War Photographer's Notebook

Chapter 1957 The Promise Only the Postman Remembered
On the evening of April 20th, Sui Sui and her assistants and employees worked overtime in the conference room until 4 a.m. before finally finishing their work.

Before she returned to her office with the lounge, Wei Ran kept examining the two gifts.

If the kettle that Li Yizhong and the other man brought during the day could be easily decided to wait until he was done with his work, these two gifts were just too much to bear.

Whether it's Xifengkou or throwing the little boy, either way makes him want to wake up his father and get him to work overtime.

But it was precisely because these two things appeared at the same time that he found himself in a dilemma.

"Forget it, let's wait and see, and talk about it after we're done with these next couple of days." Wei Ran finally made the difficult decision.

He decided to finish all his current tasks first before fully "enjoying" the joy of playing the handkerchief-dropping game.

Just as he made up his mind, a tired Sui Sui yawned and walked into the office.

"Do you like those two gifts?"

Sui Sui glanced at the gift box still on the table and asked with a smile.

"I like it, I definitely like it, but I don't know if the two people who gave me the gift will cause you any trouble."

As Wei Ran spoke, he took the coat from the other person's hand.

"There are no problems. I've talked with Marlene and Lyuba. Although we haven't reached a final agreement yet, we've reached a general consensus."

Sui Sui kicked off her shoes and let Wei Ran pick her up in his arms. "It seems that Lyuba has some mental issues."

"That girl definitely has some mental issues."

As Wei Ran spoke, he carried his queen into the bathroom.

After a sleepless night, Sui Sui, who got up early, immediately threw herself into the cashmere convention with renewed energy.

Wei Ran, who couldn't help in this matter and shouldn't get too involved, didn't waste any time either. He took the two gifts he received yesterday and drove away from the film studio.

Escorted by the pink armored car driven by the pink-clad girls, Master Wei returned to his home by Lake Kaban. He didn't even have time to rest or process the negatives that he had given himself as a gift before he had to get down to the important task of preparing dinner.

Fortunately, those pink-clad delinquents finally managed to call in enough people to help.

It was with the help of these thugs that, amidst the smoke and flames, large pig trotters and cleaned pig heads were thrown into several commercial pressure cookers lined up in a row.

Leaving the remaining work to the thugs busy in the yard, Wei Ran changed into a clean set of clothes, picked up the two precious gifts, and went into the darkroom in the basement of the library.

After careful preparation, he carefully pried open the rusty staples on the edge of the cardboard and took out the large negatives one by one from the interlayer.

Under his meticulous and professional thorough cleaning, the task was completed step by step.

These negatives, slightly larger than playing cards, have had their fingerprints, stains, and scratches accumulated over nearly a century gradually cleaned away.

Ultimately, these rejuvenated negatives were used in the developing process and successfully helped Wei Ran produce all 16 photos.

Not every photo is clear or complete enough; in fact, most of the developed photos only show a small part of the picture.

Even the few complete photos (three or four in total) mostly show the enemy's back view and the Great Wall in the distance in a blurry way.

Moreover, although these 116 films, which have long been swept into the dustbin of history, are much larger than most of the films that are still in existence today, the grain is not very fine due to manufacturing issues, and the photos taken from them are not worthy of such a large film size.

Even so, despite all the regrets mentioned above, Wei Ran still managed to get one clear enough solo photo from the few remaining intact negatives, and the subject was clearly a Chinese person.

Who is this guy?
Wei Ran had to admit that although he studied modern warfare history, he had a certain understanding of the history of China's War of Resistance against Japan.

But when he suddenly saw this profile shot of a person in military uniform, holding binoculars in one hand, clearly taken on the battlefield, he couldn't recognize who it was for a moment.

After a moment's hesitation, he hung the still-wet photo on the clip in the drying cabinet, then took out his phone, took a picture, sent it to Xia Shushi, and immediately made a video call.

After ringing repeatedly, Xia Shushi finally answered the voice call.

"What are your orders?"

Xia Shushi yawned and asked, "Did your spoils-dividing meeting cause any conflicts?"

"They're all drunk to the point of being like alcohol swabs, what trouble could there possibly be?"

As Wei Ran spoke, he walked out of the darkroom. "I just sent you an old photo. See if you can recognize who it is."

"Don't hang it up," Xia Shushi said, then fell silent, while Wei Ran began to count silently.

Just as he was counting from 1001 to 128, Xia Shushi gave a reply: "Northwest Army, General Zhang Jinchen, no mistake, but the background is blurred too much, it's hard to tell which battlefield it was filmed on."

Where did you get this photo? Do you have the original? I've never seen a photo from this angle before.

"It's him? Are you sure?" Wei Ran raised an eyebrow.

"As long as I can still recognize Qiqi, I cannot mistake General Zhang."

Xia Shushi confidently assured him, "Tell me quickly, where did you find this photo?"

"Alright, I'm busy right now. I'll tell you in detail when I have some ideas."

Wei Ran gave a perfunctory reply before the other party could finish speaking, and then hung up the phone without waiting for the other party to say anything more.

Putting his phone back in his pocket, Wei Ran became even more curious about who had captured this Ikonta at Xifengkou back then, and where they had taken the picture of this national hero.

"Cameras are really great things."

Wei Ran walked out of the basement with a sigh, calling on the thugs to help him cook braised pork ribs for dinner.

For the next week, Master Wei devoted himself wholeheartedly to working between the stove and the bedside, doing his utmost to provide all the logistical support he could.

It was during this long week that Sui Sui made one secret deal after another with the wealthy women and even the mascots who were invited to the event.

During this week, the men who had been enjoying themselves in Inta finally completed their business negotiations regarding the 28 Star Cafe with Sui Sui, after finalizing a series of cooperation and investment projects.

On the morning of April 28th, as Coco and Mr. Hans boarded the private jet that nominally belonged to Jima, Sui Sui collapsed into Wei Ran's arms like a deflated balloon.

"We've finally finished talking."

With dark circles under her eyes, Sui Sui said weakly, "It's too difficult. These women are too hard to deal with."

"Which one is harder to deal with?" Wei Ran asked, unable to contain his amusement.

"She has no breasts, and no brains either."

Sui Sui yawned. "But Ms. Marlene was surprisingly amazing. She was probably the most business-savvy and insightful person at this fundraising sharing session."

"What deals did you all reach?" Wei Ran asked with great interest.

"Most retail investors have invested in the sure-fire mining business."

As Sui Sui spoke, she skillfully wrapped her arms around Wei Ran's neck, letting him carry her into the car. She explained gleefully, "We've already thought of a name for the mining group we're planning to establish: Golden Shovel." "Great name!"

Wei Ran smiled and shook his head. Although the name was childish, he figured the shovel would be sharp enough.

“The mining in Sheepfold is just the beginning. At the same time, Golden Shovel will also invest in the mining in Hassa, Papua New Guinea, and India.”

Sui Sui let Wei Ran help her fasten her seatbelt, but couldn't help yawning again. "These are just small investors looking to make money. The big investors, I mean, especially the big investors led by Coco, Marlene, and that mentally unstable Lyuba."

Their money will circulate through the retail investors' mining businesses before going through our film studios and the entertainment companies that are recruiting.

As Sui Sui finished speaking, Lola started the car and drove off towards the outside of the helipad.

Having reached this point, Wei Ran wisely stopped asking questions; at this stage, it was time to secure the deal.

In other words, whatever you do with this money afterward will be perfectly clean.

Moreover, according to the firsthand information he obtained from Anfisa, this money would eventually be reinvested in the businesses of the families represented by the individual mascots.

Simply put, it's like casting an unbreakable steel plate.

"We've made enough money from domestic tourists over the years, it's time to start taking advantage of foreign tourists."

Sui Sui concluded with a pointed remark, "Foreigners' foreignness."

"They've shifted their focus?"

This is called expanding overseas.

Forcing herself to stay alert, Sui Sui patted her chest proudly, "Legally, I'm Russian."

"As long as you're confident."

Wei Ran said with relief that what they had just talked about was the Golden Fleece, but what they talked about at the end was actually Sui Sui's own business, which were two different things.

"How did the talks with Inta go?" Sui Sui asked when Wei Ran stopped asking questions.

"Everything went smoothly, nothing new, but thankfully everyone was honest enough."

After giving a brief summary, Wei Ran changed the subject, "Do you have any other plans for the future?"

"The major tasks are basically finished."

Sui Sui couldn't help but yawn again. "You have something to do over there?"

"Li Yizhong and Lu Yue came a week ago."

Wei Ran then described the purpose of their initial visit.

"When do we set off?" Sui Sui asked with great interest.

"Are not you tired?"

"Going home is for rest!"

"Then let's do it the day after tomorrow. You should get some rest these two days."

Wei Ran is still a man who loves his wife. "We'll set off again the night after tomorrow. We'll fly to Shanghai first, then go to Tianjin. After we've finished our business on both sides, we'll meet up with Li Yizhong and the others."

Sui Sui naturally had no objections to his arrangements, and she was indeed exhausted, so much so that she fell asleep leaning against Wei Ran before the car even arrived at her doorstep.

For the last two days of this month, Wei Ran didn't even leave the house, spending two days resting with Sui Sui before boarding a flight to Shanghai, China, on the evening of the 30th.

Because of the time difference, by the time the plane landed and they drove to Shanghai's first 28-star café, there was still almost an hour before it opened.

“Mr. Victor, we meet again.”

The first to come out to greet him, Sui Sui, and the Kazenka sisters were the twins from Barcelona, ​​Clermont and Amani.

“Mr. Victor, Your Majesty, you have finally arrived.”

The twin brother and sister, who were in charge, greeted each other in unison with a unique way of addressing each other.

"Is my reputation that great now?" Sui Sui asked with a beaming smile after Anfisa translated the French into Chinese.

"As resounding as the head of the household."

The dim-witted Clement accidentally told the truth, and even the pronunciation of "boss" in the French phrase was exceptionally standard.

"Did you teach it?"

Wei Ran asked Xia Shushi, who had followed him out, with Qin Qi standing next to him.

"I've been so busy lately, I don't have time for that."

Xia Shushi made it clear that he would never admit it. "Come in quickly, this coffee shop has reserved a special spot for us."

"Such high compensation?"

Wei Ran let the other party go for the time being and walked into the coffee shop where the Internationale had just started playing.

"Our grandmother promised to reserve a special spot for the postman."

As the girl named Amani spoke, she led Wei Ran and the others to a window seat in the cafe.

It was along this journey that Wei Ran saw the photos and stories of internationalist fighters and World War II veterans randomly displayed on the screens on the wall.

Finally, when they arrived at their designated table, led by the brother and sister, Wei Ran couldn't help but smile.

The table was large enough that in the middle of it was not only a small international travel flag but also a prominent placeholder sign with the same sentence written in various languages: "A place always reserved for historians and postmen."

"Thank you"

As Wei Ran spoke, he gently pulled out a chair that was different from the other seats around him, and let Sui Sui sit down before he sat down himself.

"The historian and the postman"

After everyone else was seated around the beautiful table, Armani asked in a serious tone in French, "What would you all like to drink?"

Coffee Bar

Wei Ran snapped out of his daze and almost subconsciously replied in French, "Italian coffee, pasta, and Chinese tea, and..."

"What else do you need?" Clement looked at Wei Ran.

"There are also decent tables and chairs."

Wei Ran gently tapped the thick tabletop and sighed, for it was a promise that only he remembered.