A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

Gui Er frowned and said, "Little Wu, you know my second brother is famous for cracking down on opium and casinos. As one of his subordinates, how could you open a casino without permission? If this gets out, wouldn't my brother's reputation be affected?"

Wu Mingqiang smiled and said, "Miss, I have no choice. The Young Marshal asked me to gather information and control the various groups in Jiangcheng. If I don't open a casino, where can I get information? As the saying goes, when the water is too clear, there will be no fish. The Young Marshal also knows this."

After hearing this, Gui'er didn't know what to say, especially since she came to ask for help this time.

Wu Mingqiang asked someone to bring some more snacks and said with a smile, "Although it's noisy and messy here, the pastries made in the kitchen are still good. Miss, please try some."

Guier picked up a butterfly cake and tasted it. As expected, it was fragrant and crispy. She smiled and nodded and said, "It is indeed delicious."

Wu Mingqiang was overjoyed and quickly said to his men, "Go, tell the kitchen to prepare some more and let the young lady take it away."

Then he winked at Ah Cheng, who nodded, walked out and closed the door.

Wu Mingqiang smiled and said, "I heard that the young lady asked me to find work for the two young masters. I am very honored to be entrusted with such an important task. Look, my hotel has so many people and is in need of manpower. Could they condescend to come here?"

When Gui'er heard this, she shook her head and waved her hands, saying, "No, no, the environment here is too complicated. Of course, it's not that I don't trust you, but I don't trust those people downstairs. As the saying goes, it takes ten years to learn good things after a day of bad behavior. My brothers and the others are all honest people from the countryside, so I'm worried."

Wu Mingqiang pondered for a moment, nodded, and said, "Indeed, there are too many people here, which is unworthy of the status of the two young masters. Then I know a boss whose family runs a grain store. They seem to need someone to guard it and keep accounts. I wonder if the two young masters..."

When Guier heard it was a legitimate shop, she quickly said, "Sure, they can do it."

Wu Mingqiang was very happy to hear this and said, "Then I will tell the boss of the grain store that the two young masters can go to work at any time."

Gui'er was confused: "Don't they need to meet the boss? What if the boss doesn't like them?"

Wu Mingqiang patted his chest and said, "I introduced him to you. How dare he look down on you?"

Gui'er smiled, but she always felt uneasy in her heart. Wu Mingqiang was now acting like a gangster boss. She didn't know whether Sha Yanxiao was aware of what he had done. She regretted asking Wu Mingqiang for help rashly.

But now it was too late to back down, so she had to agree on a time and place with Wu Mingqiang, and then ask the two brothers Wu Dahua and Wu Dafu to go over to work.

When she and Acheng left, they went through the back door, but they could still hear the people talking inside.

"That woman just now, Boss Wu seemed very polite to her. Who is she?"

"Shut up! If you want to live, don't talk nonsense. Boss Wu is so respectful, he must be someone important. Don't get yourself into trouble and bring trouble to everyone else."

"Could she be his woman? That figure, that little face, and skin as white as snow."

Guier frowned.

Wu Mingqiang said quickly, "Miss, don't be angry. I'll go teach him a lesson later. They're all opium smokers or gamblers. Although they're good for nothing, they know all sorts of news about the city's various sects and all kinds of people. I need to use them to gather information."

Gui'er smiled and said, "It's fine as long as it's convenient for you to do things, but don't get too close to these people. I don't think they are good people. They gather together for profit. If the benefits are gone, they might rebel. Isn't that dangerous?"

Wu Mingqiang nodded and said, "Miss, you are thinking long-term. I will pay attention to it."

She only breathed a sigh of relief after she got on the rickshaw and left Chunlai Restaurant.

Ah Cheng waited until the rickshaw had gone more than a mile before apologizing to Gui'er, "Miss, it's my fault. I didn't know it was in such a state. There wasn't any gambling there before."

Gui Er smiled and said, "That's all I can do. Brother Wu said he has to rely on this method to get information. I won't go there anymore. Oh, by the way, let's go to Daxin Department Store first. I want to buy some cloth and take it to my brother's place."

So she went to the department store and cut a few feet of homespun and floral fabric to make a few clothes. Then she remembered the sachets she had promised Sha Yanxiao, so she looked for some better fabrics suitable for boys. Looking up, she saw a roll of navy blue brocade with a peacock pattern. It seemed particularly suitable for Sha Yanxiao. She asked the price, and it was quite expensive. She had already spent a lot of money in the past two days to help Taohua and the others, but she didn't want to use something too bad for Sha Yanxiao, so she shamelessly asked the clerk, "Can I have half a foot of this brocade?"

The saleswoman smiled and said, "You want to make handkerchiefs, sachets, or ties? Sure, I'll cut them for you right away."

Gui'er breathed a sigh of relief and quickly said, "Thank you for your help." After hearing what the clerk said, she realized that half a foot of cloth could indeed be used to make many small things. She decided to use the half foot to make these things and then give them all to Sha Yanxiao. After all, he was really good to her.

After buying the fabric, I went straight to the furniture workshop of the Wu Dahua brothers.

Last time they knew about the back door, they went through it instead of the main street to avoid attracting the attention of the neighbors.

It was Wu Dahua who opened the door. He asked curiously, "Girl, why did you go through the back door? It would be much better to go through the main door. The road is wider and easier to walk. This back door alley is narrow and uneven. Be careful or your shoes will get dirty."

Gui'er shook her head and smiled. This Wu Dahua man was honest and caring about herself, but he was a little tactless. He didn't even notice the situation last time.

She smiled and said, "I'm afraid you have guests in front of you, so go in and talk."

I walked into the living room and looked outside, and sure enough, there were still no guests in the yard.

She took out the cloth she had bought, put it on the table and said, "I bought some cloth, you can use it to make clothes later, and last time..." When she was about to speak, she suddenly found Taohua winking at her, and thought to herself: Could it be that she doesn't want her two brothers to know that she asked her to help find a job?

So he changed the subject and said, "The last time I came here, I saw that you didn't have many customers. And now the population is going to increase. How can we survive without income? So I asked someone to help you find a job as a guard and accountant in a grain warehouse. Would you like to try it?"

Wu Dafu and Wu Dahua were surprised when they heard this and said, "Really? That's great."

Wu Dahua said, "I'm not good at accounting, but I'm definitely no problem keeping watch. Anyway, there's no business in the workshop right now. We've both been trying to find other jobs, but we've been searching for ages and haven't found any. There's no hiring anywhere."