War Photographer's Notebook

Chapter 1956 Gifts, and the Girls Who Gave Them.
"What are you doing hiding by the door if you brought a gift? Come closer, I have some questions for you."

Wei Ran put down the glass tube and picked up the gift box that had previously contained it.

"gollum"

Lu Xinda swallowed hard, then carefully took small steps back to Wei Ran's side and sat down on the edge of the sofa.

What's wrong with you?

Wei Ran looked up at Lu Xinda, who was covering her flat chest as if she were ready to run away at any moment, and then picked up an envelope from the gift box and asked, "What was the name of the person who sent the gift? What did she say?"

You're the one acting crazy!
Lu Xinda rolled her eyes inwardly and muttered something to herself before letting out a slight sigh of relief.

She still trusted that her boss wouldn't do anything to her; it was just that his manic expression just now was a bit too frightening.

Thinking of this, Lu Xinda shifted her position further into the sofa, kicked off her leather shoes, and settled into a comfortable cross-legged position to explain, "The person who sent this gift is named Marlene, she's German, and she said she wants to talk to you alone."

"Let's talk alone?"

Wei Ran looked up again at Lu Xinda, who seemed much more normal now. He took out a pair of silk gloves and put them on. As he carefully pulled two photos out of the unsealed envelope, he asked, "What are you talking about?"

"How would I know? She just said she wanted to talk to you, boss. Do you think she might have a crush on you? After all..."

While rubbing the soles of her feet without any regard for her image, Lu Xinda asked, as she had been running around all day and was already exhausted.

"A young lady shouldn't talk nonsense like that. Also, pay attention to your appearance, don't look like a burly man picking his toes."

Wei Ran gave a disdainful reminder, then looked at the two laminated black and white photos in his hand.

The first photo shows two rows of 11 people posing for a group photo on the nose side of the Enola Guy bomber. On the back of the photo are 11 illegible English signatures.

The second photo shows a little boy in a bomb bay. Turn the photo over and you'll find an extra pale yellow piece of paper, slightly smaller than a playing card.

The piece of paper has a dark brown fingerprint that appears to be from blood, along with the suggestive English phrase: "This is the real thing."

"My feet don't smell."

While pouting and muttering, Lu Xinda also brought her hand to her nose and smelled it without any regard for her image.

Shaking his head helplessly, Wei Ran stuffed the two photos back into the envelope and put them back into the gift box along with the glass tube.

Refusing the help offered by the slovenly child Lu Xinda with her dirty little hands, Wei Ran got up and placed the gift box on Sui Sui's desk, then picked up the gift from the illegitimate daughter of Big-Eared Chabu.

This gift box is only the size of a shoebox, and its workmanship is exceptionally simple.

Wei Ran paused for a moment when he opened the clasp of the box and saw what was inside.

This is an early Zeiss Canta D-type camera that can produce monstrous images with 6.5 x 11 cm format using 116 film.

Gently picking up this seemingly decent old antique, Wei Ran quickly noticed a detail.

On the back of the camera, two lines of calligraphy, each the size of a fingernail, were written in red paint: "Sold from the Japanese invaders in the 22nd year of the Republic of China."
Wei Ran's eyes widened as he read the last line of text: "Xifengkou"!
He took a deep breath and looked at the second line of painted characters. The calligraphy in this line was a size larger and there were only six characters: Save the country and love the people!
Adding 1911 to the 22nd year of the Republic of China does indeed make it 1933.
The 29th Army should undoubtedly be the one to save the country and love the people.
After quickly calculating in his mind, Wei Ran carefully placed the camera aside.

Next, he took out a brown hard leather protective case that matched the bellows camera from the gift box, as well as a photo album folder that was almost the same size and material as the protective case.

Gently lift the lid of this photo album, which is marked by the passage of time. Inside, on a few pitifully few pages of cardboard, there are a few negatives that are not in very good condition.

Wei Ran turned on the desk lamp on Sui Sui's desk and adjusted the lampshade, then leaned over to look at the first page.

By the light of the desk lamp, he could clearly see that the large negatives on this page seemed to show the Great Wall from different angles in the distance, as well as the backs of Japanese soldiers in the foreground, some of which were already blurry.

Turning gently to the second page, this time the photographs appear to depict a group of warriors wielding large swords. Several negatives on this page have also suffered damage that is difficult to repair.

Turning the page again, the third page shows pictures of soldiers on the march, many of whom have the hilts of large swords on their backs.

The fourth and last page appears to be a shot taken in a trench near the city.

Similarly, several negatives on this page have been damaged.

After a moment's hesitation, he carefully closed the thin film album and put it back into the gift box along with the exceptionally well-preserved camera.

"The one who delivered this."

“Liuba” Lu Xinda reminded her.

"Yes, Lyuba, did she say what?"

She also wants to see you alone.

Lu Xinda said, "She said it's related to whether tomorrow's negotiations can be completed."

"In that case, go and ask them if they have time now."

Wei Ran said, "I'll stay here. Never mind, I'll wait in the reception room on the first floor."

"Okay! I'll go right away!"

As Lu Xinda spoke, she slipped on her little leather shoes and ran out of the office.

"Remember to come one at a time, don't let them all come at once," Wei Ran instructed worriedly.

"I'm not stupid!"

Remember to wash your hands.

"you shut up!"

Lu Xinda waved her fist at the office behind her and dashed into the elevator.

A little later, Wei Ran also took the two gift boxes and the freshly brewed tea, left Sui Sui's office, took another elevator downstairs, and went into a small meeting room not far from the entrance.

He didn't have to wait long before the woman named Marlene entered the reception room with a burly man who appeared to be either a bodyguard or a partner.

"Miss Marlene, please have a seat."

Wei Ran politely invited the two to sit down. "I heard from Aurora that you wanted to talk to me alone?"

"That's right"

Although Marlene's appearance was not exactly beautiful, her personality was unusually straightforward and frank. "This is my bodyguard. He was arranged for me by my grandfather. He is here to protect me and also to keep an eye on me."

After all, I have a large sum of money in my hands that I was not originally qualified to control.

So I had no way to get him out of the way, and I hope Mr. Victor won't mind.

"of course not"

As Wei Ran spoke, he picked up the teapot he had just brought downstairs and poured a cup of tea for each of the two people sitting on the other side of the table.

“Miss Marlene, why don’t we start our conversation with the gift you brought?” Wei Ran suggested, sitting back down on the sofa and holding a teacup.

“It seems that these little things I brought have successfully impressed Mr. Victor,” Marlene said bluntly.

"If they are true, then they are certainly enough to move me."

Wei Ran was also quite straightforward and honest, "But as far as I know..."

"It takes 11 steps to wake up the little boy."

Before Wei Ran could finish speaking, Marlene continued, "The midwives who woke the little boy back then were Navy Captain Dick Parsons and his assistant, Lieutenant Morris Jepson."

"Is Miss Marlene also a historian?" Wei Ran asked with a smile.

"I'm not."

Marlene shook her head. "I specifically consulted an American historian, who spent a whole day giving me a crash course in history and nuclear physics."

"I'm all ears," Wei Ran said, raising his hand to signal the other person to continue.

"Colonel Parsons scraped his finger on the burrs on the edge of the gun barrel after he loaded four bags of smokeless powder wrapped in silk into one end of the gun for the little boy."

Marlene continued, "Even so, he still completed all 11 steps within half an hour."

The final step is to insert the three green insulating safety plugs between the "Little Boy's" battery and the firing mechanism.

"Is this one of them?" Wei Ran pointed to the green plug in the glass tube.

“That’s right, and it was the first safety plug he put in.”

Marlene nodded. "It's stained with the blood from Colonel Parsons' injured finger."

"So the bloody fingerprints and the words on the card on the back of that photo also belonged to Colonel Parsons."

"No, no, no, the fingerprints were indeed left by Colonel Parsons."

Marlene corrected Wei Ran's guess, "Every step at that time was recorded, and the content on the other side of that card was what Colonel Parsons wrote."

However, because it was stained with blood, the card was actually invalid at the time.

"Continue," Wei Ran said, picking up the glass tube again.

"It was his assistant, Lieutenant Morris Jepson, who suggested that he get a new record card."

He kept the card and wrote on the other side, "This is the real one," which was also him.

Seeing that Wei Ran remained silent, Marlene continued, "Just before the Enola Guy was about to enter Japanese airspace, Colonel Parsons sent Lieutenant Morris Jepson to the bomb bay for the last time."

The blond lieutenant replaced the three green safety plugs with three red ones, successfully reconnecting the electrical circuit between the battery and the bomb, and took photos of the bomb compartment.

After a brief pause, Marlene continued, "He has several spare parts, whether it's a green plug or a red plug."

Before returning to his position, the lieutenant secretly kept the first green plug, stained with Colonel Parsons' blood, and a spare red plug that he never used.

"So these were left behind by Lieutenant Jepson, whom you just mentioned?" Wei Ran finally raised his head.

"I do not know"

Marlene shook her head. "The reason they are here is that my grandfather specially bought them at a high price from an American collector to make this meeting seem more sincere."

My grandfather was confident that the collector's judgment was correct, and he was also confident that the other party would not try to deceive him with a fake in this matter.

Finally, what can be confirmed at present is that at least those signatures are genuine.

That's why this gift ended up here, and it became the bridge for our conversation.

"Whether it's true or not, I'll treat it as true."

Wei Ran put down the glass tube, his attitude becoming more serious. "Miss Marlene, please state your purpose."

Upon hearing this, Marlene turned to the bodyguard sitting next to her and said, "Are you sure you want to listen? You'll be silenced."

"I'm going to the restroom, I'll be back in five minutes at most."

The bodyguard found himself a classic but absolutely effective excuse, got up, and walked out of the reception room.

"I am investing in Miss Aurora's financing project on behalf of my grandfather."

Marlene said seriously, "We can discuss things like returns and investment directions."

Condition one: This money needs to be invested in areas where the tentacles of the Wartakans cannot reach them, or even if they do, their hands can be cut off immediately.

Condition two: My grandfather, whom I represent, and I can secretly withdraw 40% of the money from the Golden Fleece at any time for other purposes.

Accordingly, if this situation occurs, we will not participate in profit sharing until we make up the 40% that was withdrawn.

But outwardly, the Golden Fleece must help us conceal the fact that we withdrew that money.

"I generally have no objection, but you'll probably need to talk to Aurora about this."

Wei Ran gently reminded her, "After all, this is her life."

“Her? No, no, Mr. Victor, you’ve got something wrong.” Marlene shook her head.

"What is it?" Wei Ran asked with great interest.

"The money I just mentioned was invested in the Golden Fleece account in your name."

What I'm talking about is between you and me. Of course, at the Golden Fleece conference, I will personally commit approximately $100 million to invest in the healthcare sector.

My answer is the same as before.

Wei Ran gently patted the gift beside him. "Considering this precious gift, which is enough to move any historian, I have no objection in principle, but you still need to talk to Aurora."

"no problem"

Marlene was unusually decisive, and as she stood up, she kindly reminded him, "This investment might inevitably lead to some rumors between us. I hope my unattractive appearance won't embarrass Mr. Victor." "Miss Marlene"

Wei Ran also stood up and shook hands with the other party in a very formal manner. "Appearance may be the best disguise. Please don't misunderstand, I don't mean any harm by saying this."

Based on our conversation just now, I think you are perhaps far more capable of making business decisions than those drunk girls.

Thank you for your compliment.

Marlene smiled, turned and walked gracefully towards the door, saying, "I will take over my grandfather's business in the future, and I hope we will still be friends then."

"As long as Miss Marlene doesn't sell the bread for 50 marks a piece," Wei Ran subtly reminded her in a joking manner.

Don't worry.

Marlene, who had already reached the door, said frankly before opening it, "The bloodline of black people is very powerful. Even the bloodline of the Warts people will be devoured and digested without leaving a trace."

"I look forward to the day you take charge of the family business," Wei Ran said, offering his sincere blessings as he saw the other person out.

He had a vague feeling that this girl named Marlene's face might not be due to plastic surgery, or rather, it wasn't solely due to plastic surgery.

Marlene patted the bodyguard who had just been standing at the bathroom door, deep in thought, even comically covering his ears with his fingers, and led him towards the door.

At the same time, the charismatic girl named Lyuba Wukeranka led a burly man who was over two meters tall and carrying a golf club bag into the main building.

"Snapped!"

In the instant they passed each other, the woman with the striking presence and light blonde hair even gave Marlene a high five in perfect unison.

In contrast, the burly man carrying the steel bag and the bodyguard who had just covered the ears each gave each other a wary glance.

“Mr. Victor, I am Lyuba Wukeranka.”

The woman with a strong presence walked up to Wei Ran and stopped about two meters away, introducing herself, "This is my brother, Taras Shevchenko. He is also responsible for protecting my safety."

"Hello, please come in."

Seeing that the brother and sister had no intention of shaking hands, Wei Ran wisely maintained a proper distance and led them into the reception room, where they sat down at another coffee table. He then poured them each a cup of tea.

"witch"

Just call me Lyuba.

The confident young woman sat in the chair her brother had pulled out for her and said, “My father told me that you are a trustworthy person, so we can be direct.”

"Alright"

Wei Ran smiled and nodded, "Your father has indeed taken good care of us, so where should we begin?"

Let's start with that gift.

Lyuba pointed to the gift box on the table not far away, "Brother Ninell told me that you've always wanted to be a silly war photographer."

He especially reminded me to use the word "stupid" when saying this, saying it was your code with him, wasn't it, Victor?

"Even if that's true," Wei Ran shook his head helplessly, "Please continue."

"So I specifically asked my friend to get that camera and those negatives."

She said no Chinese person could resist that camera and those film negatives.

Lyuba said happily, "And I asked around, and the camera still works, but the film is gone."

“That’s true,” Wei Ran nodded.

Although it was only a few words, he still managed to glean some insights.

Putting everything else aside, this blonde girl, who bears a striking resemblance to a certain French actress in her youth, may exude an aura of unapproachability, but she seems rather dim-witted.
Yes, it's very new, the kind of new that can still be returned even after seven days.

"So you're accepting this gift?" Lyuba's happiness and surprise were practically written all over her face.

In contrast, her brother stood silently behind her, expressionless and making no extra movements, but he kept one hand hidden in his shopping bag.

"I am very honored to receive this gift," Wei Ran said truthfully.

This time, he didn't need to doubt whether the other party's gift was fake, as he had before. Uncle Chabu wouldn't do something so dishonorable.

In that case, receiving this gift is truly an honor.

"This camera was found in Boston."

Lyuba said, "I bought it from a photo studio that had been closed for a long time, along with other items. It cost me a total of [amount missing] at the time."
Ah, I'm sorry, I forgot the exact amount. That's about all I know.

"Victor, if you have any further questions about that camera, I can contact my friend right now to ask him for you."

That's enough.

Wei Ran was all too familiar with how to communicate with this kind of easy-going girl. If he didn't take control of the direction and pace of the conversation, they probably wouldn't get to the point before dawn.

Thinking of this, Wei Ran spoke up before the other party could speak, "Liuba, since we are considered to be on the same side, and I have accepted the gift you sent, why don't you tell me what your purpose is in wanting to meet with me this time?"

“I have many properties that my father left me, and they are mostly in Russia. Oh, and I forgot to mention, I am currently studying at a university in Moscow.”

Lyuba finally managed to stay on topic this time, saying, "But I'm not good at business, and I don't have time to manage these things."

My father said Miss Aurora was a trustworthy person, so I wanted to leave all these things to her to handle.

“That’s not a problem,” Wei Ran said readily.

“But I hope it’s the same way you and Miss Coco did,” Lyuba suddenly changed the subject.

"The way I did with Miss Coco?" Wei Ran looked at the other person with a puzzled expression.

"Uh-huh!"

Lyuba nodded. "I hope that after those troublesome industries are laundered, they can operate in a way similar to the Elk Foundation."

On this point, I have already met with Attorney Carlos and consulted him in detail, thanks to Uncle Culp's introduction.

Wei Ran didn't rush to express his opinion.

"I run a small orphanage in Moscow."

Lyuba seemed to be using all sorts of new words. “There are many children in this orphanage. They need to receive a good education and a stable and comfortable life, and all of this requires money.”

"So the purpose of this foundation is to take care of this orphanage?" Wei Ran asked cautiously.

"That's right!"

Lyuba nodded. "All we need to do is allocate funds to them on time every month and conduct audits every quarter. We don't need to be personally involved in the management. We just need to use the foundation's profits to cover their expenses."

"Does that mean all expenses will be covered?" Wei Ran asked cautiously, wanting to make sure that the orphanage the other party mentioned was really just an orphanage.

“I will set a rough range for funding,” Lyuba said. “As long as it is within this range, it can be met.”

"Only this"

"I still have a large sum of money that wasn't exactly cleanly obtained."

Lyuba immediately said, "Victor, I hope that after this money is laundered, it can be invested in China in your name. We can discuss the returns."

"In my name?"

"In Russia, if you have too much wealth, you'll be robbed by a man riding a bear."

Lyuba spoke with a rather serious and cautious tone, "Especially since that money isn't exactly clean."

"Which kind is unclean?" Wei Ran asked suspiciously.

"I don't know either"

Lyuba shook her head. "Those were all given to me by my father. He said they were unclean, so they were unclean."

"This"

Mr. Victor

The burly man, who hadn't spoken until now, offered a deep, resonant reminder: "Mutual holding might help avoid some unnecessary risks."

“I have no objection to these matters in principle, but you and Aurora need to discuss the specifics in private.”

Wei Ran stopped talking in time; he had already understood the big guy's implication.

"Thank you!"

Lyuba happily thanked him and then said, "Victor, is there anything else I need to say?"

"Why don't you tell me your surname?" Wei Ran said with a smile, changing the subject. "If it's convenient."

"Brother, can we talk about this?" Lyuba turned around and looked up at the big guy who hadn't sat down the whole time.

"Okay," the burly man said with a rather indulgent tone.

"It's the surname our father gave us."

Lyuba said, "I was conceived through in vitro fertilization; my father paid a high price to have the eggs donated by a woman in France."

"Lyuba, there's no need for such details."

The burly man, whose height was definitely over two meters, quickly stopped the brainless girl's self-introduction before Wei Ran could widen her eyes to their maximum.

"In short, Lesya Wukeranka and Taras Grigorievich Shevchenko were my father's two favorite poets."

Lyuba scratched her long, light blonde hair. "So my brother used the surname Shevchenko, and I used the surname Wukelanyingka."

Finally, the introduction is over.
Wei Ran and the big guy exchanged a glance, both seeing a deep sense of relief in each other's eyes.

"cough cough"

Wei Ran had to change the subject again, "Lyuba, go talk to Aurora when you have time. I believe she will give you a solution that satisfies you."

“I’ll go find Miss Aurora right away,” Lyuba said immediately.

“Mr. Victor, it’s getting late.”

The burly man, who hadn't sat down the entire time, was also eager to end the conversation, saying, "We won't disturb your rest any longer."

You should all get some rest too.

Wei Ran quickly got up to see the guest out, feeling a little apprehensive about what new things the girl might say next.

Goodnight, Victor.

Lyuba got up and said goodnight in a serious manner. She followed her brother out of the reception room, but almost stumbled and fell down the steps after walking out the door.

Fortunately, her brother intervened in time, using the steel bag he was carrying to stop her from falling forward.

"Did that idiot Lyuba say something stupid again?"

Once she regained her footing, Lyuba uttered a strange question.

"That's right, are you Lyubov or Lyubachka?" the burly man asked cautiously as he retrieved his fishing bag.

Lyubov

The girl, who had regained her footing, first looked at the lace gloves she was still wearing, then breathed a slight sigh of relief and asked, "What stupid thing has that little idiot Lyuba done or said this time?"

She bleached your hair to a light blonde color yesterday.

The burly man, who had slightly increased the distance between them, said, "This is probably the stupidest thing you can't accept."

"I'm going to kill that little bastard."

The girl lifted the end of her hair to look at herself, gritted her teeth and cursed, then took a deep breath. "Now it's time to clean up the mess. What else did she say?"

"Not too much trouble"

The burly man, who had been keeping his distance, paused and began to recount, word by word, the conversation that had just taken place in the meeting room, including Wei Ran's changes in expression.

“Let’s go, let’s go talk to Miss Aurora now.”

As she spoke, the girl had already braided her full head of blonde hair into a thick braid.