Linxia

Chapter 61, Watching the Show

"Mr. Ou is a decent man." After returning, Fang's father sighed.

"Yes, you are worthy of being educated."

Fang's mother understood: "If someone else had tried to persuade her today, you would have seen it! Just the day before yesterday, Old Man Xin couldn't stand it anymore and said a few words, but Grandma Man scolded him and said, 'Old Man Xin is old but his heart is young. Is he attracted to Chun Tao, or is he trying to find a slut for his son?' Listen, is that human language?"

"The meal is ready!" Tian Xuan shouted at this time. In the pot in the kitchen, fragrant ribs and radishes were bubbling, sprinkled with chopped green onions, and a fresh and fragrant aroma overflowed, making people's mouths water.

Fang Lin went in to serve the meal and inadvertently saw one, two, three, four or five more pottery jars in the corner of the kitchen. He couldn't help but ask casually.

"They are all fermented tofu. They can be eaten in two days." said Fang's mother.

"So many? Mom, this must be a lot of trouble and money, right?"

"Why bother? It's not worth the effort. If you spend money, it's just some tofu. If you like it, then it's worth the money. Make more and you can eat it slowly." Fang's mother said casually.

Fang Lin remained silent upon hearing this.

It has always been like this before. If he says something is delicious, Fang's mother will try her best to make it in different ways until he says he doesn't like it anymore.

She was always like this, giving her son everything he thought was good, even if she herself was reluctant to eat or spend money on it.

Many times it seems excessive, but that’s only because it can be expressed in this way only - all the excess is overflowing love.

Fang Lin blinked, brought the food over, and made a decision in his mind.

Dining room.

Fang Lin said: "I have a day off tomorrow. Dad, Mom, Sister Xuan, let's go out for a walk and watch a show together!"

Originally, he planned to go alone, because he really had something to do, and it would be less efficient to bring Fang's father, Fang's mother, and Tian Xuan with him. But now think about it, it doesn't matter, as long as he can make them happy for one day, it will be worth it.

Before Fang's father and Tian Xuan could say anything, Fang's mother said, "You can go by yourself. If your father wants to go, that's fine. But Xiaoxuan and I won't go. If we go, we'll have to wait for the mending of clothes, and it will cost money. We don't know how much money we'll lose!"

She directly represents Tian Xuan's opinions.

"I'm going to the dock." Father Fang also said.

"Dad, Mom, we can't earn enough money. Let's go out for a walk. We won't buy anything big. How much can it cost? The same goes for watching a play. I asked our shopkeeper. If we don't need a reserved seat, the rest will be cheap too."

Fang Lin paused, and then said, "Besides, our family has come to the city and settled down, but we haven't been anywhere yet. How can this be possible? In the future, when people from the village come and ask about the city, we won't be able to say anything."

Hearing this, Fang's mother hesitated. She felt that Fang Lin's words made sense. After thinking for a while, she said, "Then... let's go and take a look?"

"Yeah!" Although Tian Xuan suppressed the joy on her face, her voice was cheerful. After all, she was just a girl in her teens with curiosity.

Mr. Fang was influenced by the opinion. He opened his mouth but said nothing.

"It's settled then." Fang Lin said with a smile.

I was just talking about it. Just now Fang's mother was still reluctant, but now that it was confirmed, she was already excitedly talking about what clothes to wear tomorrow.

Inside the house, the faint light of the oil lamp flickered. In the dim light, the food was emitting a faint smoke, making it a little stuffy. Occasionally, the wind blew the linen curtain in, bringing freshness and blowing everyone's hair at the temples. The family's bright eyes could be seen, filled with expectations that were either obvious or hidden.

……

The next morning, after breakfast.

Fang's mother went to change her clothes, and after changing them over and over again, she came out to ask Fang's father and Fang Lin what they thought - in fact, she only had two slightly better sets of clothes, and she wasn't sure which one looked better.

"Mom, just be clean. If you dress too nicely, it might cause trouble." Fang Lin joked.

"Then I'll change back." After hearing this, Fang's mother quickly wanted to change back into her normal clothes.

"Not really." As mentioned before, Daxia is not about to perish, social order is not collapsing, and Huai'an City is not a remote small town. How could it be like in the storybooks, where there are all these rare plots of 'man bites dog' for the sake of conflicts?
Besides, she is not a beauty of heaven. Tian Xuan, the beauty of the Fang family, is just a little more delicate and pleasing to the eye. She is not really beautiful. The family went out. Today was a clear and cool autumn day with a gentle breeze. The streets were clean and there were trees planted on both sides of the road.

This kind of environment makes people feel relaxed and happy - unlike the first time when they were led by the minor official named Xiao, they felt inferior. Today, the Fang family members were all dressed neatly and it was hard to tell that they were not local people from the provincial capital. Especially Fang Lin, who was dressed in a blue shirt, looked calm and composed, and looked like a scholar. Therefore, he would not attract strange looks from passers-by when he walked around.

“When it comes to watching plays, there is also a history.”

These days, Fang Lin had gotten a lot of miscellaneous information from Manager Liu, some useful and some useless. He acted as a tour guide and said, "The earliest theaters were held in the Goulan Theater, which originated during the reign of Emperor Renzong of the Northern Song Dynasty and declined during the Great Xia Dynasty."

"Brother Lin, why do brothels and theaters sound like two different things?" Tian Xuan asked, turning her head slightly.

"Yes, Sister Xuan is smart."

Fang Lin smiled and said, "Washe is a place for entertainment activities, and brothels are places for performances. A large Washe has more than ten brothels. There is a threshold to enter the brothels. Each brothel is almost completely closed, with only one door for entry and exit. In other words, you have to pay for a ticket."

"And now, in our teahouses and restaurants, the bigger ones will invite opera troupes, and the smaller ones will also invite storytellers. You can stand outside and listen and watch for free. It's free. No one goes to the brothels and theaters. Won't they slowly decline?"

"That's right. If it were me, I would go for free." Fang's mother said, praising: "My son knows a lot."

"I also heard it from the shopkeeper." Fang Lin smiled and said, "Let's go to Yishun Teahouse this morning."

It goes without saying that wealthy merchants would have their own opera troupes at home, and Yishun Teahouse had a very good reputation among the shopkeeper Liu, and many relatives of officials and shopkeepers went there to listen to the opera.

As they walked, the family arrived at the restaurant. Above the large round vermilion door was a huge gold-plated inscription "Yishun Teahouse". After they entered the door, a waiter came up to them and asked, "Would you like a private seat, elegant seat, or a stand-up seat?"

The so-called special seat is the best position under the stage, with one person at a table. On the table there are sugar cakes, five fruits, namely: peaches, plums, apricots, chestnuts, dates, ten dishes, dried fruits, etc.

The elegant seats are next in line, with two people at a table and table filled with sugar cakes, dishes and dried fruits.

It was a nice place with three or four people at a table. There were only sugar cakes and dried fruits, no other dishes.

As for standing and listening, you stand in a circle under the stage. It is free, and you will not be stopped as long as you are dressed cleanly and have no odor.

——Some restaurants and teahouses in the city allow people to listen while others do not. Yishun Teahouse allows this. In addition to gaining a good reputation, this can also boost popularity and make the guests in the special seats, elegant seats, and preferential seats feel superior in comparison.

Fang's father and mother were a little reserved when they came to such a 'good place'. They didn't understand what special seats and elegant seats were. Tian Xuan was also nervous. Only Fang Lin was calm. He stepped forward and handed over two coins of silver, saying, "A special seat. Thank you for your help."

"You're welcome. Please come this way." The waiter thought the man was a regular customer of the teahouse, so he took the money and led the way with a smile.

The family walked lightly to an empty table at the back of the stage and sat down. Soon the waiter came over and brought a plate of sugar cakes and dried fruits.

"Eat." Fang Lin lowered his voice and distributed the food to Fang's father, Fang's mother, and Tian Xuan.

The play on the stage today is "The Legend of Loyalty". It is a good play and the actors perform well. It quickly immerses people in the play and keeps them watching with rapt attention.

The same went for everyone else in the teahouse.

Drama is like this, there is no threshold to entry. No matter whether you are well-educated or illiterate, elegant or popular, everyone can enjoy it and it brings spiritual pleasure to people.

Fang's mother watched for a while, then came over excitedly and whispered in Fang Lin's ear: "This play is really good! I also watched plays when I was a child. When the troupe went to the neighboring village, we would chase after them to watch. Once, the troupe was short of a role for a little girl, and I was even pulled up to say a line!"

Fang Lin could sense Fang's mother's happiness.

This kind of happiness is not for the husband, son or anything like that, it's simply because I like it.

He looked at Fang's mother's shining eyes, and suddenly a thought came to his mind: 'Every mother was young once, every mother was a girl, and they also had their own preferences. If one day, when they unload the burden of life and regain the preferences of their youth, please protect the light in their eyes.'

Fang Lin decided that in the future, when he had a day off, he would take Fang's father, Fang's mother, and Tian Xuan out for a walk and watch a play. After all, how much money could it cost, and how many years could a person live? While they were still able to walk, they should watch it, and not wait until they were old and sad!

At this time, the opera reached its climax. Qin Hui slandered Yue Fei in front of the emperor and asked him to recall Yue Fei. Suddenly, a man under the stage shouted loudly, said "Zhe", rushed onto the stage with a tiger step, and picked up "Qin Hui" with a palm as big as a palm fan.

……

(End of this chapter)