Returning to the county opera troupe in 77

Xu Erdao stared blankly at Liu Dezhu, who was holding a large pig's head at the door, and his eye twitched slightly: "What are you doing holding a pig's head?"

Lu Meiyin and the plump old lady Ge Ronghua also looked over with curiosity. The pig's head weighed at least ten kilograms, with its big ears sticking up. Liu Dezhu held it in his arms as if he were holding an ancestral tablet.

Liu Dezhu stood there, stared at by everyone in the courtyard. He opened his mouth, but for a moment he couldn't utter a word.

His eyes swept across the crowd, landing directly on Lu Meiyin, then quickly shifted away, landing on Ge Ronghua's face. Realizing this was inappropriate, he looked away again, glancing down at the pig-headed boy in his arms, and stammered, "I was thinking..."

Seeing that Liu Dezhu was about to back down, Chen Xiangdong became anxious and quickly ran from behind the porch pillar to his side, smiling as he looked at Lu Meiyin: "Didn't Aunt Lu's second aunt come to our troupe? My master said we should prepare a nice dish to entertain her."

"Who?"

"Lu Meiyin's second aunt?"

Whispers rippled through the crowd, and many eyes turned to Ge Ronghua. Pan Lanxiang, standing at a distance, glanced at Ge Ronghua standing with Lu Meiyin and whispered to the actresses beside her, "Isn't that her second aunt? Look at those eyebrows and eyes, she looks about seven or eight parts like her."

"It looks about the same to me."

Ge Ronghua's gaze lingered on the large pig's head for a while, then she subconsciously turned to look at her niece Lu Meiyin beside her and asked softly, "Who is he...?"

Lu Meiyin quickly said, "Colleague, colleague."

"Just colleagues?"

Ge Ronghua clicked her tongue softly; she didn't believe Lu Meiyin's words. Although she was a country woman and not very worldly-wise, she was still quite perceptive of human relationships.

A pig's head weighing over ten kilograms would cost six or seven yuan!

I'm just Lu Meiyin's aunt, not her biological mother. How could I have the face to be worthy of such a fancy dish?

Such a generous gift would only be given for a marriage proposal in the countryside.

However, with so many people in the yard, she didn't expose it in public. She just turned her head and glanced at her niece, her face showing a knowing look of someone who had been through it all.

Just then, Lin Gouwa led his drum and band troupe out of the rehearsal hall in a flurry of activity. Lin Datou, carrying a drum in one hand and a stool in the other, was the first to squeeze into the crowd, his eyes darting around. When he saw Liu Dezhu standing at the door, his eyes lit up, and he pointed at the door, laughing loudly, "That coward's standing at the door! Guys, let's get going!"

The group was bewildered by Lin Datou's seemingly super-energetic appearance. He Jianshe stared blankly at Lin Datou, asking, "Datou, what's going on?"

Lin Datou ignored him completely, put the stool on the ground, sat down on it, put the drum on his lap, picked up the drumsticks and started banging it.

When the other members of the drum troupe behind him saw that Lin Datou had started playing, they also picked up their own instruments with laughter and chatter. Suona, bamboo flute, cymbals, clappers, and sheng all started playing in sync with Lin Datou's drumbeats.

As the band played their instruments in unison, a festive melody filled the theater.

Hearing that familiar tune, He Jianshe was the first to react. He slapped his thigh and looked at the door in astonishment: "Open the door wide! Oh my, that coward Liu Dezhu bought a big pig's head, is he here to propose marriage?"

After he shouted that, everyone in the courtyard looked on in surprise. The crowd, who had just been watching the commotion, suddenly erupted into a frenzy, with laughter, shouts, and whistles filling the entire courtyard.

Liu Dezhu suddenly froze, looked down at the pig-headed man in his arms who was just as bewildered as he was, and wondered what was going on.

How come the whole troupe knows I'm going to propose marriage?

Lu Meiyin was startled by He Jianshe's shout and turned around abruptly, her face turning bright red, her shoulders trembling slightly, whether from embarrassment or joy was unclear.

Liu Dezhu looked around blankly, but when he turned his head and saw Chen Xiangdong beside him giving a thumbs-up in that direction with great enthusiasm, he immediately realized what was going on.

Yesterday, we were discussing buying a pig's head and giving it to Ge Ronghua as a thank-you gift. It was Chen Xiangdong who came up with the idea. Even Lu Meiyin didn't know about this. It must have been that scoundrel who was behind it!

"You coward, was this your idea?!" He was both angry and ashamed, and kicked Chen Xiangdong.

Having anticipated this, Chen Xiangdong darted out like a rabbit the moment Liu Dezhu lifted his foot, quickly appearing beside Lu Meiyin. He craned his neck and grinned at Liu Dezhu, calling out, "Master, hurry up and bring over the matchmaker's gift! Haven't you seen Aunt Lu is getting impatient?"

The drum troupe played their instruments with great enthusiasm, and this time Lin Datou's drumbeats were perfectly in tune and flawless.

Seeing Liu Dezhu still standing dumbfounded at the door, He Jianshe couldn't help but feel anxious for him. He immediately opened his mouth and sang a line, his voice bright and crisp, carrying the unique fiery spirit of Qinqiang opera:

"On this auspicious day, joy and happiness will be celebrated."

The marriage was arranged with all the proper rites and rituals.

The son-in-law of the Liu family presents betrothal gifts.

Offering a pig's head to thank the matchmaker!

"Open—the—red—door!"

When he opened his mouth, everyone in the courtyard fell silent for a moment.

Lin Datou grinned, and the drumbeat changed, striking three times in a row, "dong dong dong." The group of drummers reacted, and the suona and bamboo flute joined in with the ending notes of the song, and the laughter from the whole courtyard merged into a chorus of "Open—the—red—door—now!"

Ge Ronghua was so shocked by the grand spectacle that her mouth dropped open. She had been a matchmaker for over a decade, and this was the first time she had ever seen a marriage proposal made so lively.

The whole courtyard was filled with laughter. The trainees were jumping and shouting, and the band was playing music. Startled, Jia Dafang, Zhu Zhengkuo, and Han Wenxue squeezed into the crowd. After figuring out what was going on, they clapped and cheered with smiles.

Ge Ronghua's lips curved into a smile, and she waved her hand, saying, "Alright, alright, open the red gate, open the red gate!"

Lu Meiyin was so embarrassed that she buried her head in her firm breasts, her ears were bright red, but she couldn't hide the smile on her lips. She twisted her hands together, not knowing whether to clap or cover her face.

Seeing Liu Dezhu still standing there dumbfounded at the door, Ge Ronghua took two steps forward and waved to him, "Still standing there like an idiot? You've already brought the matchmaker's gifts, do you expect this old woman to go and receive them herself?"

Liu Dezhu suddenly came to his senses. Overwhelmed with excitement, he instinctively grabbed the pig's head and nervously walked forward. He didn't notice the protruding blue bricks on the ground and tripped, causing him to stumble and fall, which drew another burst of laughter from the whole courtyard.

"Look at how cowardly he is!"

"That son of a bitch, he just loves to show off."

Liu Dezhu, his face flushed, approached Ge Ronghua, holding the pig's head in his hands. After stammering for a long time, he finally managed to stammer, "Second Aunt...you...you accept this..."

Ge Ronghua grinned from ear to ear as she took the large pig's head: "I've done a really easy job as a matchmaker. I haven't even mentioned it yet, and I've already received a gift as a thank you."

After saying that, she turned to look at Lu Meiyin and said, "Meiyin, from now on, your second aunt won't have to worry about you. Now you have someone who loves you, even more than your aunt."

Lu Meiyin blushed and turned around, fidgeting as she was about to say something when Ge Ronghua weighed the pig's head in her arms and looked at Liu Dezhu: "Doesn't your county theater troupe have a cook? Find someone to help clean this up and prepare a meal. Tonight, I want to have a good chat with my new nephew-in-law."