Returning to the county opera troupe in 77

For three days in a row, Chen Xiangdong's shuffling steps were mocked by almost the entire troupe.

From the woodshed to the kitchen, and from the kitchen to the front and back yards of the theater troupe, wherever he went, people would tease him.

Qin Pangzi was squatting at the kitchen door pounding garlic when he saw Chen Xiangdong walking over with his legs tucked together and taking small, quick steps. He couldn't help but put down the pestle and said, "What kind of show are you putting on? Our troupe doesn't stage any plays about Japanese girls."

In the kitchen, Yu Baoliang and Li Qiufen both poked their heads out and burst out laughing when they saw Chen Xiangdong's awkward expression.

Chen Xiangdong rolled his eyes, leaning against the wall with one hand: "Stop messing around! What Japanese little wench? I slipped and fell in the crotch."

Fatty Qin glanced at his crotch: "Is the thing still usable?"

"What kind of talk is that?" Chen Xiangdong straightened his back and glared. "Believe it or not, if I put my strength into it, I can smash through the kitchen door!"

Li Qiufen curled her lips: "This young lad really dares to brag about anything. He hasn't even gotten married yet, and he's already ruined his reputation with all that boasting."

Chen Xiangdong was speechless and his face turned black. He was about to argue with the fat woman when Qin the Fat Man spoke first: "Didn't you ask me to buy you some pig's trotters? I brought them to you this morning when I went grocery shopping. Look, they're all in the porcelain basin in the kitchen. Eight raw pig's trotters, a total of ten pounds."

As he spoke, he led Chen Xiangdong into the kitchen.

Lifting the cloth covering the porcelain basin in the corner, you can see eight white pig trotters stacked inside, all of uniform size, with their hair neatly scraped off.

Chen Xiangdong looked at Fatty Qin: "How much is it in total?"

Fatty Qin shrugged: "Two and a half cents a pound, you do the math."

"Why don't you just say two yuan and fifty cents?" Chen Xiangdong glanced at him, then pulled three "tractor driver" bills from his pocket and stuffed them into Fatty Qin's hand: "I didn't bring any change, so don't forget to give me the remaining fifty cents."

Fatty Qin took the money and rolled his eyes in annoyance: "Look at you, so stingy. You throw three yuan at me like it's worthless paper. I thought you didn't want the change."

"How much do I earn in a month? It's not like you, Teacher Qin, whose waist is as thick as my thigh.

"Stop talking nonsense." Fatty Qin was amused, shook his head, and took out fifty cents from his pocket and slapped it into his hand: "Here you go, take it, look how stingy you are."

"By the way, why did you get so many pig's trotters? Can you finish them all by yourself?"

Chen Xiangdong chuckled: "Let my master try my cooking."

Fatty Qin smacked his lips: "Oh ho, I didn't know you were so filial? If you ask me, giving these pig trotters to Liu Dezhu is a complete waste of good food."

The fact that Chen Xiangdong had become Feng Zhengxiao and Fang Zhengsheng's apprentices was kept completely secret by them; even Liu Dezhu didn't know, let alone Fatty Qin and the others. He smiled and changed the subject: "Have you ever tried spicy pig's trotters?"

Fatty Qin was taken aback: "What spicy pig's trotters? Aren't there only two kinds of pig's trotters: braised and stewed?"

"I'll make it for you in a bit." Chen Xiangdong waved his hand. "I'm not bragging, but if I make this dish, it will be so delicious it'll make people's eyebrows fall off. You know Sichuan cuisine, right? This spicy pig's trotter is one of its signature dishes."

Fatty Qin looked at him with suspicion: "Really? Your old cookbook even has Sichuan dishes on it?"

Chen Xiangdong squatted down and patted the pig's trotters: "Sichuan cuisine is actually nothing special. The main thing is that it's spicy and numbing. We Northwesterners love spicy food anyway. Just add more Sichuan peppercorns and you'll bring out the numbing flavor too."

Qin Pangzi was stunned by him, blinking his eyes, unable to respond for a long time.

He has been cooking in the kitchen for over ten years, and he is skilled at stir-frying and stewing dishes. However, he usually deals with large-batch dishes, as long as the quantity is large and the food is filling.

He wouldn't know anything about Sichuan cuisine, Shandong cuisine, or Huaiyang cuisine.

However, based on the experience of the previous dishes, whether it was Changwu crispy pork, steamed pork with rice flour, or the mixed fish stewed on the first day of the training class, all of them were highly praised by the staff of the institute. This made him look forward to the spicy pig's trotters that Chen Xiangdong was going to make next.

To be honest, Chen Xiangdong had never cooked proper Sichuan cuisine before. His idea that adding some spiciness made it Sichuan style was a bit presumptuous. However, fortunately, the people in Dongping had never eaten Sichuan food, so it was easy to fool them. As long as it tasted good, that was fine.

Just as the two were chatting, a cough suddenly came from the cafeteria window, startling them.

"Teacher Qin, please make steamed pork with rice flour for lunch tomorrow."

The two looked up and saw Han Wenxue standing at the window: "I just received a notice from the county that a new leader has been transferred to the troupe. I heard he's from southern Shaanxi. The steamed pork with rice flour that the kitchen made the other day was a southern Shaanxi dish, wasn't it? Perfect timing to welcome the new leader."

"A new leader?"

Chen Xiangdong and Fatty Qin looked at each other in bewilderment.

Han Wenxue said with a dark face: "In the past, our regiment's commander and secretary were both the same person. I don't know what the leaders above were thinking. This time, they specially transferred a guy surnamed Zhu to be the secretary."

He waved his hand, turned around and left the cafeteria: "Alright, just don't forget to prepare the welcome dishes for lunch tomorrow."

It wasn't until Han Wenxue had walked away that Fatty Qin realized, "Oh, another one to delegate power? Old Han was originally the second-in-command of our troupe, but now the higher-ups have sent a secretary, so he's gone from second to third. No wonder he's happy."

"Secretary Zhu..." Chen Xiangdong frowned and muttered to himself, a large, fat figure appearing in his mind.

Could it be him?

Wasn't that guy supposed to be transferred here to replace Jia Dafang as regimental commander in 1980? It's only 1977 now, how come he's here already?

Qin the Fatty had no idea what Chen Xiangdong was thinking. His small eyes were burning with gossip. He beckoned Yu Baoliang and Li Qiufen to come in from outside the door and whispered, "Have you heard? It looks like things are about to change in our troupe!"

"change of weather?"

Li Qiufen turned her head to look outside the door, puzzled, and said, "Isn't the weather nice today? It's supposed to rain this afternoon?"

Yu Baoliang was also somewhat confused: "What do you mean by 'the world is changing'? What's going on?"

Fatty Qin craned his neck mysteriously and said, "The county has sent a leader surnamed Zhu to be the secretary of our regiment."

Li Qiufen was taken aback: "Secretary? What about Commander Jia?"

Yu Baoliang curled his lip: "Commander Jia will still be the commander, and the secretary will remain the secretary. They are two different things. However, the secretary has more power than the commander... Who knows, in the future, things in this troupe might all be decided by the man surnamed Zhu."

The three of them chatted idly for a long time, but Chen Xiangdong didn't listen to a single word they said.

Others may not know who Secretary Zhu is, but he knows very well about the guy. Although he and Jia Dafang are not from a professional background, this guy's skills are much better than Jia's.

Whether his appointment as a leader in the troupe is good or bad for Jia Dafang is debatable, but it might be a good thing for veteran artists like Feng Zhengxiao and Fang Zhengsheng, who are currently in an awkward situation.

Although Zhu Zhengkuo was skilled at scheming, he had one advantage: he did not exclude people who were truly capable.

In order to gain a foothold in the troupe, he would inevitably have to win over some people after taking office to compete with Jia Dafang. Liu Dezhu and Feng Zhengxiao, who had always been regarded as "troublemakers" by Jia Dafang, naturally became the best targets for his winover.

Besides, Chen Xiangdong had heard many rumors in his previous life that the relationship between Zhu Zhengkuo and Jia Dafang's plump wife seemed to be somewhat ambiguous...