Yan Fansun and others were very enthusiastic about their work. The key was the support of the advanced and excellent lecture notes provided by Li Yu, which made it go very smoothly.
After finishing his work, Zhang Boling said to Li Yu: "Brother Shucai, I happen to have a few theater tickets here. Let's go and listen to it together." Yan Fansun said: "Yes, a big role is here today, and the opening scene is in the capital." Fugen, the leader of the "Eight Freaks on the Bridge", talks about stand-up comedy, and then Yang Xiaolou, a famous actor in the capital, makes his final appearance. "Fugen is the third generation crosstalk successor, and is known as Mr. Gui in the industry.
This lineup is basically equivalent to the later generations of Guo Degang and Jet Li appearing at the same time, which is absolutely sensational. But currently opera is definitely more popular.
Li Yu said: "The battle is not small. Is there a big shot coming?" Yan Fansun said: "I heard that Li Guojie is coming and has spent a lot of money." Li Guojie is Li Hongzhang's eldest grandson and has inherited Li Hongzhang's first rank. Marquis.
Unlike after Rong Lu's death, the Rong family had almost no heirs, but Li Hongzhang's family had been doing well.
Li Hongzhang left behind a huge fortune, estimated at 20 million taels of silver. Even if calculated according to the most conservative purchasing power parity method, it would be equivalent to about 6 billion yuan in future generations!
It’s impossible to say that he was as rich as any country, but he was definitely at the top of the wealth pyramid at the beginning of the 20th century. There are really not many people who can surpass the Li family. It seems that the only one who can make money is Prince Qing.
Among the other four famous officials in the late Qing Dynasty, Zeng Guofan died early; Zuo Zongtang left only tens of thousands taels after his death; Zhang Zhidong left even less.
I really can't compare to Li Hongzhang... As a comparison, Hu Xueyan, the most famous red-top businessman in the Qing Dynasty, has been in business all his life. At his peak, his assets were almost 20 million taels of silver.
Li Hongzhang was only an official and did not do business specifically. Of course, he did create many big industries, and he also had Sheng Xuanhuai, the most powerful official and businessman in the late Qing Dynasty after Hu Xueyan.
Li Guojie now spent money to enter the Capital University Hall as a lecturer. Li Yu had met him before. Li Yu and others immediately came to the theater.
Yan Fansun handed him a theater ticket. Li Yu looked at it and saw that the ticket price was 700 yuan, which was already very high. I went to the Jingcheng Civilization Tea Garden before and it was in a good location.
"Balcony" is 400 Wen. The high ticket price today is probably due to the fact that two famous actors were invited at the same time.
Nowadays, Yang Xiaolou's reputation is not small. After all, he can enter the Nanfu Theater of the Imperial Palace and be appreciated by Cixi.
Although the old woman is disgusting, people who live in a comfortable life often go to the theater and watch too much. I can't say that I am a good appraiser of art, but my artistic taste is indeed not low.
Li Yu and others had just sat down when Li Guojie entered the door. He saw Li Yu at a glance and stepped forward to say hello: "Master! I didn't expect you to be so good at this." Li Yu said with a smile: "Entertainment is indeed good." Li Guojie is a noble son. He has listened to opera and cross talk since he was a child. He said proudly: "It just so happens that we can enjoy it together today. I am not only a great opera master, but also a lover of folk arts." Li Yu really can't compare with him in this aspect.
A few people sat down again and started eating melon seeds. The first to take the stage was Fugenshuo's stand-up comedy, "Taiping Lyrics", "Exploring Qingshui River" and so on.
Li Yu had heard of Deyun Society before, so he was not unfamiliar with these. Although Zhang Yunlei's "Exploring the Qingshui River" does sound better, but when it was sung by artists in the late Qing Dynasty and early Republic of China, it has more of the flavor of the story itself.
Because the story told by Tan Qingshuihe is actually quite tragic. It is basically a story about two young men and women who were restricted by feudal ethics and ultimately died in love.
It's a bit like the plot of a peacock flying southeast. The above is just an appetizer. After that, Fugen came back with a more interesting episode of "The Big Bodyguard".
This is the more common double-talk crosstalk in later generations, but the form belongs to the initial stage, and many aspects are not as perfect as stand-up crosstalk.
Li Guojie introduced him: "The master with rich roots is Zhu Shaowen, whose stage name is 'Be Not Afraid of Being Poor'. He once performed for Prince Gong." Later, many crosstalk artists regarded Zhu Shaowen as the founder of crosstalk.
There were actually artists before him, but Zhu Shaowen's achievements and reputation were more prominent, especially his pioneering of double-talk crosstalk, so he was conventionally regarded by the crosstalk circle as
"The founder". After Fu Gen finished his performance, Yang Xiaolou appeared. In terms of influence, Beijing Opera’s status is indeed higher at this time.
Accompanied by the band playing in the background, Yang Xiaolou showed up with martial arts steps, and the audience burst into applause.
Li Yu can understand cross talk, but he really doesn't understand Beijing opera very well, so he can only cheer along with the others. After the song ended, everyone took advantage of the break to go to the toilet and buy tea.
Suddenly someone from behind shouted loudly: "You, are you Japanese?" The speaker had a strange mouth and was obviously a foreigner.
The Japanese replied: "Are you a Russian red deer?"
"Red Deer? Are you scolding me?" the Russian said angrily.
"Yes, you are the Russian Red Deer!" the Japanese said arrogantly. The Russian quit and yelled back in Russian: "Sukabu! Do you have the guts to fight with me?" The Japanese unbuttoned his clothes and said, "I am a judo master after all, and I will let you Russians fight today." You know, not only can we defeat you on the battlefield, but we can also win in battles!"
"What a waste of judo! Strength is king, little Japan, I will not show mercy, be careful to die here!" The Russian looked very tall and began to unbutton his clothes.
The Japanese didn't wait for the Russian to finish taking off his clothes, then reached out and grabbed him by the collar and threw him out. The Russian fell heavily on a table, and one of the table legs instantly cracked.
The spectators around them saw that they were really fighting, and they all got out of the way. These two people were jealous. After all, the two countries were already at war with each other. They declared war on each other and they couldn't stand each other very much.
The Japanese rushed over and then grabbed the Russian by the collar. The Russian did not take off his clothes and punched the Japanese in the face.
The Japanese had to loosen their collars and dodge back. The Russian then jumped off the table, stood up again, and cursed: "Sukabu! You are planning a sneak attack!" The security guards of the theater rushed over to break up the fight: "You two guests, if you have something to say, don't do anything!" The Russian He punched me, but the security guard didn't block him and was knocked to the side.
The Russian cursed angrily: "What qualifications does a Chinese have to stop me? Today I will let the damn Japanese die here!" The Japanese were also not to be outdone: "Come here, I will use you to comfort the emperor today!" "The Russian was furious and rushed over and punched. The Japanese raised his hands to block, but the punch was indeed very powerful. He was hit several steps back and overturned many tables and chairs.
The Russians were about to pursue their victory when another Chinese suddenly appeared in front of them. The Chinese shouted angrily: "Don't act wild here!" The Russian didn't take him seriously at all and punched him. Unexpectedly, the opponent easily avoided it and kicked him in the crook of the knee.
The Russian couldn't stand on his feet and fell forward. Seeing this opportunity, the Japanese quickly kicked the Russians in the face.
The Russians cannot avoid this situation. The Chinese man followed up and met the Japanese leg directly.
Japanese
"Ouch", he fell down clutching his calf. But the Chinese retracted his legs lightly, and then scolded: "You don't see that this is a public place, let you do whatever you want? If you don't agree, set up a ring, and I, Huo Yuanjia, will accompany you one by one to the end!" Li Yu's eyes lit up, Good guy, it turns out to be Hohohohohohohohoho!
With a flick of his mouth, he actually sang Jay Chou's song. At this time, Huo Yuanjia had not yet gone to Shanghai to establish the Jingwu Sports Association, which was the famous Jingwu Sect in subsequent film and television works.
But he has already made a name for himself in Tianjin. Three years ago, a Russian strongman took advantage of the Gengzi national crisis to cry out
"An invincible opponent to conquer all of China." Then Huo Yuanjia immediately made an appointment with him through Nong Jinsun. Unexpectedly, the strong man found out that Huo Yuanjia was a tough guy with real kung fu, so he actually backed down.
So at this time, the Russians also felt a little guilty when they heard about Fearless's reputation. The Huo family was originally from a bodyguard agency, and they were involved in the business of licking blood from the sword head, and they were very fierce in fights.
The Japanese had never heard of Huo Yuanjia's reputation. He rubbed his calves for a while, stood up and said angrily: "Baga! Don't block me, sick man of East Asia!" He made a gesture and rushed over, and suddenly flew out from behind Huo Yuanjia. A young boy raised his leg and kicked him in the calf again.
Even in the real ring competitions of later generations, such as the very famous K1, it is very useful to hit one position with the whip leg at the same time, which will cause muscle tears, and the opponent will quickly lose combat effectiveness and fall to the ground.
The Japanese's injuries were getting worse at this moment. He screamed in pain, covered his calves and completely shrunk to the ground, unable to stand up. Fearless greeted the security guard: "Kick them out!" Then he said fiercely to the Japanese and Russians: "Remember my name, we will tell you in the ring if anything happens." The security guard quickly crossed the Japanese and Russians and left, just in time This is not far from the newly established Tianjin Police Department.
The Police Department was established by Yuan Shikai, and they did not dare to deal with foreigners at will. At most, they would send them back to their respective embassy areas.
The waiters in the theater hurriedly came out to clean up the broken tables and chairs. Li Yu stepped forward and clasped his fists and said, "Master Huo!" Huo Yuanjia saw that Li Yu didn't have braids and asked suspiciously, "Who are you?"
"He is Li Yu." A voice came from Huo Yuanjia's side, and it was Nong Jinsun who spoke.
"Junqing, have you forgotten, I told you." Huo Yuanjia said, "I remembered, you are the emperor's teacher, famous in the West, you also established schools and education, you are a great sage!" Li Yu said with a smile : "I can't say that it's a saint." Nong Jinsun stepped forward and said with cupped hands: "Imperial master, I'm Nong Jinsun." Li Yu replied: "Long time to look up!" Li Guojie on the side was a little frightened. He hid outside the gate just now, and then left. He came back and asked: "Is it okay to treat foreigners like this?" Nong Jinsun had a strict education and acted cautiously. He said: "Don't worry, Lord Marquis, this place is directly under the jurisdiction of Beiyang. Moreover, the Japanese and Russians are now at war with each other and are suffering from each other." The hatred is deep. Let's fight on both sides. It won't be biased, but nothing will happen." Li Guojie said: "That's good." He was also worried that the Russians and Japanese would unite.
But I have forgotten that the Qing Dynasty is now a fish and meat market, and everyone is fighting for you. With such a fuss, the drama will definitely be unbearable.
At this moment, Yang Xiaolou suddenly ran out with the flower gun on the stage. He had just taken off his heavy costume backstage, and said angrily: "Foreign devils still dare to fight in front of me! Come out!" Huo Yuanjia said with a smile: "No need. , they have been beaten away by me. And you are just showing off your skills, don't really use swords or guns with others." Yang Xiaolou was unconvinced: "You have to fight if you can't beat him!" Huo Yuanjia put away his smile, stopped mocking him, and praised He said: "You have courage." Seeing that the Japanese and Russians were indeed not there, Yang Xiaolou looked at the fancy gun in his hand and sighed: "I just hate that although I play heroes like Zhao Zilong and Guan Yunchang, I don't have the ability to kill the enemy. "Li Yu said to him: "Everyone has their own strengths, brother Yang, don't be depressed." Yang Xiaolou didn't know that Li Yu also came to listen to the play, and was surprised: "Brother Li! You are here too! I'm really sorry that I didn't let you Listen." Li Yu didn't understand Beijing opera anyway, so he said: "It doesn't matter, I just watched a good show today." Then he said to Huo Yuanjia: "Master Huo, you are truly a Jingwu hero." Huo Yuanjia He was stunned and said: "Jingwu Hero? What a good title! I like it!" Li Yu looked at the boy who had kicked the Japanese again before and asked: "Who is this?" Huo Yuanjia introduced him: " His name is Liu Zhensheng, and he is my apprentice." Liu Zhensheng stepped forward and clasped his fists and said, "I have met the emperor's master." Liu Zhensheng was Huo Yuanjia's great apprentice and the prototype of Chen Zhen, the protagonist of "Fist of Fury" in later generations.
Li Yu said happily: "It's rare to see a group of heroes. How about we have a drink together?" Huo Yuanjia and Nong Jinsun said: "It's an honor to be invited by the emperor's master." In fact, in their eyes, Li Yu and others The status of people is much higher.
When Yan Fansun and Zhang Boling saw Huo Yuanjia's master and apprentice take action, they also felt very enthusiastic and immediately agreed to go with them.
Li Yu looked at Li Guojie and said, "Master Marquis, where are you?" Li Guojie, however, didn't particularly want to associate with the green forest people, so he said, "I still have something to do, so I won't go." Li Yu didn't force him to stay.
Yang Xiaolou said, "Can I come with you?"
"Of course." Li Yu readily agreed, and then said to Fugen,
"Mr. Fu, let's come together." Fu Gen didn't expect that the imperial master would take the initiative to invite him, and said excitedly: "It's an honor to be able to sit with the emperor." Huo Yuanjia smiled and said, "By the way, I will perform one more part." Fu Gen is a professional The crosstalk talker was very good at answering: "It's just right for the food and wine." Before leaving, Huo Yuanjia suddenly asked again: "Have you paid the fees?" Yang Xiaolou and Fugen shook their heads.
Li Yu's eyes flashed and he said to Li Guojie: "Master Hou, look..." Li Guojie understood very well and immediately said: "Today's performance fee and reward will not be less." Fugen and Yang Xiaolou immediately said: "Thank you. Pass the Marquis!" Li Guojie said awkwardly: "You should, you should." Yang Xiaolou and Fugen each earned 60 taels of silver today, which is 4 taels of silver.
Convert it to the equivalent of 1,200 yuan in later generations. And this kind of situation is not uncommon. Including performances for dignitaries, there are only about ten performances a month at most.
Sometimes dignitaries would give more rewards, but no matter how you calculate it, compared with the income of future stars, it is simply a drop in the bucket.
After all, they are also among the absolute top in the current entertainment industry, especially the extremely popular Yang Xiaolou.
Fortunately, overall, they can already afford a life above the middle class. After the Republic of China, their performance fees continued to rise.
