A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

Upon hearing this, Ah Si excitedly said, "We have news of the young master again! How is he doing? And how are the other brothers who stayed in Jiangcheng?"

Gui'er shook her head and said, "I don't know either. Actually, it's an enemy-occupied area where communication is very inconvenient. It's just that their superiors told me they needed cotton and cotton cloth based on their needs, so I tried my best to find some. I've already asked Sha Lili, and she said that cotton is in very short supply and hard to get. I have no other choice."

Ah Si frowned: "Actually, many of our customers come from families that run businesses. You can ask them for information."

Gui'er shook her head and said, "Our shop is a small business. The customers who come to our shop to pawn things are not big clients. Who can provide several tons of cotton?"

Ah Si thought for a moment, then shook his head and said, "That's hard to say. Although the customers who come to our shop to pawn things are indeed small-time customers, there are also some wives of big bosses. For various reasons, they secretly take out their jewelry to pawn without their husbands' knowledge. If we ask them, we might be able to get some useful information."

Gui'er thought it was a viable option, so she said to A Si, "Alright, give it a try. But I don't want too many people to know about this, especially Chen De. Although he put in a lot of effort in the Wu Ge incident, I still don't think he's very trustworthy."

Ah Si said, "Don't worry, Miss, I know what to do."

Soon it was time for the start of the new school year. Back at school, Lin Peishan quietly asked her, "Gui'er, how's the cotton and cotton cloth collection going?"

Gui'er sighed, shook her head and said, "I didn't expect cotton and cotton cloth to be in such short supply now. I've been asking around everywhere. Even my sister's husband's family, who runs a foreign firm, can't get any."

Lin Peishan frowned and said, "Actually, my trading company did manage to get a few tons, but I feel it's still not enough. I wish we could get a few more tons."

Gui'er said, "I'll ask my servants to keep an eye out for any of the pawnshop's customers whose families are in the cotton and cotton cloth business. But that will take time."

When Gui'er got home after school, Tong Yujun was actually waiting there. Gui'er was very surprised and said with a smile, "Why did you suddenly have time to come and play with me today?"

Tong Yujun said, "Xilun told me that you were looking for a source of cotton. Did something happen?"

Gui'er didn't want to answer her directly, so she smiled and said, "How did it go? Did you find it? If you found it, I can earn some money too."

Tong Yujun shook her head and said, "You're not interested in doing business at all, there must be something going on. Don't hide it from me."

Seeing that she couldn't hide it any longer, Gui'er had no choice but to send Sister-in-law Aying away. She said, "I'm telling you, but don't tell anyone else, okay? Actually, my second brother asked someone to come over and said that he was short of supplies and asked me to get some cotton and cotton cloth for him."

Tong Yujun covered her mouth in surprise and said, "Your brother, is he still in Jiangcheng? Then he's basically with those Japanese devils..." She immediately understood and came over with admiration, saying, "So that's how it is. Then we should give him some support. By the way, the reason I came here this time is to tell you that Xilun asked an old friend to get two tons of old cotton. It's goods that someone pawned years ago and has been piling up in the warehouse. He's asking if you want some?"

Gui'er quickly replied, "Of course I want it! How much?"

Tong Yujun waved her hand and said, "We haven't discussed the price yet. I also hate the Japanese. We're all supporting the war effort. I'll talk to my husband and ask him to try to lower the price. The other party owes us a favor, so they shouldn't ask for an exorbitant price."

Gui'er said happily, "Okay, it's settled then. Be sure to save it for me!"

She plans to tell Lin Peishan the good news first thing tomorrow morning.

After dinner, she was reading in her room when Wu Mingqiang and Acheng suddenly came to find her.

"Miss, I heard you're looking for cotton and cotton fabric suppliers. Has something happened? Are you looking to start a business?" Wu Mingqiang asked.

Gui'er glanced around and saw that it was just the two of them: "You heard it from A-Si, right? I'm not afraid to tell you directly. It was Second Brother who asked someone to come and say that they are currently in the mountains dealing with the Japanese. They are short of food and clothing, especially cotton and cotton cloth, so they asked me to get some back."

Ah Cheng said in surprise, "Is that so? Then we have to find a way to get more, so that the young master won't suffer any injustice."

Wu Mingqiang thought for a moment and said, "A-Si has already asked our customers who might have family businesses, but none of them did. However, I do know something useful. During the period when protection fees weren't being collected, I was leading my brothers to the docks to unload goods, right? I discovered a warehouse that contained about a few tons of cotton and cotton cloth."

Gui'er perked up immediately: "Really? Whose is it?"

"I heard it was confiscated by the police."

Gui'er did a quick mental calculation and realized that if she added Song Xilun's few tons, the quantity would be about the same.

"If only we could find out who's in charge, we could sell it." The only person she knew at the police station was Ouyang Bao, but Gui'er had a really bad impression of him. If he found out that these goods were for the revolutionaries, she didn't know what the consequences would be. She hesitated in her heart.

Wu Mingqiang thought for a moment and said, "Miss, if you want this batch of goods, I can help you find a way."

Gui'er's eyes lit up, and she asked, "Really? What kind of plan are you going to come up with? Do you know anyone in the police station?"

“These past two days, Ru Meng told me that Ouyang Bao actually went in and out of Shitang twice, specifically patrolling the building where they live. I think he has a deeper meaning,” Wu Mingqiang said. “I can have Ru Meng act as an intermediary, pretending that another businessman asked her to introduce them. Actually, she used to attend many dinner parties of wealthy people when she worked at Yichunlou. Those people usually bring several girls to accompany them when they talk business. The question is, who should pretend to be that businessman?”

"You don't need to worry about that, I can ask my friends at school for help." Gui'er thought to herself that Chen Zhongyu should be able to find someone easily.

"Okay, I'll go tell Rumeng right now."

"Wait, um, last time I went to Ouyang Bao's house, I noticed that he seemed to have ill intentions towards Miss Rumeng. You must tell Miss Rumeng to be careful." Although Gui'er didn't have a good impression of Rumeng, as a woman herself, she couldn't bear to see her go to the lion's den.

The next day, Gui'er told Chen Zhongyu and Lin Peishan about her cotton and cotton cloth collection and her plan to find someone to impersonate a merchant.

"Great! Gui'er really has a way with things. I'll find someone to impersonate a merchant, as long as we can get cotton and cotton cloth," Chen Zhongyu said.