A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

Gui'er wasn't interested in these meaningless domestic squabbles. She asked Dingxiang to find Ah Cheng and said to him, "Brother Ah Cheng is originally from Shanghai. Now that he's back home, do you want to go back and take a look? If you want to leave, go ahead. You can come back that night, or you can take a day or two off."

Ah Cheng said gratefully, "Young lady, you are considerate of servants. However, I started working as a servant in the Ji family when I was about ten years old. It was because my parents died and I couldn't survive. When I left home, only my grandmother and my uncle and aunt, who I didn't get along with, were left at home. They didn't even have time to despise me."

Guier smiled and said, "I see. Then do you want to go back and see your grandmother? Where is your home?"

Ah Cheng hesitated for a moment and said, "In the slums of the International Settlement."

Guier smiled and said, "Then go back and visit Grandma. And also help me see what's going on in the market. I want to go out for a walk, but I'm afraid it's not peaceful." Then she took out a silver dollar and handed it to him, saying, "Go buy something for your Grandma."

Ah Cheng was very grateful and left with the money. He didn't return until the evening. He went to Gui'er's room and said to her, "Miss, I went back home. Grandma is still in good health. Because I took the money back, my uncle and aunt didn't make things difficult for me and even invited me to dinner. When they talked about the current situation, they shook their heads and sighed. They said that they used to work in a textile factory owned by a big boss. After the 128 Incident, the boss got scared and moved the factory away. Since my family had old and young children, they couldn't move with the factory, so they had to find other jobs."

"On the way back and forth, I saw a lot of foreigners, even a foreign patrolman with a big cloth wrapped around his head. They said he was a red-headed Indian or a Sikh patrolman. Those women were safer in cars on the road. Ordinary people walking on the road would most likely suffer if they got into a conflict with foreigners. Our area is relatively stable. If you want to go shopping, just play in this area. Don't go too far. If you go too far, I think you can ask the young marshal to send you a car and find a few more people to accompany you for safety."

"My grandmother also thanked me very much, young lady. She made some shengjian and spring rolls for me to bring back for you. They are made by her, and they are different from those bought outside. Please try them."

After hearing this, Gui'er had a better understanding of the world in Shanghai. It was indeed quite complicated. She smiled and said to Ah Cheng, "Thank you. This smells delicious. You can go down and have a rest. Ask Dingxiang to bring me a cup of milk tea. I want to drink it with it."

Sha Yanxiao came back in the evening. Guier told him that she had let Acheng go back to visit his relatives and asked him to find out about the market situation.

Sha Yanxiao nodded and said, "I saw similar things. Although the Japanese have established a demilitarized zone through an agreement, I've secretly observed the surrounding area and they are constantly encroaching, moving in little by little. A war could break out at any time, so we must be prepared."

Gui'er asked curiously, "Since it's like this now, why do we still want to come to Shanghai for the New Year?"

Sha Yanxiao said, "No matter what, there are still many forces here, and the situation is even more complicated now. My father and I have been out and about these past few days and have discovered that some government officials have been secretly in contact with the Japanese, and Director Zhou is one of them."

"Why did they want to contact the Japanese? Was it because they wanted to negotiate with them?"

Sha Yanxiao shook his head and said, "Does an intelligence agency like him need to negotiate with the Japanese? He doesn't have the right to do so. I'm afraid he's thinking that if we don't win the war, he might want to surrender to the Japanese."

Sha Yanxiao asked again: "Did Director Wang go out today?"

Gui'er was stunned for a moment. Because she didn't want to get involved in the dispute between the third and seventh concubines, she hid in the house all day and didn't pay any attention to Yulan and Director Wang.

After hearing what Gui'er said, Sha Yanxiao gave a wry smile and said, "It's okay. I'll ask the housekeeper when we have dinner."

By dinner time, everyone had returned, including Director Wang and Yulan. Marshal Zhang said to Butler Liu, "We're having a party at home in a few days. Please make preparations." Then he said to Director Wang, "Brother Wang, our place is rather simple. I wonder if you're used to it. Please forgive me if there's anything I can't accommodate you with. Were the servants serving you well today?"

Director Wang said with a smile, "Old Sha, what are you talking about? Anyway, I have a son now and everything is fine. I'm too lazy to go out and socialize with those people. In fact, the tricks here are very complicated. I advise you not to get involved."

Marshal Sha smiled and said, "I heard from the servants that you haven't been out all day. I was worried that you would be bored. Let's hold a banquet here tomorrow to liven things up."

Director Wang smiled and said nothing.

Gui'er hesitated whether to tell Song Xichen about the situation in Shanghai, but at the same time she thought that since Xu Wenjie was here too, it would be more convenient for him to move around than herself, so she might as well let him report.

Just as she was thinking about it, Yulan suddenly came to see her. Guier was very surprised. Ever since Director Wang came and learned about Yulan's pregnancy, the two of them have been spending all day together, and Yulan rarely spoke to Guier.

Gui'er still entertained her warmly and asked Dingxiang to bring some snacks.

Yulan smiled and said, "Sister, don't bother. I want you to go shopping with me this time. We want to go to that Sincere Company. Have you ever been there?"

Guier said, "I went shopping a few times when I came here last year. I heard it was quite chaotic outside when I came here this year, so I haven't been there yet."

Yulan said, "Then let's go. Director Wang has to go out for a social event tomorrow, and I don't have anyone to accompany me. We can just go for a walk. Director Wang also brought his own bodyguards, and he even left one for me."

Gui'er thought about it and decided to go to the Dahuchun contact point and call Song Xichen to tell him about the situation there, so she agreed.

After talking to Sha Yanxiao, he also arranged for Ah Cheng to go with him.

The next day, Director Wang asked his driver to drive the car. Acheng sat in the passenger seat, while Yulan and Guier sat in the back seat.

The car drove slowly along the road. Guier saw quite a few foreigners through the car window. Compared with before, there were fewer Chinese middle-class people dressed in suits and ties or silk gowns on the streets. Instead, there were many more ragged civilians and a lot more beggars.

Yulan stared at the towering buildings outside the window with wide eyes. She was very surprised and said to Guier, "I didn't expect Shanghai to be so prosperous. I'm glad I didn't ask my sister-in-law to come along. I was just afraid she would laugh at me for being so petty."