"I am looking forward too."
Ma Wei grinned and looked at the tall, bright tent ahead: "I wonder what surprises there will be?"
"I'm going to line up first, and then we can sit in the middle, where we have the best view," Holmes said.
"Okay, see you later."
The long queue moved forward slowly, and soon Ma Wei arrived at the ticket office.
"Standing ticket is 3 pence, seated ticket is 5 pence..."
Sitting behind the long table, a girl with a ponytail and men's clothes stood straight and asked with a sweet smile: "Sir, which one do you want to buy?"
"Two seats."
Mavey counted out 10 copper pennies and put them in the change box at the corner of the table.
"OK."
The girl quickly tore off two notes-sized notes and handed them to Ma Wei. She used her palms to guide the way and pointed to the curtain lifted behind her: "The position is not fixed. You can sit wherever you want."
"Can pets come in?"
"pet?"
The girl stretched her white neck, looked under the table, and found Fat Orange following Ma Wei. She said humorously: "As long as he doesn't act coquettishly to other guests and steal our limelight."
"It's hard to tell about other circuses, but you definitely won't." Ma Wei laughed silently.
"Gina, hurry up, the show starts in 30 minutes!"
The burly man at the ticket office next door warned.
"I know! It's so long-winded!"
Gina glared at the man and smiled apologetically at Mavi.
"I won't disturb you anymore."
Picking up the bill, Ma Wei took Yunia and Fat Orange into the tent. As soon as they entered, they felt a sultry breath.
Bundles of lit torches were inserted diagonally at the edge of the tent, and tall stepped benches were built high around the central stage made of wooden boards. Under the illumination of dozens of kerosene gas lamps, the tent was well-lit and lively and cheerful. The atmosphere arises spontaneously.
The first audience to buy tickets grabbed the seats in the front row. Ma Wei came neither early nor late, and did not want to sit in the front row, so he took Yunia directly to the middle seat.
Not long after, Holmes, who was a little slower, also walked into the tent. He saw Ma Wei and Ma Wei in the middle at a glance. After saying goodbye a few times, he successfully came to Ma Wei's side.
"Dad, when does it start?"
Yunia was getting impatient and restless. Ma Wei believed that the reason for her anxiety was mainly because the popcorn was about to bottom out.
"Soon, soon..."
Ma Wei took out his pocket watch and glanced at the crowd pouring in from the outside. There was a mixture of people in the audience, including well-dressed aristocrats and gentry, as well as ordinary middle-class people who tried their best to show off their differences. They politely offered to sit down, chatting and laughing, while ordinary workers who were financially strapped but still wanted to watch the show gathered around the benches with their standing tickets. Most of them held a glass of cool sweet beer and talked loudly. , and occasionally made some vulgar remarks.
"There are still 10 minutes left." Ma Wei picked up his pocket watch and said.
"It's about to start in 10 minutes! Move faster! Anton, has Anton put on makeup? Where did the leader go? Damn it! He's going to go on stage to read the opening remarks!"
Backstage at the circus, people wearing all kinds of bright costumes were running around, squeezing through the piles of debris piled on both sides of the aisle, each performing their duties and extremely busy.
The manager, Miss Tiffany, who was holding the program list, grabbed a vaudeville performer and asked loudly: "Omley, have you seen the leader?!"
"Captain..." Omre looked behind her, a little confused: "Captain, he is right here..."
"Um?"
Tiffany turned around and saw a young man wearing a top hat, a monocle, a tuxedo, and a white dove on his shoulder standing behind her, looking at her with a smile.
"Captain! You're doing this again!"
Tiffany rolled her eyes angrily: "Can you stop being so childish?"
"I like how serious you are, Tiffany." The fair-faced, very handsome young man lowered his head and kissed the back of her hand, smiling slightly.
"Ah...."
Tiffany was not moved at all, and even sneered: "You say that to every woman."
"Oh, you are the most special!"
"Cut the nonsense!"
Grabbing the other person's wrist, Tiffany roughly took the man behind the curtain and thrust a script list into his hand: "Hurry and memorize it! You'll need it on stage later!"
"I do not need this."
The man crumpled his script into a ball, flipped his wrist, and conjured a rose. After picking off the stem, he elegantly inserted it into Tiffany's bun.
"Opening remarks and all that, just improvise on the spot. Why is it worth straining your slender wrists for this?"
"You just turned the line list I worked so hard to write into a useless rose." Tiffany sneered.
"The rose is my gift to you."
The man shrugged: "As for the line list..."
He grabbed Tiffany's ear, opened his palm, and a paper ball suddenly appeared.
"I won't waste your efforts. It's so inelegant."
"If you had focused on developing your career, our circus would have become number one in the kingdom!"
"It's pretty good now, isn't it?"
The man patted Tiffany on the shoulder and said with a smile: "I like the circus now. Here, I am very relaxed and happy."
"Then you still often play missing?"
"Humans, you have to do interesting things while you are young. Life is short, so you must cherish your time."
The man walked towards the curtain.
However...
Tiffany's voice stopped him in his tracks.
"Stop it, Captain."
Tiffany turned around and stared at the man's broad back: "Everyone knows that I keep it in my heart and don't say it because I respect you and love you, but how long can this kind of life last? You always make mistakes!"
"At that time, Tiffany will take over as the leader."
"Wouldn't it be better to settle down? We have grown from just a few people to a large circus with 50 people today. Our income and expenses have already been balanced. Why do we still do such despised things?"
"I like how serious you are, and I like seeing people smile from the bottom of their hearts."
The man said without looking back: "This is what I pursue. The circus can bring people a moment of joy, but it cannot fundamentally solve the problem. The darker the era, the more light needs to appear. My father said this , Grandpa is like this, and so am I..."
After speaking, he opened the curtain, strode onto the stage, opened his arms, smiled, and said in a loud voice:
"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Circus Sunshine!"
"I am the leader..."
"Leven Berger!"
