A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

Guier came directly to the hotel from the bookstore on the first floor. Acheng took her to a room in a more secluded location and knocked on the door.

Wu Mingqiang opened the door and saw Guier, and quickly let her into the house.

Gui'er saw Manager Zhang sitting on the bed in the room at a glance. It was just a few months since they last met, but Manager Zhang had a lot of white hair on his head. His face used to be rosy and radiant, but now he seemed to have lost his energy and his cheeks were a little shriveled.

Shopkeeper Zhang also saw her, was stunned for a moment, then took two steps forward and hugged Guier.

Gui'er was deeply distressed. In her heart, Shopkeeper Zhang was one of the few female elders in the world who treated her well. Holding back her tears, she asked, "Shopkeeper Zhang, how did you become like this?"

Shopkeeper Zhang said, "Ever since your master disappeared, with no trace of him, I've been worried every day. I also have to manage two shops during the day, which is really tiring. Then, Madam Zhang from the Song family came over and mentioned that Young Master Song had heard in prison that Old Liu had been arrested by the government in Nanjing. I was alone and didn't know what to do. Later, I heard that your family was implicated and that you were trying your best to rescue him. I thought he would be able to get out with your help, so I kept waiting. I didn't expect that now that you have been released, they still won't let Old Liu go."

Gui'er was stunned for a moment: "Brother Xichen, um, has Young Master Song been released?"

Shopkeeper Zhang said, "Yes, he was released yesterday. Madam Zhang said that he was given several hundred gold bars. Your manager Wu told me to come and help rescue Lao Liu, but I don't have that much money."

Gui'er took her hand and comforted her, "Manager Zhang, don't worry. I'll figure out a way to deal with the money. Just cooperate with me when the time comes."

Then he turned to Wu Mingqiang and asked, "Little Wu, have you found the person who pretended to be Manager Liu's relative?"

Wu Mingqiang nodded and said, "I found it. Miss, please wait a moment."

Then he walked out. Although Gui'er and Manager Zhang had a lot to say, Ah Cheng was guarding outside the door, so they could only shake hands with each other, smile and nod.

After a while, Wu Mingqiang brought in a man. Guier saw that he was about 40 years old, about the same age and height as Manager Liu. He was a little fat and had a wealthy face. He was wearing a silk gown, cloth shoes with thousand-layer soles, and a melon-shaped hat. He looked like a businessman or a shopkeeper.

As soon as the man entered the room, he bowed and said to Gui'er, "Miss Gui'er, you probably don't recognize me. Back then, I came to the mansion with our young lady. Later, when the young master released me, I had family in Shanghai and couldn't leave them, so I chose to return to Shanghai. I used the money the young master gave me to do some small business, barely making a living, but I couldn't make a fortune. In the past two years, because the Japanese came, business has been difficult. My wife gave birth to a boy and a girl in succession. Just when I was worried, Brother Qiang said there was a job here, so I handed my business over to you and hurried over."

Gui'er looked at him and couldn't recognize which of Ji Yiru's servants he was. She nodded and said, "Thank you for taking the trouble. What's your name?"

The man bowed, smiling broadly, and said, "My name is Du Lao Er. Of course, I'm pretending to be Shopkeeper Liu's brother, so I'm Liu Lao Er now. Don't worry, young lady. I've been doing business in Shanghai for a few years and have dealt with many people in the government. I can still tell the difference between good and bad."

Wu Mingqiang said, "I also found a man who works at the mine and rarely shows up to pretend to be his assistant. Adding Zhang the manager should be enough."

Gui'er nodded and said, "If that's the case, then let's proceed as soon as possible. I'd like to trouble you to take good care of Manager Zhang while he's here."

Wu Mingqiang smiled and said, "Don't worry, young lady."

After that, Gui'er said goodbye to Zhang the shopkeeper and returned to Sha's house. As soon as she entered the house, she heard Song Tingting getting angry at the servants. She wanted to avoid trouble, so she quickly went upstairs and hid in her room.

Dingxiang came to bring him milk, and she asked Dingxiang what had happened and why it was so noisy?

Ding Xiang said, "The eldest young lady has been getting angry for no reason lately. It doesn't matter what the matter is. She gets angry for the slightest reason. Today it's because the cucumbers the kitchen lady pickled for her weren't sour enough."

Gui'er was baffled. "When did she start liking this? She has a typical lady's taste for food. She even said she only eats abalone, shark's fin, and bird's nest."

Ding Xiang smiled and said, "It's true. Everyone suspects she's pregnant, but no one dares to say it. You know how powerful she is. She'd hide even for no reason, let alone now."

Gui Er was already fretting over rescuing Manager Liu and didn't want to bother with anything else, so she said, "Don't worry about him, Mother and Big Brother will handle it."

"Neither the Madam nor the Young Master knows."

Gui'er was puzzled: "Didn't anyone tell them? Mother is at the house every day, how could she not know? She's making so much noise that the house is about to be blown up."

Dingxiang frowned and said, "Ever since that incident was resolved, Madam has told her personal nurse that she's exhausted physically and mentally, doesn't want to deal with these matters anymore, and just wants to enjoy her retirement. The Young Master leaves early and comes back late every day, and even when they're at the mansion, the two of them never spend more than an hour together. We all suspect that Madam's hysterics are just for the Young Master's sake."

Gui'er said, "If that's the case, we shouldn't interfere in other people's affairs. Just do your job."

Dingxiang said, "Yes." She turned to go out, but stopped at the door. She turned back and said to Guier, "Miss, there is one more thing. Miss Jinbao always has a man to see her off when she comes back these past two days."

Gui'er was stunned for a moment, frowning and asking, "What's going on? Who are these people?"

Seeing that Gui'er was willing to listen, Dingxiang immediately perked up and described them vividly: "They were all in their early 20s, sometimes early 30s. They wore suits and ties, but they didn't look rich. Their suits were wrinkled and I don't know how long they've been worn. The soles of their leather shoes were worn out. A brave servant went to ask her about them and said they were colleagues at the foreign company."

Gui'er said, "Oh, so that's how it is. Jinbao is not young anymore. It's normal for her to want to make her own connections and find a husband. You're eighteen or nineteen, right? Have your parents in Jiangcheng helped you find a husband? If they do, I'll give you a few silver dollars as a dowry."