Returning to the county opera troupe in 77

At seven o'clock sharp, a man entered the dressing room. Chen Xiangdong, who had already changed into his axeman costume, rushed over and shouted to Feng Zhengxiao, who was sitting there resting, "Master, there are even more audience members today than yesterday. Everyone is here, and it's your turn to go on stage soon."

Feng Zhengxiao suddenly opened his eyes, a glint of light flashing within them. He stood up, straightened the collar of his python robe, glanced down at the "iron chain" on his wrist to confirm that all his attire was in place, and then steadily walked behind the side curtain.

The performance of "Stealing the Armor" last night, after a day of preparation, has caused a great stir throughout the entire Red Star Commune.

The villagers spread the news, and everywhere—in the fields, under the trees at the village entrance, and in front of the supply and marketing cooperative—the sounds of talking about last night's opera could be heard.

The news spread like wildfire, originating from the Red Star Commune and reaching nearby villages. Even some villagers from neighboring communes brought their stools and rushed over.

Before it was completely dark, the open space in front of the Red Star Commune compound was already filled with benches and stools, layer upon layer. Some people who arrived late and couldn't find a spot simply climbed the large locust trees on both sides of the dirt road, or climbed the wall of the courtyard opposite the stage, or squatted at the entrance of the commune compound, all craning their necks to look towards the stage.

Zhu Zheng and Han Wenxue couldn't hide their joy as they looked at the dense crowd.

"Why are there so many people..." Han Wenxue lowered his voice, surprised, "There must be more than twice as many as yesterday, right?"

Zhu Zhengkuo's lips curled up into a wide smile as he scanned the entire room: "There must be at least 990,000 people among these."

Han Wenxue opened his mouth, wanting to speak, but suddenly couldn't utter a word.

A thousand people were watching! The county theater troupe hadn't seen such a grand scene in years...

"Next up, we present the traditional opera, 'The Execution of Dan Tong'!"

As director Liu Qiaosheng announced the title of the play, the noise from the audience subsided like a receding tide, and all the audience members fell silent and turned their attention to the slowly opening curtain on the stage.

The moment the curtain was drawn back, a loud bang, bright enough to penetrate three layers of curtains, suddenly came from behind the side curtain strips.

"Why--!"

The sound was like a line of fire, spreading in all directions along the stage.

The drums and music immediately followed, "Toot... Hollow—" A dull gong sound, like a hammer striking an anvil, cracked the quiet atmosphere of the entire audience.

Shan Xiongxin has made his appearance!

The moment the man in the crimson python robe appeared at the stage entrance, the audience fell silent for a moment. Then, someone in the back, speaking excitedly in a low voice, exclaimed, "Here he comes! It's Shan Xiongxin!"

As Feng Zhengxiao stepped onto the stage, the sound of gongs and drums suddenly changed, "Da da, cang cang, da da, cang—"

The crisp drumbeats and deep gongs, like a bowstring suddenly taut, drew everyone's attention to that bright red figure.

Chen Xiangdong and Han Zhengkui, dressed as axemen, each wielding a ghost-head knife, escorted Feng Zhengxiao slowly onto the stage, one on each side.

Feng Zhengxiao stepped to the beat of the hard four-strike drum, one step at a time, without the slightest deviation.

"Tap—tap—tap—tap!"

As he walked into Taichung, he slammed his right foot down on the platform with a loud thud, perfectly colliding with the rhythm of the drumbeats.

He raised his head, straightened his chest, glared, and his red beard twitched. In that instant, he seemed to have stepped directly out of a play, his anger and resentment bursting forth from his upright figure.

"Ha!"

As Shan Xiongxin flicked his python robe, the villagers below the stage, who hadn't dared to breathe loudly, immediately cheered.

Standing behind Feng Zhengxiao, Chen Xiangdong could clearly feel the gazes from below the stage pressing down on him, all focused on Feng Zhengxiao.

After the four hard hammer blows and the single child's footsteps, the drum rhythm changes to "Strike strike strike—clang clang clang—clothes—".

The three hammer blows landed like three iron gates slamming down in succession, causing the air below the stage to tighten.

Suddenly, Feng Zhengxiao's neck stiffened, and his full red beard burst open like a flame whipped up by the wind. Immediately afterward, a high-pitched, desolate booming sound abruptly tore through the still, watery night:

"Shout out and tie them up outside the tent—"

With just that one shout, everyone, whether on or off stage, felt the hairs on their bodies stand on end!

Chen Xiangdong felt the entire stage vibrate from Shan Tong's shout. Looking down at the audience, nearly a thousand fellow villagers were stunned for a moment. After a couple of seconds, they stood up one after another with bright eyes and started clapping.

His single shout silenced everyone.

One shout and you're a legend—that's it!

Actors Lu Meiyin, Pan Lanxiang, He Jianshe, and others in the dressing room all turned their heads in astonishment to look towards the stage the moment that voice exploded out.

Others listen to the play, but they listen to the achievement.

That thunderous voice shocked them more than anyone else.

The power, breath, resonance, and articulation in that shout were the culmination of decades of hard work in a single moment. It was like a towering mountain suddenly descending from the sky, causing them to instinctively tense their backs and feel a deep sense of powerlessness from the bottom of their hearts.

"A single man on horseback conquered the Tang camp."

It caused the young men to suffer great sorrow and grief.

Blood flowed like a sea across the desolate wilderness.

"The bones are piled up like mountains, with nowhere to bury them..."

Feng Zhengxiao sang with abandon, unleashing the energy he had suppressed for ten years. His red beard exploded and fell repeatedly, like a fire igniting on the stage, and he was the core of that flame, making the entire stage scorching hot.

Liu Dezhu's drumming went wild, his drumsticks leading the entire band's rhythm, as if racing against Feng Zhengxiao's singing, or as if he was putting all his strength into the play, pounding the heartbeats of the audience into the script.

The audience below the stage went wild. Some clapped non-stop from beginning to end, their hands going numb, while others had their pipes in their mouths and forgot to smoke, not even noticing the ash that had fallen all over their trouser legs.

During Feng Zhengxiao's performance of more than twenty minutes, the applause and cheers never stopped. The sound waves in the audience were like a red-hot iron pot, so hot that people couldn't sit still or stand steadily, and even their breathing was being pulled along by that force.

A group of cadres, both high and low, from the Red Star Commune stared intently at the fiery red figure on the stage. They clenched their fists in excitement, straining to keep up with the singing. Director Li, his lips trembling, exclaimed repeatedly, "Amazing! Amazing! This is what acting is all about! This is real acting!"

Zhu Zheng, sitting on the side of the stage, was grinning from ear to ear. He crossed his arms, leaned against the curtain, and looked at the faces in the audience, which were shining brightly under the lights. He was already thinking about things further ahead.

After tonight, the gossip stalls in the surrounding villages will surely be filled with heated discussions about these two old plays.

As long as the public's voice is loud enough, he is not afraid that Jia Dafang will use the excuse of "the masses not accepting" to hold him back. The people's approval is the greatest truth!

Even if the matter escalates to higher authorities, he has the confidence to argue his case.

He chuckled and glanced at Han Wenxue beside him, who was staring intently at the stage: "Old Han, what do you think of the performance?"

Han Wenxue didn't even turn his head, but without hesitation gave a thumbs-up towards the stage: "Awesome!"