A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

After picking up the second young lady's convoy, they entered the city. Gui'er was surprised to find that this city did not seem as prosperous as the city under Marshal Sha's jurisdiction. The width of the road was only half of their city, and there were no lanes at all.

As the convoy passed through the most prosperous area of the city, they saw crowds of ragged vagrants on both sides of the road. The shops on both sides of the street were also very old shops with very old decorations. The doors were all covered with boards, the oldest kind of boards, unlike their city which had new department stores like Wing On Department Store and new entertainment venues like the Shanghai Ballroom.

There were rarely any cars on the road. When their convoy passed through the street, people stopped to watch, but because they were escorted by military vehicles, no one dared to step forward.

Guier saw that those riding in rickshaws on the street were often chased by homeless people begging for money. The people sitting in the rickshaws did not dare to pay any attention to them. As long as they moved their hands slightly, a large group of people would immediately run around the rickshaws, and some would even block the rickshaws and refuse to leave, which would turn into open robbery. The scene was very terrifying.

Gui'er frowned and said to Sha Yanxiao, "Why does it feel so uneasy here?"

Sha Yanxiao smiled and said, "This place is poor, but it's a major transportation hub with a train station and a bus station, so many refugees have flocked here. We're in a remote area, but we have two coal mines and an iron mine, which is much better than here. Our coal is shipped here and shipped to various places via the train station here."

Only then did Guier finally understand the conditions of the city she had lived in for so long. She was puzzled, "Since our coal is transported through here, why don't they improve the road? Look at how bad the road was when we got here—it was all dirt."

Sha Yanxiao was surprised that Gui'er was actually interested in this, but he also told her with interest, "We deliberately didn't build the road. Even if we didn't build it, so many refugees would still pour in. If the road was built, they would all run to our side. And father also deliberately left the bandits there a way out, so that they would prevent the refugees from entering our city."

Sha Yanxiao pointed to the refugees gathered outside on the roadside, their eyes fixed on their convoy. He said, "Over there, we've mobilized businesses to donate money to open porridge factories, creating livelihood opportunities and turning refugees into self-reliant people. Look at this place. If things continue like this, the refugees will just become thugs."

Gui'er asked, "Then why doesn't Marshal Zhang open a porridge factory like we do and assign them to work?"

Sha Yanxiao sneered, "Marshal Zhang has been governing this area for over a decade, but he's done nothing but make money. Every year, we pay him a lot of money so that our coal can be shipped smoothly through the train station here."

So that was it. Gui'er instantly understood why the Marshal wanted to marry his three daughters to Marshal Zhang. On the one hand, it was to please him, and on the other hand, if one of the daughters gave birth to Marshal Zhang's son, the two families would be relatives, which would naturally make things much easier. However, judging by Marshal Zhang's treatment of the second daughter, she probably didn't appreciate it.

At this time, Sha Yanxiao said, "Look, it's just ahead."

Guier saw through the car window that there was a bungalow in front of her. There was a plaque above the door with the words "Train Station" written on it. Many people were coming in and out of the door of the train station. There were several rickshaws parked outside the door and some porters with shoulder poles waiting to be hired to carry luggage.

The convoy arrived at the train station. Gui'er was about to open the door and get out when Sha Yanxiao said, "Wait a moment, don't get out yet."

Gui'er was just wondering when she saw soldiers get out of the police car and drive away everyone at the station entrance. Then, soldiers from one car stayed outside to keep watch while soldiers from another car walked into the station. A moment later, the adjutant came out of the station, walked to Sha Yanxiao's car window, saluted, and said, "Young Marshal, everything is ready."

Sha Yanxiao nodded and said, "Okay, let's arrange for him to get in the car."

The adjutant went to ask the servants on the military vehicle to move the things down.

Sha Yanxiao also got out of the car and said to Gui'er and the others, "You can get out too." Then he went to the car in the middle, opened the door, and asked the Marshal to get out.

Gui'er and Sha Lili got out of the car and found Sha Erfeng still sitting alone in the car. Sha Lili was too lazy to care about her and went to find her brother Sha Yanwen. Gui'er had to quickly call Erfeng's two personal maids to support her.

Led by the Marshal, everyone walked into the station. Guier found that the station was really simple. There were two windows for buying tickets, and some wooden benches were placed for people waiting for the train to rest. There was a chair next to a door, and two people sat there to check tickets. After checking the tickets, they walked out and there was a platform outside.

Of course, the Marshal and his companions did not need to have their tickets checked. Soldiers stood in a row to separate them from ordinary passengers. When they arrived at the platform, the area had been cleared. Guier saw the servants put their luggage in a special carriage. There were also two servants in plain clothes with guns on their waists who were responsible for guarding it. Although Guier herself only had one box, the others should have a lot of things, because the entire carriage was filled to the brim.

After they got on the bus, the two cars of soldiers that followed them turned around and went back.

They should have been sitting in first-class seats because the rooms were separated by one another. This was Guier's first time riding a train in this world and she felt very novel about everything. She found that the doors on the train were made of wood, and the tables and chairs were all made of wood, and the floor was covered with carpets. Sha Yanxiao opened the door of a suite and led Guier in. Guier took a look and saw a window, two leather sofas, a table, but no toilet.

Gui'er had no choice but to ask Sha Yanxiao: "Where is the toilet? I need to go to the bathroom."

Sha Yanxiao said, "Go out and walk to the end on your left. I'll take you there."

Gui'er was embarrassed and quickly said, "No thanks." After using the restroom, she came out and found that the ordinary carriage next door was full of people sitting on the rows of wooden benches with backrests facing each other. The aisle was also full of people standing. The ordinary carriage and the luxury carriage were separated by a door, which was locked. There was a uniformed staff member standing by the door on their side.

Gui'er walked past a room with an open door and found that it was the room of the Marshal, his wife, and the eldest young master. She greeted them with a smile: "Father, Mother, Big Brother."

Seeing that it was Gui'er, the Marshal smiled and said, "Guier, are you settled?"

Gui'er said, "I've settled in. I just came out to relieve myself."

The Marshal's room was two or three times larger than their suite. It even had a bed, a dressing table, a sofa, a coffee table, and super large windows. It was a bit like the rooms in modern luxury tourist trains.

However, the Marshal and the others had no intention of letting Gui'er in to sit down, so Gui'er tactfully said hello and left.

Halfway through the journey, I saw Sha Lili throwing a tantrum from afar. It turned out that according to the arrangement, the fifth and sixth concubines and their children were in one room, Sha Yanxiao and Gui'er were in one room, and Sha Yanwen and Sha Lili were in one room. It was just right, but the second young lady and her two maids showed up temporarily, and the housekeeper who was traveling with them wanted to arrange the second young lady to Sha Lili's room. Sha Lili was throwing a tantrum.

The housekeeper said with a big smile on his face, "Look, Miss Seven, the fifth and sixth concubines each have two children, and there's no room for them anymore."

Sha Lili was about to say something, but when she saw Gui'er coming over, she stopped immediately and said with a movement of her lips, "I don't care. I don't want to be in the same room with a lunatic."

Erfeng stood aside blankly, supported by her two maids, both of whom had confused expressions on their faces.

Gui'er knew that the housekeeper did not arrange the second young lady to stay in their room mainly because he did not want to offend Sha Yanxiao. She felt very sympathetic towards the second young lady, but she was not familiar with her and did not know what Sha Yanxiao meant, so she did not say anything and only told Sha Yanxiao after returning to her own compartment.

Sha Yanxiao went out with a frown on his face. When he came back a while later, Gui'er asked, "How is it? Which room did you put her in?"

Sha Yanxiao said, "There's no room left. Let's put her with the servants." Gui'er said, "She's in such high spirits now. Is it okay for her to sit with outsiders?"

Sha Yanxiao said, "I'll ask the housekeeper to check on it from time to time. It should be fine. You must be tired from the car ride. Take a rest first."