A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

It was Sunday. Gui'er was wandering around the yard bored after breakfast when Sha Yanxiao walked in with a smile and said, "I just heard some good news. Yiman is pregnant."

Gui'er was stunned for a moment before she remembered that it was the eldest daughter of the Marshal's family who had married Marshal Zhang as his concubine not long ago. She was only 20 years old. She didn't expect that she would get pregnant so soon. She couldn't help but sigh.

Sha Yanxiao laughed and said, "Why are you sighing?"

Gui Er said, "It's such a pity that the eldest daughter is only 20 years old and has to marry an old man in his s or s."

Sha Yanxiao shook his head and said, "As long as she gives birth to a boy, she can be promoted to the second wife and become the Marshal's wife. She will then be in charge of the entire Marshal's residence. What's so regrettable about that?"

Gui Er frowned and said, "You're a man, so of course you can't experience this firsthand. Let's put it this way, if Marshal Zhang told you he'd give you all his territory, but you had to marry his 80-year-old mother, would you agree?"

Sha Yanxiao: "This......"

"I do." Suddenly, the Marshal's loud voice came from the door.

The two were startled and quickly stood up to greet him.

The Marshal walked in with a smile and said, "What were you talking about just now? What happened to Marshal Zhang?"

Sha Yanxiao said, "Sister, are you kidding me?"

Gui'er also quickly said, "Yes, father, are we kidding?"

Marshal Sha nodded, sat down with his legs crossed, and said, "You've all heard, Yiman is really doing well. If she gets a boy, the territory over there will be ours in the future. Hahahaha."

Gui'er and Sha Yanxiao were both beside him, laughing along. Sha Yanxiao asked, "Father, why did you come here so suddenly today? Is there something wrong?"

Marshal Sha slapped his thigh and said, "The eighth concubine is also pregnant."

The Eighth Concubine was Tong Yujun's aunt. She had only been married for a few months, and she was pregnant so quickly. This was beyond Gui'er's expectations. But seeing the Marshal so happy, Gui'er had no choice but to say, "Congratulations, father."

Sha Dashuai patted Gui'er's shoulder and asked her to sit down. He looked at her, then turned to look at Sha Yanxiao, and said with a smile, "The principal of Gui'er's school just called and said that Gui'er's grades can definitely jump to the next level. You two are truly the best of my children. Good children."

Gui'er had done well in her final exams some time ago, and when she was injured, the principal came to teach her in person and the content of her teachings already covered some courses in higher grades. She thought that if she could skip a grade, she could finish her studies and leave the Marshal's Mansion as soon as possible, so she went to ask the teacher.

Unexpectedly, the teacher reported the matter to the principal, who then made a special phone call to inform Marshal Sha.

Gui'er quickly said, "So that's how it is. Thank you, father."

Marshal Sha touched Gui'er's head and said, "Guier, you've done a great job. Your father wants to reward you. What do you want? Clothes, jewelry, or toys are all fine."

Gui'er wanted to ask, "I want a bicycle."

Dashuai and Shayan Xiaolong were both stunned for a moment. Dashuai asked, "What bicycle?"

Guier picked up the newspaper on the table and flipped through the photo of the bicycle. She pointed it out to Dashuai and said, "This is it."

In fact, at that time, bicycles were already quite common in big cities like Shanghai and Beijing, but there were not many in their remote area. Occasionally, one or two people would ride one on the street, which would attract the attention of people around them. It was considered a very trendy thing.

Sha Yanxiao said, "You're so small, how can you reach such a high car? Don't let yourself fall."

Gui'er said, "It's okay. I have a way. I'll just ask for it. Our house is too big. I have to arrange a car to go to my mother to pay my respects. It would be much more convenient if I had a bicycle."

Sha Yanxiao still disagreed and said, "If you think taking a car is inconvenient, I can bring you a horse from the barracks and have someone lead it."

"Horses need to eat grass, but bicycles don't. How convenient." In fact, Guier was thinking that if there was any emergency in the future, riding a bicycle would make much less noise.

The Marshal watched them arguing back and forth, patted his belly and said, "Isn't it just a bicycle? I'll send a telegram to someone in Shanghai to help me get one back."

Guier jumped up happily and said, "Great."

About half a month later, after everyone had dinner with the Marshal, a housekeeper came in and whispered something in the Marshal's ear. The Marshal nodded, stood up and said, "Everyone, go outside."

After hearing this, everyone was confused, but they obediently went to the open space outside the house, where they saw a large wooden box.

The Marshal pointed to the box and said, "Open it."

Several guests used crowbars to pry open the lid of the wooden box that was nailed shut.

First, two exquisite wooden boxes were taken out, one large and one small. The large one contained a stack of dresses, about four or five pieces, and the small one contained French perfumes, various foreign skin care products, as well as jewelry, necklaces, earrings, lace gloves, stockings, etc.

The concubines and young ladies were in a commotion and surrounded him in surprise.

The Marshal said, "Take these two boxes to the storeroom and divide them up, then distribute them to each room."

Then he took out a bicycle wrapped in various cardboards from the wooden box.

The Marshal turned around and looked at Gui'er and said with a smile: "Guier, your bicycle is here. Go and see if you like it."

Gui'er was overjoyed and walked forward. After removing the packaging, she wanted to try riding the bike. Sha Yanxiao quickly stopped her and said, "You're still too short. Look how high this bike is. You're only a head taller than it. Wait until you're a little taller before riding it."

Guier smiled and said, "Don't be afraid, I've studied it."

As she spoke, she tried the brakes. The structure of this bike was no different from that of modern bicycles. She recalled the first time she learned to ride a bike as a child. She put one foot on the pedal and pushed back with the other foot, and the bike slid out smoothly.

After she found the feeling, she slowly propped herself up and sat on the seat. Although her feet could not reach the ground at this time, she stepped hard on the pedal on one side, and the pedal on the other side would rise up, just enough to reach her other foot, so she could step on it.

Everyone present was stunned. The Marshal clapped his hands and laughed, saying, "As expected of my daughter, she is as capable as any man."

Gui'er was very happy and rode her bicycle directly back to Sha Yanxiao's yard.

Later that evening, the steward brought a box containing a Western-style dress, a set of pearl necklace and earrings, a pair of silk stockings, and a pair of lace gloves. He said that the Marshal had asked someone to buy them from Shanghai, and that this was a gift for Miss Guier.

Gui'er didn't expect that she would get these things in addition to the bicycle, so she asked, "Are all the others' the same?"

The steward smiled and said, "Of course that's impossible. Madam has the most, two dresses, and the rest are of the same variety. Then there are the newly pregnant Eighth and Fourth Concubines, who have one less dress, but the rest are of the same variety. The other concubines have no jewelry. As for the young ladies, you and the Seventh Young Lady have the same number, the most. The others have either one dress and no jewelry, or just stockings and gloves. The Marshal really cares for Miss Gui'er."

Gui'er said quickly, "Then please tell my father how much I appreciate these things." Then she took out a few copper coins and handed them to him, saying, "Here's some money for your tea."

The manager took it with a smile on his face, thanked the customer profusely and left.