A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

The man named Dagang took Gui'er and Taohua onto a carriage. The two were too nervous to speak. Dagang looked at them like frightened chickens and said with a smile, "Don't be afraid. This is the eldest son of the Song family, the richest family in Jiangcheng, helping the county magistrate to suppress bandits. You haven't joined the bandits and haven't done anything evil, so he will treat you well."

After hearing this, Gui'er quickly said, "Thank you, Uncle Dagang."

Dagang was stunned for a moment and said, "That little girl is quite clever. What's her name?"

Gui'er hesitated for a moment, then said her name here: "Wu Gui'er."

The carriage drove for more than an hour before it stopped. Dagang asked them to get off. After getting off, they saw that they had come to a side door. Guier looked around and saw that the building in front of them could not be seen from end to end. It should be a very large building complex. As it was dark, it was even more hazy.

Dagang knocked on the copper ring on the door a few times. An old woman opened the door and said, "Dagang, you're back? Where's the young master? What's going on with these two little girls?"

Dagang said: "The young master is still dealing with the bandit suppression. He rescued these two little girls and will place them at home for now."

One day the old woman held her forehead and smiled bitterly, saying, "The young master is here again. I don't know how many small animals and people he has to rescue from home every day. It's really troublesome." She took a closer look at Gui'er and Taohua and said, "Look, this one is still injured."

Dagang smiled and said, "Auntie Zhang, you have a keen eye. I'll leave it to you." Then he turned and left.

Aunt Zhang was stunned for a moment, not knowing that she had fallen into his trap again. She smiled helplessly, turned around and said to the two of them, "Come with me." Then she led them to a room that looked like a large bunk bed. There were already several young girls sleeping there. She pointed to the two seats closest to the bed and said to them, "These two seats are for you two. Rest first tonight." Then she went to get some medicine powder and applied it to Guier's wound.

Although Gui'er didn't know what the powder was, she was cured after all. Otherwise, she was really worried about inflammation and infection. You know, in the old society, many external injuries were incurable due to inflammation and infection. So she thanked Zhang Ma repeatedly, saying, "Zhang Ma, thank you, you are really the most compassionate person besides the young master."

Aunt Zhang was amused by her and said with a smile, "You are quite talkative with your little mouth."

The girls sleeping in the same room saw them and gathered around curiously to ask about their origins. Taohua was about to speak when Gui'er spoke first, "We were kidnapped by the bandit Long Ye. Fortunately, the young master rescued us, so we are willing to work like slaves to repay him."

After hearing what they said, the girls all said, "Our Mr. Song family is really kind-hearted. You are lucky. Just stay here well." After that, seeing the wound on Gui'er's head, they thought she was beaten by bandits, and they all comforted her and said that she would definitely get better.

A group of little girls chattered there for half the night before they finally got tired and went to rest.

The next day, the two felt embarrassed to sleep too late, so they got up early in the morning, intending to help with some work. However, before they started working, Aunt Zhang came over in a hurry and called them, and took them through winding corridors and aisles to a magnificent hall.

Guier had an illusion for a moment, as if she had returned to her original world, because the furnishings of this magnificent hall were so modern, with crystal chandeliers, marble floors, and leather sofas, it looked like a modern European-style building.

Aunt Zhang stepped forward respectfully and said, "Master and Madam, I have brought them here."

Gui'er came to her senses and found that there were two middle-aged people, a man and a woman, sitting on the sofa in the middle of the hall. The woman was probably in her early 50s, wearing a velvet blue cheongsam, with a round face and a plump figure, a pair of phoenix eyes, and thin lips. Although she was a bit old, she still had charm. The man had a big backcombed hair, bright eyes, and wore a satin long gown. He was holding a civilized walking stick in his hand, looking very majestic.

On the sofas on both sides of the hall sat a young man and woman, one on each side. The man was in his early 20s and looked a bit like the young master in military uniform last night, but with round eyes and a smile on his lips. He was wearing a yellow plaid suit and looked more lively than the young master. The girl had long hair with a bow tie and a fashionable dress. Except for the retro style, she was no different from a modern girl, except that she wore a round pearl necklace around her neck and lambskin leather shoes on her feet. You could tell at a glance that she was the daughter of a wealthy family.

"Are they the two? They look like two little kids. How old are you?" Mr. Song spoke.

Gui'er imitated the dialogue on TV and said, "In reply to Mr. Song, Taohua and I are both nine years old."

"Nine years old? They are so thin, I thought they were only five or six years old?" The lady on the side interrupted.

At this time, a servant came in from outside and said, "Master, the eldest young master is back."

Soon, a tall figure walked into the hall. Gui'er looked up and saw that it was the majestic soldier from yesterday. He walked into the hall, glanced at Taohua and the others, sat down on the sofa and said, "Father, Mother, why did you pull them out here?"

"Do you still have the law? Why did you bring such a young child back home?" Mr. Song said, knocking his stick.

"Then they have nowhere to go. I've asked around, and they know there's a famine in their hometown. The harvest is poor, and many farmers and tenants have fled. If they're sent back now, they'll probably starve to death." The eldest young master said slowly.

"I asked you to inherit the family business, but you insisted on becoming a police chief. You spend all day catching thieves and suppressing bandits. You even brought so many people home. Do you really think our family runs a charity?" Mr. Song said a little angrily.

Gui'er felt like laughing when she heard this. If this happened in modern times, wouldn't it be like a rebellious son with a grumpy father? The sense of authority she had just felt as the eldest young master suddenly disappeared by half.

"Father, my brother is kind-hearted. Don't you and mother often go to the orphanage to see the children?" The second young master, who had been silent on the side, spoke.

"Yes, why don't we send them to an orphanage? They are too young, and I feel bad about letting them do heavy work in our house," said Mrs. Song.

Taohua and Guier looked at each other, feeling a little uneasy about being sent away again. Guier thought about it in her mind and she seemed to have read in a book before that the orphanages in the old society seemed not to be very perfect. Some even colluded with some bad guys to sell the girls there to black factories or something.

Thinking of this, she quickly knelt down and said, "Master Song and Madam Song, we are already nine years old. We also want to help farm in our hometown in the countryside. We are able to do farm work. Please take us in. We don't want any wages. When we find our families, we will let them thank you handsomely."

Guier knew that if she said something to this extent, it would be difficult for the people in the Song family to refuse. In the old society, the most important thing was to save your life first. It would be most advantageous to live in a wealthy family, especially one where the servants all praised the master for being kind and good.

As expected, Miss Song said: "I just need someone to help me clean the room. How about letting this little girl go to my room?" Then she pointed at Taohua. Although Taohua was thin, she had round eyes and a little baby fat on her face. She was really as cute as her name, no wonder the lady liked her.

Taohua quickly knelt down and kowtowed, saying, "Thank you, Miss. Thank you, Miss."

"As for this girl with such a big scar, what's your name?" Mrs. Song asked.

Gui'er hurriedly said, "My name is Gui'er." She knew that she had such a big scar on her face. Although a maid in a wealthy family did not need to be particularly beautiful, she had to have a pretty face. So she thought that she could help in the kitchen. She believed that cooking skills were similar no matter what era.

"Let her clean my room." The eldest young master suddenly said. As soon as he said this, everyone in the room showed surprise.

"Hey, big brother, didn't you say you didn't need a woman in your house?" The second young master teased.

"She's not really a woman, that's settled." He said, then stood up and walked towards the door.

Gui'er was at a loss for a moment. She looked at the eldest young master and then at the people in the room, not knowing what to do.

The eldest young master walked to the door and saw that Gui'er didn't come over, so he turned around and called out, "Guier."

Gui'er didn't care about anything else. She bowed to the master and the mistress and followed the eldest young master.