Returning to the county opera troupe in 77

"Brother Kui, you should come back with us. I heard from Brother Hei that your positions are still valid; the troupe has just given you a leave of absence without pay."

Liu Dezhu turned to the side and leaned closer to Han Zhengkui, who was sitting next to him, and whispered, "When we get back, tell Deputy Regiment Commander Han that he won't lose a single penny of his salary. It's definitely better than working outside."

Han Zhengkui didn't reply, but just smiled and looked out the car window. The closer one gets to home, the more apprehensive one becomes—that was his truest feeling right now. He didn't understand it when he was younger, but now that he's older, he feels it more deeply.

Chen Xiangdong, sitting in the back, leaned forward and glanced at the bulging bundle Han Zhengkui was carrying: "Brother Kui, why don't you put this under your seat? It must be so uncomfortable to carry it like that."

Han Zhengkui glanced down at the bundle on his lap, gently stroking the faded gray cloth with his fingers, and said in a low voice, "Kid, you don't understand... This is what I wore when I first took office. I've carried it with me everywhere I go all these years. These old things are easily damaged by pressure and jostling, so it's safest to keep them close to my chest."

Old items?

Chen Xiangdong couldn't help but glance at the gray cloth bundle a few more times. Was it a floral pleated hat and a soft silk hat?

He had seen the costumes that had been stored in the troupe's prop box for many years. Many of them were made of silk, which was very delicate and easily wrinkled, worn out, and snagged.

But this outfit, after ten years away from the stage, is still so carefully treasured by an old man who has traveled all over the country and braved wind and rain. So it is no longer just a costume.

The bus entered the theater troupe's compound around 10 a.m.

Chen Xiangdong got out of the car behind Han Zhengkui. As soon as his feet touched the blue brick ground, Han Zhengkui suddenly stopped in his tracks.

Two figures were walking through the gate of the courtyard towards them. Han Zhengkui stood there, staring blankly at the two men, his lips trembling slightly, before he finally managed to squeeze out a few words: "Old Hei... Old Fang..."

Feng Zhengxiao and Fang Zhengsheng, who were walking towards them, were chatting and laughing with a group of young actors when they heard the shout and looked up at the same time.

Following the sound, my gaze passed through the crowd of people carrying luggage and chatting, finally landing on a figure with gray hair carrying a gray cloth bundle.

The three of them stared at each other for a few seconds, as if a pause button had been suddenly pressed.

"Old Han?"

Feng Zhengxiao was the first to come to his senses. He quickly took a few steps forward, looked Han Zhengkui up and down, and then excitedly grabbed Han Zhengkui's shoulders: "Why are you back too?"

Fang Zhengsheng followed closely behind, limping as he quickly went to meet him. He lightly punched Fang Zhengsheng in the chest, his voice choked with emotion: "I thought you'd died out there! It's good that you're back, it's good that you're back..."

Han Zhengkui just grinned, his eyes red-rimmed, and kept nodding, "You're back, you're back."

Chen Xiangdong looked at the three old brothers who had been separated for so long, smiled and quietly walked away. The three brothers hadn't seen each other for so many years, they must have a lot to say, and his standing there would be superfluous.

He turned and walked towards the students' dormitory. During the two days of the performance, the troupe gave the students a holiday. Most of the students went home, leaving only Li Zhangqing, Fu Xiaoyue and a few others whose homes were not in the county town and who remained in the troupe's compound.

As soon as I got near the woodshed, I saw Li Mancang squatting outside the kitchen peeling potatoes. The wooden basin in front of him was already half full of potato chunks.

Hearing footsteps, Li Mancang looked up and saw Chen Xiangdong. He quickly threw the potatoes he was holding into the basin and stood up in surprise: "Brother Xiangdong? You're done performing?"

Chen Xiangdong took two steps toward him and said with a smile, "Our troupe was the first to draw lots and performed yesterday. Secretary Zhu and the others stayed in Hongzhou to wait for the final evaluation results, so we came back first."

As he spoke, he picked up the bulging sack in his hand and gave Li Mancang a mysterious smile: "Mancang, come with me, see what I brought for you guys."

"What?" Li Mancang blinked, wiped his hands on his pants, and quickly followed.

Back in the woodshed, Chen Xiangdong put the sack on the ground, tied the rope around the opening, and instructed Li Mancang, "Go to the student dormitory and call Li Zhangqing and the other girls over. I bought a lot of snacks for you to enjoy."

"Snacks?"

Li Mancang's eyes lit up immediately. He replied, "Okay!" and turned to run towards the student dormitory opposite the woodshed.

Chen Xiangdong untied the ropes binding the sack, and just as he took out the assorted fruit candies, peach crisps, sponge cakes, and hawthorn candies wrapped in brown paper bags and placed them on the ground, he heard footsteps and chattering laughter outside the door.

"Brother Xiang Dong!"

Wu Xiaolian was the first to peek in. Her eyes lit up when she saw the large bags of food laid out on the ground: "Wow, so much delicious food?"

Before she could finish speaking, Li Zhangqing, Fu Xiaoyue, Han Nongyue, and Li Mancang all squeezed in, completely blocking the doorway.

Li Mancang stood at the very back, chuckling to himself, his eyes fixed on the snacks in the brown paper bag.

Li Zhangqing and the other girls all had their eyes light up. Li Zhangqing hesitated for a moment, then asked in a low voice, "Brother Xiangdong, these things must have cost a lot of money, right?"

"Hey! Money doesn't matter! I'm going to bring back some good food for my younger siblings."

Chen Xiangdong smiled and picked up a brown paper package. A corner of the bright red rolled fruit leather peeked out, and a sweet and sour aroma immediately filled the small woodshed.

"What are you waiting for? Take these! You five can divide these things among yourselves, especially the peach shortbread and sponge cake. They were just bought yesterday. These things don't keep for long, so eat them quickly before they spoil."

The others became somewhat embarrassed. Li Zhangqing bit his lip and said, "Brother Xiangdong, we've all split up, so what about you?"

Li Mancang and the others turned their gaze to Chen Xiangdong, only to see him wave his hand and say, "I ate quite a lot yesterday, so don't worry about me. Hurry up and divide it up, so no one can see us."

Hearing this, the five of them chuckled and came over. They counted the snacks and divided them into five portions according to the number of people, with no one taking more than their share.

Li Mancang broke off a small piece of peach shortbread and popped it into his mouth. After just one bite, his eyes lit up, and he mumbled, "Sweet...so delicious!"

Wu Xiaolian, Fu Xiaoyue, and Han Nongyue chattered excitedly, holding a pile of snacks, their eyes crinkling with laughter. Li Zhangqing carefully wrapped the snacks in a handkerchief, a slight smile playing on his lips: "Thank you, Brother Xiangdong. I can't bear to eat them all... These candies will last a long time if I eat one a day."

Seeing the girls' greedy yet reluctant expressions as they craved the peach shortbread, Chen Xiangdong shook his head and chuckled. Clutching the shortbread in his hand, he couldn't bear to eat it, first sniffing it again and again, as if he were holding some rare treasure.

It was only in those days of scarcity that children treasured these little snacks. In later generations, things like sachima, wafer biscuits, and chocolate are readily available on supermarket shelves, and with soaring living standards, nobody cares about them anymore.

"Anyway, I've given you the food, so I don't care how you eat it." Chen Xiangdong raised his hand and patted the crumbs of sponge cake off his hand. "Alright, I'm going out for a walk, you guys have fun."

After saying that, he turned and walked away. Laughter and noise from the woodshed followed him, but he didn't turn back. With a smile on his lips, he walked out of the courtyard.