A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

Chapter 1101 Fundraising Horror

Although she lost contact with the organization, Gui'er saw that the students in the school were still organizing various anti-Japanese charity sales and activities, and she actively participated. It is said that the money raised would be donated to the country to purchase airplanes and guns and ammunition.

At first, Gui'er was hesitant, afraid of revealing her identity. Later, she discovered that most of the students in her class participated to some extent. Even Liu Lanfang, to avoid appearing out of place, would occasionally join in, bringing her old clothes and making a few earnest, patriotic remarks.

She became even more uninhibited. In addition to selling her custom-made cheongsams that she no longer wore, she also followed her classmates, carrying flyers and donation boxes around their necks, to the streets to raise money.

However, the money collected on the street was mostly loose change, not much, since everyone was struggling financially.

That day, she was handing out flyers on the roadside with other classmates.

"The police are coming! Run!" shouted one of the sharp-eyed students.

The other students darted into the surrounding alleys in a flash.

Gui'er was encountering such a scene for the first time and was unfamiliar with the surrounding terrain. She stood there stunned for two seconds before the patrol officers caught up with her.

"Anti-Japanese elements, don't run away."

Gui'er quickly turned around and slipped into an alley. She had only run a few steps when she saw several police officers emerge from around the corner. It turned out that the police officers had been lying in wait there for a while.

"Alright, come with us. Don't be afraid, it's nothing serious. It's all just for show for the Japanese. We'll have your school bail you out later," a tall, imposing detective said slowly as he walked over.

How could Gui'er possibly believe him? She pretended to be frightened and stood there motionless, but her eyes swept around, observing the terrain and looking for any flaws in these people, hoping to take the opportunity to break through.

She found them standing at an intersection in the alley, surrounded by police from both sides.

She pretended to comply, then suddenly turned and ran into the alley next to her.

"Damn it, you little slut, stop right there!" the policeman yelled as he chased after them.

Gui'er was petite and small, and could not outrun a big, burly man. She was about to be caught up.

Suddenly, she bumped into someone's arms, and at the same time, the police caught up with her.

Gui'er didn't care about anything else and tried to push the person away to keep running.

Unexpectedly, she was firmly held down, and the man used only one hand to tightly hold her in his arms. Gui'er could even smell the faint smell of smoke on his body and the musky scent mixed with cologne and body odor. The scent was very faint but extremely strong and could not be ignored.

"Oh, it's you! What brings you here, brother? What's this all about...?"

"Thank you all for your hard work. These are my men. They were young and ignorant and offended some of my brothers. Please forgive them."

A familiar voice came from above. Gui'er looked up and saw that it was Wu Mingqiang.

"So you're Young Master Wu's men. What a case of mistaken identity! We're not doing this on purpose, brothers. The Japanese have already taken over the customs area. If we do nothing while they're doing this kind of thing in the street, the higher-ups will blame us."

"I understand my brother's difficulties, and I feel very embarrassed. I will talk to her about it when I get back."

"Alright, we brothers will head back now. Sorry, miss, we didn't mean to scare you." The lead policeman chuckled, waving to his men as they prepared to leave. One of his junior officers glanced at Gui'er curiously a few more times, but when he looked up, he saw Wu Mingqiang staring at him menacingly. He quickly looked away and turned to leave.

Gui'er heard them walking away and quickly stepped out of Wu Mingqiang's arms. She noticed that Wu Mingqiang's ears were red.

Wu Mingqiang opened his mouth and suddenly felt very thirsty, his throat was dry, and the faint sweet scent of Gui'er still lingered in his nasal cavity.

He cleared his throat and said, "It's alright, Miss. Weren't you scared? Let's go back first." With that, he pulled Gui'er along and walked quickly forward. They turned a corner and walked to his car parked by the roadside. He opened the car door and helped Gui'er into the car.

Gui'er finally felt at ease. She suddenly remembered what the policeman had said: "Brother Wu, what did that policeman mean by the Japanese being stationed at customs?"

As Wu Mingqiang started the car, he said, "You don't know? Not long after the military exercises ended, the Hong Kong British government compromised with Japan and allowed Japanese personnel to be stationed at the Kowloon Customs. These people were actually Japanese spies. During this period, security was upgraded to monitor pro-China and anti-Japanese activities. The police force also increased patrols to prevent theft, gambling and other holiday crimes; the government also censored Chinese newspapers to suppress anti-Japanese speech while maintaining market stability. I heard all this from Lung Hing."

“Miss, why are you participating in these activities again? Publicly showing your face like this is much more dangerous than before. Didn’t I tell you to let me know beforehand? If I hadn’t happened to be here on business, and you had been arrested and taken to the police station, even if we could bail you out, your identity information would be registered. The Japanese will occupy Hong Kong sooner or later, and anyone on the roster will be in great danger.” Wu Mingqiang said, frowning.

Gui'er lowered her head and stammered softly, "But Brother Chen isn't here anymore. All the other classmates are so enthusiastic about participating in the charity sale and fundraising activities, I also want to do my part."

"Everyone else ran away, and you were the only one who obediently got caught there, with no one coming to rescue you. You'd better be smarter in the future and not show your face. Besides, what can you do with this two dollars you raised?"

When Gui'er heard him say that, she realized that her donation box had been dropped when she ran away, and she was even more frustrated.

Seeing her dejected look, Wu Mingqiang felt a pang of sympathy: "Alright, let's go home. Dingxiang said she bought a lot of things to prepare for the New Year. This year, I plan to have Hong Kong's special Poon Choi for the New Year. I've already ordered it from a famous restaurant. Miss, is there anything you'd like to eat? Or have you chosen your new clothes for this year? Should we have them custom-made or buy an imported dress?"

Gui'er was actually thinking that with war approaching, they should be frugal as much as possible. However, considering that it was a rare opportunity to celebrate the New Year, and as the master, if she took the lead in advocating frugality, the people below would not be able to enjoy the New Year. So she nodded and said, "You arrange it. Also, everyone at the pawnshop has worked hard all year. It would be right to give them some bonuses if there is a profit."

Wu Mingqiang nodded and said with a smile, "Miss is so thoughtful. I will do as she says. At the end of the year, the store will hold a year-end banquet. As the owner, Miss, you should also come and attend."