A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

Chapter 1105 Wearing New Clothes for the New Year

Gui'er and Wu Mingqiang took Zhu Zhiming back to the house Wu Mingqiang had bought. Wu Mingqiang settled him in the servants' quarters on the second floor and closed the door to the room where Gui'er used to live, saying to him, "This is Miss's room, so you don't need to worry about it. Just clean it occasionally. The first floor used to be a bookstore, and there are still some books left there. You can tidy them up. Don't rush, just take your time."

Then he turned to Gui'er and said, "Miss, there are too many books on the first floor. I plan to clear them out sometime and then rent them out. See if there are any you want to keep, then take them out."

Gui'er nodded and went down to the first floor. She still felt a little reluctant to leave this bookstore. Looking at the bookstore's layout, it was as if she had returned to the days when she and Lin Peishan went to find Chen Zhongyu. Now, everything was gone.

She picked out a few medical books, some progressive novels, and some revolutionary works, including a collection of Lu Xun's essays—about five or six books in total. Books were quite precious in this era, and she was really reluctant to part with them.

"Brother Wu, could you please not clear these books out so quickly? I'd like to come back in a few days and see if there's anything I need."

“Sure,” Wu Mingqiang said with a hearty laugh. “Anyway, I’m not in a hurry to earn that little bit of rent.”

The holiday had begun, and the streets were bustling with activity. People buying New Year's goods were all beaming with joy. Although life was a bit harder for ordinary people this year compared to previous years, the New Year always brought a sense of new hope.

Gui'er hadn't planned to get new clothes made, but Wu Mingqiang brought back a new cheongsam with fur trim and a woolen dress, saying they were custom-made to Gui'er's size. Gui'er noticed that the cheongsam was sewn with gold and silver threads, no less exquisite than Yunshanglou in Jiangcheng. The woolen dress was made of thick and comfortable fabric, and the buttons were made of real pearls, clearly indicating its high value.

"Brother Qiang, you're really rich! These two outfits must have cost several hundred silver dollars." Dingxiang said, stroking the fabric of the cheongsam.

"What is money? As long as it makes Miss happy, it's nothing."

"Brother Wu, these clothes are too luxurious. We are not the same as before. If we go out wearing these, I'm afraid it will arouse suspicion. If we reveal our wealth, it will bring disaster." Gui'er said worriedly.

“Miss, you’re overthinking it. I can’t speak for others, but I do know some people in both the legitimate and underworld circles. If they’re so blind as to come looking for trouble, it’ll be a good opportunity for them to see what I’m capable of.”

Gui'er was very surprised that Wu Mingqiang was so arrogant. Even if he had climbed up to Longxing, he shouldn't be so disdainful of everyone.

"It's alright, Miss, just wear it without worry. By the way, try it on first and see if it fits. If it doesn't fit, I can take it to be altered. There are still a few days until the New Year, so we need to hurry."

There was no other way; if she continued talking, Gui'er was afraid of spoiling Wu Mingqiang's mood, so she took the dress to her room to try it on and it fit perfectly, as if it had been tailor-made.

Dingxiang looked at Gui'er and sincerely praised, "Brother Qiang is so thoughtful. Actually, last time, when you went to a high-end restaurant for tea with Miss Lin wearing the cheongsam you brought from Jiangcheng, Brother Qiang noticed that the sleeves of the dress were half an inch too short. I've been by your side every day and I didn't even notice that you've grown taller. So he asked me to take a dress that you usually wear to the tailor to take your measurements. The tailors here in Hong Kong are really skilled. The dress they made fit perfectly, as if you had taken your measurements yourself."

Gui'er suddenly realized that she had taken out a nice cheongsam she had brought from Jiangcheng and compared it to herself. Sure enough, it was too tight on the shoulders and the sleeves were too short. She hadn't even noticed it if Dingxiang hadn't pointed it out.

She tried on the fur cheongsam again, and it fit her perfectly.

Afterwards, she took out all the gorgeous clothes that Jiang Cheng had brought and compared them one by one. Several of them were made earlier and were now obviously too short. Gui'er usually wore her two everyday clothes to school and hadn't noticed it at all.

She asked Dingxiang to organize all the ill-fitting clothes and take them to the first floor. She said to Wu Mingqiang, "Brother Wu, these are the clothes I brought from Jiangcheng. They're all too small. You must have spent a lot of money on those two outfits. Do you think we could take them to our pawnshop and ask the wealthy customers if they want them? We can sell them and use the money to pay you back."

Gui'er knew that the two pieces of clothing Wu Mingqiang had given her must have been expensive, so she figured she could get some money from selling these old clothes she didn't wear anymore, which would just offset the cost.

"Oh? Sell them all, Miss? Won't you be reluctant to part with them? These clothes were custom-made by the Second Young Master when he took you to Yunxiang Tower. Some of them took several months to make," Dingxiang said.

Gui'er bent down and stroked a Suzhou-embroidered cheongsam with a turban collar and pearl buttons. The embroidery on it was of inconspicuous osmanthus flowers, and the background color was lotus root pink. Sha Yanxiao and Gui'er chose the fabric together. Gui'er still remembered Sha Yanxiao saying with a smile, "This fabric is perfect for our Gui'er. When it's made into a dress and she wears it, she'll be more charming than the flowers in the yard."

She sighed and said, "What good is it if it's expensive? I'm all grown up now and I can't wear it anymore. Rather than letting it sit in the closet and get bugs, I'd rather sell it for some money."

Wu Mingqiang quickly chimed in, "That's right, Miss. We should look forward. If you want to get rid of these clothes, then I'll help you get rid of them. I won't take the money; I'll give it back to you as pocket money. Don't worry, I'm not short of money. The Second Young Master's whereabouts are currently unknown, and I can completely take his place to protect you and take care of you. Trust me, I will never let you live worse than you did in Jiangcheng."

Gui'er was somewhat taken aback. She wondered to herself, was Wu Mingqiang's smuggling business really that profitable? She turned to look at Acheng, who nodded slightly at her.

Gui'er smiled and said to Wu Mingqiang, "Thank you very much, Brother Wu."

Later, Gui'er privately approached Acheng and asked him, "Brother Acheng, I feel really bad that Brother Wu refused to accept my money. Is he really that rich now? Could it be that he did something terrible? You're with him every day, have you noticed anything amiss?"

Acheng scratched his head and said, "I wasn't with him all the time. Every day after I dropped you off at school, I went back to the pawnshop. But Brother Qiang went to the pawnshop two or three times a day. The rest of the time he was either helping Detective Long patrol his territory or socializing with big shots from all walks of life. I don't know who he was associating with."