Jiang Yanxu sighed, "When he heard the news of his granddaughter's death, half of his hair turned white. Later, when he sent his wife away, the remaining half also turned completely white."
"What about him now?"
“It’s dyed.”
It's not to look younger, but to make it easier to hide your identity.
He had saved many people in the past, but many of them could not even save themselves and could not save him from suffering.
But it is feasible to move him to another area, find him an inconspicuous residence, and provide him with some shelter.
So Xu Jinglun lived a very low-key life. All the food and things he used were sent by others. He basically never went out. People around him thought this was a haunted house.
Hearing this, He Ruixue's originally frowned brows suddenly relaxed, and she looked up at Jiang Yanxu.
"You found out, didn't you?"
He spread his hands flat, as if feeling something, "Before my master became a Taoist priest, he studied medicine for a period of time. At that time, he followed Master Xu and received a lot of care from him. Later, he gave up medicine to become a Taoist priest, but he still kept in touch with him.
Before leaving for Southeast Asia, Master had predicted this disaster, but Mr. Xu was a senior member of the association at the time, so how could he escape so easily? Perhaps he felt that the matter was not that serious and wrote back to reject him.
"After repeating this several times, the master realized that he couldn't be persuaded, so he left him a set of copper bell magic tools to confuse the enemy."
These copper bells are hollowed out and cannot make any sound. Hanging them in the four corners of the yard can keep strangers away.
He Ruixue was very sad when she heard this story.
The state of great compassion is silent and still. Mr. Xu is in good spirits and looks very cheerful.
But after getting to know him, it's not hard to find that there is always a hint of sadness in his eyes, but he never shows it in front of others.
For example, he prepared a large table of dishes, invited them to lunch, and had a lively conversation at the table.
At the same time, under the four clean tablets in his bedroom, three incense sticks were emitting wisps of white smoke, and food that had been portioned out in advance was placed on the table.
Zhao Meiya and others were all very perceptive. Seeing that he was a man in his seventies living alone in a dilapidated courtyard, they could guess that something bad had happened.
So no one asked him where his family was or whether he had any children or any other stupid questions like that.
I only asked him for tips on staying healthy, where to have fun in Beijing, which restaurants had good food, etc.
Xu Jinglun answered all of them.
Seeing the whole family sitting together and laughing, his eyes became distant, as if he was missing something through this scene.
…
After lunch, He Ruixue found the seller of the camera through the address given by Han Fuqing.
Coincidentally, Shi Youde also lives in this area.
Probably because he often carries a camera around, his face is a little tanned and his arms are very strong.
When I saw her coming, I didn't rush to discuss the price, but asked her a few questions about the camera.
Seeing that she did have some understanding of it, she even explained clearly how to compose, adjust the aperture, focus and other parameters. It seemed that she had as much experience as him.
Shi Youde was immediately pleasantly surprised, feeling that he had found someone who understood the camera.
Happy, he took the initiative to reduce the price by another 20% based on the original agreement. After paying her for the goods, he also gave her two half-new rolls of film.
After getting the camera, He Ruixue couldn't help but pull out the viewfinder and observe the streets of old Beijing through the camera's perspective.
The body is palm-sized, with an 8-shaped lens and is made entirely of black leather, making it light and easy to carry.
The resolution and clarity are certainly not as good as those in later generations, but it comes with a soft light filter, so the scenery captured has texture and the characters are particularly beautiful.
A roll of film can take 12 photos, all in black and white. Color photos existed in this era, but they looked very strange. Don't doubt it, they were all colored by the craftsman himself after the photos were developed.
Most of them are used to add color to people's faces, applying light lipstick and blush to make them look more energetic.
It was not until the 1980s that color film was introduced into China and various manufacturers began to produce cameras suitable for color photography.
He Ruixue had asked Shi Youde about all the procedures and matters concerning developing photos. He told her everything he knew and was obviously very happy that there was another photography enthusiast in the world.
Before leaving, He Ruixue asked him why he didn't sell it to his peers since he valued the buyer's photography skills so much.
Shi Youde was silent for a moment and said that he hoped that there would be many amateur photographers who would regard photography as a personal hobby without mixing it with other things, and record the real world.
He Ruixue didn't quite understand. When she left, she saw the photos drying in his yard, all of which were smiling faces.
The uniform movements in the factory, the same curve of everyone's mouth on the railway, and the extremely obvious posed style, He Ruixue seemed to understand something.
Compared with painters, photographers are more persistent in their pursuit of truth.
However, in this era, as a person who makes a living with a camera, Shi Youde's hobby has completely turned into a job. He only needs to obey orders and use the camera to record the unchanging scenes.
No one cares whether the composition of his pictures is clever, artistic and conflicting, and no one cares whether the content of his pictures has been embellished.
For someone like him who is romantic at heart, this must be a very painful thing.
As the capital, Beijing has a particularly strong cultural and political atmosphere.
At the same time, it bore the brunt of this turmoil, with various vigorous movements emerging everywhere.
Birds are chirping, doves are gathering, deer are hustling, and ants are moving. It is much more noisy and chaotic than a sunny city.
The students had stopped going to school long ago and were visiting every household in their green military uniforms and red armbands.
Every day, factory directors and ministers were dragged down to sweep the streets, and some were forced to wear dunce caps and be escorted forward in a crowd, with people around them pointing and watching the fun.
He Ruixue, holding the camera, will undoubtedly become the target of these people.
With mixed feelings, she quickly took a picture, hid the camera in her arms before being discovered, and returned to Mr. Xu's small courtyard.
Developing old photos is not too complicated. Find a small room that is absolutely dark. The half room on the east side has no windows, which is just right for temporary use.
It doesn’t matter if there is no red light bulb. Just take a flashlight, cover it with two layers of red cloth, treat it with the developer and fixer in the small medicine bottle that Shi Youde gave her, then use clean water and let it dry again.
Here, He Ruixue once again admired the conscientious seller, saying that the free photo developing tools and film alone were worth half the price of the camera.
Probably due to overexposure, there are large white spots on the photo, which is obviously unusable.
He Ruixue hung it on a rope to dry, and she couldn't tell whether she was relieved or regretful.
She thought that she could take pictures later, but she should not develop them and should store them in the system space.
When these things become only of commemorative value in later generations, that will be the best time for them to see the light of day again.
The dust of the times, when it falls on an individual, is a mountain that is difficult to climb.
In this storm, no matter how high your status or how famous you are, you are as small as an ant.
She lies dormant quietly, hoping only to protect her family. As for the fate of others, please forgive her for being powerless.
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