Heroes of the Anti-Japanese War

Chapter 233 Talk to Aunt Chang
At four o'clock in the afternoon on the 28th of the twelfth lunar month, Aunt Chang and her daughter Bai Mudan finished their meal early, put on their makeup, and then took a set of opera tools and took a rickshaw to Xile Tea House.

In the past two years, almost every day has been so unshakable.

When the two of them were at the entrance of Xile Teahouse, they heard the noise coming from inside.

Chinese New Year is coming soon.Years later, according to the old rules, it will be closed until the fifteenth day of the first lunar month.For at least half a month, there was no place to listen to the opera.

So it gets full early these days.This is the best time of year for business.

Bai Mudan walked in front holding the small drum she played when she sang Dagushu.Aunt Chang followed behind with a drum stand.

Just as Bai Mudan walked into the door of Xile Tea House, a woman came out of it, and the two almost bumped into each other.

Wherever Bai Mudan went to hide, that woman also hid there.The two women shook two or three times in a row, then stopped at the same time, looked each other up and down a few times, and at the same time cursed a goblin in their hearts!
Bai Mudan stood still and watched the woman walk past him and walk out of the teahouse.

Yaohong walked out of Xile Tea House with a small waist swaying, turned two streets into an alley, and curled her lip at a man squatting on the ground smoking a cigarette, and said, "How is she good-looking? She's as fat as a pig!"

Qian Xiaobao threw the cigarette butt on the ground and asked, "Does your pig have double eyelids?"

Yaohong stretched out her left hand and turned the ring on her right index finger.There is a sharp protrusion on this ring.She turned the bump from the outside to the inside of the palm.

Qian Xiaobao handed the cigarette and lighter to Yaohong and said, "Just smoke one before leaving."

Yaohong took the cigarette case and lighter.With a flick of her finger under the cigarette case, a cigarette popped out of the case.

Yaohong took advantage of the situation and opened her mouth to grab the cigarette.Then the cigarette clicked and lit.

Taking a long puff of the cigarette, two slender columns of smoke sprayed out from Yaohong's nostrils.She returned and stuffed the cigarette case and lighter into the waist pocket of the cotton cheongsam.

"You really don't treat yourself as an outsider. Give it back to me!" Qian Xiaobao said.

Yaohong took out the cigarette case again and threw it to Qian Xiaobao.

"Do you know how many packs of cigarettes that lighter can buy? Give me back the lighter!" Qian Xiaobao roared.

Yao Hong moved in Qian Xiaobao raised his elbow to reveal his waist and said, "You pay for it yourself!"

The cotton cheongsam is very slim and fits tightly on Yaohong's body.

Qian Xiaobao stretched out his hand to take it out, but he couldn't do it no matter what.

"Okay, I'll give you the lighter! This is the last time the two of us will do business, there will be no next time!" Qian Xiaobao said angrily.

"Throw it away when you're done using it, men don't have a good thing!" Yaohong scolded.

"You damn girl, keep some morals! Don't talk nonsense, have I ever touched one of your fingers?" Qian Xiaobao said.

"So you are not a good person!" Yaohong said bitterly.Then she turned around and walked away stepping on her high-heeled leather shoes that rattled.

Qian Xiaobao stared dumbfoundedly at Yao Hong who was going away for a long time before saying: "Who is scolding me for being greedy for my lighter!"

Now the owner of the teahouse treats Aunt Chang as if she were her own mother.Every night, Bai Mudan is arranged to be the first to appear.

He was afraid that Aunt Chang would also send him into the fence to eat in prison.

There is another advantage in this is that the one who sings first goes first.Let their mother and daughter leave the teahouse quickly so that everyone can sing and listen to opera with peace of mind.

Aunt Chang set up the drum stand in front of the stage.Bai Mudan put the snare drum on the drum stand.The luthier sat behind her and had already tuned the strings and was ready to sing.

Bai Mudan cleared her throat and scanned the audience with rippling eyes, ready to sing.

What she is going to sing tonight is a section from The Story of the West Chamber.But when she hit the snare drum with a drum hammer, she froze.

The snare drum, which was supposed to be booming, made a popping sound.

The people listening to the opera under the stage also heard that something was wrong, and suddenly there was a buzzing sound.

Aunt Chang has more experience than Bai Mudan.She quickly walked out of the backstage and came to the drum stand.

She looked down to examine the leather surface of the snare drum carefully.Check one side, turn it over and check the other side.Finally found a small hole in the leather!
"How does it look like who pierced it?" Aunt Chang said.

"Impossible, I hardly let go of this drum." Bai Mudan said.

Now is not the time for two people to stand here wondering how the drum broke.There are two to three hundred people waiting to listen to the play.

Aunt Chang had no choice but to carry the drum stand and Bai Mudan to the backstage.

"Shopkeeper, hurry up and change someone." Aunt Chang said helplessly to the owner of the restaurant.

"Okay, I'll arrange someone else to take the top right away!" said the boss.

The Errenzhuan singer who was going to be the second to play immediately went out to save the stage.

The boss came back again and said to Aunt Chang: "Auntie, what should I do if the drum is broken tomorrow? Or you two won't use it at 29. Live a good year at home! I will give the annual package to Miss Bai in advance How about it?"

According to the rules, I sang operas in the teahouse for a year, and when the year came, the shopkeepers under him would give each artist a red envelope.

Aunt Chang didn't appreciate what the boss said.Her eyes fixed on the boss first and then scanned everyone in the background.

"When I find out who spoiled my good deed secretly, I, Aunt Chang, will never let you go!" Aunt Chang said through gritted teeth.

Because the sound was too loud, even the singers and listeners at the front desk could hear it.

"It's not yet six o'clock, I'll go to Baza City in a while, even if the door is smashed, I will buy a new drum back!" Aunt Chang said angrily.

There was nothing he could do about meeting such a difficult and unofficial female shopkeeper.

He could only nod with a smile on his face and said, "Okay, okay! I'll let Miss Bai sing the finale tonight!"

Aunt Chang stood up and said to Bai Mudan: "You wait for me here, I will be back within an hour after going to Baza City!" After she finished speaking, she left Xile Tea House in a hurry.

When Aunt Chang rushed to Baza City, the merchants in Baza City had already closed their doors and windows and put on the shutters.

There are only one or two merchants selling snare drums in Baza City.Aunt Chang came to the store door with ease and smashed it for a long time, finally allowing the store to reopen.

Ten minutes later, the contented Aunt Chang hurried out of Baza City with a new drum in her arms.

But when she just walked out of Baza City and wanted to go to the main street to call for a rickshaw to hurry back to Xile Tea House, a brick hit her hard on the back of the head in the dark.

Aunt Chang threw herself forward.

A man rushed out of the darkness just in time to catch her.

The cold wind blows on the broad ice of the Songhua River.Qian Xiaobao squatted in the weeds by the river and smoked.Aunt Chang, who was unconscious, fell beside him.

Qian Xiaobao was waiting for Aunt Chang to wake up.He wants to have a good talk with Aunt Chang tonight.

(End of this chapter)