Returning to the county opera troupe in 77

After a night, Liu Dezhu's eyes were not only not less swollen, but were even more swollen than the day before. The bruises from yesterday had turned completely bluish-purple and blackish overnight, and his eyelids were taut and shiny, as if they were about to burst at any moment.

Without sight, everything from food and clothing to shelter and transportation becomes a hassle.

Last night, Chen Xiangdong was worried that Liu Dezhu would have trouble getting up at night, so after sending him back to his dormitory, he turned around and went back to his own room.

He hastily grabbed his bedding roll, tucked it under his arm, and headed straight for Liu Dezhu's dormitory. He pushed open the door, laid out a straw mat on the floor, and began to spread a mattress on top of it.

Although Liu Dezhu was temporarily blind, his hearing was still sharp. He lay half-reclined on the bed, listening to the rustling sounds in the room, and turned to ask, "What are you doing?"

"I'll move in to take care of you." Chen Xiangdong made up the bedding without even lifting his eyelids. "You can't see now, so what if you get up at night and bump into something and fall? I'll just sleep on a makeshift bed on the floor in this room. Master, just call me if you need anything."

Liu Dezhu remained silent for a while, feeling increasingly aggrieved as he thought about Sun Zhan Dou. He slammed his fist on the bed in anger and cursed, "That bastard! Once my eyes are better, I'll definitely give him a good beating!"

Chen Xiangdong rolled his eyes at him, thinking to himself, "You'd better calm down. If that guy really goes all out, he might beat you to death..."

What should have been a heartwarming scene of a loving teacher and filial student turned into a nightmare the next day. Before dawn, Chen Xiangdong, who was sound asleep, felt someone kicking his butt. He groggily turned around and saw that Liu Dezhu had gotten out of bed and was now beside him.

"What's wrong, Master? Do you need to use the restroom?"

He hurriedly got up to get the chamber pot, but saw Liu Dezhu sigh helplessly: "Kid, you should go back to sleep."

Chen Xiangdong asked, puzzled, "Why?"

To everyone's surprise, Liu Dezhu immediately started cursing: "Why? You're snoring so loudly! I didn't get a wink of sleep all night because of you. I'd rather have some peace and quiet by myself."

And so, Chen Xiangdong was sent back.

The rehearsal hall was packed with people early on. Last night, Lin Datou volunteered to approach Jia Dafang and Zhu Zhengwei, saying that he was fully capable of playing the drums.

Jia and Zhu thought to themselves that since they didn't have many people available, they might as well let Lin Datou give it a try. That's why they gathered the actors and band early in the morning to try rehearsing the scene of "Ode to Qin Chuan".

As the drums began to play, Lu Meiyin began her entrance, but before she had taken two steps, she suddenly frowned and shouted at Lin Datou, who was engrossed in playing the drums, "Stop!"

Lin Datou was taken aback, his drumsticks hovering in mid-air. He looked over, puzzled, and asked, "What's wrong?"

"The drumbeats are too loose, too soft, making it hard to get any strength out of you." Lu Meiyin shook her head helplessly, seemingly afraid of saying something too harsh and hurting Lin Datou, so she said, "Datou, you've never played the opening of 'Ode to Qin Chuan' before. Don't worry, let's go through it a couple more times to get a feel for it."

Lin Datou opened his mouth, then nodded and said, "Okay, let's start again."

The drums started beating again. Lin Datou took a deep breath and began to strike the drums in rapid succession. He managed to keep the rhythm steady at first, but when the first and second lines of the song came together, the rhythm of the drums softened, and the rhythm of the entire band seemed to stumble.

Lu Meiyin stepped to the rhythm, struck a pose, and was about to sing again when this sudden softness caused her breath to become choked.

From a distance, it looks like a little rooster that was just about to crow when someone suddenly grabbed its neck, making it look incredibly uncomfortable.

"Stop, stop, stop!"

Even Jia Dafang and Zhu Zhengkuo couldn't stand it this time, let alone Han Wenxue, who had a formal education in literature.

The top two leaders just frowned and remained silent, but the third leader, Han Wenxue, stood up abruptly, his face displeased: "We just got off to a good start, how come it suddenly collapsed again? Let's do it again! Let's start all over again."

"Well……"

After being stopped twice in a row, Lin Datou couldn't help but feel a little nervous. Dozens of actors, young and old, from the entire troupe were staring straight at him, which immediately made him feel a lot of pressure.

The drumbeats resumed, but this time it was even worse than before. The more anxious Lin Datou became, the less he could keep his rhythm, making several mistakes in a row. He rushed the beat when he should have been slow, and messed up the rhythm when he should have been fast.

The rhythm went awry, and Lu Meiyin on stage was dragged off course as well. She couldn't help but call for a stop again. The repeated mistakes were making her very frustrated: "How am I supposed to sing with this drumming so chaotic! The drumbeats are so unsteady, the whole stage is collapsing. If this keeps going, the play can't be performed!"

Lin Datou gripped the drumsticks, his expression stiffening. After a long pause, he angrily said, "Why are you making such a fuss! If you can't sing well, you can't blame it all on me! If you can't sing, why don't you let Pan Lanxiang come up and sing? Let her come up and see if I can cooperate!"

Upon hearing this, Lu Meiyin stomped her foot in anger and yelled at Zhu Zhengkuo, Jia Dafang, and the others sitting behind the director's seat: "Secretary, troupe leader, you saw it too! This guy's drumming was terrible, and he's blaming me? Fine, he thinks I sing badly? Then he'll find someone else!"

After saying that, she stamped her foot again, turned around and stepped off the stage.

Zhu Zheng and Jia Dafang exchanged a wry smile. They weren't deaf or blind, so how could they not hear the problem with the drumbeat? But right now, besides Lin Datou, where else could they find a drummer?

Even if we go to another city now and spend money to hire a temporary drummer, we still won't have enough time.

At this critical juncture, they really didn't dare to say anything too harsh to Lin Datou, in case he quit, the entire performance would be ruined.

Zhu Zheng sat there without saying a word. Seeing this, Jia Dafang had no choice but to patiently say, "Lu Meiyin, why are you in such a hurry? We're focusing on rehearsals now so we can get better teamwork, right? Now, let's address the problems and correct the mistakes. Let's all work a little harder and be understanding of each other."

Lu Meiyin crossed her arms and sneered, "Consideration? Wasn't Lin Datou going to team up with Pan Lanxiang? Perfect, I'm not performing anymore, let them sing!"

Jia Dafang was also in a dilemma. In an instant, everyone's eyes in the rehearsal hall turned to Pan Lanxiang, who was sitting on a small stool in the corner.

Pan Lanxiang closed the script in her hand, rolled her big eyes, and said, "I'm not singing! The band is in such a mess that they can't even hold a proper opening. I'm not going to embarrass myself like that."

Having been humiliated by the two main performers, Lin Datou was so angry that his lips twitched. He threw his drumsticks to the ground in a show of bravado: "Fine, don't sing then! I don't want to play anymore anyway. This lousy performance is bound to collapse sooner or later!"

Seeing that the actors and drummer were all about to quit, Jia Dafang slammed his fist on the table and yelled, "You're all disorganized and undisciplined! You're just a bunch of rabble, you can't even serve real food! What kind of time is this? You just want to quit like that? Why don't we just disband the troupe altogether!"

Zhu Zheng grimaced, unsure of what to say. Who would have thought that just missing Liu Dezhu, who was supposed to be playing the drum, could cause so much trouble?

"Squeak~"

The sound of the wooden door slowly opening silenced the noisy scene in the rehearsal hall. Everyone turned to look and saw Liu Dezhu, who had somehow acquired a pair of round "advisor's glasses," being helped in by Chen Xiangdong.

Everyone couldn't help but wonder, wasn't Liu Dezhu injured in the eye? What's he doing here?

Liu Dezhu stopped at the doorway and cleared his throat: "How about I recommend someone to play the drums?"

Zhu Zhengwei instinctively asked, "Who is it?"

Liu Dezhu then shoved Chen Xiangdong, who was supporting him, forward and chuckled, "My apprentice, Chen Xiangdong!"

As soon as the words were spoken, not only everyone in the rehearsal hall, but even Chen Xiangdong, who had staggered to his feet, was completely dumbfounded.

"What? Dongwazi?"

"Did I hear that right? He said to let the kid play the drums?"

"Are you kidding me! This kid's only been learning to drum for a few days!"