A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

Gui'er was a little touched for a moment. Now she goes to Zhou's house from time to time to help Zhou's mother with acupuncture and prescribes some dietary prescriptions according to her constitution to help her regulate her body. After a period of time, Zhou's mother's health has improved a lot. So the Zhou family now thinks that Gui'er will definitely be a miracle doctor with superb medical skills in the future.

However, Gui'er still had no interest in finding a partner. She quickly said, "No, I don't particularly look forward to marriage. Besides, if something like this really happened, I'm afraid it would arouse my adoptive parents' thoughts. Then they would find me some bad person to marry, which would be troublesome."

The holiday was approaching and the school had another exam. When Gui'er went to the printing room to get the test paper, Xu Wenjie told her that after Manager Liu was released, he asked Manager Zhang to send away Du Laoer, who was sent by Wu Mingqiang. During this period, our comrades visited him from time to time. Now Manager Liu can get out of bed and has recovered a lot. He is preparing to return to Jiangcheng in the next two days.

Ever since Gui'er went to the hospital to see Manager Liu and Manager Zhang told her not to go again, she hasn't been there again and hasn't asked Acheng to go either. She feels it's safer this way.

Now, hearing the news about Manager Zhang and Manager Liu again, I felt very happy and asked, "How will the organization arrange for them after they return?"

Xu Wenjie said, "According to our previous procedures, we must first remain silent for a period of time. We have two options: one is to be sent out of town and continue our mission under a different identity, and the other is to remain and work locally. Manager Liu's physical condition is probably not suitable for travel, and his identity has not been confirmed by the enemy, so it is more likely that he will remain locally."

Gui Er heaved a sigh of relief and said happily, "That's great! I also want to learn medicine from Manager Liu."

Xu Wenjie smiled and said, "Your ambition is good. Doctors are respected in society, and doctors with good medical skills can have access to many powerful people, which is convenient for their work. I support you in studying medicine."

Back at the Sha Mansion that night, Madam and Sha Yanyao were discussing going to a wedding banquet. Gui'er wondered, "Why are we going to another wedding banquet?"

The wife said, "Your sister Yulan is so lucky. She gave birth to a boy this morning. I heard he weighed over six pounds and is very plump. Now Director Wang has a son, and her position as wife is finally secure."

Gui Er was also happy for Yu Lan after hearing this. After all, she had helped her when she was in trouble. She asked Sha Yan Yao, "Is the wedding banquet you are talking about a full moon banquet?"

The lady said, "Yes, but this will cost me a fortune. Yulan is nominally my adopted daughter, so I must at least give her a gift."

Sha Yanyao smiled and said, "Mother, it's okay. I'm in the Military Commission now, so I can still make some money. We just need to gather three or four hundred silver coins to buy gifts, and that should be enough."

The wife smiled and said, "As expected, it's different to be with Director Tian. It's much better than just following Director Wang and getting a fixed salary."

Gui'er was a little puzzled. Sha Yanyao had always been short of money, so how could he suddenly become so rich?

This question troubled her all the time. She still thought about it from time to time when she went to school the next day. Zhou Huifang saw that she looked thoughtful and asked her, "You seem to be worried today?"

Gui Er shook her head and said, "Not really. I just noticed that my eldest brother has become financially comfortable since he joined Director Tian. Is the Military Commission that wealthy?"

Zhou Huifang was intrigued when she heard this. She pulled her out of the classroom and came to a secluded spot in the corridor. She said mysteriously, "You are so careless. How can you say such things in the classroom?"

Gui'er was puzzled: "What's wrong? Did I say something wrong?"

Zhou Huifang smiled helplessly and said, "People like them who work in intelligence are just like the Jinyiwei in ancient times. They have a lot of people to curry favor with. My uncle was targeted because he not only accepted the money given by others, but also took the initiative to ask others for money. He offended too many people, so he was taken advantage of. Generally speaking, as long as you find a big boss and hint that he has been suspected of collaborating with the Communist Party recently, those bosses will obediently pay protection money and spend money to avoid trouble."

After hearing this, Gui'er didn't know how to describe her feelings. Sha Yanyao's family was clearly treated so badly by Director Zhou, but when she turned around, she found herself becoming a person like Director Zhou.

She remembered that Zhou Huifang's father was also on the Military Commission and asked, "Is your father like that too?"

Zhou Huifang waved her hands and said with a wry smile, "How is that possible? My father is a timid man. When my uncle was alive, he wanted to promote him, but he refused. He just worked there as a clerk, not threatening anyone. But he also didn't make any money, because these things require a certain level of rank to do. That's why Director Tian didn't do anything to him when he took office."

Gui'er couldn't help but worry. What if Sha Yanyao followed in Director Zhou's footsteps? She lived with them, so wouldn't she be implicated?

So after school that day, when he returned to Sha Mansion, he talked to Sha Yanyao in a roundabout way, and mentioned Zhou Huifang, saying that his father worked as a small clerk and could not make any money.

Sha Yanyao asked, "Could it be that your classmate wanted to hint through you that I should help her father move up a level?"

Gui'er quickly said, "No, big brother. My classmate is very satisfied with his father's current situation because his family was very scared after Director Zhou passed away. I thought about it. You are also serving on the Military Commission now. Will you offend anyone? You have to be careful."

Sha Yanyao finally understood that Gui'er was trying to hint at him, so he smiled and said, "Don't worry, sister. Zhou's fate was because he went too far and left no room for maneuver. He and I are different. Although the wool comes from the sheep, you can't just pluck the sheep. I understand this principle, don't worry."

After saying this, he touched Gui'er's head and said with satisfaction: "My sister has grown up, knows the ways of the world, and knows how to think."

In the blink of an eye, it was almost time for Yulan's full moon banquet, so the lady went to order some gold, silver and jewelry. The first thing she brought back was a gold and emerald crab brooch, which was cast with pure gold and inlaid with emerald and rubies. The emerald was shiny green and full of water, and the overall workmanship was very exquisite.

Then she returned with pearl-encrusted earrings and a ring set. Three round pearls, each in decreasing size, dangled from a circular gold setting. The ring, also made of gold, featured an oval face with a large pearl surrounded by tiny diamonds, a magnificent and elegant sight. There was also a gold longevity lock, shaped like a cloud and crowned with a bat. The lock itself was engraved with the words "Longevity and a Hundred Years of Life," and the edges were engraved with a continuous spiral pattern.

This was the most generous thing the lady had done since Gui'er met her.

She showed them off to Gui'er and Jinbao and said, "These are all very valuable. There's nothing we can do about it. Your brother-in-law still has some power, so we have to maintain the relationship."