A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

Coming out of Sincere Department Store, Dali quickly got out of the car to help her with the odds and ends, saying, "You bought a lot."

Guier smiled and said, "Yes, the things here are good and cheap, so buy some to take back as souvenirs. By the way, this soap is for you. Thank you for picking me up and dropping me off every day." As she said that, she took a soap from a pile of things and handed it to Dali.

Dali took it and said with a smile: "I didn't expect you, a little guy, are so good at handling things."

Gui Er chuckled and said, "Of course, of course." Then she looked around and said, "Is there any newspaper store nearby? I want to buy some."

Dali just received the gift and said enthusiastically, "Then I'll go buy it for you."

Guier saw a newsstand across the street and said, "No, I'll go by myself. I need to choose which one to buy. You wait here for me. I'll be back soon."

As they were talking, they came to the newsstand across the street. The owner saw that it was a little girl and asked, "Little sister, what do you want to buy? Here are the new comic books, Journey to the West: The Three Strikes on the White Bone Demon."

In order to avoid the boss's suspicion, Gui'er said, "How much is one copy?"

"Five coppers."

Gui'er turned the book over and looked at the price on the back: 0.03. She rolled her eyes and said, "Boss, you're being dishonest. The price on the back is clearly three copper coins."

The boss chuckled and said, "I didn't expect you to be so smart. I'll give you four copper coins. I have to make some money."

"You're kidding me! Your books definitely cost less than three copper coins. How about this? Sell them to me at the marked price, and I'll take a copy of 'Daughter Kingdom' and 'Lion Camel Ridge', some newspapers, and a map of Shanghai."

The boss was smiling as he listened to Gui'er asking for some books, but when he heard she wanted to buy a map, his smile immediately faded and he asked, "Why do you want a map?"

Gui'er's heart skipped a beat. Were maps not allowed here? She smiled and said, "Of course I buy a map to read it. Are you going to use it to keep the fire burning? My family and I are in Shanghai for the New Year, and we want to see what other places are fun. A map will make it easier to get there."

The boss finally relaxed after hearing this and said with a smile, "This map is in high demand. It's one dollar a piece."

Gui'er was a little surprised. After thinking for a while, she said, "Is it so expensive? I don't have enough money. I won't buy anything for now. I'll just take two newspapers and three comic books." So she took out a few copper coins to pay, picked up the newspaper and picture book and left.

As she walked across the street and got into the car, Guier accidentally saw the owner of the newsstand pointing in her direction and saying a few words to a man wearing a black silk gown and a top hat, and then he walked towards her.

Guier said to Dali, "Dali, look at that man. He seems to have followed me from over there."

When Dali heard this, his face changed. He started the car and drove away. Only then did Guier breathe a sigh of relief.

The car passed two blocks and Dali slowly slowed down and asked, "What did you buy there?"

Gui'er didn't dare mention the map. She picked up the comic book and newspaper, shook them, and said, "I didn't buy anything, but I negotiated the price with the boss. Is he angry?"

Dali frowned and said, "That boss might be a gang member, looking for fat sheep on the street. You are dressed too conspicuously."

Gui'er suddenly realized. She felt that the boss wanted to charge one dollar for the map, probably to test whether she had money. Although she did not show her wealth, she was wearing a pomegranate silk cheongsam today, and a silver fox fur double-breasted cloak with an eight-treasure necklace pattern on the outside.

The car was moving slowly forward, and suddenly made a sharp turn at a fork in the road. Guier was startled and asked Dali what was going on?

Dali pulled out a pistol from his waist and loaded it, then opened the car door and said to Guier, "Stay here and don't get out of the car."

Gui'er was a little confused and asked quickly: "What's going on?"

Dali had already gotten out of the car and fired two shots at the back of the car. Guier didn't know what was going on and quickly hid.

After a long while, there was no sound. Gui'er was very worried about Dali, so she quietly opened the car door and stuck her head out. She happened to see Dali walking back. He smiled and said, "That group of people wanted to take a shortcut by bicycle and follow us, but I scared them away with my gun."

Gui Er finally felt relieved and returned to the Sha Mansion's villa. The Marshal, his wife, the eldest young master, Sha Yanxiao, and the eighth concubine were all gone. The housekeeper said, "The Marshal and the second young master are out for a social event. The wife took the eldest young master out to play mahjong. The eighth concubine received the Marshal's permission to stay at her parents' home for a while."

Seeing that only the fifth and sixth concubines and their daughters were left bored in the villa every day, Guier gave the comic books she had bought to those girls to read, and also gave the toilet water and soap she had bought to the fifth and sixth concubines.

Although they were not worth much, the fifth and sixth concubines were originally daughters of ordinary families and gave birth to girls. They had to be cautious and behave themselves in the mansion. Now they were very happy to see Guier coming to give gifts and chat. Those little girls were actually much younger than Guier. They were usually suppressed by Sha Lili and did not dare to show off in terms of food and clothing. The teachers in the mansion taught them things like female training and virtues. Now they were very happy to see comic books and became familiar with Guier at once.

When Sha Yanxiao came back that night, he found out. He went to Gui'er's room and said, "I heard you had a very fulfilling day today."

Gui Er was sorting out the souvenirs she had bought from Sincere Company and said with a smile, "Yes, it was thrilling."

Sha Yanxiao looked at the pile of miscellaneous little things and said, "Are you still giving gifts to people everywhere?"

Guier smiled and said, "Sincere's products are cheap and good. It would be great if they could open a store near us."

Sha Yanxiao coughed twice and said, "You gave so many gifts to others, did you miss one?"

Gui'er smiled softly and said, "How could it leak?" Then she took out the sachet she had sewn and handed it to Sha Yanxiao, saying, "After I made it, I couldn't find any good flowers to put in it. Today, I went to Sincere and found a cologne with a woody scent that would suit you very well, so I bought it and put it in."

Sha Yanxiao opened the sachet, took it out and smelled it, then happily put it away. This small bottle of imported perfume was almost more expensive than anything else she bought, but Guier felt that Sha Yanxiao had always taken such good care of her, so it was only right that she gave him a better gift.

But Gui'er was a little unwilling that she didn't buy the map during the day. She bought the map for two reasons: one was to find Song Xichen's residence. She was afraid that if Tong Yulan broke her promise, she would definitely run to tell Song Xichen. The other reason was that she wanted to prepare for the future and only with a map could she know the direction.

Gui'er said to Sha Yanxiao, "Brother Yanxiao, you said you would take me to the zoo again. When are we going?"

Sha Yanxiao was a little scratching his head. Recently, the Marshal had been taking him everywhere to get to know his connections and have a good time, but he really couldn't leave.

Seeing his embarrassment, Gui'er said, "If you're really busy, there's nothing I can do. I can wait, but it's too boring to stay in the villa. I want to go to the bookstore and buy some books to read."

Sha Yanxiao breathed a sigh of relief and said happily, "Sure, I'll ask Dali to take you there tomorrow."