Chapter 190: Off to See the Play Together
The awards ceremony had drawn to a close!
The eager helpers carried the masons' substantial rewards, assisting them in bringing their bounty back to their homes.
The villagers, whose curiosity had been piqued, began to scatter. No, that wasn't quite right; they weren't scattering, but rather surging uphill towards the Gao Family Village Commercial Hub.
Gao Family Village was beginning to develop the rudimentary shape of 'nightlife'.
After sunset, the villagers no longer retired to bed immediately. Instead, they would flock to the Gao Family Village Commercial Hub for a performance of Northern Shaanxi folk opera.
Li Daoxuan, too, made his move. He lowered the colorful lights from 'the heavens' once more, stringing them across the stage. With a flick of a switch, the lights burst into a dazzling, rhythmic flicker, painting the entire Gao Family Village Commercial Hub in a kaleidoscope of hues, transforming it into what resembled a vibrant disco.
Young Master Bai sprinted ahead, swift as an arrow. He had to secure a good spot for his mother, or face her formidable displeasure, which was no laughing matter.
San Shier, too, swiftly clasped his daughter's hand and scrambled up the slope.
Throngs of villagers poured up the hillside, knowing that the swifter they moved, the better vantage point they'd seize.
Xing Honglang and her salt smugglers were equally baffled. The last time they’d left Gao Family Village, the Zhang family troupe hadn't even arrived, so this spectacle was completely new to them. They stood frozen, bewildered, as a steady stream of villagers sprinted past, looking as if they were fleeing some unseen monster.
The entire scene was quite comical!
Xing Honglang turned to gaze at the Gao Family Village Commercial Hub, now ablaze with strange, shifting colors. "What's going on?" she inquired.
A burly man, Gao Chuwu, bounded past, flashing a wide grin at her. "Ah, Miss Xing is back! Perfect timing. Come on, let's go watch the show together!"
"A play?" Xing Honglang mentally fumed. *He just... brazenly invited a woman to a play? Does he have any idea what it means to invite a woman to a play?* she wondered, her mind racing.
While she was still lost in thought, Gao Chuwu seized her arm and yanked her uphill. "No time to lose!" he exclaimed. "All the good seats will be gone!"
His strides were impossibly long, each covering the distance of two normal steps. When Gao Chuwu pulled her, Xing Honglang felt herself practically lifted off the ground. Her wild thoughts instantly evaporated. She quickly matched his pace, terrified that if she lagged, he really *would* drag her airborne, and that would be utterly mortifying.
Everyone in the martial world knew the name of Xing Honglang of Yongji; it was *she* who dragged others, never the other way around!
Now, a spark of competitive defiance ignited within her. Xing Honglang lengthened her stride, running at a breathtaking speed, and in the blink of an eye, she was surprisingly ahead of Gao Chuwu.
Gao Chuwu gaped. "Huh? Miss Xing, you’re that fast? Well, I can't let you beat me!"
He, too, poured all his strength into his sprint.
Both of them pushed themselves to their limits, their speed truly astonishing. They became like two steam locomotives at full throttle, rumbling and kicking up a trail of dust as they roared up the incline.
Young Master Bai, who had been leading, was instantly outpaced, nearly making him jump with frustration. "Is this really necessary, just to grab a spot for a play?" he cried out. "I promised Mother I’d get her the best seat! How could you two do this? Argh, I'm absolutely livid!"
With Xing Honglang bolting off like that, her group of salt smugglers naturally had no choice but to follow suit.
Consequently, Xu Dafu and the lamplighter found themselves unexpectedly forgotten.
The two, freshly arrived in this 'peculiar place,' were utterly clueless about what to do next. They didn't even know where to find food or a place to sleep. Standing bewildered amid the swirling crowd, they felt utterly helpless.
After a prolonged moment of bewilderment, the two ultimately decided to simply follow the throng.
"Wherever the crowd goes, we'll follow," the lamplighter suggested. "That can't be wrong, can it?"
By this point, Li Daoxuan had finished hanging the colorful lights and was simply observing the lively scene. From his vantage point, he could clearly track the ebb and flow of the tiny figures. A large throng had already congregated before the stage, but two individuals lingered behind, not quite keeping pace with the main current of people.
They lagged far behind, hesitant to join the bustling crowd, seemingly engaged in some awkward conversation.
Li Daoxuan immediately recognized them as 'wild figures.' Carrying their bundles, they appeared dusty and road-weary, clearly having journeyed a great distance. As newcomers unfamiliar with Gao Family Village's customs, they stood out starkly.
Curiosity piqued, he wished to eavesdrop on their conversation. However, the Gao Family Village Commercial Hub was too boisterous; the cacophony of countless voices made it genuinely difficult to discern any single speaker.
Li Daoxuan produced a button-sized microphone and carefully positioned it on the street near the two men.
Xu Dafu and the lamplighter stood transfixed in the middle of the commercial hub, when a subtle rustle by their feet drew their attention. They glanced down, but only spotted a peculiar, dark object nestled against a wall, nothing more.
The two soon refocused their attention. The most captivating sight was undoubtedly the colorful, ever-shifting lights on the stage. The lamplighter, observing the peculiar illumination from a distance, exclaimed in awe, "These lights are incredible! How do they blink and flash in sequence? I can craft elaborate lanterns, but I can't make them *do* that!"
Upon hearing this, Li Daoxuan's mental gears shifted. *'This fellow can make lamps? A lamplighter, you say? Hmm, quite useful,'* he mused. *'Gao Family Village is just beginning to embrace 'nightlife,' and currently, the commercial hub relies entirely on my colorful lights for ambiance. Hanging them every single evening is quite tedious. If these tiny people could light their own way after dark, it would be significantly more convenient.'*
Xu Dafu remarked, "This market is very odd. Beyond the circle of colorful lights around the stage, there’s no illumination anywhere else; it’s utterly dark."
The lamplighter nodded vigorously. "It truly is peculiar. If *I* were to design the lighting for this street, I'd place lanterns here... here... and here..." he gestured, "—all along these points. This spot, specifically, would need wind-resistant lanterns, and that area would call for vibrant, decorative ones. Oh? Wait, there’s a brothel right here! The entrance to a brothel should have at least six colorful lanterns!" he declared, his eyes widening.
Li Daoxuan found himself thoroughly entertained. *'Excellent, truly excellent!'* he thought. *'It seems my colorful lights will be retiring soon.'*
Just as he prepared to summon Gao Yiye to relay a message, he noticed her. Gao Yiye was nestled beside San Shier's daughter, both young girls utterly captivated and beaming as they watched the Northern Shaanxi folk opera.
*Pulling her away now would be rather cruel,* he mused. *No need to rush it.*
Xu Dafu and the lamplighter began to circle the Gao Family Village Commercial Hub. They quickly realized that very few shops in this area were actually open for business. Only a bookstore and a noodle shop appeared to be operating, while the rest of the storefronts stood vacant.
After much aimless wandering, they eventually gravitated back towards the stage.
They positioned themselves behind the labor reform prisoners, observing the stage from a distance.
As the performance concluded, a storm of cheers erupted, and the villagers once again began tossing reward money onto the stage. The two craftsmen gasped in astonishment; these villagers were incredibly wealthy! Shards of silver and copper coins rained down onto the stage.
In mere moments, the opera troupe had reaped a substantial fortune.
Xu Dafu couldn't help but whisper, "Something's amiss here. First, those three artisans made a killing, and now this small opera troupe is doing the same. It seems the 'poor' folk of this village are living quite comfortably."
The lamplighter nodded emphatically. "I've observed the same," he agreed.
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