War Photographer's Notebook

Chapter 2038 The Curator's Daily Life
In Tianjin, at Wanggui Photo Studio, under a ginkgo tree stripped of its leaves, a former historian who had recently become a father was leisurely basking in the sun on a bamboo bench covered with reindeer hide.

On a stone table not far from him, there was not only a guqin (a seven-stringed zither) that he had bought from Chen Guangling's shop years ago, but also a tea set and a tea stove with burning charcoal.

Of course, there were also some snacks and treats that Sui Sui bought from the market at her maternal grandmother's house a few days ago.

Between the stone table and the recliner, Belial, who had been secretly brought along, lay upside down on the ground covered with ginkgo leaves, and casually rested his huge dog head on Wei Ran's shoes.

There was nothing that could be done about it; both sets of grandparents missed their child, but they were also worried that Beria would hurt Lolo.

So after we asked them to send the kids home last weekend, we also asked them to take Beria, this big guy who's usually quite popular with the older folks, with them temporarily.

With no other option, Wei Ran could only temporarily "smuggle" it to a city where large dogs were not allowed to stay and avoid trouble for a while.

Fortunately, Belial was past the age of being lively and active, and thanks to his good upbringing, he wouldn't get angry and shout at the slightest disturbance.

"pat"

Wei Ran, who had fallen asleep at some point, had a piece of peach shortbread that he had only taken a bite of slip from his hand and landed right on Belial's chest.

"Ok?"

Belial sniffed around in a daze, and after confirming that he wasn't dreaming, he immediately opened his eyes, rolled over, got up, and, with the peach shortbread in his mouth, spun around and lay back down, holding it in his two big paws, eating it slowly and leisurely.

This sunny afternoon was a rare moment of rest for Wei Ran, both as a new dad and as a photographer.

It's a sad story. Although Sui Sui, who travels back and forth between the two cities every day, has established a cosmetic surgery hospital, she doesn't allow her own children to use it. Instead, she entrusts the entire childcare job to Wei Ran.

Of course, Wei Ran was also happy about this. Such peaceful and tranquil days were something those data streamers could only dream of.

"clang clang"

Just as Wei Ran was once again encountering the data stream he had recently met in his dream, a knock on the door pulled him back to reality.

Go open the door.

Wei Ran patted Beria's head, and the latter immediately grabbed the remaining half of the peach shortbread and ran to the door, where it pried open the door latch with its paws.

This is a new trick that Wei Ran spent more than an hour teaching it this morning.

"Holy crap!"

Qin Ershi, who pushed open the door, was genuinely startled by Beria, who was not much shorter than him when he stood up, even though the big man had a peach shortbread in his mouth and a string of drool around his lips.

Close the door.

"Okay?"

Qin Er Shi watched with great interest as Beria pushed the door shut, and carefully patted his dog's head.

"Why are you here?" Wei Ran asked, sitting up with a yawn.

"My sister Qin Qi and Xia Xia are getting married, and they asked me to deliver the wedding invitations to you."

As Qin Ershi spoke, he pulled over with a suitcase, sat down on another recliner, picked up a pastry and took a bite, "It's a shotgun wedding, are you going or not?"

"Where?" Wei Ran asked lazily, yawning.

In Hainan

Qin Ershi casually pulled out a wedding invitation and handed it over, saying, "My sister said to have your queen bring your beautiful background figures to be her bridesmaids."

Where are the best man?

"You, huh?"

As Qin Ershi spoke, he picked up the second pastry, broke off half of it and threw it to Beria, but the latter did not take it at all, and just drooled all over the ground.

"Eat it"

Before Wei Ran could finish speaking, Belial immediately grabbed the half-piece from the ground and swallowed it whole. Then, before Qin Ershi could react, he snatched the other half-piece from his hand with a flick of his tongue.

"This dog is incredibly clever."

Qin Ershi pulled out a wet wipe. "Give me a straight answer, are you going or not?"

"Go, why not go."

As Wei Ran spoke, he brewed another pot of tea. "What about you? Aren't you going?"

"I have other things to do, and it's best if we don't appear together."

Qin Ershi cleared his throat as he said this, "Also, Brother Liu asked me to tell you that if you have time in a couple of days, you can go to Italy with him."

"I'm going to Italy with him? What for?" Wei Ran asked, puzzled.

"Aren't you his historical advisor? What's with that expression? Holy crap, you haven't forgotten about that, have you?"

"It seems there is such a thing."

Wei Ran thought for a moment, "That happened more than a year ago. He hasn't contacted me much lately, and I would have forgotten about it if you hadn't brought it up."

"So, are you going or not?"

"When?"

Next Tuesday

"What about their wedding?"

October 13st

"Who sends out wedding invitations this far in advance?!"

Wei Ran flipped open the wedding invitation that the other party had just thrown at him with annoyance. Sure enough, it was completely empty inside; it was just an excuse.

"My sister's due date is in mid-November. We'll get married after the baby is born and we'll make some more preparations."

Qin Er Shi said, "We're all on the same side, so I'll just give you a skin as a token."

"So the real business is to go to Italy with Boss Liu next Tuesday?"

"That's right"

Qin Ershi nodded, "You don't need to prepare anything, and you don't need to worry about safety."

Wei Ran nodded in agreement.

That's all for the important matters.

Qin Ershi threw the wet wipe into the trash can, picked up a cup of tea, and asked, "Why don't you go out and get some exercise instead of staying cooped up in the yard all day?"

"Activities? I go for a run every morning."

Wei Ran also picked up a cup of tea. "I usually have to take care of my Luo Luo. But you, you're not getting married or looking for a girlfriend, are you?"

"Alright, shut up. Don't say anything more."

Qin Er Shi put down his teacup. "I've already come all this way, why am I being pressured about this kind of thing?"

"What are your plans for the future?"

Wei Ran poured the other person another bowl of tea and asked, "Let's not talk about Xia and your sister. My junior brother Chen Luoxiang is about to become a father. You're just an old bachelor. You won't be able to hang out with us in the future."

"Are you never going to stop?" Qin Ershi said, picking up his teacup, then scalding it and letting out a baboonish scream.

"I don't want to listen to your ramblings."

Wei Ran chuckled and then changed the subject, "Why don't you give me a heads-up about what instructions that Boss Liu has this time?"

"I have no idea about that."

Qin Ershi quickly waved his hand, "I try to avoid asking about his affairs. When you go and come back, don't tell me anything."

"Alright," Wei Ran nodded, ending another topic that could have been discussed for a long time.

"There's one last thing, which Brother Liu also arranged," Qin Ershi started a new topic.

"What's going on?"

"He said that the project you sent him more than a year ago has achieved phased results and will soon carry out space experiments."

Before Wei Ran could show a hint of joy, Qin Ershi continued, "Brother Liu asked me to tell you that he hopes you can invite the project leader from back then to China to observe the launch process."

"Really?" Wei Ran's face lit up with joy.

"Of course it's true, but that's all I know."

Qin Ershi once again stopped the conversation in time. "As for the specifics, he said we can talk about it on the way when we meet next Tuesday."

"Are you afraid I won't go and set up a nest first?" Wei Ran shook his head, both amused and exasperated.

"Alright, we've finished talking about the important stuff."

Qin Ershi asked like a miser, "What have you found out this month? We're out of material; we're all waiting for you to cook it up."

"Waiting for you to cook," Wei Ran said, giving the middle finger, on which was a USB flash drive.

"Bring it to you!"

Qin Ershi took the USB drive, weighed it in his hand, and put it in his bag. At the same time, he pushed the suitcase next to him over, asking, "Where's your little princess?"

"It's been sent back to the village," Wei Ran said, already holding the suitcase. "What's this?"

"A gift from my stepmother to your son, Luo Luo"

Qin Ershi explained, "She embroidered the tiger-head hat and tiger-head shoes herself. My crazy little aunt's longevity lock for your Luo Luo is also in there. It was offered to Mazu."

"Mazu?"

Wei Ran asked in surprise, "I remember they were Buddhists, weren't they?"

"Believe in some kind of Buddha."

Qin Er Shi, holding his teacup, spoke the truth: "If you truly believed in Buddhism, would you need to use the Buddha's name to do such things? In any case, just accept it."

"Aren't you going to send something?" Wei Ran asked, pressing his advantage.

"I got you a campervan."

Qin Ershi took out his phone and glanced at the time. "It should have been delivered to your grandma's house by now." "A campervan?" Wei Ran looked at him in surprise. "Why are you sending me a campervan?"

"Didn't you say your dream before studying abroad was to drive around in a campervan?"

Qin Ershi retorted, "Liu'er can't be lying to me about this, can he? He also told me that a year ago you found a special car and modified it into a flashy pink RV, and said that you wouldn't drive it out of the hospital, just leave it there as a decoration. Is that true?"

"Ah, yes. That's true." Wei Ran replied. "So..."

"So I got you a large RV with an 8x8 chassis and a 12-cylinder engine. All the paperwork is complete and legal."

Qin Ershi proudly showed off, "I went through a lot of trouble to get that through friends. You can just apply for an upgrade and start driving yourself."

Then you can take your girlfriends and your Luoluo to travel all over the country. At such a young age, staying indoors all the time will only make things worse.

"Okay, then thank you in advance." Wei Ran could only express his gratitude in the end.

He simply couldn't explain to his somewhat thoughtful but silly friend that the car that had been sitting in his grandmother's yard for over a year, with grass growing under its chassis, was actually just a cover-up.

"Alright, since your princess isn't here, I won't waste my breath arguing with you."

As Qin Ershi spoke, he stood up and reminded everyone as he walked out, "Don't forget next Tuesday, okay? Brother Liu will come here to meet you then."

Are you leaving?

"Why don't you leave after you're done talking? What are two grown men doing cuddling together? People will laugh at you if word gets out." Qin Ershi uttered this stupid remark as he reached the gate of the courtyard.

"He actually cares a lot about his reputation."

Wei Ran shook his head amidst laughter and scolding, and directed Beria, who was in charge of seeing off guests, to help lock the door shut.

Before the dog could lie down again, he took out his phone and called Lyubov, who was far away in Kazan.

"Good morning/afternoon, boss." As soon as the video call connected, Liu Bofu, who seemed to be doing her morning exercise, greeted him and stepped off the treadmill with her phone in hand.

"morning"

Wei Ran stroked the dog's head as it approached and asked, "Has your teacher not returned yet?"

"no"

Liu Bofu, her face covered in sweat, shook her head, took a towel from a pink-clad young woman, and explained while wiping her face, "He seems to still be at the Wildfire Rescue Station. I guess he doesn't plan to come back until his child starts school."

"How are the children doing?" Wei Ran asked with great interest.

"See for yourself"

As she spoke, Lyubov switched the camera to focus on the situation inside the window.

At this moment, the large house is filled with babies, some sucking on bottles, others having their diapers changed.

What's interesting is that these children's clothes all have prominently embroidered numbers.

"Lyubofu, try to contact your teacher. If you can't, go there in person."

Wei Ran said, "Let him take care of himself and have a decent set of clothes made."

His spark is about to begin space experiments, and he will be invited to observe a rocket launch.

"Really? I'll contact him right away!" Lyubov turned the camera back in surprise.

I'll tell you the specific time later.

Wei Ran smiled and said, "Contact him as soon as possible and tell him to prepare."

"I'll contact him right away!" Lyubov quickly agreed.

After hanging up the phone with a few words, Wei Ran lay back down and soon drifted off to sleep again in the bright sunshine.

Over the next few days, Sui Sui continued to travel back and forth between the two cities in a flurry of activity. On the weekend, she took a group of followers and her husband back to her maternal grandparents' house to visit Luo Luo, who was being cared for by both sets of grandparents and Wei Ran's parents.

"Is this the gift that Qin Er Shi gave to Luo Luo?"

Wei Ran looked at the other RV in the yard, which was being supported by a hydraulic hoe, and asked curiously, "This vehicle not only has a license plate, but also has its annual inspection sticker."

"Perhaps?"

Wei Ran's mother brought Luo Luo over and said, "The day you came back, your dad drove around in the car and said it was more comfortable than the minibus he used to drive."

"Your friend's mother is also quite good at needlework."

Sui Sui's maternal grandmother looked at the box of tiger shoes, tiger hats, tiger pillows, and tiger gloves that had been returned and said, "They even have gold thread embroidered inside."

"Let's have another pair of twins next year, and then he can send two more sets!" Sui Sui said with a beaming smile.

"Just spouting nonsense."

Sui Sui's maternal grandfather said, "You two are shameless. You should think about how to return the favor."

"Just give him a few bags of those dried corn and mushrooms, and a whole bucket of Grandma's pickled eggs and duck eggs," Wei Ran casually arranged.

Having finally managed to fool both sets of elders, Sui Sui, under the pretext of a visit, pulled Wei Ran into the second RV that had been delivered.

"The Second Prince sent such an expensive gift this time, I'm afraid there's some trap waiting for you to fall into when he sends you to Italy next Tuesday?" Sui Sui asked worriedly. "Or maybe..."

"Need not"

Wei Ran waved his hand, "Don't worry about that. But you, remember to pick up Apolly and Lyubov while I'm gone."

Once she felt more at ease, Sui Sui pressed on, "Did that spark really go into space?"

"I asked around these past couple of days, and it seems that it's still Xia Shushi's parents who are in charge of the project."

Wei Ran said, "But the exact launch time is still unknown. I guess they're deliberately keeping it from us."

"I'll pick you up myself then," Sui Sui agreed to the task.

Time flew by and it was Tuesday morning. Wei Ran had just seen Sui Sui and the others off when an inconspicuous domestic sedan pulled up in front of the door.

As the car door closed, Brother Liu, who was sitting in the driver's seat, gestured to Wei Ran.

Seeing this, Wei Ran went around to the passenger side, opened the door, and got in.

"Wei Ran, the reason I'm going to Italy this time is to use your eyes to keep an eye on someone," Brother Liu said bluntly as he released the brakes.

"Who is it?" Wei Ran asked after a moment of silence.

You'll see it then.

"Just staring?"

"What else can you do?"

That depends on what you're doing.

"Then let's take a look first."

As Liu spoke, he stepped on the gas and increased the car's speed, heading straight towards the airport.

"I heard your photo studio hasn't been open for almost a year?"

Business is tough.

Wei Ran responded with a yawn, having already lowered the seat back and pulled a pair of steam eye masks out of his pocket.

"Xia has achieved a lot this year, helping many veterans in both places find their families."

"yes"

Wei Ran yawned again as he spoke, "Now he's a well-known historian."

Upon hearing this, Brother Liu smiled and didn't continue the topic. After driving to the airport, he boarded a flight to Italy.

After a long flight, Liu Ge, who had arrived safely, simply gave Wei Ran a card with an address written on it, and then shrugged.

Seeing this, Wei Ran didn't take it to heart. In the instant he brushed past a young woman, he took the Bluetooth earphone that she had put into his hand and put it on his other ear.

Without any attempt to hide from Brother Liu behind them, Wei Ran led him out of the airport, found an SUV following the directions in the Bluetooth headset, and got in.

"Can you use a gun?"

As Wei Ran spoke, he leaned over and opened the glove box in front of the passenger seat, pulled out a McDonald's paper bag, and handed it to the person behind him.

“I know how to use it, what’s wrong?” Brother Liu asked, taking the paper bag.

"You'll be fine once you know how to use it."

As Wei Ran spoke, he started the car and drove towards the airport. "I won't, so you'll have to protect me. The bounty on the internet is very high."

Upon hearing this, Brother Liu belatedly opened the McDonald's bag in his hand and looked inside, then fell silent.

Besides a Glock pistol and two spare magazines, there was also an American-made hand grenade inside.

He just smiled, took off his coat, put the quick-draw holster containing the pistol and spare magazine under his arm, and after putting his coat back on, he also put the grenade in his pocket.

"Tell me why we came here," Wei Ran asked only after the other party had finished packing, by which time they had already left the airport.

I'm going to see a friend.

Brother Liu said, "Keep an eye on that chubby guy next to him, his name is Virgil. Have your friend keep an eye on him, okay?"

"That's all?" Wei Ran asked in surprise.

He has many secrets.

Brother Liu said, "How about you take charge of finding out all his secrets?"

"Working for free?"

"How could that be?"

Brother Liu smiled and said, "When the autumn harvest comes, all the surplus grain dug out of the rat hole will be handed over to your queen to manage, so that you two can earn some money for baby formula, how about that?"

"If that's what you mean, then I'm not sleepy anymore."

Before Wei Ran could finish speaking, he had already stepped on the gas and increased the car's speed.