Returning to the county opera troupe in 77

"Hiss—"

A sharp, piercing sound of a tin whistle suddenly rang out at the entrance of the student dormitory.

Chen Xiangdong, who was sleeping soundly, was startled awake. He looked up at the crack in the door and saw that it was still dark. He reached out and groped for the light switch cord.

"What are you doing so early in the morning?"

He muttered something to himself, put on his cotton-padded coat, and pushed open the door. He saw Qiao Haizhu, the second male lead in the troupe, standing with his hands behind his back, kicking the doors of the students' dormitories one by one, yelling, "What time is it? Still lying in bed like that! Get up and go for a run!"

The door was kicked loudly, and the house was in chaos.

Some people tumbled off the communal sleeping platform with a "plop," some jumped off the bed and searched all over the floor, but couldn't find their shoes. Others were pulling up their pants and running towards the door when they accidentally kicked a bench leg and fell flat on their faces.

Song Linfeng hurriedly opened the door, and the students in the male dormitory rushed out.

As Qiao Haizhu counted the number of people, he frowned: "Nine? Why is one missing?"

As he spoke, he stepped into the dormitory and, sure enough, found another student huddled in his blankets, refusing to do morning exercises.

"It's you again, Liu Guoqi!"

Qiao Haizhu walked over, raised his hand to slap Liu Guoqi on the forehead, and Liu Guoqi screamed in fright, shrinking his head back under the covers: "Teacher Qiao, my... my crotch hurts..."

Qiao Haizhu kicked him through the blankets: "Still your crotch hurts? Believe me, your whole body will be hurting in a minute! Get up now!"

"Ouch, stop hitting me! I'm getting up, I'm getting up right now!" Liu Guoqi rolled off the bed, grabbed his pants from the edge of the bed, and ran outside.

Watching Liu Guoqi dart around faster than a rabbit, Qiao Haizhu chuckled, "Trying to fool me? Don't you know these tricks are old news from our school days?"

Compared to the messy boys' dormitory, the girls' dormitory was better. Li Zhangqing and Fu Xiaoyue were assigned to the girls' dormitory, while Wu Xiaolian and Han Nongyue were in the girls' dormitory. The twenty girls had already lined up at the dormitory entrance.

Li Zhangqing stood in the first row, his back ramrod straight, but his eyes were half-closed, as if he were still dazed. Next to him, Wu Xiaolian held her chin high, her eyes darting around like an overly energetic little rooster.

Looking at Fu Xiaoyue and Han Nongyue in the second row, one had buttons undone on her cotton-padded jacket, and the other had hair that looked like a bird's nest. They were both huddled in the back, covering their mouths and yawning.

Chen Xiangdong strolled over slowly, rubbed his sleepy eyes, and greeted Li Zhangqing and the others: "They're already starting drills before six o'clock? Even the donkeys in the production team aren't driven like this."

Li Zhangqing peeked behind him and saw that Qiao Haizhu was scolding the boys and not looking in their direction, so he whispered, "Brother Xiang Dong, why are you up so early too?"

Chen Xiangdong immediately pursed his lips: "I'm not deaf. The whistle for chasing the donkey is practically blowing right next to my ear. How can I possibly fall asleep?"

Li Zhangqing covered his mouth and laughed. Wu Xiaolian gave him a sympathetic look: "If you ask me, you should ask Deputy Regiment Commander Han for a new dormitory. Aren't all of you regular employees assigned dormitories? Isn't that much better than sleeping in a woodshed?"

Chen Xiangdong just smiled. He was indeed eligible to apply for a dormitory, but he didn't want to move.

Although the conditions in the woodshed were a bit simple, it was close to the kitchen. He was at the age where he was growing and had a big appetite, so the woodshed's location was very convenient. He could slip into the kitchen in just a few steps, find a couple of steamed buns to fill his stomach, and it was both close and convenient.

Besides, winter is just around the corner, and one wall of the woodshed is right next to the coal stove, which is burning charcoal all day long. Since the woodshed is small to begin with, the fire makes the whole room warm and cozy, much better than that freezing cold single dormitory room, isn't it?

"I'm not moving. I'm used to living in the woodshed." Chen Xiangdong shook his head. "Besides, isn't it good to be your neighbors, living right across from you?"

Lou Jingru, the class monitor of the girls' class, listened intently to their conversation and curiously observed Chen Xiangdong.

This person seemed to be about the same age as them, and he was quite funny.

Aside from being short and a bit dark-skinned, he's not bad-looking. Unlike Song Linfeng and Xue Wei, who are strikingly handsome, he's the kind of good-looking that grows on you.

"Jingru, Jingru! What are you looking at? Teacher Qiao is calling you."

Guan Linlin, who had her hair in pigtails, nudged Lou Jingru with her elbow. Lou Jingru blushed bright red, as if she had been caught doing something wrong.

She quickly turned her head and saw Qiao Haizhu walking over with a frown: "Lou Jingru, what are you spacing out for? I've called you so many times and you didn't hear me. Did you stuff donkey hair in your ears?"

Lou Jingru quickly responded, staring down at the tips of her shoes, barely daring to breathe.

Qiao Haizhu glared at her and then shouted at the top of his lungs, "Song Linfeng will lead the boys' class, and Lou Jingru will lead the girls' class. They will run a lap around the eastern part of the county town. No breakfast until they finish."

A chorus of complaints immediately erupted from the male and female trainees, but they still had to run. The group of stragglers left the theater troupe compound dejectedly.

Qiao Haizhu picked up the old bicycle leaning against the wall and was about to chase after the students when Chen Xiangdong passed by him and gave him a thumbs up: "Wow, Teacher Qiao is really something, all the students are completely obedient."

"Dry skin!"

Qiao Haizhu glared at him, walked over and whispered in Chen Xiangdong's ear, "Dongwa, you've just been promoted and don't know much about things in the compound. As someone who's been there, I'm giving you this advice: it's best to stay away from those troublesome people. With Commander Jia in charge here, nobody can cause any trouble."

After saying that, he hopped on his bicycle and wobbled as he chased after the bicycle out of the courtyard gate.

Watching Qiao Haizhu's departing figure, Chen Xiangdong stood there, his eyebrows furrowed in worry.

Almost everyone in the troupe knew that Qiao Haizhu, Pan Lanxiang, Xu Erdao, and Lin Datou were all part of Jia Dafang's faction.

Did Qiao Haizhu say this as his own opinion, or was he acting as Jia Dafang's mouthpiece?

The "muddy waters" he was referring to were probably Feng Zhengxiao, who had only been back for a few days.

Many of the older members of the troupe knew the details of how Feng Zhengxiao left Dongping County and how Jia Dafang became the head of the county's opera troupe, but no one brought it up.

"Pooh!"

Chen Xiangdong spat in the direction Qiao Haizhu had left and muttered, "Do you really think I'm a three-year-old child who's so easy to fool? Don't you see how badly the troupe has deteriorated under your management over the years?"

Old plays are not allowed to be performed, and new plays cannot be staged. It's just the same few plays over and over again. Not only are the audiences tired of them, but the actors have also lost their passion for performing.

Veteran members of the troupe, such as Hu Xiaolian and Liu Qiaosheng, often complained in private that the troupe would probably be ruined by Jia Dafang sooner or later.

Now that Feng Zhengxiao has returned, it won't be long before his old plays are unbanned and return to the stage.

Others may not know the course of history, but Chen Xiangdong knows it better than anyone else.

Who is truly at fault? We'll find out in two years.