A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

Gui'er walked around the basement and discovered that this secret room was actually located side by side with the basement of the bungalow outside, separated by a thick wall. She listened closely against the wall and could faintly hear footsteps outside, perhaps the servants of the bungalow moving around. This secret room was so cleverly designed, using the bungalow basement as a cover while remaining independent. If one didn't know where the secret door was, no one would have guessed that such a treasure trove existed beneath this ordinary house.

There were some strange boxes stacked in the corner. Opening them revealed bundles of Western medicine and gauze, branded with "Bayer" and "Squibb." Sha Yanxiao must have been prepared, hoarding them for emergencies. Nearby were several boxes of guns and ammunition, tightly wrapped in oilcloth. The barrels gleamed coldly, clearly brand new.

The more Gui'er looked at it, the more alarmed she became. If these properties were converted into cash, they would probably be worth half of Jiangcheng's fiscal revenue. She felt that this wasn't just Director Shen's wealth, it also included the Marshal's own transferred assets.

The coldness and hardness of gold bars, the lightness of silver bills, the warmth of antiques, and the solemnity of ammunition intertwined into a strange atmosphere in this basement.

Gui'er couldn't help but feel a little dazed. She had never seen so much treasure in her life, and she was a little at a loss for a moment.

After sitting on a wooden box to relax, she walked over to the shelves where the banknotes, bank documents related to Shanghai, and paper money were stored and sorted them out. She packed them into a box, which was actually half full.

Her idea was very simple. There was a war going on in Shanghai now, and she didn't know if the bank there could still make the payment. These had to be dealt with as a priority, and it was not easy for her to do it because she was busy with school matters, so she had to hand it over to Wu Mingqiang and Acheng.

Then, in order to appear less conspicuous, she took some gold bars, some silver dollars, and some banknotes printed with Standard Chartered Bank, and put them in a box, a total of two small boxes, which she estimated could be put into the safe.

Then he climbed the stairs with difficulty, carrying a box in one hand, and returned to the cloakroom.

He closed the door and moved the mirror back to its original place with great effort.

Then she took the two boxes of things and put them into the safe in the study, and the safe suddenly became full.

She looked at the time and it was almost 12 o'clock in the morning. She quickly turned off the lights and ran back to the bedroom.

Lying on the bed, Guier thought that she would be very excited and unable to sleep after coming to a new place and experiencing so many things. However, she did not expect that due to the fatigue of the past few days, she fell asleep as soon as she lay on the bed.

The next day, Guier was not woken up until Dingxiang called her.

Ding Xiang smiled and said, "Miss, you've been very tired recently. If I didn't know you had a lot of things to do today, I wouldn't have wanted to wake you up."

Gui'er rubbed her eyes and became a little more awake. She remembered that she did have a lot of things to do today. She had to contact the professor introduced by Sha Yanxiao to handle the admission, make a phone call to report her safety, and deal with the things she found yesterday.

She quickly got dressed, washed up, and went to the restaurant on the first floor.

Wu Mingqiang was already waiting there, and Gui'er was stunned for a moment.

All the decorations here were restored according to Jiang Cheng and his family's house, and Wu Mingqiang sat in the seat where Sha Yanxiao usually sat.

Facing Gui'er's surprised look, Wu Mingqiang smiled indifferently and said, "Good morning, young lady. Did you sleep well last night? This room is much larger and more comfortable than your room in the Marshal's Mansion, right? After the young master informed me that this room would be your bedroom, I rearranged it and turned the original reception room into a study. Then I turned the small study into a cloakroom. Girls, after all, like to buy a lot of clothes. How can they live without a cloakroom?"

Guier smiled and said, "It was indeed quite comfortable. I slept very well. Thank you, Brother Wu. By the way, I have a few things to do today. First, I have to go to school to process my enrollment, and then I need to call my brother. Did you let him know you were safe yesterday? Did you tell him I would be talking to him today?"

Sha Yanxiao smiled and said, "I've already informed everyone in the mansion yesterday. The young master will definitely be at home all day waiting for the call. Miss, after you finish your meal, I'll take you to the post office to make the call."

Gui'er thought for a moment and said, "You should first arrange for someone to take me to the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Hong Kong to find the professor recommended by my brother and complete the admission procedures. Then I will call my brother and report this to him."

Wu Mingqiang nodded and said, "Okay, I'll take the lady there after dinner."

Gui'er finally settled down to breakfast. This was her first breakfast in Hong Kong. It consisted of white porridge and baskets of dim sum, a wide variety of dishes like crystal shrimp dumplings, taro cakes, radish cakes, steamed chicken feet, and steamed beef tripe. These were completely different from what she'd had in Jiangcheng, but equally delicious, and she immediately fell in love with them.

Sister Aying smiled and said, "Butler Wu said that since the young lady is new here, she doesn't know what dishes she likes. To make sure she enjoys the food, he asked me to make a few more dishes every morning. If there's anything she doesn't like, just let her know and we won't make it anymore. Once she gets used to it, we'll rotate the dishes."

Gui Er didn't expect Wu Mingqiang to be so thoughtful, so she smiled and said to them, "Thank you for your trouble."

Wu Mingqiang said, "Miss, you've been in Jiangcheng for so long, you must like Jiangcheng's food. I'll ask Dingxiang to teach Sister Ying how to make some Jiangcheng snacks. But Miss, you still have to adapt to the local food as soon as possible, after all, you'll be staying here for quite a while."

Guier smiled and said nothing. She actually didn't care much about food, but she always felt a little strange in her heart. She felt that what Wu Mingqiang was doing now was similar to what Sha Yanxiao did in the past.

After breakfast, Wu Mingqiang changed into a smart suit before driving Guier to the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Hong Kong.

Yesterday, I hurried from the bus station to my villa; today, I truly entered the city of Hong Kong. Gui Er peered through the car window at the colonial-style spires in the distance, juxtaposed against the neon signs of nearby arcade shops. On Nathan Road, rickshaws and black cars crisscrossed, suited clerks brushed shoulders with laborers in shorts, and Cantonese, English, and Teochew dialect mingled in the shadows of the arcades. The aroma of wonton noodles wafted from street vendors, while newsboys waved bilingual newspapers, shouting out news of the current situation. Zhou Xuan's songs streamed from a gramophone on the corner. This urban landscape was completely different from Nanjing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou.