A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

Dingxiang smiled and said, "Then you still need to learn it. But thank you for giving Brother Acheng this opportunity. We are very grateful and will definitely take good care of this pawnshop. Actually, we know your intentions."

Dingxiang turned her head to look outside and said softly, "Chen De is Wu Mingqiang's man, and Wu Mingqiang came to Hong Kong first. Now that the young master is not by your side, and he is prone to acting on his own and being arrogant, someone needs to keep him in check."

Gui'er smiled; she hadn't expected Dingxiang to be so clever.

Suddenly she recalled that when she asked about Jiang Cheng, the young master of Ren'an Hall, at the shop, his expression seemed a little off. He glanced at Wu Mingqiang and Acheng with a slightly nervous look. Could it be... that he had something to worry about?

Gui'er checked the time; it was still early. She changed her clothes and said to Dingxiang, "I need to go to the newspaper office."

Dingxiang said in surprise, "Now? Acheng isn't here."

Gui'er wanted to go by herself, so she smiled and said, "It's okay, I go there often anyway. I can just call a rickshaw and I'll be back before dinner."

Then, she went out and hailed a rickshaw. Once she got in, she told the driver the address of Ren'an Hall. She even wore a small hat to cover her face.

Arriving at the entrance of Ren'an Hall, we found it to be an arcade building, slightly larger than Juzhen Pawnshop. The facade featured Western-style glass windows, gleaming clean, displaying glass medicine bottles labeled "Aspirin" and "Rendan" in both Chinese and English. A black lacquered sign bore the gilded characters "Ren'an Hall," with a red cross plaque hanging beside it.

Pushing open the door, the air was filled with the aroma of alcohol and herbs. The counter was made of dark hardwood and was divided into two sections: Western medicine and Chinese medicine. The Western medicine section had brown glass bottles with labels printed in foreign languages; the Chinese medicine section had drawers labeled with red tags such as "Angelica sinensis" and "Astragalus membranaceus," and the shopkeeper was weighing the medicine with a steelyard, the scales of which gleamed under the light.

The shop assistant wore a white coat, and the medicine packets were wrapped in straw paper and tied with a red string. A scale was placed in the corner. Sometimes laborers would come to buy mercurochrome, and sometimes ladies in cheongsams would come to get imported cod liver oil. The sound of abacuses mingled with Cantonese and English, busy but not chaotic.

Gui'er couldn't help but marvel; this was in no way inferior to the flagship store in Jiangcheng. It seemed that the young master was quite capable. Moreover, even though the pharmacy was facing a crisis, stepping into this pharmacy revealed a thriving scene, showing no sign of the financial turmoil it was experiencing.

As soon as she entered the store, a pharmacy clerk came up to her and asked, "Miss, what medicine would you like to order?"

"Oh, I'm here to see your young master. Tell him my surname is Sha, and that I'm from the same hometown he just met."

The waiter looked her over curiously, smiled, and said, "Please wait a moment," before turning and going into the inner room.

After a while, the young master and his wife came out from inside and said warmly to Gui'er, "Miss Sha, I guessed you would come."

Gui'er smiled and said, "I think the young master seemed to have something he couldn't say at the time. We are all from the same hometown and are in different places. You might as well speak your mind. Could it be that something serious has happened to my family?"

The young master smiled and said, "It's not convenient to talk outside. Please come in and sit down so we can chat."

His wife warmly led Gui'er into the inner room, which was a reception room with a square table and a bed in the corner. It was the kind of bed used for medical consultations, with a curtain that could be drawn in front of it. It seemed to be used for both receiving guests and seeing patients.

Gui'er couldn't wait to ask, "Young Master, was there something you couldn't say back then?"

The young master said, "My father's letter said that Fengcheng and Jiangcheng have fallen. The young marshal personally led the army to resist, but because the strength was too disparate, they retreated after a few days. Now Fengcheng and Jiangcheng have been taken over by the Japanese army. Fengcheng was the main battlefield and was more damaged, which is why things are a little better. I don't know where the army has retreated to."

Although Gui'er had known this would be the outcome, she still couldn't believe it when she heard the news with her own ears. She hurriedly asked, "What about my brother?"

"I'm not too sure about that. The city was in chaos back then. Without the army and police, nobody could take care of anything."

Gui'er frowned deeply, her mind in turmoil. She knew it was very likely true, but she also hoped it wasn't.

"Master, go and get Father's telegram and show it to Miss Sha. It's nothing shameful anyway," said the young mistress.

"Oh, yes, Miss Sha, please wait a moment."

The young master went out, and came back in a while later, handing Gui'er a piece of paper in his hand.

Gui'er quickly unfolded the document, which read: "Your son has learned that Jiangcheng has fallen. Although the young marshal led the army in a valiant resistance, it was to no avail. The army has now withdrawn, the enemy has sealed off the city, the streets are in chaos, shops are closed, and the once bustling market is now desolate. The enemy is searching the streets, forcing officials and gentry to take up their posts. Your father has feigned illness and is lying low to avoid their attacks. The second batch of medicinal herbs is difficult to transport due to the blocked roads. I have entrusted Liu Guigen with funds to take to Shanghai, instructing him to telegraph you as soon as he arrives at the concession. Purchase the herbs immediately upon receiving the funds. Later, the whole family will plan to break out of the city and flee to Hong Kong, as per your instructions. Prepare your documents immediately upon receiving this telegram. Your father."

After reading the short passage, Gui'er felt dizzy and disoriented. Jiangcheng had fallen. She had read about the history of the War of Resistance against Japan and knew that the fall of a place meant immense suffering and loss of life.

Song Xichen, Sha Yanxiao, Manager Zhang, Manager Liu, Wu Dahua, Wu Dafu, Miss Zhang, Peach Blossom, and the other servants of the Marshal's Mansion whom she saw every day in the past, even though she wasn't familiar with them, her colleagues from the hospital, and her former classmates from school—their faces flashed through her mind like a revolving lantern.

"Miss, Miss Sha. Are you alright?"

Gui'er came to her senses and saw the young master and his wife looking at her with concern.

She realized she had lost her composure. She wasn't familiar with this family and didn't want to make it too obvious, so she quickly smiled and said, "I'm sorry, I didn't expect such a big change to happen. I'm a little overwhelmed. Thank you so much for telling me, young master and madam. I have to go now."

“Miss Gui’er, we are from the same hometown, why be so formal? By the way, I haven’t introduced myself yet. My name is Lin Zhidong. This is my wife, He Xiuxiang. We are both in the same boat, so we should help each other out. I should say that Miss, you’ve already helped me by asking the pawnshop manager to give me more money today, and I am very grateful.”

"Mr. Lin, you're too kind. I should be thanking you. I've troubled you a lot today, so I'll take my leave now."

“Um, Miss Gui’er, there’s something I’m afraid I’m being presumptuous about, but since you’re still young, I have to be frank. The reason I didn’t dare tell you this news in the shop today is because you don’t have any relatives here, only servants. I’ve also heard some rumors that the servants around you are all left behind by the former young marshal’s wife. They’re all from the martial arts world. I’m afraid that if you really lose the protection of the marshal’s mansion, they might rebel, and you’d be powerless to fight back. So I didn’t dare tell you this news in the shop. For safety’s sake, I suggest you don’t tell them the truth. Let’s delay it as long as possible. If you need any help from me, please feel free to ask.”