A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

Because the Marshal had spoken, the concubines took action on their own, some went out shopping, and some went to visit relatives and friends.

Guier called Tong Yujun again, and this time she answered the phone. Before Guier could say anything, she asked Guier to go shopping at Sincere Department Store.

Gui'er was naturally 100% willing and told Sha Yanxiao about it. Sha Yanxiao did not stop her, but only asked Dali to go with him. Gui'er had no reason to stop him, so she thought of a way. She took a piece of paper and wrote down her address and phone number in advance, and took the pen that Song Xichen gave her as a secret code and put it in her bag.

When they arrived at the entrance of Sincere Company, Tong Yujun was already waiting there. Guier saw that he looked unhappy and asked, "What's wrong?"

Tong Yujun said a little depressedly: "The first wife of the Song family detained him as soon as she arrived and didn't let him go out."

So that's what happened. Gui'er quickly comforted her, saying, "You can call each other then that. You're already engaged, so what are you afraid of? After you marry him, you can see him every day."

Tong Yujun said shyly, "My father said I'll get married after I graduate from high school."

Gui'er was surprised, but after thinking about it, it seemed normal in this era. It was not convenient for her to say anything, so she just smiled.

Tong Yujun suddenly held her hand and said, "Guier, don't worry, I'll ask my father and mother to keep an eye out for you. If there's a suitable one, I'll ask my father to introduce you."

Gui'er was stunned for a moment. Could it be that she was being pitied by her?

She felt a little amused and, after considering her words, she smiled and said, "No need. I guess my marriage needs to be arranged by my father and brother."

Tong Yujun slapped his head and said, "That's right, but your sisters didn't marry very well, so you have to be careful."

Gui'er didn't expect that the Marshal also had a bad reputation, so she smiled bitterly and nodded.

Actually, the two of them didn't have anything to buy, they just strolled around and had a dessert in the restaurant area. The weather was cold, but there was heating in the Sincere Department Store. The misty aroma from the desserts and other dishes wafted through the restaurant, making it look like there was a layer of fog, mixed with the fragrance, the perfume sprayed by the people shopping inside, and the heating, giving people a warm and lively feeling.

Guier turned her head and looked out through the glass window at the street. There were many homeless people on the roadside, dressed in rags. Some were barefoot, and some had torn clothes and pants, revealing their dirty and black skin. Although patrolmen drove them away from time to time, they would gather again as soon as the patrolmen left, at the doors of various restaurants and shops. Perhaps only here could they keep warm and try their luck to see if there were any generous customers willing to give them some alms.

Tong Yujun saw Gui'er staring intently at the homeless people outside the window, so she pushed the osmanthus cake in front of her towards her and said to her, "This is good, have another piece. It's cold now, and the beggars on the street are having a hard time. But my parents have repeatedly told us not to give them money. When you give one, two, three, or even a group of people will come up. I heard that a few days ago, a girl was kind enough to give money to a beggar in a rickshaw, but a group of people rushed over and robbed her. In the end, her clothes were torn and she was injured. That's why the government started sending patrolmen to drive them away. I heard that they set up a relief center for them somewhere where they can get food. We don't have to go and give money ourselves."

Guier smiled and nodded. In fact, she knew very well in her heart that this was just like when the Song family opened a porridge factory to provide disaster relief. The rich people were in a good mood and provided some relief, but when the time was over, it was over. Those who were supposed to starve would still starve. There was no solution to this phenomenon in this era, and they could only look forward to the arrival of a new era.

After they finished their desserts and had almost finished shopping, they planned to go back. When they arrived at the entrance of Sincere Department Store, Tong Yujun said goodbye to Guier and got into her car to go back.

As Gui'er walked towards the Dali parking lot, she pretended to look at the shops opposite the Sincere Department Store as if she was watching a fun event. Then, when she passed by the Dahuchun Dim Sum Shop, she pretended to be attracted by the menu written on their sign and walked straight over. While she was eating in the dessert shop upstairs, she had already spotted the location of Dahuchun through the glass window.

Dali noticed she was going in the wrong direction and hurried over to ask, "What's going on?" Guier pointed at the Dahuchun sign and said, "They have this fresh meat, shrimp, and fish combination pan-fried dish. It's really novel. I want to try it. Let's go buy some."

Dali shook his head helplessly and said with a smile: "Let's go."

When Gui'er walked into the store, the waiter saw her and was about to come over. She hurriedly walked to the shopkeeper's counter and said, "Boss, I want a dozen pan-fried dishes of fresh meat, shrimp and fish." Then she reached into her bag and took out the pen and wallet that served as a secret signal.

Then he pretended to realize that he had taken out too many pens and wanted to put them back, but then he thought again and decided to pay first, so he put the pen on the table, reached into his wallet, and took out the change and the paper with the address and phone number written on it.

The boss glanced at the pen, was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said, "Okay, miss, please sit over there for a while."

Guier smiled and said, "I'm not eating here. Could you please pack it up for me? How much is it?"

The boss said enthusiastically, "A dozen is ten cents." Then he said to the waiter, "A dozen of fresh meat, shrimp and fish fried dumplings, to go."

Guier counted out the copper coins one by one, then placed them on the table and put the note under the copper coins.

The shopkeeper handed over all the money and the note, and said with a smile, "Thank you for your patronage. Remember to take your pen."

At this time, the waiter took out the Shengjian (stir-fried dumplings) in a brown paper bag, and the shopkeeper handed it to Gui'er with both hands: "Take it, and take care."

Guier took it, said with a smile, "Thank you." Then she turned and left.

When we arrived at the store door, Dali was smoking next to the door. When Guier went in and worked with the shopkeeper at the counter, she had her back to the door, which just blocked all the movements. Dali probably didn't notice.

Guier opened the bag and said to Dali, "Brother Dali, come and try one too."

Dali smiled, not shying away. He reached into the leather bag, took one out, put it in his mouth, blew on it, and quickly took it out again, saying, "Wow, it's so hot, but it smells pretty good. Let's get in the car and go back."

When I returned to the Marshal's Mansion, I saw Taohua standing on the second-floor platform bored, so I quickly called her over to eat shengjian together.

Taohua happily took two and said while eating, "Oh, I really envy you. Even if I come to Shanghai, I can't leave." It turned out that the third concubine took Sanmei shopping, and was afraid that the nanny was not thoughtful enough, so she asked Taohua to stay here to watch the nanny take care of the children.