National Tide 1980.

Chapter 1340 Life is like a play

There were three songs by Teresa Teng, plus friendly contributions from other performers, and a total of fifteen small shows were performed until Lu Xiaolong left the stage, which took just over an hour.

It would not be an exaggeration to say that these programs were equivalent to a small party held in the Yunyuan theater.

As for the excitement of these programs, they are not much inferior to regular performances.

In particular, the fun and harmony created by the friendly interaction between the guests on and off the stage were surprisingly similar to the flavor of the first Spring Festival Gala in 1983.

It’s a pity that although happiness is better shared than enjoyed alone, due to various taboos, such a good program and live atmosphere are not available to the public.

Regardless of the current domestic social ideology or personal interests, Ning Weimin can only ensure that everything that happens here is confined to this theater and not spread outside.

This is undoubtedly a very regrettable thing.

Of course, if you look at it from the other side, it is enough to show how blessed the guests who have the opportunity to come here to attend this wedding today are.

For most people, being able to sit here today, eat delicious food, drink fine wine, and watch such wonderful performances by many Chinese and foreign stars is a rare occasion in their lifetime and an enjoyment they cannot even dream of.

There were so many people that they really wished the meal could last a little longer.

I sincerely hope that there will be a banquet that will never end in this world.

But don't say it, even though this idea seems to be too much and unrealistic.

  But Ning Weimin is the richest man in Beijing. How can his wedding be treated as a conventional one?

In particular, all the content arrangements and pomp were arranged by the lady from a prominent family, Jiang Nianyun, which was something that an ordinary small family could never imagine.

So at least within a certain scope, this seemingly fantastic and unrealistic expectation has been satisfied to a certain extent.

Although normally speaking, a meal would only take about an hour.

The duration of these fifteen programs was just right. After the performance and the meal, most of the guests would wipe their mouths and leave, saying goodbye and going home.

But Ning Weimin’s wedding was not planned like this. It was a whole day of eating, drinking and having fun.

In fact, even after finishing this meal during the day, there is still a night banquet in Xilou, Zilou, in the west garden.

The wedding building was not only a several-meter-high pavilion decorated with colorful decorations, but also had colored lights and palace lanterns installed on it.

At night, the lights are turned on to entertain guests, and some performances of quick storytelling, danxian and big drum are arranged on the small stage in the building.

Guests inside and outside the building can enjoy the view while eating and drinking, which naturally adds another level of fun.

That’s not all. Before hosting the evening banquet, they have to set off another round of firecrackers.

There were fireworks outside the theater and in front of the gate of Yun Garden, a total of ten thousand fireworks.

And then there will be five-color fireworks and box flowers sent by the Temple of Heaven, which is a rare and beautiful sight.

(Real scene of Box Flower's "Good Weather and Good Harvest")

Especially the box flower, which has layers of contents stacked up and can be set off layer by layer, forming a large-scale firework linked to the message of the mechanism.

It is tangible, audible, colorful, gorgeous, ever-changing, rich in content, and very magical.

Even Kang Shude and Jiang Nianyun thought that this thing had become extinct, but because the Temple of Heaven was holding a lantern festival, they discovered this thing from a craftsman from Tianjin who participated in the lantern festival last year.

Moreover, when the old director of the Temple of Heaven learned in Japan that Ning Weimin was coming back to hold his wedding, he was thinking about sending such a special gift to add color to Ning Weimin's wedding.

As a result, he started to arrange this matter as soon as he came back. I heard that it cost a lot of money to have someone produce a set of "The Legend of White Snake", which brought Ning Weimin a huge surprise.

According to the old director, when this set of box flowers is set off, one should be able to see six programs from beginning to end.

They are "Xu Xian Touring the Lake", "Broken Bridge", "Worship in the Hall", "Xu Xian Opens a Medicine Shop", "Stealing the Immortal Herb" and "Flooding Jinshan Mountain", which are almost the complete process of the entire "Legend of the White Snake" story.

So, this is the highlight of the evening. Not to mention ordinary guests, even Ning Weimin and Matsumoto Keiko are looking forward to it, expecting it very much, and can't wait to feast their eyes.

Moreover, they had already informed director Osawa Yutaka that they must film the process of setting off the box flowers in the evening.

As for cultural exports, what we film and show to people must of course be this kind of unique skill that only China has.

Of course, the higher the expectations, the greater the disappointment. It may be a little early to make such big promises at this time.

But then again, even if we focus on the banquet in front of us, we can't say that it ends here.

Because we must not forget that these programs mentioned above were just a kind of acrobatics in the past and were not up to standard at all.

If you want to watch a serious drama, you have to watch Peking Opera.

The actors from the Fenglei Peking Opera Troupe that Jiang Nianyun had invited today have not yet appeared on stage.

Even John Lone's scenes had to wait until the Peking Opera started before they could be filmed.

Speaking of which, this international superstar made great sacrifices for the sake of filming. He was clearly playing the role of a rich man, but his actual treatment today is far worse than that of the poor girl played by Teresa Teng.

Teresa Teng could sit down and eat right after she got off the stage, but now she can eat two big bowls of rice.

After putting on makeup, he could only drink beverages through a straw, and he just waited backstage like this until now.

Just show how dedicated they are.

So don’t think that the banquet has reached this stage and the dishes have almost been served, because there will be surprises for the guests soon.

In fact, just after the last dish was served, the guests at several tables had almost stopped eating, and some even opened their mouths to say goodbye.

Jiang Nianyun quickly signaled Ning Weimin and Matsumoto Keiko to keep the guests a little longer. She hoped that these important guests, whose time was precious, could stay a little longer, at least to listen to the first opening act.

Then she gave a signal and the table change started from the guest of honor seat in the front.

There are four people at each table, two are responsible for clearing the table and two are responsible for resetting the table.

In a short while, all the leftovers, cups, plates and bowls from the ten tables in the front for guests of honor were cleared away one by one.

Instead, each person was given a cup of hot tea and a warm wet towel.

After the guests had washed their faces and hands one by one, wiped off the grease and sweat from their foreheads and fingers, and drank some fragrant tea.

Soon, in front of each seat, there was a four-inch cloth plate with wedding candies and wedding cigarettes, four dried fruits, four fresh fruits, four steamed buns, and four tea snacks for the guests to use.

In this way, the official seats that were just used for dining were turned back into tea seats.

That’s not all. After each table has been cleaned up, a big red opera brochure will be provided for the guests to pass around and read.

In this way, today's real church meeting was officially kicked off with the beating of gongs and drums.

Wow, this grand ceremony shocked most of the guests at the scene.

But to be honest, this is still keeping everything simple.

Because those who have lived in wealthy families in the past know that in the capital, there has always been a scene of "offering tea three times" to the guests at banquets.

To put it simply, at each stage of the play, similar to the intermission in theaters and cinemas, service staff will serve porridge and tea in turn, and replace or add dried and fresh fruits.

The first offering is jujube tea, the second is chrysanthemum tea, and the third is lotus seed tea. This is a fixed order and is also a common ceremony in the capital's government offices or houses.

Today, Jiang Nianyun didn't put much effort into this aspect. She thought that it wouldn't be visible in the movie anyway, so what kind of tea to drink was just a trivial matter.

As long as the play is good, it’s better than anything else.

To save trouble, we can simply serve guests jasmine tea, green tea or black tea and let the guests choose, which is also a good idea.

If someone has experienced this like Fu Jie and嵯娥浩, they would naturally know how big the difference is between now and the past.

But how could other people know?

In fact, just as Jiang Nianyun expected, almost all the guests focused their attention on the show.

As usual, when holding a party in the old days, the Kunqu opera troupe, Peking opera troupe, and Bangzi opera troupe would sing a few auspicious plays appropriate to the occasion after the opening ceremony. These plays were all Kunqu opera repertoires, and even the Peking opera troupe and Bangzi opera troupe would sing authentic Kunqu opera.

The same is true today, as it is a wedding party to congratulate the newlyweds.

Moreover, other performances were arranged earlier, so the God of Wealth dance was omitted. Jiang Nianyun and Feng Lei Peking Opera Troupe decided on "Heaven Official's Blessing".

This is a Kunqu opera, in which an old actor will dress up as a celestial official.

The foreigner, young man, tiedan, zuodan, jing and za are respectively dressed up as the God of Longevity, the Cowherd, the Weaver Girl, the Immortal Zhang who delivers children, the God of Wealth and Blessings, the eight fairies, the eight red dragons holding cloud pieces and so on.

To put it bluntly, all the blessings that people hope for in life are in this play. After that, according to the rules, a few more auspicious excerpts are performed, called "filler plays", followed by "central plays", and the last one is called "big play", which is considered a complete party.

These plays are also determined according to the different nature of the party, so today's excerpts are "The Phoenix Returns to the Nest" and "The Cowherd".

"The Phoenix Returns to the Nest" aims to have a good start, while "The Little Cowherd" is a comedy with a clown in the show. The aim is to make everyone laugh with gags and to create a happy and festive atmosphere.

The main plays that are truly worth appreciating and artistic are the main plays, such as The Gift of Pearls at Rainbow Bridge, the central play with a more literary cast, The Matchmaker of the Number One Scholar, and finally, the major play with both literary and martial arts, The Lotus Lantern.

With this set, all the roles of sheng, dan, jing, mo and chou are included. There are gods, mandarin ducks, entertainment and elegance.

It is all-encompassing and appeals to both the elite and the masses. How appropriate is that?

Everyone has to nod their heads, today's show is really good.

It is particularly worth mentioning that Zun Long is not just a simple decoration in today's Peking Opera performances.

He first played the role of the Weaver Girl in the opening "Heaven Official's Blessing", and then played the role of Lingbo Fairy in "Giving Pearls at the Rainbow Bridge".

He studied Peking Opera with Fen Juhua for eight years in Gangcheng when he was young, and did not waste his skills. Today, he put all his skills here.

Not only does he have a good appearance, he is also good at kung fu. Although he is a big man, he can really perform the role of a delicate and pretty lady.

It really makes people think of Mei Lanfang in the past and applaud him.

Even though he doesn't understand much about opera, Ning Weimin can feel that Zun Long has learned Peking Opera well.

At least in his eyes, Zun Long and the professional actors from Fenglei Peking Opera Troupe are working together and it is hard to see that he is at a disadvantage.

This even made him suddenly understand Zunlong's pride and persistence.

I understand now why Zun Long cared so much about missing the opportunity to star in "Farewell My Concubine" in his previous life.

Why is he always so obsessed with believing that the role of Cheng Dieyi in "Farewell My Concubine" should belong to him?

Then she insisted on performing in "Madame Butterfly" to prove herself.

Just because his Peking Opera level had reached this point, he was unwilling to let his eight years of hard training go unnoticed.

(Zun Long's Peking Opera costume)

In addition, there was an unexpected performance session on the scene that caused a sensation among all the guests, and even Ning Weimin was greatly surprised.

It turns out that the theater in Ma’s Garden has special effects equipment.

There are actually five large vats of water under the stage, which are used both to prevent fires and for performing stunts when playing with water monsters.

Well, just when Lingbo Fairy, played by Zun Long, was driving away the aquatic creatures and fighting against the heavenly soldiers and generals.

A water monster actually obeyed his command and suddenly emerged from under the stage and sprayed water.

What was even more magical was that the actor who played Nezha actually responded by using the fire of the Three True Fires.

The shock created by the water and fire fighting stunts is even more amazing than Hollywood's real-life special effects.

  Just this one scene was enough to make Ning Weimin, like the other guests, stunned and shocked, and then burst into applause!

For a moment, he had an illusion that he had visited the special effects house of Universal Studios in his previous life.

(The image of the Lingbo fairy and the aquatic creatures she drives in the Peking Opera "Giving Pearls at Hongqiao")

Needless to say, today's show was very well arranged.

Just based on the scene before his eyes, he felt that any amount of money spent was worth it.

There is no doubt that the cultural output of "Crazy Rich Asians" is of higher quality.

And as long as this movie becomes popular, Yunyuan will definitely become a pilgrimage site for movie fans in Beijing in the future.

There are surprises everywhere in this world.

Even he didn't expect that the old man had hidden such a trick for him.

Only then did he understand why the old man had to go in person to familiarize people with the location before filming.

  Absolutely amazing!

Two hundred years ago, Westerners would never have dreamed that there would be such a form of performance on the stage.

  It is a pity that less than a hundred years have passed since the country suffered disaster, and so many wonderful things have been lost. Even if we today try our best, how much can we understand the wisdom of our ancestors?

………………

On this vast world stage, different stories are played out every day, interweaving into a colorful picture full of joys and sorrows.

As the saying goes, some people are happy while others are sad, some people leave while others stay. Some people play with broken hearts while others always think about growing old together. Some people meet the wrong person while others are hard to find. Some people cannot express their hatred with thousands of words while others can be killed with one sword. Some people always stay where they are while others go to the next level.

Just when Ning Weimin was sitting in the theater of Yun Garden, drinking and chatting happily with Huo Yanping accompanied by his lovely wife.

Just as Kang Shude and Jiang Nianyun were looking at this young couple in their prime, they smiled at each other.

How could they know that even elsewhere in the city, there are many people whose lives are related to theirs, who may be heartbroken and troubled because of their happiness?

At the Lan family, retired Professor Lan is teaching his son a lesson.

"Asshole! How many times have I told you not to let your sister know about him? Why did you bring something like this back?"

"Dad, I really didn't bring this magazine back."

Lan Zheng seemed very wronged. He looked at the latest issue of "Popular Movies" spread out on the table, and at the photo of Matsumoto Keiko and Ning Weimin "loving each other" on it, and swallowed hard.

"If it's not you, then who else could it be? Could it be Yueyue? In any case, she can't escape from you two..."

"Dad, Lan Lan is already working, and she studied printing. Do you think we can still block all her news channels like we did when she was taking the college entrance examination? It's impossible. Besides, that person is no longer the same as before. There is an endless stream of news about him in the evening and daily newspapers. You don't want Lan Lan to see it, but you can't throw away all the newspapers at home..."

"Ah..." Professor Lan sighed sadly, looking at his daughter's closed door and muttering to himself, "If I had known this would happen, I would not have done it in the first place. Could it be... Could it be that I..."

In the end, he didn't say the rest of the words.

Almost at the same time, at the entrance of Weijia Hutong, there was a skinny old lady with almost completely white hair sitting on a stone by the roadside, staring at the theater in the distance in a daze.

Without saying a word, just from the look in his eyes, you can tell that this is a mentally abnormal person.

So even though there were people passing by, they didn't dare to ask casually.

  Sure enough, ten minutes later, a man in his sixties who looked like his wife came here in a hurry.

The moment I saw the old lady, I breathed a sigh of relief and finally felt relieved.

Just from the fact that he was sweating and panting, you could tell how anxious and eager he was.

"Oh, you... why are you here? I finally found you. What if something goes wrong?"

After catching his breath for a while, the old man began to persuade the old lady to leave.

"… Let's go back… Let's go back to the hospital… We finally managed to schedule a checkup today…"

However, the old lady's eyes were blurry and she seemed to be incoherent in her retort.

"Why should I go to the hospital? I'm not sick, let's go home. Listen, there's a play being performed in our theater. Whose good day is this? Why did the play start before we even got to it?..."

The old man could only coax her good-temperedly, "Yes, yes, you have to get up first. Hey, let me help you up. Let's go to the hospital first, and then we can talk about other things after we get there."

"I want to listen to an opera, not go to the hospital. Listen, it's "Giving Pearls at Rainbow Bridge", I want to watch it..."

"Yes, yes, it's 'Giving Pearls at Rainbow Bridge'. You're right, but how could you forget it? We sold the house a long time ago. It's no longer our home. It's none of our business. If you want to hear it, let's go back and listen to the talking box..."

"Sold... sold? Sold to whom? How come I don't know?"

"You know, wasn't it my father who decided to sell it? It's been decades. Think about it again."

"Let me...think about it...let me think about it..."

"It's better to sell it. It's better to sell it. A good man doesn't eat the food provided by the family, and a good woman doesn't wear the clothes provided by the wedding. How good are we now? We don't have to worry about those burdens anymore. The garden is too big. It will be a relief if we sell it..."

The old man finally helped the old lady up, followed her step by step, and walked away.

No one knows who they are.

No one knows that the ups and downs, honors and disgraces they have experienced are things that ordinary people will never experience in several lifetimes.

This is exactly the case, life is like a play, and a play is like life.