War Photographer's Notebook

Chapter 1959: A Powerless Sigh from Historians

On the second day of Labor Day, Wei Ran and Sui Sui, along with the Kajenka sisters, the water bottle that Li Yizhong had given them about two weeks ago, and the two special gifts they had received, took a flight to Yan'an.

“Teacher Wei, I am Zhang Yang. Do you remember me? We met at Uncle Jiang’s house in Ganzi.”

Zhang Yang, who came to pick up Wei Ran, reached out his hand with a hint of trepidation.

"Remember"

Wei Ran shook hands with the other person, without mentioning the minor unpleasantness, "Why did you come alone? Where are the others?"

"They're busy filming, and right now only Teacher Xia and I are staying here; the rest have gone to Yuncheng."

Zhang Yang said gratefully, "Thanks to Teacher Xia and Teacher Wei for taking care of me, I found a job in the film crew, and I will probably be working with the crew in the future."

"I heard from Li Yizhong that you got your vehicle stuck again? And by the Yellow River?"

Wei Ran teased with great interest, saying that he knew, of course, that Li Yizhong and the others had gone to Yuncheng, and that they had come here today to see the scene where the kettle was discovered.

"Hey! Don't mention it!"

Zhang Yang scratched the back of his head and explained awkwardly, "I was planning to camp by the Yellow River, but I forgot to engage the handbrake before getting out of the car, and it rolled away while I was taking a selfie."

You really don't need to drive yourself.
When Wei Ran and Sui Sui looked at each other, they both saw the same unspoken message in each other's eyes.

"Where are they at now?" Sui Sui changed the subject for everyone.

"The ashes of the veteran that Brother Li brought back from Tai Province have been sent home."

Zhang Yang led them out of the airport and into a minivan. However, as soon as he opened the driver's side door, the Kajenka sisters got into the driver's and passenger's seats respectively.

You, Colonel Wei, the chief strategist!
Zhang Yang muttered a sour thought to himself, but didn't delay in closing the car door for Anfisa.

Of course, Zhang Yang, who was busy getting into the back seat, didn't know that the beautiful twin sisters had already heard about his two accidents and clearly didn't trust his driving skills.

In any case, after Anfisa started driving according to the navigation, Zhang Yang continued, "But when the film crew arrived at a village below Yuncheng to send another veteran's ashes home, some accidents happened."

"Stuck again?"

Sui Sui blurted out her guess about the "accident" without even thinking it through.

"It's not that easy for the car to get stuck."

Zhang Yang scratched the back of his head to ease his embarrassment. "It was another accident. An old man from the village next to the one we sent the veteran's ashes home heard that veterans' ashes were being sent back and came to our door."

I saw in the group chat that the old man said his father was also conscripted and sent to Tai Province back then, and he hoped Brother Li could help find him there. They're all busy with that matter right now.

"Tell me about that kettle, where did you find it?"

Wei Ran changed the subject; Xia Shushi had probably mentioned this to him yesterday.

"Right on the banks of the Yellow River"

Zhang Yang didn't mince words and said quite frankly, "Back then, I was on a budget road trip, so I was thinking of seeing if I could stumble upon something by chance."

"You discovered it by accident with a metal detector?" Wei Ran asked with a smile.

"The fact that it wasn't captured on camera means it was discovered accidentally."

Zhang Yang frankly admitted his ulterior motives: "The second-hand metal detector I bought at the rotten fish market was really useful; it found the kettle in just one click."

I even thought I'd pretend to film some videos of people using fire in the wild and make it seem like I'd accidentally dug it up.

But when we actually dug that thing out, I wasn't really in the mood anymore. At that moment, I thought of the glass jars you and Teacher Xia found.

"Judging by actions, not by intentions, for few in the world are perfect."

Wei Ran didn't care. Whatever the motive, the other party wanted to find the owner of the kettle and the story behind it, and that was enough.

"Whether it's playing games or not, I'm thinking of doing something to help."

Zhang Yang continued to use the small gesture of stroking the back of his head to ease his inner tension, saying, "Everyone has a responsibility!"

"That's enough," Wei Ran smiled. This reason was indeed sufficient.

While chatting with this recent graduate about his arduous road trip, Anfissa also drove to the Yellow River following the navigation.

Before the car had even come to a complete stop, Wei Ran could see Xia Shushi being interviewed and filmed by the Yellow River from a distance, as well as several work vehicles converted from buses parked around him.

This is it.

Zhang Yang pointed to the riverbank, which, although flattened, still bore many track marks, and said, "That's where we found the water bottle, and that's where the stuck vehicle was also."

"How did you manage to get that car out in the end?" Driven by curiosity, Sui Sui inadvertently rubbed salt into Zhang Yang's wounds.

"We had to hire four bulldozers to pull it out from a great distance."

Zhang Yang said, on the verge of tears, "My old, worn-out minivan is completely ruined."

Without provoking the young man any further, Wei Ran waved to Xia Shushi, who had paused filming. Sui Sui also followed up with the question, "Where's Qi Qi?"

"They're inside the car."

Before Xia Shushi could finish speaking, Qin Qi, dressed as a director, stepped out of a bus.

"If it weren't for waiting for you, we would have already gone to transport it."

Xia Shushi said, "Do you want to check the scene where the kettle was found first, or do you want to check the other items that weren't sent to you?"

"Have you searched the scene again?" Wei Ran bumped fists with the other person.

"We only received approval the day before yesterday and have been searching this area."

Xia Shushi pointed to the riverbank in the distance, "See those two signs stuck up there?"

"Where did you find it? What else did you find?" Wei Ran immediately asked.

"The sign that's farther from us and closer to the water is where Zhang Yang found the kettle."

As Xia Shushi spoke, he led them into another bus that seemed to have been converted into a campervan. "After getting the approval the day before yesterday, I searched this area all day yesterday and only found one thing."

As he spoke, he opened one of the storage cabinets in the RV and took out a worn-out canvas cover that was in a plastic bag.

Then, he took out a second plastic bag.

But inside this sealed plastic bag was a water bottle, and it was almost exactly the same model as the one that Li Yizhong had specially sent to Kazan.

The difference is that this kettle, which still has mud and sand on the outside, is wrapped in a canvas cover, indicating that it has not been opened yet.

"This kettle was found yesterday and hasn't been opened yet."

As Xia Shushi spoke, he took out a transparent, wide-mouthed plastic bottle. This plastic bottle, which was not much bigger than a chili sauce bottle, was filled with half a bottle of yellowish-gray soil salt.

"This salt was poured from the first kettle."

As Xia Shushi spoke, he pointed through the plastic bag to a rotten webbing, “I suspect this is a rifle sling; it’s so rotten that only the base is left.”

As he spoke, he pointed to the newly unearthed, unopened water bottle, "This one also has a small piece of webbing on it. I suspect that these two water bottles were originally strung together with a rifle sling."

"Ready to open?" Wei Ran asked, looking up.

My teacher advised against opening it.

Xia Shushi invited Wei Ran and the others to sit down at the table. "I saw this newly unearthed one before, and it was also undamaged."

However, there was nothing else inside the canvas cover. The water bottle itself, besides being engraved with "August 1st" and a five-pointed star, also had Wang Cheng's name engraved, but without the character "正" (zhèng).

"What's next?"

Wei Ran asked as he examined the second kettle through the sealed bag.

"Don't take this water bottle with you."

Xia Shushi set the major premise: "Also, we plan to go to Yuncheng tonight. If you want to come, then come along. If you don't want to go, Qiqi and I will stay and accompany you to stroll around Yan'an."

"What do you say?" Wei Ran turned to look at Sui Sui.

“We have to fly back before dark on the 4th,” Sui Sui said immediately. “We can go anywhere before that.”

Tell me your guess.

Wei Ran gently put down the water bottle in the sealed bag and turned to look at Xia Shushi sitting opposite him.

"Sui Sui, let's go take pictures by the Yellow River!"

Qin Qi suggested at the opportune moment, "Knowing you were coming, I prepared a lot of local delicacies in advance."

"You two chat, Camila, let's go take pictures."

Sui Sui immediately called for the Kajenka sisters to get out of the car and followed Qin Qi to the riverbank in the distance.

"I don't think these two kettles are from the Anti-Japanese War period. They seem more like they're from the Liberation War period. And I suspect they might not even be from this area."

"What do you mean?"

Zhang Yang couldn't help but ask, "What do you mean by 'not local'?"

Xia Shushi glanced at Wei Ran, then at Zhang Yang, and then pointed to the ground. “Where is this place? Although the Japanese planes have bombed it, they have never been able to occupy it. However, the Japanese army did come in 47.”

After a brief pause, Xia Shushi gently pointed through the sealed bag to the five-pointed star and the number August 1 engraved on the second kettle. "Let's not talk about the five-pointed star, but the important thing is the number August 1."

The August 6st Army Flag, which combines with the adjacent five-pointed star, was only put into use on June 15, 1949.

"The kettle was found on the banks of the Yellow River, but the area was already safe by 49."

Wei Ran picked up the conversation, "So you think it drifted down from upstream? Upstream."

“Besides Shenmu, it’s Lanzhou. The Battle of Lanzhou,” Xia Shushi said with almost certainty. “I even suspect that it’s very likely that during the Battle of Shenjialing, when they were capturing the Yellow River Iron Bridge, they fell into the Yellow River and drifted all the way here.”

"How far is this? Is this even possible?" Zhang Yang asked, dumbfounded.

Although he was not familiar with history, he had driven to Lanzhou after parting ways with Wei Ran last time.

In fact, the reason he was able to drive all the way from Ganzi to here was precisely because, after arriving in Lanzhou, he made a snap decision to travel downstream along the Yellow River to its mouth.

"If my guess is correct, it has drifted for at least a thousand kilometers in the Yellow River."

Xia Shushi sighed, "I also thought it was impossible, which is why I insisted on inviting Scholar Wei to come here."

I... I don't even have the courage to try and verify this guess.

"It's just another Long March."

Wei Ran calmly replied, "Compared to that, if something like the Long March could be accomplished, what's impossible about a message in a bottle that has drifted for thousands of kilometers?"

That's what they say.

Xia Shushi shook his head, "But finding someone named Wang Cheng from the battle of Shenjialing is no easier than finding Grandpa Jiang last time."

"Isn't it pretty easy?" Wei Ran said casually.

"Last time it was just luck."

Xia Shushi said irritably, "Do you think Professor Wei can find it just by posting on his WeChat Moments?"

"What if I post it on my WeChat Moments and actually find it?" Wei Ran asked jokingly.

"If you can really find it by posting on WeChat Moments, I'll dress up as a woman for you."

"So, if I win the bet, I have to reward you with an excuse to wear women's clothing?"

"Fuck off!"

Xia Shushi taunted, giving the middle finger, "You can't find your women's clothes, are you in or not?"

"I don't gamble, I'm not as good as that fart, the fart of the ass." Wei Ran casually retorted sarcastically.

It is obvious that these two historians, who should be described as "refined and cultured" according to their literal interpretations, have shattered Zhang Yang's filter of these "cultured people" by engaging in such a shameless bet.

For a moment, he even had a slight realization of "demystifying" them—that these two were just ordinary people after all.

After a round of lighthearted banter, Xia Shushi tossed a cigarette to Wei Ran and Zhang Yang respectively, "What's next?"

"What else can we do? Now that we have a direction, let's just keep looking."

Wei Ran let Zhang Yang light his cigarette for him, puffing out clouds of smoke as he said, "Tell me your plans."

"The filming in Yuncheng won't be affected by Qiqi and me being away for a short period of time."

Xia Shushi tapped the table. "How about we head to Lanzhou first to see if there are any clues there, and also make a documentary about it?"

"I have no objection," Wei Ran replied casually.

"Then I'll have Qiqi send a film crew over to follow along later."

Xia Shushi made his decision just as casually, and casually gave Zhang Yang two options, "What are your plans, kid?"

"What? What are your plans?" Zhang Yang asked, still in a daze.

"Either you go to Yuncheng and help Xiao Li out."

Xia Shushi said, puffing out smoke, "Either you come with us first, and we'll go to Lanzhou to see if we can find any clues. This time, you'll be the narrator of the discovery."

"Me? Can I do it?" Zhang Yang asked hesitantly.

"What's wrong with that? Aren't you studying media?"

Xia Shushi gave him a chance, saying, "If you have the guts, you can edit it yourself."

"This this."

"When we first met, didn't you say that everyone has a responsibility?"

Wei Ran flicked off some cigarette ash. "You're chickening out already?"

"That can't be done!"

Zhang Yang, a young man who graduated less than a year ago, is clearly still inexperienced and cannot be easily provoked.

"I'll do it! But... how should I say it?"

"Think for yourself."

Xia Shushi then looked at Wei Ran and asked, "Are you and your queen coming along this time?"

"Don't follow suit yet."

Wei Ran waved his hand, pretending to be provocative, and said, "I'll give you half a month first. We still have some things to take care of."

"That's impressive!"

Xia Shushi was also spurred on by Wei Ran's cheeky appearance, "You might not be needed in half a month."

"That would be best," Wei Ran smiled, he couldn't have hoped for it.

"No, teachers, brothers, are we just going to make this decision like this?"

Seeing that these two living ancestors were becoming increasingly unreliable, Zhang Yang felt more and more insecure. "Don't we need to discuss anything?"

"Need not"

Wei Ran and Xia Shushi said in unison, "This is what our company does, there's nothing to discuss."

"I mean, shouldn't there usually be an investor or something like that in these kinds of situations?" Zhang Yang kindly reminded him.

"Isn't that right?"

Xia Shushi pointed to Sui Sui and the others outside the car window, who were directing the film crew to help take pictures.

Without a doubt, Xia Shushi was extremely satisfied with Zhang Yang's dull and naive appearance. "You've got it, kid. You'll see later. Following Her Majesty the Queen, you'll get to drink at least nine times in three days."

"What nonsense are you spouting?"

Wei Ran shook his head, both amused and exasperated. "How about this, you guys go to Lanzhou to look for clues first, tomorrow we'll go to Yuncheng to check on Li Yizhong and the others, and then we'll go to the Russians. We'll be back in a week at the earliest, and half a month at the latest."

"Are you taking this with you?" Xia Shushi pointed to the kettle on the table.

"No need, let's not open it for now," Wei Ran said.

"Now that we've finished talking about business, let's talk about that photo you sent me last time," Xia Shushi said, glancing at Zhang Yang almost imperceptibly.

You guys chat.

Zhang Yang finally showed some quick thinking and immediately got up, got out of the car, and walked away.

At the same time, Xia Shushi pressed the remote control and closed the bus door.

"These are gifts from two of Sui Sui's friends a few days ago."

It wasn't until this moment that Wei Ran opened the suitcase at his feet and took out the two gifts he had brought back, as well as another water bottle, and placed them all on the table.

Sure enough, as he introduced the various characters, a series of "Holy crap!" exclamations, each capable of expressing a wide range of emotions, came out of Xia Shushi's mouth in different tones.

"Let's not talk about the little boy's two pacifiers."

Xia Shushi glanced longingly at the two plugs still fixed in the glass tube, then pointed to the stack of photos Wei Ran had developed himself and said, "You have to give me a copy of these photos, and the digital copies of the negatives."

"It's already prepared for you."

As Wei Ran spoke, she pushed a photo album and a USB drive from the box to the other person, saying, "Please help me find this while you're at it."

"I understand, you don't need to tell me."

Xia Shushi took the photo album and USB drive and readily agreed. Then he got up and pulled out a DSLR camera, urging, "Hurry up and take that camera out so I can take some good pictures."

Why are you so agitated?

"Isn't that obvious?"

As Xia Shushi spoke, he had already attached a polarizing filter to the SLR camera in his hand. After making some adjustments, he took a few pictures of the glass tube nipple and even those old photos while turning it around. He kept explaining, "If that camera were real, it would be of great significance."

Although I don't know where General Zhang's photo was taken, even if it was taken just after leaving Xifengkou.

"yes."

Wei Ran smiled, took out the camera, gently pushed out the lens, placed it on the table, and let Xia Shushi take one photo after another of it.

"Cameras are really great things."

"What?"

"I said"

Wei Ran took a step back to make room, "A camera is really a wonderful thing."

"I wish I could have given every soldier who fought in the War of Resistance against Japan a camera and ten rolls of film."

Xia Shushi sighed, "Too many people, let alone photos, couldn't even leave behind a complete name."

"They probably didn't even have 10 bullets back then," Wei Ran sighed, a helpless sigh from a historian.