Returning to the county opera troupe in 77

November 2nd, sunny.

Early in the morning, the small gatehouse of Hu Xiaolian was packed with people.

Liu Dezhu, He Jianshe, Liu Qiaosheng, and even Xu Erdao, who usually doesn't like to talk to people, squeezed into this small room and whispered and discussed things for a whole morning.

"Have you come to a conclusion yet?" Hu Xiaolian adjusted his glasses, which had slid down his nose, and looked at the group.

Liu Dezhu smacked his lips: "If you ask me, we definitely have to get past Jia Dafang and Han Wenxue first. Think about it, our troupe will send three judges, and the county cultural bureau will send two. If we can just get our three judges, it'll be three to two, and we should be able to secure the spots for the kids."

At this point, Hu Xiaolian, He Jianshe, and Xu Erdao all turned their gazes to Liu Qiaosheng. Liu Dezhu asked, "Director Liu, you're one of the leaders of our troupe, haven't you heard anything about this?"

Liu Qiaosheng took off his thick-rimmed glasses, wiped them, and rolled his eyes: "Apart from when we're filming, does anyone in the troupe take me seriously for anything important?"

Xu Erdao curled his lip and muttered, "Look at you, the leader. You're left out in the cold and can't get involved in anything."

Upon hearing this, Liu Qiaosheng immediately became displeased and retorted, "When the regiment discusses important matters, do they ever usually invite you? Aren't you the head of the security section, a cadre in a way? Aren't you being sidelined too?"

Xu Erdao was speechless, his face darkened, and his lips trembled twice, but he couldn't say anything in response.

The head of the security department sounds respectable, but in reality, he doesn't even have a chair. He always sits in the last row at meetings, and no one ever consults him on matters big or small.

Hu Xiaolian quickly tried to smooth things over: "Alright, alright, we're all marginalized people, no one should laugh at anyone else. We're discussing serious matters now, not comparing who's less popular."

He Jianshe chimed in, "That's right, let's get down to business. Let's not start fighting amongst ourselves. We need to stick together."

Liu Dezhu waved his hand impatiently: "Alright, the Japanese haven't even arrived yet, and we've already sold out our rear line. The recruitment day is in two days, probably today or tomorrow, and we should be able to finalize the list of judges. Now we have to use all our skills to see if we can squeeze our own people in."

Hu Xiaolian added, "Didn't Jia Dafang say that the selection of the next generation of talent should be judged by professionals? But Jia himself is an outsider, so I don't think he has much of a chance of being a judge. Han Wenxue is a professionally trained actor and the second-in-command of our group, so he's definitely going to be on the list."

Liu Dezhu scratched his chin: "Then we still need two more candidates, right?"

Liu Qiaosheng put his glasses back on: "Nine times out of ten, Lu Meiyin or Pan Lanxiang will be among the judges. These two are the pillars of our group, and they deserve a place in the competition, both morally and logically."

Upon hearing this, Liu Dezhu slapped his thigh and exclaimed, "Hey, you're right! No matter which of the two of them goes, this matter will be easy to handle. With Han Wenxue's vote, we now have two votes in hand!"

Xu Erdao, a second-year dropout, counted on his fingers, frowning and saying, "Then who's the last judge? Look, if we're talking about those with formal training, the only leader left in the troupe is Liu Qiaosheng, but he hasn't received any news yet, so it's probably hopeless. He's been sidelined again."

"Hey, I hate listening to you talk!" Liu Qiaosheng was a little annoyed. This idiot was deliberately trying to stab him in the heart.

Just as he was about to launch an attack, Hu Xiaolian spoke up: "Director Liu is out of the question. Among the troupe, one is you, He Jianshe, who is, after all, our troupe's leading male actor. And the other one is probably..."

As Hu Xiaolian turned his gaze to Liu Dezhu, the others also looked over as if they had suddenly realized something.

Liu Dezhu was taken aback: "Me?"

He Jianshe slapped his thigh: "That's right! Dezhu, you're the leader of the troupe's drum and band class, so it's your turn according to seniority. Besides, this recruitment isn't just for actors; there are also a few spots available for the instrumental classes!"

Liu Dezhu's eyes gradually brightened: "Oh my! Now that you mention it, it's like a revelation!"

Liu Qiaosheng coughed and corrected, "It's '茅塞' (maosai), not '蹲粑' (dunba)."

Xu Erdao chuckled and said, "That's settled then. Whether it's Lu Meiyin or Pan Lanxiang, they're both so close to Liu Dezhu that they're practically inseparable. We'll definitely be able to win them over."

Before he could finish speaking, Liu Dezhu glared at him and said, "Stop being so cocky. Our friendship is purely revolutionary. What have you made of it?"

The people in the room exchanged knowing glances, their lips curling up in a smile, but no one dared to laugh out loud.

Some things are as obvious as lice on a bald man's head; everyone understands what they mean.

While the meeting in the gatehouse was in full swing, Lu Meiyin and Pan Lanxiang's dormitory was also bustling with activity, like a market.

Lu Meiyin was teaching Li Zhangqing and Fu Xiaoyue to practice their singing. She put one hand on her hip, gestured with the other, and dragged out the sounds "Eh-ah-ah".

The two little girls followed along, their faces turning red, like two chicks just learning to crow.

"You can't just shout with your throat; you also need to coordinate the effort from your chest and abdomen." Lu Meiyin patted Li Zhangqing's belly. "Here, use this area to exert force."

"oh."

Li Zhangqing took a deep breath, mustered all his strength, and shouted. His voice was indeed much stronger than before.

Lu Meiyin nodded: "Not bad, just practice like this, take it slowly, and your voice will warm up after a while."

Not to be outdone, Pan Lanxiang next door was putting in a lot of effort to teach Wu Xiaolian and Han Nongyue to sing the score again and again.

"Do-lai-mi-fa-sao-la-xi-" Pan Lanxiang's voice was sharp and bright, penetrating the thin wall and heading straight into Lu Meiyin's room.

Lu Meiyin frowned and deliberately raised her voice: "Zhang Qing, listen carefully, I'll sing it once and you repeat after me, eh—ya—ah—"

The two women's voices clashed through the wall, each trying to outdo the other in volume and intensity.

It was as if they had been switched on stage. Li Zhangqing and Fu Xiaoyue were caught in the middle, looking at each other, unable to tell which song Lu Meiyin was singing and which song Pan Lanxiang was singing.

Wu Xiaolian and Han Nongyue next door were also dumbfounded. Pan Lanxiang asked them to sing the score, but all they could hear was Lu Meiyin's "Eeya ah". The tunes they sang were all messed up and sounded like donkey braying to themselves.

Pan Lanxiang slammed her hand on the table in anger: "Stop singing! Stop it!"

Lu Meiyin also stopped, took a sip of water from her enamel cup, and had a smug smile on her lips.

Li Zhangqing asked cautiously, "Aunt Lu, shall we continue practicing?"

"Practice! Why aren't we practicing?" Lu Meiyin put down her cup, clapped her hands, and said, "Let the neighbors sing whatever they want, we'll practice ours. Come on, let's start again, eh—ya—ah—"

The sound rang out again, this time a half-tone higher than before.

Next door, Pan Lanxiang's face turned ashen. She took a deep breath and yelled, "Do—re—mi—fa—sao—la—!"

The pitch was set too high; before Pan Lanxiang could even finish her "xi" (a sound of something being cut off), her voice cracked.

Her face flushed, and she slammed her hand on the table, angrily making a veiled attack: "Some people just can't handle being on stage, so they yell and try to compete with others. If you're so capable, show your true colors on stage. What's the point of shouting all the time from inside?"

Lu Meiyin, who was next door, heard everything clearly. She slowly took a sip of water and, not to be outdone, replied through the wall, "Yeah, the real test is on stage. Don't be so embarrassed if you can't even find the right tone."

Pan Lanxiang gritted her teeth in anger and clenched the sheet music tightly in her hand.

Chen Xiangdong strolled through the courtyard and, upon hearing the commotion, couldn't help but purse his lips and mutter under his breath, "Those two are fighting again."