War Photographer's Notebook

Chapter 1875 A Group of Old Guys Preparing to Retire

Early the next morning after arriving at St. Petersburg Fish Island, Sui Sui was woken up from her sleep and let Wei Ran help her put on her clothes. Then she brushed her teeth and washed her face in a daze. Afterwards, she was taken care of by the Kajianka sisters and sat in front of the dressing table that Teacher Daria had prepared for her in advance.

While Anfisa was helping her put on makeup, Teacher Daria sat next to her and asked in advance all the questions that would be asked in the interview.

All this made Wei Ran, who was watching from the sidelines, recall how he was when he was first interviewed.

However, this time, Teacher Daria did not help Sui Sui calibrate her answers, tone, and speaking speed.

Of course, no money was deducted based on whether her answer was wrong or not. The teacher just let her express herself freely with complete confidence.

Fortunately, Sui Sui did well. At least Wei Ran couldn't hear anything wrong with the answers she gave.

In that case, he simply set up the old camera he brought with him and took a few photos of her from different angles.

At 9:30 in the morning of that day, a news vehicle drove into Yudao Island. The interview with Sui Sui was held in the lobby on the first floor of the exhibition hall which was temporarily closed, and started on time at 10:30.

In the next part, Wei Ran does not need to leave the country. His only task is to choose a suitable angle and take some beautiful photos of Sui Sui while she is being interviewed.

Near noon, the interview with Sui Sui ended successfully. After having lunch at the invitation of Ivan and his wife, the reporter and photographer did not even have time to rest, and boarded the fishing boat driven by Wei Ran to the island which was still in the cold winter.

After returning here after a few months, although the island is now covered with a layer of snow, there is also a group of statues in this thick snow.

These statues include the anti-aircraft gun, the militiamen who operated the gun, and the children.

Wei Ran was interviewed right next to this group of statues, and the content of his interview mostly focused on historical truth.

At the same time, sisters Sui Sui and Kajianka, led by teacher Daria, had already rushed to the Road of Life Museum to begin another part of the interview.

When the interview about the two ended, all the actors that Wei Ran had seen or not seen, including Jima and Maya, rushed to the island one after another.

Before everyone had to wait long, Sui Sui, who had deliberately put on a director's vest, also came over.

Under the direction of the photographer waiting here, the many actors who arrived changed into militia uniforms and stood beside the statue according to the roles they played.

Sui Sui, who was sitting on the high stool in the middle, was holding a clapperboard with four red stars painted on it.

The young actors from Inta or Jima's village changed into colorful modern clothes and stood beside Susu.

In front of all the actors, staff and sculptures taking part in the group photo, on the white snow, a Russian latest 9K333 individual missile launcher was specially placed.

On the slender body of this individual missile launcher, the name of the movie, which will soon be released for free, is handwritten in red paint - The Last Line of Defense.

“Just press the shutter button later.”

As Wei Ran spoke, he handed the shutter cable connected to the Pentax 672 camera to Anfisa, then took the old-fashioned gas lamp from Anfisa's hand, walked into the group of people taking photos, and sat on the high stool reserved for him next to Sui Sui.

"Crack!"

With the sound of crisp shutter clicks, this group photo, which was intended to be used as a poster, was taken by a film camera mounted on a tripod and by the official photographer's digital camera.

"When did you come here?" After taking the group photo, Wei Ran asked Ji Ma who was standing diagonally behind him.

“Just got here this morning.”

Jima yawned after he finished speaking. "But Maya and I may have to leave soon. We have a new filming task waiting for us."

"Thank you for your hard work," said Sui Sui as she stood up.

"No, no, no, it's not hard at all. I simply love this kind of life under the spotlight." While speaking, Jima happily hugged Maya beside him.

"What about you? How do you feel?" Sui Sui asked Maya with a smile.

“I also like flying around the world.”

Maya smiled and responded, "Next we are going to shoot the movie about the British pilot, the German pilot and the French woman in the sea hotel, Aurora, are you really not going to let Marta participate?"

“She has more important work to do next.”

Sui Sui also said with regret, "I also thought she would be more willing to act in that movie."

"What's more important?" Wei Ran asked curiously.

"I will let her take care of the He girl from now on."

Sui Sui explained, "After all, she's the only one among us who can speak Japanese, and she doesn't actually want to be an actress."

"Girls, let's talk after we get back. It's time to leave here." Daria called from afar.

“This is definitely not the place to chat”

As Sui Sui spoke, she took the bouquet of flowers handed to her by Anfia and placed it in the arms of one of the sculptures. She then gently brushed off the snow on the sculpture's body, turned around and happily put her arm around Wei Ran, who had just picked up the anti-aircraft missile launcher, and walked towards the temporary dock not far away with him and their friends.

The group returned to Yudao. Jima and Maya, who needed to participate in the filming, did not rest at all and followed the official team's car to the city.

"Aurora"

Darya asked as she called everyone to the cabin, "How about asking Victor to help me go to Kirov tomorrow? I have a friend there who needs his help."

"no problem!"

Still immersed in the excitement of the interview, Sui Sui readily agreed without giving it any thought.

Early the next morning, Wei Ran said goodbye to Sui Sui, who was still asleep and hungover, drove to the airport alone, and took the earliest flight to Kirov City, where Fishery No. 33 was located.

He thought he had arrived early enough, but when he walked out of the airport, he found that Teacher Anna was already waiting for him at the airport gate.

"So it was actually you that Teacher Dalia asked me to come here to see?" Wei Ran took the car keys handed to him by the other party and asked with great curiosity.

“You’ll know soon.”

Anna said, already leading him into the parking lot and walking to an inconspicuous van.

As the car started moving, Teacher Anna, who was sitting in the back seat, helped Wei Ran find the way while taking out various things from the cardboard box.

Finally, under her guidance, the car left the city and drove to the frozen river in the suburbs. There was no one here, but there were two snowmobiles parked in the river.

"Come in and change your clothes"

Anna greeted him, then opened the car door, walked into the river, got on a snowmobile, and ran away along the river which was still frozen solid, with the roar of the engine.

Scratching his head, Wei Ran got into the back seat of the car, changed into the thick clothes that the other party had helped to prepare, and then put on a helmet and gloves. Then he locked the car door, walked down the river, rode another snowmobile, and chased after the other party along the tire tracks left by him.

Of course, when he stopped the car, he had already driven into the long-abandoned No. 33 Fishery.

After habitually observing the surroundings, Wei Ran took off his helmet and gloves, walked into the door of one of the buildings following the footprints on the snow, and then walked up along the footprints on the dusty ground, finally arriving at the second floor of the building and walking into one of the offices.

The office was not very large, with just a table, three chairs, and a kerosene heater that was obviously brought in from outside. On the heater, which was working hard, were a few large potatoes with dry skins and a pot of coffee.

At this time, Teacher Anna and Karp were sitting on the left and right sides of this table. On the table between them, in addition to three cups, there were also piles of file bags.

"sit down"

As Karp spoke, he did not forget to pour Wei Ran a cup of coffee that smelled particularly cheap.

"You called me here, it must be something big, right?" Wei Ran sat down and picked up the cup full of coffee.

"Don't drink it, it's expired a long time ago." Karp kindly reminded.

Putting down the cup slightly embarrassedly, Wei Ran looked at the two of them eagerly.

"Let me tell you," Anna shook her head helplessly, "Victor, we are going to retire."

"retire?"

"That's right"

Anna patted the old-looking file bags on the table and said, "Here is the approximate information of 116 people who are about to retire or have reached retirement age like us."

"so."

"Some of them are disabled, like Leva, the one-armed old soldier you met who lives in Kirov.

Some have been paralyzed in bed for many years and can only rely on their wives or husbands to work to support their lives. Of course, like us, they have no pension. "

"You've been to the mental hospital that Gorman ran in this city."

Karp also patted the file bag on the table and said, "The caregivers in there are the family members of these people."

“Before you go to the forest farm for classes, a small number of the girls studying there also come from these people’s families,” Anna added.

“We should all retire”

Karp said with some difficulty, "But"

"If it was just this matter, I should have brought Aurora with me."

Wei Ran did not give the other party a chance to finish the second half of his sentence, "How is Volgograd?"

"What?" Karp didn't react for a moment.

"I say, how is Volgograd?"

Wei Ran repeated, “It’s not as warm as Sochi, but at least it’s not as cold as Kirov.

Let those who are disabled or paralyzed, who have no one to take care of them or whose families are unable to take care of them, go there to live in old age.”

Wei Ran said to himself, "No, Marta will invest in a Marta House specifically for them to live there as victims of the Donetsk war."

Waving his hand to let him finish, Wei Ran continued, "As for those who are younger or in good health and don't want to waste the rest of their lives like this.

Aurora's business is all legal, so supporting these people shouldn't be a problem."

Waving his hand again, Wei Ran continued, "As for their children, those who want to study can go to school, and those who want to learn skills can go to learn skills.

Anyone who wants to work can go in and work as long as Aurora's company can use their skills. Even if they really can't be used, we can help them find a decent job."

Waving his hand for the third time, Wei Ran finally said, "I guess there must be some people who are unwilling to go under the sun. If they are willing, they can go to Papua New Guinea and start a new life with Mr. Gorman.

Well, I have finished what I want to say, teachers, it is your turn now. "

"I thought you would find this a burden," sighed Culp.

“You could have mentioned it earlier.”

Wei Ran spread his hands, "It's actually not difficult for Aurora or me to support these people."

“You’re not curious.”

“I don’t have a bad habit of snooping into other people’s pain”

Wei Ran replied, "Even if we only consider the teacher-student relationship between us, these are actually nothing." Hearing this, Karp and Anna, who was sitting opposite him, looked at each other, and both of them breathed a sigh of relief.

"So it's just for this little thing?" Wei Ran asked.

"Small things?"

Karp shook his head helplessly. "Do you know how much money it would take to maintain the basic living expenses of so many families at the same time without breaking the law?"

"If it weren't for you and Aurora, if it weren't for chance to set up the production studio and invest in Inta's tourism industry."

Anna sighed, "The money we spend teaching women self-defense at the Red Flag Forest Farm alone isn't enough to cover their medication expenses."

"In the past few years, it was basically that Big-Eared Chabu who sponsored these families." Kalp only said the first half of the sentence, but did not say the second half.

However, Wei Ran couldn't help but guess some of it.

Even with the hemorrhoids stuck in the buttocks, you can understand that if you accept funding from an arms dealer, no matter how "honest" the arms dealer is, you will probably have to do something for him.

“We have supported some businessmen before,” Anna shook her head, “but they were too greedy.”

"No rich man has the courage to keep so many around him."

"A courageous person probably wouldn't be satisfied with just doing legal business, right?" Wei Ran asked.

"yes"

Anna nodded, "Even Ninel, all his businesses are illegal."

"Is legality so important to you?" Wei Ran asked a stupid question.

“Of course it’s important”

Culp responded, "There are a lot of eyes on these troublesome people who should be dead, some of whom want to take advantage of them, and some who see them as potential dangers."

“It is also because of the existence of these burdens.”

Anna followed up, "The Chabu you've met, even Ninel, sometimes can't help but do things they don't want to do."

"So, if I take over, some people will be dissatisfied with me?" Wei Ran asked with a smile, his smile full of anticipation.

"Will not"

“If you’re willing to work out the logistics, Ninel and Chubb will help you out the door,” Culp said.

Hearing this, Wei Ran couldn't help feeling a little sad while finding it funny.

A penny may not necessarily defeat a hero, but it can definitely make a hero with a family bow his head.

It may be easy for these chosen ones to make money, but it is definitely not so easy for them to make money legally, and there is no telling how many people are secretly trying to trip them up.

“Recruitment is usually handled by the Kajianka sisters.”

Wei Ran pointed to the file bags on the table and said, "I won't read these. There's no need to read them.

I will say hello to these sisters. The two teachers plan to find jobs for so many people. Just send them a simple photo, name and contact information.

In addition, I will let them talk to Marta. If the two have no objection, construction of a new Marta House will begin in the near future.

Those who do not want to work or are unable to work can freely decide whether to live there, but in any case, they will receive a monthly pension that satisfies them. "

After saying this, Wei Ran added, "As for the problems that the two teachers are worried about, there is actually no need to worry. Thank you for your help. I now have more younger and more useful helpers.

So if you and your friends are really going to do something, why not make sure that playing card is always available and keep Aurora safe?"

"Aren't you worried that we would... What's that Chinese idiom called?"

Culp asked, "The idiom about the turtledove taking the magpie's nest."

"The dove occupies the magpie's nest"

Wei Ran responded in Chinese first, then switched back to Russian and said confidently, "Mr. Karp, it's not that I look down on you and your friends, but within the legal scope and under the same conditions.

You and your friends combined are probably not as good at business as Aurora. And even if her business is taken away, it doesn't matter. The most you can take away is the business in Russia.

Or rather, if you don’t mind the trouble, I can even give you all the industries in Russia.”

“Forget it”

Anna smiled and shook her head. “Although this matter went better than we expected, let’s do as you say.”

"How do you two teachers plan to spend your retirement life?" Wei Ran asked with a smile.

“We’ve just retired, but we’re not planning on stopping working yet.”

"We will continue to be studio directors," Culp said.

"Then I wish both teachers to become famous film directors."

Wei Ran said sincerely, "You are not yet sixty years old, it is a good time for you to fight and venture out."

This Chinese humor also amused Karp and Anna, and the topic between them finally left the files on the table.

Of course, while chatting, Wei Ran felt completely relieved in his heart.

He knew, or rather he was extremely certain, that these red ghosts had completely trusted him and had decided to be completely tied to him.

In the future, he naturally would not expect these old guys who just wanted to retire and live an ordinary life after completing their revenge on the bell ringer to do anything adventurous for him.

But he was already sure that no matter the small king in the food box could be exchanged for a chemical warhead, or even the one he didn't get, it represented the king of nuclear bombs.

In extreme cases where necessary in the future, they might all be able to take off for the sake of their common good - even if he doesn't need to.

No, no, no, it should be explained like this: these jokers, which are destined not to be actually thrown onto the poker table, will always protect him and Su Su, at least within Russia.

It can even be said that it is equivalent to stacking layers of armor on his weak spots. Compared with these, the so-called "burdens" that need their help to support have become "protons" in a sense.

As for the cost of maintaining these protons, compared with what we get, it is really not worth mentioning.

“Finally, this is the fishery.”

Kapoor looked nostalgically at the yard that had been cleaned just last summer but had become overgrown with weeds again. "At least do some necessary maintenance here every three years."

"No problem." Wei Ran readily agreed to the other party's last small request, which was really not worth mentioning.

"In that case, we won't keep you here." Karp said, "You can go back on your own. I hope you won't get lost."

"So you made me run all the way here just for a few words?" Wei Ran asked with a helpless look.

“These words only make sense when they are discussed here.”

"We old guys who have been left behind by the times are counting on you for our future retirement, but don't expect us to help you with your shady business," Culp said.

"Mr. Culp, I'm just a historian." Wei Ran's smiling answer obviously made the other party very satisfied.

"Be careful on your way back," Anna said with a smile.

"You too"

After Wei Ran finished speaking, he stood up and left the office which had been idle for who knows how long. He went downstairs, got on the snowmobile, and drove back along the tire tracks he had come from.

He didn't know that when his back was blocked by the trees on both sides of the river, Karp and Anna had already walked into a conference room on the top floor of the building where they were talking.

This conference room was exceptionally clean. In the middle of the circular conference table, there were three or four heaters turned on to maximum power. There was also coffee and pairs of headphones on the table.

Sitting around the table were some female nurses that Wei Ran had seen in the local mental hospital by Gorman a few years ago, as well as some people in wheelchairs. Among them were even the one-armed veteran Leva who ran an old camera shop, as well as Ninel and Uncle Chabu.

“Everyone just heard it.”

Karp said, casually placing the file bag he brought in on the table, "Does anyone have any comments?"

"I have no opinion"

Ninel was the first to speak in his unique, slow tone, "I believe in Victor, and of course, I also believe in the Queen's ability to make money. As long as you don't let greed take over your mind, she will make everyone live a good life."

"I don't have any objection either"

Uncle Chabu picked up the bottle on the table and took a big gulp of vodka. "That young man will take care of your retirement life, and I will take care of all the assholes who try to intimidate historians."

"I have no objection either. I trust that young man."

The one-armed veteran Leva said, "Karp, Anna, thank you for your hard work over the years."

“It’s nothing”

Culp shook his head, then looked at the rest of the people in the conference room, "What about you?"

“We believe in your choice”

One of the fat women with a standard Russian aunt figure said, "It would be great if it is true as he just said. My husband really needs better medical care."

“I also have no reason to refuse.”

Another fat lady who was about the same age as Anna said, "I would be satisfied if they could arrange a decent job for my son. The work in the coal mine is too dangerous and too hard."

Seeing Karp looking over, the other family representatives in the conference room who were selected to attend the meeting also expressed their support.

"In this case, everyone should go back and ask the families they represent what choice they are prepared to make."

Karp said, "Niniel, how about you be in charge of gathering everyone's decisions?"

"No problem," Ninel responded slowly.

"Since there is nothing for me to do, I will leave first."

Uncle Chabu said expectantly, "I can finally let go and do something to my heart's content."

"Where are you going?" Anna asked subconsciously.

"Irkutsk"

As Uncle Chub walked out of the meeting room, he said, "I can't wait to go have a drink with my friends."

"It looks like some bastards are going to be in trouble tonight," Ninel's slow tone was full of gloating.

Karp shook his head helplessly and said tiredly, "Everyone should leave early."

Not long after, a civilian helicopter took off from a wasteland less than one kilometer away from the fishing ground. Almost at the same time, several snowmobiles arrived, each towing a sled with more or less people on it, and headed in different directions.