20 years of the Republic of China

Chapter 860 Spring and Autumn Grand Theater

Learn from rulers and ministers, fathers and sons, husbands and wives, and friends; gather the loyalty, filial piety, integrity, and righteousness of the ages to perform a play that is merely a fleeting moment in the grand scheme of things.

Whether rich or poor, whether joyful or sorrowful, a close examination of the joys and sorrows of a moment is truly astonishing!
……

After Tang Wenbiao and Simao left the South Railway Warehouse, about half an hour later they had sneaked into the Chinese territory. They walked along Snow Street for less than the time it takes to smoke a cigarette before they arrived at the Spring and Autumn Grand Theater owned by the Jiang family.

This opera house, with three stories high, is arguably the most prestigious venue in the Fengtian opera world.

In the Beijing-Tianjin area, any folk artist who travels outside the Great Wall and passes through Fengtian must first perform there for three days, regardless of their other plans.

If anyone refuses to sing, it's disrespectful to the Jiang family. While they might not kill you to vent their anger, you can forget about making money outside the Great Wall.

Moreover, you have to be extra careful, because you might get kidnapped and extorted, or even be secretly poisoned to ruin your voice and prevent you from ever working in the Peking Opera industry again.

Prostitution and acting are indistinguishable; both are the lowest of professions. What right do they have to challenge the local gangs?

There was no other way; once we arrived in Fengtian, we had no choice but to follow the Jiang family's arrangements.

All the famous actors are giving their first performances at the Chunqiu Grand Theater. If things continue like this, even if there's a pig tied up in the store, it won't stop business from booming.

By this time, the main performance inside the venue was already more than halfway through.

Tang Wenbiao and Simao bought their tickets and went to the gate. There, they saw a couplet hanging on the gateposts:
The dramas of joy and sorrow, separation and reunion, are not new to our time?
Observe the praise and criticism; those in the audience are often characters from the play!
After entering with a ticket and walking into the theater, I saw a couplet hanging on the pillars on both sides of the stage:
Sheng, Dan, Jing, Mo, Chou – all take the stage in their finest attire!
From east to west, north to south, and center, let your life shine!

The venue was dark, and all you could see were dark heads. All the lights were focused on the stage, where singing, recitation, acting, and acrobatics were performed. I listened carefully to two segments, which were probably about Guan Yu's defeat at Maicheng.

It is said that Guan Yu, who was stationed in Jingzhou, heard that his sworn brother Liu Bei had entered Xichuan. He immediately led his army north to attack, flooded the seven armies, and defeated Yu Jin. At the height of his power, he was unparalleled.

Historians have said: Yu's power shook the land of China.

However, Guan Yu was arrogant and self-willed. While he was fighting Cao Wei with all his might, Eastern Wu betrayed him, allied with Cao against Liu Bei, and launched a sneak attack from behind. Lü Bu crossed the river in disguise and seized Jingzhou in the chaos, thus ending Shu Han's ambition to become a hegemon.

Although Sun Wu gained an advantage, he still carries the infamy of being a "coward from Jiangdong" to this day, which shows that the saying "the victor is king and the loser is villain" is not universally applicable.

Although this play is not exactly obscure, it is not frequently performed.

Because Guan Yu had been deified in folklore, no one wanted to think about the fall of Shu Han.

On the other hand, the country is currently poor and weak, and has suffered repeated humiliations in foreign wars. The people do not like to watch heroes meet their end, but prefer grand dramas such as "Dingjun Mountain" and "Changban Slope".

Moreover, the actors are somewhat wary of this play. The actor playing Guan Yu doesn't want to portray Guan Yu's defeat, and it's even harder to find an actor to play Lü Meng. If the actor doesn't sing well, he will be booed; if he sings too well, he might even be beaten, because many opera fans come to see this play just to criticize Lü Meng, and that's what the actors earn their money from.

Tang Wenbiao and Simao were naturally not in the mood to watch the play. When they entered the theater, they didn't look for a place to sit. Instead, they stood near the entrance, craning their necks and looking around.

Before long, some of the guards came over to check.

"Hey, what are you two looking at?"

Several thugs, chins raised, asked irritably, "What, looking for someone?"

Simao quickly clasped his hands in a fist and bowed, smiled, and said, "Brothers, you've worked hard. I'm here to see a friend. Old Quanzi is the manager here, right?"

The room was dimly lit and noisy, with cheers erupting every now and then. It was impossible to hear what they were saying. The thugs then took a few more steps closer.

As the distance closed, everyone's expressions immediately changed.

It turned out that Si Mao was just a nobody under Lao Dou, with no reputation and few people knew him. But Tang Wenbiao was different. He was the second-in-command of Lao Dou's gang and a well-known figure in Fengtian. Everyone immediately showed hostility when they saw him.

"Damn! Who do we have here? It's Biaozi!"

"You dare show your face? You've got some nerve!"

As they spoke, they began to push and shove each other.

Seeing this, Si Mao quickly stepped in between them, smiling obsequiously, and said, "No, no, brothers, don't fight! In war, envoys are not to be killed! You see, there are only two of us. We didn't come here for any other reason than to have a good talk. Would it be wrong to talk?"

"Shut your mother's servant!"

Several men cursed, "Why didn't you talk earlier or later? Now that you're about to collapse, you fucking think of coming here to negotiate? Is there such a cheap thing in the world?"

Si Mao didn't back down either, immediately retorting, "Hey, brothers, let's not talk like that! If you're going to say that, then I have something to say too. You didn't pledge your loyalty earlier, you didn't pledge your loyalty later, but now that the Jiang family has risen again, you're all putting on airs. We're all the same, so let's not make a fool of each other!"

Lies don't hurt, truth is the knife.

Upon hearing this, the thugs' necks thickened, and they immediately cursed, "Shut the fuck up! The Jiang family's affairs are none of your business. If you know what's good for you, get lost. You think you can cause trouble without knowing your own limitations?"

The two sides were at loggerheads, and friction gradually arose in just a few words.

Fortunately, the theater was quite lively, with music and singing playing non-stop. The theater was also dark, so apart from disturbing a few audience members at the end, it did not cause any disturbance.

However, the other thugs noticed something was wrong and rushed over to check.

Simo spotted an old acquaintance in the crowd and hurriedly said, "Hey, Lao Quanzi, come over here and say a few words for me! Is Zeng Shouyi here keeping watch?"

The man frowned and asked, "No, what are you doing here?"

"We want to talk to the Jiang family!"

"Ha, you really think highly of me. Is this something I can decide?"

"Then let the person in charge of this come out!" Tang Wenbiao suddenly interjected. "I'll go talk to him!"

Upon hearing this, the crowd became displeased and immediately retorted, "Hey, who the hell do you think you are? You think you can just talk whenever you want? I'd rather you shut up and get out of here!"

Tang Wenbiao, true to his reputation as the second-in-command, immediately nodded and said, "Alright, I can leave, but remember, I'm here to negotiate with the Jiang family. If you block my way and refuse to let me know, and a few more lives are lost, you'll be held responsible!"

After saying that, he turned around and called to Simao, "Let's go! Since they can stand up for the Jiang family, then we won't talk anymore!"

"Hey, wait!"

Old Quanzi rushed over and stopped the two men. He turned to his brothers and said, "Brothers, they are here on behalf of Old Dou. Whether we talk or not, and whether we can reach an agreement, is up to the boss. If we just kick them out like this, what if the boss blames us later? I think we should go upstairs and ask him."

They looked at each other and agreed that what he said made sense; after all, none of them could bear such a responsibility.

So one of the underlings whispered, "You two stay here and watch over them. I'll go upstairs and ask Brother Yan."

Upon hearing "Brother Yan," Tang Wenbiao's eyes lit up. He thought to himself that with Jiang's gang leader in charge, there must be someone in charge, and someone of considerable importance. Perhaps he could find out Jiang Lianheng's attitude through him.

Sure enough, the more fiercely his underlings argued, the calmer and more restrained the boss remained.

A short while later, the same petty leader came down the side ladder, gave the brothers a wink, and said coldly, "Lower your guns!" Old Quanzi nodded, leaned close to Simao, and said, "Since you're here to negotiate, I don't need to repeat the rules, do I?"

Without a word, Tang Wenbiao and Simao immediately handed over their service pistols.

Old Quanzi was still not at ease, so he searched the place carefully again before daring to let them pass.

Immediately afterwards, Tang Wenbiao and Simao, led by the small leader, slowly walked up to the second floor. When they reached the corner of the stairs, they met Zhang Han, the "Xiangzi" who had been promoted by Jiang Jiaxin. After searching the two of them, Zhang Han took over the lead and walked towards the scattered tables in the second-floor corridor.

Zhao Guoyan's tea table was near the railing, in a superb position, overlooking the entire theater hall. Behind him stood three or five bodyguards, and upon closer inspection, Zeng Shouyi was among them.

When Tang Wenbiao and Simao walked around to the tea table, Zhao Guoyan was still staring at Zhou Cang on the stage, tapping his fingers on the railing, but he wasn't humming along.

"Brother Yan, you've worked hard!" Simao called out softly.

"Oh, you've arrived?" Zhao Guoyan turned his head, raised his hand and said, "Sit down, what kind of tea would you like?"

"No, no, it's cold outside. If you could give me a bowl of hot water, that would be very kind of you."

"You're too kind. Would you like some white tea?"

Just as Si Mao was about to speak, Tang Wenbiao interrupted, "I don't feel comfortable drinking tea that's given away for free. Let's check the price first, so we don't run out of money for the tea later."

Upon hearing this, Simao quickly pursed his lips and whispered, "Second Brother, white tea is a type of tea, not something given away for free."

"Get lost!" Tang Wenbiao glared at him. "What the hell do you know? Go cool off somewhere else!"

Si Mao, being rather naive, thought the two were just chatting idly, unaware that negotiations between them had already quietly begun.

Zhao Guoyan shook his head and smiled bitterly, then said, "Doing business is all about asking for the moon and settling for the moon! Everything has to be discussed. Otherwise, if I ask for too much, you might not be able to afford it, and if I ask for too little, it won't be worth it. If we don't tell each other the truth and keep arguing, we'll just be wasting our time. Don't you agree?"

"That's right!" Tang Wenbiao nodded and said, "However, since I'm already here, I still want to ask for a bowl of tea. Let's put the price aside for now. You have to tell me whether I can have this tea or not, right?"

How much would you like to drink?

One pot probably isn't enough.

"So much?" Zhao Guoyan asked with a smile. "How many mouths do you have? Can you drink it all?"

"I'm the second cabinet in the family." Tang Wenbiao's answer seemed a bit inexplicable.

Zhao Guoyan's fingers, which were tapping on the fence, suddenly stopped. He turned his head and looked at the newcomer carefully, asking, "Tang Wenbiao?"

Tang Wenbiao nodded and said, "It's me!"

Zhao Guoyan picked up a teacup from the table, filled it, and pushed it towards him, saying, "You can drink it!"

Being able to drink means being able to drink.

Even if Si Mao couldn't understand the implied meaning, he could guess the gist of Zhao Guoyan's actions just by looking at them. But since he didn't know how to beat around the bush, he simply said bluntly, "It's good that we can make peace, it's good that we can make peace. In the world of martial arts, you don't know someone until you fight them!"

He couldn't understand why a few perfectly good words had to be said in such a cryptic way.

Little do people know that no one is idle and has nothing better to do than to say nice things. The reason why it's hard to say nice things is actually the same as the reason for saying nice things in the martial arts world: to prevent others from overhearing.

Tang Wenbiao couldn't help but click his tongue and glare at Simao Jin.

Fortunately, the bustling atmosphere inside the theater and the cheers drowned out the conversation between the two sides.

Zhao Guoyan didn't blame them. He waved his hand and told the brothers to stand back. He then told Tang Wenbiao and Simao to come closer and said, "Don't worry, we're all online friends. We've sworn brotherhood and become sworn brothers. We help our own people, not our own interests, because we trust our leader."

“That’s right, that’s right!” Simao echoed repeatedly.

"However, no one is perfect. Sometimes the leader is blinded by greed and inevitably leads his brothers astray. You can't blame the brothers under his command."

"Yeah, yeah, what can we do? We're all about loyalty!"

"I think you all accidentally got on a pirate ship, and now you've realized you shouldn't have done it in the first place."

"That's so true! Bro, you've just said what's on my mind!"

"The master is a reasonable person and understands your difficulties. Who in the world doesn't want to be both loyal and righteous?"

"Sigh, it's tough!"

Zhao Guoyan nodded, then said, "But the Jiang family has suffered such a great loss, so this matter can't just be left like this. If there's a grudge, there's a grudge; if there's a resentment, there's a resentment. If I said I wouldn't pursue it, you probably wouldn't believe me. So the boss's attitude is very clear—only punish the ringleader, not the subordinates!"

"Hey! That's why I have to say it's Boss Jiang. Excuse me for swearing, but this is what you call vision!" Si Mao slammed his hand on the table and shouted angrily, "You're absolutely right! It's all that traitor Qin Huaimeng's fault for spreading rumors and leading us all astray. As long as Boss Jiang can forgive and forget, we're willing to help him get rid of Qin Huaimeng!"

After saying that, he added a few more flattering words.

Unexpectedly, Zhao Guoyan suddenly turned his face away, looked down at the stage, and remained silent.

Simao was stunned for a moment, not understanding what he had said wrong, so he turned his head and asked quietly, "Second Brother, what do you think this is...?"

Tang Wenbiao's face had long since turned as cold as iron. He raised his hand and said, "Speak! Why don't you come and talk? What happened to your earlier skills? Keep talking!"

Si Mao immediately became quiet, obediently stepping aside and no longer interrupting.

Tang Wenbiao let out a heavy sigh and asked, "Zhao Taibao, wasn't your asking price a bit too high?"

Zhao Guoyan remained silent.

Tang Wenbiao thought for a moment and then asked, "Only punishing the ringleader, I'm afraid that doesn't just refer to Master Qin, does it?"

Zhao Guoyan still did not answer directly, but suddenly changed the subject, saying, "Tang Wenbiao, actually, the boss has heard of you for a long time."

"Is it?"

"Well, the boss has said more than once that he thinks you're someone special. It's a bit of a waste for you to always be the second-in-command under Lao Dou..."

Before he could finish speaking, a deafening roar suddenly erupted from downstairs.

He slightly raised his head and looked towards the stage. It turned out that Lü Meng was making his appearance, which drew jeers and curses from the audience. The conversation between the two gradually faded away amidst the jeers, and eventually no one could hear what they were saying...

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Note: None of the three couplets are original works.

(End of this chapter)