A few days later, the troupe arrived as scheduled. The area around the Li family became increasingly lively. The puppet troupe had been singing for several days, and now they had no choice but to step aside and give up the threshing floor to the new troupe.
The actors were babbling and singing. This is not Cantonese opera, nor is it sung in Mandarin, but a local tea-picking opera popular in northern Guangdong and southern Jiangxi. This kind of opera is somewhere between big opera and small singing. It is sung in dialect and includes both singing and dancing. The form is lively. It also has a certain storyline and is very popular among the villagers.
Since a puppet troupe came to perform in Lijiawei, it has become a cultural and entertainment center in this area, and people from all over the surrounding areas come to watch. Everyone is a little tired of the puppet show. Recently, it has been replaced with new tricks, and more people come.
People are business opportunities. Where there are crowds gathering, there is "living water." Vendors followed the "living water" and poured into Lijiawei to start business.
Vendors traveling from various villages carry poles with a lantern hanging on one end and a rattle on the other. They move among the crowd with the sound of the rattle while shouting about their business. Those selling brush goods, snacks, medicines, and painting books... came early and set up their stalls under the nearby trees by the light of torches and lanterns on the threshing floor, shaking drums and greeting tourists. For a time, the small Lijiawei was not inferior to the bustling and bustling Xiaoyaowei.
The golden pig was also squeezing among the crowd and looking around.
Early this morning, a steward from the patriarch's family came to see the golden pig. He said that watching the golden pig work hard on the stage in the past two days was considered a hard work. The patriarch's family decided to hire the golden pig permanently, but he just wanted to be famous in the Eight Immortals Association. He is considered a member of the group. In addition to practicing boxing, he also does some odd jobs with the clan leader's family. In addition to the compensation due to being a member of the group, the clan leader's family will also provide a subsidy, and there will be rewards for good work. He also said that if any idle guy from all over the country whom Jin Zhu knew was introduced, the owner would hire all of them as long as he could see them.
In the past few days, Mother Li has been nagging Jin Zhu to stay at home longer and not go to Xiaoyao Market to do odd jobs when she has free time. Taking advantage of the talisman water obtained from Huang Xiangu, he "worked" more at home so as to leave a heir for the Li family.
Now that there is such a job that does not require traveling far away, the Golden Pig naturally accepted it. That day, he worked with the steward all day long. When he had some free time after dinner, Golden Pig thought of Tian Yingcheng.
The Tian family is not well off, and they have a foreign surname in the village. Good things do not get their turn, but bad things always take their place. Although the family is somewhat wealthy, the income is not enough to cover the family's expenses, and they have to rely on part-time work to subsidize the family. Therefore, they and the "fake family" of the Golden Pig share the same problem, get very close to each other, and often support each other. The relationship between the two families is not bad.
Therefore, when there was such a good job this time, Golden Pig thought of helping the Tian family to introduce him to become a member of the group and get a share of money and food. It would be better than Tian Yingcheng to make a living by doing part-time work for others.
There have been social dramas these past few days, and no one around the Li family has traveled far. Tian Yingcheng should rest at home. He decided to go to Tian's house first to see if his partner was willing to go to the house together to do this long job.
Last time I went to Tian's house to congratulate Tian's wife on her return, Jin Zhu thought that his wife couldn't stand being poor and ran away with someone else. In the past two years, we have rarely heard of the abduction and trafficking of flowers. After the Australians came, as long as they caught the flower photographers, they would be punished with death, as well as those who helped transport, introduce matchmakers, accommodate, and even the buyers. implicated. A family in Lijiawei bought a child from a kidnapper, and the whole family was eventually exiled to some kind of "Taiwan". Now their bones are probably turned into soil.
When Tian's wife disappeared, he even went to persuade Tian Yingcheng and told him not to be sad. Life has become much better since the Australians came. After saving a few years, there is hope of marrying again.
Unexpectedly, Tian Yingcheng's wife came back recently. Not only did she come back, but she also looked very good. Not only did she look good, she was well-dressed, but she also brought back many items. Everyone secretly said that Tian Yingcheng's headscarf was probably green.
Tian Yingcheng wasn't angry at all. The frivolous people who had expected to watch the Tian family's quarrel were somewhat disappointed. The old people were right: the Tian family was so poor, and his wife was just lucky to come back, and she didn't care about whether her headscarf was green or not.
On the one hand, he went to congratulate him, but on the other hand, he wanted to discuss the social drama with Tian Yingcheng and then go out to do some casual labor together. For them, there is no such thing as "farm slack", it is just working in the countryside during busy farming times. , in terms of going to work in cities and towns during leisure time.
Because he heard that there was more work in the county, but he had never done any work in the county before, and he was somewhat timid to do it alone, so he wanted to take Tian Yingcheng with him. Because Tian Yingcheng's wife had a relative, she lived in Chengguan. There is some kind of care.
Unfortunately, the room was full of people and it was a mess. The golden pig just said hello to Tian Yingcheng and left. Later, he heard that Tian's sister-in-law was planning to do business in the village, and he also wanted to ask Tian Yingcheng about his future plans.
Who would have expected that when we arrived at Tian's house this time, the Tian's house would be noisy. The Tian family's mother-in-law and several children were busy packing things and packing clothes. He looked like he was packing his belongings for moving. The golden pig was shocked and asked Tian Yingcheng what he was doing.
Tian Yingcheng didn't hide it either. His daughter-in-law got lost this time and was lucky enough to be taken in by the Australians. I worked for a few days at a silk shop owned by an Australian in the county. The Australians were very satisfied with her. When they heard that she was from Lijiawei, they asked her to go to the countryside to sell Australian silkworm seeds and mulberry branches.
"I've heard about this too. She said that my sister-in-law is selling Australian silkworm seeds." Jinzhu nodded and said, "Since we sell silkworm seeds, we naturally have to stay in the village to sell them. Why did we leave?"
"Oh, you don't know..." Tian Yingcheng whispered, "Isn't it a taboo for her to sell mulberry strips and silkworm seeds?"
Jin Zhu was still a little confused, because his family was poor, so he had no capital to raise silkworms, no mulberry trees, and knew nothing about the business here.
"The silkworm seeds here in Lijiawei have always been sold by Mr. Li..."
"Oh, oh, yes, yes, that's what happened!" Jin Zhu suddenly realized, "By the way, there are also mulberry leaves. Anyone who shares his land must sell it to his family first..."
Now he understood. Sister-in-law Tian wants to sell silkworm seeds and mulberry sticks. Doesn't that mean she's trying to snatch the meat from Master Li's mouth? He was immediately shocked: This woman is so reckless!
I couldn't help but say: "You didn't take care of her properly! Are you going to kill her?!"
Tian Yingcheng smiled bitterly and said: "How dare I! She was ordered by Kun...an Australian. There is Mr. Li on one side and an Australian on the other. Who can I afford to offend? Let me tell you..."
A few days ago, the patriarch's family sent a steward to tell him that his wife had been bewitched by the thief Kun using witchcraft and told nonsense, and asked him to discipline his wife and stop talking nonsense. Otherwise, Huang Xiangu will be asked to cast spells to catch the monster. When the time comes, don't blame Mr. Li for not talking about the love between the countryside and the countryside.
The Tian family originally had a surname in Lijiawei. After hearing what the steward said, everyone in the Tian family panicked. Tian Yingcheng's mother scolded Sister-in-law Tian. Call her a "troublemaker." Tian's sister-in-law was also panicked. The family discussed it and concluded that she could no longer stay in Lijiawei for the time being. Her mother-in-law also said: The Australians had promised her that if she couldn't survive in Lijiawei, she could go to the city. To defect to the Australians means that the Australians can make other arrangements for them.
Tian Yingcheng was moved after hearing what his mother-in-law said about the various actions of the thieves and the benefits of working for them. His family didn't have much land, and most of them were tenant farmers. There is actually nothing to miss here in Lijiawei. Even with the strength of his own arm, he can still have a bowl of food under the hands of the Australians. My wife can also have an errand to do. It's much better than staying here.
"... After thinking about it, now I can only go to the city to join the Australians. At least I can have a bowl of food." Tian Yingcheng said, "Your sister-in-law said that the treatment of the Australians is not bad there, why don't you come to the county with us? Work for the Australians."
Now that the Golden Pig has an errand as a member of the group, he naturally does not want to leave home. He immediately said that he has become a member of the group and has a regular job. I still have my mother and wife at home, and I don’t want to go too far.
Tian Yingcheng didn't try to persuade him, he just whispered: "Golden Pig! You and I are brothers. You are from the Li family, and being a member of the group is a good job. But these days, Mr. Li has created an Eight Immortals Club to cause trouble in the village. . I see something evil. You have to be careful, the government is most afraid of this..."
These words spoke true to the heart of the Golden Pig. It's not that he thinks the Eight Immortals Association is suspicious, but the various techniques he has practiced since the Eight Immortals Association came here are all useful in battle. He also asked the group members to learn boxing and kicking. What is this intended to do? Nowadays, the four villages are at peace, and all the bandits have been wiped out. There is no need for such a large number of troops to deal with the occasional bad guys. Besides, what the Eight Immortals Society teaches is how to avoid guns and cannonballs - where can these criminals have so many firearms?
He didn't dare to think deeply, as the saying goes, it's scary to think about it carefully.
But this group's job was really tempting, and he couldn't bear to give it up. I always feel that Mr. Li has such a big family fortune, so he may not be dizzy.
He hesitated and said: "My younger brother feels the same way, but I am just a small member of the group. If the sky falls, my eldest son will be the one to support me. How can I use my younger brother?"
Tian Yingcheng said: "If you really can't survive, just come to the county and join my brother. There will always be a bowl of food to eat!"
The golden pig nodded silently and said a few more words. Before leaving, Mrs. Tian's wife gave him some fragmentary Australian items, saying that they wanted to keep each other in their thoughts.
After leaving Tian's house, Golden Pig raised his head and glanced at the sky. The moonlight is dark tonight, and the moon is deeply hidden in the thick clouds, not leaking any color. The stars flicker and hide in the clouds. There is another big star that is faintly emitting red light and swaying in the mid-air.
He felt uneasy. When he returned home, he saw that my mother and Lianniang were not at home. They probably went to watch a social opera. I planned to look for him near the stage first, and then go home after watching the social drama together.
(End of chapter)
