War Photographer's Notebook

Chapter 1863 Past Events

"What truth?"

In the suite that served as a monitoring room, Xia Shushi and Qin Qi asked in unison.

"As for the truth about Hirano Yoto's life experience, this guy's life experience is very interesting, and you will never guess it."

"Hurry up and speak," Xia Shushi urged.

"This matter still needs to start."

After a brief introduction, Wei Ran turned his head and looked at Sui Sui, "What do you think? Do you want to say it?"

“When heaven is about to entrust a man with a great responsibility, he must first strain his mind and will, strain his muscles and bones, starve his body and skin, deplete his body, and mess up his actions. Therefore, tempting his heart and forbearance will benefit him beyond his ability.”

Sui Sui said, "So even though the process will be painful and even desperate, I think it's better to wait until he finishes telling the story of his grandfather before telling the truth."

"The Queen is truly cruel."

The twins of the Hoshino family said in unison. God knows how their brain circuits were designed, so that there was not even a trace of sarcasm in this sentence, but instead it was all undisguised admiration.

"You two idiots"

Chizuru covered the twins' mouths at the same time, one on the left and one on the right, and then said, "On the contrary, this is kindness."

"Kind? Why?" Chihiro asked puzzledly.

“The process will be painful.”

Qin Qi helped the smiling Queen to explain, "But when this cartoonist, as a descendant of a war criminal, told this story despite the pain.

Telling him the truth about his life experience at that time will be a relief for him."

"That's about it," Chizuru said, "and it will make him great enough."

"I just don't know if he can persist in telling those stories." Chihiro said, looking at the cartoonist on the surveillance camera.

"He can do it"

Sui Sui said confidently, "The girl who can step on breasts will support and encourage him."

“Give them some due respect.”

Xia Shushi snapped his fingers and said, "Let's change rooms. Also, we can remove the surveillance cameras that provide private angles."

"Ok"

The girl in the room who was wearing a backwards cap responded straightforwardly, "It's almost lunch time. We'll remove those things after they come downstairs."

"Let's leave here too," Xia Shushi said, and led everyone out of the suite.

"Whose girls are those just now?" Wei Ran asked.

"Who sent it?"

Xia Shushi said, "That scholar is so smart that he doesn't even need a bell stand by his side. He always wants to learn from you how to hang out with girls. He came here a few days ago, and the second emperor took him to see an old Chinese doctor who prescribed a prescription for replenishing qi and nourishing the kidneys.

By the way, do you want to go and have a look? He is from a family of traditional Chinese medicine practitioners, and his prescriptions are very useful."

"My waist and kidneys are fine, so I probably won't need to use them in the next few decades."

Wei Ran said proudly that he would not try to prove the innocence of any girl other than him and Sui Sui at this time.

And it is obvious that Sui Sui, who loves to watch the fun, is also trying her best to cooperate with his performance with her slightly upturned chin, which can be regarded as giving him enough substance and face.

"I will tell that person this sentence verbatim later."

It seemed that Xia Shushi, who was also taking care of the business of a certain old Chinese medicine practitioner, was delighted to transfer all the risks of being ridiculed to a certain scum who had learned to fight against others - it would be better for me to let my friend die than for myself.

While chatting, the group came to the first floor and checked into their respective rooms. The girls were naturally left to the care of Sui Sui and Qin Qi, while Wei Ran and Xia Shushi sat down in the latter's room.

"When will Zhang Taichuan's descendants come back?" Wei Ran asked as he took the cigarette handed to him and lit it.

"Tomorrow we will pay respect to our ancestors, and the day after tomorrow we will host a banquet for our neighbors."

Xia Shushi, who also lit a cigarette, said between puffs of smoke, "I'll be back the day after tomorrow."

“So it’s a civilian act?”

"Yes, a civil act."

Xia Shushi seemed to know something. "It would be better if this matter is allowed to ferment slowly."

"You are still in front," Wei Ran said nonchalantly.

"Want to hide again?" Xia Shushi asked as if it was normal.

“It’s not hiding”

Wei Ran was silent for a moment, but still answered in a puff of smoke, "The actors have a backstage where they can lie back and forth. You stay in the front for a while, and I'll take a break."

Xia Shushi was stunned when he heard this, and finally nodded, "Okay, then I'll support you first."

"Second Master, give me an address in Zhengzhou and a contact named Lin Mingxiang." Wei Ran changed the subject, "You come with me."

"Row"

Xia Shushi nodded in agreement, and then said, "I heard about this from the Second Emperor. He also said that he seemed to be looking for something?"

“He and I were also vague about what he said.”

Wei Ran waved the hand holding the cigarette, "Let's wait and see if there are any surprises when we get to Zhengzhou."

"Are you tired?"

Xia Shushi finally asked, "Why don't we let the Second Emperor take you to find that old man?"

"Get out of here"

Wei Ran responded unhappily with a middle finger, "You still have to keep an eye on that cartoonist."

"Are you worried that he might run away?"

"I am worried about his beautiful words."

Wei Ran made it clear that he didn’t trust her. “Those bastard girls we brought back are the descendants of Hirano Aoi in the story. I’ll let Qin Qi tell you the details later. The information you provided was kept by their family.

But their elders don’t want their lives to be disturbed for some reason, so you should make this clear when communicating with the cartoonist.”

"understand"

Xia Shushi nodded. He had not experienced what Wei Ran had experienced, so naturally he was more casual and gentle than Wei Ran.

"Help me arrange a meeting with the Zhang family. I only need to meet Mr. Zhang Mingxiang and Mr. Lin Yihua. At most, I can find someone from the younger generation to accompany me. Don't alarm too many people."

Wei Ran arranged, "Also, I think they should have some connection with Zhengzhou. You can ask the Second Emperor to inform them in advance."

"What you mean is..." Xia Shushi had already guessed Wei Ran's plan.

"There are many trains going through this afternoon."

Wei Ran shook the train number he had just checked on his phone and said, "It's better to go early than late. Let's have lunch and go at a similar time in the afternoon. We'll try to find the person tomorrow, and invite him to come over the day after tomorrow or the day after tomorrow to meet together."

"Okay, I'll arrange it right away." Xia Shushi said happily.

"I'll go talk to the girls too," Wei Ran said as he stood up, put out his cigarette and walked out of Xia Shushi's room.

When he returned to his and Susu's room and repeated his plan, neither Susu and the others nor the He girls had any objections. They all knew that this trip was not for fun.

They chose a train that departed before lunchtime and arrived around nine in the evening. After Lu Xinda helped buy tickets for everyone, including Xia Shushi and Qin Qi, they set off immediately and followed Xia Shushi to a restaurant that had been booked in advance to have a good meal.

In general, if it weren't for the irreconcilable feud, the Chinese and the Japs would be able to eat together in most cases.

Because of this, and because of Hirano Aoi's efforts back then, the He girls, led by Chihiro, received a warm hospitality that definitely satisfied their tastes.

With the help of this lively and informal welcome banquet, Qin Qi and Xia Shushi also became friends with the He girls, and took on the seemingly redundant but actually necessary excuse of "I saw the He girls' performance years ago, so I recommended them to Su Su."

When a table full of young people had agreed on their confessions and filled their stomachs, cartoonist Hirano Haruto, accompanied by the breast-stepping girl, temporarily left the room and went downstairs to fill his stomach at a restaurant that he had become addicted to in the past two days.

Of course, he didn't know that many young people had already swiped their cards into his room, and quickly and professionally removed the surveillance equipment hidden in various places. After barely filling his stomach with the pork trotter rice that he had never had enough of before but found particularly disgusting today, Hirano Haruto pursed his lips tightly and returned to his room in the hotel. He sat down at the table again without saying a word, and continued to carefully browse the photo albums sent by Xia Shushi and the memoir with some key information erased.

This was destined to be a painful process, and it was also a process in which that bastard girl named Ayano could not help at all.

While Hirano Haruto was fighting against the pain, Wei Ran and others, who had eaten and drunk their fill, accompanied the He girls to the Bund not far away to take some photos, and then returned to their respective rooms in the hotel to rest for a while and recharge their energy for the afternoon trip.

That afternoon, just as a certain prostitute who was recognized once again followed the girls onto the high-speed train bound for Zhengzhou, and incidentally caused a heated discussion on the Internet about "the taste of a certain prostitute has changed", the pale-faced Hirano Haruto also drank a whole bottle of sake while carefully reading all the photo albums and both sides of the memoirs.

“I’ve finished reading it.”

Hirano Yoto threw the wine bottle onto the bed, pointed at the words and pictures on the memoir and said, "Let's use this name, Red Blood Origin."

"Is there anything I can help you with?" asked the breastfeeding girl who hugged Hirano Haruto from behind.

“You’ve helped me a lot.”

Hirano Yoto said, "Senior Hirano Aoi has spent her life trying to change some nuclear recruiters. I am honored to have the opportunity to follow in her footsteps and do something."

At this point, Hirano Yoto stood up and walked to the French window, pulled open the thin gauze curtain, looked at the busy Shincheng outside and said, "Ayano, the protagonist of this comic is Hirano Aoi, a doctor."

“I thought the protagonist would be”

"My great-grandfather, Hirano Daisho? He doesn't deserve to be the protagonist in this story. He is the evil villain."

Hirano Yoto shook his head and said in great pain, "And I have decided that I will end the Hirano family name starting with me. I will not give birth to any more children with the Hirano family name, nor will I let any child have such sinful blood flowing in their body."

"Like Mr. Haruki Murakami?" Ayano asked in surprise.

“Yeah, just like Mr. Haruki Murakami.”

Hirano Yoto looked out the window and said self-deprecatingly, "I have ridiculed Haruki Murakami's stupidity more than once, but now, I finally understand his decisions. It's so painful."

"In that case, let me accompany you."

Ayano said, "Let me be your Yoko and your boss."

"So you like Haruki Murakami too?" Hirano Haruto obviously understood the initiative in this sentence.

"Yeah, I like it too." Ayano hugged her from behind again, "Let's be honest about our mistakes together."

On the night when Hirano Haruto and his female partner set the tone for the next comic, Wei Ran and others also took the high-speed rail to Zhengzhou, where the air seemed to be filled with the aroma of Hu La Tang.

By the time they checked in and put away their luggage, it was already around ten o'clock in the evening. Although it was a bit late to visit Lin Ming Township at this time, it was just the beginning of the night life composed of beer, barbecue and stomach-warming spicy soup.

In the lingering smell of fireworks, a group of young people get along more and more casually as they raise their beer cups again and again.

The next morning, after filling their stomachs with a bowl of spicy soup with oily steamed buns, everyone got into an Iveco rented by Xia Shushi and drove eastward out of the city.

"The address given by the Second Emperor is in Zhongmu, right next to Kaifeng."

As the car started moving, Xia Shushi swiped the map on his phone and said, "Should we call ahead?"

"No need," Wei Ran yawned and said, "Let's go over and take a look at the situation first."

"It's up to you," Xia Shushi said simply, but did not ask any further questions.

After all, the car he rented came with a driver, so some things naturally couldn't be made too clear.

Not only did he and Wei Ran maintain a tacit understanding, but even Sui Sui and others deliberately did not talk about what they were going to do today.

On the contrary, the driver, who looked to be in his early thirties, recognized Wei Ran before he stepped on the accelerator.

Fortunately, the driver seemed to have some social anxiety, so apart from taking a photo with Wei Ran, he did not do anything else that broke the sense of boundaries. He didn't even send out the photo with Wei Ran.

This was undoubtedly an action that could win goodwill. For this reason, when they arrived at their destination, no one, at least on the Internet, knew that a pimp had come to Zhengzhou.

They gave the driver an extra red envelope and asked him to keep the secret for the time being, and then everyone got off the car and looked around.

This is a rural area that can be seen everywhere in the Central Plains. Some of the houses are still red brick and tile houses, while others are two- or even three-story buildings.

Perhaps because the Lantern Festival has passed, although some remnants of firecrackers can still be seen on the cement road in the village, it has become much quieter.

As far as the eye can see, apart from a few elderly people sitting on the millstones at the intersection that had long lost their original purpose and basking in the sun, there is only a pickup truck carrying all kinds of snacks, fruits and even large slabs of tofu, and a female boss standing at the rear of the truck, busy doing business with the elderly and shouting her business hard.

“It should be that one.”

After seeing enough of the surrounding scenery, the crowd followed the direction of Xia Shushi's finger and looked towards a yard not far away with a threshing ground in front of the door.

This yard has an extra plastic greenhouse built next to the south wall of the threshing floor. Through the transparent plastic shed, you can see a number of old men and women playing cards or chatting inside, while others are huddled together and seem to be doing manual work.

Obviously, this plastic greenhouse is no different from the Pentagon, the Lubyanka Hotel, Scotland Yard, the CBD, etc. to the left-behind elderly people in this village - they have noticed this strange Iveco.

There are two mottled signs hanging on the wall of the courtyard's street-facing wing. One of the signs clearly lists the courtyard's side businesses: oil pressing, flour grinding, express delivery and collection, and Henan opera performances.

Looking at another sign, there are only five lines of words on it:
Lihua Mill
Lihua Oil Press

Lihua Opera Troupe
Lihua Express Station

It’s all this one!

"This business is so complicated," Qin Qi exclaimed.

“It’s almost like this in rural areas.”

The taciturn driver explained, "It's obvious that the owner of this household knows how to do business, and that plastic shed can bring a good reputation."

"Come on, let's go take a look."

As Wei Ran spoke, he had already picked up two gifts casually and walked towards the gate of the courtyard which served multiple purposes, saying, "You will come out later."

"Again. Well, I'll just be me."

Xia Shushi was too lazy to be polite with Wei Ran, so he also casually picked up two gifts and walked towards the small courtyard next to the threshing ground across the road.

Naturally, those who got off the car with the two of them included Sui Sui and Qin Qi, as well as the He girls led by Qianxun. However, the Kajianka sisters, Marta and Lu Xinda did not get off the car.

Naturally, this huge scene attracted the attention of the rural intelligence spies in the plastic greenhouse.

However, compared to the curious gazes of the old men and women through the plastic shed, Wei Ran and others were amused by the Henan-style singing in the yard before they had time to enter the yard:
"Three full days after the winter solstice—

Jesus——Born in Zhumadian——

The Three Fairies sent a box of apples.

And the five catties of pork - and the ten catties
Are you pressing oil or grinding flour?"

Along with the last simple and warm local greeting at the end of the singing, an aunt who looked to be in her 40s or 50s quickly put down the big broom she was using to clean the yard.

Obviously, the aunt had already realized it just by looking at the gifts in Wei Ran and others' hands.

They may not be here to press oil, let alone grind flour.

"Aunt, let's find someone."

Xia Shushi said enthusiastically, "Let's go find Mr. Lin Mingxiang."

"Are you looking for my father-in-law?"

Before the aunt finished her words, an old man with a strong body came out of the main room in the north house of the courtyard, holding a teacup.

"Are you Mr. Lin Mingxiang?" Xia Shushi asked loudly, bypassing the aunt.

"It's me, are you?"

The old man looked at Xia Shushi in confusion, then looked at Wei Ran and the girls who were still at the door. He had no recollection of having seen these people before.

"Shengzhou, Zhang family cemetery." Xia Shushi said.

"Hey! Come on, come on!" The old man suddenly became much more enthusiastic, "Come in!"

Seeing this, Wei Ran and Xia Shushi looked at each other and they both breathed a sigh of relief. Obviously, this old man from Lin Mingxiang knew about the cemetery and knew a lot of things.

Or rather, their trip won't be in vain this time.

At the warm greeting of Mr. Lin Mingxiang, Xia Shushi, Wei Ran and others followed him into the square living room. Although the aunt didn't understand what was going on, she still enthusiastically brought a pot of hot tea and poured a cup for everyone. Then she brought oranges and apples in a small plastic basket and some snacks that seemed to have just been bought from a country peddler outside.

As more and more snacks were placed on the table, more and more people came into the living room. With the company and witness of these people, Xia Shushi began to tell the story of that bloody past that had been forgotten, hidden, but also remembered.