Chapter 134 New Year's Day Party
"Hey, did you hear that in order to make their performance the best, the students in Class 1 deliberately challenged students from other classes to a snowball fight. They hoped they would catch a cold and not be able to perform on stage during the New Year's Day performance!"
"Ah? The people in Class 1 are so insidious!"
"Hmph, I think the program prepared by Class 1 must be not very good, otherwise they wouldn't resort to such insidious means!"
"Of course! I heard that the chorus class couldn't even sing in unison. Our class is so well prepared!"
"No, our class has prepared such a great performance, we can't lose to those villains in Class 1!"
"Yes, we must not lose to Class 1! Class monitor, let's rehearse again..."
Because Xiaopang's groundless speculation spread, the atmosphere among the first-grade classes suddenly became tense. Everyone was trying their best to make their class's program the most popular program at the New Year's Day party.
Even if my class's program cannot become the most popular program, it cannot be worse than Class 1's.
This is the common idea of all students in the first grade except Class 1.
In such a tense and exciting atmosphere, time quickly passed and it was New Year's Day.
As the first day of the new year, New Year's Day is an important day.
Early in the morning on New Year's Day, Shiyue Qiushui and his daughter had breakfast and went out.
Shi Qiu Shui was going to school to put on makeup and prepare for her performance at the party.
Shi Yue went to the factory to decorate the auditorium.
The job of setting up the venue for activities like this is usually done by their security department and the factory office together.
There was no need to go to work on New Year's Day, but other people in the hospital got up early in the morning. When Shi Yue led Shi Qiu Shui out, he saw Gao Cuifen and Ma Yulan carrying small stools and walking out.
Shi Yue: "Aunt Gao, Aunt Ma, what are you two doing out so early in the morning?"
Ma Yulan: "What else can I do? I'll just queue up and save a seat for my family."
Gao Cuifen: "The factory is having a New Year's Day party today. We're afraid that if we get there too late we won't be able to grab seats in the front and miss the show in the back, so we left early to line up."
Shi Yue: "Going to line up so early? It's a bit too early. Those of us setting up the venue haven't even arrived yet."
Gao Cuifen: "Well, you guys make your arrangements, we'll just wait outside. We don't have to go to work today anyway, so we'll just stay home anyway."
Ma Yulan: "Besides, it's already too late for us. Old Yao passed away a long time ago."
Shi Yue smacked his lips and thought to himself that when it came to joining in the fun, no one in their hospital could compare to Yao Dazui.
Gao Cuifen: "Okay, Lao Ma, let's stop talking nonsense with him and hurry up. If we wait any longer, too many people will pass by and we won't be able to get a front row seat."
"Okay, okay, let's go." Ma Yulan smiled at Shi Yue and said, "Well, Shi Yue, we'll be leaving first."
Gao Cuifen and Ma Yulan linked arms and quickly disappeared from Shi Yue's sight. Shi Qiushui tugged at the corner of Shi Yue's clothes and said, "Dad, let's go quickly."
"Okay, let's go." Shi Yue led Shi Qiu Shui out quickly.
Although the party was held at the machinery factory today, Shi Qiu Shui and other students still had to gather at the school first, put on makeup and get ready before being led by the teacher to the machinery factory. So Shi Yue sent Shi Qiu Shui to school first, and then went to the machinery factory himself.
When he arrived at the machinery factory, there was no one in the security office.
Shi Yue was stunned for a moment and thought to himself, although he came early today, didn’t Zhao Hui tell everyone to come early before get off work yesterday? Why haven’t others arrived yet?
Could it be that everyone has forgotten what Zhao Hui told them?
"Hey, Shi Yue, you're here"
Shi Yue was standing at the door of the office, thinking something, when he suddenly heard someone calling him from behind. He turned around and found that it was Zhao Hui who came up the stairs calling him.
He turned around and said, "Hey, Brother Zhao, where are you all? I was just looking for you."
Zhao Hui: "Oh, everyone is setting up the venue in the auditorium right now. I came back to get something, and after I get it, I'll go over there too."
Shi Yue: "Well, I was wondering why there was no one in the office."
He walked forward a few steps and said, "Go get your things, and then we'll go to the auditorium together."
Zhao Hui: "Okay, wait for me for a while."
He walked into the office briskly and quickly took out his things: "Okay, let's go."
As Shi Yue and Zhao Hui walked towards the auditorium, they asked, "Have all the people from our department gone there?"
Zhao Hui: "About the same."
Shi Yue: "Hey, that's because I'm late. I thought I came early."
He said somewhat embarrassedly, "If I had known, I would have left home earlier today."
Zhao Hui sighed and said, "It's okay. There's not much work to do anyway. I'm just helping the factory office move things and put things away. They almost finished everything yesterday. Today I'll just go over there to fix things up and prepare props."
Shi Yue: "Is the arrangement almost done?"
Zhao Hui: "Yeah, the stage, scenery, and everything else, the factory office started setting up long in advance. We're going there today, mainly to move the stools and props."
"Ohhhh, like this."
As they were talking, Shi Yue and Zhao Hui had already arrived at the door of the auditorium. There were already quite a few people standing and sitting at the door. Like Ma Yulan and Gao Cuifen, they were all waiting to grab seats in the front row.
When Shi Yue walked from the end of the team to the auditorium door, he met Gao Cuifen and Ma Yulan again. He waved to them as a greeting. Not only Gao Cuifen and Ma Yulan, but when he arrived at the auditorium door, he also saw Yao Dazui.
In fact, it was Yao Dazui who first spotted Shi Yue and the others. From a distance, she waved at Shi Yue and Zhao Hui and shouted, "Shi Yue, Shi Yue, Zhao Hui!"
"Aunt Yao." "Aunt Yao."
Shi Yue and Zhao Hui walked forward and greeted Yao Dazui one by one. Then Shi Yue asked, "Auntie Yao, is there something you want to talk to us about?"
Yao Dazui said, "Hehe, that's a little bit. How's the decoration of the auditorium going? When can we go in? Although the weather is nice today, it's cold outside."
Zhao Hui: "Hey, Aunt Yao, why are you asking this? It's almost done. The interior is almost ready. I think someone will come to open the door and let you in soon."
Yao Dazui: "A little while? Okay, I'll wait a little longer then."
Yao Dazui was a ruthless person. After asking for the news, he immediately waved at Zhao Hui and Shi Yue and said, "Alright, I don't have anything else to do here. You two can go in."
Hey, this guy...
Shi Yue smiled helplessly and pulled Zhao Hui into the auditorium through the side door.
The auditorium had been decorated very nicely at this time. As soon as the door was opened, a big red banner in the middle of the background wall of the rostrum came into view. On the banner with a red background, yellow words read "Celebrating New Year's Day, 1991 Machinery Factory New Year's Day Gala Performance". Balloons and ribbons of various colors were pasted on both sides of the banner, giving the festive atmosphere an especially strong sense.
"Come on, Shi Yue, what are you doing here?"
Before Shi Yue had time to take a closer look at the layout of the auditorium, he was pulled by Zhao Hui to work.
The auditorium was almost ready, but some equipment still needed to be moved and debugged. Zhao Hui dragged Shi Yue to do this. He took Shi Yue to the backstage. Wow, you wouldn't know how busy it was until you went backstage.
"Xiao Zhang, can you do this? If you can't adjust this microphone properly, get someone else to do it!"
"Xiao Wang, is Xiao Wang back yet? Why haven't you brought the host's costume yet?"
"Sister Chen, I brought the fans the dance team needs. Where should I put them?"
"Hey, just put it wherever you see a place. Who should I ask if you ask me?"
Everyone in the backstage was talking, and all kinds of sounds poured into Shi Yue's ears, making him feel as if there were five hundred ducks quacking in his ears.
"Shi Yue, you @￥……%￥*&..."
The backstage noise was so loud that Shi Yue couldn't even hear what Zhao Hui beside him was saying. He covered his ears and asked loudly, "Ah, what are you saying? I can't hear you!"
Zhao Hui: "I said, I think I saw your daughter!"
Shi Yue: "Ah? What belongs to you?"
He still didn't hear clearly what Zhao Hui shouted.
Zhao Hui opened his mouth, trying to explain to Shi Yue, but eventually gave up. He tugged at Shi Yue's arm, pointed at a group of little kids putting on makeup not far away, and said, "You, your daughter, your daughter seems to be coming over."
"Ah, my daughter." Shi Yue finally heard it clearly this time. Not only did he hear it clearly, he also saw it. He saw Shi Qiu Shui sitting on the stool in front of him, waiting obediently for makeup.
And Zhao Ran, who had already put on her makeup next to Qiu Shui.
The teacher who put on their makeup seemed to have learned the same technique from Teacher Kobayashi in the kindergarten. The makeup on Zhao Ran's face was the same as the one in the Children's Day art performance, with two red cheeks and a big red lips. If there was any difference, it was that there was an extra red dot on his forehead today.
Shi Yue couldn't help but burst out laughing. He poked Zhao Hui's arm and said, "Look at your son, he looks just like Nezha in the cartoon."
Only then did Zhao Hui notice Zhao Ran, who had put on makeup. Although he was his own son, he couldn't help laughing when he saw the colorful makeup on Zhao Ran's face.
"Let's go and take a look."
Shi Yue pulled Zhao Ran to Shi Qiushui's side and asked, "Xiaoqiu, didn't you say you were going to put on makeup at school? Why are you here?"
"Dad!" Shi Qiushui turned around and saw Shi Yue, exclaiming in surprise, "Oh, Teacher Cai said she didn't bring her cosmetics, so she brought us here to put on makeup."
"Oh, I see." Shi Yue nodded. Before he could say a few words to Shi Qiu Shui, Teacher Cai came to call Shi Qiu Shui to put on makeup. Xiao Wang, who was in charge of moving things, also came to call Zhao Hui and Shi Yue to work.
Although the auditorium was almost decorated, there was still some work to be done, such as putting nameplates for the leaders' seats, placing stools, and helping to adjust the equipment. Shi Yue and Zhao Hui were very busy.
The two of them worked for about an hour before they had time to sit down and catch their breath.
By this time, the auditorium doors had opened, and those waiting outside were being let in and seated. Shi Yue took a moment to glance over while working and saw that Yao Dazui, Gao Cuifen, and the others had both grabbed the front-row seats they had hoped for. He and Zhao Hui, taking advantage of their positions, also reserved two front-row seats for themselves.
People from the security department and the factory office almost all do this, so it's normal for them to do the same.
Shi Yue and Zhao Hui were now sitting in the seats they had occupied before.
Even though the temperature wasn't high today, Shi Yue and Zhao Hui had been busy working for most of the day and were sweating. Shi Yue sat down, wiped his sweat, and said, "Is the show about to start?"
Zhao Hui raised his arm and glanced at his watch. "Yeah, it's almost time. It's past nine-fifty now, and the show was supposed to start at ten."
Shi Yue: "I told you it would be soon. The leaders are here now."
"Leader, where is it?"
Shi Yue pointed in the direction of the side door and said, "Here, the factory director, deputy director, and director are coming in."
Zhao Hui: "Hey, it's true. Shi Yue, you have sharp eyes. I didn't even see them coming."
After saying that, he tugged at his clothes and straightened his hair. The leaders were coming in from the side door, and to get to the front seats, they would definitely have to pass by them. He tidied himself up to leave a good impression in front of the leaders.
Shi Yue didn't care about this. Although the leader would pass by them later, it was not certain whether he would notice them.
He thought for a moment, stood up, and said, "Brother Zhao, please sit down first. I'll go take a look backstage."
Zhao Hui: "What are you looking at backstage?"
Shi Yue: "I'm going to check on my daughter. I'm worried she'll be nervous about performing on stage soon."
After saying that, he bent his body and quietly walked out from the side. He came to the backstage and found Shi Qiu Shui's figure among a bunch of little kids at a glance.
It's not that Shi Yue's father has good eyesight and can tell the difference between his daughter and others at a glance, but because Shi Qiu Shui is too conspicuous today. She is wearing a bright red top and has put on red makeup on her face, which makes her look exactly like the lucky doll in the New Year pictures.
Shi Yue came to Shi Qiushui and patted his shoulder. Shi Qiushui turned around and said, "Dad!"
Her eyes lit up, and then she was a little confused: "Why are you here again?"
Shi Yue: "I came to see you. How are you? You're going to perform on stage soon. Are you nervous?"
Shi Qiushui shook his head and said crisply, "I'm not nervous."
"Huh?"
Shi Yue: "Aren't you nervous? There must be thousands of people sitting and standing in the audience. Are you really not nervous or afraid?"
Shi Qiushui: "I'm not nervous. What's there to be nervous about? There are many people in the audience, so whatever. I just treat them as big carrots and cabbages."
"Hey." Shi Yue smiled. He reached out and rubbed the little girl's head and said, "Okay, you are worthy of being my daughter, Shi Yue. You are so generous and not at all stage-frightened."
Shi Qiushui shook her head and shook off Shi Yue's hand that was messing with her hair. "Dad, stop moving. You're going to mess up the hair that Teacher Cai combed for me."
Shi Yue: "Okay, okay, I won't move."
He smiled and said, "I just came to see if you were nervous. Since you're not nervous, I'll go back."
Shi Qiushui waved his hand: "Well, you can go back."
"Oh, right." She suddenly remembered something and shouted to Shi Yue, "Dad, remember to take a picture of me when I perform later!"
Shi Yue: "Okay, I'll take a picture for you."
He also brought a camera and film today.
After he finished speaking, Shi Yue slipped out from the backstage again. When he walked out, he saw two hosts, a man and a woman, standing by the podium, ready to go on stage. He quickly quickened his pace. Just as he returned to his seat and sat down, he heard a burst of music, and then the two hosts he had just seen walked onto the stage with microphones.
"Dear employees and leaders."
"Dear students and family members."
"Good evening, everyone."
"Welcome everyone to today's New Year's Eve celebrations, the 1991 New Year's Day Gala. On behalf of the factory office and the factory labor union that are hosting this event, please allow me to express my sincere gratitude and warm welcome to everyone who has come..."
The sweet female host and the handsome male host finished their long opening remarks with smiles on their faces. After the opening remarks, it was the same old story - the leaders gave speeches. The factory director, deputy director, production director... one after another took the stage to speak.
Although the leader's speech was rather dull, the atmosphere was still very lively. Everyone applauded, cheered, and cracked sunflower seeds...
"Hey, no, Shi Yue, where did you get the melon seeds?"
Zhao Hui heard the "crunch, crunch" sound of cracking melon seeds and subconsciously turned his head. He saw Shi Yue holding a handful of melon seeds in his palm and cracking them happily.
Shi Yue cracked some melon seeds and said, "I brought this here. Do you want some?"
Zhao Hui: ...
He was silent for a moment, then said honestly, "Eat!"
Shi Yue took out a handful from his pocket and handed it to Zhao Hui. Zhao Hui picked one up and put it in his mouth. He smacked his lips and said, "Hmm? Five-spice? Not bad! But it tastes like the ones sold by Aunt Yao."
Shi Yue: "Well, I bought it from Aunt Yao."
Zhao Hui also started to crackle some sunflower seeds, and as he did so he asked, "How many did you buy from Aunt Yao?"
Shi Yue: "I didn't buy much, just one pound."
Zhao Hui: "Aren't you going to buy something for the New Year?"
Shi Yue: "Let's talk about the New Year after the Lunar New Year. Isn't it still more than a month away?"
Zhao Hui: "It won't be long. As the old saying goes, Laba is the New Year. It's only a few days away now, so we have to prepare all the New Year's goods."
"Let's talk about it later. The Chinese New Year is late this year, and Laba Festival is still more than half a month away. We can talk about it then." Shi Yue waved his hand and said, "Hey, didn't the host just say that the next program will be Xiaoqiu and her class's?"
This performance was different from the previous ones. Instead of performing one class at a time in sequence, the programs from the machinery factory and the primary school were all shuffled and interspersed.
Zhao Hui thought for a moment and said, "I think so. I didn't listen carefully, but I seemed to hear her say something about Class 2, Grade 1. Isn't Xiaoqiu's class Class 2, Grade 1?"
"Hey! It's Xiaoqiu's class's performance. I'm obsessed with Xiaoqiu!"
As he said that, Shi Yue quickly took out the camera from his pocket, as he had agreed to take a picture of Shi Qiu Shui.
While Shi Yue was getting his camera ready, Shi Qiu Shui had already followed the rest of the group onto the podium. He didn't feel anything when he was below the stage, but when he got on the stage and looked at the sea of people below, Shi Qiu Shui's legs really felt weak.
She took a deep breath and silently said to herself: "Those sitting in the audience aren't human beings, they're all cabbages, radishes, and potatoes. Don't be nervous, those sitting in the audience aren't human beings, they're all cabbages, radishes, and potatoes..."
After reciting it several times and successfully hypnotizing himself, Shi Qiu Shui's heart finally stopped beating wildly.
She stood in the middle of the stage with a standard smile showing only eight teeth. Her white teeth looked particularly bright under the stage lights.
As the accompaniment sounded, Shi Qiushui's sweet voice echoed through the microphone throughout the auditorium: "The little conch trumpet, beep beep, the seagulls hear it and fly—"
Zhao Hui: "Hey, Shi Yue, your daughter's performance is really good. There are so many people in the audience, but she's not at all nervous. When I was awarded the award, my legs started to go weak as soon as I stood on the stage. If Old Sun hadn't been with me at the time, I probably wouldn't have been able to get off the stage."
Shi Yue said proudly: "Of course, she is my daughter, so she can do whatever I want!"
Zhao Hui: "Hey, I told you you're fat and you're out of breath. What do you mean? Your daughter can be as stage-frightened as you want, but I can't, right?"
Shi Yue: "Brother Zhao, you said that, not me."
Zhao Hui laughed and scolded: "You kid, you're really good..."
Even though Shi Yue was bickering with Zhao Hui, his hands never stopped moving. He kept taking pictures of Shi Qiu Shui on the stage. In fact, the chorus of Shi Qiu Shui and the others only lasted two or three minutes, and including their exit, it was only four minutes in total. But Shi Yue managed to finish the whole roll of film with just "click, click".
Zhao Hui next to him sighed, "Your family must have bought several photo albums, right?"
Shi Yue smiled and nodded: "That's true. I bought two large photo albums in June, and now they are full. I said I would buy another album in a few days."
Zhao Hui: "You are really willing to give up."
Shi Yue: "Well, these are all memories. Children grow up quickly. If you don't notice, they will grow up in the blink of an eye. Then all we can do is look at the photo album to remember what they looked like when they were little."
He said, "Besides, when the children grow up, it would be nice to look at the photo album and reminisce about what they looked like when they were little."
Zhao Hui thought about it and nodded: "That's what you said."
He nudged Shi Yue with his elbow and said, "Hey, well, my son Zhao Ran will be coming down soon. Why don't you take a couple of photos of him too? I'll pay for them to be developed. When he grows up, you can show him the photos. He used to wear makeup like this when he was a kid."
Shi Yue: ...
Look at this father, how mean!
But he likes it!
Shi Yue nodded decisively: "Okay, wait a little while until Zhao Ran and Xiao Qiu come down, I'll take a few more photos of them, and then you can develop a few more so that you won't be lost when Zhao Ran grows up."
Zhao Hui: "Hey, okay!"
Shi Qiu Shui and Zhao Ran, who had just come down from the podium, touched the back of their necks.
I don't know why, but my back feels a little cold?
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