Returning to the county opera troupe in 77

Two days passed, and the review team did not arrive, nor did the troupe receive any notification.

The Education Bureau remained silent for a long time, but Zhu Zheng remained calm and rarely left his dormitory except for meals and bathroom breaks.

But Jia Dafang couldn't sit still. He thought that someone would come down from the Education Bureau by the next day at the latest, or at the very least, he should receive a phone call. But two days had passed, and there was still no sign of him.

"No! We can't stay like this. I need to go to the Education Bureau to find out what's going on."

Jia Dafang became increasingly uneasy. Zhu Zhengguo's side was quiet, and the Education Bureau hadn't given any definite news, which made him even more anxious.

He hurriedly went downstairs, got on his bicycle, and went out the door.

As the car turned out of the theater troupe's gate, he was looking down and pedaling hard when suddenly the sound of a car engine came towards him.

He looked up and saw a green jeep driving towards him, almost hitting him.

Jia Dafang broke out in a cold sweat and hurriedly grabbed the handbrake. The wheels dragged on the ground with a short, screeching sound, and the front of the car swerved, barely stopping less than two steps in front of the jeep.

He braced himself with one foot on the ground, his heart pounding as he looked up at the car. The license plate looked familiar; it seemed to be... a car from the Education Bureau.

Just as Jia Dafang was looking at the license plate number, the Jeep door opened and a middle-aged man in a suit got out. Immediately afterward, the other door opened as well, revealing a face that made Jia Dafang freeze in shock.

"Director Chu?"

Jia Dafang was taken aback at first, then his face lit up with surprise and delight, his smile instantly spreading across his face: "Director Chu! Why did you come in person?"

He quickly parked his bicycle by the roadside and hurried over to meet you: "You should have let me know in advance so I could have met you at the intersection myself!"

Chu Shengli got out of the car, straightened his collar, frowned, and glared at him: "You were just waiting for me at the door, weren't you? You're a grown man, why are you in such a rush! You suddenly rushed over and startled me. If the driver hadn't braked quickly, we would have been hit! My meager salary wouldn't even cover your medical expenses!"

Jia Dafang quickly smiled apologetically, "Oh dear, it's my fault, I was riding too fast."

As he spoke, he took another half step forward and lowered his voice, "Director Chu, you're here to investigate Zhu Zheng's matter, right? I'll take you there right away..."

Before he could finish speaking, Chu Shengli raised his hand to interrupt him.

Chu Shengli raised his hand to his mouth and coughed, "Ahem, well, let's put the investigation aside for now."

As he spoke, he nodded and smiled at the man in the blue suit next to the jeep: "Today I'm here with Mr. Lin from Gangcheng to learn about the Dongping County Theater Troupe."

Jia Dafang's smile froze instantly. He subconsciously turned his head to look over, and the man in the blue suit was looking in his direction, his gaze meeting Jia Dafang's.

Jia Dafang recognized him immediately; it was the middle-aged man who had brushed past him at the door of Chu Shengli's office that day and whom Chu Shengli had personally escorted to the door.

"Port City?"

Jia Dafang's eyelids twitched, and his mind went blank.

People from the port city, aren't they foreign businessmen?

In recent years, the province has been making great efforts to attract investment. I heard that the neighboring Jinzhou area has been praised by the province several times because it has secured several foreign exchange channels.

However, the neighboring Hongzhou region has remained relatively quiet in recent years.

It's not that we're not proactive enough in attracting investment; it's just that Hongzhou has no mineral resources, no medicinal herbs, and its industrial base is so weak that foreign investors come and go without even bothering to finish a decent cup of tea.

But this made him even more puzzled. Why did these foreign investors from the port city, who were brought in through investment promotion, come to inspect his small county theater troupe instead of going to places with industries?

Jia Dafang's face quickly broke into a warm smile: "Oh dear, Mr. Lin, you've come all this way. Why didn't you give us a heads-up? Our troupe's facilities are simple, so please don't neglect us."

The man in the blue suit smiled slightly and spoke in broken Mandarin: "Commander Jia, you're too kind. There's no way you're being disrespectful. I'm in the foreign trade business in Hong Kong, and now collectors there are quite interested in some traditional old items from the mainland."

He paused for a moment, then reached out to adjust his gold-rimmed glasses. "I came here today to see if there's anything we can do to cooperate."

"Cooperation?" Jia Dafang blinked, his mind a little blank. A Hong Kong businessman was talking about cooperation with him, the head of a county theater troupe?

Seeing this, Chu Shengli, fearing he might say the wrong thing, quickly waved at him with a smile, his tone crisp and decisive: "What are you all standing there for! Go and arrange for your troupe to put on a show this morning, to welcome Mr. Lin for his inspection."

Jia Dafang was brought back to his senses by the shout, and quickly put aside his doubts, nodding and saying, "Okay, okay! I'll arrange it right away! Director Chu, please take Mr. Lin to the theater troupe's compound for a look, and I guarantee you'll get a wonderful performance."

He didn't even bother to take his bicycle; he hurriedly turned around and ran into the yard.

By the pond in the front yard, Chen Xiangdong and Guo Jufu were squatting together, scrubbing the wooden props. From afar, they saw Jia Dafang rushing in from the front gate as if he had been chased by wolves. His usual air of authority had completely vanished, and the hem of his blue thermal shirt was sticking out of his waistband, not bothering to tuck it in.

As soon as he entered the courtyard, Jia Dafang shouted at the top of his lungs, his voice cracking, "Quickly! Lin Gouwa, Li Mancang, you two immediately notify everyone in the troupe to assemble in the backyard! I have something important to announce!"

Li Mancang and Lin Gouwa, who were squatting in the corner sunbathing, saw Jia Dafang's anxious look and dared not delay. They quickly said "Oh," jumped up, and ran in different directions towards the rehearsal hall and the backyard.

Guo Jufu paused in his brush-wielding, looked up and exchanged a glance with Chen Xiangdong, then whispered, "What's wrong? What big thing happened at the troupe again?"

Chen Xiangdong wrung out the rag in his hand, stood up, squinted at Jia Dafang's jogging figure, and said, "Who knows? Come on, let's go to the backyard and take a look."

As he spoke, he had already started walking towards the backyard.

Guo Jufu threw the brush into the basin of water, shook the water off his hands, and quickly stood up to follow, saying, "Wait for me, I want to hear too!"

Before the two even reached the backyard, they heard Jia Dafang shout several times at the top of his lungs, "Stop dawdling, come and assemble over here!"

More and more people gathered in the backyard, whispering among themselves in twos and threes, as if a hornet's nest had been stirred up. They were all curious about why Jia Dafang had called everyone over in such a hurry.

He Jianshe led a group of students hurriedly from the practice room. As soon as they squeezed into the crowd, Jia Dafang frowned and asked He Jianshe, "Where's Qiao Haizhu? Isn't he in the practice room teaching his students?"

He Jianshe coughed dryly and chuckled awkwardly, "Um... Old Qiao... he had something to do and wasn't in the yard. He just went out a little while ago."

After hearing this, Jia Dafang curled his lip and waved his hand, "Alright, alright, we're not waiting for him!"

Then he cleared his throat and pressed his hands down: "Quiet down, everyone, listen to me!"

The noise in the backyard gradually subsided like the receding tide, and hundreds of eyes focused on him.

"Comrades, just now, Director Chu of the Education Bureau, accompanied by Mr. Lin from Gangcheng, came to our troupe for an inspection. To welcome Mr. Lin, our superiors have requested that we organize a performance on short notice!"

He paused, his gaze sweeping across the entire audience: "Mr. Lin, the Hong Kong businessman, came all this way specifically to see our troupe's performance! Everyone, give it your all, don't let our troupe down!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the crowd erupted in a cacophony of voices.

"From the port city?"

"Do people from the port city also listen to Qinqiang opera?"

"Oh my! Foreign businessmen actually come to our poor, remote place?"