Yunding Ranch

Chapter 290
Opening his mouth, Lu Li wanted to refute, but he still couldn't come up with a reliable reason.

Evelyn waited for a while, but she didn't hear Lu Li's answer, and then she said "Aha" and smiled smugly, as if to say, "Look, you can't refute it either."

Evelyn put down the sketch and carefully organized her thoughts, "I think the story might be like this. My grandfather and Albert were a pair of lovers who loved each other, but under the social background at that time , this kind of forbidden love is not allowed, they can only hide all their emotions and communicate as friends."

Lu Li looked at Evelyn, and felt that such a scene was too ridiculous, and couldn't help but smile with an inexplicable sense of joy.

Evelyn noticed the smile on the corner of Lu Li's mouth, and paused for a moment, "What's wrong? Is there something wrong?"

"No, no." Lu Li waved his hands again and again, then signaled Evelyn to continue.

"For the sake of social life, they had to compromise with reality. Grandpa got married, and maybe Albert got married. In the 30s and 40s, this was very normal. If there was no war, maybe they could continue like this for a lifetime." Evelyn continued to refine her story, "When the Jews gradually began to be deported to the concentration camps, the grandfather hid Albert and gave him asylum as an officer in the army."

"Why don't you think that Albert was caught in a concentration camp and they were caught off guard? Hans worked so hard to save Albert, and finally managed to rescue Albert?" Lu Li couldn't help but laugh. made a joke.

During World War II, once a Jew entered a concentration camp, it would be recorded, and it would be very difficult to leave if he wanted to leave.Either like "The Pianist", hiding in a corner, escaping raids, and then living in a dark corner, waiting for dawn; or like "Schindler's List", just under shelter, let Life is a little easier.Both films are based on real events.

That's why Lu Li made such a joke and expressed absurd meaning.

Unexpectedly, his ridicule made Evelyn nod again and again, "Yes, yes, it is very likely so. Because of this, my grandfather realized the serious danger, so he took the initiative to apply for a job in China, and then Smuggled Albert to China."

Lu Li opened his mouth in surprise, "Didn't you say that Hans was sent there?"

"I also said that all the news I know is from my grandmother, but how does my grandmother know the truth about what happened in the army? What she knows is what my grandfather told her. What's more, my grandmother is now 80 I'm old, and my memory is not so clear." Evelyn's answer made Lu Li unable to refute, and could only be defeated.

Evelyn could see disbelief from Lu Li's expression, but she didn't give up, "Do you think I'm just guessing? No, of course not. I have evidence."

"Number one." Evelyn raised a finger with a professional expression on her face, "Although my grandfather sheltered the Jews, he was not guilty of death, at most he was demoted, and it was impossible for him to be sent to a concentration camp. You Do you know, at that time, who was sent to a concentration camp?"

Lu Li thought for a while, he had already guessed what Evelyn said next.

"Homosexuality." Evelyn said firmly, "At that time, homosexuality was a capital crime, and it was absolutely not allowed in the Communist army. The lightest punishment was a concentration camp, and the heaviest punishment was death by stoning. The Roman style of capital punishment, where the criminals were stoned to death alive."

"Second." Evelyn bent down and picked up Lu Li's long tube, and pulled out the painting again, "This is the best evidence."

"Why?" This time, it was Lu Li's turn to ask questions.

"The Chrysler Building, completed in 1931, was the symbol of the American dream at the time. From the movie 'Titanic', we can get a glimpse of the current social situation at the time. Europe has been going downhill, while the United States is booming. Countless young people With dreams in mind, they set foot on the ship to the United States, yearning to open up a new life of their own.”

Evelyn's thinking was very clear and convincing, and Lu Li couldn't help but fell into a state of deep thought.

"At that time, the Chrysler Building was a symbol of Hans and Albert's dream, that was their dream home, they wanted to leave Europe, live in New York, away from the troubles, away from the disasters of war, and start a new life for themselves You can think about it, why did my grandfather choose to finish the Chrysler Building instead of continuing to paint portraits after he arrived in China? Because, in a foreign country at that time, they couldn’t take risks.”

Lu Li shook his head with a light smile, and said helplessly, "Maybe not? Maybe they are just close friends. Under the special background of the war, he extended a helping hand to help his friends, but encountered a misunderstanding and was arrested. , entered the concentration camp with grievances, and was never able to come out. Isn’t that a possibility?”

"Of course." Evelyn nodded, "But, how do you explain that?"

Evelyn didn't say anything more, but just held up the portrait of Albert just now, "You know, painting is a cry from the bottom of my heart, every detail of lines, colors, brushstrokes, etc. To magnify the emotions to the extreme, and all the stories are hidden in the paintings, this is the essence of art."

This time, Lu Li did not continue to refute.Instead, he looked down at the ring on his little finger.

Originally, he was only curious about the story of the ring, but unexpectedly discovered an unknown history.Regardless of the relationship between Hans and Albert, this ring still witnessed the turmoil and turbulence during World War II. It followed Hans from Germany to the Soviet Union, and then to China, and came to Albert. Te's hands, all the way from the north to the south, after a long time, it is now worn in Lu Li's hands.

As Yuan Qingzhu said, this is indeed a ring full of stories and history.

"What else do you know about Albert?" Evelyn asked curiously.

Lu Li came back to his senses and carefully recalled the news Yuan Qingzhu told him before, "Well, I don't know much. I only know that when my great-grandfather found Albert, he was in a very difficult situation. Skinny, dying, almost dying. It was ... the winter of 1944, and he was barely going to make it through."

"The winter of 1944." Evelyn repeated the time, but her expression was a little lonely.

Lu Li cast a puzzled look, and Evelyn smiled, but this time, the smile was tinged with a bit of bitterness, "My grandfather died in the winter of 1944. At least when the concentration camp notified us, it was then .”

Lu Li couldn't help but fell silent.

Evelyn chuckled twice and broke the silence, "Hurry up and enjoy dinner, I think the waiter is already watching us, as if worried that this dish doesn't suit our appetite." They waited for at least 10 minutes There is no knife and fork, which is really too rare in a Michelin three-star restaurant.

Lu Li couldn't help laughing, and sure enough, he saw the waiter approaching from the corner of his eye, and asked politely, "Is everything okay? Does this dish suit your appetite?"

"No problem, everything is fine." Evelyn nodded with a smile, and the waiter stopped worrying, smiled at the two respectively, and then turned and left.Evelyn continued to ask, "And then?"

"Later Albert came to my hometown and followed my great-grandfather. Albert knew some simple Chinese, and he became my grandmother's teacher." After a pause, Lu Li added, "The teacher of painting."

Evelyn showed a big smile, "I think this is the source of your interest in painting?"

Lu Li didn't admit it, but he didn't deny it either.In fact, he really didn't know anything about painting, even Song Lingyi didn't have this talent.But the fact is that the ideology taught by Alberg to Yuan Qingzhu has changed the life direction of their whole family.

"Is Albert still alive?" Evelyn asked tentatively. Although she didn't say much, she could see that she was full of expectations from those shining eyes.

Lu Li believed that if his answer was yes, maybe Evelyn would still want to visit China in person, but Evelyn forgot that Lu Li had said before that he knew the ins and outs of this oil painting. Little is known, "Unfortunately. He too has passed away."

Evelyn made a sad expression.

"In 1948, his health was really bad, and his mental condition was not good, so he died in depression." Lu Li explained the situation he knew in detail.

Evelyn froze for a moment, then her expression suddenly became lonely, "When my grandfather passed away, he was only 25 years old."

According to Evelyn's guess, Albert should be about the same age as Hans.At only 25 years old, he died young because of poor physical health and poor mental state.He escaped the massacre in the concentration camp, but after all, he still couldn't escape the noose of fate.

Perhaps, Lu Li will never know the truth of the matter, whether Hans and Albert are lovers, or just ordinary friends, or soul mates.

But there is no doubt that behind that magnificent history, the fate of the little people is so insignificant, they are easily destroyed by the torrent of society, leaving their homes, homeless, and homeless.What is more terrifying than death is living, living in hell.

He let out a long breath, let out his heavy heart, and smiled again. Lu Li said half-jokingly, "I'm waiting for you to finish your meal now. I'm still waiting for the famous main meal. This dinner should You won't be eating until past midnight, will you?"

Evelyn came back to her senses, took a deep breath, and twitched the corners of her mouth at Lu Li, "I'm sorry, please forgive me. I'm more curious about the stories behind the paintings than the paintings themselves, and I've always been like this. What's more, This painting is still from my grandfather."

"I can feel it." Lu Li retracted his jaw and said meaningfully. The playful expression made Evelyn chuckle, as if the sun had broken the ice.

(End of this chapter)