A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

Gui'er was surprised. When she arrived at the newspaper office, she greeted Chief Editor Zhao and said with a smile, "Chief Editor Zhao, how did this lucrative job fall to me?"

The editors nearby, hearing this, turned around in surprise to look at Gui'er, leaving her completely bewildered.

Editor-in-Chief Zhao chuckled and said, "The newspaper is not doing well right now, and we are short-staffed. If Miss Sha is willing, our newspaper would be happy to let you participate in more opportunities like this next time."

Gui'er said happily, "No problem."

Editor-in-Chief Zhao then showed Gui'er some similar previous reports for reference, saying that the payment would still be 3 silver dollars, and then sent her away.

Gui'er left the newspaper office in high spirits. Just as she reached the bottom of the stairs, someone slapped her on the back. Startled, she turned around and saw Liu Shaolin, the photographer from before.

"Reporter Liu, you scared me to death! What's wrong?"

"Are you out of your mind? You got ripped off and you're still saying thank you."

"what?"

"The reports about that protest weren't because of a lack of manpower, but because nobody wanted to go. It's very dangerous. The British Empire doesn't want such activities in Hong Kong at all, but they can't directly stop it. However, they will send police to monitor the whole thing, which isn't a big deal. The key issue is that someone might suddenly fire a shot from a distance. Someone from another newspaper witnessed a student being shot to death when they went to cover the event. These things can't be written in the newspapers at all, so you'd better pray for yourself."

Gui'er hadn't expected there to be such inside information. Wouldn't this make Chen Zhongyu even more dangerous?

She turned her head and saw Liu Shaolin staring at her nonchalantly, so she said, "Thank you for telling me about this, Editor Liu, but you are the only photographer in the newspaper, aren't you going?"

"Of course I'll go, but I'll stay far away. Don't count on me if anything happens. Just run for your life. I don't have time to worry about you." With that, Liu Shaolin strode past her and left.

Acheng rushed over and asked, "What's wrong, miss? Was this person rude to you?"

Gui'er said, "It's nothing, he just reminded me. Let's go. Oh, right, let's go to the Song residence first and find Tong Yujun."

Upon arriving at the Song family mansion, the gatekeeper recognized her and immediately opened the gate to let the car in. He then greeted her with a smile, saying, "Miss Sha, you've arrived. Please come in. Our young mistress is inside."

Gui'er nodded and was led by a servant into the house, arriving at the reception room on the second floor. Tong Yujun was sitting on the sofa in the reception room, holding a teacup and looking out. When he saw Gui'er come in, he said happily, "You've come? How have you been lately?"

Gui'er nodded and sat down.

Tong Yujun quickly instructed the servants to bring snacks and drinks.

Gui'er asked, "You know about the fall of Nanjing, right?"

Tong Yujun nodded and said, "I understand. Many of my family's guests are from Nanjing, and we've lost contact with them all. I heard that after the Japanese army entered the city, they burned, killed, looted, and committed all sorts of atrocities. I'm afraid they are in grave danger."

Gui'er wanted to tell her about Song Xichen, which Sha Yanxiao had mentioned in his letter, but hesitated because she was worried that this would reveal her identity as a member of the underground Communist Party.

At this moment, Song Xilun returned. He walked into the reception room and nodded to Gui'er.

Gui'er noticed that his expression was not right and asked, "Mr. Song, what's wrong?"

Song Xilun forced a smile and said, "Didn't I tell you a while ago that I would send someone back to Jiangcheng to check on the situation? Yesterday, news came back that my father refused to take up the position of chairman of the maintenance committee and claimed to be ill. As a result, our home was ransacked by traitors and collaborators. They took away most of the land deeds and the shops. My mother was also almost humiliated. My father is now seriously ill and I don't know how he is."

Gui'er was shocked: "How dare a traitor be so arrogant? Uncle Song would better leave as soon as possible."

Song Xilun nodded and said, "That's what I think too. The problem is that the area has already fallen, so it's not easy to get there. By the way, I said I would help you find your brother. The people I sent looked for him, but they said they couldn't find him. However, there's a rumor that he's become a bandit and lives in the mountains, and he comes out to harass the Japanese army camp from time to time."

Gui'er knew immediately that it was true, and she decided not to tell Song Xilun what she knew for the time being.

She said, "As long as I'm alive, that's enough."

Song Xilun thought she was upset, so he quickly comforted her, saying, "Gui'er, don't worry, my people will stay there for a while and continue to investigate."

Gui'er nodded and said, "Anyway, in this situation, as long as people are alive, that's all that matters. Recently, our school is preparing to hold a march and demonstration, and I will participate in it."

Tong Yujun exclaimed in surprise, "You're going to demonstrate? That's so dangerous! You'd get arrested if you did that in mainland China!"

Song Xilun also comforted her, saying, "Gui'er, I understand how you feel. Your brother is missing, and you must be heartbroken. But you have no relatives or friends here. What will you do if something happens to you and you can't contact your family?"

Gui'er originally said she wanted to go to the demonstration to test Song Xilun and Tong Yujun's attitude towards the revolution. Now it seems that what she read in the book about the weakness of the bourgeoisie is indeed true.

"I heard it's alright here, there are police around to keep an eye on things, but nothing serious has happened. I'll play it by ear, don't worry."

Tong Yujun still tried her best to persuade Gui'er not to participate in the demonstration, but Gui'er could only laugh it off and say that she would see when the time came.

On the day of the march, students set off from their respective schools, converging on Central Plaza along Queen's Road. Most students wore their school uniforms, but Gui'er, remembering she was a reporter, specially chose a more mature-looking dress that she rarely wore. Walking at the edge of the procession, Lin Peishan walked in the middle, clutching a wooden plaque covered with slogans like "Give Back Our Homeland" and "Resist Japan and Save the Nation," chanting slogans along with the leading students.

A number of police officers in large green uniforms were already standing on the street. There were even Indian police officers, wearing red turbans, holding batons, and watching the procession expressionlessly.

The students sang anti-Japanese songs. At first, their voices were scattered, but they gradually gathered into a torrent, shaking the windows of the roadside shops. Slogans such as "Down with Japanese imperialism!" and "Recover lost territory, return Nanjing to us!" rose and fell. Passersby in long gowns stopped to watch. Some quietly gave a thumbs up, while others looked worried and hurriedly moved away.

When they reached the entrance of HSBC, the line suddenly stopped—Gui'er quickly took a few steps forward from the arcade next to her to see what was happening ahead.