A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

Chapter 1156 Packing Up Valuables

Gui'er hurriedly went to her room, took out everything from the safe, and put it in her suitcase. Wu Mingqiang had already withdrawn the money from the bank and exchanged it for silver dollars and gold bars.

Then there were the gold and silver jewelry, and I also chose a few sets of clothes that I usually wear.

At this moment, Dingxiang and Acheng came up. Dingxiang saw that the high-end cheongsams in the wardrobe had not been touched, so she quickly helped to tidy them up.

"Oh my, these clothes are so high-end and expensive. They were custom-made at Yunshanglou before, and I went through a lot of trouble to bring them here. I can't let them go to someone else."

Gui'er smiled helplessly and said, "Forget it, Dingxiang. There are some clothes here that I can't wear anymore. And even if I could, it's wartime now. Wearing such luxurious clothes out would be like telling people that we're easy prey."

"But... the pawnshop is closed now, so we can't sell it anymore," Dingxiang said regretfully.

"Let's pack it up and put it in the cellar first," Acheng said.

"Don't you need to pack your own luggage?" Gui'er asked with concern.

"We don't have any valuable luggage, just a few clothes, and the money can be put in a purse," Dingxiang said with a smile.

Gui'er suddenly felt a little sad. These two people, who were as close to her as brothers and sisters, ended up like other poor people in the world. When disaster struck, they only had a little bit of savings that they didn't know how long they could last. She made up her mind that as long as she was alive, she would stand with them through thick and thin.

"By the way, miss, those expensive pieces of furniture and the gramophone on the first floor, do you think we should hide them?" Acheng asked.

Gui'er nodded: "Yes. I really don't want to let the Japanese get away with this, but if we take everything, it doesn't seem right. I'm afraid that if the Japanese dig deep, they'll expose where we've hidden our things."

"Don't worry, Miss. Recently, many neighbors have been moving out and discarding a lot of furniture. I'll collect all our huanghuali furniture first, and then pick up some old furniture to replace it." As he spoke, Acheng went downstairs to find Liujin to help move the furniture.

Gui'er and Dingxiang were packing some valuables inside the house when they heard a noise downstairs. They exchanged a glance and stopped what they were doing. Before they could come down, Wu Mingqiang had already strode up the stairs, his clothes covered in dust, his leather shoes making a heavy sound on the stairs, but his face remained calm.

“Miss, everything is settled at the pawnshop.” He stood at the door, unbuttoning his dusty coat. “The valuables have already been shipped to Macau. The remaining old items have been stacked in the cellar and sealed with stone slabs. They’re covered with some broken wooden crates outside, so it looks like a pile of useless junk. The account books are burned, and the keys are thrown away. Even if someone breaks in, they won’t find anything.”

Gui'er nodded: "Thank you for your hard work, Brother Wu."

"Dingxiang, how's it going at the villa?" Wu Mingqiang turned to Dingxiang, his gaze sweeping over the luggage piled on the bed.

"Brother Qiang, Miss told us to pack a while ago. The luggage is almost packed, and the valuable jewelry and money are all packed into boxes. Brother Cheng is taking Liu Jin to exchange furniture. He's putting all the good stuff in the cellar and replacing it with the old stuff the neighbors threw away." Dingxiang answered briskly, while folding a plain-colored cloth shirt in her hands.

Wu Mingqiang hummed in agreement, his gaze returning to Gui'er, his tone becoming more serious: "Miss, are there any assets that have been overlooked? Especially those that are inconvenient to carry openly. While there's still time, quickly take stock of them, and I'll find a way to transfer them all together."

Gui'er hesitated for a moment, clutching the hem of her clothes, and looked at Dingxiang. Dingxiang, quick-witted, immediately said, "I'll go see if Brother Acheng needs any help." She turned and went downstairs.

With only the two of them left in the room, Gui'er whispered, "Brother Wu, I have some things hidden in the underground secret room."

Wu Mingqiang was taken aback: "A secret room? How come I didn't know that..."

“It was arranged by my father before he died, and no one knows about it except me.” Gui’er got up and led Wu Mingqiang to the dressing room, moving the mirror covering the secret room door. A sparse blue brick on the wall behind it was revealed. She pressed a crack in the brick, and the wall silently slid open a narrow door. “Inside aren’t gold or silver, but antiques and paintings. My father said they are all national treasures, and it took a lot of effort to transport them from Shanghai back then.”

Wu Mingqiang followed her into the secret room, which was not large and contained only a few locked wooden cabinets. Opening the cabinet doors, the scrolls were neatly stacked, and in the dim light, the inscriptions and seals on them were clearly visible, indicating that they were indeed ancient treasures.

“I can’t take these things with me.” Gui’er’s fingers gently brushed over a scroll, her voice trembling. “They’re too heavy and too conspicuous. But I can’t let them fall into the hands of the Japanese or be ruined by the soldiers.”

She looked up at Wu Mingqiang, her eyes resolute: "Brother Wu, these belong to the country. Once we drive the Japanese away, I will personally hand them over to the museum. For now, we can only trouble you to keep them here."

Wu Mingqiang looked at the calligraphy and paintings, then at Gui'er's reddened eyes, and nodded heavily: "Miss is right, these cannot be lost, give them to me."

The two returned to their room, and Wu Mingqiang told Gui'er to rest for a while. He went downstairs to seal the cellar door with Acheng and Liujin.

Before long, Wu Mingqiang brought over half a bucket of mixed cement and lime, along with a trowel. "Isn't the cellar going to be sealed up? We can seal this door as well, plastering it with lime and cement to make it look exactly like the surrounding walls, so no one can tell the difference."

Gui'er watched him roll up his sleeves, carefully mix the cement, and then meticulously fill the gaps between the bricks, his movements steady as if he were doing something extremely solemn. As the door to the secret room slowly closed and the last ray of light was blocked, Gui'er breathed a sigh of relief.

"Alright." Wu Mingqiang straightened up and wiped the dust off his face. "This underground treasure room is extremely well hidden. It should be no problem to keep the entrance undiscovered. Don't worry."

Gui'er nodded. At this moment, Acheng and Liujin came up to her and said, "Miss, we plan to move your big bed and dressing table to the cellar. After all, they are made of rosewood and are quite expensive."

Gui'er nodded, watching the three of them busily moving the valuable furniture from their room downstairs.

Upon arriving on the first floor, the original exquisite furniture was gone, replaced by ordinary wooden furniture. The living room floor was covered with a thick, luxurious carpet, making the ordinary, inexpensive furniture look somewhat out of place.

"It's a pity we can't put the carpet away, otherwise we could have put it in too," Dingxiang said regretfully.

"At a time like this, saving our lives is the most important thing. Why bother with that carpet?" Acheng said.