A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

While comforting Zhou Huifang, Guier silently wrote down everything she said.

As soon as she returned to the Sha Mansion, Gui'er told Sha Yanyao everything she heard from Zhou Huifang.

Sha Yanyao smiled and said, "Guier is indeed capable. When the people sent by your second brother arrive, send them to find all of Director Zhou's mistresses. They might be of great help to us. If we can find them and successfully report them to the higher-ups, we won't have to take the risk of assassinating him."

Gui'er felt a little unwilling after hearing this. Director Zhou killed two comrades and broke Manager Liu's leg. She didn't know if Song Xichen was injured. If he was just dismissed in the end, it would be too easy for him.

But she didn't want to show it too obviously, so she just nodded pretending to be happy.

That day, when Gui'er came out of school, Ah Cheng met her and whispered to her, "Brother Qiang has received the people and gold bars from Jiangcheng. The eldest young master has arranged for them to investigate Director Zhou's concubines. There is a banquet at the mansion today, specially for Director Zhou."

When Gui'er returned to the Sha Mansion, she was in a trance as soon as she entered the door. The mansion was decorated with lights and looked very grand. If you didn't know, you would think it was the New Year.

Director Zhou had been invited over, but the person who came with him wasn't Teacher Zhang Yunchu, but a young woman dressed in a flashy outfit. Director Zhou introduced her as his secretary, surnamed Wu. The people at Sha Mansion were curious, but didn't dare to speak. However, the two of them were acting very intimately. Secretary Wu sat next to Director Zhou, legs crossed, her raised toes in red high heels occasionally brushing against Director Zhou's calves, intentionally or unintentionally.

Gui'er was extremely surprised. It seemed that Director Zhou felt that he had already taken control of the Sha Mansion, and it didn't matter even if the people in the Sha Mansion knew that he was messing around.

Madam and Sha Yanyao seemed to turn a blind eye to this, and kept complaining to Director Zhou that they were not welcoming enough.

Sha Yanyao smiled and said, "A few days ago, my brother asked someone to bring some local specialties and wild game from his hometown. Director Zhou will try them next week. Although they are not as good as the high-end delicacies in Nanjing, they are also unique in their flavor."

Director Zhou didn't say anything, but smiled meaningfully.

Soon, the banquet was ready. Director Zhou and Secretary Wu took their seats, Sha Yanyao sat next to Director Zhou, and his wife sat next to Secretary Wu. Director Wang and Yulan were also specially invited.

The banquet was filled with delicacies from land and sea: shark fin, bird's nest, abalone, Sichuan peppercorns, sea cucumbers, and more. Gui'er sat next to Song Tingting and Yulan. Song Tingting usually ignored her, but Yulan was quite welcoming, pulling Gui'er aside and asking her about her life. However, there were some taboos she couldn't ask, so she could only ask suggestive questions like, "How are your studies going?" "Are there any exams?" "How are you getting along with your classmates?"

Gui Er was touched by her genuine concern for her and answered all her questions. Seeing that her belly was now more prominent, she asked, "Sister Yulan, your belly is quite big now. You must be giving birth soon, right?"

Yulan said happily, "It's still a few months away. Every doctor who has taken my pulse said it's a boy. Your brother-in-law has already thought of a name."

After hearing this, Sha Yanyao smiled and said to Director Wang, "Congratulations to you two."

However, Director Zhou's face turned pale when he heard these words. Song Tingting smiled and whispered in Gui'er's ear, "You're courting death. You knew Director Zhou didn't have a son, and he found so many concubines outside just to have a son. Why are you still bringing up such a topic?"

Gui'er had no idea what was going on and could only smile awkwardly. Sha Yanyao took out a small mahogany box and said to Director Zhou, "Director Liu, this is the money my family raised. There are 100 gold bars in total. I hope you will accept it first. We will continue to work hard to raise the rest."

Director Zhou opened the box to reveal a neatly arranged, full-bodied box of small yellow croakers. Director Wang, who was watching from the side, couldn't help swallowing his saliva. After being slapped on the back by Yulan, he turned around and smiled at her ingratiatingly.

The wife raised her wine glass and said to Director Zhou, "What happened before was all a misunderstanding. Our family did do something wrong, but we are new here and don't know the rules. We hope Director Zhou will forgive us. Now that our second batch of money has arrived, we hope Director Zhou can relax the control a little so that we can resume our daily lives. At least Yan Yao can no longer go to work half-heartedly like he does now."

Only then did Guier realize that whether Sha Yanyao could go out sometimes depended on the mood of Director Zhou and the captain of the operations team in charge of surveillance. If he was in a bad mood, he would not be allowed to go out.

Director Zhou looked at the box and the gold bars inside. He picked up two and weighed them, then put them back and closed the lid. He smiled and said, "We're just following the rules. Besides, your family has two mines, so the progress of fundraising is a bit too slow."

When the lady heard this, she became furious.

Sha Yanyao quickly said, "Director Nine, you may not know that all the expenses and government affairs of Fengcheng and Jiangcheng are paid by those two mines. That doesn't mean that all the money from selling the mines goes into our pockets. We've squeezed these 100 gold bars out of our own pockets. Of course, Director Zhou, please rest assured that we will make up the amount you requested later."

Director Zhou smiled and said, "I know you're having a hard time, but I have one thing to correct. It's not the amount I'm asking for, it's the notice of punishment issued by our Revolutionary Committee. Do you think I'm asking for it personally? No."

Upon hearing this, the wife and Sha Yanyao nodded repeatedly and said, "Oh, of course, I was wrong just now. The director has always been honest and has a good division of labor. It's also hard work."

Secretary Wu suddenly interrupted and said, "You know Director Zhou has been working hard, but you didn't even offer him a little reward. Instead, you invited him over for a meal of local specialties. You guys are quite interesting."

Song Tingting suddenly took out a jewelry box and handed it to Secretary Wu, saying, "It's mainly because we've been so chaotic recently that we don't have many jewelry items to show off. Now, I have an item that is very suitable for Secretary Wu. I hope you don't mind it."

Secretary Wu took it and opened it, revealing a longevity lock made of silver and gold-plated with a carved silver weight in the shape of a Ruyi cloud head.

Gui'er's eyes widened. This was hers. Sha Yanxiao had made it for her shortly after she arrived at the Marshal's residence. He'd taken the longevity locket's plate from the Marshal's mansion when he'd blocked a bullet, and it had been hit by a bullet, saving him from certain death. Later, Sha Yanxiao had taken it to a goldsmith to repair it. Gui'er had grown up over the past two years and didn't think it was appropriate to wear it. But she figured that if she ever had to talk to the Marshal about their father-daughter relationship, she could wear it to remind herself that she'd saved his life, so she kept it safe.

He even took it with him when he ran away last time. After he came back, he usually kept it in the closet. Only Dingxiang knew about it.