A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

Chapter 1076 A Day Trip to Macau

Gui'er thought about it and had no choice but to agree.

The next day, just as dawn broke, Wu Mingqiang hired three rickshaws: one for Gui'er, one for Acheng and Dingxiang, and one for himself. They headed along Rua Nova towards the Ruins of St. Paul's. Morning light filtered through the arcade pillars, casting dappled shadows on the cobblestones. Steam rose from a roadside stall selling wonton noodles, and a nun in a black robe walked by carrying a basket filled with baguettes that emitted a savory aroma.

"Miss, look! That's the Ruins of St. Paul's!" Dingxiang clapped her hands excitedly, pointing to the remaining Baroque gable in the distance. The reliefs on the archway were worn smooth by time, and Chinese lotus patterns were still carved next to the statue of the Virgin Mary. Several students in school uniforms were sketching with pencils, and ashes from burnt incense were scattered on the stone pavement. There was a fortune-telling stall by the roadside, run by an old man wearing a melon-shaped hat, telling fortunes to foreigners in Cantonese mixed with Portuguese, which drew laughter from the onlookers. There were also some photo studio owners with cameras hanging around their necks, soliciting customers. Wu Mingqiang saw them and said to Gui'er, "Miss, shall we take a picture?"

Gui'er was preoccupied and not really in the mood, but seeing Dingxiang's expectant look, she nodded and said, "Okay."

Wu Mingqiang then called the photographer over and took a group photo of them. Gui'er saw that Dingxiang was still not satisfied, so she said, "Dingxiang, it's rare for you and Brother Acheng to come out and have fun, why don't you take a group photo?"

Dingxiang and Acheng were a little hesitant, but they didn't object. The photographer took a picture of them, and Wu Mingqiang said with a smile, "Miss, let's take one too. Boss, this is a better spot, take a couple more."

The photo studio owner was eager to take as many pictures as possible, so he readily agreed and pressed the shutter. After taking the pictures, he smiled and said, "Do you want me to mail them to your home, or do you want to pick them up at the store? If you pick them up at the store, you'll have to wait a few days."

Wu Mingqiang said, "I'll have someone pick it up at the shop later. The owner will help me get it washed nicely." He handed over a silver dollar, and the owner, beaming, said, "Of course, of course, don't worry. Here's the shop's address." He then gave Wu Mingqiang a receipt as proof of receipt for picking up the photos.

After descending from the Ruins of St. Paul's, they walked towards Senado Square. The square was paved with black and white wavy tiles, and in front of the Portuguese-style city hall, several flower girls carried bamboo baskets piled high with frangipani and jasmine flowers.

Ah Cheng bought a clove and tucked it into his temple, while he studied the Portuguese notice board on the wall for a long time: "These characters are crooked, like worms crawling." Wu Mingqiang explained from the side: "Macau is Portuguese territory, and government documents all have to use this."

At noon, we stopped at a nearby tea restaurant for a rest. The waiter, dressed in a white coat, served bacalhau fried rice mixed with the sweet and sour taste of tomatoes, and sawdust pudding in a small glass bowl, sprinkled with a layer of finely crushed biscuits. Gui'er had just taken a bite when she saw several businessmen in suits at the next table discussing business in a mix of Cantonese and Portuguese. They were talking about "shipping cotton yarn from Hong Kong through Macau to the mainland," and their voices were extremely low. When Gui'er looked over, they immediately shut up.

In the afternoon, I went to the inner harbor. The dock was lined with small sampans, and fishermen were rowing and hawking the shrimp they had just brought ashore. Warehouses along the shore had signs for "British American Tobacco" and "Swire Group". Several Indian police officers were inspecting the cargo containers coming and going.

As they passed the Holy House of Mercy, Dingxiang was drawn to the charity box at the entrance and dropped in a copper coin. A monk in a white robe smiled and handed her a piece of almond cookie, saying it was "a gift from the Virgin Mary." Gui'er took it and tasted it; it was sweet but not cloying, and even more to her liking than the ones in Hong Kong.

By evening, they had done their sightseeing. Macau is not big, and there are only so many places for tourists to visit, so they had a good time.

As the group passed a newsstand on the street corner, Gui'er glanced at the day's "Macau Daily News." The front page featured the news that "Japanese troops have occupied Nanning." She frowned and bought a copy.

Wu Mingqiang smiled and said to Gui'er, "Miss, let's go back. I asked Acheng to buy some roast pork from Macau. We'll have an extra dish tonight."

Gui'er nodded, got into the rickshaw they had called, and returned to her residence in Macau.

After dinner, Gui'er unfolded the newspaper and started reading.

Because Portugal is a neutral country, the control of news in Macau's newspapers does not seem to be as strict as in Hong Kong.

She saw that the news was overwhelmingly about the domestic war.

The Kuomintang army conducted positional defense and small-scale counterattacks in some areas, such as maintaining a stalemate with the Japanese army in northern Hubei and southern Henan, to prevent the Japanese from advancing further west and south. At the same time, it continued to seek international aid and maintained diplomatic communication with countries such as Britain and the United States, attempting to push the great powers to take sanctions against Japan, but no substantial progress was made in the short term.

The Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army launched extensive guerrilla warfare in the enemy-occupied base areas of North and Central China, destroying Japanese army transportation lines and strongholds, and cracking down on the "mopping-up" operations of Japanese and puppet troops.

There were even reports from the Japanese army that, on the one hand, they were implementing a "cage policy" in the enemy's rear base areas, speeding up the construction of bunkers, highways, and railways to divide and blockade the anti-Japanese base areas; on the other hand, in order to force the Nationalist government to surrender, they continued to carry out strategic bombing of Chongqing and other rear cities, causing serious damage to urban facilities and the lives and property of the people.

Gui'er frowned as she read the newspaper, when she inadvertently noticed a missing person notice in the corner.

"Professors Xu Jing and Meng Haoliang from the University of Hong Kong left their Kowloon residence on the afternoon of the 15th of this month to attend a gathering with students in Central, and have not returned since."

Mr. Xu was forty-two years old, thin-faced, with a short beard. That day, he wore a dark blue long gown and black cloth shoes, and carried a brown paper bag containing lecture notes and manuscripts. Mr. Meng was thirty-eight years old, of medium build, with a fair complexion. He usually wore round-framed glasses, a gray cloth suit, and carried a dark brown leather briefcase.

The two gentlemen have taught at the University of Hong Kong for over ten years and are known for their kindness and gentleness. They had originally planned to return home at dusk after attending the meeting, but there has been no word from them since, causing their families great anxiety.

If any kind-hearted person has seen the two gentlemen or knows their whereabouts, please inform the Academic Affairs Office of the University of Hong Kong immediately, or call Mr. Hui at 1432 Nathan Road, Kowloon. A generous reward will be given.

We earnestly hope that both gentlemen are safe and sound, and that those who know the truth will lend a helping hand so that these virtuous people will not suffer.

The Xu and Meng families tearfully pleaded.

Gui'er looked up and realized that these were Professors Xu Jing and Meng Haoliang! Had they gone missing?

She suddenly wondered if Lin Peishan and Chen Zhongyu's hurried return to Hong Kong was related to this matter.

Thinking about this, she felt that something was amiss and quickly went to find Wu Mingqiang.

"Brother Angkor, how are the boat tickets? When can we go back to Hong Kong?"