Returning to the county opera troupe in 77

At lunchtime, the entire troupe, upon hearing that they would be having shredded pork noodles, lined up early in front of the food window.

As the head of the theater troupe, Jia Dafang naturally enjoyed certain privileges. He, along with his wife and children, sat down early at a small table against the wall. Fatty Qin personally brought noodles to the table.

While still in line, Liu Dezhu spat under his breath and muttered, "I wonder who's always shouting that workers and leaders are of one mind and that we must never allow privileges or dictatorship."

He Jianshe chimed in quietly behind him, "You believe what the leader says? Didn't you see how thick his wife's waist is, almost as big as a sack? Who knows how much food she secretly takes from the kitchen."

"You two, stop whispering to each other here."

Lin Datou, standing behind, craned his neck and looked at Liu Dezhu with a half-smile, saying, "If you're so capable, go and talk to Commander Jia to his face. Why are you gossiping behind his back?"

Liu Dezhu turned around and glanced at him sideways: "I'm talking, what's it to you? Just mind your own business with your cymbals."

Lin Datou snorted: "I'm just reminding you to watch your mouth."

Liu Dezhu ignored him and turned away. He Jianshe also shrank back and remained silent.

The kitchen was exceptionally lavish today. Yu Baoliang and Li Qiufen ladled out bowls of rice for everyone, filling them to the brim with plenty of shredded meat.

Liu Dezhu, beaming, carried a bulging bowl of rice: "Teacher Yu, why are you being so generous today? Aren't you going to skip next month?"

Yu Baoliang rolled his eyes at him, annoyed: "Stop being so cocky! Can't even food shut you up?"

Liu Dezhu chuckled and held out his rice bowl: "Give me another bowl, my niece hasn't eaten yet."

Yu Baoliang lowered his voice and said, "Why do you need to worry about that? Those two brats are eating better than you guys."

Liu Dezhu was taken aback, and He Jianshe leaned over from behind him: "What's wrong?"

Yu Baoliang didn't even lift his eyelids, continuing to toss the ladle: "Don't delay the comrades behind you from getting their food, next one."

Liu Dezhu had no choice but to pick up his bowl and walk away, muttering, "He only said half of what he meant. What kind of person is he?"

Chen Xiangdong didn't go to the canteen. Before the canteen opened, he secretly took a bowl of steaming noodles, picked out a few large bones with lots of meat, and ran back to his small woodshed.

As soon as I entered the house, I saw two little heads peeking out from beside the door.

Chen Xiangdong placed the basin on the small table and hurriedly waved to Li Zhangqing and Fu Xiaoyue: "Come in quickly, don't let anyone see us."

The two girls' eyes lit up, but when they looked at Chen Xiangdong, they could only swallow their saliva and neither dared to touch their chopsticks.

Chen Xiangdong couldn't help but chuckle: "What's wrong? Why are you being so polite with me?"

Fu Xiaoyue pursed her lips and whispered, "Brother Xiang Dong, is this for me?"

"Nonsense, why would I bring it back if I wasn't going to give it to you?" Chen Xiangdong shoved chopsticks into their hands. "Eat up, it's more satisfying to eat it while it's hot."

Li Zhangqing glanced at him timidly, then looked at the oily noodles in the bowl and the several large bones almost as big as her face, and whispered, "Thank you, Brother Xiangdong."

"No need to thank me, eat up." Chen Xiangdong put a bone into her bowl.

Li Zhangqing held the bone and gnawed on it in small bites, his face smeared with oil. Fu Xiaoyue, on the other hand, ate much more boldly, holding the bone in both hands, her mouth full of oil, her cheeks stuffed up like a hamster's.

Chen Xiangdong also picked up a big bone and started gnawing on it. He opened his mouth and slurped, sucking the tendons from the bone crevices directly into his mouth, filling it with a rich aroma.

"I must say, this high-temperature cooked meat is really delicious." He couldn't help but praise it.

Li Zhangqing looked up, his lips glistening with oil, and asked indistinctly, "What's 'high-temperature meat'?"

Chen Xiangdong chuckled: "Well... it's just that the meat was cooked for several extra hours, so it's tender and delicious."

Fu Xiaoyue nodded repeatedly in complete agreement: "Mmm, delicious, delicious."

Meanwhile, after Jia Dafang and his family had eaten and drunk their fill, his plump wife, having somehow managed to pick her teeth with a straw, led her chubby son home. But after taking only a few steps, she turned back and saw Jia Dafang dawdling behind them, not catching up for a long time.

"What are you dawdling for? Come on!" the fat woman shouted as she turned around.

Jia Dafang waved to her, "You go back first, I'll go to the storage room to see how the house repairs are going."

The plump woman rolled her eyes and muttered, "You're always worrying about everything, but nobody in this troupe really takes you seriously."

After saying that, she grabbed her chubby son and wiggled her hips as they walked away.

The workers who were repairing the house went home at noon. Jia Dafang walked past the row of storage rooms with his hands behind his back, tilting his head to look at the two houses that were most severely burned.

The collapsed beams and bricks have been replaced, but the walls inside are still pitch black, and a burnt smell hasn't dissipated.

He stood at the door for a while, then frowned.

"Sigh, this repair cost will be another considerable expense," he muttered under his breath.

As they walked, they suddenly heard a burst of laughter coming from the woodshed.

Jia Dafang paused, frowning as he muttered, "Isn't this the woodshed where Chen Xiangdong lives? Why is there a woman laughing inside? Could that scoundrel be in there...?"

His eyes widened suddenly. Engaging in illicit sexual relations is a serious crime, punishable by dismissal from public office and public reprimand!

Jia Dafang's face immediately darkened, and he quickened his pace, walking towards the door of the woodshed, raising his hand to push it open.

"Commander Jia!"

A sudden shout came from behind, startling Jia Dafang so much that he jumped.

He turned around abruptly and saw Liu Dezhu walking over with a rice bowl, pointing at the burned-out storage room with a pained expression and exclaiming, "Look how regrettable it is that this house burned down!"

Then he started yelling in his hoarse voice, gesturing towards the storage room: "In my opinion, once the building is repaired, we shouldn't use it as a storage room anymore. We're going to recruit students soon, so let's renovate this whole row and turn it into student dormitories. Wouldn't that save our troupe some money?"

Liu Dezhu's loud voice startled the three people in the woodshed.

Upon hearing the words "Commander Jia" and seeing the large bone in his hand, Chen Xiangdong was startled.

If Jia Dafang sees this, he might accuse him of "fleecing the proletariat," and his chances of getting a permanent position would be ruined.

The two girls were terrified. They hadn't even swallowed the meat in their mouths yet. They puffed out their cheeks and stared at him with wide eyes.

Without saying a word, Chen Xiangdong snatched the large bone from their hands, along with several pieces from the basin, and stuffed them all under the wooden bed.

Li Zhangqing, quick-witted, hurriedly wiped the oil from his mouth with his sleeve. Fu Xiaoyue followed suit, and the two girls, their faces covered in oil, were flustered and clumsy.

Jia Dafang looked at Liu Dezhu with suspicion, thinking to himself, "When did this guy start thinking about the troupe?" But then his face darkened. "Wait a minute, is this guy covering for the adulterous couple in the woodshed?"

Thinking of this, Jia Dafang sneered, glared at Liu Dezhu, and turned to pull the door of the woodshed.

Before my hand even touched the doorknob, the door suddenly opened from the inside.

Chen Xiangdong stood at the doorway, holding a bowl of noodles. They faced each other, eye to eye, and both paused for a moment before Chen Xiangdong grinned sheepishly. "Hey, Commander Jia, have you eaten yet?"

Jia Dafang ignored him, his face gloomy, and craned his neck to peer into the house.

Inside the room, Li Zhangqing was squatting at the foot of the bed, holding a bowl of noodles in his hands, with noodles still hanging from his mouth. He puffed out his cheeks and blinked his big eyes at him. Fu Xiaoyue's mouth was stuffed full, and she looked like a startled little rabbit, timidly shrinking her neck, not even daring to chew.

Jia Dafang's gaze swept over the three innocent, bewildered faces, the gloom on his face gradually dissipating. He felt as if he had swallowed a fly, and after a long while, he finally managed to utter a single sentence:

"What...what are these two brats?"

Chen Xiangdong blinked: "Commander... what are you looking for?"

Jia Dafang cleared his throat and put on a stern face, but he couldn't keep it up for long. In the end, he could only cough twice and mumble, "Um... it's nothing, it's nothing. Let's eat noodles, everyone eat noodles."

After saying that, he turned and left, walking twice as fast as he had come.

Only after Jia Dafang had walked away did Liu Dezhu come over, glance into the woodshed, and say in a low voice, "Your room is too close to the canteen, there are too many people watching. If you want to cook separately in the future, go to my room, so you don't get caught."

Chen Xiangdong chuckled, shrinking his neck, "I know."

Liu Dezhu glared at him, then looked at the two girls grinning at him from inside the room: "Alright, I'm leaving now. Don't forget to practice drums tonight."

After saying that, he picked up the empty rice bowl, put his hands behind his back, and swayed away.