A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

When Ding Xiang heard this, she blushed and said with a little sadness: "Miss, I am 21 this year."

Gui'er was stunned for a moment. At 21, she was considered a grown-up girl in that era, so she asked, "Oh, then, have your parents at the farm found a good match for you? We have quite a few servants in our mansion. If there's one I like, I'll ask my father to transfer him to Nanjing, or transfer you back to Jiangcheng."

Ding Xiang said hesitantly, "My parents are just managers on the farm. The people they found for me were just errand boys. They're nothing like the He Xiang of the past, who could claim to be Manager Zhao's son."

Gui'er thought for a while and then remembered that Hexiang was a maid in the lady's room. She had been killed by robbers before. This happened many years ago.

She asked, "Why are you suddenly mentioning He Xiang? Didn't she pass away? And who was Mr. Zhao's son promised to?"

Ding Xiang said a little embarrassedly, "Steward Zhao's son was in school. He was actually younger than He Xiang at the time. The Madam insisted on marrying her maid to him. She was actually trying to win over Steward Zhao. After He Xiang died, she didn't look for another one."

Gui'er was moved and said, "Are you thinking of following Mr. Zhao's son? Do you know him?"

Ding Xiang stammered, "I've only seen him these past two days. He's one of the men who came back with Miss Jin Bao. But Miss Jin Bao probably wouldn't like him."

Gui Er was very surprised and asked, "Doesn't Mr. Zhao's son work at the Sha Mansion?"

Ding Xiang said enviously, "Because the Marshal values Chief Steward Zhao, Chief Steward Zhao's son not only went to school, but he also begged the Marshal to set him free. So after he graduated from school, he originally came with us from Jiangcheng, but not long after arriving, he found a job at a foreign company and moved out. He hasn't been affected by the mess in our mansion. I heard that his next plan is to buy a house in Nanjing, get married and have children."

Gui'er thought of the catastrophe that occurred in Nanjing a few years ago when the Japanese arrived, and shook her head and said, "He might as well buy it in Jiangcheng. The family's roots are in Jiangcheng."

Ding Xiang smiled and said, "A good man has ambitions to travel far and wide. He must have the ability to take root in a foreign land."

After listening to Dingxiang's story, Gui'er guessed a few things and said directly, "Do you think this Mr. Zhao is interested? Since he knows Jinbao, I can ask Jinbao. If she hasn't talked to Mr. Zhao yet, I can ask her to act as a matchmaker and ask if Mr. Zhao is willing to meet you. If you two are interested, I can let you go."

Dingxiang was overjoyed when she heard this. She no longer cared about her modesty and kept saying to Guier, "Thank you very much, Miss. You are so kind to Dingxiang."

Although he didn't want to get involved in so many things, he thought about how Dingxiang had served him for so many years. In this era, if no one helped her, she really wouldn't be able to start a family.

There were two old ladies around the lady. I heard that they were brought here as dowry from her parents' home, but they never got married. They were old, and one of them was not in good health. It seemed that she had contracted some illness when her family was arrested last time, and she could not work. The lady found her relatives and gave them dozens of silver dollars, asking them to take them home to live out their days. It sounded good, but it was said that the silver dollars were taken by her nephews and nephews, who said they would use them to build houses and marry wives. The old lady died not long after she went back, and no one knew how she died. When the lady heard about it, she just sighed: It's all fate.

Guier came to Jinbao's room. Jinbao was very enthusiastic and offered her a seat and made tea for her.

Only then did Guier realize that Jinbao had decorated his small room very well. This room was originally where Yulan lived. It was only a single room, but it was quite spacious.

Jinbao bought a curtain to separate the bed from the rest of the room, making it feel like two rooms. She placed some unwanted old stools and coffee tables outside and covered them with tablecloths. These tablecloths were probably bought by her herself, with small lace on them. Although the decoration style of the entire house was different from that outside, it was still very elegant.

Guier smiled and said, "I haven't been here for a few days. The layout of your place has changed."

Jin Bao smiled and said, "The boss of the foreign company was very considerate of the young master and asked me if I had any money to spend and if I needed an advance on my wages. So I asked him for a month's salary. I'm staying at his house now. It's not a long-term solution, but life must go on. My mother used to say that even if we only have one day, we should live a decent life."

Gui'er admired her perspective and said with a smile, "You're such a positive person. I heard from the servants that you've been working for a foreign company and have many suitors. I was thinking of arranging a place for you, but now it seems I don't need to bother with that."

Jin Bao smiled and said, "Those people thought I was related to the Sha Mansion. They thought that by being with me, they could climb up the ladder to the Sha Mansion, so they were ready to make a move. They were as cunning as crystal monkeys and thought I didn't know."

Gui Er was stunned for a moment, but then she realized it wasn't surprising. Jin Bao had experienced family misfortunes and was sold into a brothel. He must have seen these things clearly.

"So what are your plans for the future?" Guier couldn't help but ask curiously.

Jin Bao said, "I don't know why. It's probably because of my age. I always feel that the eldest young lady can't tolerate me. I plan to save some money, then go out to rent a house and find a husband. Of course, if I can find a good one while I'm here, that would be the best. People are good at appearances. Although Shafu is not my home, it does have a good appearance. Ah, I don't mean to say that this place is bad."

Gui'er smiled and said, "It's okay. So, I sent you back these days. Don't you look down on any of the people here? I heard that there seem to be people from the Sha Mansion here. There is a young man named Zhao. His father is the chief steward of the Marshal."

Jin Bao said as soon as he heard it, "Oh, him? He did tell me about it, but he was just a lowly clerk with no skills or connections. He even boasted to me that he was going to buy a house in Nanjing in the future."

Gui Er smiled and said kindly, "It's not necessary to buy a house in Nanjing. His father is the Marshal's chief steward and he's quite well-connected in Jiangcheng."

Jin Bao shook his head and said, "Gui'er, I'm not afraid of you laughing at me. I've been with my father since I was a child. I'm very good at judging people. This person won't achieve anything great in the future."

Gui Er shook her head and said, "Ah! That's how things are in this world. You treat him like grass, but others treat him like a treasure."

When Jin Bao heard this, he quickly asked, "Ah? Are you attracted to him?"