Chapter 4 Four

The name of Gu Shuchang is "Shengping", which is named after a bookstore that Baoqing saw in Beiping thirty years ago. A small bookstore, located on the busiest street, with a capacity of about 200 seats.According to Baoqing's calculation, as long as there are 100 people who listen to books, he will not lose money; if there are 150 people, he will make a profit; It's the day of opening.Baoqing couldn't sleep well.As soon as it was dawn, he got up, found a piece of paper to wrap his things, and wrote down all the things he had to do today.He wrote densely on a sheet of paper, folded it up, put it in his pocket, and went out the door.

He first went to see his arrangement outside the bookstore the day before.The circle around the signboard is inlaid with a red, white and blue light bulb.In the twilight of dawn, the lights looked a little dim, but it was as beautiful as in a dream.Below the card is a glass frame with the names of the characters written in black and red on paper.There are three big black characters horizontally in the middle: Fang Baoqing; on both sides are Xiulian and Qinzhu in gold characters on a red background.Below it was written a bunch of vivid words copied from movie advertisements. Bao Qing looked at his name with a smile.It's not the same as it was back then!He should really be proud.In the past, he took other people's classes, and he also became a class himself.But when it comes to stuff and fame, he is no match for others.Right now, this is the first time that he has played the top card, and he can't help but feel proud.

Satisfied, he looked at the card for a long time before leaving reluctantly.He went into a small teahouse and ordered a pot of tea. After drinking tea, he went to Xiao Liu to discuss about giving Xiulian a job.He doesn't need to slip by himself, he is already an old entertainer.In case Xiao Liu made a mistake, he would sing along calmly.But Xiulian was different.If the pianist strayed, she would have to follow suit.So he had to let Xiao Liu do some work with her first, and don't mess with her as soon as he came on stage. But he didn't have the courage to keep running into the hotel to call Xiao Liu out.If people from the Tang family saw her, they would try every means to prevent Xiao Liu and Xiulian from slipping away.

He went into the hotel's account room, gave the waiter some money, and asked him to find Xiao Liu and whisper a few words.Seeing Xiao Liu, Baoqing told him: "Don't take your strings, I have one over there, if my elder brother hears you playing and says something, don't take it to heart. We have to support our family." Xiao Liu smiled lazily, and promised to come and do some work in the afternoon. Bao Qing visited the barber shop only two days ago, and now he went to have his head and face shaved again.After shaving, he took out the list from his pocket and thought about it.He had to call on all the people who had helped him, especially the officials and gangster leaders, and he had to give them a few invitation tickets, begging them for help and care.

He also spared time to inform all the people working in the bookstore: those who sell snacks, those who sell tea, those who sell cigarettes and melon seeds, those who keep hot towel handles, those who sell tickets, those who watch seats, and those who sell Kanzi. ② on the above, they are all greeted.They came at four o'clock in the afternoon, and they wanted to offer sacrifices to the ancestors and the God of Wealth first, and pray for auspiciousness. Baoqing has become a well-known figure in the city.Wherever he went, everyone knew him.The accountants and waiters in teahouses, taverns, and restaurants all know that he has joined the shift and will start the gong tonight.They called him "Big Boss Fang" and congratulated him all the time—they all wanted to make a ticket for the opening ceremony.But Baoqing just bowed his hands to thank them, and did not comment on their various hints.As soon as he walked away, he muttered to himself: "When did I take your hospitality coupon when I patronized you? When did I not give a tip?"

When he returned to the small hotel, it was already two o'clock.Everything is ready.Xiao Liu also came over to sneak out with Xiulian.She's dressed up and is complaining about not having money for a new pair of shoes. "Let's make do with it today," Baoqing said, "just wear those satin embroidered shoes. As soon as I have money, I'll buy you a new pair." She pouted, but she put on the satin shoes anyway. shoe. Second Mistress was dressed up, and she was surprisingly sober.She remembered that it was four o'clock to worship the gods, and she never dared to drink, for fear that she would cause disaster if she profaned the gods.As soon as the play was over and there was money in the cash-box, she would celebrate with a drink or two.

Dafeng didn't look very happy.Worshiping the gods has nothing to do with her.Besides, seeing her sister so beautifully dressed made her a little jealous. Bao Qingjue came out. "Good phoenix, don't be childish! When I earn money, I'll buy you a new pair of shoes too. Just buy the most beautiful shoes I've seen in the shop today." Dafeng was speechless. "Good brother," Baoqing said to the wimp again, "I want to take a breather, I have to show all the things tonight. My dear brother, please go to the garden and explain the sacrifices to the gods. Get ready. Your memory is better than mine, please help me with the cooking. When the show is over, I will treat you to a drink or two.**

Even begging and coaxing, he was so useless that he agreed to help.As a result, he had no choice but to listen to the wimp talking endlessly about how to set up the venue when worshiping the gods.A wimp loves to show off his knowledge. "Yes, good brother," Bao Qing nodded repeatedly, "I'll listen to you—please stop talking. It's already two o'clock, so please leave." It's four o'clock in a flash.The worship of the gods is in the background.The wimp has put everything in order.Red paper was pasted on the wall, and it was written on the patriarch, the god of King Zhouzhuang.There is an incense table in front of the altar, a pair of red candles, a huge tin incense burner, and several dishes of dried and fresh fruits.And three glasses of white wine.The table was surrounded by a satin border embroidered in scarlet.

On three sides, there are stools against the walls.There is a long table in the middle of the room, covered with a white tablecloth, with teapots and tea bowls, snacks, melon seeds, cigarettes, and a bottle of freshly picked flowers. The local jugglers who were invited to perform came in one by one.They were all dressed in rags because they had been unemployed for a long time.Some are smoking long-stem pipes, and some are "white abuse and crossing caries" The door opened suddenly, and Baoqing walked in.He bowed to the floor towards the people in the room, his bald head turned half a circle from left to right.He kept saying, "Please sit down, please sit down." He knew that everyone would stand up to greet him.He doesn't admire the local entertainers much, and the local entertainers also look down on the "people from Xiajiang".But Baoqing didn't want this kind of mutual contempt to appear too blatant.

He straightened up.Xiulian walked in slowly.With a smile on his face, he introduced to everyone: "This is my daughter Xiulian." Xiulian smiled mischievously.She bowed slightly, walked to the table, picked off a flower, and pinned it to her body. "Xiulian," Bao Qing ordered, "respect the sunflower seeds to the guests." He was still standing at the door, waiting for his wife. Xiulian picked up the melon seed plate, picked out one by herself, was about to nibble, and put it back. "This is my wife," Bao Qing introduced again. The second grandma was full of airs, she nodded in style, and sat down with the artists.She wanted to chat with local artists in Sichuan dialect, and they wanted to answer in Mandarin, the kind of Mandarin she spoke.In the end, no one could understand the other, but they both felt that they had done their best.

"Oh, big brother," Baoqing said, and rushed to the coward, "It's really good, it's really good, it's really you! I can't arrange it so well." He said, looking around.The wimpy man couldn't help but smile happily when he heard his brother keep praising him.He yawned and stretched himself so that Baoqing could see how tired he was.The people who worked in the garden also came now: those who watched the seats, those who sold tickets, those who picked up the venue, and those who played the violin.They are not entertainers, so they don't need to worship their ancestors.But Baoqing invited all of them here, and wanted them to see that artists behaved well and were supervised by their own patriarchs; The Tang family came last, this is their status.Fourth Grandma Tang led the battle, with Qin Zhu at her heels, and Fourth Master Tang followed behind, and Xiao Liu followed pitifully like an orphan without a father or a mother. The Fourth Grandma wore an extremely fat, shiny green silk cheongsam, which looked as big as four Tang Fourth Masters. Her face, which was full of flesh, was covered with a thick layer of powder, and her lips were also covered with lipstick. .She was full of jewels: a pair of large earrings, and four rings on her fingers, all set with fake stones, which sparkled in the light. As soon as she entered the door, she wobbled and went straight to Second Grandma and Xiulian, greeting them like best friends, "Good sister—oh, look at how handsome Xiaolian is." After that, she greeted the Fang brothers.She doesn't look at other people. Fourth Grandma didn't discuss with Baoqing, so she called her husband over. "Incense to the Patriarch!" She wanted him to officiate. Bao Qing hurriedly pulled Fourth Master Tang away and shook his head.He is the head of the class and cannot allow others to officiate.He walked up to the altar and lit the incense.When wisps of crooked blue smoke came out, he inserted the incense into the incense burner.Then the candles were lit again.The front of the altar suddenly lit up, flashing with various colors.Everyone was quiet and solemn.Bao Qing respectfully kowtowed to the patriarch.Ask the patriarch to enjoy the meal, bless him with a prosperous business, and make him a hit with rap and singing.He knelt down, praying silently in his heart, begging the patriarch to bless Xiulian, and not let the fourth grandma and her husband make trouble.There were deafening firecrackers outside the garden.