Laoba, a streamer of Kwai

I went to Hoh Xil with a delegation the year before last.

It's quite cold here, and the inspection conditions are limited. Few people in the group really want to come.

? "You are a big boy, you have nothing to suffer here," Lao Zhang handed me a cigarette. "Take one and warm yourself up."

? I can't smoke. I smiled. "For the ideal ... you know, we reporters are tired of shooting cities."

? Lao Zhang nodded and spit out one mouthful smoke. He pointed to a farther place: "there, no man's land, we will go there in a few days." The altitude is quite high and it may snow. "

? "But fortunately, someone has contacted us," he stood up and waved behind me. "Here they come."

? I turned around and saw a dusty herder parked outside the camp.

? Four people got off the bus. Thin man, Ajie, camel, and "Old Eight".

? Lao Zhang said that they are from the patrol of the reserve. They have been here for a long time and are familiar with this area. I looked in the trunk several times, all guns.

Lao Zhang is right. It really snowed that day when we went to no man's land.

? There is not much snow. Everyone is wearing a jacket, a hat and a mask. The weather is not very cold, but it is inconvenient to move. Coupled with the camera hanging around his neck, he soon became tired.

? Ba patted me on the shoulder.

? "Give me the camera."

? I waved and he gave me a look: "Then remember to lose this thing when you run for your life, or no one will come to save you."

? "run for your life?"

? He took a cigarette out of his pocket and lit it. I noticed his hands, the palms are generous, the skin color is even, and there are thick cocoons at the fingertips. Then he took a deep breath gently, slowly, and pressed the cigarette out of his fingers.

? "Quit smoking." He bowed his head and glued his shoes.

? I nodded absently, but he didn't say any more.

? "Let's go." He pulled me up and walked on.

? Strangely, it snowed that day, but the sun was very strong. He walked forward, and the shadow cast on the ground slowly melted in the snow, plating a bright aperture on his whole body.

? I took it with my mobile phone.

Later, the team was transferred to rest and ready to leave. Thin man said he would take us to Qiangtang for a walk. The delegation nodded, and there were still a few days to go back.

? "Are you familiar with this place?" I asked, "What do you recommend?"

? "Dad, butter tea, blood sausage, milk residue, pimple, cheese." Old Ba sat down and asked for a bowl of tea, and his right hand reached into his pocket.

? As soon as he took out his cigarette, I snatched it from him. I said, I thought you were going to quit smoking.

? He turned to look at me: "I've only known you for a few days, and you dare to touch my hand."

? I was a little flustered, so I took out a packet of mints from my coat pocket and handed it to him: "Here, put this in your mouth when you want to smoke. This is how I quit. "

? "Thank you." The old eight took it and put it down, and the light green mints were almost transparent in the sun.

? Thin man just came over.

? "Hey, starling, you don't like sweets. Give it to me. " With that, he reached for it.

? Lao Ba didn't even look at him, so he put the bag of candy in his pocket: "Eat your mother."

I smiled: "thin man, I'll bring it to you next time."

Qiangtang is in the west, near no man's land. The conditions are not good, and there are not many inn rooms, so two people sleep together.

? I couldn't sleep well, so I walked out of the room with my camera and sat on the windowsill looking at the photos taken. No man's land, no man's land, but this ......

? I took out my computer from my backpack under the bed.

"Thin man, come and see what this is." I waved and pointed to a black SUV on the screen. A white thing fell out of the trunk and was magnified several times. That's the horn of a Tibetan antelope.

? The thin man's face turned white instantly. "Damn it."

? I enlarged the photo to the window, and the black window was half down. The people inside were wearing black masks and staring straight at the camera.

? It's like I saw someone I know.

? "This is the beast," the thin man did not move his eyes.

? "Probably a few years ago. At that time, I, Xiaojie and Camel were all old people in the protection station. It snowed heavily that night, and a boy who was not much different from you knocked at the door and asked if we could stay here for one night. He said that he had taken something very important, and he would go back to develop the photos as soon as the snow stopped tonight. After the photos and news come out, he will become a big reporter, and his brother will not stop him from doing so. "

? "We said to send him, and he disappeared the next morning."

? "I thought he left by himself, but then his brother came." The thin man squatted down and held his head, his hands shaking. "Later, we went to find. It's on a slope. We watched the boy get caught by the collar, fired a shot, and then rolled down the slope. Just a few hundred meters away, not far. "

? "Gun with silencer, no sound. By the time we arrived, the car had already left, and his brother was lying there, unable to sleep. The camera was taken away and the mobile phone was not found. "

? "The man called riverside boy, the leader of a big poacher gang. Lao Ba's younger brother should have taken some evidence of death or showed his face. Once this photo is taken back and developed, he will be finished. " The thin man closed his eyes. "Old eight here for so many years, just for him. Even if the face of this beast turns to dust, we will recognize it. "

The next day I followed the delegation back to Beijing.

? I printed out the photos and sent them out. Sometimes I stay at home and often think about it. I don't know if he wanted revenge, nor did I ask him where he came from, nor did I leave his contact information. But perhaps it was this meeting that made me even more unforgettable.

Near the end of the year, I bought a plane ticket to Qinghai, tossed and turned, and finally arrived in Qiangtang in early February. At the same inn, I met a thin man again.

? He was too happy to know what to say. He didn't expect a man who had only known him for half a month to come so far to see them.

? I threw him two packets of mints: "Is everyone all right?"

? "It's all very well. We joined forces with people from several protection stations to arrest this gang. " The thin man smiled and led me in. "Look who's here!"

? "Little reporter!"

? There were quite a lot of people inside, but I saw Lao Ba at a glance.

? He leaned against the window and smoked. When he saw me, he paused and put out his cigarette. He was a little dumbfounded.

? I went over and said, "You can't give up smoking."

? He coughed: "It is not easy to give up after eating sugar." Even he laughed afterwards. "How did you come back?"

? "Look at you."

? "Stay here for a few nights?"

? "I'll go back after the New Year with you," I asked. "What about you? Are you going to stay here? "

? Lao Ba nodded: "It's quite good here."

? "Oh" I have nothing to say, but I don't want to end it. "Where are you from?"

? "Chengdu."

? Oh, the pandas there are cute. I nodded.

? "I haven't seen you for months, and your words have changed so much." The old bus took a sip of wine. "How's your work? Have you become a big reporter? "

? I scratched my head, embarrassed to tease him again: "Not bad, the newspaper boss saw the photos I took and asked me to switch to being a photographer."

? I don't know where I poked him, but he smiled again.

? "Old Eight, I wish you a wish."

I got nothing on this trip. I took his cigarette while he was sleeping and flew back to Beijing. I did leave him a packet of mints. I don't think I'm cruel.

? I didn't expect the newspaper owner to hit the nail on the head. I am very suitable for the career of photographer. I have also taken many good photos in recent years. I want to hold an exhibition.

? I took out all my cameras, adjusted the photos and developed them.

? I suddenly remembered the one in my mobile phone. I took it, hachi.

?

? I put that one in the most conspicuous place in the film festival.

? There was a man standing there for a long time. I'm a little surprised. I walked over and found it was a camel.

? He said, Lao Ba is dead.

There has never been more than one poaching gang in Hoh Xil.

? "starling said that he would take us back to find you for the New Year this year."

? "He also said that he would give up smoking before coming back this year," the camel cried. "He really doesn't smoke anymore."

Camels come and go, still at the protection station.

? With skinny and Ajie, three people.

? I will still go back to see them and live in Lao Ba's room. They didn't move, everything was the same, like a dream. It's like I've never been here before.

? The pillow is a little uncomfortable. I picked it up and found a packet of mints under it.

? Pale green, sparkling in the moonlight.

?

-"Old Eight"