Chapter 215 Face Change

"The Taoist priest is back. Is he here to keep Fifth Brother company?"

Third Sister's mouth was faster than her brain. Seeing that the Taoist priest had rushed back so late, she couldn't help but wonder about their relationship.

Fourth Sister glared at her again.

The third sister shrugged awkwardly. "Please don't take offense, Daoist Master. I was just joking."

"Daoist Master, please sit down. Shouldn't you be cooking?" Song Zhizhu was annoyed that they were all gathered together and saying things the Daoist Master didn't like to hear. He quickly pulled the Daoist Master to sit down. "I see that Lao Wu has some wine here. Daoist Master, would you like to have a couple of drinks?"

The Taoist priest nodded with a smile, "That's fine. I had a cup of wine at the old man's place just now, but I didn't get enough. My throat isn't even moist."

Song Chunxue didn't take her third sister's words to heart. "Second brother, what do you want to eat tonight?"

The other three older sisters all looked at Song Zhizhu and said, "We don't eat millet dumplings. You can eat them all by yourself."

Song Zhizhu was a little embarrassed, since everyone knew he loved eating millet dumplings.

"Then you won't eat it. You can have glutinous rice, cornmeal mush, or lazy dumplings?"

The second sister looked at him with disdain, "We're here as guests. Don't you have any of these at home? At least let the fifth brother cook something nice. Are you afraid to eat white flour rice? Anyway, I saw that the fifth brother specially bought two bags of white flour, and he only ate half of them."

Song Zhizhu laughed and said, "You guys should make the decision. It can't be done according to my taste."

Fourth Sister spoke up, "In my opinion, how about we have potato noodles? Has the Taoist priest ever tried it?"

The Taoist priest nodded, "The braised noodles made with potatoes here are indeed delicious. Add more oil and serve with some pickled vegetables, and it's wonderful."

"Okay, let's have braised noodles then, and I'll heat up some meat too." Song Chunxue hadn't had braised noodles in a long time and was really craving them.

There's no need to use very white flour when making braised noodles.

Wheat milled two or four times becomes darker and doesn't taste as good as milled two or three times, but it's perfect for making braised noodles when mixed with buckwheat flour.

Fifteen large potatoes were peeled, and a large sheet of dough was rolled out using the longest rolling pin. The dough was then cut into short strips and sprinkled on top of the oily potatoes that had been stir-fried in vegetable oil and lard. A large pot lid made of wheat straw was placed on top, and after it was cooked, there was a fresh aroma of wheat straw.

Song Zhizhu and the Taoist priest each ate three bowls.

After dinner, everyone went to the theater to watch a play by the moonlight.

The question is who will stay behind to look after the house.

"Mother, I'll stay here and watch the house. You all go watch the play." Sanwa smiled, looking slightly shy. "I'm going to perform on stage tomorrow afternoon, so I need to practice my lines carefully."

The fourth brother hesitated for a moment, then said, "I'm not going either. You guys go. I don't really like listening to opera."

"Alright, you two take good care of the house and make sure the door is locked." Song Chunxue really wanted to go with her family; it had been many years since she had gone to see a play with such a large group of people.

Tonight is the last night. After the "Golden Beach" performance tomorrow afternoon, we will burn Shehuo (a traditional folk performance) tonight to send the gods to the temple.

The Song sisters, along with the Taoist priest, arrived in front of the stage, attracting the attention of many villagers.

"Oh, so the Jiang family widow is going to the city. Things are so different these days. Such a big family escorting you to the play. Tsk tsk tsk, what a grand display. Even the county magistrate doesn't have your kind of influence."

As soon as Zhao Yufang stood in front of the stage, her husband, Old Man Wang, raised his voice and said what many people in the village wanted to say but hadn't.

Everyone looked at Song Chunxue and her group with ill intent.

"Where is the grandeur?" Song Zhizhu sneered and cursed, "Our whole family came to your estate to watch a play, and you can still see the flaws?"

“If it weren’t for those scoundrels who do no good at night, my fifth son wouldn’t even dare to leave the house. Why don’t you say that?” he said without any curiosity. “Whether it’s impressive or not is none of your business. If you want to be impressive, no one will care.”

Cheng Laowu sneered from the side, "Song Chunxue is now openly messing around with the Taoist priest. Aren't you going to do anything about it, as her brother? Aren't you afraid of bringing shame to the Song family?"

Song Zhizhu turned his head and glared at him angrily, "Say that again? Which eye saw them fooling around?"

"Ha, isn't it obvious? A widow sleeping in the same room as a Taoist priest who's never home... Hey, what are you doing? You've already done it, and now you want people to talk about it?"

"Damn it, even if they sleep in the same room, what's it to you?" Song Zhizhu was so angry that he slapped him twice.

"You fucking dare hit me? Believe me or not, I'll kill you!"

Cheng Laowu was tall, strong, and burly. Moreover, he had long disliked the Jiang family mother and son, and today he had finally found his chance.

But Song Zhizhu was known in their village for his fighting skills, and he quickly knocked Cheng Laowu to the ground.

"Hey, hey, what are you doing? Go fight somewhere else, there's a play going on on stage."

"Quickly, quickly, pull them apart. Who would fight with someone's relative? This Cheng Laowu is so inconsiderate, making a scene without even considering the occasion."

Song Chunxue stood aside without stopping it; people like Cheng Laowu deserved to be beaten.

But the eldest and fourth sons of the Cheng family suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

"Hey, Song Chunxue, you slut, you even had someone beat up my brother, didn't you? My second son is in jail now because of you, and our Cheng family won't be able to have a good New Year this year!"

The eldest son of the Cheng family lunged straight at Song Chunxue's hair.

It seems that this battle is inevitable today. Since the other party started it, we can't blame her.

Just as Song Chunxue was about to rush up and grab Cheng Laoda's ear, her second and third sisters pounced on her first, slapping and scratching wildly with their four hands, pushing and shoving, until Cheng Laoda rolled on the ground.

"You think you're the only one with a mouth who can swear? I'll tear your mouth off!"

"You're not that sad, are you? Your brother has passed away, what are you doing here watching a play?"

"Your Cheng family has robbed so many people's grain over the years. Your second son deserves what he got. Everyone in the surrounding villages knows that Cheng Yuan deserved to be arrested. How dare you say that!"

The second and third sisters were both quite strong, so the eldest son of the Cheng family could only cover his head to avoid being hit in the face.

The fourth son of the Cheng family stopped two steps away, too frightened to go forward.

"Where are Manager Hu, Li Mengchun, and Li Yong? Why aren't you coming over here to stop them? This is a performance to honor the gods; what kind of behavior is this!"

The fourth son of the Cheng family stomped his foot and shouted.

The performers on the stage stopped singing and stood there watching the Cheng brothers being beaten on the ground.

Other onlookers immediately rushed over to mediate the fight.

Song Chunxue looked at her fourth sister, and the two of them rushed to the Cheng brothers in unison, grabbed his hair, and slapped him hard across the face.

The scene was chaotic, and the Taoist priest stood aside, neither intervening nor stopping it, appearing indifferent as if it were none of his business.

Wang Defu jumped off the stage, and Li Dazui and his cousins ​​pulled him away.

Half an hour later, the Cheng brothers were persuaded by the Li brothers to go home. They were told that they shouldn't have spoken rudely to the Jiang family's relatives and guests.

These days, everyone who has received a wealth-bringing talisman from the Taoist priest shows him great respect.

You can't afford to offend the Taoist priest.

Besides, even if the Taoist priest and Song Chunxue sleep on the same kang (heated brick bed), that's their own choice, what business is it of anyone else?

Everyone knows that the Cheng family was holding a grudge because Cheng Yuan was imprisoned in the county jail, and the whole family was eager to have another fight.

"Keep singing, everyone on stage!"

Li Mengchun called out to the stage and then walked towards the Taoist priest with a smile.

"I'm sorry, Daoist Master. The Cheng brothers have always been arrogant in the past, but this year their family has suffered one misfortune after another. Please don't take it to heart."

He asked the Song siblings with a smile, "Tonight's performance is 'The Case of Chen Shimei.' Would you like to continue listening to the opera, or come to our house for tea?"