Returning to the county opera troupe in 77

"What's he doing here?"

Chen Xiangdong frowned. He couldn't possibly mistake that figure from behind. Lin Gouwa walked with a slightly waddling gait, and the more nervous and scared he was, the more obvious his pigeon-toed gait became.

Since the fire in the storage room a while ago, Lin Gouwa has been on the run. In order to find Lin Gouwa, Lin Datou has been going to the police station a lot lately.

Lin Gouwa usually looks like a fool, and Chen Xiangdong originally thought he would starve to death on the streets. But who would have thought that he would actually make it all the way from the county town to Xiqiaopo Commune.

"No, we need to tell Lin Datou about this right away."

Although Lin Datou is a bit unpopular, and he's always gossiping and causing trouble in the theater troupe, he's not really a villain.

Moreover, this concerns Lin Gouwa's safety, and no matter what, Chen Xiangdong cannot just stand by and watch him get into trouble outside.

Thinking of this, Chen Xiangdong turned around and walked towards the school. Just as he entered the gate, he ran into Qiao Haizhu, who was strolling around at the entrance.

"Master Qiao, have you seen Lin Datou?"

Qiao Haizhu glanced at Chen Xiangdong: "Lin Datou? Didn't he go to the commune compound to apply for a signature?"

Chen Xiangdong was taken aback: "Apply for signature?"

He immediately understood that the subsidies for county troupes performing in rural areas were usually provided by the local communes. Each time the troupe performed, they had to take a letter of introduction to the local commune for signature and stamp before they could receive the subsidy.

It's likely that Han Wenxue saw that Lin Datou was the only idle person in the whole group, so he simply made him run errands.

Chen Xiangdong frowned immediately. This whole mess was getting out of hand, and Lin Datou wasn't even here. He asked, "When will he be back?"

Qiao Haizhu waved his hand: "He just left a little while ago. The commune isn't far from here. It's just a matter of getting a stamp, how long can it take? I reckon he should be back in an hour at most."

Chen Xiangdong responded with a sound of agreement and said nothing more.

"Dongwazi!"

On the playground, Niu Laohei waved to him from a distance: "Come and eat quickly. After you finish eating, let's clean up the stage properly so we don't drag things out and have to work until dark."

"Oh, here it comes."

Most people had already eaten, so Chen Xiangdong didn't need to queue anymore. He put his rice bowl on the edge of the stove, and Qin Pangzi's big ladle seemed to perform magic, digging three times to the left and three times to the right at the bottom of the pot full of noodle soup, and actually scooped out more than half a ladle of shredded meat, filling a whole bowl with meat and noodles.

Fatty Qin winked at him, signaling him to keep quiet: "Here, the rest is all yours."

Chen Xiangdong chuckled, picked up his bowl, and was about to turn around when Qin Pangzi called out to him, "Hey, Dongwa, haven't you noticed you've grown taller lately?"

"Huh? Really?" Chen Xiangdong was taken aback by the question. Li Qiufen, who was standing next to him, looked him up and down and chuckled, "You seem to have grown a bit taller... You used to be a short blob, now you're a half-prickly pouch."

Li Qiufen's mouth was never shy, but she had a kind heart. Chen Xiangdong was used to her jokes and just rolled his eyes at her: "Isn't it all the same thing!"

Li Qiufen said, "You have indeed grown taller. If you don't believe me, find a ruler and measure yourself."

Chen Xiangdong didn't have time to chat with her; he picked up his bowl, squatted down, and started slurping his noodles.

After dinner, a group of people set up ladders, pulled up canvas, nailed up platform boards, and adjusted the lights. After a flurry of activity, they finished the job in less than three o'clock.

When he had some free time, Chen Xiangdong borrowed a tape measure from Guo Jufu. Afraid of being seen, he hid behind the stage, stood up straight next to the pillar, and pulled the tape measure from his feet to his head. He looked at the markings on the tape measure and saw that it was 1.63 meters.

I remember the day he was reborn, he made a mark on the wooden door frame of the old house. He was only 1.58 meters tall at the time. He has grown 5 centimeters in just two months since joining the troupe.

In his past life, he didn't grow taller until he was eighteen, when he suddenly experienced a year-long growth spurt, finally settling at 1.7 meters. Could it be that the recent good food has made up for the nutritional deficiencies he had before, causing him to grow taller again?

Regardless, Chen Xiangdong was still very happy to be able to grow a little taller.

"What are you doing here sneaking around like that?"

Lu Meiyin's voice suddenly came from behind him, startling him. Feeling guilty, he quickly hid the measuring tape behind his back: "Aunt Lu, I didn't... I didn't do anything."

Lu Meiyin walked over with a smile, glanced behind him, and when she saw the half-drawn measuring tape dragging on the ground, she couldn't help but chuckle: "You little rascal, so you were hiding here measuring your height? What, you've grown taller?"

Chen Xiangdong blushed, suddenly feeling the embarrassment and awkwardness of being caught red-handed by family and friends while secretly writing a novel. He could only grin awkwardly.

"Measuring height isn't anything shameful, why do you have to be so secretive?" Lu Meiyin shook her head with a smile. "Go call your master over and have him accompany me through the opera. It's been a while since I sang 'Ode to Qin Chuan,' I need to quickly get back into the swing of things."

"Okay, okay, I'll go get Master."

Chen Xiangdong, feeling as if he had been granted a pardon, took the measuring tape, turned around and walked away quickly, making Lu Meiyin behind him laugh so hard she almost fell over.

Lin Datou didn't return until almost five o'clock, still drunk. The smell of alcohol on him was so strong that it could knock people over from a distance.

Han Wenxue saw his behavior from afar and was so angry that he cursed and covered his nose. He then ordered Chen Xiangdong and Qiao Haizhu to take him to the classroom so that he wouldn't embarrass himself outside.

Chen Xiangdong and Qiao Haizhu carried him like a dead dog, one on each side, dragging and pulling him into the classroom, where they threw him haphazardly onto a desk.

Han Wenxue stood at the classroom door and cursed, "This coward went out to get a stamp all afternoon, and he's already drunk like this? He's useless at everything, eats everything, and is a complete idiot."

Chen Xiangdong sighed helplessly. Seeing that Lin Datou was drunk and unconscious, he could only tell him about Lin Gouwa tomorrow. Most importantly, it would also delay his time to set the net and catch fish.

The plan to have an extra meal tomorrow is completely ruined.

.........

In an abandoned cowshed in Xiqiaopo Commune, nine people, four adults and five children, were squatting on the ground, digging out several charred potatoes from the ashes in front of them and wolfing them down.

The group looked like refugees who hadn't eaten for days. They didn't care that their mouths were burning, and they ate while blowing on the food, their mouths covered in black ash.

"Damn it!"

The bald, scrawny man spat the potato crust from his mouth onto the ground, glanced sideways at the scarred man beside him, and cursed angrily, "Eating potatoes all day long, now even my poop smells like potatoes! When will this pathetic life end?"

The scarred man beside him had droopy eyebrows and didn't say a word, just kept his head down and ate a roasted potato.

"Alright!" The woman with the glassy eyes frowned, glaring at the cursing rascal. "I was the one who agreed to come to Xiqiao Slope. What, you have a problem with me too?"

The leper immediately shut his mouth and turned his face away.

Hua Glass Eyes lit a cigarette and muttered, "Who would have thought that Xiqiaopo would be so strictly inspected now? The militia patrols every village every day, leaving us wondering where our next meal will come from."

A boy with long hair and rather delicate features approached the man with the glass-like eyes and hesitated, "Brother Hua, so tell me, are we still going to school tonight? Will there be militiamen there?"

Upon hearing this, a ruthless glint flashed across the face with the glassy eyes: "Go ahead, why not! Tonight the school is putting on a big show, people from all around will be there to listen. If we sneak in, with so many people around, how will those militiamen recognize us?"

After saying that, he glanced at Lin Gouwa, who was cowering behind the crowd with his one eye, thought for a moment, and said to the long-haired boy, "Li Mancang, I'll take you to the school tonight to cut your hair, let you try your hand at it, and I'll give you a try."

The long-haired boy, Li Mancang, chuckled and, showing off, stuck out his tongue, spitting out a gleaming, cold-looking blade.

Seeing this, apart from Lin Gouwa, the idiot, Scarface, Er Mao, Lai Zi, and the other young thieves were all stunned for a moment.

The one eye with the speckled glass eyes couldn't help but contract its pupil slightly in surprise, exclaiming, "You had a razor blade in your mouth while you were eating that potato, didn't you?"

Li Mancang just smiled.

"Good lad!" The man with the glassy eyes laughed and patted him on the shoulder. "I never thought there would actually be a prodigy who's been practically fed by the founding fathers!"

Having said that, he stood up, brushed the dirt off his backside, and confidently gave the order:

"Er Mao, Scarface, you two go check out the elementary school area first, see where those guys from the county theater troupe have their luggage. Tonight, we're going to pull off a big one!"