Returning to the county opera troupe in 77

After a busy morning, I can finally take a break.

Chen Xiangdong returned to the woodshed. With nothing else to do, he simply took the old drum from the theater back to the woodshed.

This drum is said to have been used by Liu Dezhu's master when he was alive. The drumhead is yellowish, and when it is struck with a drumstick, the sound is solid and lingering.

It's clear that Liu Dezhu has kept this drum in very good condition; otherwise, after being neglected and left unused for over a decade, even the best drum would have become unusable.

Chen Xiangdong flicked his wrist, and the drumsticks struck the drumhead repeatedly, creating a rhythmic "clang-clang-clang".

The drumbeats started slowly and haltingly, beginning with long, slow beats, gradually transitioning to four-beats, and then cutting to a rapid, gusty beat. The drumbeats echoed repeatedly in the woodshed.

Chen Xiangdong was so engrossed in the changing rhythm of the drumbeats that he didn't even notice someone passing by outside the door.

"good!"

Suddenly, a cheer came from the doorway, causing his hands, which were holding drumsticks, to freeze in mid-air. Looking up, he saw the door being pulled open from the outside, and Zhu Zhengwei appeared in the doorway with a smile.

"Secretary Zhu?"

Chen Xiangdong was taken aback for a moment, then quickly stood up and called out, "Secretary, didn't you take a nap?"

He then scratched his head, somewhat embarrassed, and said, "Oh dear, could it be that my drumming disturbed the secretary's rest?"

People in Northwest China mostly have the habit of taking a midday nap, especially in Shanxi. At noon, even dogs will fall asleep and snore a couple of times.

Although it's not quite that extreme in Shaanxi, many employees of government agencies still take a nap to refresh themselves.

The county troupe was no exception. After lunch, the staff returned to their dormitories, and the trainees went back to their communal sleeping quarters for a nap.

"No, no." Zhu Zhengwei waved his hand with a smile: "I just wanted to take a stroll in the yard since I don't have anything to do at noon and get familiar with the new environment."

Chen Xiangdong said "Oh," and then saw Zhu Zhengwei crane his neck and scan the inside of the woodshed. There was only a small, slightly worn table and a simple bed made of bricks and hardwood boards against the wall. There was nothing else in the room.

He didn't say anything, walked into the room, and touched the drum on the bed: "Your name is Chen Xiangdong, right? How long have you been practicing drums?"

"Ah, right!" Chen Xiangdong answered honestly, "I've only been learning to play the drums for a month."

"A month?"

Zhu Zhengkuo was clearly taken aback, and said with some skepticism: "You can play like this in just one month? I used to love Qinqiang opera when I was in the army. My old squad leader was the drummer in the army propaganda team. I think your drumming skills are no worse than his."

Chen Xiangdong chuckled: "It's mainly because my master taught me well. I just practiced randomly, and who knew that I'd stumble upon something amazing. Maybe I really do have some talent for drumming."

"Who is your master?"

"Our troupe's drummer is Liu Dezhu."

Zhu Zheng was taken aback upon hearing this. When Han Wenxue introduced Chen Xiangdong that morning, he hadn't mentioned that Chen Xiangdong and Liu Dezhu were master and apprentice. Immediately afterward, a smile spread across his face, and he nodded, saying, "No wonder, isn't this a classic case of a great teacher producing a great student?"

Chen Xiangdong clearly felt that Zhu Zhengwei's smile was much warmer than before. Just as he was about to say something modest, he saw Zhu Zhengwei frown again and change the subject: "Little Chen, although you are a newly promoted employee, you are still a firefighting hero who has been publicly commended by the county. Logically speaking, the regiment should allocate you a staff dormitory. How can you live in this dilapidated and small woodshed?"

As he was speaking, he made a displeased expression and shook his head: "That old Jia, isn't he mistreating the firefighters?"

Chen Xiangdong opened his mouth, about to speak, when Zhu Zhengwei looked at him with a smile: "Little Chen, don't worry, I'll arrange the dormitory for you. I won't let you suffer any injustice."

"No, no, no," Chen Xiangdong quickly waved his hand. "Really, no need. I'm fine here, and I've gotten used to living here..."

Before he could finish speaking, Zhu Zhengkuo raised his hand to interrupt him: "Before, Director Jia managed a lot of things for the troupe all by himself, and he probably couldn't keep up with everything. Now that I've taken over as the troupe's secretary, I have to share some of the burden. That's settled then."

Chen Xiangdong was a little confused. This guy had only been here for one day, and he was already so eager to take over Jia Dafang's power.

But then Chen Xiangdong realized that Zhu Zhengkuo was testing him, and more importantly, establishing his authority. He wanted to tell the entire troupe that from the day he took over as the troupe's secretary, this compound was no longer solely under Jia Dafang's control.

Zhu Zhengkuo smiled and patted Chen Xiangdong on the shoulder: "I won't disturb your drum practice anymore, I'm going to take a look around the practice room."

After saying that, he turned around and left with his hands behind his back.

Only after watching Zhu Zheng's figure slowly walk away did he finally click his tongue. It seemed that Jia Dafang was unlikely to sleep well tonight.

He shook his head and muttered, "Whatever, it's a battle between gods, what does it have to do with a kid like me? Let them fight it out."

.........

"Ouch! Stop hitting me! Please stop! I'll steal it, I'll steal it, okay?"

A pitiful wail came from the cellar. Lin Gouwa huddled in a corner, his hands covering his head. His exposed skin, the back of his hands and face were covered with bruises from the beatings.

A scarred man clutching a thick hemp rope glared at him fiercely, the rope snapping against his palm. With each snap, Lin Gouwa would shrink back, like a mouse cornered by a cat, terrified out of its wits.

"Why didn't you just listen to me from the start? You're just a born coward, you need a beating to behave!" Scarface yelled, then kicked Lin Gouwa in the butt. "Get up, stop pretending to be dead!"

Lin Gouwa whimpered as he got up, his legs trembling uncontrollably. He hunched his shoulders and lowered his head, not daring to look at Scarface or the other three people in the cellar.

In the corner of the cellar, leaning against the wall stood a man with frosty eyes. His right eyeball was white and unblinking, while his other eye darted around: "Scarface, let Er Mao teach this scoundrel a lesson. If he can't master the 'hands-on' technique, he'll embarrass us brothers."

Scarface, nicknamed Scar, along with Glass Eyes, Er Mao, and Lai Zi, were all notorious thieves in Dongping County.

Er Mao, who was as thin as a stick, chuckled and gestured towards the top of the cellar: "No problem. Those bastards up there are already ready to graduate. You can rest assured that this guy is mine. This afternoon, I'll take him for a stroll around the streets."

Flowery Glass Eyes shook his head: "The county town is cracking down hard these days, so let's play it safe. If you want to practice, go to the communes down there first. Go door-to-door at night and steal some stuff easily. We'll go back to the county town after this storm has passed."

Lin Gouwa glanced up at the group who were discussing moving their hideout, and saw Scarface nod and mutter, "I don't know what's gotten into those cops lately, always patrolling the streets. It's really not safe here."

He paused for a moment, then said, "My eyelids have been twitching non-stop these past two days. If it doesn't get better... let's set off now. To Xiqiaopo Commune, I know that area very well."

The bald man stared at the scarred man for a few seconds, then grinned: "You call that familiarity? Last time we broke into a house at Xiqiao Slope, we got chased for miles, and I even lost a shoe. You call that familiarity?"

Having her weakness exposed so openly, she felt embarrassed and glared at him, saying, "What? Everyone makes mistakes sometimes!"

Flowery Glass Eyes crossed her arms and slowly said, "Alright, stop arguing. The county town isn't very safe, so it's good to go somewhere else. Let's go to Xiqiao Slope. Let's pack our things now and get ready to leave."