A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

Sally replied, "I can ask you, but the price isn't cheap. It would be best if you could have your classmate come and negotiate in person."

Gui'er couldn't help but roll her eyes. If she were really in business, she wouldn't want to do business with her. Wasn't this trying to cut out the middleman before the business even started? However, Gui'er didn't really want to do business; she just wanted to get these supplies as soon as possible.

"Of course, but my sister, shouldn't you let me earn some money too? How come the business hasn't even started yet? You're already thinking of getting rid of me, the middleman." Gui'er originally wanted to speak nicely, but when she thought that people like Sha Lili and Fourth Aunt would make her seem easy to bully, she decided it was better to retort.

"Look at what you're saying, child. We're family, how could this happen? There are so many scams in business these days. We were just worried you'd get cheated, so we thought we'd have you bring the person over so we could meet them and see for ourselves," Fourth Concubine quickly tried to smooth things over.

“That’s certainly possible, but I also need to know how many we have and the approximate price. If I don’t know anything and just ask my classmate to come, they might not be willing to come with me,” Gui’er said.

“That’s true. Here’s what we’ll do: your brother-in-law is out. When he gets back, I’ll have him ask around and make some inquiries. I’ll give you an answer in a couple of days,” Shali said.

Gui'er thought for a moment and said, "Okay, that's fine. In that case, I'll head back now." Then she took her leave.

After going downstairs and getting back into the car, as soon as he closed the door, Acheng said to Gui'er with great interest, "Miss, I was chatting with Miss Lily's servants downstairs just now, and I heard a lot of gossip. Would you like to hear it?"

"What gossip?"

"Now, Miss Lily's husband is no longer as loving as he used to be. He has even found a lover outside, but he hasn't brought her back yet. It is said that Miss Lily won't let her in. Her husband's reason is that Miss Lily has been married for several years and has no children. But Miss Lily has quickly let that maidservant sleep with the young master. It is said that the maidservant is pregnant again. Everyone says that the maidservant is really lucky."

“Luhua, no wonder I didn’t see her come out to pour tea and water just now. It turns out she’s pregnant and taking care of her pregnancy.” Gui’er said, “By the way, why doesn’t Lili take care of herself? Wouldn’t it be better if she gave birth to one herself? Now she’s letting the concubine and her husband have the child. In the end, it won’t be her own child. I’m afraid that mother and daughter will find ways to make things difficult for Luhua again.”

"Well, what can I say? Miss's reputation isn't as good as it was when we first came here. She and her mother were always mean and harsh, and it's said they weren't very kind to the other servants either. Everyone sympathizes with Luhua. According to those servants, Lili has been taking fertility-enhancing drugs for a long time, but they haven't worked. So they can only push the concubine out first, and then take the child under their care once it's born."

Gui'er sighed. This kind of thing was nothing new in the big mansion, and she couldn't be bothered to care anymore. The most important thing now was to get cotton and cotton cloth: "Who cares? It has nothing to do with us."

"Well, it really has nothing to do with us, but I think their family is probably going to fall on hard times," A-Cheng suddenly said.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Miss, do you remember how the Third Young Master used to love smoking opium? I heard it's gotten worse now. But he did have a son, and I heard the Third Young Mistress is pregnant again. So his in-laws can't do anything about him; they can only keep him at home like a cripple, not allowing him to do business or receive guests. Every time the Fourth Concubine and Miss visit, they are ridiculed and mocked. I'm afraid that's why the Fourth Concubine and Miss don't want to talk to you about it. With a son and brother like that, how can the Fourth Concubine and Miss hold their heads high in their husband's family?"

"No wonder, that explains why they wouldn't let me see Third Brother," Gui'er said, but in her heart she was wondering if this matter would affect her cotton business.

She relayed the information she had gathered over the past two days to Chen Zhongyu and asked him, "I've already asked them to inquire, and we should have a result in the next couple of days. But how much do we need? You need to give me a number first so I can talk to them about it. Also, I guess Sha Lili will need to find someone to pretend to be the buyer and talk to them."

Chen Zhongyu said, "That's good. The main problem is that I haven't found enough cotton. One or two tons is far from enough. It would be even better if you could get a few more tons. As for meeting and pretending to be the seller, both Peishan and I can cooperate. However, there is one thing."

At this point, Chen Zhongyu hesitated for a rare moment: "Our funds are limited..."

Gui'er breathed a sigh of relief and said, "I thought it was something serious. It's alright, I'll take care of it."

Several days passed without any news from either side, so Gui'er called Song Xilun to ask.

Song Xilun said, "There is currently war in the country, and many cotton producing areas have stopped production. Even if they haven't stopped production, it's difficult to transport cotton because the war zone is blocked by the Japanese. If we import it from abroad, the price is sky-high, and there is basically no profit to be made. So no one wants to do it. I'm actively looking for other ways to ask around and see if there are any other sources of goods for you."

Gui'er then called Sha Lili. As soon as the call connected, Sha Lili launched into a tirade: "Gui'er, I knew it! I thought you really had some connections to help your sister do business, but it turns out you're a tough nut to crack. Whoever can get their hands on cotton these days is rolling in money. And you still want me to get it? My husband just teased me for it. I never imagined cotton was so valuable. If you had connections, you should have told me, not made me find you a source. Anyway, I'm really putting in a lot of effort for you and getting no credit. Don't come to me like this again." Then she slammed down the phone.

Gui'er was initially confident of success, but unexpectedly found herself in a predicament on both fronts, leaving her extremely frustrated.

With the start of the school year approaching, the pawnshop was taking inventory. Gui'er needed to go to school to register for enrollment, and A-Cheng needed to go to the shop to supervise, so they asked A-Si to drive Gui'er there.

As Ah Si drove, he asked, "Miss, you seem to be in a bad mood these past few days. Is it because school is about to start and you don't want to go?"

Gui'er chuckled and said, "How could that be?"

She looked at Ah Si, hesitated for a moment, and then decided to tell him: "Ah Si, you accompanied my second brother in the Battle of Jiangcheng, so I'll tell you the truth. I received another letter from my brother saying that they are short of supplies, especially cotton and cotton cloth. I've been asking around trying to find some to send to them, but I can't find any. I'm very worried."