After being jilted, the entire neighboring village was filled with deep regret.

Shen Ying and a group of village elders waited expectantly at the village entrance for most of the day before the person finally arrived.

Shen Ying stepped forward and asked warmly, "Is this the Rong family opera troupe?"

“That’s right, that’s right. I am Rong Lao Si, the head of the Rong family’s opera troupe. This must be the village chief.” Rong Lao Si looked Shen Ying up and down. He noticed that although their clothes were not made of the finest materials, they were not patched, indicating that they were well-off. The other villagers were similar, so it seemed that the village was indeed wealthy.

Rong Laosi's smile deepened considerably.

Shen Yinggang hurriedly pushed Liu Guangyao forward and introduced him, "This is our township head. We have also notified several other villages about the opera performance in Shenjiazhuang. The stage has been set up for Fourth Master. Would you like to come and take a look?"

Rong Laosi was surprised that even the township head came to pick them up. Feeling very honored, he walked beside Shen Ying in high spirits, asking about this and that, as if he wanted to uncover all the secrets of Shen Family Village.

Not only did the old men of Shenjiazhuang frown, but even Liu Guangyao was somewhat suspicious.

Unable to resist, she muttered to Shen Ying, "Is this opera troupe you found reliable? Something seems off about them."

“This was found with the help of Young Master Ma. It’s the only one in Zhaohua County. Do you think it’s reliable or not?” Shen Ying asked rhetorically.

Liu Guangyao immediately fell silent, continuing to maintain his airs as the township head.

The group arrived at the wasteland behind the village. There, a high platform rose up from the ground, and the broken stones on the wasteland were cleared away. Rows of long benches were placed there, and it looked like it could seat hundreds of people.

Master Rong chuckled. “Not bad, not bad. I didn’t expect the village chief to make such a big show. Since you are so sincere, we will naturally do our best. Tonight, I will have them show their best skills and put on a great show for everyone.”

Upon hearing this, Liu Guangyao felt much less resentful. "Then we'll have to trouble Master Rong. If your performance is good, we can invite you for a few more days."

Rong Lao Si's eyes lit up; this was exactly the result he wanted.

The opera troupe was settled in the village courtyard.

As soon as Rong Laosi and his group entered, they asked disappointedly, "Didn't you say you were making strawberry jam here? Where's the stuff?"

The villagers replied matter-of-factly, "The strawberries have all been picked, and the jam has all been sold out, so why would we keep anything?"

Rong Laosi was disappointed.

After the villagers left, the couple searched the entire courtyard, even opening the locked doors. Unfortunately, all they found inside were large farm tools or pots, which were worthless and couldn't be taken away. This infuriated the couple.

He didn't give his subordinates a friendly look either.

Little Twelve is young and clumsy, so he inevitably becomes their punching bag and gets beaten up.

Chunqin, who was listening outside, felt distressed and said to Chunxiang, "Could you please plead for Xiao Shier?"

Chunxiang resolutely refused, "Chunqin, when did you become so compassionate? Haven't we suffered enough at the hands of Fourth Master and his wife? Why don't you learn your lesson! Hurry up and get ready to go on stage tonight. Little Twelve won't cause any trouble."

After all, they are both money-making machines. Unless Rong Laosi and Qiu Shi are crazy, they would never seriously injure someone.

Chunqin went out feeling uncomfortable.

The silent Dongfeng finally spoke slowly: "Chunxiang, you need to be more careful. Chunqin is keeping an eye on your position. If she schemes against you, you'll end up in a brothel."

To put it bluntly, these people were all selected from brothels. Those who could sing were Rong Laosi's treasures. They didn't need to go back to entertain customers. Once they were no longer of value, Rong Laosi would send them back without hesitation to squeeze out their last bit of value.

Chunxiang's face was a little pale. She pursed her lips and nodded, "I understand." After they finished packing up, they began rehearsing.

During this time, He and several village women brought food over, the staple food being large steamed buns, along with vegetables and meat.

When Qiu saw the food, she smiled so broadly that her eyes disappeared.

Seeing He and the others put the things inside, Qiu felt like she was being scratched by a cat. She wanted to go in and have a big meal right away, but she had to pretend to be polite and wait for them to leave.

This was the first time the He family had ever seen a grand opera. They were captivated by the beautiful girls in the courtyard, their long sleeves swaying in the breeze. They lingered there, as if they had never seen anything like it before.

It took Qiu a lot of persuasion to coax them away and close the door.

"Pah! You ignorant fool who's never seen the world, you only ever delay my important business!" Qiu cursed as she went to the kitchen.

She and Rong Laosi waited until they had eaten their fill before sharing the food with the others.

Chunxiang distributed the food to everyone, her face not looking too good. "There are only three steamed buns and some vegetables left. Please make do with what you have."

"There are nine of us, and only three steamed buns and vegetables. How can that be enough?" Chunqin's face darkened, and she looked at Chunxiang suspiciously. "Sister Chunxiang, did you steal some?"

Chunxiang's expression changed instantly. Facing everyone's suspicious gazes, she stepped forward and opened the door completely. "If you suspect anything, go and confront Fourth Master and Auntie. Let's see if I, Chunxiang, have secretly eaten a single vegetable behind your backs."

Seeing how open and honest she was, the others lowered their heads in embarrassment.

Chunqin immediately put on a fawning smile, "Sister Chunxiang, I was just saying that casually, don't take it to heart. The main thing is that there's really not enough food. We have an opera performance tonight, and this isn't enough!"

Performing opera is physically demanding. Putting aside the emotions of joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness, sometimes you also have to do some big movements, which is quite strenuous.

Chunxiang, with a stern face, divided the food into nine portions, which were almost gone in one bite each.

"Let's eat first, and see if we can get some food after the opera," Chunxiang said dejectedly.

Chunqin wasn't too happy. "Sister Chunxiang, what can these two do? I feel dizzy just walking, how can I possibly sing?"

Just then, Madam He arrived with her entourage to inquire about the time for going on stage. Upon hearing Chunqin's words, she immediately barged in, asking, "What? Isn't the food we prepared enough for you?"

Xu was stunned. "That's not right! We prepared enough for one large steamed bun per person, plus meat and vegetables, one serving per person. Do you all have such big appetites?"

"No, no, no," Chunxiang was about to retort.

Chunqin said pitifully, "We don't eat much, but when we got it, all that was left was the steamed bun, and there was no meat. Auntie, please have mercy and give us some more food."

When Xu saw the things on the table, and then glanced at Chunqin and the others, she felt pity. "Alright! You wait here, I'll go get them for you right away."

Everyone was overjoyed, except for Chunxiang, who was not very happy.

Soon, Xu arrived with a lot of food, but Qiu saw her and stopped her.

"Little sister, what good things have you brought us this time?" Qiu asked, reaching for the gift, but Xu avoided it.

"The food prepared for the children is so they won't lose interest in their performance later. We won't trouble you with your help; we'll watch them eat their fill before we go back." Madam Xu's attitude was indifferent. (End of Chapter)