A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

In the car, Sha Yanxiao said, "The workmanship of the clothes made by Shopkeeper Zhou seems to be just as good as those made at Yunshanglou. Why are they so cheap?"

Gui'er quickly said, "Oh, this Shopkeeper Zhou was introduced by Shopkeeper Zhang. He said he occasionally went to Zhenxiufang to buy embroidery pieces. I heard that Shopkeeper Zhou was the senior brother of the shopkeeper of Yunshanglou. Many years ago, he went to Shanghai to open a tailor shop. However, it seems that he has returned in the past two years. Maybe business in Shanghai is not good?"

"The senior brother of the owner of Yunshang Tower?" Sha Yanxiao paused, drove the car silently, and said nothing more.

Gui'er secretly observed his expression. Feeling something was wrong, she quickly asked, "Brother, what's wrong?"

"I heard a rumor that the senior brother of the owner of Yunshang Tower was originally going to inherit Yunshang Tower. But he seemed to have some connection with those revolutionaries. He ran away when my father was about to arrest him."

"This must be fake. How can he, who runs a tailor shop, be related to those revolutionaries? Legends are just legends." Gui'er blurted out to excuse Shopkeeper Zhou. After she finished speaking, she felt something was wrong. She shouldn't have said it because Sha Yanxiao was the Marshal's son. If he wanted proof, he could just ask the Marshal.

She looked at Sha Yanxiao's face nervously, thinking rapidly in her mind.

After a long while, she said cautiously: "Oh, I see that Shopkeeper Zhou has a miserable look on his face, and his business is not very good. He has nothing to do with the revolutionaries, brother, don't you think? He is now making wedding dresses for Taohua, but he must not let anything weird happen. I heard that it is most taboo to do these things before getting married if there is any accident, which will be regarded as a sign that this marriage is not suitable." After she finished speaking, she looked at Sha Yanxiao nervously, observing his expression.

Sha Yanxiao smiled and said, "I'm not interested in these things. As long as he doesn't have any negative impact on local security, that's fine. I've always been disgusted by these internal struggles. What time is it now? The country is in crisis, why would you still think about these things? But I can probably guess why he came back here."

Gui'er felt relieved at first, but then her heart began to tremble again. Feigning curiosity, she asked, "Can you guess why he came back from Shanghai? Do you know him?"

Sha Yanxiao smiled and said, "I don't know him, but wasn't my eldest brother once, when he and his family came back for vacation, suddenly pulled by Director Tian to Shanghai for a mission? It's said they achieved remarkable results back then, busting many underground CCP dens and even receiving praise from the Chairman. If this Shopkeeper Zhou just returned during that time, it's very likely that he's been wanted by Director Tian's men and is fleeing back to avoid blame."

"That's different from what I heard. I heard that during the January 28 Incident, their shop was not far from where the Japanese bombs dropped. The fire caused by the bombs burned down the shop, and Manager Zhou's wife died. That's why he came back here in despair."

Gui'er didn't care about that anymore and quickly made up a lie that she thought was manageable to cover up the situation first. She thought she would find a way to slip away later. She asked Shopkeepers Zhang and Liu to notify Shopkeeper Zhou to move.

The next day, Sha Yanxiao was still planning to send Gui'er to Taohua's place. Gui'er smiled and said, "I've been busy with Taohua's wedding these days and can't go to help out at Manager Liu's pharmacy. I still have to tell them. How about this? I'll go to Zhenxiufang first to tell Manager Zhang and Manager Liu, and then go to Taohua's place. I want to take her to the department store to buy some useful things today."

After hearing this, Sha Yanxiao smiled and said, "Well, but you're going to spend a lot of money this time. The money probably isn't enough. I have some money here for you to spend." As he said that, he picked up a small bag of silver dollars and handed it to Gui'er.

"Thank you, brother." Gui'er didn't bother to refuse. To make Taohua's post-marriage life easier, she had no choice but to accept it. She felt deeply grateful for Sha Yanxiao's kindness to her. But what if Sha Yanxiao refused to come when the time came to choose a side? She couldn't help but feel melancholy at the thought.

Shopkeepers Zhang and Liu were a little surprised by Gui'er's sudden arrival. Shopkeeper Zhang asked, "Aren't you busy with Taohua's wedding these days? How did you find time to come here? If you're busy, you don't have to come."

Gui'er: "Yes, I was just about to come over to tell you. I got Taohua some tonic medicine a few days ago and put it in the drawer in the inner room. I wonder if it's still there. Shopkeeper Zhang, can you come in with me and help me look for it?"

"Oh, you wrote the prescription yourself. Then I have to see if it's correct." Shopkeeper Liu heard this with interest and followed him in.

As soon as she entered the inner room, Guier looked outside nervously.

Shopkeepers Zhang and Liu then realized something was wrong and quickly asked, "What happened?"

Gui'er said, "Sha Yanxiao found out about Shopkeeper Zhou and said he was a former revolutionary who fled to Shanghai to avoid arrest by the Marshal. Is that true?"

Shopkeeper Liu was stunned for a moment and said, "He even knew about this. Shopkeeper Zhou hadn't officially joined our party at the time, but he was very close to some of our comrades. He was afraid of being implicated, so he went to Shanghai and moved with our comrades. After that, he officially joined our party. Could it be that he recognized Shopkeeper Zhou yesterday?"

Gui Er sighed and said, "He doesn't even know Shopkeeper Zhou. It was only when I mentioned Shopkeeper Zhang and said he was the senior brother of the shopkeeper of Yunshang Tower that Sha Yanxiao brought this up."

Upon hearing this, Shopkeeper Liu turned around and blamed her. Shopkeeper Zhang said, "How could you be so careless? You knew the child was living in the Marshal's Mansion, yet you still told her all this. Now look what's going on." Turning to Gui'er, he asked, "What are you going to do with Sha Yanxiao?"

Gui'er quickly said, "That's not the most important thing, because Sha Yanxiao has always hated internal strife. He said that the national crisis is about to begin, and there should be no more party disputes. He said so yesterday. But he also mentioned something else. He said that Sha Yanyao was dragged by Director Tian to Shanghai on a business trip. In fact, it was to eradicate our party's underground stronghold. During that time, they were even commended by the higher-ups. He said that if Shopkeeper Zhou returned to Jiangcheng from Shanghai during that period, it was because he escaped after being notified by Director Tian and his men in Shanghai. So I think Shopkeeper Zhou is no longer suitable to stay here and needs to be moved as soon as possible."