Chapter 181: The Entertainment Atmosphere Soared
The members of the Zhang family troupe were utterly bewildered. One moment it was the Heavenly Lord, the next the Saintess—what was going on?
But their patron had ordered a night performance, so they could only comply. They figured the patron would probably light many, many lanterns around the stage. While it still wouldn't be as bright as daylight, it would be just enough to watch the show.
Alright, time to get ready.
All ten performers squeezed into the small room behind the stage, which served as their dressing room, changing room, and living quarters.
They quickly closed the doors and windows, donned their costumes, and applied makeup—they had their hands full.
Seeing them go inside, Li Daoxuan opened a drawer and pulled out a string of festive lights—the kind people hung on trees during holidays. He picked them up, draped them around the plastic stage, plugged them in, and flicked the switch.
"Click!"
The entire stage instantly burst into dazzling light. The multi-colored bulbs bathed the plastic stage in a gaudy, kaleidoscopic glow, making it look rather unconventional, almost like a modern disco.
So many strange lights blazing at once were naturally eye-catching. The villagers in the distance all turned to look, their faces full of astonishment: "What's happening over there? A strange light suddenly appeared."
"The Heavenly Lord loves these vibrant things the most."
"Hahahaha! Exactly, it must be the Heavenly Lord's doing."
"What's being set up on the hillside? When the Heavenly Lord acts, there's always a reason."
The villagers began to gather, running directly into Gao Yiye, who was skipping merrily down from the "Gao Family Village business district."
Gao Yiye shouted, "The Heavenly Lord has commanded a performance by an opera troupe tonight! It's Shaanbei Daoqing folk opera!"
"Wow!"
"A show to watch?"
"So those colorful lights are to illuminate the stage."
"That's wonderful!"
"There's entertainment tonight!"
The villagers cheered, and the news spread like wildfire.
In Gao Family Village, where entertainment was scarce, even the love story between Xing Honglang and Gao Chuwu could draw a large crowd. Now, with a proper opera performance, the excitement was off the charts.
The villagers, fed and with time on their hands, had a strong, pressing need for mental stimulation that simply couldn't be suppressed.
They dashed home, yelling at their wives and children: "Quick, quick, there's an opera tonight at the Gao Family Village business district! We need to hurry and grab good seats, or we might get pushed to the very back!"
People who weren't necessarily diligent in their work were absolutely first in line when it came to snatching prime spots.
Large groups of villagers surged madly up the hillside.
Soon, the limited benches in front of the stage were completely packed. Villagers began climbing onto the adjacent plastic buildings; the second floors of the taverns, inns, and brothels were all crammed with people. Still not enough room, so they scaled the rooftops.
It was truly a sight: three layers deep, three layers wide, three layers high in the air, and three layers on the ground...
San Shier arrived a step too late with his daughter and couldn't get a good spot. He stomped his feet in frustration at the edge of the crowd, shouting, "Hey, hey, aren't you going to leave a spot for your esteemed Manager San?"
No one paid him any mind!
The clever Tan Liwen, Gao Yiye, and Cheng Xu had long ago claimed the best seats in the front row, completely leaving San Shier out of their plans.
Madam Bai also arrived with Young Master Bai. They, too, were a bit slow. Seeing how packed it was, what could they do?
Madam Bai sighed, "Son, let's just forget about it today."
Young Master Bai pouted, aggrieved: "It's all your fault, Mother, you were so slow leaving the house."
Madam Bai waved her hand and delivered a sharp cuff to Young Master Bai's head: "As a son, you should have run here as fast as possible to save a spot for your mother! Instead, you blame me for being slow. Tell me, is that filial? Do you deserve this slap?"
Young Master Bai clutched his face: "Your son is unfilial and deserves this beating. Next time, your son will certainly fight for a front-row seat for Mother!"
Madam Bai smiled contentedly: "That's more like it."
"Rice noodles for sale!" Seeing such a large crowd, Gao Laba quickly seized the business opportunity, enthusiastically hawking his wares nearby: "The opera hasn't started yet! Come grab a bowl of rice noodles!"
Everyone had just finished work, and some hadn't even had dinner. No one was willing to go home and cook now, so they naturally became Gao Laba's customers.
Gao Laba happily counted his copper coins, utterly delighted.
Meanwhile, the Zhang family troupe was still frantically applying makeup in their dressing room. Hearing the boisterous crowd outside, all ten of them felt a little nervous: "It sounds like there are so many people out there."
"At least a thousand, by the sound of it."
"How is that possible? There can't be that many people here."
"When we arrived, I saw many houses here. It doesn't look like a village, more like a town. So, a thousand people wouldn't be surprising."
"But... it's a severe drought year now. Everyone is starving. Even in the county town, with so many people, hardly anyone comes to watch us perform. Why are these people so lively?"
"This... this, I don't know..."
Indeed, how could people who couldn't get enough to eat be in the mood for an opera? The fact that so many people were here to watch meant that all these people had enough to eat.
This inverse deduction startled the entire troupe.
"No time for woolgathering, finish your makeup!" Troupe Leader Zhang roared. "So many people are waiting outside, get a move on!"
One of the singers suddenly raised his hand: "Troupe Leader, I'm ready, I can go out now."
Troupe Leader Zhang was overjoyed: "Excellent. You go out first and steady the stage."
The singer nodded, took four musicians with him, and walked through the long plastic corridor behind the stage, heading for the stage itself...
The moment they emerged from the corridor and stepped onto the stage, they were utterly astonished, almost disbelieving their own eyes.
The entire stage was enveloped in colorful lights. They didn't know what kind of strange lamps these were—they weren't oil lamps, nor were they torches. They were like peculiar lanterns, emitting a dazzling spectrum of light that made the entire stage seem dreamlike.
And these lights flashed!
They even spun in circles while flashing!
What kind of luxurious stage was this? Their humble troupe, performing on such a stage? It felt like a dream.
Looking out at the audience, hundreds, even thousands, of people were there, bustling and packed together. It had been three long years! Three years since they had seen such a lively scene.
Tears streamed down the faces of the troupe members.
Cheers and shouts erupted from the audience.
"Sing!"
"Don't just cry!"
"We've waited so long for you to come out!"
Li Daoxuan, too, was shouting from above: "Sing!"
The singer composed himself, took center stage, and the four musicians settled into their corners with their sanxian, sihu, dizi, and guanzi, ready to play.
Then, the singer threw back his head and began to sing, starting with Pingtiao, Liangqiang, Yizhimei, and Shizitiao tunes.
The audience roared in approval: "Well sung! Bravo!"
The entertainment atmosphere instantly soared...
/.zero points]/
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