Happy Little Scholar

Chapter 260: The First Entertainment Company (1/2)

Men born in poverty are all good all-rounders. They can raise pigs and horses, farm, build walls and houses. There is nothing they can't do.

Farming is a skill for making a living. Building a house is a skill that can't be hired because there is no money. Of course, you have to do it yourself. This is a skill passed down from generation to generation. Those who don't learn it will starve to death or freeze to death.

Lao Fang and his friends acted quickly. In half a day, the stove and kang that Li Yi wanted appeared in the kitchen.

After measuring, the size is exactly the same as the drawing he drew. In principle, there is no problem.

The kang that has just been made cannot be burned immediately, otherwise it will crack. This problem will not exist after drying for two days.

The stove and the kang are connected, so naturally, you can't cook during these two days.

Li Yi originally planned to solve the problem of eating in the next two days from the restaurant outside, but he didn't expect that this idea was opposed by Xiaohuan and Ruyi.

Although the family is not short of that little money now, how can a decent family go to the restaurant to eat every day? That is what dandies and prodigals do.

Ruyifang is not far from here. The kitchen there has everything. I cooked there yesterday. I can cook in the shop these two days.

Li Yi certainly has no objection to this. The brothel is next to Ruyifang. It's just the right time to discuss things with Old Man Sun.

Old Fang has taken a few people to smash his own stove. He didn't even consider where to eat today. The stove of his son-in-law's house has been smashed, so why shouldn't his family smash it?

Those who don't smash it are fools. Who doesn't understand that they have been living this way by following their son-in-law's steps, having food to eat and money to make. Otherwise, they would still be eating bran in the village on the mountain.

When Li Yi and his family were about to go to Ruyifang, Fang's sister-in-law was pointing at Old Fang's nose and scolding him.

"You idiot, the stove at home is smashed, where are we going to cook today?" Mrs. Fang was so angry that she had washed the dishes and was about to cook when this guy ran in and smashed her stove in a few moves, almost scaring her to death. The mother and daughter of the family depended on this man to survive. If he was crazy or hysterical, she and Zhuzi would not live.

"What's wrong with eating at Zui Xiang Lou for two days? The family doesn't lack this little money." Old Fang retorted.

It would have been better if he didn't say it. As soon as he spoke, the sister-in-law of the Fang family became even more angry, "Do you feel that you are not at ease because there is too much money at home, and you are thinking of ways to send it away. In the morning, you planned to buy an actor back, and now you want to eat at Zui Xiang Lou. Eating there once will cost you a few coins. Don't you see who eats there? Sooner or later, the savings of the family will be squandered by you..."

Old Fang retorted again. When Li Yi walked to the door of the house, he saw a broom flying out of the Fang family yard.

As expected, one cannot judge a person by appearance. One is a tough guy who doesn't even frown when a knife cuts him, and the other is a virtuous and dignified farm woman. Suddenly, the dignified and virtuous woman turned into a female Tyrannosaurus, and the upright man turned into a coward... What a sin.

Once again, he sighed at his luck.

Although Ruyi smashed the solid wood table in front of him when they first met, which was much more fierce than Fang's sister-in-law, but in the rest of the time, she was a good housekeeper, gentle and virtuous ideal wife. Although there was still a layer of gauze between them that had not been broken, it was better than------Thinking about the way Lao Fang wailed under the broom, he quickly threw that possibility out of his mind.

It was still early, with a hint of dawn just appearing in the east. There were always reasons to get up late in winter. Most people were still sleeping in their warm beds and didn't want to get up. There were not many people in the theaters. Who would come here to watch a play so early in the morning? The open brothels were empty, and the doors of the wine shops and teahouses were closed. Only occasionally a figure came out of the brothel, with weak steps, braving the cold wind, and still thinking about how good the kung fu of the brothel girl was last night...

In one of the brothels, Sun Yun, who had just turned fifteen, got up very early, put the rag in the warm water, and quickly wiped the tables and chairs.

He needed to wipe the tables and chairs clean before the brothel opened, without any dirt, and then boil the hot water so that he could prepare tea for the guests at any time.

He was only wearing a thin jacket, but his forehead was covered with sweat. The young man's body was not afraid of the cold. After working for half an hour, he felt hot inside and didn't feel cold at all.

These jobs were not done in vain. Sister Ruoqing said that if he could get up so early every day, wipe the table and boil water, he could be paid ten cents a day.

Thinking of the dozens of copper coins in the small purse he secretly hid, if he accumulated a little, he would be able to save enough money to marry a wife one day, and he would no longer have to worry about his old grandfather. He was full of energy in his heart, and his hands sped up, and he didn't even notice that his grandfather had walked behind him.

Old man Sun came over, looked at him lovingly, and said, "Xiao Yun, take a break. The door won't open for another hour."

Sun Yun turned around, wiped the sweat from his forehead, grinned, showing his white teeth, and said, "Grandpa, I'm not tired. I'm almost done. I need to boil water later."

After that, he continued with the work in his hands. There were only two sets of tables and chairs to be wiped. He could take a break while the water was boiled.

Looking at the child's quick movements, old man Sun showed a look of relief on his face.

A diligent child will never starve to death. Even if he lies in a coffin one day, Xiaoyun can live alone. Of course, he will not close his eyes before he finds a wife for his child and solves his lifelong affairs. If he can live to see the day when he holds his great-grandson, he will die with a smile on his face.

Looking at the empty brothel, Old Man Sun smiled. It doesn't matter if there is no one now. He knows that it will be full of guests soon.

"Painted Skin" can be performed for a while. When the number of guests gradually decreases, the number of performances of "Painted Skin" will be reduced, and "Yingning" and "A Chinese Ghost Story" can be officially staged. With Mr. Li, there will be no shortage of such good stories, and the guests' tips will certainly not be less.

As a wandering actor, when did the future become so worth looking forward to?

When a person immerses himself in beautiful things for too long, he can't help but think of some sad things.

Yesterday, a brothel outside the city collapsed, and an old friend of many years was trapped underneath. Although the injury was not serious, he was old and had to stay in bed for at least ten days or half a month before he could get out of bed.

I have survived, but there are still countless actors who have a hard time making a living. In the past two days, countless old friends have come to me, hoping to get a bite of food here, but the number of people here is indeed saturated, and Old Man Sun can only shake his head helplessly and refuse.

He has been displaced all his life, and he can best understand the situation of most actors. If there is anything he can do to help them, he will extend his hand without hesitation, but he is small and powerless, and under the general environment, he can't change anything at all.

There was no guest in the brothel early in the morning, only Old Man Sun was sitting in the corner. Li Yi walked over, and Old Man Sun heard the footsteps, raised his head, and stood up quickly.

Li Yi waved his hand to signal him to sit down, and asked with a smile: "How was the business yesterday?"

Old man Sun smiled and said: "Very good, the reward money received was more than the day before yesterday, and I haven't had time to send it to you yet."

Yesterday was the second day of the Painted Skin stage play. Not only did the enthusiasm not subside, but it became even higher. Old man Sun already clearly felt that the space in the brothel was a little insufficient.

"Don't be so anxious, the money will be kept here first, and it will be settled once every half a month or a month." Li Yi came here early in the morning not to collect debts. After a few pleasantries, he said straight to the point: "There is something I want to discuss with Old Sun."

"Just call me Old Sun. If there is anything, just tell me." Old man Sun said hurriedly.

"That's right. You should have seen that this brothel can't accommodate many customers, so the profit is naturally not much. I want to recruit more actors and build such brothels inside and outside the city. I can sign contracts with them and provide them with stories and scripts. As for how to distribute the profits, we can distribute them in proportion like we do, or we can give them a fixed salary every month." Li Yi looked at Old Man Sun and said.

This is not an idea that he has just come up with in the past two days. When he first saw the peculiar culture of brothels, Li Yi had such an idea.

What he lacks the least is good stories and scripts. The library contains the cultural essence of China for thousands of years, which is almost inexhaustible and can never be used up in a lifetime.

After seeing those stars in the future who made a lot of money, looking back at their predecessors who were extremely miserable, the feeling in his heart is always strange. Li Yi is very interested in making a small change in this industry.

In addition to this reason, he is also happy to see these poor people at the bottom of society live a better life. How many people are intoxicated by their graceful dancing and fascinated by their long sleeves? They are the creators of art, but while people appreciate art, they impose many hardships and abuses on these art makers. This is unfair.

Of course, there are some reasons why he did this that are not known to outsiders. When the entertainment industry in this world began to prosper, actors with humble status became idols in everyone's minds. Just writing down their names can be sold at sky-high prices. Fans can be heard cheering wherever they go. People know which actor dances the best in the world and sings the best in the world, but they don't know who the emperor of the country is. Such scenes always evoke some memories deep in his heart.

When people live in the world, material enjoyment and spiritual enjoyment are both indispensable. When people are no longer hungry, they will pursue higher pleasure in spirit, which can be seen from the packed stage play "Painted Skin".

This is a huge cake, a cake that has not been noticed by others. We must seize the opportunity before others find it.

Of course, after realizing the special nature of the brothel, Li Yi did not intend to give up the opportunity to grasp the invisible power in his hands.

This world is too unsafe. If you don't have enough power in your hands, you may be crushed to death like an ant at any time. In the past few months, the peaceful life in Liuye Village has gone forever. There have been earth-shaking changes. It's still like the heartless life before. I always feel a little empty in my heart.

"Young Master..., you, what did you say just now?" Old Man Sun thought he had heard it wrong, and even his voice trembled.

Before Li Yi spoke, he asked again: "Are you willing to accept those poor people who are wandering around and give them a bite to eat?"

The old man's voice was still trembling, for fear that he had misunderstood.

Whether those wandering actors can have enough to eat depends entirely on luck. If they meet a generous customer, they won't have to go hungry for a long time. If the customer only watches the performance and doesn't give tips, they will have to tighten their belts for the next few days. When have they ever heard of people like them getting a fixed salary?

Li Yi was a little puzzled as to why the old man suddenly became so excited. Since the stage play "Painted Skin" can have such a good ratings, when the plays such as "Journey to the West" and "Legend of the White Snake" come out, these country bumpkins who have never seen the world will not know how shocked they are?

This is a business that will not lose money.

It's ridiculous to rely on other people's donations to make a living. Some people don't even pay a penny to watch a play. They just leave after watching. No one thinks this method is unreasonable. One person, one ticket, and seat according to the number. How simple and convenient...

It will take time to completely transform this industry. These thoughts are temporarily suppressed. Looking at the old man Sun who was staring at him with excited eyes, he said, "What do you think about giving them 500 coins a month?"

"Too much, too much!" Old man Sun's beard was shaking with excitement. In this line of work, being able to eat is already a blessing from God. A monthly salary of 500 coins is mostly Several people dare not even dream of doing this kind of good thing, unless they are kicked in the head by a donkey...

"You should discuss this matter with Miss Wan first. You can call some people to try it out. It is not certain whether it can succeed. Remember to choose people who know you well. During this period, you don't need to send money. You can use my share first. If it is not enough, we will talk about it later."

Old man Sun patted his chest and assured: "Don't worry, young master, this matter will be handed over to me. I will definitely do it for you properly."

Old man Sun's face flushed. This is a good thing for many actors in Qing'an Prefecture. It can make these colleagues have a meal, and they are very happy in their hearts.

Li Yi raised his head and looked at the stage covered by the curtain. There was a look of expectation in his eyes. The first entertainment company in the world will take its first step from here...

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