TL: Hua
When sitting in the dining room to eat, Qi Xiaoyu remembered that he had forgotten to return the lunch box and the clothes from the last time, and now he owed more favors and had more entanglements.
If his master knew, he would beat him to death.
However, the problem that has been bothering him lately was easily solved by Xun Qian.
Qi Xiaoyu looked up at the man across the table. The other party was scooping a bowl of mushroom pigeon soup and handed it to him.
In any case, Xun Qian helped him in a timely manner.
He took the pigeon soup, thanked him, tasted it carefully, and politely praised the chef of the commander’s mansion for his good skills.
He was also very cooperative with the measurement.
The master tailor at the tailor shop asked him about his preferences for patterns and styles, and he turned his head, waiting for Xun Qian’s opinion.
He had never worn a suit so far. He had always worn costumes or robes. In the past few years, suits were not popular in Beiping, especially in his circle. People like Rong-beile, who loved to come to the theater, still kept their braids.
Xun Qian was very satisfied with Qi Xiaoyu’s gesture, and with a smile, he selected a style for him. He told the master that he wanted a small pointed collar shirt, a pure white jacket with a black edge, and a flat lapel. The back should be double slits, and the cufflinks should be made of mother of pearl to make them look like overlapping buttons.
When Xun Qian said this, Qi Xiaoyu was looking at him.
Just now, when he first saw Xun Qian on the stairs, he thought that his clothes today were very good-looking. Now, listening to him discussing the style of the suit with the tailor, he realized that Xun Qian’s khaki suit was a style he had never seen before. There was also a vest of the same color inside, revealing the chain of the pocket watch, which made him look gentle and romantic.
After eating good food and measuring the size of the clothes, Xun Qian called the people from the Laurel Stage in front of Qi Xiaoyu, promising to discuss cooperation with the Red Moon Troupe early tomorrow morning. He reassured Qi Xiaoyu before sending a car to escort him back.
After listening to the phone call, Qi Xiaoyu felt more certain about this matter. He didn’t return to Aitong Road, but to Huanxi Garden. He couldn’t wait to share this good news with others.
No, no, he couldn’t tell them in advance. It would be better to wait until the people from the Laurel Stage called his master tomorrow morning. Otherwise, if Qi Fengjian asked a few more questions, he would know that he met Xun Qian today.
But he wanted to share some information with Gu Zizhen first so they could share this joy.
Seeing that he was in a hurry, Zhang Han drove very fast all the way.
Only when they reached the intersection outside Huanxi Garden did they slow down.
There were many people near Huanxi Garden, so the car had to slow down.
Qi Xiaoyu couldn’t wait, so he asked Zhang Han to stop the car.
Zhang Han also said, “Yes, walking would be faster.”
Qi Xiaoyu thanked Zhang Han, and without waiting for someone to help open the door, he jumped out of the car and almost ran all the way into the theater.
The theater was as lively as usual.
Qi Xiaoyu hadn’t entered yet, but when he passed by the wine shop next to it, he heard the laughter and music coming from inside, but the sound of the sheng, xiao, drum, and zither didn’t sound like the tune of their Red Moon Troupe, and the faint music didn’t sound like the voices of the brothers in the troupe.
It sounded more like a female actress.
Qi Xiaoyu slowed down and glanced at a huge poster pasted on the door.
On it, the bold and vigorous characters clearly stated that Gu Zizhen and Xi Yun from the Red Moon Troupe will perform Farewell My Concubine with photos of Gu Zizhen and Xi Yun attached to the side.
He glanced at the two policemen standing at the entrance of the theater and then pricked up his ears to listen carefully to the music coming from inside. The more he listened, the more wrong it seemed. He remembered the bullying theater owner and felt uneasy in his heart, so he ran towards the backstage through the side door.
“Boss Huang, you use us as a gimmick to sell tickets and then turn around to support others. This approach is too ugly.”
“Haha, Master Qi, your anger is too exaggerated. Look at the Red Moon Troupe. First, there is no sponsor to support you, and second, you have to share the high profits. It’s not easy for you to survive in Shanghai like this.”
Qi Xiaoyu hadn’t even reached the backstage of the theater yet, but he could hear the noise of a quarrel from a distance. From the sound, he knew that the first person was his master Qi Fengjian, and the second person was the owner of the theater, Huang Jue.
He stretched his neck again and looked in the direction of the stage. From his angle, he could vaguely see a female role wearing pink holding a folding fan in her hand. Just by looking at her appearance, it was clear that she was not singing Farewell My Concubine at all, and she was not even singing Peking Opera, but Kunqu Opera. It should have been the scene where Li Xiangjun’s blood splattered on the peach blossom fan that was being sung, and intermittent applause erupted from the audience.
Then, the noise continued from inside.
Huang Jue’s sarcastic voice sounded,
“Master Qi, listen to the applause; it’s no less than when Mr. Gu went on stage. Everyone comes to the theater to watch the excitement and listen to the story. It doesn’t have to be your Red Moon Troupe. As for what tickets to sell and who goes on stage, it’s all up to me, Huang Jue.
And it’s not like I don’t allow you to go on stage. Didn’t I just make it clear to the audience that Bai Shuixian will sing half of ‘Peach Blossom Fan,’ and you, the Red Moon Troupe, will sing half of ‘Farewell My Concubine.’”
After Huang Jue finished speaking, there was silence for a while.
Qi Xiaoyu could also feel everyone’s anger through the curtain. He himself was also angry. He had heard of people hanging the Red Moon Troupe sign outside while presenting others inside, but he had never encountered such a despicable person before.
Huang Jue said again, “You only sing half of the show, yet you still want to get the share of the whole show?”
Xi Yun shouted, “It’s not like we’re not going to be on stage, but why do we only get half of the profit? Boss Huang, you can’t do business like this.”
Huang Jue chuckled twice, “You only sing half of the show, and I give you the share of half of the show; what’s wrong with that?”
In the troupe, besides Xi Yun, there were also other voices of opposition: “Why are we not singing the whole show?”
“You gave up the place without our consent, and now you want to deduct our share. How is this reasonable?”
Huang Jue sneered again, his tone calm, “So you’re bent on causing trouble? I warned you there are many people from the police department here today.”
Qi Xiaoyu, who was outside, heard the words and walked forward a few steps. Looking through the gap in the curtain, he saw a few people in police uniforms holding batons standing behind Huang Jue. He thought to himself, no wonder Huang Jue’s actions are getting more and more excessive; it turns out that he has a new backer.
Seeing that the situation inside was about to escalate, he quickly lifted the curtain and walked in. They will soon have a new and better stage to sing on, so there was no need to entangle with such a villain.
He wanted to go in to persuade them to stop fighting, but as soon as he entered, he heard Huang Jue shouting, “Hey, Xiaoyu is here.”
Huang Jue had a big gold chain twisted around his neck and a gold-studded pipe in his hand. When he saw Qi Xiaoyu coming in, he opened his lips, revealing a row of yellow teeth and a golden front tooth.
“You haven’t been here these days; are you busy hooking up with some big shots? At first, you looked down on General Hu, but this time you must be proud after finding a good sponsor.”
Qi Xiaoyu choked back the words of persuasion.
Huang Jue glanced at Qi Xiaoyu and tapped his pipe. “I see that your troupe is full of talents; all of them are good seedlings. Why can’t you make a difference?
Why not learn from Bai Shuixian on the stage? Bai Shuixian is also famous for her good voice in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, but she is not as noble as the people in your troupe. Now she has the director of the police station to support her…”
“Boss Huang, we won’t sing today.” Qi Fengjian interrupted Huang Jue’s words; his voice was a little cold.
Huang Jue didn’t expect Qi Fengjian to say such words. He knew the situation of the Red Moon Troupe. They fled from Beiping and had no one to rely on in Shanghai. They couldn’t survive without singing opera for a day, so that’s why he dared to bully the Red Moon Troupe.
But he just wanted to squeeze as much money as possible from them, not to really force them away now. After all, he was selling tickets outside under the names of Gu Zizhen and Xi Yun. If they really didn’t go on stage and didn’t sing for half the show, he would lose face.
Besides, listening to the gongs and drums outside, Peach Blossom Fan was about to finish.
“We signed a contract, Master Qi. You can’t just refuse to sing.”
Qi Fengjian said coldly, “Our contract also stipulates a share of profits. Didn’t you change your mind however you pleased?”
Huang Jue didn’t expect that Qi Fengjian, who had always been steady in his work, could suddenly become so tough. He was so angry that he couldn’t find any words to refute. He walked around while smoking and then kicked the box where they put their costumes, saying, “Don’t think about leaving until you finish half of the show today.”
With a crash, half a box of costumes fell to the ground. These were all their belongings brought from Beiping, which they usually took great care of. Even while they were fleeing, they couldn’t bear to part with them.
Gu Zizhen and several other apprentices of the troupe squatted down quickly to pick up the hair ornaments and props scattered on the ground. “Since you gave the stage to others to perform, and you don’t give us a fair share, what’s wrong with us not singing?”
Several policemen behind Huang Jue surrounded him.
Huang Jue said sharply, “I don’t mind losing face because you guys go on stage with these shabby costumes, but you dare to refuse?”
Qi Fengjian took a long smoke and stepped forward, pushing Huang Jue away. Xi Yun also rolled up his sleeves.
For a moment, both sides were furious.
The people from the police station on the other side were not carrying guns like Hu Haibing’s men.
Since Huang Jue had kicked over all the clothes, the Red Moon Troupe was willing to go all out.
Qi Xiaoyu clenched his fists; his eyes went from the clothes on the ground to the blushing faces of each of the senior brothers.
The Red Moon Troupe has always stood together, but now they have a better future ahead of them. Of course, they cannot let this garbage go.
“Sing, Master, let’s sing.”
He suddenly rushed forward, grabbed Qi Fengjian’s arm, secretly grabbed it hard, then turned to look at Huang Jue and put on a smile. “Since we came to Shanghai, it’s thanks to the care of Boss Huang that we have been able to sing for so long. Since Boss Huang has spoken today, of course we have to sing.”
The rest of the troupe looked at Qi Xiaoyu in surprise. Xi Yun wanted to object but was stopped by Gu Zizhen.
Qi Fengjian also looked at his little apprentice and said nothing.
Everyone knew that Qi Xiaoyu was always a cautious person, but no one knew what Qi Xiaoyu was up to.
Huang Jue thought that the people in the Red Moon Troupe were scared and snorted, “Xiaoyu, you’re the sensible one. It’s good that you know you’re in the wrong.”
On the stage outside, Peach Blossom Fan was coming to an end, the huqin was ending, and a new row of sheng, flute, and wind instruments was put up.
Qi Xiaoyu said again, “Today, not only are we going to sing on stage, but we’re also not taking a penny.”
Huang Jue smiled with his gold-plated front teeth when he heard that they didn’t want money. Looking at the situation outside, he said, “Alright, alright, then everyone hurry up and go on stage. If you had been so sensible and obedient earlier, you would have earned more money.”
After that, he hurried to greet the police chief, who was sitting in the theater with Bai Shuixian, who had just stepped off the stage.
As soon as Huang Jue left, everyone in the Red Moon Troupe surrounded Qi Xiaoyu, “Why are we singing for free?”
“Xiaoyu, what’s wrong with you today?”
“Let’s fight with this shameless person to the end. Who’s afraid of who?”
Qi Xiaoyu comforted everyone while pulling Gu Zizhen aside and said, “Brother, when you go on stage, say that today is our last show in Huanxi Garden. In order to thank everyone for their support, we will not charge for all the tickets and let them ask the theater for a refund.”
Gu Zizhen immediately understood what Qi Xiaoyu meant and agreed to it. They would not get their share, but they would make Huang Jue spit out the money he had eaten.
Outside, gongs and drums were beating, urging them to go on stage.
Gu Zizhen appeared on stage and explained about the ticket refund according to Qi Xiaoyu’s words. He also processed it with deep feelings and expressed his gratitude for everyone’s support. He also said that it was a pity that he could only sing half a show, which was really unfortunate, and asked everyone to forgive him.
After Gu Zizhen finished speaking, he immediately raised a round of applause. Who doesn’t want to watch a free show, drink free tea, and have free fun?
Backstage, Qi Fengjian listened to the applause and shouting, then he pulled his little apprentice aside and asked in a deep voice, “What’s the matter with the last show you just mentioned? What did you do today?”
Qi Xiaoyu originally planned to hide the matter between himself and Xun Qian from Qi Fengjian, but now he could only confess the truth, “That young commander Xun has helped us contact the Laurel Stage. Tomorrow they will come to us to discuss cooperation. We will go there to perform in the future.”
When Qi Fengjian heard that he had contact with Xun Qian and owed him such a big favor, he was so anxious that his eyes gleamed.
But before he could get angry, Huang Jue came back with his men, eyes and mouth wide open, looking like he was going to eat someone alive. “Qi Fengjian, who gave you the courage?”
This time, before he could say anything, he was interrupted by Qi Xiaoyu.
Qi Xiaoyu curled the corners of his lips and smiled, “Didn’t Boss Huang ask me which big shot I’ve been hooking up with these days? That’s right, I just came out of the commander’s mansion at No. 33 Baochang Road. Commander Xun’s adjutant personally drove me here. If Boss Huang doesn’t believe it, why not ask the people in the commander’s mansion or see if the police chief is willing to offend Commander Xun for Bai Shuixian?”
Well, no matter what Xun Qian thinks or wants to do, right now, he’s going to use Xun Qian’s name to scare people.
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