Republic of China: Guandong Ginseng King

Chapter 226 Two-person turn

Sitting on the warm kang, eating steaming meals and drinking a little wine, all the hardships of the past few days are melted away.

Qu Shaoyang is not short of money. When he brings his employees out to do business, he must make sure they are well fed and well drank.

Of course, not all people who live in the inn spend as much on food and drink as Qu Shaoyang and his friends.

In fact, most people just have some sauerkraut soup with millet rice.

This is still considered a good condition. There are also some people who bring their own luggage and bedding and just sleep on the warm kang in the inn.

Just to find a place to avoid the wind and snow and have a good night.

This way, the cost is less.

There are even poorer ones who do not live in the main room of the inn with warm kangs, but live in low warehouses.

There was also a kang in the warehouse, but no one was lighting a fire.

Those who are really poor will automatically and consciously move into such houses when they move into a big inn.

There are wood blocks and axes at the door of the house, so you can chop wood and make fire.

There was a wicker basket hanging on the beam, with large, hard, frozen pancakes in it.

I went to the well in the yard to fetch water, poured it into the pot, and steamed the pancakes.

When the water in the pot boils and the pancakes are hot, scoop out a bowl of hot water and eat it with the pancakes. At least you won't starve to death.

It's a very poor place in Kanto, and it's not just talk.

The inn welcomes everyone. The rich can eat, drink and have fun, and the poor will not freeze or starve to death.

The rich have their own way of living, and the poor have their own goals.

After everyone had eaten and drunk their fill, they leaned back on the kang and picked their teeth with a broom or some millet.

The waiter came in, cleared the table of leftovers, and poured a bowl of hot tea for everyone.

"Manager Chen, Manager Qu, a group of opera singers have come to our store and are in the west wing.

If you want to see it, you can go to the west wing." The waiter reminded the guests while clearing the table.

Storytellers and opera singers stay at inns not just to sleep and rest, they also want to do business.

It can be seen from this that it is not easy to run this inn well. It not only provides accommodation, food and drink, but also entertainment services.

After dinner, it was dark outside and the dim light in the house made it inconvenient to play cards or gamble.

When everyone was bored, they all widened their eyes when they heard that there was a bouncing show to watch.

At this time in the West Wing, the singer of Baotou (a man dressed as a woman) had already dressed up, drawing his eyebrows and eyes, and putting on a little makeup.

Generally speaking, there are very few women singing in Bengbeng opera, and the female roles are usually played by young men with handsome features and excellent singing skills.

The string players also began to tune their instruments and try out the music, opening their voices to sing some little ditties.

"Eehoo-hey, ah-hey, eh-ah-hu-hey-hu-hey--"

Bengbeng opera, later known as Errenzhuan, consists of only two people on stage, one male and one female, but they can play several roles.

In Northeast China, there is a saying that one would rather give up a meal than give up Errenzhuan.

In that era when there was a lack of entertainment, the artists who sang Bengbeng opera were as popular as the stars and singers of later generations.

During festivals, if a village invites a troupe to perform opera, people from miles around will rush over to listen to the opera, and they will be fascinated by it.

As soon as the little hat was thrown out, the guests living in the main house became tempted.

So he casually put on a thick cotton jacket, put on his slippers, and ran to the west wing.

When most of the guests had arrived, the gong and drum beats changed and the show started with a piece of "The West Chamber".

"A bright moon shines on the west wing, and the beautiful young lady is dressing up skillfully..." The singer of Baotou has a good figure and a beautiful voice, and her eyes are full of charm and affection.

The two sang in harmony, and they cooperated well. Everyone was fascinated by the performance of The West Chamber, and they kept cheering.

After singing this passage at the beginning, the troupe leader brought out the play script and asked everyone to choose their favorite songs.

There are often people hiding in the carriage inn, and the owner of the opera troupe knows everything clearly.

So the play excerpts he brought out were different from usual ones.

The plays above cannot involve government officials or soldiers. For example, "Bao Gong's Rescue", "Return of the Cup" and "The Execution of the Son at the Gate" are not included.

Furthermore, tragic plays or plays with bad endings should not be sung, such as "Feng Kui Sells His Wife", "Baoyu Crying at the Dead", "Luo Cheng's Fortune Telling", etc.

The most popular ones are the Water Margin plays, among which "Wu Song Beats the Inn", "Blood Splashes on the Mandarin Duck Tower", "Yan Qing Sells Thread" and "Shi Qian Visits the Tower", all of which correspond to Hu Zi's daily life of smashing the kiln and inserting thousands of dots.

Of course, stories like "Fated Match", "Hong Fu Flees at Night", "Lu Bu Flirts with Diao Chan" and "Pigsy Carries His Wife on His Back" are more popular.

The main reason is that these topics are easy to express, and there are many dirty jokes in them, which are very popular among these rough men.

The troupe's owner had excellent eyesight and sent the play directly to Chen Yunzhe, Qu Shaoyang and others.

"My fellow shopkeepers, please do me a favor and order a 20% discount on the show."

Ordering a play is not free. If you want to pay for it, you must find the richest person to order it.

"Master, I haven't listened to opera for a while. I'll select two plays to honor you." Qu Shaoyang picked up the opera script, flipped through it, and said casually.

"Okay, give us an extra 20% off so that everyone can relax and relax." Liu Dongshan naturally did not object and nodded with a smile.

Everyone is very tired after working hard outside these days, so listen to a play and relax. As for spending money, that's no big deal.

So, Qu Shaoyang and Chen Yunzhe discussed and ordered several plays. Qu Shaoyang took out a few pieces of silver and gave them as reward money first.

The owner of the magic troupe was so happy that he couldn't stop smiling. "Thank you for the money, brothers, show us all your special skills."

At the command of the troupe leader, the members of the troupe put all their skills into performing one play after another.

You know what, this troupe really has some talent and they sing really well.

Everyone was fascinated by what was happening and cheered from time to time. Some people were so happy that they threw copper coins and silver pieces at the two men.

Everyone kept making noise until late at night, then they dispersed with a sense of unfulfilled desire and returned to the main room to rest.

At this time, several women came, wearing painted eyebrows and eyes, rouge and powder, and wearing flowery cotton jackets.

In her white and tender hands, she held a handful of pumpkin seeds and extended them to the guest. "Brother, do you want some pumpkin seeds?"

Some guys didn't quite understand what was going on, but Chen Yunhan and the others did, so they shook their heads and said, "No."

On the other side, there was a strong man in his thirties, waving at the woman.

"Come, grab me a handful of melon seeds."

When the woman heard this, she went over happily. The two of them whispered something to each other, and then the man hugged the woman and left the main room and went to the west wing.

In the single room at the west wing, the waiter had already tidied up the room and the kang was heated hot.

The man hugged the woman as they walked in. As for how he cracked the melon seeds, no one knew.

In the main room, several servants watched the couple leave, and then they realized what the woman meant by "cracking melon seeds".

"Oh my god, I didn't expect the coach shop had such a fancy trick."

When everyone heard this, they burst into laughter and said, "Come on, stop thinking about that and go to sleep.

When we make money, you can all find wives. It will be beautiful to hug your own wives."

(End of this chapter)