War Photographer's Notebook

Chapter 1874 Trivia outside the camera
"Put away the camera first," Wei Ran said in the Time Library.

"Brother Wei too."

“The commission is not the point”

Wei Ran soothed him, "But the commission is too expensive, I can't accept it. Besides, whether you can help me or not, I at least want to see the real sword.

So there is no rush. You have come all the way here, so you should at least have some fun for a few days first."

“That’s good too.”

Li Yi Zhong nodded. He mistakenly thought that Wei Ran had rejected his request for help, so he couldn't help feeling a little disappointed at this moment.

"Don't get me wrong"

Sui Sui is obviously the one who knows Wei Ran best. "He didn't mean to refuse, but he needed to think about how to find the person. Before he figured out the idea, he couldn't accept the request for help.

As for your camera, keep it for now. Wait until he has thought it through and found the answer you want before we talk about this matter. There is no rush."

After saying that, Sui Sui looked at Wei Ran, "Did I understand correctly?"

"Full marks!" Wei Ran gave a thumbs up.

Hearing this, Li Yi Zhong finally breathed a sigh of relief, and a relieved smile appeared on his somewhat honest face.

“You guys came just in time.”

Sui Sui helped to change the subject and said, "Today is our first day of work. As usual, there will be a lively party this evening. By the way, you are not in a hurry to leave, right?"

“I won’t be back to work until mid-March.”

Li Yizhong smiled and said, "She is my assistant, so she has plenty of time."

"Then it's definitely in time!"

Sui Sui snapped her fingers and said, "Come on, I'll take you to the next room to arrange a room. By the way, have you had lunch?"

“Already eaten”

Li Yizhong quickly said, "Brother Wei, if it is convenient, can I visit your studio?
Last time I saw you taking pictures with that old twin-lens reflex camera, I went home and dug out all my grandfather’s old cameras. I also want to try a film camera.”

"No problem, come with me." Wei Ran stood up and greeted him casually, "Put away your precious camera."

"I'll take you home and put your luggage down first."

Sui Sui greeted Lu Yue, and then called a little girl to help them push the suitcases. However, at her reminder, Lu Yue put away the old camera and carried it himself.

The group left the library and went around to the side. Sui Sui took Lu Yue through the electromagnetic door to the yard next door where several ventilation holes had been dug, while Wei Ran took Li Yi Zhong to the basement.

First, he turned off the noisy fan in the room leading to the air-raid shelter. Then, with the help of Li Yi Zhong, Wei Ran closed the explosion-proof door that had just been cut.

The basement finally became quiet until the turntable on the explosion-proof door stopped turning completely.

"Is this... an underground air-raid shelter?" Li Yizhong asked dully.

"I accidentally dug it out a few days ago and it's being renovated recently."

Wei Ran gave an explanation that stunned the other party, and took him into the bathroom. While washing his hands, he asked, "You just said that you found your grandfather's camera? Is he a photographer?"

"That's right"

Li Yizhong scrubbed the rust off his hands and explained, "My family lives in Tainan, and the military villages where my grandfather and my father grew up have all been demolished.

Before the demolition, my grandfather ran a photo studio in the military dependents’ village.”

"What's your name?"

Wei Ran couldn't help but ask, "I mean, what is the name of your grandfather's photo studio?"

"Old Shencheng Photo Studio," Li Yizhong replied with a smile, "Isn't it strange?"

'Not surprising at all'

Wei Ran smiled and shook his head, tore off two face towels to wipe his hands, and said as he walked out, "It's just homesickness."

"yes"

Li Yizhong followed and said, "It is said that the name was given by my great-grandfather."

“What did your grandfather mainly photograph?”

Wei Ran opened the door of the darkroom and continued with the topic that seemed to be used for casual chatting.

"Wedding photos, posters for models and singers. In the late 1980s, he took album covers for many singers."

Li Yizhong followed him into the spacious darkroom and replied, "He is also a fan of airplanes and ships.

When I have free time, I drive to the airport and the pier to take photos, and submit them to the military newspaper to earn some pocket money.

When I was little, he often drove me to various places to take pictures. I am now a photographer thanks to his guidance.”

Speaking of this, Li Yizhong also focused his attention on the old cameras and matching lenses that were sorted and arranged in the drying cabinet in the darkroom.

"My grandfather also had a camera like this"

Li Yizhong pointed to the two Pentax 67 cameras and the matching lenses in the drying cabinet and said in surprise, "The photo of the crazy grandpa I just showed you was taken by my grandfather with this camera."

"These two cameras are relics of an American war correspondent who participated in the Vietnam War."

Wei Ran opened the drying cabinet, took out the two Pentax dumbbells and placed them on the table, saying, "Their original owner was named Zack. After leaving the battlefield, he became a photographer."

"I know him"

"You know?" Wei Ran asked in surprise.

"Brother Wei made such a big news back then, it's hard not to know about it."

Li Yizhong's tone was a little teasing, and then he changed the subject and asked, "How is this camera for taking pictures? I only used film cameras when I was a child."

“The only downside is that it’s an action camera.”

Wei Ran said, picking up one of the machines and flexing his biceps, "If you are interested, you can take it out and try it out later."

"Is it okay?" Li Yizhong asked in surprise.

"It's fine if you don't mind the weight."

Wei Ran put down the camera in his hand indifferently. He didn't have many old cameras here, and these cameras left by the Vietnam War reporter Zack were almost his main collection.

But for him, he has no shortage of cameras, and he doesn't have the habit of collecting old cameras.

So these cameras are just decorations here at best, so naturally people won’t be so concerned about them and reluctant to lend them out.

While the other party was choosing lenses, Wei Ran also dug out several boxes of 120 film from a cabinet and handed them to him. By the way, he also dug out the films he had taken in Shengzhou before.

After the films were developed, he hadn't had time to develop them into photos. Now that there was free labor at his doorstep, he naturally didn't intend to let it go.

Moreover, he could see that just like Chen Luoxiang was obsessed with playing the musical instrument, Li Yizhong, who also had a simple personality, really liked photography.

Sure enough, after he made the invitation, Li Yi Zhong immediately expressed his willingness to help, but at the same time he also said that he had no skills at all.

This was a trivial matter for Wei Ran, so he simply pulled over a chair and sat on it, using the excuse of teaching the other party how to develop photos as a pretext, and then confidently handed all the work to Li Yi Zhong.

Under his verbal command, Li Yi Zhong meticulously developed the photos that Wei Ran had taken in Shengzhou, and then under the former's command, he began to try to develop the film.

While teaching the other party how to make prints, Wei Ran also learned a lot about the past of his ancestors during the chat.

In general, according to Li Yi Zhong, his great-grandfather seemed to have lived a good life in his later years. In addition, because his great-grandfather had a relatively large business after the war, his family was relatively well-off, and his generation had hardly suffered any hardship.

Nowadays, Li Yi Zhong and his father have inherited the mantle of their respective grandfathers.

Li Yizhong's father took over the business left by Xiaowu and was busy every day.

Whenever they have some free time, they devote themselves to the laborious and even thankless task of sending veterans home.

Li Yizhong runs a photography studio which is relatively well-known, but in his words, it is all thanks to his grandfather's friends that he has taken care of it.

On weekdays, this young man, who is about the same age as Xia Shushi, spends most of his time traveling back and forth between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait with his girlfriend, who works as his assistant.

In his spare time, he would travel around the world, enjoying the life of his grandfather when he was young.

During this casual chat, he let the other person indulge in his desire to develop photos, and by the way, he also satisfied his curiosity about Xiaowu's later life. Wei Ran also casually took a Pentax camera that was so heavy that he wanted to find an exoskeleton to wear, and casually put a few rolls of film in his pocket, and took the other person out of the basement.

Although there was still plenty of time before evening, the girls, who had only worked for most of the day, had already begun preparing for the evening dinner under the leadership of the Queen.

Because there were guests at home, the fans in the entrances and exits of the air-raid shelters in the yard were temporarily shut down and blocked with green screens. Even the construction of the winery next door was temporarily stopped.

This not only allowed many Hela girls to light a bonfire early in the still spacious yard to prepare for the dinner as usual, but also allowed Li Yizhong to hold a borrowed camera and take his girlfriend Lu Yue to the construction site next door to take photos with great interest.

"Look at them"

Sui Sui put her arm around Wei Ran and said, "You haven't taken many photos of me."

“I have time now.”

Wei Ran shook the huge camera in his hand and said, "It's rare to use such a heavy machine. I really need a beautiful model."

"You know the truth"

Sui Sui immediately smiled and let Wei Ran direct her. She posed in various ways during the time before sunset and he took pictures of her again and again with the huge camera.

It is hard to say whether this is a competition between two photographers or a discussion on photographic techniques.

Fortunately, neither model dominated the camera for too long, which gave the two photographers the time and opportunity to press the shutter again and again towards those busy and laughing girls.

Needless to say, that night, with the bonfire, singing and various styles of food, everyone was having a great time. Li Yi Zhong and his girlfriend also stayed at Wei Ran's house.

"Are you going to agree to help?"

Before going to bed, Sui Sui nestled in Wei Ran's arms and asked, feeling a little drunk.

"I haven't thought about it yet," Wei Ran asked curiously, "Why are you asking this?"

"If you like that set of cameras, I'll buy one for you," said Sui Sui.

Wei Ran smiled, hugged the girl tightly and said, "I'm not interested in collecting cameras."

"So what are you interested in collecting?" Sui Sui asked without knowing whether to live or die. "Collecting beautiful girls?"

"Don't put the blame on me"

Wei Ran rarely steered the topic off topic. "But I also want to know what that crazy grandpa went through. Of course, it has nothing to do with the camera that Li Yizhong brought."

"So you plan to follow him to the island?" Sui Sui asked after a moment of silence, "Will you also go to the pharmacy we went to before?"

"I do plan to go take a look, but I don't need to go to that pharmacy."

Wei Ran asked with a smile, "What about you? Are you planning to go with me then?"

"It depends"

Sui Sui said, "So you plan to let the matter of our Spanish friends drag on? They have paid."

"Don't you want to go out and play?" Wei Ran asked back.

"Of course I do!"

Sui Sui answered as if she was afraid that this reasonable excuse would slip away, but soon she sighed and said pitifully, "But I really don't have time. I have too much work on hand."

"In that case, then do something else and relax."

Before Wei Ran finished his words, Sui Sui, who was being picked up, let out a scream.

Time passed quickly and it was the next morning. Li Yi Zhong and the other man, who got up not much later than Wei Ran and the others, said that they were going to take the flight they had already bought to go to Moscow to play for a few days, and they were particularly confident that the Dongfeng camera they brought with them would be temporarily left with them.

After trying to persuade them to stay or offer to accompany them but being rejected, Wei Ran and Su Sui had no choice but to personally send the two people to the airport.

"I didn't say that"

On the way back, Sui Sui asked with a smile, "Are these two people too careless or do they trust us too much?"

“I guess they all do.”

Wei Ran was also a little amused, "I guess they were worried that if I stayed, they would be suspected of forcing me to make a decision, so they ran away."

"So have you made a decision?" Sui Sui asked.

However, before Wei Ran could open his mouth, Sui Sui's own cell phone rang.

"It's Aunt Daria," said Sui Sui, and then she answered the phone.

By the time the two people finished communicating on the phone, the car had already entered the city.

"What's wrong?" Wei Ran, who already had some guesses, asked curiously.

"The filming of The Last Line of Defense has been completed"

Sui Sui put her phone in her pocket and said, "Aunt Daria invited us over for an interview."

"us?"

“That’s us.”

Sui Sui raised her chin slightly and answered in a pretentious tone, "I am the director of this movie, and you, my loyal and useful knight, are the historical consultant of this movie."

"You are bullying Lu Xinda because she doesn't speak Russian." Wei Ran shook his head helplessly, "When do we leave?"

"tonight"

Sui Sui, who had just been driving secretly, said, "We should take a transport plane. If we had known, we wouldn't have let them go."

"It's still not too late to invite them once they arrive in Moscow," Wei Ran said indifferently.

"Right"

Sui Sui nodded, "Also, I'm very satisfied with the photos you took of me yesterday. Remember to bring that big monster camera this time. You will be responsible for taking photos of me when I am interviewed."

"My knight is really loyal and useful," Wei Ran joked self-deprecatingly.

"As long as you know"

Sui Sui touched Wei Ran's cheek with a smile, obviously bullying Lu Xinda who was driving for them because she didn't learn Russian very well.

When the three of them returned home, Sui Sui immediately called together her right-hand men, the Kajianka sisters, to pack their luggage. She then confidently assigned all the work to Marta, Lola and Lucinda, three young and hardworking people.

That evening, Wei Ran, Sui Sui and the Kajianka sisters rushed back to the airport and took a passing fruit transport plane to St. Petersburg.

'They've taken off'

In the office on the top floor of the main building of Hongqi Forest Farm, teacher Anna, sitting in a massage chair, was enjoying the massage function of the foot bath while gently patting her cheeks which were covered with a facial mask.

“I hope he can pass the test.”

Karp, who was also sitting in a massage chair and soaking his feet in his own foot bath, said that although he had no mask on his face, he was comfortably holding an Arabic hookah pipe in his hand.

"Where are you going to talk to him?" Anna asked with her eyes closed.

"The fishing grounds, of course," Culp replied. "There's no better place than there."

"So." Anna paused, "Is it finally over?"

"yes."

Culp replied nonchalantly in the diffuse fruit aroma, "Yes, it's finally over. It's time to retire."

"He won't treat us as tools to kill himself, right?" Anna asked worriedly.

"He is no longer the stupid rookie who made people laugh."

“He has no use for us old guys who are out of date,” Culp said.

"He would be willing to take care of those families"

"Life is always a gamble, isn't it?" Karp said this with extraordinary confidence.

"yes"

Anna took the pipe handed to her and took a sip, quite sadly. "No, when are we leaving?"

"Tomorrow," said Culp, "we'll set out tomorrow and wait for him at the fishing grounds."

"Okay, then tomorrow." Anna responded absentmindedly between puffs of smoke.

That evening, Wei Ran, Sui Sui and the Kajianka sisters arrived in St. Petersburg and successfully met up with Olena who came to pick them up at the airport.

"Victor, how about you drive?" Olena said as she handed over the car keys.

"no problem"

Wei Ran took the car keys, opened the door and asked, "Where are you going?"

"Diaoyu Island, of course it's Diaoyu Island."

Olena responded, "Tomorrow's interview will be divided into three parts. The first part will be held at the exhibition hall on Fish Island, the second part will be held on the island of the last line of defense, and the last part will be held at the entrance of the Road of Life Museum."

"How long will it take?" Sui Sui asked as she got into the back seat of the car.

“A whole day”

Olena also went in while she was talking. "The first and third parts of the interview are for you, the part in the middle on the island is for Victor, and there will be a celebration party the day after tomorrow that requires your presence."

"When will this movie be released?" Wei Ran said as he drove the car away.

"On Victory Day," Olena replied.

“It’s such an honor.”

Wei Ran exclaimed, this is indeed an honor, if converted into domestic, this is almost equivalent to the National Day prime time.

“The finished film has already started editing.”

Olena said, "I heard that the rough cut has been shown to several World War II veterans who participated in the Battle of Leningrad, and their feedback is quite good."

"It really should be done faster, at least so they can see it."

After saying that, Sui Sui changed the subject, "Speaking of which, how is the theme song that Olga is responsible for and the statue that you are responsible for?"

“My statue is finished”

Olena spread her hands. "Olijia has completed the 23rd version of the theme song, but she is still not satisfied with it, so I guess it will take some time."

"Where is Ninel?" Wei Ran asked with interest.

"He has been accompanying my sister since we returned from China."

Olena sneered, "If he wasn't here, maybe that love-brained guy who wouldn't even eat a dog would have already been finalized."

“I really taught you a good word.”

Sui Sui's mumbling in her native language at a moderately loud voice made Wei Ran smile, but he did not join in the topic.

During this casual chat, Wei Ran drove out of the city, sped along the road beside the river, and finally drove to Yudao Island where Teacher Daria's exhibition hall was located.

From a distance, he also saw Teacher Daria, Olga, and Ninel waiting for them under the street light at the entrance of the exhibition hall, and of course, the professional sinking lake expert Ivan and his wife Yana.

After parking the car and opening the door, they exchanged some greetings. Sui Sui and Wei Ran took out the gifts they had brought, and then followed everyone into the warm and comfortable wooden house. At this time, a sumptuous dinner had already been prepared in the room.

However, before dinner started, Daria used the excuse that she needed to go to the basement to get some canned food and naturally borrowed Wei Ran's phone.

"Mr. Nikolai gave you a playing card?" Daria asked directly in the basement with a dim light.

"That's right," Wei Ran nodded, "It's a small king."

"Do you need to redeem your prize?" Daria asked bluntly.

Wei Ran spread his hands and said, “There probably won’t be such demand in the short term.”

“Not too stupid”

Daria breathed a sigh of relief, and while selecting the canned food she made herself on the shelf, she said nonchalantly but confidently, "As long as I am alive, even if Mr. Nikolay dies, even if you cause trouble equivalent to the disintegration of the Soviet Union,

You can redeem your prize at any time, but this card must be your last hole card. Victor, this is the worst card. "

"I see"

Wei Ran nodded and answered softly, "Does he lack a trump card?" He really doesn't lack one.

Of course, he also had to admit that the dangerous little king did give him some inexplicable confidence.

"After the interview, you need to go to the fishing ground. Someone is waiting for you," said Daria.

"Is it the price of that Zhang Xiaowang?" Wei Ran asked.

"It's just a request made after showing complete trust," Dahlia sighed, her tone sounding particularly tired.