Wu Shuang listened carefully, but Mi Yang could not give any more advice. He just comforted her and said, "It's okay, don't worry too much. I think Mr. Zhan is a very good person, and his family must be easy to get along with."
Wu Shuang nodded, and her expression relaxed a little.
Zhan Rong didn't invite many people in the evening, but there were still many who came. Zhan Rong received them in the hall, leaving only a small room for the old lady and her family to sit down and chat.
Old Madam Zhan was about seventy years old, with slightly curled silver hair. She wore a crimson velvet cheongsam and only a few simple pearl jewelry. She had a good temperament and it was obvious that she was a great beauty when she was young. She was sitting there chatting with the little girl from Zhan Rong's family with a smile on her face.
When Zhan Rong brought Wu Shuang in, the old lady was talking to someone around her. She saw Wu Shuang smiled first and said lovingly, "Are you here? Sit down and have a rest. I told him not to invite so many people, but this kid wouldn't listen."
Wu Shuang was a little nervous and sat down next to Old Madam Zhan.
Zhan Rong smiled and said, "When they heard you were coming, they all came to see you. I couldn't stop them. Those people outside have nothing to do with me. Most of them are my big brother and big sister's friends."
Madam Zhan shook her head and smiled, "You are so ungrateful. They invited people here just to help you."
Wu Shuang remained silent. She had heard from Zhan Rong that the old lady of the Zhan family had no children in her life and had adopted several orphans, all of whom she raised to be successful. There was a big age gap between them, and Zhan Rong was the younger one among them.
Zhan Rong sat beside her and chatted with her, also with a smile on his face. They were not biological mother and son, but they were better than biological mother and son.
Someone knocked twice outside the door, and then he opened the door impatiently and walked in. This time it was a blond foreign boy. When he saw Mrs. Zhan, his eyes lit up, and he rushed over like a puppy who couldn't wait to show off, and said affectionately: "Mom, look, what I found! It's really safer to look for it yourself. Isn't this the poster you've always wanted? Is it this? Look, there's a photo of you and other friends on it!"
He came over in a hurry, not even taking the time to look at anyone except the old lady. He held the two posters he had worked so hard to find and showed them off. He said proudly, "I even specially asked someone to repair them. The craftsman's work is really good!"
Mrs. Zhan took it but was not in a hurry to look at it. She scolded him first, "Zhan Yi, you are so impetuous again. How many times have I told you to be more steady? Are you making fun of me? Come and say hello. This is..."
Before she finished speaking, Wu Shuang stood up nervously, stretched out her hand and said, "Wu Shuang, my name is Wu Shuang."
The yellow-haired young man with a Chinese name who spoke fluent Chinese looked her up and down, then looked at the old lady.
Madam Zhan smiled and said, "She is your brother Rong's girlfriend."
The yellow-haired boy immediately smiled, shook Wu Shuang's hand, and said affectionately: "Hello, sister-in-law!"
Wu Shuang's face felt a little hot when he called her, but she was also infected by his enthusiasm. She was not as reserved as at the beginning and smiled.
The foreign boy greeted the old lady and looked at her expectantly. He was the youngest of the adopted children and was old enough to call Mrs. Zhan "grandma". However, he had heard other brothers and sisters call her "mom" since he was a child, and he envied her from the bottom of his heart. He also cried and wanted to call her, so Mrs. Zhan let him call her. He stayed with the old lady the longest and had the deepest feelings for her. The old lady didn't have any other hobbies, but she liked to collect some old items from the opera garden in the past. The children remembered these things in their hearts and helped the old lady find some when they were free. Among them, Zhan Yi was the most diligent.
Old Madam Zhan put on the crystal glasses hanging on her chest and opened the yellowed old poster to take a look. It was neat and clean. The paper was a little brittle due to age, but the edges and corners had been repaired properly, and the few dirty marks had been cleaned up. It was also obvious that it had been carefully disinfected with great care.
It was a flyer for an old opera troupe's performance during the first month of the year. Although it was a simple playlist, Mrs. Zhan still looked at it carefully for a long time, from the cast list to the names of the behind-the-scenes staff such as lighting, scenery, props and costumes. She read it slowly, word by word, especially the simple black-and-white still. After she stroked it with her finger, the look in her eyes when she looked at it was as if she was looking through the paper and seeing the past.
"I didn't expect to find this again," Mrs. Zhan looked at the time carefully. "It was in March 1956. I remember this was a special show hosted by the People's Committee. They invited a troupe to perform."
The foreign boy asked happily: "Mom, are you there too?"
Mrs. Zhan nodded, her eyes still on the poster, "Yes, everyone has gone."
The foreign guy showed off to Wu Shuang again: "My mother used to be an actress in a troupe. She was the leading actress and was very good. Do you think she still has a good figure now?"
Wu Shuang nodded quickly: "Yes, she has a very good temperament."
Madam Zhan raised her head and smiled, "Don't listen to his nonsense. He has never watched a play properly. I only sang the old man role for two years."
Wu Shuang said: "You have a good voice, so you must be a good singer too."
Madam Zhan said, "There is a little Guizhi in the troupe. She has a great voice. She can sing both old male and painted face roles. Later, her voice became higher. My father, oh, the head of the troupe, specially taught her to learn the female role. You have to hear her voice live to understand what it means to be ignorant of the taste of meat in March."
Wu Shuang glanced at the poster, was stunned for a moment, and asked, "Who are you and Master Jin?"
"That's my father. You may have heard the names of my grandfather and my maternal grandfather more often." Old Madam Zhan looked calm and told her a few names.
The name of a national treasure-level Peking Opera master flashed through Wu Shuang's mind. Her mouth opened slightly in surprise, and then she became a little nervous. She was originally looking for materials to make a set of jewelry, and she specially read some books about Peking Opera for a while. But just flipping through the books, she would never go past the Jin family. When the two sides of the Taiwan Straits visited each other friendly, the Jin family was the first group of artists to travel with them, which caused a sensation in that era.
As for what happened later, in 1976, there was a cultural movement, and many veteran artists suffered greatly.
Mrs. Zhan was dignified, but Wu Shuang observed carefully and found that she was sitting in a wheelchair with a thin blanket covering her knees. The old lady's back was straight and she never felt lazy. Wu Shuang lowered her eyes and did not ask any more questions, but she could not help but glance at the corner of the wheelchair and sighed in her heart.
Madam Zhan didn't notice her gaze. She was praising her youngest son beside her, "This poster is really great. I have collected it for more than half a century. I remember that a ticket cost one yuan and eighty cents at that time. It was very different from now. At that time, a set of sesame seed cakes and fried dough sticks was only ten cents, which was enough for a full meal." She stroked the poster with her finger and smiled, "It was a luxury to be able to watch a play, but tickets were still hard to get. After all, the venue was limited. Where can we find such a large venue like now? I remember that at that time, my senior brother had a friend who tried every possible way to get a ticket. In the end, he learned to play the sanxian and came to help us. He helped for free. It was enough for him to sit aside and listen to the play. Haha, it has been decades."
The yellow-haired boy immediately flattered: "And you are still young and beautiful, mom!"
Old Madam Zhan was amused by him and patted his arm gently. "You are so old, what nonsense are you talking about? I miss my old friends and wonder if they are doing well now."
Zhan Rong said, "You've been back for a long time this time, I'll go with you to look for it, we can find out slowly."
The foreign guy also nodded: "Yes, yes, this time when I was editing the books in the Yisan Hall, I saw someone holding a play list over there..."
Mrs. Zhan suddenly looked up at him, grabbed his arm and asked anxiously, "What did you say?"
"Ah? I mean a playbill list..."
"No, Yisan Hall... Yisan Hall is still open? Is anyone here?" Old Madam Zhan asked quickly and anxiously, "Why, why didn't Zhan Rong mention this to me before?"
Zhan Rong said quickly, "That's a newly opened store. I haven't had time to ask. Don't worry. Shuangshuang knows the owner of this store."
Wu Shuang also said: "Yes, yes, his name is Mi Yang, what do you want to see him for? He is here today too."
Madam Zhan mentioned the surname and suddenly smiled, "Yes, Mi Hong, isn't his child's surname Mi?" She looked up eagerly at Wu Shuang and Zhan Rong and said, "Did you say Mi Yang is here? That's a coincidence. Please invite him in. I have something to say to him. Don't scare the child. Just say that an old friend has returned to visit and wants to talk to him about family matters. After all, his family and I are close friends!"
Zhan Rong agreed and went out with Wu Shuang to look for someone.
Wu Shuang followed him out of the small hall, her heart still beating like a drum, and she quietly asked some questions that she had been asking for a while: "Mr. Zhan, why doesn't the old lady have the last name Jin?"
Zhan Rong was silent for a moment, then sighed and said, "For some reasons, my mother doesn't want to talk about it, and we don't want to make her sad."
Wu Shuang hurriedly said, "I'm sorry."
Zhan Rong rubbed her head and said with a smile: "Why are you apologizing? This has nothing to do with you."
Wu Shuang was still annoyed: "I don't know these things, so I just asked casually..."
Zhan Rong said: "I deliberately didn't tell you. It's not an interesting memory. As time goes by, everything will get better slowly."
Wu Shuang nodded.
They searched all the way and met an elder brother of Zhan Rong. Zhan Rong had specially introduced Bai Luochuan to him before, but now only the elder brother was left here. He was slightly surprised to see Zhan Rong and said, "Bai Luochuan? He left with the person he brought with him. It seems that he said he had something to do and went home."
Zhan Rong arrived a step late. Wu Shuang had already called Mi Yang and got the same answer. Mi Yang apologized a little and said, "I'm sorry. I had something urgent to do at home. We will treat you to dinner next time."
Wu Shuang looked at Zhan Rong with some embarrassment, and then asked, "Oh, so, it's actually Mr. Zhan's mother who wants to meet you."
Mi Yang: “Ah?”
Wu Shuang said, "She seems to know your grandfather and his family. I can't explain it clearly. Please wait a moment." She gave the phone to Zhan Rong, who explained it to her. After listening, Mi Yang also felt it was quite strange. At Zhan Rong's request, he left his phone number and said with a smile, "It turned out that she is an old friend of grandpa and grandma. Then I should call her grandma. I would also like to trouble you to say hello to her for me. When we have a chance to meet in the future, I will definitely spend more time chatting with her."
Zhan Rong said politely: "No, we are the ones who want to disturb your peace."
They exchanged a few words briefly and then hung up the phone. Zhan Rong went back to explain the whole story to Mrs. Zhan. Mrs. Zhan was obviously a little disappointed, but she still nodded and said, "It's okay. I'll go see him in person tomorrow. Where is the Yisantang? Is it still near Liulichang?"
Wu Shuang had been there many times and was very familiar with it. She nodded and said, "Yes, I know the address. I'll write it down for you."
She wrote down the address and showed it to Madam Zhan on the map. The old lady looked at it for a while and said with a smile, "I was wondering where it is. It turns out it's the same old location. The roads in the capital are so paved that I don't recognize them anymore. But I'm familiar with that area. Take me there tomorrow so I can take a look."