A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

Gui'er went to the restaurant on the first floor to prepare for dinner, and at this time Wu Mingqiang also came back from outside.

He plopped down across from Gui'er and said, "Miss, I just went out to call the Marshal's Mansion. The people there said that the young master went to the military camp and hasn't returned yet. Isn't there a fight going on over there right now? I'm afraid the situation is tense and the young master is quite busy. The butler said he would pass on the message to the young master."

Guier nodded.

At this time, Aying's wife came out with the food. She served two bowls of rice, one in front of Gui'er and the other in front of Wu Mingqiang. Gui'er was stunned for a moment.

Ding Xiang was beside her and said, "Sister Ying, what's wrong with you?"

Mrs. Aying was stunned for a moment, then quickly said, "That's where Manager Wu usually eats."

Gui'er suddenly realized that Wu Mingqiang had been sent by Sha Yanxiao to Hong Kong several times to arrange property matters. All the people here were his people. It would not be a good idea for her to conflict with him. Although she did not have any class concepts in her heart, Wu Mingqiang's sudden master-like behavior made her feel a little uncomfortable.

She thought about it and decided to wait and see what the situation was.

I smiled and said, "Xiao Wu is tired too, let's eat together."

Wu Mingqiang smiled and said, "Miss, you are still so caring."

Gui'er smiled, feeling a little uncomfortable in her heart. Wu Mingqiang would never speak like this in the past.

She pretended to be concerned and asked, "Brother asked us to come to Hong Kong this time, but I'm afraid we won't be able to return anytime soon. Little Brother Wu, have you settled your belongings, relatives, and friends in Fengcheng?"

Wu Mingqiang smiled and said, "Although time is a bit tight, I don't have a family to support, so it's just a matter of a word to make arrangements. I simply reduced the price of the house and sold it off. But now it seems that this is a good idea. If the fighting breaks out in Shanghai, everyone will say that the Japanese will advance along the railway line, and Jiangcheng will be unable to escape by then. Fortunately, I sold it. Otherwise, I don't know how much the price will drop."

"Oh, the last time I went to your house to take care of your injuries, there was a young lady with you. Didn't you bring her along?"

"I just felt sorry for her and left her in my house to take care of her. Now it's inconvenient to go to such a far place with a woman, so I gave her some money and let her settle down on her own."

"Miss, this is what I think." Wu Mingqiang drew a circle in the air with his chopsticks, as if planning something, and said, "We're new here. Hong Kong is a land with all kinds of people. We need to establish ourselves here as soon as possible and make a living. Look at Chen De, he's a court official with many years of experience. I plan to open a pawn shop and let him run it. What do you think?"

"Well..." Gui'er didn't expect him to put the question before her so quickly. For a moment, she didn't know how to respond. After thinking for a moment, she said, "My brother sent me to Hong Kong mainly so that I could study medicine. I don't understand anything else, and he didn't explain it to me. How about this? I'll go ask him tomorrow and see what he means."

Wu Mingqiang smiled and said, "That's natural, that's natural."

That night, Guier washed up early, told Dingxiang that she was tired and wanted to go to bed early, and then sent her away.

After Dingxiang left, Guier turned off the lights in the bedroom hall and walked into her own bedroom. She recalled the location of the secret room that Sha Yanxiao had told her, and looked everywhere in the room for the bookshelf, but couldn't find it.

What should I do? Gui'er panicked and rushed around like a headless fly, looking here and there. She even knocked on the floor tiles and walls, but there was nothing there.

When she finally found it, she was tired, sweating profusely, and sat down on the ground.

No, I still have to calm down.

Gui'er thought about Sha Yanxiao's words again. The bookshelf should be in the study. She stood up from the ground and cheered herself up. She went to the study again and looked for it. There was indeed a bookshelf in the study, but it was against the outer wall. The other side of the wall was outside, so it was impossible to dig a secret passage.

She then moved all the things against the wall in the room and looked carefully again, and knocked along the wall everywhere, but still found nothing.

Suddenly, her eyes fell on the wall clock in the study. The clock was thin, about the size of a plate, and not like the traditional clockwork clocks that were common in this era.

Guier found a stool, stood on it, and took down the wall clock. She discovered that it was actually a battery-powered wall clock. On the back of the clock, there were two very old batteries, which should be considered a rare item in this era.

She took another look at the place where the clock was just hanging and found a hole that looked like a metal keyhole. Guier quickly took out the key Sha Yanxiao gave her and inserted it. It was just right. She was overjoyed and quickly turned it. Suddenly, a slight sound of metal gears turning came from the room.

There was a protrusion along the grain of the brick under the wall clock. Guier opened her eyes wide and quickly used her hands to pull at the protruding part. She found that it was actually the door of a safe. There was an iron door inside that door with a rotary password. Guier tried it with her birthday and it actually opened.

She was about to be happy, but when she opened it, it was empty.

That’s right, how could such a huge fortune of Director Shen be contained in a small safe?

I can only look for it again.

Guier walked around a few times and confirmed that there were no other secrets in the study. She came to the living room of the bedroom and thought about it. It was unlikely to be here. The orientation was wrong. There were rooms on both sides, so it couldn't be a secret passage.

So she went to the bedroom again. She had searched several times before but couldn't find it. She thought her thinking must be wrong.

Gui'er looked at the layout of the bedroom. It was separated from the living room by a wall. The living room was on the other side of the wall where the head of the bed was. If there was a secret passage, it should be on the other side of the room, but in this direction, there was only a bathroom and a cloakroom.

Guier thought about it and felt that the bathroom was unlikely because it was damp due to moisture. The secret room must be dry. She judged that it should be in the cloakroom, so she walked in.

This dressing room is not big, with wardrobes on three sides and a full-length mirror with a wooden frame against the wall. The design is quite similar to that of a modern dressing room.

She opened each wardrobe and found that there were already some clothes inside, all of which were new dresses, coats, sportswear, leather shoes, as well as scarves, hats, and shawls. Although there were not many, the styles were complete and they were all in the colors that she usually liked to wear.