A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

Gui'er said to Taohua, "You don't have to be so frugal in your daily life. If you need anything, just tell me and I'll find a way to get it for you."

Taohua shook her head and said, "I don't need anything. If I had those extra things for no reason and Third Auntie noticed, wouldn't that be even worse? Earlier, when you asked Dingxiang to bring me those Shanghai biscuits and snacks to try, Third Auntie kept asking about them. In the end, I only ate one piece and gave the rest to Third Auntie and Sister Sanmei before we were done."

Gui'er was a little indignant: "This is too much. They're deducting money from you for just a little snack."

Taohua quickly comforted her, "I'm here with the Third Concubine. Although we live frugally, we don't lack anything. We were born into a poor family, and to have the treatment we have today is much better than many people. You look better off than me, but I know you've also been through some dangerous times."

Gui'er was surprised and asked, "What have you heard?"

Taohua said, "When Second Sister-in-law was here, everyone in the courtyard had a rumor going around that she wanted to kill you, and almost succeeded. It was just that the rumor was a bit specious. I ran to your courtyard several times to check, but I was afraid that things would get out of hand. Later, when you moved to Big Brother's courtyard, I felt a little relieved."

Gui'er was also very emotional after hearing this. She had originally thought that Taohua was powerless, so she simply didn't tell her those things. But how could she not know about them since they were both in the Marshal's Mansion?

She smiled and said to Taohua, "Don't worry, everything is fine now."

Taohua nodded, with tears in her eyes. Guier quickly comforted her and she finally felt better.

The two walked out of the dessert shop and prepared to go back to find Dali.

Suddenly, a young man in shorts came towards her. Gui'er didn't pay much attention to him, after all, there were people coming and going on the street.

Taohua stood there with her eyes wide open. Guier noticed him and looked forward. It was a young man of fifteen or sixteen years old, about 1.7 meters tall, with short hair. Because he didn't use hair oil, his bangs almost covered his eyebrows. In this era, he should be a boy from a poor family, but Guier felt that his eyes and eyebrows were very familiar.

The young man was also standing there, looking extremely excited. Gui'er whispered in Taohua's ear, "Do you know this guy?"

Taohua didn't answer Gui'er's question. She took two steps forward, her body trembling slightly, and said to the young man, "Are you Dafuge?"

The young man nodded, but stretched out his hand towards Guier. Guier subconsciously dodged. The man was stunned for a moment, his face full of hurt expression.

Taohua excitedly said to Guier, "Guier, this is your third brother Wu Dafu, don't you remember him?"

Gui'er suddenly realized, no wonder she felt he looked so familiar, it turned out that Wu Dafu looked very similar to herself, his features and eyebrows were just like the male version of herself when she grew up in a few years.

Wu Dafu said a little excitedly and at a loss: "When Brother Dahua first came to see you, I wanted to go with him, but I was too embarrassed. Sister, are you okay?"

Gui Er looked at Wu Dafu, her heart calm, and said perfunctorily: "It's good. I heard from Brother Dahua that you two learned the craft together at a carpenter's house. I think you learned it well."

After hearing this, Wu Dafu looked around vigilantly, pulled the two of them into a nearby alley, smiled at Guier, and unbuttoned his shirt.

It turned out that there was a crooked patch pocket inside his clothes that he had sewn himself, but it couldn't be seen because there was also a patch pocket on the outside.

Wu Dafu took out three silver dollars and some scattered copper coins from his pocket and stuffed them into Gui'er's hand, saying, "Sister, this is the money I earned. I give it all to you."

Gui'er was stunned for a moment. She remembered that Wu Dahua had said that apprentices don't get paid for three years, but they do get food and accommodation. So she asked Wu Dafu, "Where did you get all this money? I heard from my second brother that apprentices don't get paid for three years."

Wu Dafu patted his chest and said, "Don't worry, this money is earned by me doing carpentry for others. We have also been learning for a while. I pay attention to those craftsmen who think the wages are too low and are unwilling to take the work. I secretly take over the work during my rest time and go to their homes. These are the wages they pay me."

Taohua said worriedly, "Brother Dafu, if your master and his wife knew about this, wouldn't they chase you away?"

Wu Dafu said nonchalantly, "Didn't my sister give my second brother a silver dollar last time? Let me tell you, as soon as he took it out at the workshop, the boss lady took it away, saying that she had just lost a silver dollar and it must be hers. Later, everyone stood up and spoke up for my second brother, and the lady said that we came here to learn the craft, and we have free food and accommodation, and we didn't even have to pay tuition, so this dollar was all considered tuition."

Gui'er was stunned and frowned as she asked, "So you just let her take it?"

Wu Dafu said angrily, "I was going to argue with her, but Brother Dahua persuaded me that we are still learning the craft here and it would be bad to offend them. But later I became cautious and found a few apprentices who had previously learned the craft under the master. They all said that the master only taught some basic skills and would keep them hanging around until they could graduate. This way, we could continue to work for him for free. I am not as honest as Brother Dahua. Now, when I encounter simple jobs that I can do, I will slack off. I will only put in the effort to learn from the master when it is complicated and difficult. I also secretly take on private jobs to save money so that I can start my own business when I leave."

Gui'er said, "In that case, you can keep the money for yourself."

Wu Dafu waved his hand and said, "I can still earn more later. I know this little money is nothing to you now, but the parents in the Marshal's Mansion are not your biological parents. If they want to settle accounts with you one day, at least you have some money to rely on. I've asked about that Marshal's Mansion. They said that their eldest lady is very powerful. The second lady was killed by her. You have to be more careful in there. If you are bullied, don't be afraid. Run out and find me. I will take you away. I have some skills now. Where can I not earn a living?"

He pointed outside and said, "Our master's house is at the end of this street, the last house in the alley on the left. Second brother mentioned before that you are also an apprentice in the medicine store at that Zhenxiufang. I'm very happy. In the future, we will all have a skill to rely on. I heard that two years ago, that general married his three daughters to old men in their fifties and sixties as concubines. When you grow up a little, you can run away and I will take you away. Taohua, you should come with me. You must not marry those old men as concubines."

Taohua was very excited, her eyes were red, and she nodded continuously.

It must be said that after hearing what Wu Dafu said, Gui'er felt a little moved. At least she was no longer helpless except for the Marshal's Mansion.

She said to Wu Dafu, "Since this is the case, you should keep this money and save it so that you can make a living in the future."

Wu Dafu smiled slyly and said, "Sister, take it, right? The boss lady has been suspicious of me taking on private jobs lately, and I'm afraid she'll secretly look through it like she did last time. If she finds it, she'll definitely confiscate it again. Sister, take it. If there's anything you want, buy it. I've always gotten you anything you've liked since you were a child. Have you forgotten?"

Gui'er had no memory of this and couldn't tell whether what he said was true or false. However, if the boss lady confiscated it, it would be a big loss. So she said, "Then I'll keep it for you. You still have to be careful and cautious on a daily basis. Don't let the master catch you doing private work. After all, you have only been learning for a short time, so you have to learn the real skills first."

Wu Dafu nodded and said with a smile: "I came out to deliver goods and can't stay long, so I'll go back now. Sisters, you should be careful when you go back and take good care of yourselves. I will pick you up in the future." After that, he turned around and left neatly.

This happened so suddenly that Gui'er felt a lot of emotions suddenly surge in her heart. When she looked back, Taohua was already crying. Gui'er was shocked and hurriedly asked her what was wrong?

Taohua cried breathlessly and said, "When we were little, the three of us often played together. Have you forgotten? Your brother went fishing in the river, paddling a small boat, and the two of us sat in the boat. Have you forgotten?"

Gui'er couldn't possibly remember, so she had to comfort her again, and then let Taohua calm down before going back to find Dali. Dali took a look at the longevity lock they bought, heard the price, nodded, and said, "It's fair." But when he looked up, he found Taohua's eyes were red. He immediately frowned and said, "Did the store owner give you a hard time? Damn it, I'll go find him right away."

Gui'er quickly grabbed him and said, "Brother Dali, you misunderstood. On our way back, we ran into a fellow villager from the past. He talked about his past life and Taohua was heartbroken."

Dali then gave up and said, "Forget it, don't think too much. Everyone has their own destiny. Isn't everything fine now?" Then he drove them back to the Marshal's Mansion.