National Tide 1980.

As everyone can see, Ning Weimin's return to Beijing this time is truly different from the past.

He had a large enough sum of money in his hands because he had brought back hundreds of millions of yuan in legitimate wealth from Japan.

Compared to the domestic economic situation at the time, this was quite exaggerated, to the point where one could almost do whatever one wanted.

He has completely escaped the days when he had to find ways to divert funds and use five lids to cover ten jars.

Now he has enough money to do whatever he wants.

In fact, not only has his career in mainland China and his future plans reached a new level, but his wealth and high standard of living are also hard to match.

For example, in terms of transportation.

The first Rolls-Royce, the first Bentley, the first Cadillac, the first Ferrari, the first Hummer Jeep in China...

These vehicles, which he ordered in advance from Japan, have been delivered to overseas locations one by one.

This includes the Mercedes-Benz, Lincoln, and Porsche that Jiang Nianyun and Shen Cun previously purchased with their quotas, as well as the dozen or so motorcycles with Beijing license plates that Zhang Shihui bought for Ning Weimin, and a motorhome that Matsumoto Keiko used to film movies in mainland China.

This will transform Yunyuan's garage into a luxury car exhibition hall.

Who else in the whole country can match this grandeur?
As a result, there are not many sheltered places left to park the vehicles of tourists, so tents have to be set up in the yard as temporary carports.

Moreover, anyone who comes here, whether a temporary visitor or a guest planning to stay, as long as they drive here.

As soon as someone parks their car in the parking lot, they'll see these cars in the garage.

They wouldn't even need to see the garden and opera stage inside; most of them would immediately lose their arrogance and become respectful, carefully considering the background and power of the owner of this place.

This is called the face of the card.

Although these things were at most just toys to Ning Weimin.

But in this era, imported luxury cars are simply unattainable luxuries for people in China. Ordinary people would feel incredibly fortunate just to catch a glimpse of them; nothing could be more enviable than having so many luxury cars.

Therefore, even Ning Weimin's confidants and subordinates increasingly regarded him as a true tycoon.

Even Kang Shude felt that this was a bit excessive.

They said they hadn't realized Ning Weimin was actually a spoiled young master.

His current love for cars is even more exaggerated than when he was the young master of the Ma family.

What car doesn't need to be ridden? Wouldn't it be better to buy a Santana?
But what about him? He spent 20 million to buy so many imported cars. He's just a poor man who suddenly became rich, showing off his wealth.

Jiang Nianyun, on the other hand, was very protective of him, saying that it's normal for young people to like cars.

Wealthy families in the United States love to buy luxury cars.

Besides, Ning Weimin earned the money himself, not by spending other people's money. Everyone benefits from it, which is better than indulging in drinking, gambling, and prostitution.

Besides, this is also good for business. Now that we have these cars, it's not only more convenient to pick up and drop off people, but it also makes people look good. Even the employees of Yunyuan feel much more confident. How could this be considered a bad thing?
Well, that just goes to show that everything has its counter.

When the old lady spoke, Kang Shude immediately lost his temper and could only give up and sulk by himself.

However, it doesn't matter, even though the two elders have very different attitudes toward Ning Weimin.

One is biased, the other is strict; one feels he has suffered too much, the other is afraid he will forget his roots—they seem to be somewhat contradictory.

But Ning Weimin knew in his heart that whoever it was was doing it for his own good, and besides, he had a way to mediate.

This year is not only the year the Asian Games are held, but also the 200th anniversary of the Anhui Opera Troupe's arrival in Beijing.

Ning Weimin was inspired when he saw the news in the newspaper that the National Dramatists Association and the National Opera Society would hold related commemorative activities and a seminar on revitalizing Peking Opera.

They decided to use this as an excuse to go through the Cultural Bureau and invite famous Peking Opera actors from all over the country to Yunyuan in an official capacity. They would then use the theater in the East Courtyard to hold a "Pear Garden Gathering" and put on a grand performance for a month.

Ning Weimin knew the two old men's temperaments and shared interests better than anyone else. He knew that the two old men had a remarkably consistent attitude towards Peking Opera, and were equally obsessed with it.

So he didn't hesitate to spend his own money to join in the fun, willing to lose money to gain publicity, and organized a large-scale cultural commemorative event for the two elderly people.

On the surface, what he did seemed a bit foolish.

But in reality, for him who no longer cared about money, this matter had many benefits, both public and private.

In a broader sense, he was not only contributing to the revitalization of traditional Chinese culture and helping the struggling Peking Opera troupe to make ends meet, but also supporting the Asian Games by using the ticket revenue to raise more funds for the Asian Games Organizing Committee.

On the other hand, he was also catering to their tastes, providing some entertainment for his elders, and letting Jiang Nianyun and Kang Shude have a good time acting.

The key is that this kind of thing, under the guise of public welfare, has no side effects, and it doesn't matter if it's a big event.

Not only can it avoid the suspicion of flaunting wealth, but it can also enhance the reputation of Yunyuan and increase its social standing.

Besides, he has so many relatives and friends.

As the saying goes, it's better to share happiness than to enjoy it alone. If we can invite everyone over for a get-together, it will increase our social connections.

Even if the old man is a lecher, seeing so many people benefit from it and are happy about it, he would probably just follow the crowd and not scold him for forgetting his roots or for spending money recklessly.

Sure enough, the matter was handled very smoothly.

It's important to understand that the market for Peking Opera is not good these days, unlike a few years ago when home appliances weren't widespread and tickets could still be sold.

Nowadays, die-hard theatergoers almost exclusively enjoy the shows through television and radio; few are willing to spend money to buy tickets to see them.

Moreover, young people neither understand nor like it. It can be said that Peking Opera has been gradually marginalized, has deviated from the actual needs of mass entertainment, and has become a highbrow hobby.

As a result, almost all the troupes and opera schools were struggling, except for the Fenglei Peking Opera Troupe, which managed to have a few performances at Yunyuan Opera House and was doing relatively well.

The Cultural Bureau was already worried about insufficient funding to complete the tasks assigned by its superiors.

At this moment, when Ning Weimin, a wealthy and generous tycoon, suddenly appeared and offered to sponsor them to help them achieve their KPIs for the year, wouldn't they see him as a lifeline and try their best to please him?
Naturally, whatever he says goes, goes; whatever he says goes, goes; whatever he says goes, goes; whatever he says goes, goes.

The Bureau of Culture had no objections whatsoever, which shows a forward-thinking awareness in the context of a market economy.

The only concern is that the venue designated by Ning Weimin might not meet the standards.

When they arrived at Yunyuan, the representative from the Cultural Bureau in charge of the matter was completely dumbfounded, both astonished and overjoyed.

To be honest, they never expected that such a secluded garden, like a paradise, was hidden in the hutongs of Dongcheng.

What was even more unexpected was that a completely different multi-story opera house with soaring eaves suddenly stood out among the bungalows.

In particular, after they looked at it carefully, they found that although the opera stage in Yunyuan was smaller than the opera stages in the Summer Palace and the Forbidden City.

However, the front and back stages, the entrances and exits, everything was built to scale, with flying eaves, pillars, colorful paintings, and exquisite details.

What's especially remarkable is that they discovered this theater was actually one of the filming locations for the movie "Crazy Rich Asians".

Moreover, with heating, fans, private rooms, excellent sound absorption, and a stage lifting device, the equipment and facilities were extremely complete, which made them even more satisfied and pleasantly surprised.

It must be said that this place has completely restored the style of the old opera house, and can reproduce the performance style of the old high-class families inviting guests to the opera house to the greatest extent.

Whether from a commemorative perspective or from the perspective of performance conditions, there is no doubt that this is the best performance venue, bar none.

If I had to point out any flaws here, it would be that the space is slightly limited.

Even if all the seats are replaced, the upstairs and downstairs areas can only accommodate a maximum of about three hundred audience members, so it probably won't sell many tickets.

But that doesn't matter, since Ning Weimin is really rich and powerful, and he offered incredibly generous terms right off the bat.

He said he was willing to spend two million to organize the event.

Moreover, he provides food and drinks, and doesn't take a penny of the ticket sales revenue, which he can donate entirely to the Asian Games Organizing Committee.

The two elderly people in my family like Peking Opera, and I hope the Cultural Bureau can arrange for some famous actors to accompany them in a few performances.

For this reason, the Cultural Bureau had no more concerns and immediately decided to make the matter a reality.

Keep in mind that Ning Weimin contributed two million yuan, and the venue was given to him for free.

For the Cultural Affairs Bureau, organizing this event simply meant sending troupes to perform in rotation.

Even if they take turns performing here for two months, they can still earn more than 30,000 yuan a day.

Even if you have a large theater troupe of two hundred people, and even bring in janitors, you'll only get a maximum of ten thousand yuan in labor fees after the performance. The cultural bureau will lose more than half of that labor fee every day.

It can be said that the Cultural Bureau, as the organizer, stands in the middle, which not only implements benefits and builds personal relationships, but also enhances its prestige and incidentally provides a work achievement to report to its superiors.

This is a very simple calculation; only a fool wouldn't want to do it.

With Ning Weimin's financial support, the Cultural Bureau quickly and efficiently organized the event.

At their invitation, a total of 32 well-known Peking Opera troupes from all over the country responded and will come to Beijing to perform at the end of May.

The entire event lasted three months, with half the time spent rehearsing and the other half performing.

The specific performance arrangements were that the troupes that came to Beijing would rehearse separately at the Yunyuan Opera House and the Beijing Exhibition Hall.

Then, they first hold commercial performances targeting a niche audience, followed by a large-scale performance at the Beijing Exhibition Center for the general public.

As for Jiang Nianyun and Kang Shude, as the sponsors designated by Ning Weimin, they will be treated as VIPs and participate in the entire commemorative event.

Needless to say, the two elderly people, who love and understand opera, were extremely satisfied with Ningwei's decision to run the business.

From the moment the first theater troupe entered Yunyuan to begin rehearsals, they had extra fun and more things to do every day.

Even Kang Shude, who was originally in a bad mood, no longer had time to be angry. Although he would still grumble from time to time, he obviously had less time to go to the big wine vat to do business every day.

Instead, whenever he had free time, he would go to the theater to watch the rehearsals of Peking Opera troupes, chat with the famous actors of those troupes, and immerse himself in the joy of playing musical instruments, singing, reciting, acting, and fighting.

Therefore, even before the official performance, the East Courtyard of the Opera House was always bustling and lively.

That's not all. The key point is that the two elderly people are truly cultured amateur performers, which surprised the troupe members.

Even though they had already received instructions from the Cultural Bureau that they had to appease the two elderly people, since they were the ones who were paying for it.

Even so, no one expected that these two were actually true experts with real skills, qualified to be on stage.

First of all, Jiang Nianyun's singing of Qingyi is excellent. The grandeur, elegance, and graceful movements of the Mei School are so well imitated by Jiang Nianyun that she can imitate them perfectly.

If the old lady weren't so old, listening to her sing would surely evoke beautiful lines like "There is a beautiful woman, graceful and charming."

Kang Shude can't sing, but the old man can play the erhu.

And it's not just any ordinary level; once you get a little practice, you can pull off amazing results.

His playing of the zither was impeccable, especially when he played for Jiang Nianyun; their tacit understanding was no less than that of a real opera star.

So much so that whenever a theater troupe visited Yunyuan, the real stars would quickly develop a fondness for the two elderly people.

As the old saying goes, "Goods sell to those who know them."

Who wouldn't want their performance to be appreciated by true connoisseurs?

This can actually be seen from the fact that every time the two elderly people spontaneously go on stage to perform, they always receive a standing ovation.

Although they had a clear home-field advantage, most of the enthusiastic cheers came from the Yunyuan staff who were their breadwinners.

But to be fair, the members of the troupe couldn't deny that if the two elderly men were twenty years younger, they would absolutely be qualified to perform the grand finale. (End of Chapter)