War Photographer's Notebook

Chapter 1865 The Source of Red Blood
"Did you get rid of my crazy and perverted aunt?" Qin II asked as he took Wei Ran into his room.

"Aren't you afraid that she might suddenly jump out from behind the curtain?"

Wei Ran's words were meant to be a joke, but they frightened the reckless Qin II.

After realizing what was happening, Qin II gave Wei Ran a middle finger, then he pulled open the curtains and looked at him worriedly. He then asked him to sit down on the sofa and said, "Just kidding, let's get down to business."

"You say it and I listen."

It was not until this time that Wei Ran lit the cigarette that the other party handed to him on the first floor, as if he was listening attentively.

"Thanks for finding it."

"Xia Shushi"

Wei Ran corrected him, "Xia Shushi found it, I just ran an errand for him."

"You should take a break soon."

Qin II said, "On the surface, it may be Xia Shushi who found it, but in reality, it is yours."

"What do you mean?"

"Don't," Qin II waved his hand, "I don't mean anything."

"Okay, go on." Wei Ran waved his hand and didn't ask any further questions.

"Anyway, it doesn't matter who found it."

Qin Ershi casually fooled around with the beginning part, "Now the truth is out, Senior Zhang Taichuan has cleared his name, and Hirano Daxiang's memoirs have nailed him to the pillar of shame."

"What are your plans for next?" Wei Ran asked casually.

"Tracing one's roots is a spontaneous act among the people. Let's leave the storytelling to that devil cartoonist."

Qin II took a puff of the cigarette between his fingers and said, "He tells a good story, so we should praise him."

"Where? In China?" Wei Ran asked without comment.

"Overseas, relative to the foreign countries that recruit nuclear weapons."

Qin II, who was still slightly drunk, said soberly, "No matter how much Yang Dou'er is scolded in the devil's own home, he will receive a lot of praise and encouragement outside. Of course, there is also money, plenty of money."

"What's this?" Wei Ran asked without comment.

"He deserves it, and it's worth a thousand gold coins for a horse bone."

Qin II smiled and said, "But this matter requires the cooperation of the cow urine person who organized the submission activity."

When saying this, Qin II deliberately emphasized the three words "cow urine man".

"Then we need to have a good talk with the cow urine man," Wei Ran responded with a smile. He did not emphasize any word.

"I will have a good talk with the cow urine man when the time comes," Qin II said casually.

"I wish you a successful negotiation," Wei Ran said, taking a sip of the cigarette between his fingers.

"Thank you for your good words." Qin II said this with a sigh of relief.

"Is there anything else you want to talk to me about?"

Wei Ran ended the topic and swirled the cigarette between his fingers. "If there's nothing else, I'll go home after I finish this. Those of us with girlfriends can't compare to single guys like you."

“Roll, roll, roll, roll, roll!”

Qin II used gentle words and friendly actions to drive Wei Ran, who had just sat down, out of the room.

However, as the door closed, the two of them smiled in tacit understanding.

Cow urine man?
The E. coli in the Ganges River guarantees that they will of course fully cooperate.

The next morning, Wei Ran, Sui Sui and others boarded a bus led by Xia Shushi and rushed to Zhang Taichuan's hometown in the name of staff.

Before the car stopped, Wei Ran noticed the stage set up on the open space at the entrance of the small village. Next to the stage, an inflatable shed had been built. From time to time, he could see opera artists in costumes busy coming in and out.

"Mr. Zhang asked me to help invite a Yue Opera troupe," Qin II said with a smile, looking out the window, "and they will perform all day today."

“It looks really lively”

Sui Sui leaned against the window and looked out expectantly, "I have never eaten a buffet in the south."

“I haven’t eaten it either.”

Wei Ran patted the back of the chair and said, "Does anyone in this village still remember the Mingxiang Opera Troupe?"

"Have"

Qin II, who was sitting behind Wei Ran, yawned. "There are a few older people in this village who can still talk. Moreover, these villagers are quite familiar with the old man's family in Lin Mingxiang, Henan Province. Basically, every household knows them."

“Finally I still remember it”

Wei Ran breathed a sigh of relief, and at this moment, the car stopped completely and the door opened.

“We have not communicated with the people in this village.”

Qianxun sighed and said, "My mother said that she was worried that our identities as nuclear recruiters would not be welcomed here."

"So you all entered the village quietly before?" Sui Sui suddenly came up with a particularly apt description.

"That's right, no shooting."

Qianxun added the second half of the sentence in a self-deprecating tone, and then pointed in the direction of the path leading into the mountain from the village entrance, "Every time we come here, we park the car there, go into the mountain to worship, and then leave in a hurry."

"We haven't been there yet," the Hoshino twins said in unison.

"Let's take them to worship first," Chizuru suggested, with an extra guitar in a bag on her shoulder.

"Let's go and take a look too," Wei Ran said, "I don't think there's anything for us to do here."

"Alright"

Qin II nodded and said, "The banquet doesn't start until 11 o'clock, you just need to get back before then."

After agreeing on a time, Wei Ran and Sui Sui followed the He girls and walked towards the path leading into the mountains at the entrance of the village. Kajianka and others, led by Qin Qi, followed the crowd and watched the lion dance performance with great interest.

In general, the rural banquets in Jiangsu and Zhejiang are completely different from the big banquets they had experienced at Wei Ran and Su Su's grandmother's house, both in terms of celebration methods and dishes. Naturally, this also prompted these girls to raise their mobile phones or cameras to take pictures from time to time.

At the same time, Wei Ran and Sui Sui followed the He girls along the damp path into the mountains.

However, what Wei Ran did not expect was that before the village behind them was blocked by vegetation, four young people, two men and two women, appeared in front of them.

At this time, one of the girls was sitting on the slippery stones, covering her feet and struggling to hold back her tears, while the other girl was using a wet wipe to help her wipe the stains around the scratches on her hands.

As for the two men, one was busy taking out a small medical kit from his bag and opening it, while the other was busy taking off his socks and putting them on his shoes.

"Do you need help?" Wei Ran saw that Sui Sui and the He girl were both looking at him, so he simply asked.

"Thanks, my girlfriend just fell down."

The young man who was putting socks on his shoes warned in a disguised Hong Kong and Taiwan accent, "Be careful, too. These stone slabs are very slippery."

"Could it be"

Wei Ran's heart moved, and he looked at Sui Sui, who was beside him and had the same thought. After he returned to the room last night, he told her the information he got from Jiaya - this time a "photographer" from Wan Island was invited.

"Are you seriously injured?"

While speaking, Wei Ran had already grabbed Sui Sui's hand and walked over.

"It's quite serious. She seems to have sprained it."

The uninjured girl said, "And there are scratches on my hands, too."

“That’s not serious.”

Sui Sui murmured carefully, then looked at Wei Ran. The latter nodded, pulled Sui Sui over, squatted beside the injured girl and asked, "Are you also going to pay tribute to Mr. Zhang Taichuan?"

"You too?" the uninjured girl asked immediately.

"That's right"

Wei Ran pointed at the injured girl and said, "I can take a look at her wound. Maybe I can help you."

Although these young people were skeptical, they still made way. At the same time, Sui Sui skillfully helped to change the subject and asked about their origins.

After a round of examination, Wei Ran was slightly relieved. The girl only had a sprain or dislocation, not a fracture, so that was easy to deal with.

"What's your name?"

While Wei Ran held the sole of the injured girl's shoe, he looked up and asked the young man who had already put the socks on the shoes and put them back on his feet.

"Li Yi Zhong, Yi as in Houyi, Zhong as in loyal, this is my girlfriend Lu Yue." The man, who looked about the same age as Xia Shushi, answered.

"Your name reminds me of the high school I attended," Wei Ran said deliberately jokingly.

"why?"

Li Yi Zhong asked subconsciously, even his injured girlfriend and the He girls all looked at Wei Ran.

"Because. Kah!"

Wei Ran only said the beginning of his words before he suddenly lifted and pushed with his hands. With a crisp sound, Li Yi Zhong's girlfriend's eyes widened after a moment of daze.

"Okay, stand up and try it." Wei Ran stood up, took the wet wipes handed to him by Sui Sui and said while wiping his hands.

"It seems to not hurt anymore!" said the little girl who also spoke in a motorcycle accent in surprise.

"It just doesn't seem to hurt because it was so painful just now. If you don't want to suffer, it's best to rest for a while." Wei Ran kindly reminded.

"Let me carry you down first," Li Yi Zhong said hurriedly to his girlfriend.

"Let me go up with you," the girl named Lu Yue insisted.

"Then I'll carry you."

As Li Yizhong was speaking, he was already squatting next to his girlfriend, while the other couple, who looked younger, took the initiative to help carry their backpacks and a camera whose lens seemed to be broken.

"Since you insist, let's go together. We are also going to pay tribute to Mr. Zhang Taichuan."

Wei Ran took the initiative to speak, but did not persuade them to go down. He knew clearly that for this young couple, this might be their only chance to come here to worship openly.

"My name is Zhang Yanzhou, and Zhang Taichuan is my great-grandfather."

Another young man with a slightly silly look in his eyes walked in front and introduced himself enthusiastically in Chinese with a slight accent, "This is my girlfriend, her name is Chen Xi, what about you guys?"

Seeing Wei Ran and Sui Sui looking over, Qianxun said, "My name is Musashi Qianxun, I am..."

"oh--!"

Before Qianxun finished the second half of her sentence, Li Yizhong and Zhang Yanzhou all said "oh" as if they suddenly understood something. It was obvious that they already knew the identity of this girl.

"It seems I don't need to continue the introduction," Chihiro breathed a sigh of relief.

"I followed my grandfather to welcome you last night," Zhang Yanzhou said, "but there were so many people yesterday that I didn't remember you."

"no problem, no problem"

Chihiro waved her hand a little nervously, and then, as the eldest sister, she introduced Chizuru and the twins of the Hoshino family, and also introduced Wei Ran and Sui Sui to them.

"So it's based on seniority."

Zhang Yanzhou thought for a moment and said, "Forget it. I won't sort these out. Let's just get along with people of the same generation."

Naturally, Qianxun and others, Wei Ran and Sui Sui had no objection to this proposal.

When a group of young people arrived at the cemetery hidden in the Torreya grandis forest while chatting, they could still see traces of worship, and there were even incense sticks that had not yet burned out, patiently emitting wisps of green smoke.

While the young people were placing the offerings they brought in front of the tombstones and worshipping them respectfully one by one, Wei Ran also took Sui Sui and visited the tombstones of Zhang Taichuan and Zhang Zhengqi in turn, and finally stopped in front of Hirano Aoi's tombstone.

"We should have prepared some sacrifices in advance," said Sui Sui.

"Need not"

Wei Ran shook his head gently, "She has changed a lot of people. This is the best gift for her."

As he spoke, Wei Ran looked at the tombstone of Zhang Zhengqi, who was enjoying the fireworks of those young people a hundred feet away, and a smile couldn't help but appear on his face.

"What are you thinking about?" Su Su asked, putting her arm around his.

"I'm thinking"

Wei Ran sighed, "The war is finally over. If Zhang Zhengqi knew about this, I wonder if he would have accepted Miss Hirano."

"I guess you've accepted it," said Suo Sui.

"What do you mean?" Wei Ran asked with a smile.

"There," Sui Sui raised her hand and pointed to the space between the two tombstones.

Looking in the direction of the other person's finger, Wei Ran was stunned for a moment, then he couldn't help but smile. He saw a stone table that was almost half buried in the soil and had been placed there by someone.

On this stone table, which is not even as big as a chessboard, there is not only a porcelain statue of Guan Gong with a red face and a green robe, but also a Japanese Hakata doll, also made of ceramic. The doll is wearing a kimono and holding a folding fan. It seems to be covering its mouth and laughing softly, but its eyes are looking at the Guan Gong statue with affection.

"Quite similar," Wei Ran couldn't help but laugh.

"Like what?" Su Su asked.

"It looks a lot like Zhang Zhengqi and Hirano Aoi in the story."

Wei Ran looked at the young people who were worshipping Hirano Aoi and muttered, "I don't know who put it here."

"It must be someone who knows them very well," Sui Sui also sighed.

"Maybe"

As Wei Ran sighed, Qianhe, who had finished the worship, took out the guitar she brought and handed it to Qianxun, saying, "We have a song that we have written for a long time. We have always wanted to sing it to Hirano Aoi and her friends when we bring Shion and Hanon here to worship. Do you want to listen to it together?"

"OK"

The young girl named Chen Xi was the first to respond, "Is it a Japanese song?"

"No, it's in Chinese, and it's called the Source of Red Blood."

As Qianxun gave her answer, she had already gently plucked the guitar in her arms, "This song also has a Japanese version and a rock version, but this version is specially prepared for here."

As the not-so-bright, even not-so-pleasant melody sounded, Wei Ran and the others found a stone to sit on under the Torreya grandis tree. As the melody began to change, the He girls sang a song that they had perhaps prepared for a long time:

At the bottom of my grandmother's camphor box were yellowed military bills. She said they were actually debts owed by the invaders.

When the bayonet pierced through the blood-red dawn of the morning mist, the girl's braids were forever tied to the cold corner of the trench.

The silent father was always adjusting his old telescope barrel. He said that the glass once framed his neighbor in the crosshairs.

Now old, he counts the stars and calibrates the scale, hoping to find the fireflies that were scattered by the artillery fire.

Under the red riverbed lie the sleeping, unopened flowers; those brave men collect the rusted magazines.

Put them together into a bleeding photo frame, and let each grain of fallen sand carefully polish the scars that are still bleeding.

Look, here are the fingerprints on the warrant.

Look, this is the door number of the comfort station.

Look, these erased names.

When Dongfeng flips through the moldy photo album, who is using cherry blossoms to cover up sin?

Let’s carve the war criminals’ serial numbers into the blood-red nursery rhymes, so that the new generation who have forgotten history will remember the bitter consequences of war.