A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

In any case, the shadow has temporarily dissipated, and schools and life have returned to normal. Most ordinary people have breathed a sigh of relief, but the wealthy are still making preparations and liquidating their assets. Most of them can obtain information from higher levels, and even some British people living in Hong Kong have fled, so they judged that this was not a long-term solution.

Wu Mingqiang also said to Gui'er, "Miss, we have signed the contract for the house in Macau. I had someone take pictures and bring them over. Take a look and see if there are any changes that need to be made. We can make the changes together when we renovate."

Gui'er picked up the photo and looked at it. It was black and white. The three-story house had blue brick walls eroded by the sea wind, creating fine lines. The sliding doors of the ground-floor shops had peeling paint and worn-smooth brass rings. The faded words "So-and-so Company" were faintly visible on the lintel, indicating it had once been used as a shop. Judging from the photo, the two adjacent buildings were also used as "shop in front, residence in back." The second-floor wooden windows had iron bars, and several cacti sat on the windowsills. The stairs were made of hardwood, looking as if they would creak underfoot, and the handrails were covered with a patina, the marks of years of wear. The third-floor attic had a small window in the sloping roof, with an iron wire for drying clothes installed above it. The third-floor windows were closed, and the layout seemed similar to the second floor. The walls were also peeling, indicating it had been built for some years. It looked like an ordinary house, occupying approximately 80 square meters.

"...Miss, what do you think? Isn't it a bit too simple? I think it's a bit old..." Wu Mingqiang asked somewhat guiltily. He originally thought that the property prices in Macau were cheaper than in Hong Kong, so he took out some money he had earned from the pawnshop and entrusted a broker familiar with Macau to handle the matter. The broker handled the matter based on the amount of money he had. Unexpectedly, because of the Japanese military exercises, many Hong Kong people went to buy property there, causing the property prices in Macau to rise. The money he gave was only enough to buy this one house. When he saw the photos, he felt it was a bit shabby. It was even worse than the house he bought himself. Gui'er had lived in the Marshal's Mansion since she was a child, and now she lived in a villa. He didn't know if this kind of house would meet her standards.

Gui'er paused for a moment and said, "It's fine. We might not actually live there anyway, so it's just in case. A little repair, repainting the walls, replacing the old floorboards and windows shouldn't cost much. Do we have any money left in our pawnshop? If not, I have some in my safe."

Gui'er was still worried about Sha Yanxiao, who hadn't been heard from yet. If there was news of something going wrong and money was needed, she would have to provide the funds.

Wu Mingqiang breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Oh, don't worry, I'll definitely handle all of this. As for the money, Miss, don't worry, I'll take care of it." He decided to renovate the house himself, paying for it to be remodeled in the latest style. The house was small and the layout was poor, but Gui'er didn't mind, which was already quite good.

"Alright, you decide for yourself. Even if the pawnshop makes a profit, don't spend so much money. We need to save some. In case the Japanese launch a surprise attack, we'll have many more expenses."

Back at school, Gui'er told Lin Peishan about buying a house in Macau. Lin Peishan happily said, "Great! If anything happens, we'll have company. Oh, by the way, Zhongyu asked you to come over today. He said he has something to discuss."

Gui'er quickly asked, "What is it? Is there a mission?"

Lin Peishan hesitated and said, "He didn't tell me the details, but I saw someone from Jiangcheng deliver a letter when I left yesterday."

Gui'er was delighted to hear this, knowing that if someone from Jiangcheng came over, they would definitely know about Song Xichen.

After that, she couldn't really listen to what the teacher was saying in class; all she could think about was getting the get out of class over quickly so she could go find Chen Zhongyu.

After finally getting out of school, she and Lin Peishan went straight to Chen Zhongyu's apartment.

Chen Zhongyu made tea for the two of them.

Gui'er asked impatiently, "Brother Chen, how is it? Any news about our team?"

Chen Zhongyu nodded and said, "Actually, the comrades from our hometown had already arrived in Guangzhou, but the Japanese military exercise blocked the sea and they couldn't come over. As soon as the military exercise was suspended, he rushed over by boat and brought news from his hometown, hoping that we could raise more supplies."

Gui'er breathed a sigh of relief and said happily, "No problem, are Brother Song and my brother alright?" In her mind, she was already calculating how many gold bars were left in the vault and whether she would take them all out this time.

"Ah, well, Old Song sent a letter. They suddenly received news of the Japanese army's mopping-up operation and had to evacuate immediately. However, they encountered the enemy on the way and a fierce battle ensued. Although the comrades fought bravely, they still suffered some losses. In order to preserve their strength, they retreated in small groups, so some comrades lost contact. They circled around in the mountains several times, shook off the Japanese, and arranged for the wounded to be taken care of before they were able to contact the organization."

From those few words, Gui'er knew that the situation had been dangerous, and she suddenly had a bad feeling: "...Are Brother Song and my brother safe?"

"...Yes, Gui'er, it's like this, your brother was shot several times in the battle, one of which hit his leg... But don't worry, he was rescued by his comrades and is now recuperating at a villager's home. Old Song is fine; he's leading his troops in guerrilla warfare against the enemy. The village where they usually stay was wiped out by the enemy, suffering heavy losses... And that brother named A-Si who came back from Guangzhou with you earlier, he volunteered to cover the rear to protect your brother and sacrificed himself..."

Gui'er felt her head buzzing. She stared wide-eyed at Chen Zhongyu, unable to react for a moment.

Lin Peishan realized something was wrong and quickly went up to hug her, saying, "Gui'er, Gui'er, are you alright? Zhongyu, speak slowly."

Chen Zhongyu was a little frightened when he saw her like this. He said, "Gui'er, don't be sad... We will get our revenge one day." But after saying that, he felt very weak and was at a loss for what to do.

Gui'er was stunned for a while before she came to her senses. Her face was pale. Seeing how worried Chen Zhongyu and Lin Peishan were about her, she forced a smile and said, "I'm fine. I just didn't expect that Brother Si would leave like this. He had only just returned from Hong Kong not long ago..." As she spoke, she couldn't help but shed tears.

"Yes, life is unpredictable. This was all brought to us by the Japanese devils. Old Song praised him in his letter, saying that he fought bravely and that it was because of his sacrifice that most of his comrades were able to evacuate safely. I heard that Old Song has reported him to the organization and he has been recognized as a revolutionary martyr."