A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

The next day, Gui Er came to the Zhenxiufang and told Zhang the matter. She asked her to help inform Wu Dahua and said, "After my brother has finished his appointment, he will probably come here to look for me. I will have to trouble Zhang again."

Shopkeeper Zhang was delighted to hear this and said, "I never thought your brother would find such a match. Don't worry, I will definitely help you with this matter. It's also a matter of helping everyone."

Guier thanked him repeatedly.

The next day, Gui'er came to the Zhenxiufang after school and found Song Xichen sitting there. Seeing her, he smiled and said, "I heard from Shopkeeper Zhang that you've been arranging a blind date for your brother recently."

Gui'er sighed and told the story of the furniture shop's owner and his wife forcing her brother to marry into the family. She said, "Although I'm still angry, I can't just ignore him. After all, he's my brother."

Song Xichen touched her head and said, "It's hard for you. You have to consider so many things at such a young age."

At this time, Zhang, the shopkeeper, interrupted and said, "Director Song, you are still talking about others. How old are you? It's time for you to get married."

Song Xichen said with a slight embarrassment, "I also want to get married, but if I do, the person next to me must support my ideals and work. Otherwise, it will lead to disaster. I can't take it lightly."

After hearing this, Gui'er felt sorry for Song Xichen, but she didn't know what to say.

One day after school, when they returned to the Zhenxiu Workshop, Zhang, the shopkeeper, said to Gui'er happily, "Guier, your brother likes her and asked me to tell you right away."

Gui'er quickly told Manager Zhang the address of Miss Zhang Si's home and asked him to go to her house to ask what Miss Zhang Si thought. She also gave him a silver dollar and asked him to buy some souvenirs to take with her.

Shopkeeper Zhang went to ask and came back excitedly saying, "The girl and her two mothers are very happy. They said they didn't expect the young man to be so handsome and skilled. He seems to be an honest man. The two mothers also said that since their house has a lot of space, after the marriage, you can let your brother live there and use her house as a workshop. I took a look and the front yard of the house is big enough, and there is also a small backyard. Although it is not facing the street, it is in the second row, but as long as we have a good reputation, we should be able to do business. Look, our shop is still hidden deep in the alley."

Gui'er felt both surprised and justified by this result. After all, although Wu Dahua came from a poor family, he looked very similar to Gui'er. Both had a delicate appearance with a hint of stubbornness. They were not particularly beautiful, but were easy to remember.

Gui'er thought about it and decided that the next step would be to act as a matchmaker for both sides. It would be difficult to bypass Sha Yanxiao at this time, so she decided to confess the matter to Sha Yanxiao.

So, he returned to the general's residence that night, had dinner, sent Ding Xiang away, and said to Sha Yanxiao, "Brother, I have something to tell you."

Sha Yanxiao nodded and said, "I see. You sent Ding Xiang away. Is there something important?"

Gui Er pondered for a moment and said, "It was when I went to Miss Zhang Si's house last time that her two mothers told me about this. They said that Miss Zhang Si is not young anymore, and if she wants to find a husband, they have their eyes on Dali Ge."

Upon hearing this, Sha Yanxiao hurried to the door and said to the housekeeper, "Go call Dali over."

Gui'er didn't have time to stop him before Dali came running over. Thinking something important was going on, he immediately ran up to Sha Yanxiao and said, "Boss, what's going on?"

Sha Yanxiao said to him, "Miss Zhang Si's two mothers are interested in you and want you to be their son-in-law."

Gui'er was so confused that she didn't know how to explain it.

Unexpectedly, Dali's eyes widened after hearing this and he said, "I was wondering, those two women, why did they leave the young lady here alone? So that's what they were planning. This can't be done. They're giving me someone the Third Young Master doesn't want. What kind of a deal? They're treating me like a coward. Besides, if the other servants see them, they'll definitely tell everyone about this."

Gui'er had originally felt a little embarrassed towards Dali because Wu Dahua and Miss Zhang Si had gotten together. But after hearing this, she felt it made perfect sense, and quickly said, "Brother, listen to me. It was later that I made a mistake. I thought they wanted me to find a partner. I have an older brother in my biological family. He once looked for me when he was in the Song family. I'm sure you've heard of him. Later, I learned that he had also come to Jiangcheng to be an apprentice in a furniture workshop. He had learned almost the same craft, but he was often bullied by his master and his mistress. Besides, his father had already separated from his family, so it was impossible for him to go back. So I thought of letting him start a family here, so I proposed to Miss Zhang Si. His mothers said it would be a good idea to see if they could get along, and as a result, they fell in love as soon as they met. I still feel bad for Brother Dali."

After hearing this, Dali felt relieved and said, "No, no, no, this is fine. It's rare that your brother is willing to do so."

Guier smiled and said, "I didn't tell him about Miss Zhang Si's life story. I don't think it's Miss Zhang's fault, right?"

Sha Yanxiao smiled, looked at Gui'er and said, "Maybe I don't care about you enough. I should help you find your family."

Gui'er shook her head and said, "Actually, my family sold me out, and I felt resentful. But later, when I saw my second and third brothers also being driven out and struggling to make ends meet, I felt a sense of sympathy. I was also afraid that if he came to the Marshal's Mansion to look for me, it would embarrass you, so I asked him to tell Shopkeeper Zhang of the Zhenxiu Workshop if he had anything to say, and then Shopkeeper Zhang would tell me. This time, Shopkeeper Zhang had to make several trips to act as a matchmaker, mainly because his master's wife was planning to marry him off to the young lady who had been driven back from her in-laws' home, along with their son and daughter. So, it seemed that Fourth Miss Zhang was much better off."

When Sha Yanxiao and Dali heard this, they suddenly realized and said, "So that's how it is. No wonder you were so anxious to find him."

Gui'er said to Sha Yanxiao, "I tried not to show up in order to avoid attracting attention, but now that they've fallen in love and are discussing marriage, I'm afraid I have to show up."

Sha Yanxiao touched her head and said, "You are still young, how about I help you?"

Gui'er shook her head and said, "I'm not planning on making a big deal about it. He doesn't have many relatives or friends. I don't want outsiders to know about my brother's connection to the Marshal's Mansion. I'm afraid they'll be exploited by someone with ulterior motives. Besides, I've already received so much kindness from the Marshal's Mansion that I can't repay them enough. How can I let my brother cause more trouble for them? Miss Zhang and her two mothers don't want too many people to know about this, for fear it will cause more trouble."

Sha Yanxiao held Gui'er's hand and said, "Actually, I don't really want you to get too involved with the family that sold you out. People's hearts are hidden, and it's hard to see a person's true colors unless you're in trouble. But since you want to help them, I'm willing to give you some money, which can be regarded as fulfilling your wish. You can ask Wu Mingqiang to take care of this. I'll ask him to pick you up from school soon, so you can use him at your convenience. If you need anything financially or anywhere else, just let him know."