The largest city in the Far East, one week after the fall of Shanghai.

The bell of the Customs Building rang loudly, and the newspaper vendors ran wildly, waving newspapers with dazzling blood-red headlines and special fonts in their hands, passing through the gaps between the tightly packed rickshaws and through the dark crowd.

"Building an East Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere..."

"Start becoming Asia's own master..."

"The outcome of war must be peace. Only true cooperation can lead to co-prosperity and coexistence..."

The May wind blew, and tanks and armored vehicles rumbled down the streets of the concession. The Japanese infantrymen, armed with live ammunition, marched in eight columns with their heads held high. Some people were waving small flags on the streets, while others were watching indifferently. This did not affect the street food stalls.

It's still steaming and the oily dumplings are frying with a sizzling sound.

Refugees whose homes were destroyed by gunfire stared longingly at the young men who came to recruit laborers. Poor people who had lost their homes were wandering on the cross streets. Merchants who hoarded money opened their shops and hung out their shacks at prices that ordinary people could not afford.

The woman with the vegetable basket walked by with a blind eye, already accustomed to doing things that tarnished her conscience.

The politicians who once swore about the "Nine-Nation Pact" left here, and all the troops retreated in full, and then became a complete rout under the chaotic command, and the "Oriental Maginot Line" that took several years of painstaking construction was wide open.

, was bombed and strafed by the enemy from the sky, and the ground troops pursued them with overwhelming force, capturing every town in Shanghai one by one.

According to statistics from Pushan Villa, since the outbreak of the Shanghai War, casualties have been everywhere. The number of buried corpses increased sharply that year, reaching as many as 15,000. After the enemy invaded the concession, refugees flocked to the concession, and food prices skyrocketed. Adults and adults

There were 8,643 child corpses.

This is an era when everyone is very small.

Xiao Huan held up the hard yellow paper in his hand and looked at it repeatedly.

She didn't know why a thin piece of yellow paper could prove that she was a good citizen, but she heard that Chen Jiamu's mother said that she could go out on the street only if she had this thing, so she read the yellow paper again and again.

In the name column, her name is written, "Yu Xiaohuan".

As the eldest maid from a scholarly family who grew up with her, she was lucky enough to have the opportunity to be able to read and write. Unfortunately, Chen's mother couldn't write the complicated character "Yu", so she casually used only three characters.

Replaced by the crossed character "Yu".

The sound of a bell came from afar, Xiao Huan responded, stuffed the tissue paper into his arms, ran out of the room, then slowed down, kept his upper body still, and walked quickly and steadily through the corridor.

Come to the living room.

In the living room, the maids wearing a brand-new black long-sleeved dress and a white apron uniformly styled their hair and tied a headscarf, and then stood in two rows in an orderly manner. The maids didn't know why the master liked to let the servants wear such clothes.

It's an unlucky color, and I don't know why the maid is not called maid but maid, but I heard that the owner returned from studying in Japan, so it's normal for the customs to be different.

Xiaohuan stood at the end of the line, standing with her head bowed in a dignified manner. Compared with the little maids who were looking around and whispering, she looked much calmer. The mother of the Chen family, who was standing at the front, nodded slightly when she saw this.

Among the maids we bought, Xiao Huan looked the most sensible. It looked like she had been taught the rules by a wealthy family.

"You are all standing, what do you look like?" Mother Chen's eyes flickered across each maid's face like a hook, "As a human being, you must know how to cherish blessings. Look at what the situation is outside now, and then look at you.

You have a house to live in, you are protected from the wind and rain, you have clothes and shoes made of good materials, and your husband gives you three meals a day of white flour. You go out and ask around, where can such a good thing come from?"

The maids responded "Yes" in unison, and then heard the Chen family's mother say in a stern tone, "I'm going to tell you the dirty talk first. If anyone does anything dirty, or talks about things in the house outside,

Genzi, don't worry about me being ruthless. Okay, let's go do something."

The maids who had been scolded immediately dispersed quietly, and Xiaohuan was about to leave, when Chen Jiamu's mother said, "Xiaohuan, you stay."

Xiaohuan obediently stepped forward and said, "What do you want me to do?"

Chen Jiamu's mother likes her docile and polite appearance the most. Compared with those sallow and thin, timid refugees with grass tags in their hair, this girl named Xiaohuan is not only fair and clean, but her teeth and nails are also well protected.

, and she was very smart in her words and actions. She never broke any dishes. Even when eating, she was not like other maids who would swarm over to grab the food and stuff it into her mouth. If she couldn't eat anymore, she would hide it in her arms.

After a period of secret investigation, Chen Jiamu's mother felt that Xiaohuan was the most promising among these little girls to become the "head maid".

"It's been a while since you came to the house, how do you feel?" She motioned for Xiaohuan to follow her to the corner, and it seemed that her instructions were a little different from usual.

Xiaohuan said, "My mother treats me very well, and other people are also very kind."

"There is one thing I still have to tell you." Mother Chen's mother hesitated for a moment and said, "I have inquired about the relative you are going to seek refuge with, and he is no longer here."

When she hesitated, Xiaohuan immediately understood the meaning, and her heart sank, "How could that be possible..."

"It's quite unfortunate. Isn't that relative of yours working in the Fu family? During the war outside, everything was fine and no one was hit. Who would have thought that as soon as the battle was over, the whole villa would be blown up to pieces for some reason?

I heard that no one survived." The Chen family's mother was used to these things of life and death, so she didn't feel too sad.

Xiaohuan's face turned pale instantly. She subconsciously grabbed the hem of her clothes and said repeatedly, "It's impossible, it's impossible..."

Mother Chen's mother said sympathetically, "Don't think too much, it's all about life and death. The South Railway Station was bombed to pieces that day, so many people died, how come you survived? So,

It’s useless to think too much, just live your life well.”

Xiaohuan suppressed the fear and confusion in her heart, and forced a smile to the Chen family's mother, "Mom is right, what else do you expect these days? It's just that my cousin has been blessed since she was a child, and the fortune teller said that she will have a lucky star.

Maybe I can survive, I have nothing to do so I can go out and ask around."

"Well, that's fine, maybe I'll be lucky." Chen Jiamu's mother's tone was very perfunctory. She was used to this kind of thing. No news usually means there will never be news again. She is unemployed these days.

Unemployment, missing people, missing wives and children, and family destruction are all extremely strange things, and only relatives are lucky enough to be unwilling to accept them.

"By the way, Xiaohuan hasn't thanked Mom yet." Xiaohuan sniffed, with a grateful look on her pretty face, "If Mom hadn't bought me from Ren Yazi and brought me into the

After leaving the concession, Xiaohuan doesn’t know how much suffering he will have to endure..."

At that time, the little maid went all the way south and experienced the bombing of South Railway Station. The whole of Shanghai was in chaos. She was living alone on the streets. She wanted to enter the concession but was blocked by the cold iron fence. Finally, she was targeted by human traffickers and was trapped in a small dark room.

After only eating moldy dry food for a few days, she was spotted by Chen Jiamu's mother who came to select maids, and she was lucky enough to be taken to a mansion in the concession to work.

In fact, because there are too many people who want to sell themselves into slavery, people are not very valuable. For homeless people, being able to become a slave for a wealthy family is a great thing that requires burning incense, even if

The master beat and scolded him severely, and he cut down his clothes and went on a diet, but as long as it was not too harsh, people could always endure it just to get food.

Xiaohuan suppressed her eagerness to find the young lady and stayed quietly in the mansion waiting for the opportunity. She was naturally inferior to the most fashionable foreign-style young people, but compared to those who had been farming since childhood.

, or for a poor and humble girl who was born as a female worker, she was not the least bit better. Within a few days, she was naturally appreciated by the mother of the Chen family.

So, she took the initiative to serve the Chen family's mother with tea and water, or did some physical work such as squeezing her shoulders and beating her legs. This kind of skill is something that a maid who grew up in a big house can learn by herself. When the time is right,

She then revealed to Chen Jiamu's mother that she came to Shanghai to join relatives. One of her cousins ​​worked in the Fu family's mansion, and her surname was also "Yu". She hoped that Chen Jiamu's mother could help find out something.

Xiaohuan didn't know where the young lady was, but she thought that the young lady was helpless and would go to Fu's house to escape the war. Even if she wasn't there, Fu's house was the most likely place to get news about her.

, as long as she gets the permit that allows her to go out, she can go there and inquire in person.

But the news she received at this time was that the Fu family was bombed and no one survived.

She didn't believe that everyone in the Fu family would die in the bombing, but obviously this was all Chen Jiamu's mother knew. What she had to do at this time was to win more trust from Chen Jiamu's mother and have more freedom.

The right of entry and exit, so that the lady can be found as quickly as possible.

Over there, Mrs. Chen's mother burst into tears when she heard what she said. No doubt that he was there, a kind smile appeared on her face, "I know you are a sensible person. I don't know whose family taught you so well. In the old dynasty,

She can even be a young master’s wife.”

"Mom, you are making fun of me..." Xiaohuan pretended to blush. Among the boring maids in the old house in Zhili, jokes of this level are not even considered joking. If you meet a foreign man who tries to take advantage of your words,

Usually, she could use more harsh and mean words to make her hide her face in shame and run away, but she wanted to leave a relatively simple and easy-to-handle impression on Chen Jiamu's mother.

The mother of the Chen family said, "Why are you worried that my mother will send you to your husband's room? Haha, don't worry, your husband is a gentleman. You can also see that he has received a civilized education and has never touched any servants."

"

Xiaohuan said ignorantly, "Xiaohuan just met Mr. from a distance. He seems to be a good person." She was secretly wary in her heart. The master who seemed to get along better would be less human when he was cruel. It was the private affairs of a wealthy family.

It's not as simple as it seems.

"Yes, sir, you have a good temper, but what you don't like the most is that our people are dirty and unruly. Among these maids, you are the smartest." Mother Chen's mother looked at her deeply, "Now, mother

I’m giving you an errand. Sir, I’ll have guests in the study. You’ll serve tea every hour. Do you know what you should do and what you shouldn’t do?”

"Xiao Huan understands that Xiao Huan is just serving tea, without eyes or ears. Xiao Huan doesn't know who Mr. Sir met or what he said."

"Well, it turns out I saw the right person. Let's go."

The Chen family's mother was very satisfied with Xiao Huan, but Xiao Huan had some doubts in her heart. She had been in this mansion for a long time and had not had a chance to go out. She had never paid attention to the "master" in the mansion. She only knew that

He is a middle-aged man who is quite busy on weekdays and rarely stays in the mansion. But now, according to Chen Jiamu's mother, his identity does not seem to be simple.

Xiaohuan suppressed the doubts in her heart and went to the study room to serve tea as instructed by Chen's mother.

Outside the study, there was a faint sound of conversation. It was a woman's voice. For some reason, she felt that she should have heard it somewhere, but she couldn't remember it.

"...Mr. Mei...I..."

Xiao Huanxin said that the gentleman's surname was Mei, but there was no sound at the door for a while. She knocked on the door first, and after getting Mr. Mei's permission, she walked in with her tray in her eyes.

Relaxing incense sticks were burning in the study. Mr. Mei was wearing regular clothes and leaning leisurely on the sofa. Opposite him sat a woman wearing a dress and perming her hair. Xiao Huan lowered her eyes and only noticed

Women's pointy high heels.

She served the tea meticulously, always keeping her gaze slanting downward. During this period, Mr. Mei and the woman did not make a sound, either because they had nothing to talk about or because there was something they could not say in front of the servants.

words.

Xiaohuan finished serving the tea and then left silently. The atmosphere in the room was not good. As a servant, you should not bump up at this time, lest your master would find a reason to have an attack.

It wasn't until she closed the door that the faint sound of conversation could be heard again in the study.

The aroma of tea lingered, permeating the almost condensed atmosphere in the study room.

Mr. Mei looked at the woman in front of him gently, "You are the daughter of my old friend, who dedicated his life to the empire, and you are also a smart child. I hope you can accept my help."
To be continued...