Ye Wumian was overjoyed and said: "Xiao Sheng really wants to cross the Lu River eastward and is worried about buying a boat. It would be great if I could have your dear brother to help me!"
At this moment, I had no sleep and finished my porridge and rice.
The hostess packed a lot for him to eat on the way. After calling her husband to come and see the barber's shop, she led Ye Wuxiang to the east, passing through the bustling small town market.
Not even a mile away, there is a river rushing straight into your eyes.
The river comes from the north and goes to the south, with twists and turns and waves, rippling in the breeze. The hostess said that this is the Lu River, which eventually flows into the Xiangjiang River.
When the water dries up in winter, many pebbles are exposed on the river beach. Some children gather in groups, pick up pebbles, bask in the sun, chase and play, and enjoy the hard-won warm winter weather.
On both sides of the river, there are several ferries, cutting through the quiet water, traveling alternately from the east and west banks.
Because the weather is warm today, there are many people going out for activities. Going back and forth from both sides of the Taiwan Strait, there are many people busy with their own livelihood and affairs.
The ferry business was therefore very good.
The boatmen's faces were glowing, there was endless work to do, small profits and high sales. The money they earned was solid and comfortable. They sang boatman songs while shaking their hands, which was very happy.
Ye Wuxian and the guests waited for a while, and the largest ferry docked.
The boatman is a strong young man with a strong head and a strong brain, and he is eager to call the guests to get on the boat.
His wife, like the hostess of the porridge shop, is also a short and stout woman. She carries a cloth bag and collects money from the passengers on board one by one:
"Young and old people are not deceived, and everyone will benefit from a copper plate!"
The hostess took the young boatman and led Ye Wuxian, and warned him: "But you can't accept money from this scholar. The scholar has already given you money."
With that said, he took out ten copper coins and distributed them to him.
The young man accepted the money, smiled boldly, nodded and said: "Since my sister has given me the order, how can I dare to accept it anymore? However, my sister has a lot of friends from all over the world, including Taoist priests, monks, fishermen, farmers, merchants and cooks. Today, we have a new addition, a scholar holding a white horse! Does your brother-in-law know about it?"
The hostess scolded him, but she wasn't really angry. She just laughed and scolded him: "You spend the whole day laughing and joking and making fun of your sister. You don't have any integrity. You deserve a beating!"
Ye Wumian led his horse onto the boat, and the young boatman left enough space for him, so it didn't look crowded.
He protected Yunsheng's head, said goodbye to his hostess, and headed to the east bank of Lu River.
The water is no more than a hundred feet wide, and you will reach the east bank in a short time.
When I got off the boat in the night, I saw that there was another market on the east coast, with people coming and going, and it seemed to be no less crowded than the towns on the west coast.
He couldn't help but be surprised: Is this White Rabbit Lake town so prosperous?
The young boatman explained: "This is a market for going to the market. There are not so many people on weekdays. They only come here every ten days. Visitors from both sides of the Lu River and even Jiangxi communicate with each other here. Whether or not."
It also pointed out the direction of Yuanzhou Prefecture in Jiangxi.
After saying thank you without sleep, he led his horse across the market and headed east.
Among the hustle and bustle of people, there was a delicate opera voice that rushed towards him and raised goosebumps all over his body.
The voice sang: "The little nun was only twenty-eight years old, and her hair was shaved off by her master. Every day, she burned incense and exchanged water in the Buddhist temple..."
Ye Wumian perked up when he heard it, and hurriedly looked towards the source of the sound.
Among the stalls, on a rare open space, a huadan holding a fly whisk was dancing.
This actress doesn't wear much make-up, she just dresses like a monk and a Taoist nun, with a little makeup, which is not the same identity as the "nun" in her lyrics.
Her pretty face showed a hint of spring, and her eyes were filled with autumn water.
The tune of the opera she sings is very special, the flavor seems to be original, and the rhythm of the music is exquisite. I have rarely heard anything like it since I came from Henan to Hubei without sleep.
The lyrics of the social opera "Sifan" played in my hometown in Henan when I was a child are very similar to this, but the tune is far different.
Only that night at Prince Ji's Mansion, when he was rescuing Lin Yuchai, did the beautiful lady in green whom he met on the road be consistent with this.
"Well, Qing Yi, Qing Yi Hua Dan?"
A sleepless night.
In opera, Tsing Yi and Hua Dan are two different types of roles. However, I didn’t watch the opera for a long time, so it was difficult to distinguish them. I saw that the opera girl was wearing the headdress of Hua Dan, but she was wearing cyan clothes. In my heart, I call her "Tsing Yi Hua Dan".
Today, this Huadan no longer wears Tsing Yi, but only wears a black and white Taoist robe. She has quietly changed her mind all night long, thinking that she is a Huadan.
Leading the horse, she headed towards the fair where people were coming and going. She was like a banished fairy who had been relegated to the human world, admiring her beauty alone, dancing and singing alone, with sad lyrics and deep resentment.
I sang the song without sleep till my heart went out, and I couldn't hold myself back. Two lines of tears, which I couldn't hold back, were about to be snatched away from my eyes.
He quickly wiped it away and wiped away the dampness.
He took out a piece of silver from his arms, probably only one tael, and hugged the child, lowered his body, and gently placed it on the cloth spread in front of Hua Dan.
That piece of cloth, before the sleepless night, didn't even have a copper penny.
Although there are a large number of people coming and going on this street, the Hua Dan's music is so high-pitched that no one can appreciate it.
Everyone is running around, traveling north and south, all trying to make ends meet for food and clothing, so how can they have time to enjoy a show?
Play does not have no audience.
Stages for local social operas and clan social operas are set up in various villages. Every New Year's Eve, there are people with colorful faces, babbling and wah-wah, fragrant and sweaty orioles, and we will appear on the stage after you sing.
The peasants in the audience seemed to understand something, saying random things, and groping tentatively from their arms for a long time. Fortunately, they were able to find a shiny copper plate, which was hidden in an unknown year and month. With trembling hands, Pretending to be bold, he threw it on the stage and enjoyed the troupe's thanks for a moment.
This is the ultimate luxury in life, and it is also the highlight moment for ordinary actors.
But this actress was not blessed with such a high profile.
Her door was deserted, and no one was there to support her. There were only a few gangsters with squinting colored eyes, who were ready to move forward and take advantage of her.
Seeing Ye Wuxian coming, considering that most of the scholars had Confucian inner strength, the ruffians just stopped being scornful and just watched from a distance, preparing to wait for him to leave before making any plans.
Ye Wumian put down the money and smiled at the actress. He had no intention of interrupting her singing or listening to her thanks. He just held the horse, turned around, and continued walking.
When Hua Dan saw the silver particles, she was slightly startled; when she saw Ye Wumian's side face again, her eyes were in a trance, as if she had remembered something. The lyrics in her mouth jumped for a moment, and she sang directly without continuing the previous sentence:
"This slave is a girl, not a man. Why is he wearing a yellow ribbon around his waist and a straight skirt?"
Ye Wumian's body that was about to leave suddenly stagnated.
This sound, these words, this music.
There is a familiar style in it.
