The rapid knock on the door instantly woke up Wei Ran, who had fallen asleep leaning on a chair, and he subconsciously picked up the submachine gun at hand.
It wasn't until he opened his eyes and saw the familiar studio that he struggled to stand up and staggered towards the locked rolling shutter door.
"Wow"
As the rolling shutter door was opened, the anxious Professor Alexey immediately poked his head in and even sniffed in an exaggerated manner.
"I've been knocking for five minutes and didn't open the door. I thought you were discussing the origin of life with the girls," Professor Alexei said with a disappointed look on his face.
"Even the trash cans in our studio are public, so where did the girl come from?"
Wei Ran yawned and woke up immediately after accidentally seeing the tattoo on the tiger's mouth. He quickly clenched his fists and put them in his pockets, "Why are you here this late at night?"
"Didn't you call me?" Alexei looked like he had seen a ghost, "Are you confused by your sleep?"
"Oh oh oh!"
Changing his hand and patting his forehead, Wei Ran pulled down the rolling shutter door and walked towards the workbench, "Come and take a look!"
After taking the press pass handed to him by Wei Ran and taking one look at it, Professor Alexei was already trembling with excitement, "That's him, that's Polevoy! Let me see those photo albums!"
"It's all in the box." Wei Ran pointed to the wooden box placed aside.
"We're getting rich, this time we're getting rich!"
Professor Alexei was so excited that he almost rolled on the floor. He was holding a wooden box full of photo albums like a fool, and kept mumbling the same sentence back and forth like a fool.
"Professor Alexei, Professor Alexei."
Wei Ran shook the press pass in his hand, "This pass, as well as the war reporter's clothes, shoes and briefcase, were all found in the gift you gave me."
Professor Alexei, who was concentrating on looking at the negatives, said nonchalantly, "What does it matter? Even if they are not in the same box, it can still prove that these negatives come from Polevoi!"
"No, no, no, I mean, these things belong to me."
Wei Ran suppressed a smile and said, compared to the tragedies he experienced in the Battle of Stalingrad, being able to continue bickering with this old guy who drinks all day long is like God talking to him.
He was just as happy chatting.
"Forehead..."
Professor Alexei, who was having fun all over the place just a moment ago, immediately froze and turned around dryly, "What's yours and mine? This is..."
"It's mine"
Wei Ran waved the certificate in his hand pretending to be proud, "After all, it's your graduation gift to me. Are you embarrassed to ask me to return them to you? Okay, needless to say, I know you must be embarrassed, so
It's mine, and I'm going to take it home and treasure it."
"You bastard can't do this!"
Professor Alexei cried sadly, saying that without that certificate, it would be a big project to prove that these negatives were made by Polevoy.
"So how are you going to compensate me for letting me work overtime while you sit next door and enjoy the benefits?" Wei Ran asked, playing with the press pass in his hand.
"How about I give you another gift?" Professor Alexei said in a thoughtful tone, "A gift worth at least fifty thousand rubles."
"Forget it, they are yours." Having had enough of joking, Wei Ran directly pushed the certificate against the table to Professor Alexei.
"You don't want it anymore?" Professor Alexei asked in surprise. He thought that this little bastard had to make some demands anyway.
Wei Ran reached out and knocked on the copy board, "Those things are yours, but these negatives are mine. Of course, I can help you develop a few."
"What film?"
Professor Alexei threw aside the press pass he had just received, picked up a magnifying glass and came over. When he saw the shots in these negatives, the old man shivered as if he had epilepsy and asthma.
While panting heavily!
"This...this was also...found...by looking for it together?"
Alexey's stammering question made Wei Ran completely unable to hold back the smile on his face, "I kept it in the press card before, so now I have to choose one of these negatives, or in addition to these negatives.
Among other things, which one do you want?"
"Those negatives belong to you! The investigation fee for the tank is also yours, but as you said, I need you to help me develop some photos."
Professor Alexei said without thinking, the investigation fee for that T-34 is far less than that of Polevoy's relics, no, to be precise, it should be Polevoy's art work!
"No problem," Wei Ran said, and he was about to put the film negatives he had taken personally into the film holder for laser scanning.
"Wait, wait first."
Professor Alexei quickly stopped Wei Ran, "These great works of art cannot be printed in such a vulgar way using a computer."
"What? Do you plan to use photo paper to develop it?" Wei Ran looked at the corner of the studio, "Why is it so troublesome?"
"Of course, come with me."
Professor Alexei happily led Wei Ran into the rarely used darkroom. As the red light was turned on, he began to explain nonchalantly, "If these precious photos are printed on a computer,
It simply cannot show the unique texture of film, so even if it is printed, it can only be called data at best. Only if it is washed out with silver salt photo paper, it will have richer gray scales and full graininess. Correspondingly,
They are also qualified to be called works of art."
"It's not too troublesome," Wei Ran muttered.
“It’s not a problem, it’s just that the current photo-taking procedures are too simple.”
Alexei opened an old iron box with his butt raised, and took out a box of silver salt photographic paper packed in a vacuum bag from a pile of desiccant.
"Can this thing be used?" Wei Ran asked, looking at the period-specific patterns on the packaging box.
"They're not nearly as old as you think"
While adjusting the various chemicals used to develop photos, Alexey explained proudly, "These are photo papers that I specially customized from the Kazan Photosensitive Company last year. The technology and materials they use are very similar to those of the Soviet era and even World War II."
There is no difference in time. I even dare to say that when Polevoy was alive, he must have used exactly the same Kazan brand photographic paper."
"So?" Wei Ran asked confused, and at the same time, he allowed Alex to fix the film on the film holder, and then clamped it on the enlarger that was also produced in the Soviet era.
"So they can be used to fake..." Alexei stopped mid-sentence, "Anyway, these photo papers are the most suitable."
Wei Ran didn't bother to ask anymore, and stood quietly aside, watching Professor Alexey develop out 10-inch square black and white photos one by one.
When Professor Alexei hung the photos on the rope one by one, Wei Ran looked at the familiar people and background environment in the photos, and inexplicably remembered what Lieutenant Lev had asked him to do - if he could get it from
If you survive the war, go to Mamayev Hill for him.
"not bad"
Alexei turned on the light in the darkroom with great satisfaction, "Victor, I leave the remaining negatives to you. You don't have to do anything else in the next few days. Just develop them all and use this photo
Paper washing. Don’t look at me, this kind of thing can’t be difficult for you. Last year I saw you specially wash the photos of a beautiful female tourist from China.”
"Shut up! That's because they added more money!" Wei Ran explained with a pale face.
"Last month, that big fat guy also paid more. Didn't you also print directly from the computer?" Alexey accepted it as soon as it was ready. After leaving the darkroom, he continued to look at the negative albums.
"That's because I know how to do business." Wei Ran looked like a tough talker.
"I hope so. A pot of coffee, thank you."
Professor Alexei said without raising his head. All his attention was focused on the photo albums. From time to time, he would write down names of people or places that Wei Ran had never heard of in his notebook.
Time passed by, and when the pot of coffee was full, Professor Alexey stood up suddenly, closed the film album in his hand and walked out, while keeping saying, "
Develop all the other negative albums, now I have to go out, remember to find a suitable excuse for me."
"Where are you going?" Wei Ran, who was playing games to distract his attention, raised his head and asked in surprise. It was almost eleven o'clock in the evening. Is this old man looking for a bar to dance in?
"Of course I want to find a way to sell those negatives at a high price."
Professor Alexei shook the film album in his hand and said matter-of-factly, "In addition, as I said just now, the profits from the T-34 and the few negatives you left behind will all belong to you.
But if the buyer wants to buy the photos that have just been developed, without the negatives, my suggested selling price is 100,000 rubles per photo. If he can't afford it, he doesn't have to sell it."
"A photo worth one hundred rubles?" Wei Ran's eyes widened, "Do you think the client is a fool?"
"You can try shouting a higher price. Trust me, the other party won't counter-offer."
Alexei had already pulled up the rolling shutter door while speaking, and pressed the car key while saying, "Okay, I'll leave the matter here to you. If nothing else, I will be back before noon tomorrow."
Seeing the professor disappearing in a flash, Wei Ran put his hands on the rolling shutter door above his head and started counting down again.
Sure enough, less than half a minute later, the other party drove his car back and said, "Where is Mr. Polevoy's press pass? Give it to me quickly. Without it, those negatives cannot be sold."
Turning around to get his press pass, before Wei Ran could say anything, the money-obsessed professor had stepped on the accelerator and disappeared again in a puff of smoke.
