Returning to the county opera troupe in 77

The news of Fatty Qin's return spread like wildfire through the theater troupe compound, and within an hour, everyone in the troupe knew about it.

The reason why Fatty Qin was taken away by the police station also spread.

After hearing this, the employees of the compound all looked at each other in bewilderment.

"Buying bean curd and meat? That's all?" Ma Dongmei stared, somewhat incredulous. "I thought Fatty Qin had committed murder and arson! Turns out it was just for this?"

Guo Jufu, arms crossed, leaned against a large poplar tree, tilted his head, and muttered, "Who do you think is so shameless as to report Fatty Qin just because he bought some bean curd?"

"Who knows!" He Jianshe took a sip of tea from his teacup before slowly saying, "The supply and marketing cooperatives openly sell high-temperature processed meat. Haven't you seen the stack of cooked meat under the counter? They're still selling just fine, aren't they? As long as it's properly high-temperature processed, why can't we eat meat made with beans? We've all bought high-temperature processed meat to satisfy our cravings before, haven't we?"

"Exactly!" Ma Dongmei pulled a handful of sunflower seeds from her pocket and cracked them open with a loud popping sound. "I don't know which idiot wrote an anonymous letter to report us. You know, what did Fatty Qin, who's he bothering? Does he think our troupe's food isn't bland enough?"

When the topic of food came up, a group of people immediately became indignant. If they couldn't even buy high-temperature meat, wouldn't they be eating potatoes and potatoes every day from now on?

Damn it! They'll definitely be having meetings about potatoes all the time, without ever changing the menu.

The crowd erupted in chatter. Some people felt sorry for Fatty Qin, some cursed the person who wrote the anonymous letter as utterly despicable, and others muttered that the person who did this couldn't possibly be a member of the theater troupe; it must have been done by someone inside the compound.

Amidst a chorus of curses, Yu Baoliang walked past the crowd carrying a basin of vegetables. His eyes were downcast, his neck was hunched, and his steps were quick and hurried, revealing a sense of panic and unease.

While a group of people were discussing amongst themselves in the front yard, in the staff dormitory, Lin Datou looked at Lin Gouwa, who was stammering and stuttering, and suddenly slapped his thigh in surprise: "Hey! You really saw those old bastards secretly rehearsing their old opera?"

Lin Gouwa nodded: "Uncle, do you think they want to perform on stage again?"

"Those old fogies?" Lin Datou scoffed, raising his chin and gesturing towards the front row of the troupe leader's office. "Jia Dafang would never let them perform on stage! They're just daydreaming all day! Don't they even know their own social class? They want to perform on stage?"

After saying that, he stood up, paced back and forth in the room a few times with his hands behind his back, then suddenly stopped and muttered, "Should I go and give Commander Jia a heads-up?"

Lin Gouwa frowned and stammered, "Uncle, Secretary Zhu also got me this temporary job. If we do this, will it be...?"

Upon hearing this, Lin Datou abruptly turned his head, frowning as he stared at him: "Secretary Zhu was also present?"

Lin Gouwa nodded immediately: "Yes, he even clapped and cheered."

"Hey!" Lin Datou's face changed, and he slapped Lin Gouwa on the head, angrily cursing, "You idiot! Why don't you finish your sentence?!"

"I almost went to tell Jia Dafang on us! Secretary Zhu has been kind to my son and me, and we, the Lin family, can't possibly do something so ungrateful!"

Lin Gouwa clutched his head, wincing in pain, and muttered with a wronged expression, "You...you didn't even give me a chance to say anything..."

"What, are you blaming me now?" Hearing this, Lin Datou glared at Lin Gouwa again, then muttered to himself, "If that's the case, Secretary Zhu will definitely support those three old bastards putting on a show..."

Immediately afterward, his eyebrows furrowed sharply, and he ordered Lin Gouwa, "Don't tell anyone about this. Just keep it to yourself and pretend you don't know anything, understand?"

Lin Gouwa blinked his little eyes and nodded in a muffled voice: "Oh, I know."

.........

In the kitchen, Fatty Qin sat silently in a chair against the wall, his eyelids drooping and his face taut.

As Li Qiufen wiped the stove with a rag, she muttered under her breath, "I don't know which scoundrel reported us for buying bean curd and meat! Humph, if you ask me, this can't have left the compound; it was probably done by someone from our theater troupe."

This woman was a real gossip. She threw the rag into the basin, splashing a little water, then, hands on her hips, launched into another tirade: "They're unhappy about improving their food? Bah! The production team's mules aren't even as good as those animals! If you ask me, from now on we'll just stew potatoes, stir-fry potatoes, boil potatoes every day, without adding a single drop of oil, so they'll have nothing better to do! Let's see who dares to complain then!"

Fatty Qin remained silent, only smoking one cigarette after another.

Yu Baoliang, who was squatting in the corner washing potatoes, kept his head down and slowly rubbed the potato skins with his fingers in the basin of water. He had been washing a potato for a long time and was still holding it in his hand.

His head was down, so I couldn't see his expression, but he kept his neck hunched and his shoulders slightly forward, as if he wanted to hide himself in the basin of water.

Li Qiufen glanced at him and asked curiously, "Baoliang, why are you washing potatoes so slowly today? You've practically scrubbed the skins raw."

Upon hearing this, Yu Baoliang's hand trembled, and the potato in his hand fell into the basin. He coughed and said, "Um... I was thinking of washing it a few more times to make it cleaner. It's food that we eat, so it's better to be clean."

Li Qiufen didn't suspect anything. She went over and squatted down to help Yu Baoliang wash the potatoes, muttering, "I'll help you wash them. Otherwise, how long will it take? We won't be able to make dinner. Let's finish early tonight, because we'll have to get up early to work in the countryside tomorrow."

Just then, a series of hurried footsteps came from the doorway. The three looked up and saw Chen Xiangdong running in, panting and leaning on the threshold. As soon as he entered, he started shouting, "Teacher Qin! Teacher Qin! Secretary Zhu used his connections and got that anonymous tip-off letter that the police station received back!"

As soon as the words left his mouth, Yu Baoliang suddenly trembled, looking at Chen Xiangdong with a face full of astonishment: "A whistleblower letter?"

After catching his breath, Chen Xiangdong straightened up, his gaze sweeping over the three people in the kitchen before finally settling on Qin Pangzi's face. He said excitedly, "The letter is in my room! Secretary Zhu said not to make a fuss, and to let us first check the handwriting to see if it was written by someone we know, so we'll have a better idea of ​​what's going on."

"You really got it back?" Fatty Qin threw the cigarette butt in his hand on the ground and stood up abruptly.

Chen Xiangdong nodded hurriedly: "Why would I lie to you? It's right here in my room."

Fatty Qin's face lit up at first, but then he looked troubled: "It's almost time to cook, and I can't leave for a while..."

"No rush, you can check the handwriting after you're done with your work," Chen Xiangdong said with a smile. "The production crew just asked me to help move prop boxes, and I have to go get busy with that too. I don't know how late I'll be working... Anyway, my room isn't locked. You can go check it out after you finish cooking."

With that, he turned and left the kitchen.

Qin Pangzi seemed to be in a great mood, and shouted to Li Qiufen and Yu Baoliang, "Hurry up and wash them, I need to finish frying this pot of potato shreds as soon as possible."

As he spoke, he picked up the cleaver and walked to the cutting board, chopping scallions with a "clang, clang."

Li Qiufen responded and immediately quickened her pace while rubbing the potatoes.

Yu Baoliang glanced at the door with a flicker in his eyes, then threw the potatoes in his hand into the basin, cried out "Ouch! My stomach is hurting! I need to go to the toilet first. You two carry on, I'll be back in a bit."

As he spoke, he stood up, bent over, clutched his stomach, and groaned as he walked toward the door.

Fatty Qin muttered irritably, "You're just a lazy donkey who's always wasting time. Hurry up and go, hurry up and go!"

Yu Baoliang stepped out of the kitchen, no longer clutching his stomach. He quickly glanced around the yard and then hurriedly walked towards the row of dormitories on the east side of the theater troupe.