Returning to the county opera troupe in 77

That afternoon, Zhu Zhengkuo, beaming with joy, strode confidently through the rehearsal hall doors.

Before anyone could ask a question, he eagerly raised his chin and announced, "Everyone, please be quiet! I have some important news to announce! After careful consideration based on the rehearsals over the past few days, Commander Jia has decided to suspend the dress rehearsals for 'Miaoling Wind and Thunder'! For the next two days, the entire troupe will concentrate all its efforts on 'Ode to Qin Chuan'!"

The words were like a boulder thrown into a river, causing an uproar in the rehearsal hall.

Everyone was stunned for a moment. After a couple of seconds, Liu Dezhu stood up first, then put the drumstick in his hand on the drumhead, clapped his hands twice, and shouted, "We should have done this a long time ago! These past few days of rehearsing the new play have made everyone feel so stifled and bored."

Amidst the group of actors, several excited voices burst forth. He Jianshe slapped his thigh, beaming as he looked around, "Now I can finally relax!"

"Exactly! If we had just said we'd be doing 'Ode to Qin Chuan' earlier, would we have been rehearsing like dogs day and night?" Even Qiao Haizhu, Jia Dafang's favorite general, couldn't help but complain.

Liu Dezhu feigned surprise and replied, "Hey! You're talking nonsense again! You wouldn't dare make up stories about Commander Jia like that!"

Qiao Haizhu immediately blushed and shrugged at him, "Get lost! I said it was chased by a dog! You insist on pinning it on Commander Jia, but everyone's listening here. Don't try to shift the blame onto me."

The two joked like that, and everyone in the rehearsal hall burst into laughter.

This time, Jia Dafang insisted on staging a new play despite everyone's objections, causing a lot of trouble for the entire troupe. In the end, he gave an order to scrap everything and start over, replacing it with the more reliable "Ode to Qin Chuan".

After this series of upheavals, Jia Dafang's reputation and prestige suffered a considerable blow.

Lu Meiyin tossed the script in her hand onto the table next to her, her voice tinged with a hint of exhilaration: "If we're performing 'Ode to Qin Chuan,' what's the point of rehearsing? Everyone could rehearse the play with their eyes closed. The singing style and lines are already memorized, and even the steps and positioning are so precise that they wouldn't bump into anyone even with their eyes closed."

As she spoke, she actually closed her eyes, took two steps forward in a pretentious manner, and walked steadily to the center of the stage, causing another burst of laughter in the rehearsal hall.

Lin Datou sat behind Liu Dezhu, grinned mischievously, and kicked Liu Dezhu in the butt.

Before he could react, Liu Dezhu cried out "Ouch!" and stumbled forward. Coincidentally, Lu Meiyin happened to walk up to him with her eyes closed, and he pounced on her like a vicious dog.

"ah!"

Lu Meiyin felt two thick, strong arms, like iron hoops, pull her into their embrace. Startled, she hurriedly opened her eyes, trying to break free.

But as soon as she opened her eyes and saw that face almost touching her nose, her face turned bright red all the way to her ears, and even her neck turned pink.

Her hands froze in mid-air, unsure whether to push or not, and she muttered a low scolding, "Are you... are you trying to get yourself killed?! There are so many people here, what are you doing!"

Although the two had many inappropriate and intimate encounters in private, including hugging and kissing, they always did so behind closed doors in the dark, when no one could see them.

But now, in this rehearsal hall, dozens of pairs of eyes from the entire troupe are staring at her like they're shooting sparks, cheering and making a fuss. Lu Meiyin feels like her whole body is burning hot.

"They've hugged! They've hugged!"

Chen Xiangdong also sat behind the drum and started yelling at the top of his lungs, and couldn't help but give Lin Datou a thumbs up.

Lin Datou grinned widely: "I'm the matchmaker in our group. I set off a pair of wild ducks with just one step."

Chen Xiangdong laughed and said, "Teacher Lin, those are called wild mandarin ducks."

"Why nitpick over the details? It's all the same thing, the same thing." Lin Datou laughed even more smugly.

Liu Dezhu held Lu Meiyin tightly with both hands, refusing to let go. He turned around and winked at Lin Datou, saying, "Why did you kick me, you coward? Ouch, my buttocks are numb now. Meiyin, help me up, I can't stand up anymore."

Just as the room was filled with people shouting and yelling, Sun Zhan Dou, carrying a net bag of bananas that were quite scarce and in high demand in the county town, and humming an off-key tune, swayed all the way to the front of the rehearsal hall.

Sun Zhan Dou used several connections to get him transferred from his original workplace to the Dongping County Supply and Marketing Cooperative as a salesman. This bag of bananas was a good deal he got at an internal price, much cheaper than the market price, thanks to his job.

The moment he got the bananas, he didn't even go back to his dormitory; he grabbed the bag and rushed to the county theater troupe.

These past few days, he'd been going to the theater troupe every day, knowing that at this time, Lu Meiyin would definitely be rehearsing the new play with the others. He wanted to shove this banana into her hand in front of the whole troupe—how embarrassing would that be!

He intended to show those guys who were always fawning over Lu Meiyin a thing or two, especially Liu Dezhu, who was always mocking and disrespecting him. He wanted to show them who could get such a rare and precious thing like Sun Zhanzhu.

Thinking of this, the corners of his mouth couldn't help but turn up. Hearing a burst of whistling and cheers suddenly coming from the rehearsal hall, Sun Zhan Dou couldn't help but feel curious and peeked through the crack in the door.

Then, the smile on his lips froze on his face.

Through the small glimpse of the door, he could clearly see Liu Dezhu holding Lu Meiyin tightly in his arms, the two of them so close they couldn't be closer.

This sudden turn of events struck Sun Zhan Dou like a blunt object, hitting him squarely on the head when he was completely unprepared.

The bananas he was carrying fell to the ground with a "thud," and the blankness on his face instantly turned ashen!

"Bang!"

He kicked the wooden door open, causing dust and dirt to fall from the eaves.

The laughter in the rehearsal hall stopped abruptly. Everyone turned around in astonishment and saw a figure rushing towards Liu Dezhu as if he had gone mad.

"Liu Dezhu! I curse you, you bastard!"

Liu Dezhu hurriedly turned his head and saw a fist rapidly enlarging in front of him. Worried that Lu Meiyin would get hurt, he almost subconsciously pushed forward with both hands.

"Bang!"

A punch landed squarely in his eye socket, causing him to scream in pain and stagger backward.

Lu Meiyin was so shocked that she backed away, covering her mouth with both hands and staring wide-eyed.

Sun Zhan Dou's eyes were bloodshot, and he was still cursing as he kicked Liu Dezhu to the ground again. Then he pounced on Liu Dezhu and swung his two fists, each the size of a sandbag, at Liu Dezhu's face.

Liu Dezhu screamed and struggled to resist, but Sun Zhan Dou had already punched him in the eyes several times. Now his eyes were swollen and sore, and tears were streaming down his face. He was powerless to break free.

"What are you doing! Stop hitting him!" Lu Meiyin's voice was trembling with tears as she rushed over in a panic, trying to push away Sun Zhanzhu, who was riding on top of Liu Dezhu. But how could a weak woman like her possibly push away the tall and strong Sun Zhanzhu?

Everyone was stunned by this unexpected scene. Chen Xiangdong was anxious. He knew that Sun Zhanzhu was a veteran who had just retired. If a fight broke out, he might beat Liu Dezhu to death.

Although these two were rivals in love in their past lives, they never had a farcical duel over love!

Damn it, how come it's going against the historical trajectory again!

"Master, let me help you!"

Chen Xiangdong shouted and rushed forward, kicking Sun Zhan Dou in the back, sending him sprawling face-first into the dirt. Half of his face slid half a meter across the old, rough wooden floor of the rehearsal hall. When he looked up, a large bloody scratch had appeared on half of his face, from his cheekbone to his chin.

Sun Zhan Dou grunted, lay on the ground for a moment in a daze, then tried to get up by supporting himself with his hands, so he could beat Liu Dezhu up again.

He Jianshe, Han Wenxue, Lin Datou, and the others were also awakened by the loud shout. Zhu Zhengguo and He Jianshe were the first to rush over, grabbing Sun Zhanzhuan's arms from the left and right, and then twisting them backward with force, making the latter cry out in pain.

After Zhu Zheng subdued Sun, he angrily shouted, "How dare you commit violence and injure people in the theater troupe? You're lawless! Old Han, call the police right now!"