A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

Guier smiled and said, "It's nothing serious. It's just that the buildings are taller and there are more foreigners. During the 128 Incident, our family happened to be here. A lot of people died then. I haven't heard from several of my classmates since. They said they were killed in the bombing."

The car suddenly became eerily quiet. After a long while, Guier noticed that the atmosphere was not right and quickly said with a smile, "But it's okay now. Look how lively it is."

Yulan also smiled and said, "Yes, yes."

The two came to the Sincere Company. Yulan looked up at the huge building with foreign architectural style and was so amazed that her mouth could not close. The two first bought clothes and daily necessities in the department store. Guier herself did not buy much because when she returned to Jiangcheng from Nanjing, Sha Yanxiao had already prepared a complete set of clothes for her to eat, drink and have fun.

Yulan bought the most. Besides clothes, she also bought shoes, bags, hats, scarves, silk scarves, and shawls. She sighed, "The imported goods from Shanghai are so stylish."

Gui'er accompanied her to buy a lot of things. After that, they went to the Tea House upstairs to eat something. Just as they were about to go back, Gui'er said to Yulan, "The Da Hu Chun restaurant across the street has a lot of shengjian (stuffed dumplings) that are quite delicious. I want to buy some to take back. Do you want some?"

Yulan shook her head and said, "I just ate my fill and don't want to move anymore. You go ahead."

Gui'er was overjoyed and turned to walk towards Dahuchun. When she arrived at the counter of the store, she saw a familiar figure, Song Xichen.

Gui'er was about to say something when Song Xichen put his finger between his lips, made a "hush" gesture, and whispered, "Your follower is at the door of the store."

Gui'er subconsciously wanted to turn back, but Song Xichen said, "Don't look back." Then he turned around and ordered, "The kitchen will make a pan-fried pork and shrimp pan-fried dish."

"My family has also come to Shanghai. The situation in Shanghai is indeed very serious right now, and the public security is not good. You must be careful. If there is any emergency, you can call the public telephone booth outside. The newsstand next to the telephone booth is our person."

As he spoke, he handed over two packets of Shengjian (a type of fried dumpling) and a small piece of paper with a phone number on it, and said with a smile, "Thank you for your patronage."

Gui'er was about to take out the money when Song Xichen held her hand and said softly, "I'll treat you to a meal. Go back quickly."

Guier walked out of the store with two packets of shengjian (rice dumplings) and found Acheng standing next to the store door.

Back in the car, Yulan said, "Oh, this is Shanghai shengjian (a type of fried dumpling), I haven't tried it before."

Guier had no choice but to give her a pack.

When they returned to the villa, Sha Yanxiao had already returned. He smiled and asked Gui'er, "Did you have fun?"

Guier said, "It's not bad, except there are a lot of foreigners on the street."

Sha Yanxiao frowned and said, "Shanghai is currently China's most developed port city, and it has a rudimentary industrial system. Those foreigners want to learn from Japan and come here to get a piece of the pie."

Gui'er took out the shengjian that Song Xichen had given her and gave it to Sha Yanxiao. Sha Yanxiao looked at the Da Hu Chun sign on the bag and said, "You seem to really like eating shengjian from this shop. I've seen you buy them often before."

Gui'er felt a little guilty, but she managed to remain calm and said with a smile, "Yes, their soup is juicy and delicious, and they have a lot of varieties. You should try it."

Sha Yanxiao took one, smiled, and said nothing more.

Two days later, the banquet in the villa was finally about to start. Many important people came, including Director Zhou, Director Wang, the two brothers of the fourth concubine, and some people Guier didn't know, but they all looked like high-ranking officials.

Some of them came with their wives, who were busy with social engagements. The fourth concubine also came back with her two children to attend the banquet, but the third and seventh concubines were asked not to appear at the banquet and could only stay in their own small suites.

Gui'er didn't know most of the people here, but suddenly a familiar face flashed by. It was Chen Wenqi. She remembered that Sha Yanxiao had some dealings with him before, but nothing happened. This time, she attended the banquet with her father, Director Chen.

Throughout the entire night, Chen Wenqi tried many times to find opportunities to get close to Sha Yanxiao. Sha Yanxiao was busy entertaining dignitaries, so wherever he went, Chen Wenqi followed him, attracting the attention of some people attending the banquet.

Sha Lili came over and said to Gui'er, "There's another good show to watch."

Gui'er said, "Don't gloat over other people's misfortunes, okay? Second brother is very worried and he's entertaining guests."

Sha Lili said nonchalantly, "What's his problem? My family is really worried. My brother can't even get married."

Gui'er was very surprised. Wasn't Sha Yanwen engaged a long time ago?

She asked, "What's wrong? Has your brother's marriage changed?"

Sha Lili frowned and said, "The elders of that family asked someone to find out about our family. They said that our family only takes advantage of women and suggested that my brother should separate from the family after getting married."

Guier nodded and said, "It's normal to separate after getting married."

Sha Lili sighed and said, "You don't understand at all. Have you ever seen a brother in our family who separated from the family after getting married? Father wouldn't allow it. He said he'd rather find another wife for my brother than split up the family. But we're already engaged to the girl, and if we cancel the engagement, we'll have to fight over the money."

Gui Er said puzzledly, "What's there to argue about? Just take your own things back. We're all wealthy families, so why would we argue over such a small amount of money for the banquet?"

Sha Lili said with a bitter face, "My mother accepted some money from the bride's family and gave it to my uncle to invest in a factory in Shanghai. But after the December 128th Incident, Chinese-owned factories were squeezed out and closed down. But my father would never have paid the money. My mother originally thought we were already engaged, so she stopped trying to maintain a relationship with my father, and we've become estranged over the past two years."

Gui'er was very surprised and didn't know what to say for a moment. After a long while, she said, "So that's how it is. I've been studying in Nanjing for many years now, and I don't know a lot of things anymore."

Sha Lili smiled bitterly and said, "If my brother's marriage falls through, then mine will definitely fall through too. Maybe before long I'll end up like Miss Chen, finding a guy who's just as good as me and running after him."

Gui'er was even more surprised, but when she thought about it, it made sense, wealthy families were always very united.

Gui Er comforted Sha Lili, saying, "Don't be so pessimistic. You're still young, and Third Brother isn't much older either. It wouldn't be a big deal if he found someone new. As for money, why don't you ask Fourth Aunt to talk to Father again? Maybe he's just angry."

Sha Lili lowered her head and thought for a moment, then said, "You're right. It was useful for you to study in Nanjing. It made you more mature."