A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

Chapter 1052 Wu Mingqiang Gets Involved with High-Ranking Figures

Time flies, and more than a month has passed since school started. Gui'er hasn't seen Chen Zhongyu since their last meal together. Usually, Lin Peishan relays messages to her when she goes to school.

Since getting engaged to Chen Zhongyu, Lin Peishan has been spending more time with classmates from similar backgrounds. She told Gui'er, "I'm getting married next year, and I'll see if my father can let me take over the trading company in Hong Kong. So I need to keep in touch with my classmates now. Zhongyu also said that these people have extensive connections and can get information in a timely manner, which is beneficial to us."

Gui'er nodded. She was just a merchant's daughter who owned a small pawnshop and had no connection with high society. Although they were all classmates and would nod to each other when they met, they didn't really get along. Sometimes she thought about getting close to her classmates like Lin Peishan did to gather information, but she could clearly feel the wariness these socialites had towards her, so she had to give up.

She herself wasn't particularly interested in wealth and status. However, one could somewhat understand Wu Mingqiang's desperate desire to climb the social ladder.

Thanks to Wu Mingqiang's efforts, his rice smuggling business to Guangzhou was finally up and running, and he had already successfully shipped several orders. It was said that the business was very profitable, and Detective Long was very satisfied. In addition, the matter of the Japanese cargo ship had come to an end, and he was even more satisfied with Wu Mingqiang.

Detective Long even sent some gifts to Gui'er, saying that he had heard that Miss Sha's birthday was coming soon, so he was sending some birthday gifts to express his feelings and to apologize for his previous abrupt offense.

When Dingxiang learned that it was a gift from Detective Long, she was overjoyed and said, "This is Detective Long. I think he's a pretty good person. He must be thinking of the old friendship he had with the Marshal."

Gui'er shook her head: "How long has Father been dead? These kinds of social interactions between people in high positions often fade away after they leave. Besides, Father only came to Hong Kong once or twice, so we're not necessarily that close."

She asked Wu Mingqiang, who said, "I don't know why Detective Long suddenly gave you a gift, but he might be sending me a signal that he felt it wasn't right to ask you without my permission, so he's doing this to show his appreciation. I did mention to my brothers that we should celebrate your birthday properly in a while."

Gui'er herself didn't think that Longxing could be so respectful and courteous to scholars.

She told Lin Peishan about it, and Lin Peishan frowned and said, "I have a feeling that it's your servant Wu Mingqiang causing trouble again, believe it or not?"

Gui'er laughed and said, "What kind of trouble could he possibly be causing? No matter what he does, he wouldn't let his boss give gifts to his own family members, which is why I can't figure it out."

Lin Peishan turned her head and looked around, saying, "Isn't Zhongyu working as Mo Gansheng's clerical assistant now? He said that Wu Mingqiang has recently been helping Mo Gansheng with some behind-the-scenes matters. So Mo Gansheng quite admires him, and he might have already gotten on this track."

"What? How could he possibly know Mo Gansheng?" Gui'er was very surprised. It was possible that Wu Mingqiang knew some people through Lung Hing, but Mo Gansheng was considered a member of Hong Kong's high society and had connections with foreigners. Even Lung Hing might not be able to get close to him, let alone Wu Mingqiang, who was a henchman of Lung Hing.

"It's hard to say. I've heard some rumors, but they're just rumors. I'm not sure. It's said that Wu Mingqiang not only came into contact with Mo Gansheng, but also with some other big shots in the upper echelons. But I don't know the specifics. Zhong Yu overheard Mo Gansheng saying that this young man is very ambitious, smart and quick-witted. Zhong Yu has been by Mo Gansheng's side for a while now, and I've never heard him praise anyone so highly."

Does that include Brother Chen?

"Yes, including Zhong Yu."

Gui'er realized the seriousness of the situation and asked Dingxiang after returning home, "Little Wu, is he back?"

"Oh, he's back. He's been coming back earlier these days. He stays in his room before meals every day, I don't know what he's doing. After he finishes eating, he goes back to his room right away. When Brother Cheng asks him, he just says he's very tired."

"Are you very tired? Are you sick?"

"I don't know if you're looking for him, miss? I'll go and call him."

"Oh, no need, I'll go to his room to check on him."

Gui'er arrived at Wu Mingqiang's room on the first floor. Wu Mingqiang was considered the steward, so his room was slightly larger than the other servants' rooms. However, the furnishings inside were the same as the other servants' rooms: a wooden bed, a chair, and a desk.

At this moment, his door was half open. Gui'er pushed the door open and found him sitting at the table, holding a book in his hand, reading intently, and muttering to himself.

Gui'er's opening of the door startled Wu Mingqiang. He hurriedly closed the book, a flash of panic crossing his face before he regained his composure. The book lay open on the table, its kraft paper cover bearing the gold-embossed words "Cantonese Made Easy." The edges of the pages were curled, indicating it had been read many times. Inside, dense Chinese phonetic symbols were marked in pencil, with "Hello" written next to "Hello" and a small "Thank you" drawn next to "Thank you."

"Why did you come here, Miss?" Wu Mingqiang stood up and pushed the book to the corner of the table.

Gui'er pointed at the book and laughed: "I didn't expect you to be learning English. How come you suddenly became interested in learning this?"

Wu Mingqiang didn't hide anything, scratching his head: "In Hong Kong, you can't get by without knowing a few words of English. Look at those compradors and justices of the peace, aren't they all fluent in English? If you can't even talk to the British, you'll be stuck at the bottom for life." He picked up a book, his fingertips tracing the phonetic symbols. "I want to move up, not just for myself, but also so that Miss can have a more respectable future. By the way, Miss, didn't you start learning English when you were little? Could you teach me sometime?"

“Of course, no problem. It’s good that you want to learn.” Gui’er’s heart stirred, and she turned to the gifts Long Xing had given her: “By the way, Detective Long sent some things over, saying it was for my birthday. A box of Western candies and a steelyard pen, they look quite valuable.” She frowned, “I find it strange. He’s never been the type to do such favors so readily. Is there something going on?”

Wu Mingqiang's eyes lit up: "A fountain pen? Detective Long is quite thoughtful."

Seeing Gui'er nod, he smiled and said, "That makes sense. Do you remember Mr. Mo Gansheng, the Justice of the Peace? I helped him with something the other day."

"Really?" Gui'er was even more surprised.