Beisandao Street, a new stage.
The backstage was busy. During the first month of the year, opera singing was a local characteristic of Bingcheng. All the major stages were packed with people, and each house performed their best and most festive songs.
Bingcheng is regarded as the opera house in the Northeast. Many people like to watch operas and listen to operas with a high level of appreciation. In addition to local repertoire, there are also Peking Opera, Pingju Opera, Huangmei Opera and other major operas that have been sung throughout the land of China. Of course, there are also Imported dramas and operas from abroad, etc.
Daowai is a place where Chinese people gather together. The main performances here are local dramas.
"Xiaorou, Xiaorou, hurry up, you will be on stage in a moment, don't let me down..." Sun Qingkui, the class leader of Ruiqing class, stood in the dressing room backstage, holding a cigarette holder in his mouth, and asked over and over again. Actors on stage.
Today's play is very important. Not only is there a large audience, but there are also many important people here. If the performance fails.
After Ruiqing class, there is no way to eat on the ground in Bingcheng.
"I know, godfather." A young and pretty woman who was putting on makeup in front of the mirror agreed. She was Sun Qingkui's adopted daughter, Jiang Rou, one of the leading actors in the Ruiqing Band, with the stage name Xiao Xiangning.
The pieces she performed today were "Flower as Matchmaker" and "Qin Xianglian", both of which are classic Pingju opera pieces that many people have heard. If the performance is not good, then if you are booed, your reputation will be terrible. Just smash it.
Not only Jiang Rou herself was a little nervous, but the entire troupe was also a little nervous.
As a melodious bamboo flute sounded.
A cheerful drum beat ensues.
The auditorium of the huge new stage was packed with seats, and every audience member stared intently at the festively decorated stage.
But I saw a pretty little beauty wearing a green gauze skirt, her hair in a girl's bun, and pink and white cheeks walking up to the stage with small steps...
"In spring, the wind blows all things, the flowers are red, the leaves are green, and the grass is green. Peach blossoms are in the eyes, apricot blossoms are thick, pear blossoms are luxuriant, and poplar flowers fly all over the city." (After listening to "Flowers and Matchmakers", there were no subtitles, so I couldn't hear clearly what was being sung. What, some only have excerpts, only one excerpt.)
good!
Her voice was as gentle and clear as an oriole, and she received a round of applause as soon as she opened her mouth. The actors on the stage stood still, and the moderator Sun Qingkui backstage also took a few puffs of dry cigarettes and grinned.
As long as we don't make any mistakes and perform normally, today's drama will be over.
It takes more than two hours to sing the entire "Flower and the Matchmaker". Therefore, the actor's profession is actually a labor of strength. If you haven't had the basic skills since childhood, you really can't persevere, especially your voice.
This is not just singing once, but singing every day.
"Xiaorou, today was a good day. The host said he would treat everyone to dinner tonight to celebrate the success of our debut." After the show, Sun Qingkui came backstage and walked behind Jiang Rou who was taking off her makeup and said.
"Daddy, I'm tired, so I won't eat any more." Jiang Rouwan refused.
"You kid, we have to make a living on the ground of Ice City from now on. If the proprietor can agree to let us stay, then we won't have to worry about food from now on." Sun Qingkui advised.
This Sun Qingkui is from Shuangcheng, a true native of Songjiang Province. He used to travel around with his troupe, looking for food everywhere, so he has experienced a lot. Now that he is older, he wants to return to his roots.
If he could establish himself in the drama den of Bingcheng, then at least his retirement would be guaranteed in the future.
So this time I came back and fought hard for a chance to perform on a new stage, which was quite difficult.
You must know that the new stage is not just his team. If you want to be the "bottom bag", you must have the means to take action, otherwise why would others let you get a share of the pie?
"Daddy, you know I don't like socializing, and I have a show tomorrow morning. If this delays the show..."
The sky is huge and the show is the biggest.
Sun Qingkui also knew that whether he could gain a foothold on the new stage depended on his goddaughter.
It can't be twisted.
"Okay, don't go to the celebration banquet tonight. Get some rest early and prepare for tomorrow's performance." Sun Qingkui said.
"Thank you, godfather." Jiang Rou said gratefully.
Jiang Rou finished taking off her makeup, changed her clothes, and told Sun Qingkui that she was going back to her residence to rest. It was a large car shop, and the troupe had rented out a yard with about a dozen rooms.
Most of the rooms are for two people to a room. Only the corners of the class like her have separate rooms.
She used to share a room with other people. After she became popular after performing in Peking, Tangshan and other places a year ago, she became eligible to live in a single room, and her salary changed from a fixed salary to a performance share.
There are only two or three people like her in the Ruiqing class.
Wearing a dark red round hat, a half-covered veil, small sheepskin gloves, and a brown cashmere woolen coat, Jiang Rou looked more modern than the beauties in ancient costumes on the stage.
He raised his hand and called for a carriage. The driver was an old White Russian.
Jiang Rou looked around and then got on the carriage. The carriage quickly started and merged into the rolling traffic.
Artillery Street.
"Fu" remembers the grocery store. Seeing that it was getting dark, the store owner was about to close the store. At this time, a young and beautiful woman suddenly walked into the store.
"Boss, do you have candles for sale?"
"Yes, madam, do you want white or red?" The shopkeeper was stunned for a moment, then put down the door panel in his hand and asked.
"The red one is for weddings." The woman said with a slight smile.
"Yes, how much do you want?" The shop owner smiled, with a hint of kindness and excitement in his eyes.
"Bring me three pairs. I want rushes, but not cotton wicks."
"good."
The woman took out a banknote from her pocket and handed it over. The shopkeeper saw that it was half a five-yuan ruble. He immediately understood and quickly put it into his sleeve: "Wait a moment, I will get it for you."
After the shopkeeper went in, he came out not long after: "Comrade messenger, Comrade Poporov has been waiting for you for a long time."
"Yes." The woman nodded and followed the shop owner into the grocery store.
"Comrade Jiang Rou, long time no see." The woman walked into a reception room. Waiting for her inside was Poporov, the director of the Certificate and License Department of the Soviet Russian Consulate. Of course, he had put on makeup. At this time, he was not true colors.
"Hello, Comrade Poporov. We meet again. It's been three years since we said goodbye to Peking." Jiang Rou nodded. She also didn't expect that when she returned to work in Ice City, her first task was to serve as the Soviet Union's The courier of the Consulate General in Ice City, that is to say, she will serve as a member of the Communist Party of China in the transportation work of the Soviet Far East Bureau intelligence agency.
"Yes, you just joined us three years ago. At that time, you were still very immature and didn't know anything. Three years have passed in the blink of an eye, and you have grown into a qualified Bolshevik. I am really happy for you!" Bobo! Rolf said.
"Comrade Poporov, what is my mission this time?" Jiang Rou asked directly.
Poporov took out a document bag, handed it to Jiang Rou and said, "The person in the document bag is very important. Your task is to gain his trust in the shortest possible time and wait for the next instruction."
Jiang Rou took the document bag into her hand and asked, "Is it okay?"
"Just read it here, keep it in your mind after reading it, and keep the content in your mind." Poporov pointed to his head and said.
Jiang Rou nodded, opened the document bag, and took out the information inside, a photo, and a resume description.
Jiang Rou looked at the person in the photo and frowned slightly, because the person in the photo gave her a familiar feeling.
"Does it feel familiar?" Poporov asked with a smile.
"Do you still remember that little boy fourteen years ago who was beaten up by your current godfather, Sun Qingkui, the head teacher of Ruiqing class, who was discovered by him in order to steal a bite of food for you?"
"Zhou Sen, it's brother Xiao Sen!" Upon hearing this, Jiang Rou's eyes suddenly sharpened, and then she let out an excitement. She had been secretly looking for him for many years, but there was no news.
Sun Qingkui told him that Zhou Sen had died a long time ago. If he sneaked out alone in such a cold day, he would have died of starvation or freezing, and would have been eaten by wild wolves.
However, she just didn't believe it. Ever since she had a little bit of autonomy, she began to look for people secretly.
This time I came back with the intention of finding someone.
Now the person is already in front of her without her having to look for it. How can she not be excited about this?
"He was adopted by a wealthy Belarusian businessman named Anthony Robin in Bingcheng. He was renamed Wasim, and his Chinese name is still Zhou Sen. He is now a policeman at Nangang Police Station in Bingcheng. His adoptive father belongs to the Belarusian Restoration Organization. One of them, and he may also be one of them. The members of this Belarusian Restoration Organization are very active in the Far East. We need to understand and master the internal situation of this organization, but this organization is very difficult to penetrate, so we need your help. Help," Poporov explained.
"Do you want me to do his job and instigate him to work for us?" Jiang Rou asked.
"Absolutely, that's what it means. He is Chinese just like you, but because of Anthony Robin's relationship, he can gain the trust of this Belarusian restoration organization, and then he can get the secrets we want." Poporov Said, "Now this Belarusian restoration organization is cooperating with the Japanese and continuously providing them with intelligence at all levels in the Far East. Once the Soviet Union and Japan go to war, the consequences will be unimaginable."
"I see. I want to know how much authority I have?" Jiang Rou quickly wrote down the contents of the information. She has a photographic memory.
"If necessary, you can use emotion to maintain this relationship." Poporov thought about it carefully.
Jiang Rou's hand holding the material trembled.
"I know this is difficult for you, but if you have some kind of chemical reaction after meeting, it will undoubtedly be of great help to your work."
"I'll try, but I can't guarantee it. We haven't seen each other for almost fourteen years, and it's hard to tell whether he recognizes me or not," Jiang Rou said.
"Do you want me to arrange your meeting?"
"No need, I'll do it myself." Jiang Rou refused directly.
"Okay, if there is any situation, you can contact Lao Zhang and he will notify me as soon as possible." Poporov said. Lao Zhang is the owner of "Fu" Ji Grocery Store and the head of the Comintern Transportation Bureau in Bingcheng. traffic officer.
