A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

Chapter 1015 Getting to Know the People from the Escort Agency

"Miss Gui'er, what brings you to the pawnshop today? Why don't you come in and sit for a while?" A familiar female voice greeted her warmly.

Gui'er looked in the direction of the voice and saw that it was He Xiuxiang, the young mistress of Ren'an Hall.

"So it's you, young mistress. It's been a long time. What brings you to our pawnshop today? Is there any business you need?" Gui'er asked.

Upon hearing this, He Xiuxiang looked embarrassed and stammered.

Zhao Ding, ever the smooth talker, saw through her vanity and quickly said, "Young Madam, you've always been a good patron of our business. Our Juzhen Pawnshop was able to open thanks to the support of our neighbors, didn't it? Young Madam, you should come over more often for a chat and a cup of tea. We're all neighbors, so let's not be strangers."

Upon hearing this, He Xiuxiang's expression improved considerably, and she smiled, saying, "Zhao Chaofeng, I really have to thank you for this. The shop's cash flow depends entirely on you now."

Gui'er listened from the side and pondered to herself, "Could it be that Ren'an Hall is now relying on pawning to survive? That's not good."

He Xiuxiang continued with a smile, "Miss Gui'er, I'm not afraid to risk my reputation. Our old master did indeed want to transport a batch of medicine and some money over, but most of it was robbed on the way. Only a portion made it to Hong Kong. We had no choice but to lay off some of our employees to survive. Now, the ones left are all elderly people we brought from Jiangcheng. To make ends meet, we have to pawn the medicine from time to time. We'll redeem it next month when we earn some money. Fortunately, the loan amount here is higher than other places, so we've been relying on Guibao's patronage."

Gui'er saw that although she was smiling, her expression was actually more unpleasant than crying. The anger that she had felt towards her for wanting her to be her husband's concubine before vanished in an instant.

She comforted her, saying, "There's war going on everywhere right now, and everyone's having a tough time. We're from the same hometown, so let's not say things like that. I believe the difficulties will pass. Please have a seat, young mistress. Isn't your grandfather planning to come over?"

He Xiuxiang then sat down on a chair in the private room, her eyes slightly red, and said, "We're trying to figure something out. After Jiangcheng fell, my father-in-law was reluctant to leave his family's business there, but unexpectedly, the traitors and the Japanese took turns attacking, squeezing almost all the money and medicine from the family. My father-in-law finally gave up and prepared to come over, but the traitors discovered him. In their eyes, my father-in-law and my uncle were easy targets. How could they let him escape so easily? Now they are being closely monitored in their hometown and are trying to find a way to escape, but I don't think it will be that easy."

Gui'er said, "I heard that you have a trusted escort agency that can help transport people and supplies."

He Xiuxiang said, "Yes." Seeing Gui'er's thoughtful expression, she quickly said, "Miss Gui'er, if you need my help, I can introduce you to someone."

Gui'er had originally thought that the escort agency that could transport medicine from Jiangcheng to Hong Kong was indeed very capable. She wondered if she could procure some supplies in Hong Kong and have the agency bring them to Jiangcheng. However, she knew she would need Chen Zhongyu's approval for such a request.

So she smiled and said, "I haven't been in touch with my hometown for a long time. If the people from the escort agency come next time, I'll have to trouble you to introduce me."

He Xiuxiang readily agreed.

Afterwards, Gui'er told Chen Zhongyu about it.

Chen Zhongyu said in surprise, "These past few days I've been raising a batch of supplies to transport back to the mainland, some of which are for the Jiangcheng guerrillas. I'm worried about what to do because the journey is so long. Is this escort agency really reliable?"

Gui'er said, "I haven't had any contact with them, but the people from Ren'an Hall often cooperate with them and have transported supplies a few times. I heard that some items were lost or stolen along the way, but a small portion was saved. I don't know if that's considered good. I asked the people from Ren'an Hall to let me know when the escort agency's people arrive in Hong Kong next time. Why don't you come with me to meet them then?"

Chen Zhongyu nodded and said, "Okay, by the way, this batch of supplies is the largest we've raised so far. It will be transported back to the mainland in several batches and distributed to various teams. The most difficult items to obtain, such as firearms and medicine, were actually acquired with the help of Detective Long. However, there's still the issue of funding..."

Gui'er quickly replied, "I can provide it." She was quite surprised that Long Xing was so enthusiastic about helping the domestic anti-Japanese cause.

Soon, Gui'er realized that this was a very large shipment of goods. Lin Peishan had used her parents' connections to secretly circulate these goods under the guise of foreign company goods.

Lin Peishan said, "Since the last incident, Zhongyu has become more cautious and careful. Now he doesn't even tell me everything. He only informs me about the parts that require my attention. He says that this is safer, which I can understand."

Gui'er thought that made sense. She took money from Sha Yanxiao's private stash and gave it to Chen Zhongyu. She also asked Wu Mingqiang to keep an eye out for any goods arriving at Ren'an Hall so that they could contact their local escort agency.

Wu Mingqiang agreed and said, "Is this for transporting Boss Chen's goods?"

Gui'er asked in surprise, "How did you know?"

Wu Mingqiang quickly said, "Miss, please don't misunderstand. Boss Chen transferred these goods to Lin Family Trading Company because he was afraid of being watched, so he asked Detective Long to take care of things secretly. Detective Long handed this matter over to me."

Soon, the escort agency from Ren'an Hall arrived in Hong Kong, and Gui'er and Chen Zhongyu quickly went to meet them.

Lin Zhidong, the young master of Ren'an Hall, personally led the group to the nearby Kelai Teahouse. He was a shrewd man; upon entering the private room and seeing that Wu Mingqiang and Chen Zhongyu were also there besides Gui'er, he quickly and tactfully said, "Miss Gui'er, Mr. Wu, oh, and this gentleman, this is the head镖师 (bodyguard/escort) of the镖局 (escort agency) we often use; his surname is Zheng." He then turned to the group he had brought and said, "These are our fellow villagers in Hong Kong; they are also involved in big business. Head镖师 Zheng, you, you can talk to him; I'll excuse myself for now."

Gui'er looked up and saw five men approaching, mostly strong and muscular, clearly seasoned travelers with a weathered air about them. They wore short, tightly buttoned, close-fitting outfits in shades of gray or navy blue, with the cuffs and trouser legs tucked in for easy movement. Wide leather belts were around their waists, and dart pouches hung on their left sides, presumably containing weapons. They wore high-soled, swift boots.

The leader was a man in his forties or fifties, with dark skin, a short beard, and a small scar on his right cheek, who looked menacing.

He first glanced at the people in the room, and finally his gaze fell on Wu Mingqiang. He paused for a moment, then clasped his hands in a fist and said, "Mr. Wu, I have long admired your name. I am Zheng Huaichang."