On the night of the auction, Mr. Hans formally hosted a banquet for Wei Ran and Suisui, as well as the Katenka sisters and Chanin.
Also attending this dinner were Rabbi Reutz and a dozen other respectable friends who had neither remembered their names nor had any intention of remembering their names.
"Mr. Victor, I wonder what plans you and your friends have in the next few days?"
During the dinner, Rabbi Reutz held up a glass of red wine and invited warmly, "If you have time, I suggest you go to Ronda. Hemingway said that it is the most suitable residence for elopements. Of course, it is also the residence of the Spanish matador."
Hometown, where you will find everything you want to encounter in Spain.”
"We will consider going to Longda when we have time." Wei Ran smiled and clinked his glasses with the other party.
"Mr. Victor"
Mrs. Alona also picked up the cup and clinked it with Wei Ran, and said in German with a slight accent, "I have watched several movies with you as the historical director. Frankly speaking, those movies, especially the ones shot in North Africa,
It’s very touching.”
"This is all the credit of the director and actors"
Wei Ran took a sip from the cup, and then gestured to Suisui beside him, "This is Aurora, she is also the professional manager of that film studio."
"The studio you led produced many meaningful films."
Mrs. Alona also clinked glasses with Suisui, and then asked curiously, "Miss Aurora, I wonder if your studio has any schedule?"
"Is Mrs. Alonna ready to shoot a movie?" Suisui asked with a smile after listening to Anfisa's translation next to her.
"Making a movie? No, no, no, I don't have that many touching stories to use in making movies."
Mrs. Alonna smiled and said, "I just think those films might have a chance to win some awards, such as the Laura Award?"
"Mrs. Alonna, maybe we can sit down and talk about these ideas in detail."
After listening to Anfisa's translation, Suisui enthusiastically invited Alona to sit down on the sofa nearby.
"Did they come to this dinner with friendship?" Wei Ran asked in Russian, holding a cup and smiling at Diane, who was walking over.
Diane replied in Russian, "They just smell the scent of profit."
"I feel relieved to hear you say that," Wei Ran said, clinking glasses with the other party.
"Mr. Victor, there are two guests who want to visit you." Diane took a sip of the red wine in her glass and said, "They are just outside the banquet hall."
"guest?"
Wei Ran raised his eyebrows, "That wrestler?"
"That's right." Diane nodded, "That wrestler, Mr. Miguel Perez."
"Who's the other one?"
Wei Ran said and winked at Anfiya, who was still following him. The latter nodded and turned towards Suisui and Anfisa.
"I haven't seen it before. I'm afraid Mr. Perez is going to introduce it to you personally." Diane said as she led him out.
"It seems that Mr. Hans guessed correctly"
Wei Ran said, put the wine glass on the table, followed the other party out of the banquet hall, which was not very large, and walked into an adjacent reception room.
In this living room, in addition to the tall wrestler, there was also a man who looked to be in his mid-thirties, wearing a white suit with a slicked back hair, and wearing several gems of various colors.
The ring hand holds a fat cigar and smokes it non-stop.
In addition to the two people sitting there, behind the sofa where they were sitting, there was also a beautiful blond woman wearing a black suit and skirt, holding a brown briefcase in her hand.
The moment they saw Wei Ran come in, the two-meter-tall wrestler Milg Perez and the fat man who was at least 1.8 meters tall all stood behind him, and the latter even more
He placed the cigar on the edge of the ashtray.
"Please let me introduce you"
Diane said in German, "This is Mr. Victor. Mr. Victor, and the one on the left is Mr. Perez who organized the auction this morning."
"Hello, Mr. Perez." Wei Ran took the initiative to shake hands with the other party.
To his surprise, without waiting for the blond woman behind him to translate, the strong man actually said "Hello Ni'er" in Chinese, and then said something in Spanish that Wei Ran couldn't understand.
.
"Mr. Perez said it was an honor to have the opportunity to meet you."
The blond woman in charge of the translation said respectfully, "Please call him Miguel. Mr. Perez is here to visit you with gifts and friendship."
"I am also very honored to meet you again."
As he spoke, Wei Ran looked at the fat man, took the initiative to shake hands with him and asked politely, "I wonder what I call this gentleman?"
Before he could finish his words, the wrestler Miguel said something in Spanish.
"This is Mr. Giuliano Constantine from Romania"
The blond woman who was responsible for translating introduced in German, "He also wants to meet you, so he brought some small gifts specially for this purpose."
After the blond woman finished speaking, the fat man immediately spoke.
"Victor, it's an honor to have the opportunity to meet you. Please just call me Giuliano. I want to waste some of your precious time, so I brought some small gifts."
While the blond woman was translating, she also opened the briefcase she had been carrying, took out a sealed bag the size of an A4 paper and handed it to Wei Ran with both hands.
“Please have a seat”
Wei Ran did not rush to open the sealed bag, but instead raised his hand to invite the two of them to sit down, and at the same time said, "Ma'am, please sit down too."
"Thanks"
The blond woman in charge of the translation bowed slightly to thank her, and then sat on a single sofa.
"You guys chat, I'll bring you some drinks." Diane said, turned and walked out of the reception room.
"Mr. Victor, please take a look at the gifts we brought first. These things were found together with the flag."
This chapter is not over, please click on the next page to continue reading! The blonde woman translated the words of the wrestler Miguel in real time.
After a slight hesitation, Wei Ran nodded, took out a pair of silk gloves from his pocket and put them on, then opened the sealed bag and took out everything inside.
There weren't many things in this sealed bag, but everything made Wei Ran feel energetic.
The first thing was a sealed kraft paper envelope, with the same delivery address written in English, Chinese and Spanish, which although he didn't recognize it, was very similar to French.
The sending address is Madrid, but the receiving address written in English and Spanish ends in Shanghai, China, while the Chinese one is more detailed.
But unfortunately, in the part where the Chinese characters are written, the back of the Shanghai Stock Exchange was stained black with a large blood stain, and there was a round bullet hole in the middle of the blood stain.
The second thing was a small pocket sewn with red, yellow, and purple coarse cloth. What this pocket contained were medals and medals that were either round or triangular.
Among these small iron pieces, there are also several rings of various styles and materials and a pendant with a leather case, most of which are tied to commemorative medals or medals.
Picking up the pendant, he gently took off the leather cover and took a closer look. The warm mutton-fat jade material had some pretty red and yellow colors. Although the whole thing was only about the size of a thumb, it was carefully carved into the shape of a carp.
Carefully stuffing the pendant back into the leather case and putting it into the small pocket, Wei Ran took out the third item from the sealed bag.
This time it was a photo album the size of a Xinhua dictionary. Picking up the photo album, he couldn't help but frown.
Like the letter, this album of negatives also had a bullet hole in the middle, and it seemed to have been soaked in blood and water, with most of the film stuck inside.
Even if there is no adhesion, the negatives stored inside are severely contaminated, and some of them are even cracked and missing parts.
He had to wonder whether photos could still be developed from these negatives.
There are more than just the above items in the sealed bag. There are two final items in it, a silver Orthodox cross and an old-fashioned razor.
After a moment's hesitation, Weiran put the above items back into the plastic bags one by one and sealed them carefully.
Immediately afterwards, he slowly took off his silk gloves, folded them carefully and put them into his pocket. Then he asked, "Were these things found with the flag?"
Upon hearing this, the blond woman immediately translated it, and Miguel also answered.
"These items and the flag were found in the same safe."
The blonde woman translated, "At that time, these things were packed in the same shoe box with the flag, pistol and harmonica."
Hearing this, Wei Ran nodded and looked at Miguel and the fat man named Giuliano.
At this moment, Diane gently knocked on the ajar door, and then delivered four glasses and a bottle of Spanish wine.
After watching Diane leave, Wei Ran picked up the cup and clinked it with Miguel and Giuliano, "Mr. Miguel, Mr. Giuliano, I'm just a historian. I guess these two came here specially to bring this precious
The gift you gave me must be because there is something I can do to help you, right?"
After the blond woman translated this sentence, Miguel and Giuliano looked at each other. The former smiled and gestured with his hand, then took out a cigar and lit it and started puffing.
fog.
He also took out a cigar and signaled to Wei Ran. After receiving the rejection, Giuliano picked up the half of the cigar on the ashtray and lit it again, and began to speak in the lingering fog.
"Mr. Victor, I don't want to hide my identity. I am from Bucharest, a gangster who grew up in the sewers and now lives by smuggling."
The blonde woman translated in real time, "Standing with a historian like you, I don't think someone like me is qualified to be your friend, but for the sake of those gifts just now, I still hope you can help
I'm investigating some things."
"Please don't say that"
After Wei Ran lit a cigarette, he shook hands with the other party again and proactively, "Although I am a glorious-sounding historian, my best friend is a gang member.
Of course, now he is a movie star, so Mr. Giuliano, we can also be friends."
"But I probably have no chance of becoming a star."
Giuliano seemed to be relieved, but couldn't help but look at Miguel again. Until the other party nodded, he continued, "Mr. Victor, I would like to ask you to investigate something."
After listening to the blonde woman's translation, Wei Ran raised his hands and asked, "Can you tell me something first?"
"Please look at this photo"
After listening to the translation, Giuliano reached into his pocket and took out a color photo and handed it to Wei Ran.
Taking the photo, Wei Ran recognized the weapons in the photo just by looking at it. It was a P38 pistol produced in Germany and a G43 semi-automatic rifle. Considering the scope installed on the latter, or should it be called
The reason is that the G43 semi-automatic sniper rifle will be more accurate.
"This is what my grandfather left behind"
Giuliano said, and the beautiful blond woman also started to translate in real time later, "He used to work for Ceausescu when he was young, not long after the Ceausescu couple were executed like two stray dogs.
, my grandfather also lost his job and eventually moved my sister and me into the sewers of Bucharest, and the two weapons in the photo were the only belongings he took into the sewers at that time.”
After a brief pause to allow enough time for the translator, Giuliano continued, "He has always used those two weapons to protect my sister and me, allowing us to have dignity and educational opportunities that were impossible to have in the sewers.
Let us never be infected with AIDS or HIV, let alone be invaded by anyone.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! It wasn’t until 2005 that my grandfather Miloš Konstantin finally passed away from tuberculosis.
Before his death, he had been holding the two guns in the photo, saying that he wanted to return to Yugoslavia and that mill. Unfortunately, he died before I could ask for the specific address."
After another pause, Giuliano looked up at Wei Ran and said, "Victor, I have been trying to find the mill that my grandfather talked about for all these years and wanted to send him back there.
But my sister and I searched for a long time and visited many cities that once belonged to Yugoslavia, but we could not find any clues related to my grandfather."
"His sister is my wife. That strong girl gave birth to two healthy, beautiful and smart children for me."
Miguel suddenly said, and the blond woman translated it to Wei Ran, "I went to Bucharest in 2005. Just a week after their brother and sister's grandfather passed away, I had a late-night meeting.
After the party, he met his sister Antonia and rescued her from some gangsters.
I fell in love with that young girl at first sight, even though she said she and her brother lived in the sewers.
Mr. Victor, can you help Giuliano? In addition to this gift, we will also return the 50,000 euros for taking the flag to your account."
"I need to see those two guns to see if I can do anything to help you."
After listening to the blonde woman's translation, Wei Ran said, "Also, Mr. Giuliano, has your grandfather never mentioned his experience before?"
"Never"
Giuliano said, "My parents passed away very early. My sister and I were raised by my grandfather, but we never knew he was from Yugoslavia, and he never mentioned it until he died.
Said something like that."
"Where are the two guns?"
Wei Ran looked at the other party and asked. He wanted to get the gift the other party brought, especially the letter. Under the premise that there was no friendship between the two parties, equal exchange was the fairest thing.
"It's just downstairs in my car."
Miguel said, "Bringing weapons upstairs is too easy to cause misunderstandings. Although I am also a gang member, this is not my territory."
"Gentlemen"
Wei Ran stood up after listening to the translation, "Let's go downstairs and take a look at those two weapons. This is very important."
After listening to the blonde woman's translation, the brother-in-law and brother-in-law looked at each other and stood up quickly. They enthusiastically led the way and led Wei Ran out of the reception room and downstairs.
Upon seeing this, the blond woman in charge of the translation quickly picked up the cup and moistened her throat with a sip of red wine. Then she put the gift she had brought back into the briefcase, and then she chased after him amidst the clicking of heels and the tapping of the ground.
go out.
Following the downstairs of the hotel, Wei Ran followed the wrestler Miguel into the cabin of a Hummer seemingly unprepared. Giuliano went around to the back of the car, opened the trunk, and handed a long gun box directly to him.
It was given to Miguel in front of him, who then handed it to Wei Ran.
At the same time, the beautiful female translator also opened the passenger door and got in.
"Mr. Victor, do you really have a gang friend, and he is now a movie star?" the wrestler Miguel asked curiously, and the blonde woman translated it into German.
"His name is Dima Alakh, and he is my best friend."
Wei Ran took the gun case and explained with a smile, "He is indeed a movie star now. This matter is not a secret in Russia."
While the blonde woman was helping Wei Ran translate, Giuliano also got into the driver's seat and handed a key to Wei Ran behind him.
After taking the key, Wei Ran opened the padlock on the gun case. But then, he reached out and closed the zipper inside the car window, and then turned on the reading light above his head.
Upon seeing this, Miguel, who was sitting next to him, immediately closed the curtain on the other side. Giuliano, the fat man sitting in the cab, turned around and almost knelt on the seat, looking at the man who had put on his silk gloves again.
Wei Ran opened the upper cover of the gun box.
Ignoring the P38 pistol, which in a sense was useless, Wei Ran took out his cell phone and turned on the flashlight function and handed it to Miguel beside him, and then picked up the G43 semi-automatic sniper rifle.
Pulling the bolt out of habit, Wei Ran quickly moved the muzzle farther away from the two men in front. Although there was no bullet in the chamber of the gun, there was a bullet in the magazine.
"I used it to hunt wild ducks just the day before yesterday," Giuliano said with a hint of embarrassment. "My child got into trouble at school again, and I forgot to empty the bullet."
Before the blond girl in the co-pilot could finish translating this outrageous yet reasonable excuse, Wei Ran skillfully removed the magazine with only one bullet left and threw it into the gun case. Then he looked at the gun carefully.
details.
From the material of the butt to the cutting of the parts and the size of the gun number, everything proves that this is an early G43 semi-automatic sniper rifle.
Unlike other weapons, the G43 almost witnessed the decline of Germany in World War II. The reason why I say this is because it did not get better and better, but gradually cut corners over time, especially in the later period, it was used by prisoners of war and prisoners in concentration camps.
The ones they produced were so rough that they almost looked like they were made of mud and were not very useful.
Continuing his inspection, he immediately noticed after unhooking the leather cheek pad on the butt of the gun that there was a flag carved on the left side of the butt of the gun - a flag consisting of three strips with a five-pointed star in the middle.
star.
Although this flag, which is no bigger than the size of a palm, is uncolored, combined with Giuliano's grandfather's last words, he is almost certain that it is the symbol of the Yugoslav guerrillas.
Considering the "quality" of this G43, Wei Ran thought for a moment and made a preliminary judgment, "Mr. Giuliano, and of course, Mr. Miguel, what I say below are all speculations."
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! After leaving enough time for the translation, Wei Ran continued under the gaze of these two strong men, "If your grandfather Miloš Constantine came from
Yugoslavia, if this weapon is what he used, then he may have participated in the battle against the Germans in the second half of 1944, and probably captured these two weapons from a sniper."
At this point, Wei Ran changed the question and asked, "Mr. Giuliano, do you know when your grandfather was born?"
"1930" Giuliano replied without thinking.
"He may have joined the Yugoslav partisans"
After Wei Ran waited for the translation to finish, he tapped the flag carved on the butt of the gun with his finger, and then reattached the leather cheek pad to the gun while continuing, "These are all assumptions just now, and I
I don’t know how to explain why he did not return to Yugoslavia but stayed in Romania.”
"so..."
"So these take time"
Wei Ran didn't wait for the translator to finish before speaking again, "If you are willing to let me help you find your grandfather's hometown, you may need to send these two weapons to Kazan, Russia through legal channels and send them to my work
room.
There may still be many clues about them, but I don't have much time in Spain."
"no problem"
Giuliano glanced at his brother-in-law Miguel subconsciously, and then said, "We will send these two weapons to Kazan as soon as possible. Mr. Victor, please accept the gift we give you first."
"I may not find anything."
As he spoke, Wei Ran took the sealed bag handed over again by the blond woman in charge of translating, and then handed the gun case containing the two weapons on his lap to Miguel beside him.
"Even if we can't find anything, we at least made a friend who is a historian."
Miguel laughed and said, "Some weird and wonderful things often appear in my auction house. Victor, please leave your contact information. If there is another auction in the future, I will send you a copy of the lot."
The list is for you.”
"Looks like I have two more gang friends."
Wei Ran said, taking off his gloves and formally shaking hands with the two strong men and the beautiful female translator.