A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

Chapter 1146 Helping Shepherd

Dingxiang, completely bewildered, asked, "What does that mean?"

Gui'er said, "That means there will be another military exercise, and this time they might take advantage of the exercise to launch a direct attack."

"What? The Japanese are going to attack? Is it true? Is it confirmed? Didn't they say that Hong Kong recruited many people into the army, like the volunteer army, to fight them? Can they even get through? What should we do?"

Wu Mingqiang thought for a moment, then slammed his hand on the table and stood up, saying, "No, Miss, I have to go to Macau. During this time, Acheng will be in charge of the shop and your safety. You must be careful with your words and actions, especially with that Liu Lanfang. No matter how she provokes you, don't take the bait or have a direct confrontation with her. When I get back, I will arrange what we need for the time being. If things get bad, we will immediately retreat to Macau."

Gui'er nodded: "We need to be careful because the situation is tense right now. Even if we travel by sea, it won't be safe."

Wu Mingqiang took out a pistol from his inner pocket, checked the bullets, then took out his wallet to count them, nodded and said, "Understood."

He turned to Acheng and instructed him, "While I'm away, take good care of Miss. Keep the shop busy as long as you can, and if you can't keep it busy, leave it to Zhao Ding. He's an expert and a decent person."

Acheng nodded: "Don't worry."

Wu Mingqiang turned back and gave Gui'er a deep look before turning and leaving.

Everyone felt heavy-hearted, as if they were watching their ship about to capsize and were powerless to stop it.

Back in her room that night, Gui'er was still bothered by her encounter with Zhu Zhiming.

She asked Dingxiang to call Acheng over and said to him, "Brother Acheng, the reason I suddenly ran out today is because I think I saw Zhu Zhiming."

Ah Cheng suddenly realized, "Oh, I see. I felt something was off about Miss. But Zhu Zhiming is dead, isn't he? Could it be someone who looks a lot like him?"

Gui'er thought it made sense. She suddenly remembered that Zhu Zhiming said he had a younger brother. Could it be a younger brother who looks a lot like him?

“I remember Zhu Zhiming had a younger brother, and the three of them ran a newsstand. Could it be his brother? Zhu Zhiming is dead. If his brother needs help, I think we should lend a hand.”

"Understood, Miss. I'll go look around there tomorrow."

Acheng searched for two days but couldn't find him. However, he brought back some clues. It turned out that Zhu Zhiming's younger brother, Zhu Zhiqiang, had indeed appeared in that area. There were some of his fellow villagers there, and he had asked them to help him find a job. As for his specific address, many of his fellow villagers only knew the address of his old newsstand and didn't know his current address.

After listening to Acheng's story, Gui'er tapped her fingertips lightly on the edge of the table, feeling a pang of melancholy. Zhu Zhiming had sacrificed himself, and she couldn't even find his family, let alone help them. This sense of powerlessness weighed on her heart like a stone.

“Let’s keep looking,” she said softly. “Since he’s looking for work, he might be having financial difficulties. Let’s help his family out of respect for Mr. Zhu.”

Acheng responded and turned to go to work. Gui'er looked out the window. Dusk was falling and the streetlights in the distance were lighting up one after another, but they could not illuminate the gloom of this chaotic world.

For several days in a row, A-Cheng wandered around that neighborhood, but still couldn't find any trace of Zhu Zhiqiang. Gui'er gradually gave up, thinking that if fate allowed, they would meet again.

After school that day, Gui'er was about to leave when Xie Bolan hesitantly approached, her face flushed with embarrassment.

“Gui’er,” she tugged at Gui’er’s sleeve, “Are you…are you free now? How about we go get a cup of coffee?”

"Okay," Gui'er said, somewhat surprised. Xie Bolan was usually cheerful and rarely so coy, so he must have something to tell her.

So the two of them went to a coffee shop near the school and sat down. Gui'er ordered a banana water, and Xie Boqin ordered a Blue Mountain coffee.

“It’s like this,” Xie Bolan looked around and lowered his voice, “We have a distant cousin who’s been struggling financially lately. We were willing to help him out, and we could have given him a small amount of money for free, but he insisted that he couldn’t accept something for nothing. He said he had a set of family heirlooms of antique jewelry that he wanted to sell to us so we could make some money to get by. He even described the set of jewelry as very valuable. The jewelry does look exquisite, but he’s asking for a considerable amount of money. We don’t know much about these things. That relative used to have a gambling addiction, and we’re worried that something might go wrong. After all, we’re relatives, so it’s hard to say.”

She paused, her eyes filled with expectation: "I know your family owns a pawnshop, and the clerks there must know their stuff. Could... could you ask them to take a look? Just one look. If it's real, we can talk about the price; if it's fake, we'll just pass."

Gui'er thought about it. Xie Bolan had always treated her fairly well, so she should indeed help him with this. Besides, the current situation was turbulent, and many families were selling off their assets to make ends meet. It was hard to tell what was genuine and what was fake, so helping her could save her from making a mistake.

“Okay,” Gui’er nodded, “but the shopkeepers are all in the shop. Either you bring the things, or I’ll have them come with you?”

"No need, no need," Sheberan quickly waved his hand. "I'll have my cousin deliver the things to the Guibao ship, and we can meet there. That way, it'll save you the trouble. If it's convenient, how about tomorrow afternoon?"

Gui'er readily agreed.

The following afternoon, Juzhen Pawnshop was even more crowded than usual. Long queues stretched before the counter, mostly anxious people clutching various items—silver bracelets, old pocket watches, and even a yellowed painting—all hoping to exchange them for cash before the situation became clear. The clerks were frantic, the abacus beads clattering, and the air was thick with the smell of dust and ink, reflecting the chaotic panic of the time.

Not long after Gui'er arrived at the shop, Xie Bolan arrived with his men. Her parents were dressed in decent silk clothes, their faces showing a hint of caution; beside them was a middle-aged man in his forties or fifties, wearing a faded long gown with frayed cuffs, his eyes showing a hint of unease, yet deliberately adopting a tough stance.

"Gui'er, thank you for your help." Xie Bolan stepped forward and introduced them somewhat embarrassedly, "These are my parents, and this is my cousin."

Gui'er smiled and nodded, then turned to Zhao Ding behind the counter and said, "Uncle Zhao, could you please take a look?"

Zhao Ding was wearing reading glasses and busy behind the counter. He quickly came out from behind the counter and politely led the group to a small cubicle next to him: "Please come in and have a cup of tea."

The middle-aged man seemed a little impatient. Before even sitting down, he pulled a mahogany jewelry box from his pocket and slammed it on the table: "No need for tea, let's look at the things first."