Returning to the county opera troupe in 77

Han Zhengkui sat on the edge of Chen Xiangdong's bed, looking at Liu Dezhu opposite him with a complicated expression: "Old Hei really went back to Dongping County?"

"Why would I lie to you?" Liu Dezhu sat up a little straighter. "If you don't believe me, ask my apprentice."

"You've even taken on apprentices, you idiot?" Han Zhengkui's gaze shifted, and he looked Chen Xiangdong up and down.

Chen Xiangdong grinned at him, revealing eight neat teeth: "Brother Kui, I often go to the theater and often hear Master Feng and Master Fang talk about how you learned and performed opera back then. My ears are practically calloused from hearing it so much."

Han Zhengkui remained silent for a moment, then didn't continue the topic. Seemingly casually, he asked Liu Dezhu, "What kind of performances have you prepared for this time?"

"It's 'Ode to Qin Chuan,' that play has been performed so many times, it's reliable and I'm confident in it."

Han Zhengkui nodded, his gaze falling on Liu Dezhu's swollen eyes, which could only be opened a slit: "With your eyes swollen like this, how will you be able to go on stage and play the drums?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Dezhu chuckled and said, "Who said I was going to go on stage? There's someone else playing the drums."

Han Zhengkui raised an eyebrow: "Then who's going to play? Lin Datou, that bastard, can play drums now?"

"Lin Datou?" Liu Dezhu curled his lip, his face full of disdain: "Even if he beats the drum for another ten years, he'll still end up with a complete mess. He's incompetent and always messes things up. He'll ruin a good show."

Hearing this, Han Zhengkui became even more uncertain. He frowned and asked, "Are there other drummers in Dongping? I've never heard of them before. Are they newly recruited?"

Liu Dezhu picked up his teacup, took a sip, and then gestured with his chin toward Chen Xiangdong: "Look, isn't this it?"

"What?"

Han Zhengkui's eyes widened instantly, and he stared at Chen Xiangdong for a while before finally managing to utter four words with a twisted face: "What a madman!"

I knew you'd say that!

Those who have never met a genius will always make judgments based solely on their own thoughts and perceptions.

Chen Xiangdong wasn't annoyed. He turned his head slightly to look at Liu Dezhu, the mouth double.

Liu Dezhu shrugged: "The whole troupe agreed, what can we do?"

Han Zhengkui found it even more unbelievable and jumped to his feet: "Did you lose your mind? Letting such a good-for-nothing play the drums is worse than letting Lin Datou do it."

Seeing that the old man was really getting anxious, Liu Dezhu laughed and stopped teasing him. He then gestured to Chen Xiangdong with his lip and said, "Apprentice, show your master a good move."

"Alright! Kratos, then I'll make a fool of myself."

The most effective way to fight back against criticism is to use real strength to back it up.

Without wasting any words, Chen Xiangdong picked up the drumsticks, quickly got into character, and meticulously began playing the opening of "Ode to Qin Chuan".

As soon as the drumbeats began, Han Zhengkui's disdainful expression, which had previously read "I'll have to hear this," was gradually replaced by surprise.

After a brief opening drumbeat, his eyes were filled with disbelief as he looked at Chen Xiangdong.

"Kid, how long have you been learning to play the drums?"

"Less than two months."

Han Zhengkui: "..."

After less than two months of learning drums, he was able to play perfectly in tune, with no rhythm error whatsoever?

Han Zhengkui felt as if his understanding had been greatly impacted. He sat down on the bed in a daze, as if someone had hit him on the head with a brick, and it took him a long time to recover.

His gaze swept back and forth between the master and apprentice's faces a few times, and seeing the identical mischievous smiles on their lips, he finally realized that these two were deliberately making fun of him.

"You two are such rascals..." He pointed at the two men, half-laughing and half-crying, "Are you making a fool of this old man like a monkey?"

Liu Dezhu laughed so hard his shoulders shook: "How could that be? It's just that you didn't believe my apprentice had this skill, so I showed you. Otherwise, you would have said that our troupe's brains were all kicked by donkeys."

"Get lost!" Han Zhengkui waved his hand irritably, but he couldn't help but smile as well.

Chen Xiangdong rubbed his hands together and chuckled, "Brother Kui, do you think it'll be okay for me to play the drums on stage?"

Han Zhengkui's lips curled up, and he gave him a thumbs up: "Yao Mada!"

.........

December 5th, today is the first day of the regional performance, and also the day the Dongping County Troupe will perform.

Before the show even started, the audience was already packed. Of the thousands of seats, nearly 90% were filled with theatergoers, while the remaining small group consisted of the judging panel and the heads of various theater troupes from different counties.

Jia Dafang, Han Wenxue, and Zhu Zhengwei sat in the second row of the audience, nervously waiting for the show to begin.

This performance is of great significance, and they just happened to be chosen to perform first. If they perform well in this first show, it will set an example for the remaining fourteen county troupes and achieve a great start.

But if they mess it up, they'll become a complete negative example and a model for criticism.

In the first row of the judging panel, besides the leaders from the Hongzhou Education Bureau, there were also judges from the province. Zhu Zhengwei nervously glanced towards the stage and asked Han Wenxue in a low voice, "Is everything ready backstage?"

Jia Dafang turned his head at this moment, and from his tense face, it was clear that he was not calm at all.

Han Wenxue whispered, "Dongwazi and the band are already in place, and Lu Meiyin and He Jianshe are all made up and waiting behind the curtain. Don't worry, they are all seasoned veterans, there won't be any problems."

Zhu Zheng nodded without saying anything more, but Jia Dafang, sitting next to him, leaned closer and frowned, saying, "I'm not worried about the others, but I'm afraid that Dongwazi might make a mistake because it's his first time performing on such a big stage..."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Zhengkuo and Han Wenxue exchanged a glance, both feeling the same worry.

Whether they are actors or band members, when it's their first time on stage, nine out of ten people will have sweaty palms, and nervousness and stage fright are almost inevitable.

Chen Xiangdong sat on the drum position, trying to take deep breaths to calm his rapidly beating heartbeat.

Liu Dezhu pulled out a worn-out long gown from somewhere and put it on, wearing his "advisor's glasses." He sat down in the side curtain, looking exactly like Abing playing the erhu. He gently patted Chen Xiangdong's arm and lowered his voice: "Today is your official first day of instruction. If you can hold on, you'll be fine. Don't be afraid, your master is here."

Chen Xiangdong turned around and glanced at him, then nodded emphatically.

As the host on stage delivered an opening speech, the noise from the audience gradually subsided.

"Distinguished leaders and guests, the Qinqiang Opera performance in Hongzhou area is officially beginning! Please welcome the actors from the Dongping County Troupe to present 'Ode to Qin Chuan'!"

The curtain slowly rose, and the lights illuminated the entire stage.

Chen Xiangdong took a deep breath, his palms, covered in fine beads of sweat, gripping the drumsticks tightly.

"Thump, thump-thump, clang-clang—"

A series of crisp, clean drumbeats rang out, like a handful of fish bait scattered on a calm surface. The erhu, cymbals, and other instruments were all moved by the drumbeats and began to play with varying rhythms and cadences.

Upon hearing this familiar and rhythmic phrase, Zhu Zhengkuo, Jia Dafang, and Han Wenxue in the audience relaxed, finally feeling relieved.

Sitting behind Chen Xiangdong, Liu Dezhu's lips curled up: "Your starting stance is fine, you're in control!"