Chapter 5 Fives

By half past seven, the garden was almost full.Looking at the rows of crowded seats, Bao Qing was so happy that he couldn't close his mouth from ear to ear, but he was also worried that something might happen at the entrance of the bookstore.He invited two local kanzi to guard the door.They all have experience, good people and bad people can be seen at a glance.But Baoqing didn't want them to do it.Fighting on the first night of the gong is not always auspicious.He also didn't want to take care of the matter at the entrance of the bookstore himself.Wouldn't it be worse if you got into a fight with someone.He has to go everywhere, keep everything in mind, and can't let others pay attention to him.But if something goes wrong, he has to be there at all times.

He was in the background, keeping an eye on everything.When necessary, he sticks out his shiny bald head to give advice.He bows, shakes hands with everyone who comes before him, and smiles all over his face, making people suffocated, making big things small and trivial.The fragrance of makeup and powder of the heroine will always attract some prodigal children who love to make trouble.Bao Qing kept pushing this number of people away in front of the stage door.They just love to mess with girls.But this kind of thing is also difficult to handle. Some people may be friends of important people on the ground.If so, he would have to invite them backstage for tea.Then there would be one who would automatically run up to the stage and give him a curtain on the spot to cheer him up.How much to worry about as an artist!

By eight o'clock, the garden was already full—not all of them bought tickets.There were so many people because Baoqing sent out a batch of invitations and coupons.Still, he was happy.A full house is an auspicious thing.He rushed to the front and excitedly asked someone to hang a "Full" sign on the door.His palms were damp, and he hurried back to the backstage to let Zhang Luo start the performance. The first program was a money board for a local entertainer - high-pitched, wild and out of character.The audience ignored him, talked and drank their tea. Bao Qing went backstage and looked out. The stage was wide and short, and there were rows of wooden stools in front of the small stage.There are many square tables against the two walls, and four or five chairs are placed around each table.The door curtain of the stage was embroidered with big red peonies against the backdrop of green leaves, and his name was also embroidered.This is specially made to order in Shanghai.There are scrolls hanging on the wall, as well as scrolls given to him and Xiulian by celebrities from all over the world.Although the library is small, it is quite attractive.A pair of large gas lamps hung in front of the stage, emitting strong white and bluish light, illuminating the faces of the audience.Bao Qing is happy, this is all his achievement.His name was embroidered on the door curtains and ledges.Every painting, every curtain reminds him of a period of history in the past. He has been to many big cities such as Shanghai and Nanjing, and has had many close friends.

He looked down from behind the stage.The first two rows were filled with locals, and most of the rest of the audience were "people from Xiajiang".Even the locals, most of them lived and messed around in other provinces, and only ran back to Chongqing because of the war.They came to listen to Baoqing just to let others know that they had seen the world and could understand Dagushu.Bao Qing stared at some people sitting on both sides of the stage for a long time.Some are acquaintances, they are experts, they came here to see what Baoqing and his group are up to.They sat with their backs to the stage.Just listen, don't look.They are not interested in the faces of the heroines.Bao Qing frowned to observe their expressions.If the game between him and Xiulian started, they would come often.Gradually, the audience grew quieter.Baoqing knew that this meant that the arts were getting more and more attractive.This also shows that the audience has had enough tea and finished eating melon seeds.If you don't look at the stage, there is nothing to do.

It was Xiulian's turn to play. Xiao Liu has already set the strings.He walked onto the stage slowly, holding a sanxian in his hand. His thin and delicate face was dazzlingly pale under the blue gas lamp.His gray silk coat wrapped around his body tightly like a silver scabbard.He sat down quietly by the table, put the string on the table very carefully, and rolled up his sleeves.Then he took the string, straightened it, and tried the string with the nail tied to his finger.He tilted his head and listened to the keynote, then stared stupidly at a screen with a look of disdain on his face, as if he was reluctant to be a side character.

Beside the table was a big drum, which Baoqing had painstakingly brought over from thousands of miles away.Drum clappers are not much longer than chopsticks.There is also a pair of purple-red drumboards with black tassels.The surrounding of the table was made of green silk, embroidered with red and white lotus flowers, and there were three large characters of "Fang Xiulian". The door curtain was raised slowly, "Don't be nervous, don't be nervous, keep your voice down," Bao Qing reminded her again and again before she appeared on stage.When the curtain was lifted, Xiulian came out peacefully, dressed in beautiful clothes, as delicate and charming as a fairy.

She stood silently for a moment, drawing the audience's attention.Then she lifted her little round face, and a mischievous smile appeared on her face. She wore a black crepe cheongsam with white patterned lace on the short cuffs.A small watch gleamed on his wrist.The two braids were tied with red ribbons and hung down on the chest.The red ribbons complemented her red lips.Every step she took seemed to be dancing. With a light gait, she walked to the drum stand very charmingly, picked up the clamshell, and played an opening drum set, and Xiao Liu immediately began to play.Xiulian followed Xianzi, occasionally knocking on the drum twice, calmly, and tapped out the banyan.She stared at the drum.The smile was still on her face, as if she had just thought of a joke, but was trying to hold back the laugh.

The big drum and the strings all stopped at once.Xiulian smiled and looked down at the audience.She whispered shyly that she would "serve you" for a section of "The Great Western Chamber", and then vigorously beat the drums. Literature is afraid of "West Chamber", Wu is afraid of "Jianjiang", half literature and half martial arts "Shentou stab soup". ① "The Great Western Chamber" is the most difficult piece in Dagushu.Only three or four famous actors dare to sing it.Cui Yingying sent a matchmaker to summon Zhang Sheng's love story, which is well known.However, the large drum lyrics and complex singing often frighten people from singing it.Its words all rhyme in Beijing dialect.If the Beijing dialect is authentic and articulate, the enunciation and speech can be clear and lively, like dewdrops on lotus leaves.However, if the singer doesn't have this kind of verbal skill, then it's likely to be smashed.

When Xiulian was spreading the shop, her voice was very low.Sitting in those familiar seats on the hatchback, with their backs facing the stage, they didn't hear what she said at all.After she sang the first line, everyone couldn't help turning their heads to see who was singing this difficult joke.Her voice is not high, but her singing is nothing to criticize.She sang the long first line in one breath, as if spitting out a string of beads, every word was so round, so solid, so smooth: 28's pretty lady is lazy to do her makeup, Cui Yingying got a little sick She was lying on the gums, lying on the gums, half reclining and half reclining.Look at this girl, she is bored in a daze, doesn't think about tea, doesn't want to eat, is lonely, drowsy, desolate, sleepy, tired, desolate, alone, sitting in a boudoir , with her head bowed and silent, with a thin waist, squinting her almond eyes, and resting her cheeks with her hands.

From beginning to end, Xiulian sang very cautiously, as if she didn't want to please the audience.But when it comes to difficult singing, she can do it all.She's not like some characters, who just take care of the complex and changeable drags whenever they come across them.She sang faster and faster, but her attitude was calm, with a lively look, and she sang comfortably and full of emotion.At the end of singing, she came to a high pitch, stopped the drum board suddenly, and ended the singing.She put the drumstick and pad lightly on the drum, bowed deeply, and the ribbon on the pigtail almost touched the drum.Then she turned away and walked slowly towards the exit door.As soon as he got to the door, he ran up, like a schoolgirl rushing to leave school.

It wasn't until she ran into the curtain of the exit door that there was a burst of applause.The audience sitting in the front row did not understand what she was singing about.The applause came from familiar seats on the hatchback.Although her voice was still tender, they still applauded. They knew that it was not easy for such a young girl to sing such a complicated joke. Xiao Liu knew that Xiulian's joke was the most difficult to sing, and he was very happy that his work was correct.As soon as Xiulian finished singing, he heaved a sigh of relief, straightened his clothes, and followed her off the stage. Some listeners stood up, as if they were about to leave. They felt disappointed because Xiulian didn't look at them when she sang. What's worse, they didn't understand what she was singing at all. The table surrounds were changed again.This time they embroidered a crane and two deer, and embroidered two large characters with multicolored silk thread: Qinzhu.The audience sat down again.Just wait and see if Qin Zhu gets better. Xiao Liu played first.This time when he tuned the strings, he plucked them very loudly.When he played the role for Xiulian, he wanted to make no mistakes, but at this moment, he wanted to show off his talents.After setting the strings, he anxiously waited for Qinzhu to play.His eyes were fixed on the curtain of the playing door. Qinzhu finally came out from behind the curtain.She bowed her head and walked quickly to the drum stand, as if she was too busy to finish the song quickly so that she could go on to other more important things. She is tall, and tonight she put on high heels again, her curly hair is piled high on her head, she looks like a tall foreign woman in a Chinese cheongsam.Her face was carefully painted, and a bright red cheongsam was tightly wrapped around her body.On her ears, on her fingers and on her wrists, she wore fake gemstone jewelry borrowed from her mother, which gleamed gaudyly. The stage is a strange place, it can make an ugly woman look beautiful.Qinzhu looks ordinary, but skill and affectation make everything about her look colorful and sparkling.Her out-of-town style and eccentricity won her a head start as soon as she appeared. What is music!Her drums were beating very loudly, and she couldn't catch the strings.Xiao Liu fiddled with the sanxian with all his strength.In order to use his fingers vigorously, he leaned back a little bit, biting his lower lip because of too much force. The big drum, the cloud board, and the sanxian sounded in unison, making people dizzy, but the listeners were all attentive, as if they had already gotten used to the sound. Qinzhu soon realized her success, so she started to attract business for her own business.She winked at one person for a while, then turned to look at the second person.He winked at both of them, and the eyeballs changed from brown to black, and from black to brown for a long time.After the first joke was sung, she announced that she would "present" a special program: "Du Shiniang Sinks the Treasure Chest in Anger".The audience was all happy, and there was a lot of applause. Her voice was high-pitched, loud, and a little hoarse at the end.She kept yelling, not singing, without any tact.No one cared whether she could pronounce the words clearly, even if she mispronounced the words, it didn't matter.Nobody paid any attention to what she was singing.Men understand the look in her eyes and like her winking eyes.For Qinzhu, this is much more important than articulation. It doesn't matter whether Xiao Liu's strings fit her or not.He raised his arms high and bounced vigorously.One played vigorously, and the other yelled loudly. Even if they walked off the board, the two matched very well.The audience watched with bated breath.After arguing for twenty minutes, Qin Zhu finished her joke.She looked down, her face from left to right and then from right to left several times.Then she looked up and walked off slowly, wiggling her hips deliberately all the way.There was thunderous applause behind her. Baoqing sang the finale. The surround of his table was made of red serge, without embroidery, and three large characters were pasted on black satin: Fang Baoqing.As soon as the table was tied up, the door at the back of the garden opened, and people started pouring out—after hearing that girl in high heels, who wants to hear another man singing?Only a few people stayed, and they were tired, but they had to be polite. The door curtain was lifted, and the light from the gas lamp illuminated Baoqing's shiny bald forehead with a faint green light.When he came onto the stage, he kept smiling and nodding to the audience's applause.He wore a loose sea-blue silk gown, and black satin shoes with mill-soled soles.He always dresses appropriately when he goes on stage. He walked calmly to the drum stand, and the audience watched curiously. He didn't care about those who deserted him. They were just ignorant people, and he was sure of his game.Those who are familiar with it will appreciate his singing.It doesn't matter if a few young people go away.They came to the library just to see the heroine. His drumbeat is very simple, similar to that of Xiulian.But he hit it hard, with a loud and melodious beat coming out of the middle of the drum.His eyes were fixed on the drumhead, and he tapped methodically.Once the drum was in his hands, it became very tame.His drumbeat dominates Xiao Liu's strings, and he has already played very harmoniously and beautifully. After singing the short section, Baoqing said a few words, thanking the audience for coming and giving advice.Today is the first day of opening, so please bear with me if there is any lack of hospitality.He said that within a few days, the place would be tidied up.He wanted to speak these words fluently and generously, but when the time came, he couldn't say what he had prepared.When he stuttered, he laughed, and the audience forgave him.They applauded heartily, making him look happy. He introduced the program he was going to talk about - the story of the Three Kingdoms "Changbanpo".Before he could speak, the audience fell silent.They could sense that he was a character, something like that.Baoqing suddenly changed his expression.He has a solemn expression, his brows are furrowed, and his eyes are looking at the middle of the drum. With a high-spirited singing voice, he uttered the first line: "The ancient roads and barren mountains are struggling with bitterness, and the people are bloody and bloody..." The audience was fascinated and listened solemnly, not daring to breathe.Baoqing's voice was rough and powerful, and every word was full of passion.He sang slowly, with endless charm.Suddenly tender, sometimes impassioned, sometimes deep, sometimes brisk, every word is just right. Baoqing's performance perfectly combines speaking, singing and acting.He sang while doing it: "Loyalty and righteousness are eternally important, and a strong body and death are light." He can also mourn sadly and break people's hearts: "Madam Mi embraces the young master, shed tears in the bleak wind and moon..." Only when Kungfu reaches home Only people who can sing can be so exciting. Baoqing sang and acted.His drumstick is a magic wand that can change, and it can be what it plays.Holding it horizontally, it is a shining sword; holding it vertically, it is a gleaming Zhangba spear; shaking it in the air, it is a battle of thousands of troops and horses. As soon as he bent down, he walked out of the door; as soon as he lifted his foot, he got on the horse again. When Xiulian and Qinzhu sang, they also did their work.However, Xiulian is not as good at acting as Baoqing, and Qinzhu often goes too far.Baoqing's technique is the most sophisticated.His gestures not only help illustrate the plot, but also enhance the effect of the music.Suddenly, he struck the drum hard, the strings stopped, and the audience fell silent. He uttered a dozen or so lines in rhyme as if speaking in one breath.Hit the drum hard again, and the strings are played methodically again. This passage is about Mrs. Mi committing suicide, Zhao Zilong hugs Adou and breaks out of the siege.When he sang, the audience felt that they heard the clatter of horseshoes and the shouts of chasing soldiers fighting. In the end, Baoqing praised the loyal and brave Zhao Zilong with his unrestrained enthusiasm.When he narrated this passage, he was sometimes passionate and sometimes sentimental, and his patriotic spirit touched everyone present.Then, he bowed to the ground and walked into the exit door.At the end of the performance, there was a burst of applause and thunderous applause. Bao Qing wiped the sweat from his forehead, and walked to the stage to call the curtain.There was another applause.He said something but couldn't hear him.Everyone shouted: "Good! Good!" "Thank you! Thank you!" He smiled and couldn't stop thanking. "See you tomorrow! Please visit us more, there are still many things to do! Please come and give us advice." As he spoke, he stretched out his sea blue silk gown, which was soaked with sweat and stuck tightly to his spine up.