A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

The next day, Gui'er used the excuse that she was bored at home and wanted to go out for a walk, so Acheng drove her to the neighborhood of Wing On Department Store.

Gui'er went in and took a look around. There wasn't much change. However, there was a new large department store on the same street as Wing On Department Store, a few hundred meters away. It was called Daxin Department Store. It was actually equipped with central air conditioning and a radio station. In addition to news, it also played popular songs. Many passers-by would come in to listen to the latest trends. Moreover, many of the goods inside were discounted. Although it was not known whether they were real discounts or fake, when you saw the huge discounts written on them, you couldn't help but buy some while walking around. It can be said that compared with Wing On Department Store, this one is a more popular shopping mall.

Gui'er walked around inside for a while. She was just bored and wanted to find an opportunity to contact Song Xichen. Unconsciously, she bought some biscuits, malted milk, and other gifts, thinking that she would find an opportunity to visit the brothers Wu Dahua and Wu Dafu.

I finished shopping and was about to go out.

"Wu Guier, Wu Guier."

Gui'er was startled and turned around quickly. A woman wearing a blue plain crepe satin cheongsam and with permed hair was walking towards her.

Gui'er thought she looked familiar, but she couldn't figure out who she was.

The woman walked up to her and saw that she was still standing there in a daze. She slapped her on the shoulder and said, "You've already forgotten me, He Ruizhu."

"What?" Gui'er was shocked. He Ruizhu was originally the same height as her, but now she was a head and a half taller. She used to have some baby fat, but now she looked completely slender. With her hair permed, she looked like a mature woman. But if you look closely, the same eyebrows and eyes as before are still there.

Gui Er smiled bitterly and said, "You've changed so much, I almost didn't recognize you." Suddenly, he noticed a ring on her hand and said in surprise, "Are you married already?"

He Ruizhu nodded: "I am the eldest daughter in the family, and my father is in poor health, so I have to get married early. Have you just returned from Nanjing?"

Gui'er said, "Yes, I just came back yesterday for the holidays. We haven't seen each other for so long. Let's find a place to sit down and have a good chat." Then she took her hand and walked out. He Ruizhu hesitated for a moment and agreed.

The two came to the restaurant area on the second floor of Wing On Department Store and found a dessert shop to sit down. Gui'er ordered two cup eggs, He Ruizhu asked for a glass of banana water, and Gui'er ordered a glass of orange water. They drank and chatted.

Gui Er said to He Rui Zhu, "Your marriage was so hasty. You didn't even inform your old classmates so that I could come and congratulate you."

He Ruizhu smiled bitterly and said, "I originally wanted to inherit my father's legacy and help him run the shop he took over from the Tong family. However, my father always felt that as a woman, I might not be able to do it, so he let me marry a shop assistant who had worked in the shop for more than ten years. There was nothing special. I just invited his parents from the countryside to have a meal, and then went to the county government to get a marriage certificate. We all gathered together and had a lively time. He also lives in my house now."

Seeing her calm, even a little indifferent expression, unlike the others who looked happy or shy, Gui'er couldn't help but feel a little worried. She asked, "So, how are you doing now?"

He Ruizhu looked away and said, "What's good or bad about it? It's just like that. He has completely taken over our family business now. My father trusts him very much. It's just that the parents on both sides are urging me to have children sooner."

"I'm asking if he's good to you."

"Him? He's worked in the store for many years. He worked under my father when he was still the shopkeeper and helped Boss Tong manage the two stores. My father said he was the most honest. Now he is so busy that he has no time to talk to anyone. Sometimes we don't even say a word or two in a whole day."

Gui'er was very worried and said cautiously, "Ruizhu, we are classmates. Maybe what I said doesn't sound nice. Your father trusts him, but he is not your family after all. Besides, even if you two have known each other for a long time, you probably haven't thought about it in this way. In this case, I think you still need to cultivate your relationship. Otherwise, you can go to the store to manage the accounts, and he will handle the external affairs while you take care of the internal affairs. Wouldn't you two spend more time together and talk more?"

"But my father is in poor health, my mother can't take charge, my younger siblings are still young, and my father's health is getting worse. I can't leave for too long a day." He Ruizhu said a little embarrassedly.

Gui'er was really worried about her. She could tell that He Ruizhu's mother was the kind of housewife who couldn't take on responsibilities. She thought for a moment, carefully weighed her words, and said to He Ruizhu, "We've been classmates for many years, so I'm speaking frankly. It would be best if your husband is reliable, but your father's condition is not optimistic right now, so you must be more prepared. You can let your mother take care of the patient. And if you're really worried about anything, have your younger brother and sister-in-law take leave and take turns to stay home. If anything happens, they can come to you at the store. But you must keep the store's accounts in your hands. That way, if anything happens to your father, your family won't be too vulnerable."

After listening to this, He Ruizhu pondered for a long time and said, "You are right. Gui'er, it's been so long since we last met. I'm married now, and I thought I was already an adult. I didn't expect you to be more thoughtful than me. It's true that young ladies who grew up in the general's mansion have more far-sightedness than ordinary families."

Gui'er smiled bitterly and shook her head. "No way! Every family has its own difficulties. I suffered a lot in Nanjing, too. I was almost arrested as a communist."

"Ah, aren't you?" He Ruizhu said a little surprised.

Gui'er was speechless for a moment, feeling a little panicked. Could it be that the news had spread among the people here?

"Why do you say that? If it's the Communist Party, can I still walk around outside?"

He Ruizhu smiled and said, "That's true. It's said here that it's the Song family, the richest family in our city. Didn't you originally work as a servant in their family? Their eldest son was said to have been arrested as a communist, but his parents later paid a large sum of money to redeem him. I thought about how close you were to him when you were a child... Of course, you're definitely not one of them. You're the daughter of the Marshal's family."

Gui'er's heart skipped a beat. She hadn't expected He Ruizhu's guess to be so close to the truth. She quickly said with a smile, "How could that be? In fact, Young Master Song was also wronged. We were also wronged in Nanjing. The real reason behind this was that a high-ranking official wanted to extort money from us. In the end, our family had to pay a sum of money before they were released."