"Professor, who is this person?" Wei Ran lowered his voice and asked Professor Alexei's ear.
"The last editor-in-chief of Pravda retired before the collapse of the Soviet Union," Professor Alexey replied in a low voice, "and he was also Mr. Polevoy's most loyal fan."
"Where did you find him?" Wei Ran asked in surprise.
Professor Alexei showed a proud expression on his face, "I have known each other for a long time, but more importantly, there is a photo of him and Mr. Polevoy in those photos. Please keep quiet now, he will be able to see it soon."
arrive."
Sure enough, less than half an hour later, Mr. Ilya pointed to a certain photo in the album and said happily, "This is a photo of me and Mr. Polevoy. Mr. Polevoy's wife helped take this photo."
of!"
"Really?" Professor Alexey put on a surprised expression and leaned over to take a look. Then a series of words of praise came out of his mouth, and he attributed all of this to God's arrangement.
Mr. Ilya, who was flattered by the flattery, was obviously very pleased. He laughed loudly and picked up the photo album at hand and asked, "Professor Alexey, I heard that you often help the moles and private museums investigate World War II."
Historical clues about cultural relics, so do you know the origin of these negatives?"
"I don't know about this." Professor Alexei pretended to be confused, "How about Mr. Ilya explain it?"
"Except for daily life photos, the rest are eliminated."
Ilya said with great joy, "It is undeniable that Mr. Polevoy is a great war reporter, but even so, it is impossible for every photo he takes to be published in the newspaper. The ones you found are all
He has not been selected in previous reports."
At this point, Mr. Ilya pointed to a photo in the album and explained, "For example, this one was taken by Mr. Polevoy in Kiev after World War II when he was reporting on his new life after the war. If you can find it,
You can definitely find a photo similar to it in "Contemporary People" published in 1952."
Wei Ran secretly glanced at Professor Alexei, who had a look of realization. This old guy knew how to act. He had explained the origin of these photos with the same reason just the night before.
For the next hour, the teacher and student deliberately put on a respectful attitude, giving Mr. Ilya enough time and opportunity to show off his knowledge. It was not until the coffee pot on the table was cleared of its last stock that Professor Alexei
He calmly brought the topic to the transaction price.
"These photos, of course, including these negatives, I am willing to buy them for half a million rubles."
After Ilya finished speaking, he waved his hand, making Professor Alexei swallow his words before he calmly pointed to the clothes and documents on another table next to him and continued, "As for Ali,
I am willing to pay two million rubles for those relics of Professor Kesei and the press card."
Hearing this, Professor Alexei simply shook his head and said, "I'm sorry, Mr. Ilya, but the price you offered for Mr. Polevoy's relics is too low."
"How much do you want to sell it for?" Mr. Ilya asked calmly while walking on a walking stick.
"The ideal price for all of this is six million rubles." Professor Alexei opened his mouth and tripled the price. He even added in the end without giving up, "And it can only be done in cash."
"How about 3 million?"
"5.5 million," Professor Alexey argued. "There are more than 600 photos here. On average, one photo costs less than 10,000 rubles, and it also includes Mr. Polevoy's relics. This price is already
It’s low enough.”
"Four million, this is the highest price I can pay."
"5.5 million" Professor Alexei refused to lower the price.
After pondering for a moment, Ilya finally nodded, "As you said, 5.5 million rubles, but you have to do me a favor."
"What are you busy with?" Professor Alexei asked cautiously.
Ilya raised his arm towards the assistant beside him, who immediately put the suitcase he had been carrying on the table and opened it.
The teacher and the student's eyes widened as soon as the box was opened. Not only did the box contain a stack of rubles, but there was also a small wooden box in the corner.
Under the watchful eyes of their teachers and students, Ilya opened the wooden box himself, took out a small PPK pistol and handed it to Professor Alexei, "I bought this at an auction a few years ago.
When it came down, the seller claimed that the pistol was a trophy seized by Mr. Polevoy after he followed the Soviet Red Army into Berlin. The pen used by Mr. Polevoy was also sold at the time, but the seller had no evidence to prove the pistol.
The origin is exactly as he said.
Professor Alexey, I hope you can help me investigate whether this pistol is a trophy Mr. Polevoy brought back from Berlin. This is related to whether you can take 5.5 million rubles in cash from me."
"this..."
Professor Alexei was hesitant. He didn't accept every job. Unlike the T-34 that had been sent away, Ilya had no way of completing this commission.
"Mr. Ilya, can we just prove that this pistol is or is not Mr. Polevoy's trophy?" Wei Ran asked abruptly.
Ilya looked at the young Asian man who had been standing behind Professor Alexei in surprise, and nodded casually, "It's that simple."
"If you can answer a few questions for me, maybe I can help you." Wei Ran ignored Professor Alexei's hint and said straightforwardly.
"What's your name?" Ilya asked calmly.
"The Russian name Victor" Wei Ran looked at the professor beside him, "Professor Alexei gave it to me. I am his student."
"Victor, that's a good name."
Ilya put the pistol back into the box, "Okay, let's start your questions."
"As far as you know, how many pistols does Mr. Polevoy have? Or more accurately, how many PPK pistols?"
Ilya pondered for a moment and said affirmatively, "Mr. Polevoy first used a Nagant revolver. Later, he was given a PPK pistol captured by Soviet Red Army soldiers in Berlin. This PPK pistol has always been with him.
As he reached the end of his life, he only changed the grip patch once."
Wei Ran nodded, "In this case, I can tell you for sure that the PPK in your hand is not Mr. Polevoy's gun."
"Why?" Ilya and Professor Alexei asked in unison.
Wei Ran hesitated for a moment, and finally said truthfully, "Because his pistol is in my hand."
