A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

Sha Yanxiao thought for a long time and said, "That's right."

Then he called the bank manager and said to him, "We need to open three more safe deposit boxes."

The bank manager smiled and said, "No problem, please wait a moment."

Then it was opened quickly. Sha Yanxiao asked Dali and Guier to take out half of the original calligraphy and paintings and antiques and put them in the newly opened safe, as well as the jewelry. Sha Yanxiao also specially picked out the jade twisted wire bracelet and the jade raw stone.

Then he said to Gui'er, "I'll read and you write. Record these things. Give the copies of the old safes to Father, and we can keep the ones in the new safes for ourselves."

Dali smiled and said, "Boss, you want to use it to buy equipment again, right?"

Sha Yanxiao smiled but said nothing.

After returning to the Marshal's villa, Sha Yanxiao handed the list of old safes to the Marshal.

The Marshal was overjoyed when he saw it, and laughed heartily, saying, "I never thought that I, Old Sha, would be so blessed."

The wife also knew about it, and she smiled happily, saying, "This can be considered as compensating for the loss that Director Shen and his wife were going to suffer."

Gui'er was very surprised. Her wife usually burned incense and prayed to Buddha all day long, looking like she had no desires or requests. She didn't expect that she still cared so much.

By this time, everyone in the mansion had heard some rumors. Even Taohua quietly found Guier and asked, "Did you find any treasure?"

Gui Er didn't know if it was Third Auntie who asked Tao Hua to come over to get information, so she said vaguely, "They found the Ji family's safe."

At lunchtime, the fourth concubine came back with her two children, holding a box of small cakes. She said to the Marshal in a coquettish manner, "We have been busy with Yanwen's wedding these past two days. You see, after we finished, the children said they missed their father, so I brought them back. This cake was chosen by them. Look, how filial they are."

The Marshal was in a good mood and said happily, "Okay, okay, okay."

The fourth concubine continued, "I think Yanwen's wedding should at least wait until his eldest brother's wedding is over. But there is one thing I'm worried about. The eldest brother gave the bride price too high. If our third brother gives less, how can I explain it to the girl?"

The Marshal asked, "How much dowry does the girl have?"

The fourth concubine said quickly, "The dowry isn't much, but there are only two children in her family. Her brother has had heart disease since he was a child. Although he got married, it is said that he couldn't consummate the marriage. Now he lies in bed all day long. I guess he doesn't have many years left. I told his parents that when they have a child with their surname in the future, his parents will promise to give the factory, shop, and farm to the child. His parents are over 60 years old. When they die, Yanwen will be the only man in the family. After that, we can drive that sister-in-law away, and then it will still be ours, right?"

This is definitely going to wipe out the entire family. Guier saw that the Fourth Concubine was quite proud of herself, and Marshal Sha and his wife also smiled and nodded frequently.

"However, they have made a request, which is to live in Shanghai after marriage. I think their hometown is near Shanghai, so this is not too much. But now our family has given the good yard to the Shen family. It would be fine if you could bring it back, but they can't live in so many houses. What do you two think we should do? How about you go to the Shen family and ask for one? I won't be greedy for more, just one. Besides, isn't our Yanwen's residence after marriage also our residence? At least it won't fall into the hands of others." The fourth concubine changed the subject and made a request directly.

The Marshal and his wife listened in silence. The Fourth Concubine quickly put down her bowl and chopsticks, walked over, took his wife's arm, and said in a coquettish tone: "Look, sister, I'll tell the people over there when the time comes, just write it down on the betrothal gift list. Then the child will live there anyway, so we won't send the title deed over. Then it will still be our own house, don't you think? I heard that Director Shen has an illegitimate child. If Miss Shen doesn't bring her things back, then she will have to give them to her illegitimate brother. We will be at a great disadvantage."

After a long while, the Marshal sighed and said, "The things have already been given away. If we ask for them back, we will offend him. We can't afford to offend Director Shen now. How about this? I'll give you one of our old villas in Hongkou District, and I'll give you 50 of the gold bars we found today. You should do a good job of this. Alas! My son is a debt collector. Half of the property I just got is gone again."

When the Fourth Concubine heard this, she was overjoyed and said with a smile, "Thank you, Marshal, thank you, Madam. Come on, Yanwen, hurry up. Thank you, Father, Mother."

Sha Yanwen and Sha Lili quickly stood up and said respectfully, "Thank you, Father and Mother."

The Marshal and his wife nodded in satisfaction. Gui'er secretly glanced at Sha Yanxiao and Sha Yanyao. They looked calm. It seemed that to survive in a big mansion, one must have some acting skills.

The third concubine opened her mouth to say something, but the lady looked at her and she lowered her head obediently.

At dinner time, Director Shen and his wife actually came over with Miss Shen. Director Shen was holding a bottle of wine and said, "Brother, I drank a bottle of good wine at your place the other day. I also got a new bottle these two days, and I brought it here specially to drink with you."

The Marshal was overjoyed and said, "Oh, Brother Shen, it's rare that you still think of me. Lao Zhou, quickly tell the kitchen to prepare more food. We're going to get drunk again today."

Gui'er said to Sha Lili, "Looks like we're going to have some delicious food tonight."

Sha Lili curled her lips and said, "My uncle recently heard from his colleagues in Nanjing that Director Shen is actually a well-known stingy person in Nanjing, who will pluck the feathers of any passing goose. He even brought wine to our house today, so he must be up to no good."

Sure enough, after three rounds of drinking, Director Shen, under the guise of being drunk, said to the Marshal, "Brother, I heard that you made a fortune recently? It is said that you found the treasure left by Ji Zhongqing?"

The Marshal was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said, "There's no treasure. It's just a few gold bars they left behind in the safe. The Ji family is now dwindling, and my daughter-in-law has passed away, so I gave it to my youngest son as a souvenir."

Director Shen shook his head and said, "No, no, I know Ji Zhongqing is particularly fond of antiques, calligraphy and paintings, and he has quite a collection. Could these things not be among the things he left behind?"

The Marshal waved his hand and said, "Even if he had these things, his children would have taken them away long ago. How could it be my turn? I heard that you are also an antique enthusiast. Your collection should be no less than Old Ji's, right?"

Director Shen half-closed his eyes and said, "I only have one or two bottles and jars. They are not worth mentioning. Not worth mentioning."