A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

Chapter 116: Buying New Year's Clothes and Encountering Miss Ji

Although Sha Yanxiao has arrived here, he is still busy dealing with affairs in Jiangcheng all day long. He is either receiving telegrams or making phone calls all day long. The two adjutants he brought with him are also coming in and out, and no one knows what they are busy with.

However, after he came back, Gui'er felt much more relieved. She began to think about implementing her investigation plan again. How could she have the opportunity to get close to the lives of ordinary people in Shanghai?

Taking the opportunity to make bound leather shoes for the two Miss Zhangs, Guier also went around the streets. Of course, Sha Yanxiao asked Dali to follow her.

Guier did come into contact with a lot of handicrafts, such as making shoes, clothes, and jewelry, but all of those required skills. Guier's academic performance, which she was proud of, was of no use here at all. She was even a little envious of Taohua for being able to embroider.

Thinking of Taohua, Gui'er wondered if she was doing well as the New Year was approaching. The Third Wife didn't have much money and was so stingy. Now her own daughter had returned, pregnant. She would have to take good care of her, so she wondered if she would even care about Taohua.

Gui'er went to Xiansi Department Store and bought some New Year's goods, such as candy, imported chocolate, American imported wool sweaters, scarves, and boots, and asked Sha Yanxiao to help arrange to send them back.

Sha Yanxiao smiled and said, "Okay, I'll send it back for you. By the way, when we came out, I told you to make a couple of extra sets of clothes, and you said you'd buy them when you came to Shanghai. But now you're busy buying clothes for others. Why don't you buy a couple for yourself?"

Guier smiled embarrassedly and said, "I think the clothes I'm wearing are very luxurious. They're good enough to wear during the New Year." In fact, she really couldn't bear to spend money. The prices in Shanghai were much higher than those in Jiangcheng. If she wanted to buy a set of clothes to wear during the New Year in the Marshal's Mansion, they would have to be imported or custom-made, which would be very expensive.

Sha Yanxiao shook his head and said, "How can I do that? New Year's Eve is coming up in a few days, and I need a new set of clothes. Tomorrow I'll take you to look at some, and I'll buy some for myself too."

Gui'er then remembered the money he gave her before he left, and hurried back to the house, holding the heavy Kangxi Dictionary and giving it to Sha Yanxiao.

Seeing him coming with such a thick dictionary, Sha Yanxiao thought she wanted to discuss academic matters with him. But when he opened it, he saw the money he gave her neatly arranged inside. He felt a little amused, but he was also very amused by Guier's cleverness from the bottom of his heart.

He touched Gui'er's head and said, "Since I gave it to you, it's yours. But keeping it like this is not a long-term solution. Let's go together tomorrow to take you to get this done."

The next day, Sha Yanxiao brought Gui'er to the Industrial Bank in Shanghai and said, "Just keep it here." Then he took Gui'er inside and opened a passbook for the 50 silver dollars and a safe for the ten gold bars.

Sha Yanxiao handed the passbook and safe key to Gui'er and said, "Industrial Bank also has a branch in our hometown. If you need to withdraw money when the time comes, or if you have other money to deposit, you can put it there. As for the gold bars, you can put them in the safe for now. I have someone in Shanghai who does business with you. If you need them, just let me know and I can ask him to help you withdraw them."

Gui'er watched Sha Yanxiao go through the process. She now understood the savings process and now that she had some money, she felt a little closer to independence. She said happily, "Okay."

Later, Sha Yanxiao took Gui'er to Sincere Company and bought her a long woolen coat, a high-necked imported knitted sweater, and a pair of tweed trousers. Because they were children's clothes, the hems were decorated with delicate lace, making them indistinguishable from modern clothing. Gui'er was delighted to be able to wear clothes from her own era, and she couldn't let go of the trousers.

Sha Yanxiao thought she was at a loss, so he smiled and said, "These pants are perfect with that sweater. They're warm and fashionable. Rich girls from foreign countries all dress like this, and I think more and more girls will wear pants in the future. You can get used to it first."

Guier said happily: "Thank you, Brother Yanxiao, I like it very much."

Sha Yanxiao also bought himself a plaid tweed suit. Guier smiled and said, "This suit has a very British style." As soon as she finished speaking, she realized that something was wrong. She was looking at it from a modern perspective. In this era, she had no idea what British style was, so she quickly shut up.

The salesperson next to me smiled and said, "Miss, you have a good eye. This is indeed imported from the UK. We also provide alterations. After you try it on, if there is any place that doesn't fit, you can leave it after checkout and we will make it for you."

Sha Yanxiao changed into a suit and walked out of the fitting room. With his tall and handsome appearance, he looked just like a modern model walking on the catwalk. Guier couldn't help but secretly sigh that if Sha Yanxiao was born in modern times, he would probably be able to make money just by relying on his appearance.

The girls around, including the salesperson, couldn't help but take a few more glances at Sha Yanxiao when they saw him, but Sha Yanxiao seemed to be used to it and was a little oblivious to these glances.

After they finished shopping, Sha Yanxiao took Gui'er to the restaurant on the top floor for afternoon tea. After all, this is Shanghai, and the chef of the western restaurant here is actually a French chef. Sha Yanxiao ordered their signature braised steak, which was indeed delicious.

They were eating and chatting happily when suddenly someone came up and asked, "Excuse me, are you Mr. Sha Yanxiao?"

Guier looked up and saw a young woman of about eighteen or nineteen years old. She had short hair with bangs and a thin layer of hair, which made her look particularly fresh and neat. She was not wearing a cheongsam, but a two-piece suit and a fishtail skirt. It was obvious at a glance from the style and the texture of the fabric that the clothes were very valuable, and they fit her very well, so it was very likely that they were custom-made.

Sha Yanxiao put down his knife and fork, smiled politely and said, "I am busy with business. Miss, do you have any advice for me?" He probably could tell from the other person's clothes that she must be from some important background.

The woman smiled and said, "Mr. Sha may not know me, but he should know my uncle, his name is Ji Zhongqing."

Sha Yanxiao was stunned for a moment, then quickly stood up and dragged a stool for the woman. He made a gentlemanly gesture of invitation and said, "It turns out to be Miss Ji. Please sit down."

The woman didn't refuse and sat down gracefully. Gui'er was very surprised. Why was Sha Yanxiao suddenly so flattering? Although her clothes made it clear that her family must be wealthy and perhaps of considerable influence, Sha Yanxiao's temperament was not one to flatter others.

Gui'er couldn't help but look at the woman carefully. Her clothing taste was fashionable and elegant, and her manners were graceful and generous, not petty at all. Even if she didn't know where she came from, she could guess that she was a daughter of a wealthy family. She had a square face, high cheekbones, thick lips, and phoenix eyes. Although she was not a beauty in the traditional sense, her aura was extremely strong, and she carried a sense of superiority that came from a natural superiority.

Sha Yanxiao smiled gently and said, "I haven't asked Miss Ji yet, what's your name? We've been chatting for so long, I think it wouldn't be too abrupt to ask for your maiden name."

Miss Ji smiled and said, "My name is Ji Yiru."

Sha Yanxiao said: "What a nice name, it really suits the person."

When Miss Ji heard this, she actually blushed a little and said with a smile, "Mr. Sha, you're so kind. Actually, we met at the banquet a few days ago, but there were so many people around you at that time that we didn't say hello."

Sha Yanxiao said regretfully, "So that's how it is. It's my fault. Fortunately, there's still a chance to make amends. Miss Ji, how about having dinner with me?"

Gui'er's face was filled with questions. Why was this situation developing so strangely? She felt like a 5000-watt light bulb. She should have disappeared tactfully.