War Photographer's Notebook

Chapter 2034 Welcome home

On August 24th, after the design and construction teams worked tirelessly, the huge special truck in Wei Ran and Sui Sui's grandmother's yard was finally transformed into a motorhome.

Who knows if it was to eliminate any connection between this behemoth and weapons, it was even recolored into a girly pink.

Now, anyone who comes in and takes a look will think that this RV, which can't be driven out of the yard, must belong to Sui Sui's big toy.

On the not-so-large terrace above the driver's cab, under a parasol, Wei Ran and Sui Sui sat on reclining chairs on either side of a folding tea table, their attention focused on the lotus pond not far outside the courtyard.

"Two months have passed since we went home."

Sui Sui yawned, picked up her milk tea and took a big sip. "I thought you'd be restless and go out to do something again."

"What? Trying to give me something to do?" Wei Ran took the milk tea offered by the other party and sipped it.

"You should just stay home obediently."

Sui Sui picked up a piece of watermelon and put it in her mouth, then picked up another piece and threw it into the courtyard outside the car.

Suddenly, the crooked-mouthed pug that was rolling around on the ground, along with the two big-eared foxes and even the black-faced sheep Shaun, all rushed over at once.

However, before they could even grab the watermelon, Beria, who had been lying under the car enjoying the cool air, was the first to run over and eat it.

"I'll be busy tomorrow."

Wei Ran also picked up a piece of watermelon and put it in his mouth. Seeing the worried look on Sui Sui's face, he quickly explained, "Tomorrow is the Ghost Festival, and my photo studio has to open on the 15th of the lunar calendar."

"You can open for business, but you need people to make reservations."

Sui Sui breathed a sigh of relief, rolled her eyes, and said, "Your ridiculous rules make you act like a big shot. Who would listen to that?"

"This time, someone actually made a reservation."

Wei Ran explained with a smile, "I received the registered letter last month. It was scheduled for the 15th of this month's lunar calendar, which happens to be the Ghost Festival."

"Who would be so kind as to grace us with their presence?" Sui Sui asked, intrigued. "A man or a woman?"

How would I know?

Wei Ran then extended an invitation, "Are you busy tomorrow? Would you like to come along?"

"Yes! Of course I'll go!" Sui Sui agreed without even thinking.

"Won't this interfere with your work?" Wei Ran asked again.

"What's there to delay?"

Sui Sui yawned. "Martha and Qin Qi are keeping an eye on the film and television company, and Xinda and Lola are keeping an eye on the travel business. Once Greva's people take over, even they won't have to work anymore. I plan to find them a school to study at that time."

Besides, even if there's some big work, there's still Camila Cabello and the employees she brought back.

"What about you? Aren't you planning to pursue a master's degree?" Wei Ran asked with a smile.

This wasn't something that happened through connections; Sui Sui obtained it herself by exchanging the phoenix crown she had discovered back then.

This phoenix crown, traded for a master's degree in Teaching Chinese to Speakers of Other Languages—a losing proposition—almost made Brother Liu suspect that Sui Sui was drunk.

The only good thing about Wei Ran is that he can finally take out the DT30 transport vehicle without the excruciating pain. Of course, other restrictions still apply.

"There's still a week before school starts, what's the rush?"

Sui Sui said listlessly, "So I'm definitely going to go with you tomorrow to see who's planning to take pictures with you during the Ghost Festival."

"Let's go take a look together then!"

Wei Ran smiled and agreed. He really didn't know who had the time to book a photoshoot for tomorrow.

While these two were lounging around on the roof of a car that was higher than a wall, all sorts of things were happening in other parts of the world.

No, it should be said that ever since Wei Ran returned to China, all sorts of things have been happening.

Nice, a famous tourist city in southern France.

In this seaside city where nudist beaches abound, this season is the peak time for tourists.

On a street not far from the coastline, an Asian man of average height walked into his hotel.

However, the moment he stepped into the room, a syringe emerged from behind the door and pierced precisely behind his ear.

When he turned around in disbelief, he saw a beautiful Eurasian girl who was probably no more than 20 years old.

"Go to hell and become fertilizer for the spider lilies, you scum."

The girl whispered a particularly cringeworthy blessing in Japanese, while simultaneously injecting all the cyanide from the syringe into the other person's body.

"Pfft!"

Within seconds, the man convulsed and collapsed to the ground, eventually becoming completely still.

"Don't waste any more time, come out and help."

As the girl hiding behind the door spoke, she carefully put a protective cap on the syringe in her hand, then casually stuffed it into a stainless steel cigar tube and twisted it shut.

At the same time, the bathroom door was opened from the inside by another mixed-race girl.

With the help of the two men, the body was put into a huge suitcase and the lid was carefully closed.

"Are my eyes safe?"

"Come out, but hurry up."

The sound coming from the earpiece made the two girls immediately open the door, push their suitcases and leave, and casually hang a "Please Clean" sign on the closed door.

Almost as soon as they pushed their suitcases into the room diagonally opposite, the elevator stopped on this floor, and some tourists from all over the world walked out of the elevator chatting and laughing and checked into their rooms.

Just a second before the elevator doors opened, the surveillance cameras in the corridor returned to normal.

Meanwhile, the two girls had already taken out small containers filled with liquid nitrogen from the various shopping bags of different sizes in the room.

Similar or not-so-similar things have been happening in various places recently, but how could these things possibly have anything to do with historians who are just lounging around in their grandma's RV?
The organizations whose members kept disappearing and losing contact also firmly suspected that their missing subordinates had been kidnapped by the Kumbu organization called the Eye of Horus.

However, after investigating, they discovered that the IP address that appeared every time the Eye of Horus appeared was always within the territory of the Chinese government or the United States, and on several occasions the IP address was even in the territory of their father's base.

This intriguing outcome naturally became fodder for dogfighting, but how could these things possibly have anything to do with historians who spend their days lounging in their grandparents' RV?
On the morning of the Ghost Festival, Wei Ran and Sui Sui took the high-speed train to the small villa in Tianjin.

Accompanying them were the Kachenka sisters, who might be serving as makeup artists today, and Marta and Lucinda, who would provide timely medical assistance should a guest become unwell.

In short, they've been really free lately.

After Wei Ran and the girls cleaned the small villa upstairs and downstairs, the first customer since the Wanggui Photo Studio opened finally rang the doorbell at 10:30 a.m.

"coming!"

Under the ginkgo tree, Sui Sui, the proprietress, quickly handed the shaved ice she had just picked up to Wei Ran and got up to personally open the wooden door of the courtyard.

"It really is you—okay, boss, I made an appointment to take photos today."

Outside the courtyard gate, a girl who looked to be in her early twenties, wearing large glasses, managed to cover up what she had almost let slip.

Beside her stood a slightly older young man with clean-cut features and healthier-looking skin. "Are you two taking photos together? Come in! Welcome! What style are you planning to shoot?"

Sui Sui reacted quickly and took back what she had almost let slip.

"It was my own idea to film it."

The girl glanced at Wei Ran standing under the ginkgo tree and the other four girls playing mahjong in a group, and asked curiously, "Isn't that the famous 'Old Man of Piao' over there... oh no! I mean Teacher Wei?"

“That’s right, it’s him.” Sui Sui nodded with a smile. “What’s your name?”

"Tang Doudou, my name is Tang Doudou."

The girl patted the young man next to her and said, "This is my boyfriend, Ayun. He's also from Tianjin."

"Hello, welcome."

As Wei Ran spoke, he walked over and shook hands with the two of them. "Miss Tang, what are you planning to film?"

"I'd like to have a set of retro-style photos taken during the Republic of China era. Is that possible? The price is negotiable," Tang Doudou said confidently.

"No problem, come in and let's talk. Have you two eaten yet?"

Wei Ran gently ushered the two towards the gate of the small villa, saying, "You are welcome to take a look around. Every room in this building can serve as a backdrop."

"I haven't eaten yet!"

Before her boyfriend could speak, Tang Doudou interjected, "We overslept, so we just washed our faces and brushed our teeth before rushing here."

"Then let's eat something first, how about some sesame seed cakes?" Wei Ran, who was walking at the front with his back to them, asked with an increasingly bright smile.

"Can I have Hou Yi's enema?" Tang Doudou asked, her eyes shining.

"Of course!" Wei Ran readily agreed. "How many do you want?"

"I want two! One with sausage and one with pickled vegetables!" Tang Doudou stated her request without hesitation. "And I also want to drink salted tofu soup!"

"You're being far too rude!"

Tang Doudou's boyfriend said awkwardly, "I've never seen you this absent-minded at my own home."

"You are welcome"

Sui Sui smiled equally brightly, "Entering this door feels like coming home."

"Hmph! Did you hear me!"

Tang Doudou, with an unusually friendly air, took Sui Sui's arm and said, "I'm going home!"

"I'm sorry to have troubled you, sister," the local young man, called A-Yun, quickly said. "My girlfriend..."

"What's the big deal? Come in!"

As Sui Sui spoke, she stopped at the door, just like Wei Ran, and inadvertently let Tang Doudou be the first to enter the lobby on the first floor.

"Ah Yun, I suddenly remembered that I forgot the clothes I bought in the trunk. Can you go and get them for me?" Tang Doudou asked, standing at the door and staring blankly at everything in the room.

"Holy crap! I knew something was missing! Just you wait!"

The young man, called A-Yun, slapped his thigh and turned to run towards the gate of the courtyard.

Before his figure was completely blocked by the automatically closing wooden door, Tang Doudou had already taken off her glasses, wiped away the longing overflowing from her eyes, and carefully looked around at the surroundings, which were exactly the same as those in the photos she had seen more than once in her childhood.

He and Sui Sui exchanged a glance, then Wei Ran turned and went into the kitchen. A short while later, he brought out a small basket of sesame seed cakes and a large bowl of salted tofu soup that he had prepared in advance and placed them on the long table on the first floor.

"Eat up, welcome home."

Wei Ran said with a smile, his face bearing the same kind smile that Master Meng had worn when he used to work in the kitchen here.

"You know it all?"

Tang Doudou sniffed, picked up a sesame seed cake and took a big bite, but with each chew, her throat felt incredibly sour and dry.

"How is the old man's health?" Wei Ran asked after a moment of silence.

"Ok!"

Tang Doudou nodded. "She's still healthy. She said she'll come here to see for herself when she gets back."

"Let the old man stay here when he comes back," Wei Ran said. "Returning it to its rightful owner is a good thing."

"No need, Grandma is satisfied as long as she comes to see it. Since Grandpa Tao has entrusted this place to you, Grandma will definitely not have any objections."

Tang Doudou took another bite of the sesame seed cake. "Someone told me that Brother Wei accompanied Grandpa Tao on his final journey, and his grandma asked me to ask if he passed away peacefully."

"Canhua, no regrets." Wei Ran sighed. Tao Canhua may have no regrets, but the regrets in his heart are growing.

“I heard about Dingjun Mountain during Labor Day, and I also took pictures to show her.”

Tang Doudou said, "The Nameless Theatre Troupe is performing in Taibei tonight, and Grandma will probably go see it."

"When are you coming back?" Wei Ran asked cautiously.

"It'll be soon."

Tang Doudou, her face streaked with tears, broke into a wide smile, forgetting to wipe the sesame seeds from the corner of her mouth. Her smile was like a strait, and the sesame seed was like the island that had trapped the wanderer.

"That's good," Wei Ran breathed a sigh of relief.

"Uncle Liu helped me book today's photoshoot."

Tang Doudou continued, "Um, your photo studio really can take pictures, right? I promised Grandma I'd take them and send them to her."

"Of course! Don't worry about it! He's a great photographer!"

In this matter, Sui Sui had enough confidence in her man.

"Sigh! My boyfriend is slightly better than a forensic doctor just by taking pictures." Tang Doudou said, picking up a sesame seed and gesturing with it in distress.

"What do you mean by 'a little better than a forensic doctor'?" Wei Ran, who had been lost in thought, subconsciously asked.

"It's about ensuring that the models being photographed don't get startled when they change poses," Tang Doudou sighed, her thinking quite unique.

This quirky yet somewhat realistic statement successfully amused Wei Ran and Sui Sui.

But then, the girl lowered her voice and asked, "Brother Wei, Sister Sui Sui, when you went to my family's pharmacy, were you there to see my grandma? How did you find it?"

"us."

Just as Wei Ran was about to speak, the gate to the courtyard was knocked on again; Tang Doudou's boyfriend had returned.

"Let's get ready to take pictures."

While Lu Xinda went to open the door, Wei Ran snapped his fingers and said with a smile, "Makeup artist, costume artist! Get ready!"

"Received!" Sui Sui replied with a bright smile.