War Photographer's Notebook

Chapter 1926: Those Who Witnessed the End of the War

“Mr. Miguel, Mrs. Antonia, and Mr. Giuliano, welcome to your home.”

At the entrance of the library courtyard, Wei Ran, having received the news, along with Sui Sui, and Ji Ma and Maya, who were still visiting, warmly welcomed Miguel and his group, and also apologized for not being able to pick them up at the airport.

"This is my fault."

Greta, who had rushed back ahead of time, said apologetically, "I forgot to inform Mr. Victor to pick me up from the airport. After all, I also wanted to see my friends as soon as possible."

While the beautiful translator who had come along again was busy conveying apologies, Wei Ran and Sui Sui invited everyone into their home and sat down in the large living room on the first floor.

"Mr. Victor, have you really found any clues about my grandfather?"

Before Lola could serve coffee to everyone, Mrs. Antonia couldn't help but ask.

"Lyubofu, could you go to the storage room and get that LV trunk for me?" Wei Ran said with a smile after the blonde woman sitting to the side finished translating.

"Please wait"

As Liu Bofu spoke, she called to Lu Xinda, who had just brought over the fruit platter, and together they went into the nearby storage room and took out the LV suitcase that Wei Ran had placed inside.

"Where did you find this box?!" Antonia stood up in shock.

"Does Mrs. Antonia recognize this box?"

Wei Ran waited until the blonde girl finished translating before throwing the question back at her.

"Of course I know him."

Antonia sighed, "My grandfather always regretted not being able to take that box with him."

Please open it and take a look.

As the translator spoke, Wei Ran said, "Check if anything is missing inside."

Upon hearing this, the blonde translator immediately translated the sentence to Antonia and Giuliano, who was already excitedly placing his hands on the box.

Before she could finish translating, Giuliano excitedly opened the old box.

“Mr. Miguel, let’s talk somewhere else,” Wei Ran offered, and then winked at Jima, who was accompanying him.

After listening to the blonde woman's translation, Miguel immediately got up and followed Wei Ran outside the villa, where they sat by the fountain.

Wei Ran handed Miguel and Dima a cigarette each and lit it for them. He then said to himself, "I have found the address of the mill that Mr. Milos wanted to return to. It is at the foot of Mount Kozara in Bosnia and Herzegovina."

In addition, the envelopes containing the letters kept in that box also had an address located in Germany.

"Mr. Miguel, there's still some time before the birthday party. Would you like to come and check it out?"

When the invitation was translated into Spanish, Miguel accepted it almost without hesitation.

"You let me come out with you, you don't mean you're planning to have me come along too, do you?" Ji Ma, sitting next to Wei Ran, asked, puffing out a cloud of smoke.

"Follow me if you have time, otherwise..."

"Of course I have time," Ji Ma agreed before Wei Ran could finish speaking.

“Mr. Miguel, we are not very familiar with Bosnia and Herzegovina, and it is probably too late to apply for a visa to go there.”

Wei Ran said, "So why don't you lead Giuliano and the others to check out that address in Bosnia and Herzegovina yourself? We'll go to Germany to find the address where Mr. Milos communicates and see if there are any surprises."

"No"

After listening to the translation, Miguel waved his hand and refused, saying, "Let Giuliano and Antonia go to Bosnia and Herzegovina on their own. I'll go to Germany with you."

“That’s fine too,” Wei Ran nodded in agreement after the blonde woman finished translating, then looked at Jima.

“I’ll contact Ali right now,” Jima said, already pulling out his phone.

"Let's go in too."

Wei Ran stubbed out his cigarette, got up, and invited Miguel back to the lobby on the first floor. He then discussed his plans to go to Germany with Sui Sui.

"I'd like to go too, but I really don't have the time."

Sui Sui said regretfully, "I invited the Golden Fleece members over, and I'll be busy entertaining them these next few days, especially Coco, who has already left."

"I want to stay too."

Before Jima, who returned a little later, could speak, Maya said, "I am also a member of the Golden Fleece, so I have to help Aurora entertain everyone."

“In that case, let’s go with Mr. Miguel.”

Wei Ran asked, "Where is your Golden Fleece meeting held?"

“The studio, there’s plenty of space there,” Sui Sui said without hesitation.

“Greva, you stay and help out,” Dima said with a wink. “And while you’re at it, make sure to entertain Miss Anna who’s coming from Chicken Tofu.”

"I will treat everyone well," Greva promised with a smile.

Just then, Miguel's wife, Antonia, spoke up in Spanish, saying, "I never knew my grandfather knew any Germans, and he never mentioned it."

“We never knew that our grandfather was a sniper. No wonder he was such a good shot back then.”

Giuliano, speaking in Spanish, said, “Miguel, as I told you, my sister and I used to eat wild duck and pigeon meat all the time. My grandfather would shoot them down with a BB gun.”

These dialogues can be translated for everyone.

Miguel gave a word of advice to the blonde female translator beside him before saying, "I remember when I picked you two up, you insisted on taking that BB gun with you."

That gun has always been in my bedroom.

Giuliano said, "My son has recently started shooting wild ducks with that gun, and he's very accurate. He might even have the talent to be a sniper."

"Maybe we can organize a hunting competition on the day of the birthday party."

Before the translator could finish, Jima suggested, "If you have enough time, I can even take you hunting in Inta, which is my specialty."

At this point, Jima turned to Wei Ran and asked, "How about we hold that birthday party in Inta? It's quiet enough there, and we won't be disturbed by anyone."

“You’re the organizer, so you make the decisions,” Wei Ran said with a smile.

"Gentlemen, how about we go to Inta?"

As he spoke, Dima looked at the blond translator and said, "I will arrange a fun-filled hunting trip for everyone in Inta. This is the kind of activity men should have when they are discussing business."

I have no objection.

After listening to the translation, Miguel immediately said, "We can even resolve some issues that we can't reach a consensus on through hunting."

You'll regret making this decision.

"I am a hunter after all," Dima said confidently. "I have enough confidence in this matter."

“You’ll regret being so confident, Mr. Dima,” Giuliano replied with equal confidence.

You'll find out then.

Dima smiled. "I'll inform the other attendees. Also, Mr. Miguel, my private plane will be landing in Kazan in about two hours. We should prepare to head to Germany together."

“Speaking of which, Antonia, what’s in this box?” Miguel asked his wife.

"It has everything we want to know."

Antonia, holding Milos's memoirs, suppressed her excitement as she said, "It details the location of that mill, the place where our grandfather grew up." "In that case..."

Miguel said, “Giuliano, take your sister back there and see for yourself. Whether the mill is still there or not, buy it.”

“We’ll set off as soon as possible,” Giuliano said hastily.

That afternoon, Miguel, who had rushed over, accompanied the blonde female translator and Wei Ran and Jima on a flight to Berlin, Germany.

That same afternoon, Giuliano and his sister Antonia, who had also rushed over, along with their children, the LV suitcase, the G43 semi-automatic sniper rifle, and the P38 pistol, boarded a flight to Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The journey itself was uneventful, and although the two sides needed the help of the beautiful translator to communicate, they still had a pleasant conversation. However, they tacitly avoided discussing the "birthday celebration".

Almost at the same time that Wei Ran and the others' private plane took off from Kazan, Coco's public flight also landed at Kazan Airport.

Perhaps to emphasize the importance of this meeting, Coco even brought along Mr. Sebastian, the money rake from the Elk Foundation.

After a long flight and a refueling stop in Minsk, the private plane, nominally belonging to Dima, landed at Berlin Airport. When the group walked out of the arrival gate, they were greeted by Mr. Hans, who had come to pick them up.

“Victor, we meet again.” Mr. Hans greeted Wei Ran cheerfully.

"Mr. Hans, why did you come to pick me up personally?" Wei Ran said apologetically.

He did contact Mr. Hans before takeoff, but his intention was simply to formally introduce Miguel to him.

“I’m retired now, so I have plenty of time,” Mr. Hans said casually, glancing at Miguel.

Seeing this, Wei Ran immediately introduced Miguel. As for the accompanying Dima, he was left out, since everyone had met him before, and Mr. Hans remembered him. He even asked about Greva, who had feelings for Anna.

After exchanging pleasantries, everyone followed Mr. Hans out of the airport and into the business vehicle he had prepared. Wei Ran also explained the purpose of their visit.

"In that case, I'll go with you to take a look."

Mr. Hans asked with great interest, "Victor, how did you find this place?"

“I went to great lengths to find some of Mr. Milos’s lost belongings, and those belongings contained information about this address.”

Wei Ran answered with a smile. As for how he found Mr. Milos's belongings, Hans did not ask, and naturally he would not take the initiative to explain.

Of course, even if the other party asks, he has enough reasons. If all else fails, there's always "trade secrets," right?

"Mr. Hans, the birthday party on the 20th of this month will be hosted by Jima." Wei Ran said casually on the way to the destination.

"He's here to represent you?" Hans asked with a smile.

"That's right"

Wei Ran nodded. "I am ultimately just a historian, and I am really not good at business matters, so I will leave it to Ji Ma to handle. He can make any decision on my behalf."

“I thought it would be Miss Aurora,” Mr. Hans said with a smile.

She has her own business to run.

Wei Ran shook his head seemingly helplessly, then added seemingly casually, "It's a completely legal business."

"That Golden Fleece organization?" Hans asked with a smile.

"Mr. Hans has also heard of it?"

"My eldest granddaughter has heard of it."

Mr. Hans smiled and said, "How about we let her and Miss Anna of Chicken Tofu join the Golden Fleece as well?"

“I’m not refusing, but this is something that Aurora and Miss Coco need to decide.”

Wei Ran responded with a smile, "Of course, I am very honored to be the introducer."

"Then it's settled. I'll have them get there as soon as possible."

After Hans finished speaking, he changed the subject and started talking to Miguel about their "connection".

As the conversation grew increasingly intimate, the van, escorted by several cars, finally stopped in front of an inconspicuous detached house on the outskirts of what was once East Berlin.

"If the address is correct, this is the place," Hans said with a smile, pointing to the red-roofed house outside the window.

“Mr. Miguel, let’s go knock on the door,” Wei Ran said, already opening the car door.

"Go, go."

Miguel took a deep breath and, before getting out of the car, reached out and took a group photo from the female translator sitting in the passenger seat—a photo of Milos and Dragan with the German military doctor Gerhard.

Watching Wei Ran, Miguel, and the female translator walk towards the detached building by the roadside, Hans leaned on his silver-plated cane and sighed, "Back then, wasn't this how you and Victor knocked on Anna and Monica's dessert shop door?"

"Miss Anna pulled out a gun and pointed it at us back then."

"I still remember it all," Dima said gleefully in German, which he wasn't very fluent in but was enough to communicate. "I always thought it was because Miss Anna scared him with a gun."

"Is Victor really that timid?" Hans asked with amusement.

"The cowardly are the scary ones."

Jima gave an irrelevant answer, saying, "I used to be a gang member. We would point guns at other gangsters, but we would try to be gentler and more cautious with honest people."

"Why is that?" Hans asked with great interest.

"Honest people are the most dangerous, especially honest people like Victor."

"Look," Jima said with a laugh, "the door to that house is open. It's a shame no one's pointing a gun at them."

"This is Berlin, not some rotten chicken tofu," Hans reminded her with a smile.

"There's no difference."

Dima smiled. "Mr. Hans, after things are settled here, why don't we take my private plane to Kazan together?"

"Of course, it's my pleasure." Hans nodded amiably in agreement.

While the two were chatting, Wei Ran asked in German on Miguel's behalf, "Excuse me, is this Mr. Hans Schäfer's house?"

"Yes, who are you?" the old man who opened the door asked suspiciously. "The person you're looking for is my father."

Seeing Wei Ran looking at him, Miguel quickly handed the photo frame in his hands to him.

How is your father?

Wei Ran continued, "We are here on behalf of his friend in Romania."

"Romania? Bucharest? Uncle Milos?"

The person who opened the door glanced at the photo and exclaimed with delight, "Please come in! My father was just talking about his friends in Bucharest!"

“Come with me, we have found the people who witnessed the end of the war.”

As Wei Ran spoke, he stepped into the beautiful detached house.

After listening to the translator's account, Miguel carefully straightened his suit before entering the detached building.

As they entered the living room one after another, Wei Ran, Miguel, and his translator all saw a lean old man.

He sported an outdated Prussian hazelnut haircut, and his serious face was covered with age spots. At this moment, he sat on the sofa, listening to his heartbeat with a stethoscope.

At that moment, Wei Ran also felt a fleeting heat at the base of his thumb.

I'll update with an extra chapter after midnight, about 7000 words.