A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

Chapter 1090 Finding Liang Ping

"Hey, no, no, no, it's me, it's me."

When Gui'er heard the voice, it sounded familiar. Looking under the dim streetlights, she realized it was Liang Ping.

"Brother Liang, it's you! What are you doing here? I heard the shop hasn't been open all day. What happened?"

"This isn't the place to talk. I'll get in the car with you first, and we'll go somewhere else."

The three quickly got into the car, and Acheng started the engine and drove off in a flash.

No one spoke much along the way, until they arrived at a secluded and open hillside.

Acheng looked around and said, "No one is following us, so we should be safe here."

"Brother Liang, that list in the shop..."

“I took it. I didn’t tell you last time. Although I can’t usually contact Team Leader Chen, we have an agreement to meet at a certain location every now and then to confirm each other’s safety. However, I didn’t tell you before because of discipline. Only Team Leader Chen and I know about this.”

“We met again a couple of days ago. He told me that he felt like he was being watched lately, and he accepted your suggestion. He has already reported it to his superiors to see if he should be transferred or what. He told me about the list and asked me to notify the comrades above to evacuate according to the list if I found out something happened to him. You must have received this notification, which is why you came to find the list, right?”

Gui'er nodded: "Peishan informed me, I didn't expect you to take it first. So how are the comrades now?"

"I've notified all the well-known people above. To be honest, I've met most of those comrades. After discussing it, we realized that with Professors Xu and Meng missing, many of their students and intellectuals who had been in direct contact with them are now like kites with broken strings, unable to be reached. Now that Brother Chen is also dead, our entire liaison point in Hong Kong is paralyzed. To ensure safety, we've all returned to our original organizations to see how the higher-ups will arrange things. Under these circumstances, it will probably take a lot of manpower and resources to rebuild."

“I originally came from Guangxi. I want to go back to Guangxi to find my brother. I heard from Team Leader Chen that you have connections to go back to Guangzhou. You played a big role in the previous transportation of supplies. Can you help me go back?”

Gui'er felt much more at ease when she heard that her comrades had all received the news and were either retreating or going into hiding, but she was also at a loss for what to do: "You've all gone back, what am I going to do?"

Liang Ping smiled: "Don't worry, I will report your situation to the organization. Brother Chen has been deliberately keeping you out of the core missions to protect you. No matter how much they investigate, they will only think you are a rich young lady who supports the anti-Japanese war. There are many such people in Hong Kong, so it is relatively safe."

Gui'er had previously felt somewhat disappointed and distrusted by Chen Zhongyu for not allowing her access to core missions. Now, hearing Liang Ping's words, she finally understood Chen Zhongyu's good intentions. However, he had already passed away, and Gui'er's eyes welled up with tears at the thought.

Liang Ping saw this, lowered his head, and said in a deep voice, "Team Leader Chen is a very good leader. In the past few years in Hong Kong, he has always taken great care of us comrades, leading us to complete one mission after another. The reason I was able to get the news so quickly today is because I knew he was being monitored recently, and I was a little worried. So every morning before opening my shop, I would buy a bowl of soy milk and a fried dough stick from the breakfast shop on the corner of the two streets ahead. Team Leader Chen would pass by there every day when he took his fiancée to school. I saw their car pass by the breakfast shop, and I was sure he was safe. I never expected that today, just after their car passed the breakfast shop, there was a car accident at the intersection. I rushed over to see... The perpetrator fled the scene, and passersby helped carry the person out, but he died instantly..." Liang Ping choked up as he said this.

Gui'er could no longer hold back and began to sob softly.

"Alright, although there aren't many people here, we can't let this go on for too long, Miss. How about this, we'll find a small hotel for this brother to stay at for the night, and then tomorrow Brother Qiang will arrange for him to take a boat back to the mainland. What do you think?"

Gui'er stopped crying, looked around to make sure no one was there, sighed and said, "Let's leave it at that, Brother Liang, what do you say?"

Liang Ping nodded and said, "Okay."

So he drove to a small hotel that Acheng was familiar with. The owner recognized Acheng's car immediately and rushed over to greet him warmly.

Acheng gestured for Gui'er to sit in the car, then took Liang Ping out of the car. He put his arm around Liang Ping's shoulder and introduced him to the boss, saying, "This is my distant cousin. He just came from the mainland and is staying here. Boss, please give him a single room, keep it simple. Let him stay here for a day or two as a temporary measure. He'll move out once he finds a job."

“No problem, Brother Cheng’s brothers are my brothers. This guy’s name is…”

"You can call him Aping."

"Brother Aping, right? Come, come this way. We happen to have a small guest room left. It'll be comfortable for you to stay alone. It's very clean."

The three of them talked as they went into the shop.

Gui'er didn't get out of the car. She knew that the hotel was not far from their pawnshop and that A-Cheng must have met her there. If she, as the mistress of the house, got out of the car with them, it would make the owner feel awkward.

After a while, Acheng came out of the hotel, got into his car, and drove off.

"Has Brother Liangping made all the arrangements?"

"Yes, don't worry, Miss. I know the boss quite well. He's very helpful and knows the rules."

"That's good."

The two returned to the villa, where Wu Mingqiang was already back. He frowned and quickly came out to greet them.

"These are extraordinary times, Miss, please don't go out around, lest you attract attention."

"Brother Wu, how's Brother Chen's funeral going? May I go and pay my respects?"

"The person who handled his funeral was a man who claimed to be his uncle at the engagement party. Miss, you should know that he wasn't his real uncle, right? I asked the police to inquire. After he took the body from the mortuary, he just took it away and buried it. There was no funeral."

Upon hearing this, Gui'er felt dizzy and almost lost her balance.

Seeing that her expression was not right, Wu Mingqiang quickly went over and helped her to sit down on the sofa.

"Miss, don't be sad. Since his death is suspicious, their way of handling it is actually correct. Besides, people are in a state of panic right now. Apart from wealthy families, who would hold a big celebration?"