A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

Gui'er looked around, then took Taohua to a small restaurant and said to the waiter, "One serving of shengjian, please."

The clerk said quickly, "Okay, ladies, are you here to visit relatives?"

Taohua said nothing, lowering her head nervously. Guier smiled calmly and said, "Yes, we originally came here to visit relatives with the adults at home. They went back first, leaving us here for a few days. Suddenly, someone sent a message today saying that our grandmother was not feeling well, so we had to leave quickly. We walked here from the other end and haven't eaten yet. We are a little hungry. We will be on our way after we finish eating. Please help me hurry up."

When the clerk heard this, he quickly said, "Oh, that's what happened! For something like this to happen in the first month of the year, it's truly... Please wait a moment, it will be here soon."

The waiter ran in to urge the kitchen staff, and soon brought out a basket of hot shengjian. Guier said to Taohua, "Hurry up and eat it. Finish it quickly, we have to hurry on our way."

Taohua nodded, looked outside vigilantly, picked up a shengjian and stuffed it into her mouth.

Gui'er had already eaten, so she ate one and drank some tea to replenish her water, and gave the rest to Taohua.

After finishing the meal quickly, Gui'er paid the bill and gave a few extra coins as a tip. Then she said to the waiter, "Young master, could you please help us find a car? It's not very convenient for two women like us to go this late at night."

The guy happily took the tip, nodded quickly and said, "Okay, okay, you two wait a moment." Then he ran out.

After a while, he came back and pointed to the door and said, "Ladies, the rickshaw is waiting for you."

Gui'er quickly pulled Taohua out. The rickshaw stopped at the hotel entrance. She glanced at the driver, who looked quite honest. Judging from his shoes and hands, he must have been pulling rickshaws for years. Only then did she feel at ease and got on the rickshaw. She said to the driver, "We're going to the Wing On Department Store in the city. Something happened at home and I need to hurry back. I'd appreciate your help in driving faster."

The driver said, "Okay." Then he adjusted his position and started to run quickly with the cart.

There were some places on the road where no one lived, so they basically had to move forward in the dark. Taohua held Guier tightly. Guier was also very nervous. She was worried about robbers and that the rickshaw driver would see them as two young girls and have bad intentions. She even quietly took out her pocket pistol, loaded it, and hid it in her sleeve.

Fortunately, there were no dangers along the way. After walking for more than half an hour, we were finally about to enter the city. There were more houses on both sides, and with lights, it was not so scary.

The rickshaw driver didn't say anything along the way and just kept running. Gui'er could see the sweat coming out of his body and felt lucky that the people she met along the way were all good people.

When they arrived at Wing On Department Store, Guier gave a few more copper coins when she got off the rickshaw. The rickshaw driver thanked her happily again and again before turning around and going back.

After the rickshaw driver walked away, Taohua said anxiously, "Guier, aren't we going directly to Dafu's house?"

Gui'er said, "We were delayed on the way here, and I'm afraid they've already left. So, Taohua, I'll wait for you at the dessert shop on the second floor of Yong'an Department Store. Go to Zhenxiufang and tell Shopkeepers Zhang and Liu what happened, and ask them to come over."

Taohua hesitated. Guier realized she was having trouble talking about how she had been victimized, so she said, "You don't have to tell them everything. Just say I asked them to come over because it's urgent."

Then he pressed the pocket pistol into her hand and said, "Use it for self-defense."

Taohua was startled and tried to push him away. Gui'er said, "The reason I asked you to go instead of going myself is because Duanmu Heng had been in and out of Xiuchun Hall in that alley before. I was afraid of running into him, but he has also seen you, so let's be safe."

Taohua then took it, took a deep breath, hid the gun in her sleeve, turned around and walked into the alley where the Zhenxiufang was located.

Guier turned and came to the dessert shop on the second floor of Wing On Department Store. It was approaching the Lantern Festival, and many people came to the dessert shop to eat a bowl of glutinous rice balls, so the shop was quite lively. She found a seat by the window so that she could look out through the glass to see the situation outside.

In order not to attract attention, Gui'er also ordered two bowls of tangyuan and said to the waiter with a smile, "My little sister will be here soon. She should be able to have some, right?"

The waiter smiled and said, "It's the Lantern Festival now, and many customers are ordering glutinous rice balls. You may have to wait a while."

Guier smiled and said, "It's okay."

Soon the dumplings were served, but Taohua still hadn't returned. Guier began to feel anxious, and all kinds of bad thoughts flooded her mind. She was very afraid that Taohua would run into Duanmu Heng on the way. She knew in her heart that the Duanmu family was actually sent by the Japanese to lurk here and build good relationships with local leaders in preparation for taking over Jiangcheng in the future. If they knew what happened in the Marshal's Mansion, she didn't know how they would react. They might very likely take the opportunity to cause trouble. If it really developed like this, she would also be responsible.

As time passed, Gui'er became more and more uneasy. She stared downstairs intently, but she didn't see Taohua, nor did she see the figures of Shopkeeper Zhang and Shopkeeper Liu.

"Gui'er."

Gui'er was startled and turned her head suddenly. It was Song Xichen.

She breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that she was saved, but suddenly she felt aggrieved and tears streamed down her face.

Song Xichen quickly sat down, took out a handkerchief and wiped her, saying, "Okay, okay, don't be afraid. Shopkeeper Liu has already come over and told me that you don't need to go to your brother's place now. I've already arranged for someone to go. Come with me."

Gui'er sniffed, composed herself, stood up, and followed Song Xichen.

Song Xichen pulled Gui'er downstairs. Just as she was about to walk towards the main door, Song Xichen pulled her back and said, "Let's go through the back door."

It was the first time that Gui'er knew that Wing On Department Store actually had a back door. The two of them came out from the back door and arrived at a relatively quiet alley where a car was already parked. Song Xichen opened the door and let Gui'er get in, then he looked around cautiously before starting the car.

The car turned around in the dim alley. Unlike the bustling main street, this place was full of ordinary residents, some of whom had turned off the lights and gone to bed. Guier stuck her head out to look. At first, she could still tell where she was, but gradually, the car drove to a place she had never been to, and she could no longer tell the direction.

After driving for about ten minutes, they finally stopped. Guier got out of the car and saw that they had arrived at a small detached house with a yard. In Jiangcheng, it should be considered quite good and looked like a house where a middle-class family lived.