In the blink of an eye, the new year has passed, and the businesses on the street are also open, and the theater troupes are also out of boxes. At the end of the year, the accounts handed over by Fanjiabao, the rule is that the family members should do the calculations and transcribe them in person. Fan Lian put it aside for fun, and kept procrastinating until it was too late. Now he lives with his abacus on his head and is very busy. Only Cheng Fengtai still idles around like a festival, and he is idle with peace of mind, no one can bother him. But now that Fan Lian is busy, no one will accompany Cheng Fengtai to misbehave, he is very unhappy by himself, wandering around all day long, watching a play at a friend's house. Although he didn't understand the play, it reminded him of Shang Xirui. The little opera singers on the stage don't have as bright a voice as Shang Xirui just by listening, nor do they look as good-looking as Shang Xirui. Thinking that after tearing Shang Xirui's sleeve last time, the two hadn't seen each other for a few weeks, could it be that the little actor has a grudge? So I thought about taking him out to play, and paying a gift by the way, the little actor is simple and honest, and he is very cute when he is amused.
Shang Xirui is now mostly residing in the Qingfeng Theater, because he likes to change plays, and the theater is more modern and more receptive to him changing plays. Even if it is smashed, there is no such thing as a teapot boiling water, and the stage is far away and high, it is very difficult to throw any other large items on it, it is safer for Shang Xirui.
Qingfeng Theater is a Western-style building in the shape of a clock tower, and there is a small dark alley leading directly to the dressing room in the backstage. In the past, when Cheng Fengtai was ambiguous with a female stage actress, he had already figured out the structure of this place, and he and Shang Xirui are still very familiar with each other, so there is no need to go out of the way and ask the driver Lao Ge to stop the car At the front door, I walked around the small dark alley and went in to find him directly. Before knocking on the door, I heard a female voice shouting from inside: "Who knows who has become a whore! Don't act like a normal person! You have slept all over and haven't earned a corner! You can play Cui Yingying with that rascal ?I bother!"
Another female voice slapped the table: "Cui Yingying can't hook up with Zhang Sheng if she doesn't make waves! Your mouth with a dick, you can sing Cui Yingying?"
"Fart your mother! Did you see me swallow?"
"You really want to have it! You look so ugly, who rewards you?!"
They quarreled loudly, and the words they cursed became more and more unbearable, almost like sisters and children in a kiln bickering. There were many voices urging a fight, people tearing clothes, smashing dishes, overturning tables, crying and shouting, all voices were heard, only Shang Xirui, the class leader, was in there.
Cheng Fengtai thought it was a coincidence, Shang Xirui didn't meet him, instead he heard all the sticks, sticks, until his crotch was hard. Just as he was about to leave, someone cried out, "Boss Shang, please say something!"
Shang Xirui said in a weak voice: "I told them, I told them to stop arguing, but they didn't listen to me!"
"You are the class leader of Shuiyun Building!"
"What's the use of the head teacher?" Shang Xirui said calmly: "Sisters discuss this matter among themselves, I'll come back later to listen to you. Come on! Come on! Remember whoever broke what, everyone will be responsible later The monthly money will be deducted!"
As soon as these words came out, although the scolding still continued, the voice of destroying things immediately disappeared.
"It's not good to quarrel all the time! What you say is too ugly! None of them look like Cui Yingying." The quarrelers ignored his two innocuous words, Shang Xirui babbled and pushed away After entering the door, Mao Mao bumped into Cheng Fengtai, he was startled, and felt very embarrassed to think that his family's ugliness had been seen by others.
"Second Master, why are you here..."
Cheng Fengtai suppressed a smile and said: "Boss Shang, are you free for a meal?"
Shang Xirui was choked with air and had nowhere to go: "Yes! Let's go now!"
Xiao Lai chased him out from inside, took a look at Cheng Fengtai, then closed the door tightly with his backhand, and asked Shang Xirui in a low voice: "Will they fight without a conclusion?"
Shang Xirui said: "Then let them find an open space to fight, and whoever wins will listen to whoever wins. I'm leaving!"
Cheng Fengtai couldn't bear it anymore, he laughed out loud and put his arm around Shang Xirui's shoulders and led him away, happily said on the way: "Boss Shang, you are so funny."
Shang Xirui probably also thought he was very funny, nodded and smiled: "Why do you have time to come and see me today?"
"Didn't you tear your clothes last time? Please have a simple meal to make up for it."
Shang Xirui sighed indifferently, and said with a smile "I forgot about that!"
After getting into the car, Cheng Fengtai asked: "Boss Shang, what do you want to eat? Can I take you to the Liuguo Hotel for Western food?"
Shang Xirui wilted when he heard that he was eating western food, but still nodded. He is like this, he can joke around with people he is familiar with, and only those who are very familiar with him can express his ideas. Now he and Cheng Fengtai have only reached the level of joking and joking, but not the level of expressing ideas, so Cheng Fengtai can arrange whatever he wants, and when he arrives at the restaurant, he also orders something with Cheng Fengtai.
Cheng Fengtai saw that he was skillfully handling the tableware in front of him, and asked: "Boss Shang, do you often come to eat?"
Shang Xirui said: "I used to live at Commander Cao's place and ate there once." He is smart, he remembers everything after using it once. When Cheng Meixin tried to make him look stupid, who would have thought that he would be able to see it just by glancing at others. These few small utensils are definitely not more difficult to learn than the stage figure, which he has only done three times.
Cheng Fengtai also knew that it must be Cheng Meixin's idea to eat Western food at Commander Cao's house, so he said: "You used to live at Commander Cao's house, did my sister make things difficult for you?"
Shang Xirui laughed and said: "That's for sure!" He looked up at Cheng Fengtai, thinking that no matter how well he plays with himself, he is also Cheng Meixin's younger brother, as the saying goes, we can't get close, so we won't say anything else up.
Cheng Fengtai smiled and said: "Just forgive her a lot! I was always teased and provoked by her when I was young, let alone you?"
"Really? How is she?"
"The fun toys are hers, and the delicious food is also hers. When I grow up, I will make a girlfriend at school, and she will sue my father and make him punish me."
Shang Xirui regained his mental balance immediately.
"However, I'm not easy to bully. After I found out, I caught a live mouse and put it in her chest of drawers. As soon as she opened the drawer, the little mouse jumped on her face, scaring her out of control. A high fever."
Shang Xirui laughed happily, just imagine, it's very satisfying.
"That's all happened when I was young, it's not like this when I grow up." Cheng Fengtai thought to himself, when he grows up, Cheng Meixin will always harm people secretly, and she does a good job on the surface, so no one can catch her at all. "Boss Shang, what did you do when she bullied you?"
If it were the other two people, a brother from her natal family and a male favorite who left the house, they wouldn't be able to talk about these things. But Cheng Fengtai asked bluntly, and Shang Xirui was a little short-sighted, when the two of them touched each other, they had no taboos.
Shang Xirui said: "I have always stayed by the commander's side and never left. When the commander is not around, I will run upstairs and hide in the room so that your sister will not find me."
No wonder Cheng Meixin has nowhere to vent her resentment when it comes to Shang Xirui, if she had had the opportunity to take a knife, why bother to keep thinking about it. No matter how powerful she is, she can't mix poison for Shang Xirui under the commanding officer's nose, usually it's just her face and words that make her angry. Shang Xirui has no desire to fight for leisure, is also very quick-spoken, can act coquettishly and sue, he wasn't run off by Cheng Meixin.
"Then why did you leave the commander's mansion?"
"Because I want to go out and sing."
"Commander Cao will let you go?"
"I refused at first." Shang Xirui put down his knife and fork, and gestured with a gun in one hand: "He pointed the gun at my head and asked me if I wanted to stay or to sing, and I still said I wanted to sing, so he let it go I am leaving."
Cheng Fengtai deeply admires Shang Xirui's courage to make plays rather than die.
The dishes on the table were changed from dish to dish, and the food was exquisitely served on white porcelain plates. It was strange that the aroma of vegetables could not be smelled. It was quiet all around, and the waiters stood with their hands down. Cheng Fengtai was used to such an environment, he ate so much, Shang Xirui tasted it and didn't move much. Cheng Fengtai thought maybe it was because the singers wanted to keep slim, so they refused to eat more.
The main course served a half-rare black pepper steak, Shang Xirui cut the steak into small pieces with a knife, but he didn't want to eat, shook his head and said: "This blood can smear on people's faces..."
Cheng Fengtai swallowed a sip of wine to prevent it from spitting out, and looked at the steak on his plate, it was not particularly raw: "This dish has this taste. As long as the beef is well selected, it won't taste fishy in your mouth. Boss Shang eats it Not used to it?"
Shang Xirui reluctantly took a small bite, chewed, but couldn't taste anything good: "The foreigners are so pitiful, they eat these lettuce every meal, no wonder they want to call."
Cheng Fengtai smiled and said: "What you said, it seems that the Eight-Nation Allied Forces came here to snatch the cooked beef from us."
Shang Xirui himself laughed when he heard it: "It's because our things are better than theirs that they want to grab them."
"That's true." Cheng Fengtai nodded earnestly: "In the Year of the Gengzi, foreigners would be very rare when they saw a rock bonsai for a long time, but it would be great to see a vase with thin tires. But do you know what they are most rare?"
"what?"
"They are the most rare of our little Chinese opera singers, especially those like Boss Shang, who look like men disguised as women."
"Second Master, you are teasing me."
"How can I tease you! In fact, they used to have such singers. They were eunuchs before they changed their voices, and their voices will be fine and clear all their lives, and their treble is higher than that of women."
Shang Xirui thought to himself: "Just like the eunuchs of the Nanfu Opera Troupe."
"But the voice is not bad, but it's not enough to play a female role with makeup on! Where have they seen a man play a woman, who is more feminine than a woman. The foreign ambassador came to China to see, hey! Open your eyes! A little opera singer with a beautiful face, a beautiful face and a willow waist, with a sweet voice, a soft figure, and bright eyes, and they are all real men with fun! You say it is rare! Immediately set off to return to the country, and report it to the emperor like this .”
Shang Xirui stopped eating after hearing this, and asked anxiously: "Really! What happened after that?"
"Later, later, the Eight-Nation Allied Forces were recruited."
"ah?!"
"The Eight-Nation Allied Forces are here, the main purpose is to grab the actors, and also grab some gold and silver treasures for their emperor to build a..." Cheng Fengtai picked up the nearest one, and said: "A golden cage as big as the Qingfeng Theater, the actors They were all raised inside, put on make-up, and sang operas for them day and night. When the princes and nobles were happy, they threw some food in to feed the opera singers."
Cheng Fengtai's story was so bizarre, Shang Xirui had never heard anyone talk about it, he frowned and said: "It's not true..." Thinking of Ning Jiulang in the palace in the Year of Gengzi. But he has always kept silent about this period of history, and even talked about his discoloration, so it is true!
"Tell you some secret history insider, you still don't believe it. If you don't believe it, don't believe it. Come, eat vegetables."
Shang Xirui didn't have much to eat after the meal, he felt terrified as if he had heard a story from Liao Zhai, thankful that he was born ten years late and avoided catastrophe. Fortunately, Ning Jiulang was rescued by Prince Qi, and he was not snatched away by foreigners in open flames. The last coconut pudding was delicious, he woke up and asked Cheng Fengtai: "What is this?"
Cheng Fengtai thought for a while and said, "This is almond tofu from foreigners."
Shang Xirui praised: "This is well done! It doesn't have any beany smell."
Cheng Fengtai has become addicted to cheating actors.
Since he was not full from this meal, Cheng Fengtai wanted to make up for him again, this time let him speak for himself. Shang Xirui looked at his watch and said embarrassedly: "Then let's go to Huji Noodle House."
Cheng Fengtai sounded unfamiliar, but Lao Ge was very familiar with Huji Noodle House, the fried sauce noodles there were excellent, and he drove there in no time, stopped the car and followed Cheng Shang and the two, ready to eat a bowl of it hot.
Because he is a regular customer, the clerk in the shop knew Shang Xirui, and when he saw him, he came up to him, and he was as happy as something: "Yo! Boss Shang! Yo! There is another uncle! Boss Shang, you haven't come for a while! What play are you preparing? Then Busy? What do you two want?"
Shang Xirui looked back at Cheng Fengtai, without waiting for him to ask, Cheng Fengtai said: "I won't eat it." Shang Xirui took out a few cents: "Same as usual. A bowl of noodles with fried sauce, and a bowl of hot and sour soup. The rest is up to you Take it, but don't you..."
In the end, he couldn't stop it, Xiao Er followed the usual practice and yelled: "Hey! Come on! A bowl of noodles with fried sauce and a bowl of hot and sour soup will be rewarded with two cents by the boss!"
Shang Xirui took a breath, found a seat and sat down sullenly. Cheng Fengtai touched the tabletop, twirled his fingers, and found that the tables, chairs and benches here were covered with a thick layer of grease. The hot, spicy and warm onion sauce smell in the shop is so smoked that oil is everywhere, and there is almost no place to sit or stand. However, Cheng Fengtai has climbed over mountains, waded through waters, broken through three passes and six piers in the past few years, and he is no more delicate than when he was a young master at home in the early years. He sat down without frowning, and poured a bowl of bitter and astringent wine. Brick tea took a sip.
Lao Ge watched from the sidelines, thinking that he was still our second master, sitting there was just like eating western food.
Hearing Xiao Er's yelling, a few mud-legged porters with scarlet heads and eyes came over with noodle bowls. Cheng Fengtai was shocked when he saw it suddenly. But they seemed to be Shang Xirui's old acquaintances too, they sat down at the same table without seeing Cheng Fengtai, ignoring Cheng Fengtai, they squeezed and squeezed, Cheng Fengtai couldn't get serious with them, so he had to move and move . There is also a big man pulling a rickshaw, wearing a single shirt in winter weather, with the sleeves rolled up, revealing the muscular tendons of his arms. He stepped on the bench where Shang Xirui was sitting, slurped the noodles and looked at Shang Xirui. Shang Xirui nodded at him with a smile, the smile was the same as what he usually sees at parties, even more cheerful than when he met Director Zhou. Cheng Fengtai really felt sorry for Director Zhou.
"Boss Shang! Hello!"
"Good. You too."
"What new play are you rehearsing recently?"
"It's not new. It has been changed slightly. "Hui Zhen Ji"."
"What?"
"It's Matchmaker."
"Hello matchmaker! Hello matchmaker! Haha! How did you sing it? 'Miss! You are so handsome!'" He squeezed his voice and learned a sentence, which was obviously very different, which caused people to burst into laughter, "How did you sing? Boss Shang, give me some time!"
"Yes! Come on for a while!"
"Shang Lang, don't be ashamed! Give me a piece!"
When they made such a fuss, those diners who didn't know Shang Xirui also gathered around. Cheng Fengtai thought badly, how could these big bastards make such a fuss, it's too disrespectful, the little actor has a thin skin, he must be furious from embarrassment.
Sure enough, Shang Xirui's face gradually turned red, reddening to the ears, but no irritation. Xiao Er came to the rescue at the right time with the noodles: "You save yourself! I looked at our boss Shang who is young and honest, and turned him into embarrassment, so I won't come again! Our noodle restaurant can only rely on Boss Shang to bring glory to us!"
The crowd still didn't follow, and rushed to ask for a play.
"I won't sing for you, I'm hungry and I want to eat." Shang Xirui said while mixing noodles, "Go to the theater and sit down and listen, it's better to put on make-up, and there is Huqin accompaniment, and by the way, Earn me some theater money."
The crowd was still laughing and stalking, some said they couldn't afford the theater tickets, some said they couldn't wait, they did everything possible to tease Shang Xirui. Shang Xirui was starved and traumatized when he was young, so when he ate, he was so energetic that he didn't care about him, no matter what other people teased him, he just held the noodle bowl and worked hard, bald Lu finished eating, Momozui gave Cheng Fengtai a naive smile in embarrassment. Cheng Fengtai also smiled at him, and the two of them were about to stand up and leave. But the crowd didn't have enough fun with him, so they pressed their shoulders to stop him from moving: "Boss Shang! Don't leave! Long time no see, let's chat for a while!"
Shang Xirui hiccupped softly: "I have a friend here!"
Cheng Fengtai lit a cigarette: "Boss Shang can do whatever you want." It's not as delicious as dumplings, and as fun as opera actors, Cheng Fengtai understands their feelings.
The labor coolies casually started rubbing Shang Xirui. They made jokes, which were different from the jokes of those old ladies and gentlemen. They were vulgar, straightforward and unrelenting, without any respect for the occasion. Cong whether the plum blossom in Shang Xirui's yard was transformed from a goblin, asked him when he planned to marry a wife, and whether Xiao Lai was his concubine.
"What does Boss Shang want his wife to do? Someone saw it with his own eyes. The red plum tree in his yard turned into a human figure on a full moon night, and came to listen to Boss Shang's performance."
"A male demon or a female demon?"
"The banshee is alright, but if it's a male monster, wouldn't it make our boss suffer!"
This kind of obscene words popped up from time to time, Cheng Fengtai thought that Shang Xirui was going to get angry a few times, he didn't want the little opera singer to answer all questions patiently, play with the coolies, and occasionally act coquettishly Hey, it's no different from the style of the rich and noble places back then, which made Cheng Fengtai look at it differently. I think Shang Xirui really has a clean eye, and he doesn't see wealth in his heart, so there is no distinction between high and low people.
In fact, in Shang Xirui's eyes, although people do not distinguish between rich and poor, high or low, they can roughly be divided into four categories: those who understand opera and those who don't, those who praise him and those who don't. Those who know opera but praise him are the best friends; those who understand opera but don’t praise him are respectable and unlovable; those who don’t understand opera but praise him can play around; There is no one in sight.
These mud-legged porters don't know much about opera, they listen to their voices and watch the fun, so in Shang Xirui's eyes, they are on the same level as the lords and wives on the mahjong table, and they are less afraid of offending than the lords and wives, so he naturally like.
After chatting for a long time, Shang Xirui stood up and said: "I really have to go, I have to prepare for the night show!" Shang Xirui said to himself, wondering if the backstage fight ended, "Don't talk nonsense about me and Xiao Lai! If the gossip is faxed, what will happen to her as a daughter in the future!"
Everyone agreed, but they were still reluctant to let him go home. Shang Xirui's identity is the parrot kept by the Golden Luan Palace - the plaything of noble people. It's rare that he has such a temperament, he often flies into ordinary people's homes, laughing and getting close to people for a while, it's really rare.
Finally got away and got into the car, Shang Xirui was still smiling.
Cheng Fengtai looked at him: "Isn't that fun enough!"
"Second Master, let me tell you quietly, the red plum tree in my yard...haha!"
"What? Are male elves and female elves?"
"What kind of goblin, that's me! One day I put on a big face and tried on a red costume, but someone bumped into me. For some reason, it became known as a goblin."
Cheng Fengtai nodded: "Okay, I'll refute the rumors for you later."
"Why do you want to refute rumors? It's so much fun! Let them say that!"
"Boss Shang is really naughty."
Lao Ge listened and had fun while driving.