A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

Ah Cheng was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said, "Okay, my eldest brother passed away last month, I'll go back and see him now, thank you, Miss."

When Gui'er heard this, she quickly said, "Oh, your eldest brother passed away last month. Why didn't you tell me? I should have let you go back to attend the funeral then. I, I have some money for the funeral."

Ah Cheng waved his hand quickly: "Miss, you don't have to be polite. The young master has already given it. I know your income is limited, so you don't need to give more."

Gui Er felt very guilty: "It's all because of those spies during this period. In fact, if you had told me at the time, I would have let you go."

Ah Cheng smiled and said, "The reason why I didn't go back then wasn't entirely because I couldn't leave. At the beginning, my elder brother and I were both trying to make a living in the Ji family's gang. I didn't have to follow our young lady to marry here, but the Ji family asked for a high price. My parents wanted to find a wife for my elder brother, so they forced me to agree. I knew that they were selling me off to let my elder brother get married, and my elder brother did have children. I was lucky to meet a young master here who treats his servants well, so it's okay. In the past few years, my family found out that I was doing well here, and they asked me to go back many times. I knew that they just wanted me to get money, so I didn't want to go back. Until last month, they sent someone to say that my elder brother had passed away and asked me to go back."

Guier knew that it was quite common for poor families in this era to sacrifice other children in order to keep the family line going. After all, Guier herself was sold because the family did not have enough food, and then Wu Dahua and Wu Dafu were driven out by their father because their eldest brother got married and the family could not afford to support so many people.

Gui'er didn't know what to say, so she could only say politely, "The dead cannot be resurrected. Don't be sad. Go back and take a look."

Ah Cheng said gratefully, "Thank you, Miss. I'll go pack my things right away."

At this moment, Ding Xiang next to him suddenly asked: "Brother Cheng, are you coming back?"

Gui'er thought about it and realized that it made sense. Now that his brother had passed away and the family had lost its pillar, they would probably ask him to go back. So he said, "That's right. Your brother has passed away. If you don't come back, I'll go talk to him. I think he'll agree and give you some wages then."

Ah Cheng was also stunned when he heard this. He said, "I want to go back first. My father is still alive, and my brother has two sons. I think it doesn't matter whether I go back or not."

Guier nodded and said, "Okay, then you should be careful on the road."

Dingxiang said quickly, "Brother Acheng, don't leave in such a hurry. I'll go to the kitchen and steam some buns for you to take on the road. I also made a pair of insoles, which will make you more comfortable when you are on the road." After saying that, she ran to the kitchen to prepare without waiting for Acheng's answer.

Gui'er had never seen Dingxiang so attentive to anyone before, and she wondered if Dingxiang had fallen for Ah Cheng. However, Dingxiang was not young in this era, and if they were mistaken, both parties would be embarrassed. She decided to be cautious and wait and see.

After Ah Cheng left, logically speaking, the other thugs and servants in the courtyard could still follow Gui'er in and out, but Gui'er wanted to go find Manager Liu alone. If possible, she also wanted to meet Song Xichen.

She told Sha Yanxiao that the security in the city was much better now, and that it would be quite conspicuous for her to travel in a rickshaw with a thug by her side, so she could carry a gun with her.

Sha Yanxiao hesitated for a moment, but finally agreed, but he asked Guier to tell him where she was going when she went out.

Guier quickly agreed.

Early the next morning, after breakfast, she told Sha Yanxiao that she was going to see Manager Liu, and then took a rickshaw to Ren'antang.

It turned out that Ren'an Hall was located on the city's busiest street, not far from Wing On Department Store and Dah Sing Department Store. A gilded plaque graced the blue brick entrance, and two black lacquered wooden doors were always open. Inside, a tall counter, crafted from rosewood and varnished to a high shine, was lined with tin medicine jars and neatly stacked bottles with gold labels.

The back wall was lined with multi-tiered medicine cabinets, hundreds of small drawers labeled with the names of medicinal herbs, their vermilion lacquer exuding a calming presence. The shopkeeper, wearing a navy blue jacket and reading glasses, presided over the counter, while several assistants busied themselves dispensing medicine and serving customers.

There were two rectangular tables in the middle hall, and two doctors were sitting there, busy taking patients' pulses and examining them. Behind them was a small compartment with a curtain drawn. When patients needed to take off clothes for a physical examination, the doctors would ask them to go into the small compartment and lie down on the bed.

There was a constant stream of customers coming and going in the pharmacy: a lady in cheongsam was waiting with a prescription in her hand, the herbalist was whispering with the shopkeeper about the quality of the herbs, a rickshaw driver came to buy plasters while holding his injured waist, and the shop assistants were walking around, responding loudly as they got the medicine. It was a very busy scene.

Guier immediately spotted one of the doctors on duty, none other than the shopkeeper Liu. He wore a half-new silk gown and a melon-shaped hat. He looked more respectable than when he was a traveling doctor or the shopkeeper. He was concentrating on taking the pulse of a 60-year-old man who was being supported by his family.

She slowly walked into the pharmacy, and the clerk came up to her and asked, "Miss, do you want to get some medicine or see a doctor?"

Guier pointed at the shopkeeper Liu, and the clerk immediately understood and said with a smile: "Oh, so you want to see Doctor Liu to check the certificate. Then you have to wait a moment. Please sit aside first."

Guier nodded, found a stool nearby and sat down for a long time.

As soon as she sat down, she heard someone whisper, "Is this girl also doing that kind of thing? I've noticed that Liu seems to have a lot of dancers and prostitutes coming to him for treatment. I don't know where he used to practice medicine, so why did he end up attracting those people?"

"I heard that the pharmacy used to be near a brothel, so it had a lot of that kind of customers. But he's quite skilled in this area, he's a true gynecologist."

"That's right. Ever since he came to our store, we've actually had more customers."

"Tsk, I wouldn't hesitate to make this kind of dirty money."

"Come on. You're not even qualified to practice medicine, how can you possibly earn that?"

Guier turned around and saw two guys who were helping to prepare and pound the medicine, and who might also be apprentices, gossiping quite loudly, but the shopkeeper didn't actually stop them.

At this time, Shopkeeper Liu finished his consultation and looked up to see Gui'er. He said happily, "You're here."

Guier stood up and deliberately said loudly, "Master, are you used to doing this here?"

When the people around her heard this, they all looked at her in surprise. Shopkeeper Liu smiled, turned to the shopkeeper and said, "Shopkeeper, it's noon now. I want to go out for a meal."