Listening to the busy signal on the phone, Wei Ran returned the phone to Ralph on the opposite side and couldn't help but ask, "What does your grandfather, Mr. Noah, do?"
"A less successful painter, but also a successful art dealer."
Ralph said with admiration, "Before he retired, he ran a gallery in Nuremberg, where he collected many precious oil paintings."
"German painters are a bit scary," Wei Ran said jokingly.
Ralph obviously knew what Wei Ran was talking about, and gently gave another explanation, "Don't say that, Austrian painters are really scary."
A joke brought the relationship closer between the two, and Wei Ran asked directly, "Ralph, can you tell me the story between your grandfather and his father?"
"this..."
There was a hint of embarrassment on Ralph's face, and then he said very frankly, "I'm sorry, I don't know much about these things. I'm just a distant grandson of Mr. Noah. If his physical condition hadn't gotten worse, I would have even No one knew I had such a wealthy relative."
"That means he never mentioned it to you?" Wei Ran raised his eyebrows.
"At most, I am only responsible for helping him manage the gallery. I mainly focus on learning art appraisal and art trading from him." Ralph spread his hands, "After all, only by meeting his requirements can I inherit his gallery. And those paintings in the gallery.”
Wei Ran laughed dumbly, "I'm not used to you being so frank."
Ralph scratched his head, "Instead of waiting for you to hear various versions of rumors from the nannies or nursing doctors after you arrive in Nuremberg, it would be better for me to tell you the real situation in advance."
Wei Ran smiled and wisely did not take up the topic, but simply stood up and said, "Ralph, you can arrange the itinerary."
"There is a flight tomorrow at noon." Ralph stood up immediately, "How about I pick you up tomorrow morning?"
Wei Ran simply agreed to the other party's decision. This commission came in time. It didn't matter that the client was a fat sheep who took money instead of money. Compared with the main battlefields of Sud and Germany, the Nordic battlefield itself was relatively less dangerous. Pretty big.
And the most important thing is that it can also replenish ammunition for the rifle in the metal book. This is related to the story behind the big lever that Wei Ran has been thinking about since the year, so no matter how you calculate it, it is a sure profit.
After seeing Ralph off, Weiran locked the rolling shutter door and immediately got into the bathroom and took a comfortable hot bath to dispel the last bit of chill brought back from the Arctic Circle.
In the blink of an eye, the next morning, Ralph arrived at the door of the studio early, greeted Wei Ran attentively, got in the car, and rushed directly to the airport.
After a long journey, when Wei Ran dragged his tired body to the door of a large villa on the outskirts of Nuremberg, he saw an old man in a wheelchair sitting in the stone building from a distance. Waiting eagerly at the gate.
The old man wore a brown vest stained with various paints, and a loose painter's hat on his head. On the blanket on his knees, there was an unfinished oil painting. The content on the oil painting was shocking. It was a photo taken by Weiran of the Soviet flag planted on the Reichstag building.
"Hello, Mr. Noah, I'm Victor." Wei Ran quickened his pace slightly and took hold of the big hand that the other party extended, which was covered with age spots and stained with a lot of paint.
"I believe Ralph introduced me to you on the way. But he never told me that your German is so good."
Noah, who was sitting in a wheelchair, said particularly enthusiastically, "Come in and sit down. I'm sorry, my body no longer allows me to travel long distances by plane. I can't go to Volgograd to see you in person."
"It's an honor for me to have the opportunity to visit you." Wei Ran greeted him in the same humble manner.
The first meeting between the old man and the young man left a good impression on both parties. Wei Ran's knowledge of German was a surprise to Noah. Noah's humility that was inconsistent with his age also made Wei Ran feel good.
When Ralph unloaded Wei Ran's suitcase from the car, Noah immediately maneuvered the electric wheelchair to spin in circles and led them into the warm room.
Inviting Wei Ran to sit down on the sofa near the fireplace, the old man immediately signaled Ralph to prepare dinner and give Wei Ran his bedroom, while he himself poured Wei Ran a cup of fragrant hot tea, "This
This is the Chinese tea that a Chinese friend of mine gave me a few months ago, I hope you like it."
"It's not easy to drink Chinese green tea in Germany." Wei Ran took a ceremonial sip, followed by a series of free compliments.
After half an hour of pleasantries, Noah finally brought the topic down to business. However, the venue for the conversation was changed to a spacious study room with a view of the yard outside.
"Victor, I hope you can help me find my father."
Noah handed an A4 piece of paper to Wei Ran, "My father was once an armored vehicle driver in the Sixth Mountain Division of the Gear Army. He participated in the Battle of Lapland in 1944. Or to be more precise, he
He tried to leave the battle and go home, but unfortunately, we did not wait for him until the end of World War II."
After saying this, Noah opened the drawer and took out a tin box from it and pushed it to Wei Ran, "These are the only things we are waiting for, and including this biscuit box, they were all given to my home long after the end of World War II.
of.
But unfortunately, apart from being sure that these things were my father's relics, we have no idea what happened at that time, and we can't find the person who mailed these things to us at that time."
"Can I open it?"
Wei Ran asked as he looked at the iron box on the table. The Kremlin print on the iron box had some paint peeling off, but the edge was shining with a metallic luster. These small details seemed to imply that it often
Being taken out and played with.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! After getting Noah's nod and permission, Wei Ran carefully opened the metal cover of the tin box, and then discovered that in addition to a P38 pistol inside,
There is also an ID card of a German soldier in World War II and a pocket watch with a gold case.
Gently opening the document, the black and white photo posted on it showed a rather handsome German soldier. And inside the document, there was also a small card with a message written on it that was too rough to be checked.
Mailing address from Leningrad.
But the information that can be seen in this document is only the name. The rest of the positions are covered with thick black ink, whether intentionally or unintentionally. However, fortunately, Mr. Noah just started the topic,
The A4 paper provided contained his father's relatively accurate military service experience.
According to the record on that piece of paper, this soldier named Yannick Muller belongs to the 6th Anti-aircraft Artillery Battalion under the 6th Mountain Division of the Stall Army, and is mainly responsible for driving four-unit 20mm anti-aircraft gun armored vehicles.
The military rank is Private First Class.
Compared with the detailed list of service units, his combat experience is only one sentence: "Served in the Battle of Lapland to provide cover for the 20th Mountain Group Army to withdraw from Finland."
In addition, Yannick Müller neither received a medal nor had any injury record at all. Even the final closing words about his life were only a very simple sentence "missing on the border between Finland and Norway".
"This soldier named Yannick Muller is your father?" Wei Ran confirmed again while holding the ID.
Noah nodded and looked at Wei Ran anxiously, "Can you find it?"
"I can only try to investigate"
Wei Ran responded to the other party's expectations as safely as possible, "First of all, I need to investigate your father's more detailed service experience and what specific local battles his unit participated in in the Battle of Lapland. Secondly, I can try to find out where he was.
What exactly happened in that war? If you can't investigate these, then you can only try to find out who sent these things."
"Can I help you with anything?" Noah continued to ask.
"First tell me what your impression of Mr. Yannick is?" Wei Ran asked as he closed the box again.
Noah shook his head regretfully, "I was born in 1943. According to my mother when she was alive, until the end of the war, I only met my father twice, but I had no impression of him at all.
In my mother’s memory, my father joined the army in the summer of 1942 and was sent to Norway at the end of that year. Before the end of the war, he only came back once, two months after I was born and in the spring of 1944.
.
Later, the war ended, but my father never came back. After spending the most difficult years after the war, my mother relied on the money she earned from selling oil paintings and spent her whole life looking for my father.
Among the answers my mother found, some said he died on the battlefield, some said he found a beautiful woman in Finland or Norway to start his life again, and some said he was sent to a labor camp by the Soviets and died.
It’s inside.”
"So..." Wei Ran hesitated and looked at the old Noah. There was no doubt that this was another family destroyed by war.
Noah sighed, "My mother was calling my father's name until the moment she died, wondering where he was. That was my mother's lifelong regret. I once thought I could help her find him.
My father, but look at what I look like now, I am as old as my mother back then, but I don’t want to take this regret into the cemetery like my mother. So young people, if you can, please try to help me
Bar."
Wei Ran hesitated for a moment, finally nodded, and said very seriously, "Mr. Noah, I will do my best to help you investigate your father's whereabouts. Also, can you tell me about this tin box? When did he mail it?
From your home?”
"Probably the winter of 1959"
Noah said uncertainly, "I was still in school at the time, and one day when I came back from school to the door of the gallery run by my mother, I saw this tin box. I remember it very clearly, there was only such a tin box, but I
The mother cried all night after opening the box."
"There is only one tin box?" Wei Ran raised his head and looked at the other party, "So, it was not mailed from Leningrad in the Soviet Union?"
Noah shook his head, "Of course not, otherwise I might be able to find out who delivered it to my door."
"Mr. Noah"
Wei Ran stood up and said very formally, "I will do my best to help you find your father Yannick, but I cannot guarantee that I will be able to find it, and I believe you also know that this is not a job that can be completed in a short time, so
I might need some time."
"I believe you will definitely bring me good news."
Noah maneuvered the wheelchair and slowly walked towards the door, "In the meantime, if you need us to do anything, please don't be polite, just tell Ralph directly. Now let's have dinner together, I believe you will all
Already starved."
"It's my honor." Wei Ran picked up the iron box and the folded A4 paper on the table, and followed the other person's wheelchair out of the study.
In any case, he really needed to have a good meal and take a good rest before starting the investigation. After all, it took him two days to get from the abandoned military base at the eastern foot of the Ural Mountains to this big house on the outskirts of Nuremberg.
s plane.
Before that, he not only suffered a week of torture in the Hongqi Forest Farm, but also spent a lot of time wandering in the ice and snow with Ji Ma.
In the spacious restaurant, except for the 50-year-old nanny, although there were only three people dining, the table was filled with all kinds of German delicacies. Even Ralph took out the dishes under Noah's instruction.
I bought a bottle of Chinese spirits.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click the next page to continue reading the exciting content! Unfortunately, the cheap green glass bottle and iron lid obviously do not match the high-end description of the wine in Noah's mouth. There is no need to guess, this
This humble old man was probably deceived by someone. Even Wei Ran suspected that the clever guy who gave this old man the green tea bag and Erguotou was probably the same person.
Fortunately, Wei Ran was not stupid. He naturally would not tell the other party about the status of this wine in China. Instead, he followed the hole dug by his predecessors and planted a tree. He held back his bad words and praised them, making it clear that he wanted to see the next one.
Compatriots with whom this old man has acquaintances will have a horrified expression when they hear the story that this wine was dug up along with the terracotta warriors and horses.
While Wei Ran maintained a tacit understanding with the previous compatriot he had never met, the three people at the dinner table also maintained another tacit understanding.
Ralph never asked anything about Noah's father, and Noah didn't seem to want his distant grandson Ralph to know these things. As for Wei Ran, who was good at observing people's emotions, he would naturally not take the initiative to mention relevant matters in front of Ralph.
topic.
After a sumptuous dinner, the guests and the host enjoyed themselves. Wei Ran, under the pretext of needing to organize his thoughts, got into the bedroom that Ralph had prepared for him early. He took a leisurely hot bath and then turned on the belt again.
The tin box came in and everything inside was carefully inspected.
The first thing he picked up was, of course, the pocket watch with a gold case. The case of this pocket watch was embossed with a pattern that resembled a windmill. On top of this pattern, there was also a pattern made of dozens of grains of rice.
The floral "m" is inlaid with rubies.
Not only is this pocket watch made of luxurious materials, but the main dial is so complex that it can be called luxurious. There are also four small dials distributed in a cross shape. Obviously, this pocket watch that is more fancy than practical is definitely expensive to make, and it is worth wearing it.
It's probably not an ordinary person who used such a pocket watch on the battlefield.
In addition to the pocket watch, it goes without saying that the P38 pistol in the iron box is standard World War II German equipment. Although it may not be equipped in the hands of the upper-class privates, it can be used by the "suspected rich second generation" who have high-end pocket watches.
, it’s not that difficult to get such a pistol. It’s just a pity that, apart from being in pretty good condition, this pistol doesn’t have anything special about it.
After thinking for a moment, Weiran simply put it aside, took out his tablet computer, and began to search for various details about the Battle of Lapland, trying to find out the combat experience of the 6th Anti-aircraft Artillery Battalion to which Yannick Müller belonged.
Speaking of the Battle of Lapland, although this war lasted for more than half a year, in fact, the number of soldiers killed by both the Finns and the Germans was not that many.
If compared with the tragic Battle of Stalingrad, I am afraid that the total number of dead soldiers on both sides may not be even a fraction of the former.
The reason is that after putting aside the position of the enemy and the nature of the war itself, if we look at this war simply, the soldiers of the two countries on opposite sides of the war are not actually fighting to the death like the Soviet Union and Germany. Even in Lapland
Before the battle begins, both sides can be called comrades-in-arms or friends.
Perhaps it is because of these many reasons that after seven months of fighting, only about 3,000 people from both sides were killed together.
But even so, if you want to confirm whether Yannick Müller is among the more than 3,000 people killed in the battle, or find the missing Yannick Müller among the more than 3,000 people, no matter which one, it is actually not
What an easy thing.
Putting down the tablet in his hand, Wei Ran stroked the tattoo on the tiger's mouth of his left hand, but his mind was recalling everything he experienced in the last battle of Su'aomusalmi, and what he and Jima were wandering in the Arctic Circle two days ago.
detail.
After a long time, Wei Ran secretly made up his mind. Before using the metal notebook this time, he had to purchase some important items that could be used in winter in advance. Whether these items could be brought back depended on what Teng County would get after the war.
