War Photographer's Notebook

Chapter 1876 Old Shencheng Photo Studio
Returning to the riverside outside Kirov, Wei Ran got into the van specially prepared for him, took off his helmet and gloves, sat in the cold car, sent an email to the Kajianka sisters, and then slowly started the car and drove towards the airport.

By the way, he was also thinking about what to do next.

There is no doubt that Mr. Miguel, the wrestler friend from Spain, had already paid the commission in advance for the historical clues that he and his brother-in-law wanted to entrust him to help investigate years ago.

But it seems that this matter can be delayed a little longer, or it would be better to say it more bluntly.

He now urgently wanted to use the photo and story of the big knife brought by Li Yi Zhong as an excuse to visit Xiao Wu's home, not for any reason, just to take a look.

On the other hand, I just reached a binding deal with those wandering ghosts. Whether it's out of caution or trust, it's just to give the other party some dignity.

At this time, it seemed much better for him and Suo Su to leave Russia temporarily than to stay.

After thinking it over, he took out his cell phone and called Sui Sui while driving the car back to the airport.

After some communication between the two, when Sui Sui learned that Wei Ran was ready to agree to Li Yi Zhong's request for help, she immediately cheered and took charge of all the preparations before departure - she simply didn't want to work.

Since the itinerary had been decided, Wei Ran simply contacted Li Yi Zhong, who was still wandering around Moscow, through a WeChat group, and also added Sui Sui to the group.

After some communication, the two sides decided to meet in Kazan tomorrow. After confirming the itinerary, Wei Ran simply bought a flight ticket to Kazan.

By the time he finally caught a flight back to Kazan after a long wait, the sisters Susu and Kajianka had already arrived back on a fruit transport plane.

It was not until this time that Wei Ran took Sui Sui to the small living room on the second floor and briefly reiterated that Kalp and others were preparing to retire, and that some of their "Soviet friends" needed help.

Although Wei Ran concealed many things that he didn't want Su Su to know, this girl was extremely smart. Not only did she not ask more questions, but she waved her hand and expressed her support happily.

"Speaking of retirement, there happens to be someone in our family who needs to retire."

As Sui Sui spoke, she had already habitually ridden on Wei Ran's legs and lay in his arms. This was a very safe place for her.

"In our home?" Wei Ran didn't react for a moment.

"It's Mrs. Samantha, our wizard housekeeper."

Sui Sui said, "She came to hide with us because she and Xinda were being hunted. Now that the incident is over, she wants to go back.

The most important thing is that our business in Papua New Guinea requires more and more communication with the local tribes. With her, a wizard who has studied abroad, to support Xinda's brother Aig, the business in Grewa will be easier to advance."

"When does she plan to leave?"

The reason why the wizard Mrs. Samantha stayed behind was not only to help them avoid the enemies brought by the photo album, but also because Lucinda needed company and she didn't trust Egg.

Now Egg has joined Greeva's gang, and Lucinda has become Sui Sui's follower. Especially since Gorman and Liu Ivan are both in Papua New Guinea, he naturally won't stop this witch from returning to their tribe.

"Recently"

Sui Sui replied, "We don't need to send her off. Egg will take his wife to Inta to visit his mother-in-law and father-in-law in the near future, and he will pick her up on the way back."

"Time flies so fast," Wei Ran couldn't help but sigh.

Now, Mrs. Samantha is not only the host of the coffee bar in the Time Library, but she is also well-known in a certain small circle in Kazan for her accurate fortune-telling skills—but an appointment is required because Lucinda is needed to help translate.

"Yeah, time flies by so fast." Sui Sui also sighed.

"So we should take advantage of the time to walk around and see more." Wei Ran forcibly changed the subject, "Who are you going to take with you this time?"

"It's better to just take the Kajianka sisters. They are the only two who have already obtained the documents."

Sui Sui said with great confidence, "It's a good opportunity to try to leave all the business to Lola and Xinda."

"When did they do it?" Wei Ran asked curiously.

"Last year, when we went there to eat sesame cakes, I asked them to come back to get the registration done. At that time, I thought they would need to play there for a long time and was worried that they would need to go there to help with work or something, so I simply asked them to go and get the procedures done as soon as they came back."

"You are a prophet"

Wei Ran shook his head. "Your business won't be affected if you're not at home, right?"

"What impact does my presence or absence have on the cattle and horse herding business?"

Sui Sui was very confident. "Compared to these, I'm more worried about who will manage the coffee shop business that Greva and Mr. Miguel from Spain jointly invested in."

"No candidate?" Wei Ran asked.

"After all, this is a joint business between two gangs," Sui Sui said, "I have to find someone who can control the situation."

“I do have a recommendation.”

"You? Who?" Sui Sui immediately became alert.

"Niniel," Wei Ran said with a smile, "Believe me, there is no one more suitable than him."

"Will he be willing?" Sui Sui asked suspiciously, "Hasn't this Ninel always been in the United States?"

“He hasn’t always been in the United States.”

Wei Ran held the girl in his arms and smiled, "Don't worry, he will definitely be very happy with this job, and he is very experienced in managing gangs."

"Since you said so, please ask him for me later." Sui Sui smiled and threw the job to the proposer.

While the two of them were "arranging people" upstairs, Li Yi Zhong, who was strolling in Red Square, had also bought a flight to Kazan early the next morning.

And further away in Irkutsk, Uncle Chabu was also happily drinking with his friends and obtaining their consent and unconditional support on some insignificant little matters.

The next morning, when Li Yi Zhong and his girlfriend Lu Yue took the earliest flight to Kazan Airport, Wei Ran and Sui Sui also arrived at the airport with the Kajianka sisters.

Of course, they also brought their luggage to the airport, as well as the expensive old camera that Li Yi Zhong had left at their home.

In order to cater to the preferences of Li Yizhong's grandfather and find out some stories, Wei Ran even brought the heavy Pentax 672 camera, several commonly used lenses, and even a tripod and enough film.

"Please wait for the pleasantries."

Before Wei Ran and Li Yi Zhong were about to say hello, Sui Sui said, "Come with me, we'll board the plane first."

"Deng"

“You’ll know soon.”

Wei Ran also urged, calling on the couple to hurry up and took them through the employee passage to board a fruit transport plane that was ready to take off more than half an hour ago.

"Can we take this?" Li Yizhong asked dully, "Where are we going?"

"We can save a lot of money on air tickets if we fly our own plane. Let's fly to Vladivostok first, and we can take any flight we want."

Wei Ran's matter-of-fact answer made the couple even more stunned. Although the cargo hold of this cargo plane was loaded with a lot of unknown goods, Wei Ran's words "our own plane" still made them feel incredible.

"Is studying history so profitable?" Lu Yue asked Li Yi Zhong by whispering in his ear.

"how could I know"

Li Yi Zhong became more and more confused. He originally thought that the camera set he brought with him would definitely impress the other party. How could he have imagined that the other party didn't even have a shortage of airplanes?

Following the example of Wei Ran and the others, the Il-76 transport plane, which was covered with various tropical fruits, put on a huge communication headset and closed the door of the tail cabin amid the roar of the engine, and began its taxiing and take-off in a somewhat rough manner.

When the flight area was stable, Wei Ran even kindly invited the two of them to take a tour of the navigator's cabin and the rear turret cabin, which had a great view.

Not to mention the shock that this ride brought to Li Yi Zhong and others, at this time, Ninel, who had already returned to Diaoyu Island, finally chose to give up after failing to call Wei Ran for the sixth time.

The reason he wanted to contact Wei Ran was naturally because of the email that Wei Ran sent him after getting up in the morning.

“I think this is a good opportunity.”

In the warm wooden house, Mr. Ivan, a professional smelter, poured his son-in-law a glass of Chinese liquor that Wei Ran and Sui Sui brought him the day before and said, "This is a glamorous and respectable job. What reason do you have to refuse?"

"But my men are still..."

"Silly boy"

Dahlia, who was also hiding by the fireplace, clinked her wine glass with her best friend Yana, and after drinking it all, she reminded him, "Why don't you use your slow brain to think about why Victor contacted you to help Aurora manage those cafes?"

"Why?" Ninel asked bluntly.

"If Greva and that big Spanish guy can cram their gang members into the cafe, why can't those scum under your command?" Yana said what Daria wanted to say.

"Let those scumbags take care of it"

“Then do something else.”

Daria said casually, "It's the 21st century now, and everyone needs a glamorous identity. If you don't understand, you can go ask Greva."

“We need to do legitimate business”

Mr. Ivan kindly reminded, "It doesn't matter what's going on in secret, as long as you have a legal business under the sun."

"But what about my asylum and auto repair shop?" Ninel asked stubbornly.

"Since you already have a car repair shop and a mental hospital, why can't you have a cafe?" Daria asked with a headache.

"It seems so." Ninel finally showed an expression of sudden enlightenment.

"Yana, I'm beginning to doubt whether Olga can live a good life with him." Daria reminded worriedly.

"It doesn't matter," Yana said with great joy, "Olga is also a fool, the two of them are a perfect match."

“I went fishing”

Feeling bored, Ninel drank the wine in the glass in one gulp, got up and left the wooden house.

“Victor is a good kid.”

It was not until Ninel left the room that Ivan said with satisfaction, "He even pulled Ninel out of his shitty business and prepared a set of clean clothes for him." "The only pity is that he already has a girlfriend," Yana said regretfully.

“And there are a lot of them”

Dahlia smiled and drank the white wine in the glass. "This wine is good. Please pour me another glass. Thank you."

"Aren't you worried about Olena's future at all?" Ivan asked while pouring her wine.

“There’s nothing to worry about”

Daria said perfunctorily with particular confidence, picked up the wine glass that had just been filled and drank it all again, then picked up a piece of pig ear and put it into her mouth - this was what Wei Ran had braised for them before he left the day before.

While these old people were having a drink, Wei Ran, Sui Sui and others had already arrived in Vladivostok smoothly, and boarded a flight from Vladivostok to Taoyuan Airport via Shanghai.

Needless to say, there was a lot of chatting and fatigue along the way. When the plane landed safely at Taoyuan Airport, the temperature was much more comfortable than in Kazan, which made Wei Ran and others look comfortable.

After wasting some time walking out of the airport, Li Yi Zhong and his companion took them to find a locally produced Delica van at the airport.

This car has not only undergone heavy off-road modifications, but also has a lot of anime characters pasted on the body.

Obviously, the combination of anime and off-road elements makes this car inevitably look weird, but it also exposes the owner's hobbies to the fullest.

"She often goes to various comic conventions," Li Yizhong introduced while opening the driver's door of the car.

“He loved to go camping in the mountains and he would always drag me along.”

As Lu Yue spoke, he helped Wei Ran and the others open the rear door of the car, and then got into the passenger seat.

"It's hard to imagine that two people with completely different hobbies like you can get together."

Sui Sui got into the carriage and sat down, exclaiming in admiration that the last row of carriages in the car was still filled with some camping equipment such as tents.

“It’s been quite a long time.”

Lu Yue answered as a matter of course, "About five years old, right?"

“We are neighbors”

Li Yizhong started the car and said, "At that time, we lived in the military dependents' village. Her house was just across the road from mine. Later, after the demolition, we moved to the same place again."

While chatting about childhood sweethearts, the off-road van drove all the way towards Tainan.

It was also during the chat that I learned that although Li Yi Zhong and the other two were from southern Tai, their studio was in northern Tai.

On the other hand, although Li Yizhong’s grandfather is over 70 years old and his "Old Shencheng Photo Studio" has undergone relocation, it still remains in business.

When the car stopped again, it was already around two o'clock in the afternoon.

Wei Ran and the others fell asleep halfway and looked out the window, only to find an alley that looked very old.

Outside the car door is a small shop selling braised pork rice, and next to it is a family-style B&B that looks quite beautiful.

“Let’s eat something first.”

Li Yizhong had already pulled the handbrake while speaking, "The shop selling braised pork rice is run by Yueyue's father."

“The B&B next door is also mine.”

Lu Yue had already opened the car door while speaking. "It's run by my mother. You can stay in my B&B from now on. I've asked my mother to vacate all the guest rooms."

“I won’t bother you.”

"Will not"

Lu Yue opened the car door for them before Sui Sui finished speaking. "My hotel only has six rooms. Get out of the car. I'll take you to eat the braised pork rice made by my father!"

Since they were already here, Wei Ran and the other three naturally didn't bother to be polite. They followed Li Yi Zhong and the other two into this exceptionally busy shop.

This small shop without even a name may not have a big front, but it is quite big inside. In addition to braised pork rice, it also sells various snacks such as danzai noodles and oyster omelette.

Naturally, there were quite a few diners here, and judging from the way they greeted Li Yizhong and the others enthusiastically, you could tell that they were all locals.

After arranging Wei Ran and the other three to sit at two wooden tables put together, Li Yi Zhong and Lu Yue went straight into the kitchen and each brought three large bowls of braised pork rice filled with diced meat on a tray. Following behind them, a young man who looked to be about high school age brought a few snacks and a large pot of winter melon tea on a tray.

"This is my little brother Lu Yang, hello."

"Hello brothers and sisters"

The young man greeted them honestly and couldn't help but secretly take a look at the Kajianka sisters.

"Where is Grandpa?" Lu Yue asked while pouring tea for everyone.

"I went to play chess with Grandpa Li," the young man named Lu Yang replied quickly.

"Go and do your own thing. This is a gift for you and your parents."

As Lu Yue spoke, she handed the various souvenirs she had just brought in to her brother and stuffed him a stack of banknotes.

"Thank you, sister and brother-in-law!"

The young man, who looked honest enough, immediately thanked and ran into the kitchen with the gifts.

“He comes to the store to help out on weekends.”

Lu Yue explained, "My grandfather is playing chess with his grandfather. After dinner, if you are not tired, you can go and ask them. They know more about the crazy grandfather.

If you want to take a break, you can go tomorrow. The elderly are relatively free and have time anytime. "

"In that case, eat quickly. We'll go over and take a look later." Wei Ran said as he picked up the spoon.

Because they had gotten enough rest while waiting for the transfer in Shencheng, everyone was naturally not tired.

Moreover, Wei Ran had to admit that the braised pork rice at Lu Yue's house tasted really good. Plus, these two honest people added almost as much braised meat as rice, so this big bowl of rice was extremely satisfying to eat.

After eating and drinking, Li Yi Zhong and his companion took their luggage to the B&B next door and let them rest for an hour.

Around three o'clock in the afternoon, Wei Ran took the old camera he brought with him and slung it over his shoulder. Together with Sui Sui and the sisters Kajianka, they followed Li Yi Zhong and left this exceptionally cozy homestay, and continued chatting as they walked along this alley that looked very old.

Along the way, they could hear tourists speaking accents from all over the mainland chatting from time to time, and they could also see them raising their mobile phones or cameras from time to time to take pictures in this old-fashioned alley.

"Is there a scenic spot nearby?" Sui Sui asked curiously.

"That's right"

Li Yizhong raised his hand and pointed in a direction, "Not far away in that direction is Yonghua Palace, so there will be more tourists.

My grandfather liked the hustle and bustle, so he moved here after the military dependents’ village was demolished.”

“My mother’s family is here.”

Lu Yue followed up by saying, “My homestay was renovated from the house left by my grandpa.”

When the topic came to this point, Li Yi Zhong and the other person who were walking in the front stopped, and Wei Ran and the others also noticed a shop on the street.

This two-story shop is really ordinary. Above the double-door wooden door, there is an old and rusty sign with the words "Lao Shencheng Photo Studio" written on it.

On the left side of the door, there were some glass bottles of soda on the wooden windowsill. On the colored glass were four faded words: "Public Telephone".

"squeak"

Accompanied by a pleasant sound of door hinge friction, the spring wooden door was pushed open by Li Yizhong and the other person who were walking in front.

"Come in," Li Yizhong greeted warmly.

"excuse me"

Wei Ran said politely and then took the sisters Sui Sui and Kajianka into the photo studio.

This place is called a photo studio, but in fact it is more like a private photography exhibition hall.

There are photos under the glass of the counter facing the door, and the same is true on the walls on both sides. On the wall facing the door, there is a simple curtain.

In front of the curtain, like most photo studios of that era, there was a simple stool, two soft lights, and a Pentax 672 camera fixed on a tripod.

When Wei Ran and others came in, on both sides of the counter, there were two old men who were over 70 years old engaging in militarism across the Chu River and Han River.

With just one glance, Wei Ran recognized that the old man facing the gate was definitely Xiaowu's son.

Wei Ran subconsciously glanced at the name of the person in charge on the profit-making business registration certificate similar to a business license hanging on the wall on the side of the entrance, and a smile appeared on his face.

The name written on it is "Li Minghua", Ming as in Mingxiang Opera Troupe and Hua as in Lihua Opera House.

"Grandpa, we are back." Li Yizhong said, "He is the Wei Ran I told you about."

"Do you know how to come back?"

Li Xiaowu's son, Li Yizhong's grandfather, the old man who was suspected to be called Li Minghua, had already reached out and grabbed Li Yizhong's ear while talking. With his other hand, he picked up the tickler on the counter and asked in a dialect that Wei Ran and Sui Sui could hardly understand, "Where is my Dongfeng camera? Where did you steal it?"

"Grandpa, here! It's here?" Lu Yue quickly took off his backpack.

"Oh? Are you using this as a betrothal gift?"

The old man who just wanted to grab Li Yizhong's ears and beat him up suddenly smiled in the blink of an eye. Not only did he speak Mandarin that Wei Ran and Sui Sui could understand, he even waved his hand generously, "Since it's a gift from Zhong, you should keep it!"

"Why are all these grandfathers the same?" Wei Ran couldn't help but look at Sui Sui beside him.

They all subconsciously thought of Qin II's grandfather. They all seemed to be overly fond of their grandsons.