Returning to the county opera troupe in 77

The entire performance of "Stealing the Armor" lasted only a quarter of an hour, from the moment the performers stepped onto the stage to the final curtain call. Yet, the audience felt as if they were caught in a dream, never having a moment to catch their breath.

"My God..." An old man with gray hair stared at the now-closed curtain, his lips trembling with excitement. "I haven't seen such a distorted performance in years! Who played Shi Qian? Was it that Han Wu clown from the county theater troupe back then?"

The dark-faced young man next to him also stood up, clapping his hands loudly: "Hey, who is this Han Wuchou you're talking about?"

"What do you know!" The old man glanced at his youngest son, his face filled with nostalgia and sighs. "Back then, our Dongping County produced three renowned Qinqiang opera masters: Fang Wusheng, Feng Hualian, and Han Wuchou. More than ten years ago, when you were only seven or eight years old, I even made a special trip of forty miles to the county theater to see Han Wuchou perform 'Stealing the Armor'."

In the audience, many people were saying similar things to the people next to them. The most common thing they mentioned was that many people thought Han Wuchou had stopped performing opera. Being able to see "Stealing the Armor" again today was a way of fulfilling their long-held wish.

A group of young men shouted at the top of their lungs, "Perform it again! Perform it again!"

Several toddlers broke free from their parents' hands, ran to the front of the stage, and shouted up at the stage with their little faces: "Thief! Thief! Let him come out! I want to learn how to do somersaults from him!"

During the curtain call, Han Zhengkui returned to the stage three times in a row, and each time the curtain was drawn back, cheers from the audience surged up like a tidal wave.

Han Zhengkui stood at the edge of the stage, bowed slightly, and repeatedly clasped his hands in greeting to the audience before the curtain was finally drawn back.

As he stepped back into the side curtain, Fang Zhengsheng and Feng Zhengxiao rushed up to him from both sides, excitedly patting his shoulders and back.

"It's done! Old Han, we've done it!" Feng Zhengxiao grinned from ear to ear, his dark face flushed with excitement.

Fang Zhengsheng laughed heartily, "Ten years! We can perform on stage again!"

Han Zhengkui raised his hand to wipe the sweat from his forehead, looked at his old brother, wanted to laugh but couldn't, his lips twitched but his eyes reddened first.

Yes, they've been away from the stage for a full ten years...

He gestured with his chin towards Chen Xiangdong and Zhu Zhengkuo, who were smiling at him: "How about it?"

"That's really crooked!" Zhu Zheng clapped with a smile.

Chen Xiangdong gave him a thumbs-up, flashing a bright smile: "Awesome!"

The actors then took to the stage for the second scene, and when the gongs and drums of "Xianglin's Wife" began to sound, the enthusiasm of the audience noticeably decreased.

The curtain rises, and Xianglin's Wife enters the stage, carrying a broken bowl and walking with faltering steps.

Although Lu Meiyin's singing was very steady and her sorrowful moments were touching, the audience's interest could not be fully aroused by her excellent performance in the previous show.

Several women watched intently, their eyes focused, and when they saw something touching, they couldn't help but wipe their eyes with their sleeves.

The others either sat expressionless with blank stares, or whispered amongst themselves, still discussing Shi Qian from earlier.

Han Wenxue and Liu Qiaosheng stood on the side of the stage and looked at each other at the same time. The deserted audience made them break out in a cold sweat almost simultaneously: Oh no, it's getting awkward!

Having received a signal from Liu Qiaosheng, Qiao Haizhu quickly ran from backstage to the shadows on one side of the audience seats, frantically winking and gesturing wildly at the trainees sitting in the crowd: "Atmosphere! Atmosphere! Hurry up!"

Qiao Haizhu gritted his teeth, not daring to raise his voice, and gestured from a distance.

Song Linfeng and Lou Jingru were the first to react, and quickly turned to greet the students sitting next to them. Xue Wei took the lead in clapping and cheering, and the other students scattered in the audience also quickly joined in.

The cheers spread from a few points, quickly coalescing into a sparse but at least somewhat enthusiastic response.

Han Wenxue and Liu Qiaosheng, standing on the side of the stage, both breathed a sigh of relief. Thankfully, these students had taken the lead, encouraging some audience members to join in. Otherwise, if the atmosphere had become awkward, it would have been embarrassing.

They knew in their hearts that it wasn't the audience's fault for being indifferent, but rather because the previous performance of "The Thief of Armor" was so amazing. It was like a pot of freshly cooked braised pork knuckle being placed on the table, followed by a bowl of plain noodles with thin broth. No matter how finely the noodles were cut, how could they compare to the mouthwatering braised pork knuckle?

It's understandable that viewers feel disappointed.

The play lasted until ten o'clock, when it finally came to a close. When Lu Meiyin, He Jianshe, and the others returned backstage to remove their makeup, they were all dejected and no one spoke.

The air in the dressing room seemed to freeze. Lu Meiyin held a small mirror and slowly wiped off the face paint, letting out a vacant sigh.

He Jianshe and Pan Lanxiang remained silent, heads bowed, while Qiao Haizhu paced anxiously back and forth, his voice filled with resentment and frustration: "How dare they be so bold as to publicly perform traditional opera? No way! When we get back, I'm going to report them to Commander Jia no matter what!"

He Jianshe looked up at him and sighed, "Old Qiao, have you been listening to the storyteller lately?"

Qiao Haizhu was taken aback by his abrupt question: "What talkativeness?"

"The ban on 'Forced to Join the Liangshan Rebels' has been lifted... It's likely that more traditional operas will return to the stage. Even if Jia Dafang can only temporarily ban them, can he really keep veteran artists from performing indefinitely?"

He Jianshe gave a wry smile: "It's an inevitable trend, there's no stopping it."

.........

An office in the commune compound.

"Secretary Zhu, is this the actor who played 'Shi Qian' just now?"

The director of the Revolutionary Committee of Hongxing Commune, surnamed Li, was taken aback when he saw Han Zhengkui with his hair turned gray after removing his makeup.

Zhu Zhengkuo laughed heartily, "How could that be fake? Master Han was a renowned star in Dongping County back in the day. Don't let his age fool you, his skills are just as good as ever!"

Director Li nodded and shook hands with Han Zhengkui: "Master Han, your performance just now was absolutely brilliant! I've watched so many plays over the years, but I've never enjoyed it as much as I did today."

In the office, Chen Xiangdong, Feng Zhengxiao, and Fang Zhengsheng exchanged smiles, while Han Zhengkui smiled and said to Director Li, "You flatter me."

"I'm not just being polite."

Director Li waved his hand and looked at the group with a serious expression: "To be honest, I'd like to ask you to add another old play tomorrow. What do you think? I'll have someone bring over a big fat pig tomorrow morning, and we'll cook a feast tonight to reward everyone."

"this……"

Han Zhengkui's expression shifted slightly as he glanced at Zhu Zhengguo beside him. Chen Xiangdong, Feng Zhengxiao, and Fang Zhengsheng also turned their gazes in unison.

Zhu Zhengwei frowned immediately, looking troubled: "But we've only rehearsed one old play, 'Stealing the Armor,' recently. We haven't rehearsed any other traditional plays at all!"

"Then how about..." Director Li hesitated for a moment, then frowned and said, "Perform 'Stealing the Armor' again? You all saw the villagers' reaction today. The commune had already announced that there would be two days of opera performances. If there isn't a single old opera performance tomorrow or the day after, I'm afraid the villagers will not be happy."

Zhu Zhengwei frowned deeply. He had long guessed that "The Thief of Armor" would be well received by the audience, but he did not expect the reaction from his fellow villagers to be so enthusiastic.

If we were to reenact "The Thief of Armor," it wouldn't be out of the question, but wouldn't that be... too monotonous?

Han Zhengkui, Fang Zhengsheng, and Chen Xiangdong, however, showed joy on their faces.

Feng Zhengxiao's eyes lit up, his face flushed red, and he said urgently, "Secretary Zhu, you can act! You can act!"

As soon as he spoke, Zhu Zhengkuo and Director Li both looked at him, and saw Feng Zhengxiao patting his chest and taking half a step forward:

"Liu Dezhu can play the drums for 'The Execution of the Single Child,' 'The Beating of the Imperial Carriage,' and 'The Second Visit to the Palace.' Give me a day, and we'll rehearse properly tomorrow. As long as he can play the drums well, I can sing!"