A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

Chapter 1023 The Situation in Guangzhou

After watching Manager Liu leave, Wu Mingqiang looked around warily.

They entered the Aiqun Building through the back door with Gui'er, and the two quickly went up to the 4th floor and found room 403.

Wu Mingqiang skillfully pulled out the key from under the flowerpot by the door and opened the door.

Only then did the two of them breathe a sigh of relief.

Wu Mingqiang said to Gui'er, "Manager Liu is no saint. He used to use his position as the manager of Aiqun Building to transport goods for the black market using their trucks. I knew that before, which is why I hired him this time. People like him have no morals. That's why I sent Ah Si to his house to monitor his family in case he betrays us."

He looked around the room again, then said to Gui'er, "Miss, you can stay here for the next couple of days. Don't go out. If you get bored, you can look out the window and watch the commotion downstairs. There's a curfew here at night. If you go out at night for any reason, you'll be beaten to death in the street without any consequences. Of course, if you run into the Japanese on the street during the day and attract their attention, that's bad luck too."

Gui'er nodded and said, "I understand, Brother Wu. You should go find your brother quickly. I also don't know if Comrade Deng Jun has had any trouble. The comrades in the warehouse and the people from the escort agency are waiting for you to bring them food."

"Okay, I'm leaving now. By the way, there are quite a few Japanese people living in the Aiqun Building now, so be careful."

Wu Mingqiang left after giving his instructions.

A moment later, someone from the hotel knocked on the door and said, "Mr. Wu, your order has arrived."

Gui'er opened the door with trepidation and found that it was indeed the hotel staff who brought the food up: fried prawns, stir-fried conch slices, whole winter melon, grouper with five kinds of vegetables, and braised silver carp.

She was stunned. She had eaten all of these when she passed through Guangzhou last time and thought they were delicious. She had mentioned them when they were chatting in Hong Kong before. She didn't expect Wu Mingqiang to remember them.

The difference is that last time she had Dingxiang and Acheng with her, but now she's all alone, and these delicacies don't seem to taste as good as she remembers.

After finishing her meal, Gui'er felt bored and went to the window to look down.

Aiqun Building is a landmark building in Guangzhou, located in a bustling downtown area, with a constant flow of traffic below it.

Gui'er glanced downstairs; it was still the same, with people coming and going, feeling no different from the last time she came.

Suddenly, she noticed that a house diagonally opposite seemed different from the houses next to it. Upon closer inspection, she realized that it had no roof and was completely empty inside, just a shell. It must have been hit by a bomb and the roof exploded.

The houses on either side of it, which are located in a busy area, should have been used as shops on the ground floor, but they are all empty.

Gui'er could immediately sense the devastation of the bombing; the houses on both sides were probably also damaged and unusable.

She looked again at the people on the street, who were walking hurriedly, completely devoid of the leisurely and carefree mood they had before the war.

"They're here! They're here!" A sudden commotion broke out on the street, and people scattered to the left and right, quickly disappearing under the arcades on both sides.

"Put-putt-putt-putt-putt-putt." Two three-wheeled motorcycles sped towards them from a distance. On them sat Japanese soldiers in khaki uniforms. The motorcycles were going extremely fast, and even on the crowded street, they didn't slow down at all. This frightened not only passersby, but also the small vendors who had set up stalls on the roadside. They dropped their goods and slipped into the arcades to hide. Only after the motorcycles had roared past did people come out of the arcades and continue walking as if nothing had happened.

Gui'er felt terrible. She had no desire to watch any longer, so she went back inside and sat down. She hadn't slept well all night, filled with anxiety, and now she was feeling sleepy. So she simply lay down on the bed fully clothed and fell into a deep sleep.

After an unknown amount of time, Gui'er suddenly woke up with a start.

She sat up abruptly, looked out the window, and saw that it was completely dark outside. She went out into the hall and saw that the clock hands were pointing to 10 o'clock.

Wu Mingqiang didn't know how things were going, or if he had been able to contact any of his comrades. Gui'er was very uneasy.

Gui'er tiptoed to the window and looked out. It was pitch black. She could only see a street lamp shining in the distance. The light was dim, like a small candle. Occasionally, Japanese soldiers in yellowish-brown uniforms or military police in black Japanese puppet regime uniforms would walk by under the lamp with their guns on their backs.

"Young master, hurry over here."

"Shh, shut the fuck up. Japanese people live in this building too, and there's a Japanese observation post on the roof. Also, don't call me 'Young Master,' I'm not a young master anymore."

"Don't worry, I've checked. This floor is full of Chinese people, and they're all from out of town. They're the type who prefer to avoid trouble. I paid the hotel manager for this information, which is why I specifically chose this floor."

Gui'er heard a faint voice. Although the voice was very soft, it was still quite clear in the quiet night. Then she saw a little light coming through the crack in the door.

Curious, she walked behind the door, lay down on the floor, and looked out through the crack in the door. She saw the door across the street closing, and it looked like two or three people had checked into the room across the street.

After the other party closed the door, everything returned to silence.

Gui'er lay on the ground and waited outside for a while, but there was no movement. So she got up and went back to bed. Although she was very anxious, she knew that she was powerless. If she ran out, she would only cause trouble for everyone. She had to rest up first. She believed that with Wu Mingqiang's abilities, he could make a name for himself anywhere. There shouldn't be any problems.

The next day, Gui'er didn't wake up until someone knocked on the door.

"Who?" Gui'er asked warily.

"Mr. Wu's breakfast has arrived." It was the waitress's voice.

Gui'er quickly tidied up her wrinkled suit before opening the door.

The waiter pushed in a cart with a basket of char siu buns, a basket of shrimp dumplings, a basket of taro cakes, and a bowl of soy milk.

The waiter placed the food down, cleared away the tableware from yesterday's dinner, and then asked Gui'er, "Mr. Wu has ordered our delivery service. What would you like to eat for lunch and dinner?"

Gui'er paused for a moment, then covered her throat and said, "Oh, I don't have much of an appetite. I'll have stir-fried beef noodles for lunch, and steamed pork ribs and a plate of greens for dinner."

She tried to order simple things, since she hadn't brought much money with her and didn't know how long she would stay. On the one hand, she also wanted to avoid arousing suspicion.

The waitress nodded and said, "Okay, I understand." Then she smiled and said, "Your throat seems a little sore. Would you like me to buy you a bowl of herbal tea?"