that case, we are friends."

Holler smiled and stretched out his hand to shake the other person's. They both knew who they should thank for this friendship.

Just as they were building friendship through those relics, Wei Ran had already returned to his and Sui Sui's room.

"I know you definitely don't have time to go to the show or soak in the hot springs with us."

Without waiting for Wei Ran to speak, Sui Sui said, "It's okay. We are not here to play. Just do what you want to do."

"Who said I can't go?" Wei Ran asked back.

"Do you have time to go?" Sui Sui asked in surprise.

"Of course I have time. I've already come upstairs to pack my luggage." Wei Ran said as he opened his suitcase.

"Don't we need to worry about the person downstairs?" Sui Sui lowered her voice slightly.

"No, let's just play our own game." Wei Ran explained while packing up his things, "What happened between them has nothing to do with us."

"So when are we going back?"

Sui Sui asked a new question, "I can't wait to see what that devil cartoonist's choice is."

"After the performance tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, we'll go back."

Wei Ran said, "I also want to see how the cartoonist chooses. I hope he won't disappoint Hirano Aoi."

"Then the day after tomorrow, I'll ask Kamei to book the tickets right away!" Sui Sui said impatiently.

"Also, we may have to go to Malaysia to meet Zhang Taichuan's son, but this has not been confirmed yet."

Wei Ran thought for a moment and said, "Ask the girls from the Sino-Japanese joint venture these days and ask them if they want to follow."

"Leave it to me," Sui Sui promised, patting her chest.

Near noon, when Wei Ran followed the many girls, pulling their performance costumes, various musical instruments and props and preparing to set off, the photos he had developed had already dried and were handed over to Mrs. Mao and Mr. Holler.

In fact, both of them had already left with the French nuclear recruiter named Renault, and no one knew where they went.

“The whole journey is about 450 kilometers.”

At the entrance of this Japanese-style courtyard that has witnessed many secrets, Chihiro said energetically, "We are expected to arrive in Gunma Prefecture after dark, and we will find a place to rest and eat on the way.

Sister Marta, you must follow closely on the road. If you encounter any problems, use this to call us."

Qianxun handed a cute red walkie-talkie to Marta and said, "This walkie-talkie has very low power, so the communication distance will not be very far. If the call is not responded to, stop the car immediately and call us."

"No problem" Marta took the intercom nonchalantly.

Everything was ready, and the two cars hurriedly left the parking space in front of the house.

That evening, two cars drove to a hot spring hotel that was said to be a century-old hotel.

Of course, this place is really not cheap. The tight wallet of the He girl cannot afford to invite them to stay here. Naturally, it was the Queen who paid for it, and Marta helped to place the order.

In general, it is really comfortable to soak in a hot spring in this winter. Mr. Holler and Mr. Renault, who were also in Kyoto and soaking in a hot spring, also expressed the same feeling.

Wei Ran was waiting to watch the performance of He Girl, and by the way, he was accompanying Sui Sui to check in and wander around Gunma Prefecture during the day before the performance. Xia Shushi, who got the news, also began to make emergency arrangements.

Under his command, Zhong Zhen took the cartoonist named Hirano Yoto to stay in a hotel in Shanghai.

Where these two scumbags are, it stands to reason that Qin II, a scumbag, would also be indispensable.

However, this time he did not participate. Instead, he drove himself, taking a young man with the temperament of a college student, to Shengzhou, a place known for its specialty steamed dumplings, in the drizzle. Finally, with the help of the navigation, he drove the car to the entrance of a small village surrounded by mountains.

“This is it.”

Qin Er Shi pushed open the car door and said, "Come with me, and remember to put on your raincoat to avoid catching a cold."

"Sorry to trouble you, Brother Qin!" The young man who was busy putting on a raincoat in the carriage was particularly polite.

"Why are you being so polite?"

As Qin II was speaking, he had already walked around to the rear of the SUV, opened the trunk, took out some pre-packaged offerings and other items and handed them to the other party.

"Come with me"

Qin Ershi put on a bulging backpack and picked up a bundle of firecrackers wrapped in layers of plastic bags. Then he took out his mobile phone and walked into the green mountains outside the village according to the instructions in the photos sent by others in advance.

After walking along the slippery stone-paved mountain road for more than half an hour, the two of them, after going around a low hill, finally found an exceptionally clean cemetery in a very old-looking Torreya grandis forest.

"Brother Qin, there are always people taking care of this place. Does this mean that my great-grandfather still has relatives here?" The young man holding a large bag of sacrificial offerings in his arms asked in Chinese with a slight accent.

"No, it's gone."

Qin Ershi checked his phone and counted on his fingers while observing the surrounding mountains. Finally, he sighed and shook his head helplessly, "You should be the only child of the Zhang family."

"Brother Qin can also calculate"

"What can I do? I got bit by a mosquito on my finger and it's itchy."

Qin Er Shi said something nonsense, pointing to an ordinary stone tablet in front of him and said, "This should be the tomb of your great grandfather. Take a look. When your elders come tomorrow, I'll have to rely on you to introduce them."

Looking over subconsciously, I saw that this stone tablet with a little moss on it was only engraved with the words "Tomb of Zhang Taichuan". There was no date of birth and death, no other extra words, and not even a photo.

Qin II first bowed respectfully, then stepped aside, and after some searching, he walked to a big locust tree a few dozen meters away, and found another tombstone among the thick roots - the tomb of Hirano Aoi.

He bowed again without any hesitation, and then he found the "Tomb of Zhang Zhengqi" in the cemetery. Although the tombstone that Wei Ran reminded him to pay special attention to and the Tomb of Hirano Aoi were a hundred feet apart, they were exactly opposite each other with no obstruction in between.

"Fortunately, you are back home."

Qin II breathed a sigh of relief, and his usually cynical face revealed a bright smile of contentment.

On this rainy day, a civilian airliner flying from Malaysia landed smoothly in China in the evening and was warmly received by Emperor Qin II and the young man who had gone to Zhang's tomb to pay homage.

When Qin II was taking Zhang Taichuan's descendants to prepare for the formal ancestor worship the next day, Wei Ran, Sui Sui and others had already followed Qianxun into the backstage of a bar's basement.

Compared with the last time, there were not that many fans coming to watch the performance of He Girls this time. It would be a blessing if there were at most 50 fans.

Just like what Hayato Hoshino said, it's good enough if these little ones can just earn enough to cover the fuel costs.

Having said that, he also had to admit that the He girl's performance was still hard enough and her singing was indeed good.

On this lively evening, Qin II, who had drunk a few glasses of wine at the welcoming banquet, had just returned to the hotel and opened the door, but his drunkenness disappeared with a start.

Sitting on the sofa in the reception area of ​​the room was a beautiful woman with a gentle and peaceful face - unfortunately, it was the aunt he least wanted to see.

"Auntie, auntie."

"Don't worry, if your signal is not good, connect to WIFI."

Jiaya seemed to be in a good mood, and she even took the initiative to make a joke, "How was the reception?"

"Everything has been arranged," Qin II, who had completely sobered up, quickly replied. He really couldn't afford to offend the person in front of him.

"good"

Jiaya tapped the coffee table with her fingers. "I used my connections to find you the person who has been taking care of the cemetery all these years."

"Thank you, Auntie"

"You're busy these two days, so wait for your historian friend to come back and ask him to help make the trip."

"Busy. I've been busy like a weight these past two days."

Qin II said hurriedly, he was not stupid, he had vaguely realized that some of this seemed to be just an excuse.

"According to our investigation"

Jiaya said, "Due to the unrest over the ink pad, some things were lost at Zhang Taichuan's place. When the time comes, you can ask your friend if he can find a way to find them."

"What is it? Love is what it is." Qin II immediately changed his words just because of the other party's look.

"rest early"

As Jiaya spoke, she stood up and left the room, leaving the completely sober Qin II sitting on the sofa and taking a long breath, then picking up half a sheet of A4 paper on the coffee table.

Written on this piece of paper was an address in Zhengzhou and a contact's phone number. The contact's name was Lin Mingxiang.

"So what else is missing?"

Qin II murmured to himself curiously. At the same time, he couldn't help but be even more curious about whether his historian friends could find the things that were lost.