A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

The weekend came in the blink of an eye. Guier specially prepared a bag for that day. She thought she should still wear her school uniform and change into other clothes when she got to school to avoid attracting too much attention.

After finishing breakfast, Song Xichen came back and saw that she was still wearing her school uniform, so he asked her, "Why don't you change your clothes? Didn't I buy you new clothes yesterday?"

Gui'er hesitated for a moment and said, "I want to change it when I get to school."

Song Xichen asked in confusion, "Why?" Then he took out a small package of pastries wrapped in brown paper and handed it to her, saying, "This is the osmanthus cake I asked the kitchen to prepare."

Gui'er said, "If I were to wear such fine clothes in the mansion, I'm afraid people would gossip about me."

Song Xichen: "Who dares? Tell him to come and tell me if he dares to say such a thing." Then he sat on the sofa, crossed his legs and said, "Go change your clothes now. I want to see if the new clothes I bought yesterday fit you well."

Gui'er had no choice but to go into the house and change into the new clothes she bought yesterday. She specially chose the slightly plain silver-white pearl-colored short skirt and matched it with the new leather shoes she bought yesterday. After she put them on and opened the door to come out, Song Xichen turned around and looked at her and said with a smile, "It looks really good." Then he gave Dagang a look.

Dagang nodded, handed Gui'er five silver dollars, and said, "This is from the young master. You can buy some of your favorite things, drinks, and food on the way."

Gui Er saw Ah Xiang's eyes widen next to her, guessing it must be a large sum of money, and quickly said, "Thank you, Master. I'm just a servant, I can't ask for so much money."

Song Xichen said, "This is your pocket money. This is the amount you will receive each month from now on. Be frugal and spend it wisely."

Gui'er thought five dollars a month wasn't much, so she took it and said, "Thank you, Master."

On this day, their school organized an outing to a park not far from the school. The park was located on the river bank and was connected to the pier. From the highest hillside of the park, one could see a large riverside scenery. It was the most popular place for ordinary people in the city to go out for fun.

After the principal explained the precautions and safety rules to the students, everyone was ready to set off. There were only about forty or fifty students in the school. Some of the students came from wealthy families and were picked up by cars, while others hired rickshaws to take them to the designated location of the school to be met by teachers. The rest of the students walked there under the guidance of several teachers from the school.

Gui'er had originally planned to walk with the teacher and the principal, just like most of her classmates. Just as she was about to line up, Tong Yujun suddenly ran over, grabbed her, and said, "Guier, come with me in the car. You'll have someone to keep you company on the way."

So Gui'er followed Tong Yujun into her family's car and drove for a while. The car was driving very slowly because the road was blocked by rickshaws. Today was Sunday and many families were out for fun. There were not many tourist attractions in this city, so they were all going in the same direction.

Guier peered out the car window and saw a number of ragged figures sprawled on the meter-wide curbs on either side of the road. They must have been homeless. Families, young and old, hunkered down in a corner, looked like they'd wandered from other places. On one side were cars and a high-end department store with an escalator, and on the other were starving homeless people. Guier felt the world was magical.

About ten minutes later, the car stopped at the entrance of a park. Gui'er and Tong Yujun got off the car and walked into the park. They saw some school teachers waiting here for the students to register. When the students arrived one after another, the teacher counted the number of people and then told everyone some precautions, the range of activities they could do, and the time to gather back. Then they let everyone move freely.

It was Gui'er's first time visiting a park since her birth. She looked around curiously. The park looked much like any other modern park, but there were some differences. In the center of the fountain was a statue of Guanyin, the Goddess of Childbirth. Nearby stood a small City God Temple, effectively combining worship with recreation. There was a lake filled with koi and lotus flowers, and for 0.3 yuan, you could rent a boat for a cruise. Many of her classmates had already rented boats. Tong Yujun suggested they go boating, too. Gui'er thought for a moment, remembering she hadn't returned the favor the last time she rode in his car, so she agreed and paid for the boat.

The two of them rowed around the lake for a long time, laughing and joking, before finally getting ashore. They saw a soda stall selling soda for 0.1 per bottle, so Gui'er bought two bottles, one for each of them. Tong Yujun glanced at Gui'er, hesitated for a moment, and then said, "Do you have enough money on you? Don't spend so much. I know it's not easy for you to earn money."

Guier smiled, looked around to see that there were no people around, and whispered to her, "It's not that bad actually. The young master gave me five dollars when I left, but I've never spent that much money in my life."

Tong Yujun heard this and said, "Your young master treats you very well. Our maid's monthly salary is only three dollars. Here, one dollar can be exchanged for 12 small dollars or 300 copper coins. You basically use small dollars to go to the department store, and copper coins are more common for snacks and breakfast. You should save your money. You can't be a servant forever."

Guier nodded and felt that this little girl was really considerate and caring.

The two continued strolling forward and saw a few classmates in front of them peeking and climbing over a pile of rocks. Guier asked curiously, "Why are they running over there?" A classmate who was running turned around and made a hushing gesture to them.

He whispered, "There's a good show over there."

Tong Yujun was also curious after hearing this and said, "What a great show!" Then he started to climb up.

Seeing that this place was beyond the scope of activities allowed by the teacher, Guier said, "If you run out and the teacher finds out, you will be scolded."

Those students turned around and said to Gui'er with a playful smile, "There are only a few of us. How would the teacher know if you didn't tell us?"

At this time, Tong Yujun had already climbed up, and Gui'er saw that she would not listen to her advice and had no choice but to climb up as well.

A few children struggled to climb over the pile of rocks, and saw a long row of moored boats in front of them. Some of them were decorated with carved beams and painted buildings, and were as high as two stories. There were also a few shabby small covered boats standing nearby.

The children seemed to have discovered a new world and said excitedly: "What kind of ships are these? They look so beautiful."

Only Gui'er felt a chill rising from the soles of her feet. This was the river bank where the flower boat she had been on was docked. Looking into the distance, she even recognized the boat she had been on before among the many flower boats.

She didn't want to care about facing her unbearable past, so she said to her friends, "Let's go back and go back to school later."

But being able to go to school means that even if the family is not rich, at least it can solve the problem of food and clothing. These children have no idea what these beautifully decorated ships represent, and they are very curious and run forward to find out.

Tong Yujun also went upstairs. Gui'er had no choice but to follow her reluctantly.

When a group of young friends were about to reach the water's edge, a thug on a flower boat suddenly noticed them and asked curiously: "What are you girls doing in a place like this? Do you want to sell yourself here too?" The thug was wearing black pants and a black gown, with a pipe on his waist and a shaved head, looking very ferocious.

Even though these children were naive, they could tell something was wrong and ran back. Gui Er also took Tong Yujun back with her.

The group of people climbed back to the other side of the pile of rocks. Guier subconsciously looked back and saw a familiar figure. Although he had changed his clothes, she was sure that the man was the one who was injured in the school storage room.

The man was boarding a brothel with several of his men. Standing at the bow to greet them was He Ergu, Gui'er's former brothel madam.