A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

Gui'er has been paying attention to this ever since she realized her financial predicament. She asked Dingxiang, "Are you still getting paid on time every month?"

Ding Xiang smiled and said, "Of course it's paid on time. It's paid by the Madam's personal maid. She said the Marshal's Mansion would remit money every month."

Gui'er understood immediately. Although her wife had come to Nanjing with Sha Yanyao and Sha Yanyao had also found a position in the government, the Marshal's Mansion still supported everyone. After all, the salary of Sha Yanyao was very different from that of Marshal Sha, a high-ranking official who controlled a region.

But they deducted her monthly salary, which was very troublesome. Gui'er couldn't lose face with them. The schools in Nanjing were indeed better than those in Jiangcheng. She had to finish high school before making any plans. She hesitated whether to tell Sha Yanxiao.

One day, Gui Er was reading the newspaper when she suddenly noticed something inconspicuously written on the paper: "We are seeking novels about various aspects of society. We are seeking novels about various aspects of society. For those who are accepted for publication in this magazine, the reward will be 5 yuan per thousand words for Type A, 3 yuan for Type B, and 10 yuan for each thousand words for exceptionally good works. For illustrations, the reward will be 10 yuan, 5 yuan for Type B, and 20 yuan for exceptionally good works. Please send your manuscripts to the following address: ****. This advertisement is valid for a long time."

Gui'er suddenly became excited. Wouldn't writing a novel be a good idea? She thought about it and recalled the January 28 Incident. As a witness, she had witnessed the various damages caused by the Japanese invasion and decided to write a story based on this.

He did what he said. After dinner, he wrote several thousand words in his room. He had not yet finished writing everything he knew. He thought that if he could get a good grade, he would continue to submit his work. This way he could promote the anti-Japanese war and make money at the same time. How great.

The next day, I bought an envelope, put a stamp on it, and put my article inside. I also took another piece of paper and wrote a personal introduction, explaining that I happened to have personally witnessed this incident in Shanghai at the time, and that it had a huge impact on me. I hoped that it could be published to awaken the Chinese people.

During those days, Gui'er ran to the mansion as soon as she got home from school, hoping to receive a reply as soon as possible.

About a week later, one day when I returned to the Sha Mansion, Menzi said, "Miss, the young master is looking for you. He wants you to come back. Go to the study to find him."

Gui'er came to the study inexplicably, and Sha Yanyao took out a letter with a smile. Gui'er saw that the address on the letter was the same as the newspaper editorial department.

Sha Yanyao said, "The postman delivered it today. Your sister-in-law saw it and opened it to read. I also took a look at it. It's written very well." As he said that, he pushed the envelope over.

Gui'er didn't quite understand what he meant. She took it and took a look at it nervously. A note fell out of it, which read: "Thank you for your submission. Your article is sincere and heartfelt, as if you were there in person, but it does not meet the requirements of our collection. In addition, your ideas are progressive. I hope that one day your article can be made public." The signature was the name of the editor-in-chief of the newspaper.

Guier frowned, not understanding why the paper was rejected even though it said it was good. However, she also said she hoped to publish it to the public in the future. It was very confusing.

Sha Yanyao looked at her, sighed softly, and said with a smile, "The authorities are very reluctant to talk about the anti-Japanese war now, and the government's main focus is not on this. Didn't you previously experience the turmoil caused by Life Weekly? It was because they published some progressive articles that it was closed down. If your article were published, the same fate would befall you. You would probably be arrested as well, so you should be more cautious."

Gui'er was a little depressed after hearing this, and Sha Yanyao comforted her, saying, "Your writing is excellent, and it's all true, but it's inappropriate at the right time. What made you suddenly want to submit it to the newspaper?"

Guier said awkwardly, "I want to earn some money for my own spending."

Sha Yanyao was stunned for a moment and asked, "Don't you have a monthly allowance?"

Gui'er said shyly, "I haven't had any since I came to Nanjing."

Sha Yanyao was stunned for a moment, frowned, and said helplessly: "It must be mother. I will give you your pocket money from now on." Then he took out five dollars from the drawer and handed it to Guier.

Gui'er was embarrassed to take it, so he pulled her hand over, stuffed the silver dollar into her hand and said, "Don't blame mother. It wasn't easy for her either. Probably not many people in the mansion know this. In fact, I had several brothers and sisters before me, but they had no one to support them. At that time, father was not yet the commander-in-chief. Mother and her family poured all their money and resources into father, hoping that he would become successful one day."

"Father did, but mother couldn't have any more children due to health reasons. He said we only had one son and the family was too small, so he married women into the mansion one after another. Whether those women gave birth to boys or girls, they had no relationship with mother anyway. Over time, the relationship between my parents had long since become estranged."

"You're not a child anymore, so you should have heard some of the bad reputation that father has. He still values money more than anything else. After arriving in Nanjing, the Marshal's Mansion still pays the eldest wife, but it's probably much less than before. That's why Mother withheld your monthly allowance. She actually still values you very much. She told me privately that, of all the children in the mansion, except for me, her biological child, you are the closest to her."

After hearing what Gui'er said about the mean old lady, she couldn't help but feel a little sympathy for her husband.

She said to Sha Yanyao, "Don't worry, big brother. I don't bear any grudge against mother. I know it's not easy for her to come to Nanjing and run this family."

Sha Yanyao nodded in satisfaction and said, "You write well. You can learn to write some articles and novels. When you're done, you can let me take a look at them for you. In fact, women can also be very talented, like Lu Bicheng."

Gui'er nodded obediently. Sha Yanyao smiled and said, "It's getting late. Go and have some rest. We'll have dinner later."

When Gui'er came out of Sha Yanyao's room and returned to her own room, she saw Song Tingting hiding beside Yulan and peeking out. When she saw her, she quickly closed the door, obviously wanting to see what Sha Yanyao's face would be like when she came out of his study.

Gui'er shook her head. Sha Yanyao had told her to emulate Lü Bicheng, clearly because he admired women of talent. A woman like Song Tingting, usually a quail, devoid of her own ideas and occasionally prone to scheming, would likely become a demanding old lady like his wife when she grew old. It would be difficult for her to earn Sha Yanyao's respect and admiration, but that was their relationship. For now, she could only study hard. In a few years, she would be planning to leave the Marshal's Mansion.