A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

After finishing the meal, Gui'er secretly breathed a sigh of relief and was about to return to Sha Yanxiao's yard with the doll. As soon as she got there, she would take the miniature camera out of the doll's head and then find an excuse to send it to Zhenxiufang.

As soon as he walked out of the main dining room, Duanmu walked up quickly and said with a smile: "Guier, this is the doll I gave you. I didn't expect you to like it so much. I'm very happy."

Gui'er was stunned for a moment. She didn't notice this at all. She just chose this one because the doll had a big head and it was convenient for hiding things.

Sha Yanxiao also heard this and his face instantly turned very ugly. The Eighth Concubine fanned the flames beside him and said, "Although Gui'er is shy, there is affection between the two of them. Look at her holding the doll given by Master Duanmu and refusing to let go."

Gui'er's face flushed red and she stared with her eyes wide open, not knowing what to say for a moment, because there was a row of dolls in her room, some given by Sha Yanxiao, some by Wu Mingqiang, and some by Song Xichen. She didn't think of this when she chose, she just thought this one was the most suitable, so she took it and transformed it.

The third concubine also fanned the flames and said, "Look at this doll, it's really well made. It looks like it's imported. No wonder Gui'er likes it. Our Xiao Zhang doesn't have this blessing."

Gui'er suddenly had an idea and said with a smile, "Third Aunt, I took this doll because one of my classmates' parents gave her a younger brother. I have so many toys, so I wanted to give her one. I'll give it to her after dinner. I'm too lazy to go back to the courtyard to get it. My little nephew, if you like it, you can pick one or two for him in my room later."

By saying this, he could explain why he took the doll while eating, and he could also express that he didn't like the doll given by Duanmu Heng, and he could even give it away.

After she finished explaining, Gui'er saw Sha Yanxiao's expression soften a little. She turned to him and said, "Brother Yanxiao, I'm leaving first."

Sha Yanxiao nodded. Gui'er was afraid that something might happen again, so she quickly walked out of the main courtyard.

When they arrived at the door, Ah Cheng had already prepared the car. Gui Er opened the door, got in the car and said to Ah Cheng, "Let's go to Zhenxiufang."

Ah Cheng was stunned for a moment and said, "Aren't you going to your classmate's house? You just said you wanted to give her a doll."

Gui Er gave a bitter smile and said, "That was just an excuse. I had forgotten that this unfortunate doll was a gift from Duanmu Heng. I'll ask Shopkeeper Zhang to put it away for me later."

Ah Cheng said nothing more.

Gui'er came to Zhenxiufang. Shopkeeper Zhang saw her from afar and ran out in a hurry. Gui'er was puzzled.

Shopkeeper Zhang said, "Did something happen to the child? You look nervous."

Gui Er suddenly realized that she had been so nervous that she was almost losing her composure. She quickly whispered to Zhang, "It's okay. Let's go in first. I've brought the things."

When I entered the shop, I found that Zhen Embroidery Workshop was doing very good business today, and several embroiderers were waiting in the shop.

Gui'er was holding a doll and wearing silk with fur lining exposed at the collar and cuffs. She was very different from the embroiderers who brought embroidery pieces to exchange for money. They all looked at Gui'er curiously, and it was very abrupt that the shopkeeper Zhang ran out of the store to bring her in.

Guier quickly said to the shopkeeper Zhang, "I'll go to the inner room to help mortar the medicine first. You receive these people first." Then she walked into the compartment inside.

She quickly took the camera out of the doll's head, then found a loose brick and pulled it out. This was where Shopkeeper Zhang and Shopkeeper Liu usually kept the documents to be transferred. Guier put the miniature camera in it, then put the brick back in, and went back to put up the cover.

After finishing all this, she listened carefully. Several embroiderers outside were bargaining with Shopkeeper Zhang. One of them even asked Shopkeeper Zhang, "Shopkeeper Zhang just walked in. Is that young lady your relative?"

"Hey, how can this be my relative? It's this young lady's mother, who's in poor health. The young lady is very filial, so she came to learn how to make medicinal food from us, Old Liu. Since there are so many people in the store, she can't show up in public, so she just sat next to me."

"Oh, that's really filial. Which family is she from? I think she has a small figure and a pretty face." Guier knew that it must be the older embroiderer who said that.

"Sister Ma, you're not thinking about getting a matchmaker for your hard-working man, Da Niu, again? Can you please stop daydreaming? Just looking at the clothes that young lady is wearing, it's enough to feed your family for a year. And you're still dreaming of her becoming your daughter-in-law. What can you offer her?"

"Ah, bah! What nonsense are you talking about? I just thought this little girl was smart, and when she walked in just now, she even nodded to us, so polite. Come on, isn't it said that the new emperor wants free love? Does free love require money to marry?"

"What new emperor? It's the Republic of China now, so we have to call him Chairman. The free love the Chairman talks about means that the man and woman have to be attracted to each other and there can be no coercion. Your Danniu is just a laborer working at the docks. How could he have the chance to attract attention? Where would he find it? Hahaha."

Gui'er rolled her eyes as she listened inside. She turned her head and glanced at Liu's Pharmacy, where there were also many customers.

She suddenly thought that Duanmu Heng knew this place. What if he followed her here?

"Please stop joking around. The young lady has very strict upbringing and doesn't allow outsiders to see her. Look, she won't come out even though you're all here. Okay, I'll take all the embroidery pieces for today. You can go back quickly. Sister Ma, this is your wages. Aunt Liu, this is yours. Bring me new embroidery next time."

Several embroiderers took the money happily and walked away chattering.

Gui'er walked out when she heard no more sound. She saw a pile of embroidery pieces on the table. She picked them up and took a look. Some of the embroidery was not very good. The mandarin ducks were embroidered as ducks. It was probably because Manager Zhang accepted all of them in order to get rid of them quickly.

Shopkeeper Zhang smiled and said to Gui'er, "You don't have to pay attention to what they say. Opening your door to do business is bound to cause gossip. However, you can also learn a lot of things, which makes it easier to gather intelligence."

Gui'er nodded, glanced around, and told Zhang about how she had taken the photo of the Duanmu family. Then she said to Zhang, "I can't take this doll back. Please help me deal with it. You can burn it. I can leave the camera in its old place."

Shopkeeper Zhang nodded, walked to the pharmacy next door, and said to Shopkeeper Liu, "Old Liu, Director Song, the medicine package is ready. Please give it to him."