Restart life

Chapter 557 0545 [The Grand Stage of the Countryside]

Bian Guanyue's father, maternal grandfather, maternal grandmother, uncle and other relatives all came, ostensibly to attend Chen Guiliang's grandmother's birthday banquet.

Although no other words were said, both sides understood what was meant.

Tao Xue was feeling a little down.

Some local business owners and township leaders also attended. The city leaders couldn't show up in person, so they only sent their secretaries, but the township leaders didn't care about such things.

Considering that Grandma likes to watch Sichuan Opera, the opening act is "Magu Presents Longevity".

The full version of "Magu Presents Longevity" takes two to three hours to perform, while the banquet version only takes 15 minutes.

Grandma put down her chopsticks, staring at the stage with a broad smile. Beside her were her three sisters and their husbands; the four sisters sat at a table watching the birthday opera, immediately reminiscing about their childhood.

"Big sister, doesn't this look like the stage used for Yu Shuhuai's 80th birthday celebration?"

Who is Yu Shuhuai?

"The salt merchant, a relative of Boss Luo. A few of us even went with our mother to watch the spectacle. It was a continuous feast, and the opera performance lasted for several days."

"Fourth brother probably doesn't know that the year after you were born, the Japanese devils were driven away. When Yu Shuhuai turned 80, the Japanese devils were still very fierce. The Japanese planes even bombed Mr. Yu's salt well crane."

“My third sister was only two years old at the time. I remember it very clearly. My mother was holding her while we watched a play.”

"Haha, I remember now, we even sang a new anti-Japanese war play. I played a clown who played a Japanese devil, and I even had a little mustache stuck under my nose."

"..."

The four sisters chatted amongst themselves, constantly reminiscing about their childhood.

Young people are not interested in traditional dramas, but this particular segment doesn't have a complicated plot, and there aren't even many spoken lines or songs.

It's about a beautiful fairy who descends from heaven to earth to offer the elderly a peach and best wishes. The music is ethereal and festive, and the actors' costumes are gorgeous. Through cloud-like steps and flowing sleeves, they display their ethereal beauty as if riding on clouds.

It focuses on visual enjoyment, so even viewers who don't understand theater can enjoy the spectacle.

It wasn't until the latter half of the performance that long passages of auspicious lyrics were sung, praising the birthday celebrant's noble character and abundant blessings, describing the preciousness and wonder of the immortal peach and lingzhi mushroom, and offering blessings of boundless happiness and longevity.

After singing, Magu performed the celestial rituals towards the God of Longevity.

"Great! You sang well, and you danced well too!"

Grandma clapped her hands happily, and cheers erupted from the other tables.

The main appeal is that the actors performed the water sleeve dance beautifully, allowing young people to also enjoy the visual experience.

"Tell me loudly, was the show good?" Before the opera troupe had completely left, the host Xie Nai took the microphone and went on stage.

"Beautiful!" the guests shouted in response.

Li Baiqing walked up from the other side of the stage: "Hey, it's been so many years since I've seen such an authentic birthday celebration opera. I'm also fortunate to have the host's help; my eyes and ears are thoroughly entertained today."

Chen Guiliang looked at the two hosts on the stage and couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed. The way they stood together was just too outrageous.

"Uncle Bian, how did you come up with the idea of ​​inviting these two to co-host?" Chen Guiliang couldn't help but ask.

Bian Jinsong said, "They are both very famous and can cater to audiences of different ages."

As they were talking, the two hosts invited Chen Guiliang's parents onto the stage.

Yao Lan didn't say much; Chen Xinghua did most of the talking.

Chen Xinghua first thanked the guests for coming, and then thanked his mother for raising him. Finally, at Li Baiqing's urging, he sang a song called "Only Mother is Good in the World" despite being tone-deaf.

Immediately afterwards, a group of comedians appeared, led by Shen Fa.

The crowd erupted in cheers, shouting "Wang Baochang!"

Shen Fa is a native of Longdu. He won first prize in the National Folk Art Competition in the 80s and even appeared on CCTV's Spring Festival Gala in 88. At that time, he was much more famous than Li Baiqing. He went back to his hometown a few days ago and just arrived from the outskirts of the county today.

At this moment, under Shen Fa's leadership, a group of comedians are performing a dialect comedy.

It contains a few slightly risqué jokes, but isn't overly explicit. Kids won't understand, they just know it's funny. Adults, however, get the gist and soon burst into laughter.

It's very down-to-earth.

Grandma and her three sisters were all laughing so hard they were practically falling over.

After the dialect comedy was over, many guests had already finished eating, but those who were drinking and playing drinking games were still in high spirits.

Everyone was reluctant to leave, and those who sat far away during meals carried their stools closer to the stage.

Some people even cleared out tables to play mahjong or poker, watching the performance while playing cards.

Just moments ago it was a down-to-earth dialect comedy, and now it's all international. Li Yuchun, dressed in a sparkly outfit, took to the stage to rap and even did a dynamic dance.

Bian Guanyue and Tao Xue had already sat down to watch the performance with their grandmothers.

Grandma suddenly asked, "Is that person singing a girl or a boy?"

Tao Xue burst out laughing.

Bian Guanyue said, "It's a woman, her name is Li Yuchun."

Grandma commented, "He jumped very energetically and with great spirit."

The audience below the stage was already packed with young people, many teenagers, who were incredibly excited to see Li Yuchun's singing and dancing up close. Some hadn't even eaten there; they had come from several miles away after receiving calls from classmates. Chen Guiliang sat at another table, which was full of local entrepreneurs, mainly discussing their business ventures after the highway was built.

The first group of performers, along with those who performed later in the show, gathered around the table to eat and drink. They didn't disturb Grandma's viewing of the show; instead, they took turns toasting Chen Guiliang.

The performance lasted all afternoon, especially the opera excerpts, each lasting twenty or thirty minutes.

When the performance ended, Grandma muttered, "My life has been worthwhile."

……

In rural areas, 3G networks are still unstable, and very few people can use Wi-Fi.

Most of the teenagers who watched the show in the afternoon didn't own smartphones. They mostly used feature phones to record videos, planning to upload them to internet cafes in town after the performance.

They mainly shared the content on their own QQ space, Weibo, Li Yuchun Bar, Zhang Jie Bar, Zhang Liangying Bar, and other places.

These video clips spread rapidly, and many netizens exclaimed that they were an eyesore.

Many die-hard fans also cried out that they couldn't stand it and couldn't accept their idol performing on a rural stage.

Chen Guiliang's Weibo account was flooded with mentions, with various comments mocking him for becoming the richest man but getting increasingly low-class. Some even jokingly called it a "rural stage version of ByteDance Night."

The banquet continued into the evening. Tao Xue, while eating, scrolled through Weibo: "This is hilarious. Someone photoshopped Xie Na and Zhang Jie's performances from today together and said that the couple is playing on their home turf."

Chen Guiliang lay back in his chair, gazing at the stars. He'd been drinking heavily these past few days, constantly being offered drinks and pressured to drink by various people from Hong Kong to Chengdu and back to his hometown. And none of these drinks were ones he could refuse.

Damn it, I need to start taking care of my health.

Bian Guanyue came over and sat down: "Grandma and the others watched the performance all afternoon and were very tired after dinner. My maternal grandparents have also gone home to rest after returning to the city."

"Thank you for your hard work, taking care of both sets of elders all this time," Chen Guiliang said.

Bian Guanyue smiled and said, "I'm quite happy today."

Tao Xue pouted, feeling rather superfluous.

Her brother, Tao Chenggang, probably already knew something, and had reminded Tao Xue several times that she should find a boyfriend and get married. This time, Tao Chenggang didn't attend the birthday banquet either, but instead sent a WeChat message to Chen Guiliang to convey his greetings to the elderly woman.

"This threshing ground is quite big," Tao Xue said, trying to make conversation.

Chen Guiliang said, "When I was a child, every summer after the millet harvest, my friends and I would play hide-and-seek here. We especially liked hiding in the haystacks."

Tao Xue said, "We also played hide-and-seek when we were kids, but it was in the school and factory residential area."

Bian Guanyue said, "I played hide-and-seek in Chengdu, mainly with the Sichuan Opera Troupe. When I went back to my maternal grandmother's house in Longdu, I also liked to hide in the haystack. Sometimes I felt that my childhood was very unhappy, but other times I felt that my childhood was actually very happy."

"Haha, I'm just happy. Childhood was so great, carefree and all I knew was how to play," Tao Xue laughed.

The three sat under the starry sky and began to chat about their childhood memories.

Several electric lights were lit in the threshing ground, and some guests were even drinking and playing drinking games. The dishes had gone cold, so they were reheated and brought back. Shouts of mahjong, poker, and Texas Hold'em could be heard from time to time, and quite a few people were taking the opportunity to gamble.

My cousin Feng Tao was playing mahjong at that moment. He was busy in the shop all year round, so it was rare for him to play so freely like this.

The two bodyguards squatted by the threshing floor, smoking and chatting about their experiences in the army.

"How many years did you serve in the army?" Yang Shuo asked.

Su Hongbin said, "Seven years. I thought I could serve in the army forever, but I was injured during a mission, and after my bones healed, I couldn't withstand high-intensity training."

"Given your situation, especially considering you came from a top-notch military unit, wouldn't it be possible to transfer to another department and work in an office?" Yang Shuo asked.

Su Hongbin said, "I find it boring."

Yang Shuo then asked, "Weren't you assigned to a local unit?"

Su Hongbin said, "I was assigned a job, but I couldn't adapt, so I resigned after a short time. I even went back to the army for a while, and I had to do morning exercises every day. The commander thought I had psychological problems and even had someone treat me for a month. Actually, I just wasn't used to society, but I'm slowly adapting now."

"What did you do before?" Yang Shuo became increasingly curious.

Su Hongbin did not answer.

Yang Shuo then asked, "Do you have children?"

Su Hongbin said, "Two years old, daughter."

Yang Shuo laughed and said, "That's a coincidence. I have a son, and he's about the same age. Didn't the boss ask you to bring your wife over? Let them play together, and maybe we can even arrange a marriage between our children."

“You’re too old-fashioned. These days, there’s no such thing as childhood betrothal,” Su Hongbin said.

Yang Shuo complained, "You idiot, don't you know what a joke is? I was just saying it offhand."

Su Hongbin asked, "Have you taken security courses?"

Yang Shuo said, "I have studied it; there are specialized training institutions for it."

“Sign up for a course for me too,” Su Hongbin said. “I know how to kill, but I don’t really know how to protect people.”

Yang Shuo asked in surprise, "You really killed someone?"

Su Hongbin fell silent again.

"Awesome!" Yang Shuo gave a thumbs up.

(End of this chapter)