Returning to the county opera troupe in 77

The next day, Han Zhengkui took the early bus from Hongxing Commune to the county.

As the car door closed, he waved to Feng Zhengxiao and Chen Xiangdong, who were standing by the roadside, through the car window. The car gradually drove away along the bumpy dirt road, raising a trail of yellow dust.

After discussing it overnight, Zhu Zhengguo and the drummer Liu Dezhu decided to add an extra performance of "Zhan Dantong" tonight. This play was one of Feng Zhengxiao's signature pieces back in the day, and he had performed it many times over the years while traveling. With just a little preparation, he could be ready to perform on stage again.

Zhu Zheng gave the order that the drum and music troupe's only task during the day was to fully cooperate with Feng Zhengxiao's upcoming rehearsals.

Liu Dezhu and his group spent half a day rehearsing with Feng Zhengxiao in the commune courtyard. They went through the drum music and singing several times and there were basically no problems.

The only problem was the costume; the beard and the python robe were still locked in the small warehouse of the county theater. Han Zhengkui was ordered to go back to retrieve the costume.

Unable to get involved in the rehearsals, Chen Xiangdong simply wandered over to the canteen kitchen to help Fatty Qin deal with the big fat pig that the Armed Forces Minister had brought over early that morning.

The pig had already been slaughtered and its hair removed, lying white on a large wooden board on the ground. Fatty Qin and Li Qiufen were squatting beside it, splitting the pig in half with each chop. When they saw Chen Xiangdong come in, he didn't stand on ceremony and handed him a boning knife: "You've come at the right time, come and lend a hand."

There was an elderly chef and a kitchen helper in the commune canteen. Qin Pangzi wanted to show off his skills, so he discussed with the old chef that the banquet for tonight would be prepared by the theater troupe's kitchen.

The old cook was a straightforward man. Upon hearing this, he was naturally happy to have some free time. He chuckled and wiped his hands on his apron: "Alright, why not! It's settled then, you guys take care of dinner. I'll go back and rest after I finish lunch, okay?"

Fatty Qin chuckled and offered him a cigarette, patting his chest assuring him, "Take a break! Leave dinner to me, don't worry, brother!"

The old cook nodded and went to smoke, leaving the young helper chopping scallions by the stove. After all, the father and son still had to cook lunch, and they couldn't just abandon their responsibilities and leave.

"Snap! Snap!"

After a flurry of chopping, the entire large, fat pig was cut into chunks of meat of various sizes. Fatty Qin picked up a rib rack, weighed it in his hand, and grinned at Chen Xiangdong: "Tonight, my second uncle is performing on stage, so our kitchen needs to make a splash and show off!"

Chen Xiangdong chuckled, tapping the back of his knife against the cutting board: "Alright, tell me, what do you want me to do?"

Fatty Qin chuckled, moved closer to him, and lowered his voice: "I'm thinking of making a five-spice braised version of the pig's head and the lantern-shaped ones. We can steam a basket of pork belly with rice flour. We can make spicy pig's trotters, and then stir-fry some shredded pork. That'll do it!"

He winked at Chen Xiangdong: "And I still remember that method you mentioned last time for making braised pork intestines. Today, I'll use this pig to practice. You'd better keep an eye on things."

As he spoke, he glanced at the large vat in the corner of the kitchen wall again: "I just tasted the fermented bean paste that the commune canteen makes itself. It's not bad, with a slightly sweet taste. Hehe, since we don't have sweet bean paste, we'll make do with salty bean paste, and we'll also make some shredded pork with sweet bean sauce."

He counted on his fingers: "Braised pig's head, steamed pork with rice flour, spicy pig's trotters, braised pork intestines, shredded pork with sweet bean sauce, and another stir-fried shredded pork... Six dishes, is that a substantial feast?"

Chen Xiangdong was stunned for a moment after hearing this. He didn't expect that the fat man would actually remember the recipe for braised pork intestines and shredded pork with sweet bean sauce that he had only casually mentioned to Fatty Qin.

"Okay, you do it. Call me if you're unsure." After saying that, Chen Xiangdong picked up the knife and started cutting the pig's trotters.

It wasn't until four o'clock in the afternoon that Han Zhengkui, looking travel-worn, finally returned.

He was holding a wooden box in his arms. The box wasn't big, but he held it tightly with both arms, as if he were holding a fragile piece of porcelain.

He got off the bus, stood by the roadside, looked at the sun overhead, and grinned: "After rushing all that, I'm still not late for the performance."

After saying that, he started walking towards the commune compound.

As he entered the most spacious room in the commune, Feng Zhengxiao and his band were rehearsing. Upon seeing him enter, everyone stopped what they were doing.

Han Zhengkui gently placed the wooden box on the ground, lifted the lid, and took out a neatly folded, bright red satin python robe. The robe had a round collar, a wide front, and wide sleeves, with patterns of sea and cliff embroidered on the surface.

When Feng Zhengxiao saw the python robe, his eyes lit up as if he had seen a long-lost friend. He quickly stepped forward, gently strode over the satin with his fingers, and his eyes reddened slightly: "Old buddy... today we'll be fighting side by side again."

With a python robe, helmet, red beard, red ribbon, and black high boots, Shan Xiongxin was fully equipped; the only thing missing was the iron chain.

Feng Zhengxiao wasn't picky. He found a piece of hemp rope from the film crew, smeared some soot on it, wrapped it around his wrist, and tested it. The thickness was just right, so he nodded in satisfaction, treating the hemp rope as if it were the iron chain handcuffs.

Just after five o'clock, Fatty Qin, who had been busy all day, stood at the entrance of the cafeteria and started shouting.

He held a large ladle in one hand and an iron basin in the other, banging them together with a clanging sound.

"Dinner's ready! Dinner's ready! Gouwa, go call Secretary Zhu and Deputy Regiment Commander Han. Mancangwa, go call the commune leaders. We're having a feast today to thank the Red Star Commune for the big fat pig they sent."

The canteen was packed with seven tables, and six large bowls were neatly arranged. But there were just too many people, and if everyone sat down to eat, there wouldn't be enough room.

Fortunately, there was still a lot of food left in the big pot, so Fatty Qin could only send the trainees to squat at the door and eat with their bowls in hand.

A pig only has four trotters, which is definitely not enough to make seven servings of spicy pig's trotters, so Fatty Qin reported this matter to Zhu Zhengwei.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Zhengwei waved his hand without hesitation: "If we don't have enough pig's trotters, we'll just go buy some! The commune has already sent us a big, fat pig, we can't be stingy and make ourselves a laughing stock! The money will come from the regiment's funds, just make sure everyone eats well."

The task of running errands to buy pig's trotters naturally fell to Chen Xiangdong. He bought twenty more pig's trotters, which was enough to make a big pot of spicy pig's trotters.

Director Li looked at the six large bowls of food on the table and was greatly surprised. He looked away from the food and then at Zhu Zhengkuo: "Wow! This is a feast prepared by your kitchen? Your chef's skills are extraordinary!"

The Minister of Armed Forces couldn't wait any longer and picked up a piece of fatty intestine with his chopsticks, stuffing it into his mouth. After chewing a couple of times, he exclaimed in surprise, "This tastes amazing! How is it made? The intestine has no fishy smell at all, it's salty, fragrant, slightly sour, and has a savory garlic and spiciness. It's even more authentic than what the state-run restaurants make!"

The women's director was immediately captivated after just one bite of the shredded pork with sweet bean sauce. She gave a thumbs-up to Fatty Qin, who was looking out the cafeteria window, exclaiming, "What kind of dish is this? It's even sweet! Delicious, so delicious!"

Everyone enjoyed the meal immensely. The happiest of all was Fatty Qin, who received repeated praise for his culinary skills from several leaders of the Red Star Commune. His smile never faded all night, and he stood up straighter than usual.

However, some people don't eat any meat at all.

Feng Zhengxiao ate a steamed bun with hot water early in the morning, then went into the dressing room to start applying makeup.

There's an old saying in opera troupes: "Sing when you're full, but not when you're hungry; seven-tenths full is just right."

Tonight he's the opening act, the first one on stage, so he can't afford to eat anything greasy. He avoids oil, alcohol, spicy food, and sweets altogether, for fear of choking up his voice and breaking it during his high notes.

He sat in front of the mirror, carefully applying the face paint stroke by stroke. The paint gradually spread under the light, outlining Shan Xiongxin's unruly and fierce features.

After finishing the last stroke of red, he put down his pen, leaned back in his chair, placed his hands on his knees, closed his eyes, and his mind raced through the events of the past ten years...