A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

Chapter 1004 The Lin Family Banquet

Gui'er couldn't contain her joy; as soon as she returned to the villa, she called Lin Peishan to share her happiness.

Lin Peishan also learned of this news. She lowered her voice and said to Gui'er on the phone, "My father is also very happy. He has great admiration for the anti-Japanese organizations and people. I plan to secretly reveal Brother Chen's identity to him. That way, he will definitely agree, hehe."

“No.” Gui’er blurted out, and even Dingxiang next to her heard it, looking at her with a curious expression, not understanding what was going on.

"This is too dangerous." She didn't care about anything else.

“What danger is there? I only told my parents,” Lin Peishan said naively.

Gui'er was so anxious that she wanted to immediately go over the telephone line and explain the pros and cons and the lessons she had learned in the past to Lin Peishan.

"No, I'll tell you the details tomorrow. Please don't explain it now, okay? This concerns your personal safety."

Gui'er emphasized it repeatedly and solemnly, and seeing how serious she was, Lin Peishan agreed.

"Miss, what's wrong? You seem to be in a hurry."

Gui'er turned around and saw it was A-Si. She smiled and said, "It's nothing, my classmate had a fight with her parents, and I was trying to mediate. Brother A-Si, you're back from the pawnshop. How was your birthday today?"

"It's great. Today, because of the news of the great victory in Changsha, the streets are like New Year's Day. Everyone is in high spirits. Even the customers who come to pawn their goods are no longer complaining. They just want the war to end quickly so they can go back to their hometowns."

Gui'er sighed and said, "I wish it could end this soon."

Wu Mingqiang comforted her, "Miss, we're doing quite well here. The tracks are laid, and I've made a name for myself on the surface. Ordinary people don't dare to mess with us. It's almost the same as when we were in Jiangcheng. If we go back to Jiangcheng now, it'll probably be all ruins. All the slightly wealthy people in Jiangcheng have left. It's probably never as prosperous as it used to be. What's the point of going back?"

Ah Si laughed and said, "Brother Qiang, you're doing so well here, of course you don't want to go back. Miss's family is all over there. I was asked by the young marshal to go and find out about her two brothers, but the city is too chaotic. The Japanese devils and the newly established puppet regime have people setting up checkpoints on the streets. One wrong move and you'll be shot in the head. I really couldn't get through. Now that I think about it, I feel bad for you."

Gui'er was hearing about this for the first time. Knowing that there was nothing she could do about it, she smiled and comforted A-Si, saying, "It's not your fault. My two brothers bought land and houses in the countryside a long time ago, preparing to move there when the war breaks out. They should be safe."

But when she lay in bed at night, she tossed and turned. Perhaps it was because Lin Peishan and Chen Zhongyu were getting married that she felt increasingly missing Sha Yanxiao. She really wished she could go back to Jiangcheng to find him, but she knew it was impossible, which made her even more miserable.

The next day, as soon as she returned to school, Lin Peishan quietly told her, "My parents came from Macau. My family is having a banquet this weekend. You should come and join us. I've also invited Zhongyu. We'll officially announce our engagement to my parents then."

Gui'er suddenly remembered what happened yesterday and quickly said, "You didn't tell them Brother Chen's identity, did you?"

"Not yet. You were so nervous yesterday that I didn't dare to tell you. What's wrong?"

Gui'er glanced around and said, "Let's go to a coffee shop near the school for a drink later. I'll tell you then."

During their lunch break, the two went to a coffee shop near the school. The coffee shop was frequented by students, teachers, and local residents. Because it was mostly frequented by intellectuals, it was relatively quiet. The decor was tasteful, and the shop even played popular songs on a record player.

Lin Peishan chuckled and said, "Look at you, so secretive."

Gui'er said seriously, "It seems Brother Chen didn't tell you about our discipline. Do you know how many comrades sacrificed their lives in Nanjing because of leaked information? Many comrades didn't tell their closest relatives what they did so as not to implicate their families. You might think that Hong Kong isn't like the mainland, where the government can't interfere, but this incident has made me realize that even in Hong Kong, even if we're not facing hostile forces, any organization, whether it's thugs or corrupt police, will use our identities to attack and blackmail us. Moreover, according to our organization's regulations, you two probably need to apply to the organization for permission to proceed. Didn't Brother Chen tell you that?"

Lin Peishan was stunned. She said, "We parted in a hurry last time. After we met again, he was busy with the bookstore business. He just saw off those colleagues recently. I felt embarrassed to tell him about this because he was so busy."

Gui'er was both amused and exasperated: "How could you make arrangements for these two people without telling him? I think you should discuss it with him, and it would be best if you asked him directly about that Editor Zhou. Wouldn't that put your mind at ease?"

Lin Peishan nodded thoughtfully and said, "You're right. I was too impulsive. Okay, I'll go talk to him right after school."

Gui'er was stunned for a moment and couldn't help but admire her courage.

That day after school, Gui'er didn't go to Chen Zhongyu's bookstore with her, so as not to be a third wheel. As soon as she got home, Lin Peishan called to say that Chen Zhongyu had agreed and that he had applied to his superiors, who had approved their marriage. She would bring Chen Zhongyu to her family's banquet as previously arranged to introduce him to her parents. She also invited Gui'er to attend, but Chen Zhongyu's identity was, needless to say, a secret.

Gui'er finally breathed a sigh of relief and quickly congratulated her over the phone.

On Sunday, Gui'er chose a slightly more understated moon-white cheongsam with silver thread embroidery and a mandarin collar from the high-end cheongsams she had brought from Jiangcheng. At the Lin family banquet, the host, Sir Lin, dressed in a white suit, was clinking glasses with the HSBC taipan. As a comprador for the Portuguese aristocracy in Macau's high society, he commanded respect from most of the prominent families and social classes in Hong Kong. The venue was very lively, with a diverse array of guests: elegant ladies in cheongsams adorned with tinkling jade pendants, a trading company manager whose cigar rings mingled with the strains of "Rose, Rose, I Love You" playing on a gramophone, and several elderly men in long gowns—Sir Lin's old friends from his days in the underworld.

On the long table, a chilled champagne tower gleamed, steamed grouper rested on a silver platter, and roast suckling pig glistened with oil. Beside it sat a fusion of Chinese and Western dishes: baked lobster with oyster sauce and mustard. Waiters moved about carrying silver platters, and crystal chandeliers illuminated each dish as if it were a painting.