A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

A few days later, it was time to deliver the dowry. Guier heard from the housekeeper Zhou Bo that after the dowry was delivered, they could exchange their birth dates and match the marriage.

Gui'er was curious about what kind of dowry a daughter of a high-ranking official like Miss Shen would have. Sha Lili even rushed back from her uncle's house to take a look. She saw the middleman invited by the Shen family politely handing a gift list to the housekeeper Zhou Bo. The Marshal, his wife, and the eldest son Sha Yanyao were standing in front of the dowry, and everyone in the Marshal's mansion also gathered in a circle to watch.

Zhou Bolangsheng read: "Rosewood dressing mirror, rosewood wardrobe in pairs, rosewood chests in pairs, red leather suitcases in pairs, Guangdong lacquer suitcases in pairs, rosewood dressing tables, rosewood Guangdong stone washstands, rosewood rectangular desks, rosewood square study tables, purple stone Duan inkstones in squares, two square Shoushan stone Zhangs, multicolored pen holders in pairs, coral seal jars in pairs, silver cups and saucers in pairs, silver spoons in pairs, silver harmony pairs, silver hanging bottles in pairs, silver hanging accounts in pairs.

Gui'er quietly asked Sha Lili, "Why do some of this sound so hard to understand? What's that?"

Sha Lili sneered and said, "Whatever it is, my family doesn't even want these junks. Besides, look at the dowry she brought. She didn't even include the betrothal gifts we sent. Director Shen is really evil."

Gui'er was stunned for a moment, then turned around to see that the Marshal and his wife's faces were darker than the bottom of a pot, while Sha Yanxiao looked like he was enjoying a good show. The middleman in charge of delivering the gifts looked embarrassed by the Marshal and his wife's faces, and carefully said some auspicious words about a talented man and a beautiful woman, and a long-lasting marriage. Sha Yanyao's face was quite calm, and no expression could be seen.

Gui'er suddenly remembered that Sha Yanxiao had said before that Director Shen had an illegitimate child outside. In this case, it was understandable that Director Shen was stingy about his daughter's marriage. However, the contrast between such a shabby dowry and the betrothal gift sent by the Marshal's Mansion was too great, which made people worry about Miss Shen's future marriage life.

After that, the two sides exchanged their birth dates, and Sha Yanyao still went to Shen's house every few days.

Gui'er had some free time when she realized that Chen Wenqi, whom she had met in the troupe, hadn't been in contact with Sha Yanxiao recently. So, she curiously asked Sha Yanxiao, "Brother, why haven't you seen Miss Chen lately?"

Sha Yanxiao said without even looking up, "His family doesn't treat this illegitimate daughter very well. I guess if I marry her, the things I can give her will be similar to what Miss Shen can give me today, maybe even less. Besides, I've been to her house many times, but her father avoided me. I'm afraid he doesn't like her, so I won't try to curry favor with her."

Gui'er was a little puzzled. "You're the young marshal, with weapons and soldiers at your disposal, and he's a government official. If you marry into his family, wouldn't that be a perfect merger of power? Why wouldn't he be happy about it?"

Sha Yanxiao licked his lips and said with a smile, "Don't you know that most people now think that the Japanese will definitely attack from Shanghai? Those of us who live close to Shanghai will inevitably have to go to the battlefield when the time comes, and we don't even know if we can survive."

At this time, Dali walked in. Sha Yanxiao stood up and was about to leave. Guier asked Sha Yanxiao, "Brother, where are you going now? Can you take me with you?"

Sha Yanxiao stopped and said, "What? Are you bored at home? Then come along."

Gui'er jumped up and happily took Sha Yanxiao's hand and went downstairs together.

It turned out that Sha Yanxiao and Dali only came to the courtyard where they had visited Wu Mingqiang once before. Guier was wondering why they came here again?

Wu Mingqiang came out of the house and when he saw Gui'er, he quickly told the steward to buy some snacks.

The group walked into the house and sat down. Sha Yanxiao asked Wu Mingqiang, "How's it going?"

Wu Mingqiang took out an account book and said to Sha Yanxiao, "I'm in the process of doing what the young marshal ordered. First of all, we've taken over all our properties in Shanghai from the Ji family. Except for this one, we're looking for sellers for the others."

At this point, Wu Mingqiang sighed and said, "What a pity those five villas and manors, each of which is large, beautifully decorated, and located in a prime and valuable location, were actually given directly to the Shen family as a betrothal gift. It should clearly be inherited by you, Young Marshal. That is the legacy left by our young lady."

Gui'er felt very strange and couldn't help asking, "Brother, why do you want to sell the remaining small houses?"

Sha Yanxiao patted her head and said, "There are several considerations. I originally kept these small houses and didn't report them because I was afraid my father would find out. Another important reason is that there are rumors that the war in the north has spread here. Half a year ago, I sent people to Manchuria to observe their equipment and fighting style."

Gui'er didn't expect Sha Yanxiao to think so far ahead. She asked anxiously, "How is it? Can we resist?"

Sha Yanxiao sighed, shook his head, and said, "There's almost no hope on the front lines. We don't even have heavy artillery, and they have tanks. You know what tanks are? They have very hard shells. Even bullets and artillery shells can't penetrate them."

Gui'er actually already knew the answer in her heart, but she still felt very sad to hear it from someone of this era.

The people present also fell silent.

Sha Yanxiao continued, "So I want to sell all those villas and exchange them for gold bars. I can use them to buy more equipment and store some silver dollars and gold bars. I suspect it will be a long war, and by then I won't be able to take any villas with me. They will just belong to someone else. That's not worth it."

Guier nodded desperately. It seemed that in this era there were many calm and clear-sighted people.

At this time, the housekeeper bought some hot date paste cakes from outside and poured a few drinks over. Gui'er had milk tea.

Wu Mingqiang smiled and said to Sha Yanxiao flatteringly, "Young Marshal, you have a long-term vision. Many people want to buy these small Western-style buildings. Executives from foreign companies, small factory owners, wealthy people from other places who want to keep their mistresses, and even those foreigners. They should be sold soon."

Sha Yanxiao frowned and said, "Foreigners are not allowed. Don't sell it to foreigners. There are many foreign spies in Shanghai now. We live in this area ourselves. If we are not careful, they will find out our secrets."

Wu Mingqiang was stunned for a moment, then nodded repeatedly and said, "Okay, Young Marshal is very thoughtful. I'll screen them when the time comes."

Gui'er picked up the jujube paste and took a bite. Suddenly, she remembered something and said to Sha Yanxiao, "Brother, does father know that you sent people to the north to observe? What is his opinion?" After all, the Marshal is the actual ruler of Jiangcheng and Fengcheng. His ideas and opinions are very important for resisting the enemy in the future.

Sha Yanxiao sighed. "My father had no idea I was sending people there, because he didn't support it. I've discussed these things with him, and his general message was that we should all follow the central government's instructions. I don't think this government can be trusted at all. Over the years, they haven't given us the slightest bit of support."