A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

Sha Yanxiao pondered for a moment and said, "It seems I still need to prepare some more clothes for you."

Gui'er quickly said, "No need. I'm just an adopted daughter. It's not good to dress too conspicuously."

Sha Yanxiao smiled and said, "Do you think the other sisters are worse off than you? They have their mothers to look after them. No matter what, they're better off than a nouveau riche."

Gui'er still didn't want to be too loud, so she said, "How about this? I think what we have now is enough. If we need more, we can wait until we get to Shanghai. If it's really not enough, the styles in the department stores in Shanghai are always more fashionable than here."

Sha Yanxiao smiled: "After all, she is a girl, but you are still thoughtful."

Gui'er breathed a sigh of relief, but she felt she might need to start packing for Shanghai. She counted her clothes and realized that, aside from the two thin cheongsams she'd bought when she first arrived at the Marshal's Mansion, she only had two jackets and two coats. No wonder Sha Yanxiao was looking to add to his wardrobe. But with the two cheongsams and a cape he'd recently made, she had more than enough for a few more outfits.

Moreover, these are high-end goods made by Yunshanglou. The money earned from pawning them in shops is probably enough for a poor family to eat for a year. In modern times, they are definitely high-end orders.

Guier doesn't look particularly eye-catching when she wears school uniform, but if she walks on the street in casual clothes, people can tell at a glance that she is the daughter of a wealthy family. This time Guier went to Shanghai to investigate whether it is suitable as a place to settle down independently in the future. It might not be safe for her to walk on the street wearing these luxurious high-end clothes.

After much thought, Guier decided to go to Wing On Department Store to see if there were any cheaper clothes that she could wear when she sneaked out.

Having made up her mind, Gui'er said to Dali the next day after school, "Brother Dali, let's go to Wing On Department Store. I remembered that one of my socks has a hole in it, and I want to buy a new pair."

When she arrived at Wing On Department Store, she went straight to the children's clothing counter. The salesperson was surprised to see her and said, "Little sister, where are your parents? Everything we sell here is imported. Children can't afford it."

Gui'er was stunned for a moment. She had thought the children's clothing at the Wing On Department Store counter was just ordinary everyday clothes, but she hadn't expected them to be imported. She looked around, pointed at the most insignificant item, and asked timidly, "How much is this one?"

The salesperson thought she was cute and that she was wearing the uniform of Santa Maria Girls' School, so she must be from a well-off family. So he said very kindly, "This one's 30 yuan. Do you want me to show it to you so I can compare it?"

Gui'er quickly waved her hand and said, "No need."

She didn't expect it to be so expensive. Although she received 10 yuan a month, up to now, including what she had saved at the Song Mansion, she only had a total of more than yuan. She would definitely not use the gold bars given by Song Xichen unless it was a life-and-death situation.

After hesitating for a while, she bought a pair of socks. When she was about to go back, she suddenly saw the corner at the corner of the stairs where discounted goods were placed. She remembered that she had bought a roll of royal blue brocade with bamboo leaf patterns here last time, so she hurried over to see if there was anything else she could buy. As a result, she saw a roll of royal blue brocade with bamboo leaf patterns, which was exactly the same as the one she bought last time. They should be from the same batch.

Gui'er remembered that she had promised to make a sachet for Sha Yanxiao but she didn't have the fabric yet, and this color was also suitable for men, so she decided to buy it again.

Dali saw Guier coming out with a roll of cloth and asked, "Why did you buy a roll of cloth?"

Gui'er said, "I promised Brother Yanxiao to make him a sachet. This fabric is quite suitable. Do you want it, Dali? If you want, I can make one for you. I have extra fabric anyway."

Dali said, "I don't dare to accept it."

The next day, Gui'er was in school when her teacher suddenly told her that her family had sent a servant to deliver something to her and the servant was waiting at the school gate.

Gui'er quickly ran to the school gate, only to find it was Zhang Ma. She was surprised and asked, "Zhang Ma, why are you here?"

Aunt Zhang smiled and said, "The eldest young master asked me to come over. He said he remembered that you left some clothes there when you left the Song family, and asked me to bring them over."

As she spoke, she opened a bag she had brought with her. Inside was a long green satin cheongsam with dark patterns and a knee-length short cheongsam with silver and white pearls that Song Xichen had bought for her at Wing On Department Store. There was also a velvet plaid and cotton cheongsam with a high Yuanbao collar. The collar, sleeves and hem were all decorated with delicate lace, which looked very warm.

Aunt Zhang smiled and said, "The eldest young master asked me to make this for you. He said you've grown a bit, and he was afraid the clothes he bought you wouldn't fit. It just so happened that when I saw you last time, he asked me to make it for you. I put plenty of cotton in it. It'll keep you warm in the winter."

Gui'er was overjoyed. The style of this dress was not trendy and the fabric was very low-key, but if you looked closely, you would find that the workmanship was excellent, which showed that Aunt Zhang had put a lot of care into it.

Guier said, "I love this dress so much. Thank you, Aunt Zhang. I really don't know how to thank you."

Aunt Zhang smiled and said, "As long as you like it, I'm glad. The young master has already paid for the clothes. He has now taken over the family business. He is a sensible and generous person, and his subordinates are very convinced."

After hearing this, Gui Er was also very happy for Song Xichen. She said to Zhang Ma, "Go back and tell the young master that I like him very much and am very grateful to him. Please also take care of your health and don't overwork yourself."

Aunt Zhang agreed and left.

Guier returned to the classroom with her bag and took out the new dress. The more she looked at it, the more she liked it.

He Ruizhu and Tong Yujun happened to come to see her. When they saw the cheongsam, He Ruizhu said, "This is the new cheongsam you bought. It looks great. The cotton is so thick. It must be very warm in winter."

Tong Yujun curled her lips and said, "The craftsmanship is nice, but the style is too old. You're not planning on wearing this to Shanghai, are you? Don't do that, people will laugh at you."

Guier smiled and said, "This was made by the old servants at home. They don't know the latest fashions."

Tong Yujun said helplessly, "So I said, this dress should either be bought at Yongxing Department Store or custom-made at Yunshang Building. How can ordinary people wear it if it's made like this?"

Guier smiled but said nothing.

When she was talking to other students, He Ruizhu whispered to Gui'er, "Don't listen to her nonsense. She's the daughter of a wealthy family, and we're ordinary people. Even though you've been adopted by the Marshal's Mansion, I'm afraid you can't compare to a proper young lady. This is good. I don't have any new clothes this winter, and my mother said she would use hers to make me some."

Gui'er remembered that He Ruizhu's father was the head manager of a store in the Tong family. Logically speaking, if the boss became rich, shouldn't he give some bonuses to his employees?

So he quietly asked her, "I heard that Boss Tong got a coal mine. Your father worked with him as the shopkeeper for so many years. Now that he's made a fortune, didn't he give any bonuses or anything to his long-time employees?"

He Ruizhu curled her lips and said, "How is that possible? Not only did my father not get a single bonus, but the boss also said that his store hadn't made any money this year and wanted to reduce his salary. My father told the boss that he wanted to be transferred to the coal mine as a manager, as the pay there was higher. The boss said he needed to think about it and make a decision after the New Year. You know, my mother went to the hospital due to a difficult labor when she gave birth to my little brother, and she had already received her wages in advance from the boss, so she didn't have much money for the New Year this year."

Gui'er was very sad to hear this. She looked at the three pieces of clothing in the bundle and had an idea. She took out the green satin cheongsam with a dark pattern and said to He Ruizhu, "This old one is for summer. It's a little thin now, but I might not be able to wear it next year. I'll give it to you. If you can wear it, take it. If not, pawn it for some money."

According to the price she asked at Wing On Department Store yesterday, the cheapest one was 30 yuan. This one was so well made and made of such high-end fabrics, it must be at least 50 yuan. Moreover, Gui'er had only worn this dress a few times, so it would be worth at least ten yuan at a pawnshop.

He Ruizhu was overjoyed and a little embarrassed when she heard this. She said, "How can I take your things?"

Gui'er quickly said, "Don't mind me. I can't wear this anyway. Put it in your schoolbag and hide it. They might see it later."

He Ruizhu thanked him repeatedly, secretly took the cheongsam and left.