Tang Dynasty Little Godfather

Chapter 118 Be a person of many times the potential.

early morning.

Wang Xi had just arrived at the academy when he happened to meet Huangfu Sengnian.

"Monk Nian, how can you walk in this cold weather?" Wang Xi asked as he got off the carriage and saw Huangfu Monk Nian walking towards him.

Huangfu Sengnian said, "I'm thinking about some things and don't want to ride in a carriage."

"What is it?" Wang Xi asked.

"Talking as we walk."

The two walked into the courtyard, and Huangfu Sengnian said, "Yesterday my father inquired in detail about the matter of the hidden households returning to their registered residence."

"They've finally made a move," Wang Xi said with a smile.

Huangfu Sengnian laughed and said, "Then guess what their movements are?"

Wang Xi asked, "What?"

Huangfu Sengnian did not answer, but just looked at Wang Xi with a smile.

Wang Xi looked at him for a moment, then pondered and said, "You don't mean you want us to do all the work, do you?"

Huangfu Sengnian asked in surprise, "How did you come up with that idea?"

"Hold!"

Wang Xi cursed, "We've been secretly trying to help them, giving them experience and confidence, and they want to just sit back and do nothing. It's outrageous!"

Huangfu Sengnian said, "But this time might be different."

Wang Xi asked, "What's different?"

Huangfu Sengnian said, "Judging from my father's tone, they want us to step forward, probably because they are worried about affecting the interests of others."

Wang Xi said, "I've also discussed this with my father. We'll leave the matter of offending people to Yuwen Rong. They can just get some credit for themselves; they won't offend anyone."

Huangfu Sengnian said, "But our father was even more cautious than we expected, so they figured we should do the hard work and they would get the credit."

Wang Xi was both amused and exasperated upon hearing this, "It seems we are all related by blood."

After saying that, he pondered for a moment, "Alright, alright, let's set an example for them first. When it comes time to govern the whole country, they can't possibly hand it all over to us."

Huangfu Sengnian nodded and said, "Then we can't wait any longer. Now is the best time. It's the off-season for farming and also the dead of winter. If we wait until spring and the hermits plant their seeds, they might be even less willing to return to their hometowns."

Wang Xi said, "I have already prepared the money and the people. My family's hidden households will help promote the benefits of returning to their original place of residence, and at the same time, they will serve as an example."

But they won't cost us money; instead, they'll join our workshops directly, allowing us to use our funds to help those who truly need our services.

Huangfu Sengnian asked, "When do you plan to take action?"

Wang Xi said, "We'll act immediately after the performance tomorrow."

Huangfu Sengnian nodded.

The two talked as they entered the classroom.

With the weather getting colder, the large classrooms are no longer usable, so everyone has been rehearsing in the classrooms lately.

“The monk Nian has arrived.”

"Good morning, monk!"

"???"

Wang Xi felt ignored, as if no one had greeted him. He coughed heavily and said, "Hey! Didn't you guys see Senior Brother Que?"

".!"

After another period of being ignored, everyone started rehearsing on their own.

Wang Xi blinked, puzzled, and asked, "Monk Nian, am I invisible today?"

Huangfu Sengnian glanced at everyone, then at Wang Xi, and then silently walked away.

"Damn it! What do you mean?"

Wang Xi felt suddenly isolated, so she walked directly behind Li Jieman, who was pretending to recite his lines, patted him on the shoulder, and said, "Xiaoman, can't you see me either?"

Li Jie said, "Of course we can see you, but you only have eyes for your junior sister, not us brothers!"

"Yes!"

Xue Jun said sourly, "Why is Brother Que in the mood to come here today? Aren't you going to the dressing room?"

So that's what happened! Wang Xi blinked, then suddenly looked around: "That's right! How did I end up here? It's all Monk Nian's fault for leading me here. Sorry, sorry to bother you all, please excuse me!"

He then turned and headed out.

We can't let him leave.

Xue Jun, Cui Gu'er, and the others rushed forward and pulled Wang Xi back.

"Sparrow."

Xue Jun complained, "You're so unfair, monopolizing all the junior sisters by yourself."

“That’s right. Now, Junior Sister only cares about Brother Que and doesn’t pay any attention to us. When she sees us, she asks, ‘Do you know where Brother Que is?’” Linghu Baodi twisted her plump body and said in a coquettish voice, imitating Linglong.

Recently, Wang Xi has been getting along very well with her junior sisters thanks to her makeup skills, which has made them extremely jealous.

In the past, there were more wolves than meat, so everyone relied on their own abilities. If you were closer to the teacher, we wouldn't complain.

These days, there's a perfect ratio of one radish to one half hole, and you've taken it all! You're really a case of having no humanity when it comes to the opposite sex!

Anyone would be angry!

"Who took it!"

Wang Xi explained, "I'm teaching the female students makeup techniques. The female students dress up beautifully, but aren't you animals the ones who benefit the most?"

Han Xiaohu said dejectedly, "But my junior sister doesn't even look at us properly anymore."

"That's right, we haven't even had a chance to say a few words," Li Tong said dejectedly.

Wang Xi said, "Hey, don't say that I won't give you a chance. In a couple of days, the master will arrange for us to do good deeds in the suburbs, which means helping those hidden households."

The junior sisters will also be helping out, and it will be a classic combination of two boys and two girls. Since it's in the suburbs, the responsibility of protecting them will fall entirely on you. Besides, the junior sisters all like kind-hearted and charitable people, so you'd better seize this excellent opportunity.”

Xue Jun blinked, then said nervously, "Brother Que, I've done all sorts of things, but I've never done anything like this!"

Han Xiaohu and the others nodded in unison.

These spoiled brats are already doing good deeds if they don't bully men and women. Damn, I'm speechless. Wang Xi sighed inwardly and said, "This is the image we have in our junior sisters' eyes. Don't be fooled by how close they are to me now; they're always on guard against us. We must change this image to truly connect with them. If you don't know how to do good, then go ask! Damn it, if you can't even do this, what are you doing trying to woo our junior sisters? Just go to Pingkangfang and spend some money."

Xue Jun's eyes darted around, and he nodded, saying, "Yes, yes, Brother Que is right. We'll go learn right away. But since you've already gotten so close to Junior Sister, you shouldn't go. Let us show off our skills."

Wang Xi hesitated, saying, "This isn't right. We're all brothers; we should share the burden."

Han Xiaohu immediately said, "Brother couldn't bear to see Brother Que working so hard."

Wang Xi gasped, "Since my brothers treat me like this, then fine, I won't go when Xiaoman leads the team."

“It’s settled then,” Li Jieman said immediately.

"But before that, let's get the storytelling arrangements sorted out tomorrow, so that nothing goes wrong."

"Don't worry, we've been practicing every day these past few days, and we can already recite it backwards."

"That's good."

After a two-week hiatus, everyone finally got to see the latest chapter of Dream of the Red Chamber. From the morning onwards, all the restaurants were packed.

Outside, the streets were deserted.

When everyone saw the convoy from the Nameless Academy pass by, they almost burst into tears. You...you brats, do you even know what we've been going through lately?
Daiyu!

Baochai!

We've missed you so much!

When the students appeared on stage, before they even opened their mouths, thunderous applause erupted, a scene that was truly moving.

Seeing this, Zhang Huai couldn't help but laugh and said to Wang Xi, "Young Master Wang, actually... actually your troupe could perform for a day or two longer, and I would be willing to donate more money."

Wang Xi said, "It's impossible for me to perform more, but you can contribute a little more money."

Zhang Huai almost vomited blood.

What's the difference between what you're doing and robbery?
Wang Xi said, "Even if it's only once every two weeks, we still have to rehearse the opera version of Dream of the Red Chamber."

Zhang Huai's eyes flashed upon hearing this, and he quickly said, "Speaking of opera, I was just about to have a word with you, young master. Come, come, young master, this way please, this way please."

He hurriedly led Wang Xi to a window and pointed to a large courtyard in the distance, asking, "Young master, do you recognize that place?"

Wang Xi looked up, pondered for a moment, and thought, "It seems to be Anji Temple."

"Exactly."

Zhang Huai continued, "In recent years, the imperial court has been closing down some temples. Now that the temple has no monks left, and the land is ready to be sold. As long as you say the word, I will buy the land."

During Wu Zetian's reign, temples were built on a large scale, which was not a problem in itself. The problem was that the temples occupied a lot of land, and the equal-field system could not be maintained. In order to obtain land, Li Longji began to find various excuses to suppress the temples. He closed them down whenever possible and confiscated all the land.

In short, behind every policy lies nothing but self-interest.

Wang Xi asked, "What do you mean?"

Zhang Huai said, "This building is fine for storytelling, but it's a bit too small for opera performances. If you promise to have the opera version of Dream of the Red Chamber performed here, I will immediately buy the land and build a stage for it."

Wang Xi laughed and said, "You've thought things through quite thoroughly, but our performances are all charity performances. We're looking at good intentions, not the details."

Zhang Huai spread his five fingers and said, "It's five times the price of storytelling."

"Five times?"

Wang Xi blinked and asked, "Old Zhang, will you be able to break even?"

You should know that the price of storytelling these days is the same as the price they usually charge for hiring someone to perform, multiplied by five, which is truly astronomical.

Zhang Huai said, "You don't need to worry about that, young master. Just tell me if the price is reasonable?"

After thinking carefully, Wang Xi said, "Ten times."

Zhang Huai said with great frustration, "Young Master, this price of five times is already very high. Even if you were to hire Zi Ye Ni Chang, it wouldn't cost this much."

Wang Xi said, "So you think we're inferior to that Midnight Rainbow Robe?"

“No, no.” Zhang Huai gritted his teeth. “Ten times is not out of the question, but it can only be performed here.”

Wang Xi laughed and said, "The East Market is only here with you, but we also want to open one in the West Market."

Zhang Huai nodded and said, "Okay."

The customers of the East Market and the West Market do not conflict with each other.

He was determined to win this opera performance, because he was now completely captivated by "Dream of the Red Chamber." In the East Market, money was secondary; connections were paramount.

If storytelling can create such a sensation, one can only imagine what it will be like when the opera is performed.

If he doesn't take it, and another restaurant does, he will surely lose his position as the number one restaurant in the East Market.

Wang Xi understood this principle, which is why he made such an exorbitant demand.

These days, who the hell cares about loyalty and friendship?

However, there was someone in the building who was even more depressed than Zhang Huai at this moment, and that person was Wu Xin.

He stood in an inconspicuous corner, watched for a while, and then left feeling utterly frustrated.

He came here today hoping that the hype surrounding "Dream of the Red Chamber" would cool down a bit after half a month, but little did he expect it to become even more popular.

Upon arriving outside the building, a servant who had been waiting by the carriage approached and whispered a few words to him.

Upon hearing this, Wu Xin immediately boarded the carriage, where he saw a man sitting inside, none other than Li Linfu.

"I hope you will forgive my intrusion, Grand Master Wu," Li Linfu said, bowing.

Wu Xin said, "I never expected that Li Zhongyun would also come to see Dream of the Red Chamber."

Li Linfu said, "I originally came here to look for inspiration and compose a few pieces, but I didn't expect to meet Wu Jijiu here."

Wu Xin sighed.

Li Linfu asked, "Is Grand Master Wu here for the singing competition?"

Wu Xin nodded. "These days, singing competitions have really reached a point where nobody cares about them."

Li Linfu said, "Actually, there is only one strategy needed to break this deadlock."

Wu Xin hurriedly asked, "What brilliant plan does Li Zhongyun have?"

Li Linfu said, "It means canceling the singing competition."

(End of this chapter)