Chapter 94: The Explosion
There weren't just one scalper; there were several. The key point was that they had very few tickets left. While they were offering low prices, they were actually quite high. With the show approaching, these people were afraid of being left holding onto tickets, but seeing so many people still eager to see the show, they didn't lower the price.
"Two, please." Some people still went to buy scalper tickets.
Despite the difficulties in implementing the real-name registration system, scalpers are still able to sell a lot of tickets and make a lot of money. These people are also looking for tickets that are selling well and those that are not, and they are not hoarding tickets blindly.
This was Jiang Moli's first play after giving birth, and it was a new play. The scalpers, hoping to capitalize on the scarcity of tickets, hoarded them. They were happy when they sold them, but they would also curse and rant if they couldn't. Of course, they couldn't go to Jiang Moli and the others to curse. They were the ones hoarding tickets themselves, so they had to take responsibility for their actions.
Jiang Moli's unit has tried its best not to sell multiple tickets to one person, but if someone changes clothes or lets other people buy tickets, there is no way to stop it.
Before the show started, the audience was packed. Many people outside the theater still hadn't bought tickets. Some, feeling the scalper prices were too high, hesitated, and their tickets were bought by others. This left the hesitant ones speechless, as they didn't say they didn't want to buy tickets.
Zhou Yiran didn't have a ticket, so she really went backstage. Zhou Yiran looked at Jiang Moli, who had already put on her makeup, and she sighed again, "Tickets are really tight. My mom went to buy a ticket a little late and didn't get one, so she snatched my ticket and went. It's too much."
"All the tickets for the recent shows are sold out." Jiang Moli said, "As for you, just act like a staff member and go out for a walk. Otherwise, wait a few shows and I'll reserve tickets for you later."
"I have to stay. I have to take a good look," Zhou Yiran said. "I just came in from outside and saw scalpers selling tickets. They were really... I asked, and they were charging a high price. Even so, people still bought tickets. I don't know how much money those scalpers made. It makes me want to be a scalper myself."
"It's not good to be a scalper." Jiang Moli looked at herself in the mirror.
"It's definitely not good," Zhou Yiran said. "This kind of behavior disrupts market order. It's a shame there's no way to stop those people."
Even if the theater staff drives away the scalpers, they will still sell the tickets through other means.
"It can't be stopped." Zhou Yiran sighed.
"Maybe we can put an end to it in the future." Jiang Moli said, it's just that it's not easy to use the real-name system now.
"I don't know how long we have to wait." Zhou Yiran said, "These people only look at which plays are popular. If they don't have a lot of tickets, they won't come to sell them."
Some theatre troupes don't sell out all their tickets, so there are still plenty left. Scalpers won't touch these tickets. If they do, they'll lose money and won't make any money.
"The fact that there are scalpers means you're really popular," Zhou Yiran said. "You're about to go on stage. Aren't you nervous?"
"Are you nervous about going on stage after giving birth?" Jiang Moli asked.
"A little, but not particularly nervous. After all, I'm not the main character, and it's not me who carries the show." Zhou Yiran's thoughts were simple. She had someone to support her. "You're different. Many people come to see you."
"Don't worry." Jiang Moli said, "Don't worry, just do your best."
That's what Jiang Moli thought. She tried her best to perform as well as she could. Once on stage, there were many things that were beyond Jiang Moli's control. All Jiang Moli could do was to do her job well, not to perform too hard, and not to deliberately stand out.
The new play is called "Ming Jiao Ji", which is the original play of the screenwriter. The title is not very domineering, nor is it very special. If there is any special thing, it is Jiang Moli who plays the role.
After much anticipation, Jiang Moli finally took the stage.
Jiang Moli had a good figure and a good voice. She had just sung a few lines. Someone in the audience murmured to the people around them, "Sure enough, it has to be our Moli who sings. Our Moli's voice is so good, so beautiful. After listening to our Moli singing, I don't want to listen to anyone else singing."
Jiang Moli didn’t know this audience member, but this audience member really liked the opera she sang.
There is a play sung by Jiang Moli on TV. This person often watches it and checks the time slots for broadcasting.
Apart from this audience, other audiences were also quite satisfied.
Jiang Moli was singing on stage, and Zhou Yiran went to the front desk. Zhou Yiran walked beside her as a staff member, with a sign hanging on her body. Zhou Yiran also looked at her mother's seat. She could still see a little bit, but she still wanted to sit in the back to see more.
In the middle, some audience members wanted to rush to the stage but were stopped.
After all, there were so many people watching. If the audience rushed onto the stage, it would disrupt the performance. Some audience members threw some money onto the stage. Since they couldn't just go up, they just threw it. Security personnel were watching closely to ensure this didn't disrupt the performance.
Some elderly people like watching plays this way, they think it is more fun this way.
Until the end of the performance, when Jiang Moli followed everyone to take a bow, someone on the stage was still calling Jiang Moli's name.
"That's great, Jasmine."
"Next time, I'll come and see you again."
"Jasmine, good job."
…
Jiang Moli heard the voices of those people and smiled, thanking everyone for their support. Jiang Moli took a bow with everyone and left together. Jiang Moli was thinking about whether the audience was satisfied or not, and not blindly saying good things just because it was her performance.
Many audiences came for Jiang Moli, and they were not disappointed at all. When they left the theater, they all said that Jiang Moli's new play was very good.
"You can't tell she's had a child, she's still so awesome."
"You should watch her singing. I don't like other people's singing. After watching her singing today, I finally feel much better."
"That's right. I've been waiting for her to sing for a long time."
"Luckily, I bought tickets for the next show early because they sold out so quickly."
…
Some audiences bought tickets for other performances of Jiang Moli's new play before it even started, hoping to see it again. It's okay to watch a new play like this multiple times; if you like it, just watch it more often.
It's not just this new play, but also other plays that Jiang Moli performed before, and audiences have watched them again.
"Those people didn't leave early, only a few left, probably because of other things." Zhou Yiran said, "It should be pretty good."
"Let's wait and see." Jiang Moli said, "This is only the first time."
This is the first time for a new play, so we’ll have to wait and see whether it’s good or not.
Jiang Moli couldn't just say the new play was great after the first performance. If the new play didn't live up to expectations, she would have to make adjustments if possible, but if not, she would have to give up.
"Guess who I just saw?" Zhou Yiran said.
"Who?" Jiang Moli was puzzled. "He Jingxian?"
"Yes, it's her. Why do I think of her?" Zhou Yiran asked.
"She sometimes comes to watch my performances." Jiang Moli said, "Maybe she wants to see how good I am now."
"She's a bit shady," Zhou Yiran said. "She has to keep an eye on you. We're classmates, and if she doesn't keep an eye on me, she keeps an eye on you."
Jiang Moli was removing her makeup. She had to remove all the makeup on her face.
"Fortunately, she just took a look and didn't do anything else." Zhou Yiran said, "But you still have to be careful. What if she gets jealous of you and does something else?"
"She...she probably wouldn't do anything else." Jiang Moli said, "He Jingxian is inherently selfish. If she doesn't consider her three children, she should also consider her own future."
"That's true." Zhou Yiran nodded.
Some of the audience had not left yet, still waiting for Jiang Moli to remove her makeup. When Jiang Moli went out, several audience members ran to her, holding posters and asking her to sign them, and she signed for them.
"It's so late, let's go to bed quickly." Jiang Moli said.
Jiang Moli signed for a few people, and then a few more people came, so Jiang Moli had to sign for them again.
Sheng Jiahao quickly walked to Jiang Moli's side. He had wanted to go to the theater tonight, but Jiang Moli told him not to go and that he could just pick her up. It wasn't that Jiang Moli didn't want Sheng Jiahao to go to the theater, but she was a little afraid that he would be nervous. The fewer people he knew in the audience, the better.
"It's time to go." Sheng Jiahao helped Jiang Moli into the car.
Zhou Yiran did not follow. She planned to go with her mother and the others.
"Did you see that? She sings well and is popular with the audience." Mother Zhou walked over to Zhou Yiran. "As for you, you can only go home and take care of the children."
"I did go on stage, but I wasn't in the same unit as Jasmine," Zhou Yiran said. "Mom, you're not worried about conflicts between Jasmine and me when you say that. It's just me. I don't care about these things, and I'm not that jealous of Jasmine."
"In your early years, you worked so hard..."
"I'll still be worse than Jasmine. Even if I try hard, I'm still worse. That's so heartbreaking. I might as well try less." Zhou Yiran said, "Mom, seeing how strong Jasmine is, do you regret being so permissive with me? There's no way around it. It was you who permissed me. If you hadn't permissed me when I was very young, perhaps I could have achieved more. Ultimately, you're responsible for my current situation."
"I was the one who let you go. If I hadn't, you would have sat on the ground crying and rolling around on the ground." Zhou's mother said, "You've lost all your face."
"Just pretend you don't know me." Zhou Yiran said.
"Okay, let's go back." said Zhou's mother.
"Mom, what do you think of today's show?" Zhou Yiran said.
"The script is good, but without Jasmine, the play wouldn't be this good," Zhou's mother said. "A good play requires the collaborative efforts of many different people."
Zhou's mother thought Jiang Moli's new play was undoubtedly a success. So many audiences loved it. Even though there were scalpers selling tickets, many people still bought them and the seats were basically full. There was no empty seat. Zhou's mother thought about how when she was young, there weren't so many people coming to see her perform.
"Jasmine said the same thing. She always said it wasn't just her, but everyone else's." Zhou Yiran said, "But there are still many people coming for her. If it weren't for Jasmine, there wouldn't be so many people coming to see her."
"So a new play depends on the cast," Zhou's mother said. "It really depends on the cast. If it's just an average cast, it'll be much harder for the play to become a hit."
Jiang Moli got in the car. She and Sheng Jiahao sat in the back seat while the driver drove.
"How long have you been here?" Jiang Moli asked.
"More than half an hour." Sheng Jiahao said, "If you don't come out, just wait a while. I saw so many people surrounding you, so I went over."
It was already late, and Sheng Jiahao didn't want Jiang Moli to be surrounded by those people all the time, so Jiang Moli had to go back and rest early. Not to mention the children at home, let's talk about Jiang Moli herself. She has been very hard recently. In order to play this play well, Jiang Moli has paid a lot.
The provincial Xiaobaihua Opera has arranged numerous performances of the new play, including one in Nancheng and several in other cities. Tickets have already gone on sale, though some locations haven't yet. The unit's leadership is confident that tickets will sell out easily, so they don't need to worry too much.
When Jiang Moli returned home, the chef had already prepared some food. Jiang Moli sat at the dining table and ate chicken soup and coarse noodles. After Jiang Moli came back from the stage, she wanted to eat something smoother.
"You must be hungry," Jiang's mother said. "You're back so late today."
"We were delayed a bit when we came out, so that's why we're a little late." Jiang Moli asked, "Where's the baby?"
"He just fell asleep, and he'll probably wake up again soon. Just give him some milk powder." Jiang's mother said, "After you finish eating and feel tired, go to bed early. Child, you don't have to worry too much."
"It's great to have you around." Jiang Moli was glad that she didn't have to worry about her children all the time. She had more time to do other things.
"Eat quickly." Jiang's mother said.
Sheng Jiahao picked up a fried egg for Jiang Moli. Jiang Moli looked at Sheng Jiahao and said, "You eat too, you eat too."
After Jiang Moli finished eating, she sat down to rest for a while, then went to wash up, and after washing up, she lay down on the bed. As soon as Jiang Moli lay down on the bed, she fell asleep quickly. When Sheng Jiahao finished washing up and returned to the room, he saw Jiang Moli sleeping soundly, so he quietly climbed onto the bed, not daring to disturb Jiang Moli.
Even if Sheng Jiahao's noise was a little louder at this time, Jiang Moli would not be easily awakened. Jiang Moli was really tired and needed a good sleep.
Pan Yun and Shi Nan had also returned home. Pan Yun felt that Jiang Moli sang really well. Everyone around her said it was good, so she didn't want to say that Jiang Moli sang badly.
"This Jiang Moli is really pretty, and she sings beautifully too. Are you still thinking about her when you look at her?" Pan Yun asked. "Just now, I called you several times, but you didn't respond."
"We are just watching a show. It's not appropriate to talk. It will disturb others," said Shi Nan.
"Really?" Pan Yun asked, "Are you sure you're not obsessed with her? Don't you want to see her more often?"
"No." Shi Nan couldn't say that in front of Pan Yun. "She and I are not the same kind of people. We haven't been in touch for a long time, nor have we met. We invited them to our wedding, but they didn't come."
"Well, they didn't come." Pan Yun said, "Why did you think of inviting her at that time?"
"If we invite other friends, we can't leave her out." Shi Nan said, "If we don't invite her, won't it make her look like the special one?"
"..." Pan Yun thought about it carefully and it seemed to be the case. "You should see each other less often. Don't see each other all the time."
"She already has a family, and her family won't let her see me more often." Shi Nan said, "I want to spend my whole life with you, not with her."
Shi Nan tried to appease Pan Yun a little, but he couldn't let her get upset. The Pan family still had a lot of power. If Shi Nan continued to be with Bo Meiqi, he would try to get a promotion in the Development Zone Investment Promotion Office. Shi Nan was now starting his own business, and he needed the Pan family's connections; he couldn't afford to offend Pan Yun.
After what happened with Bo Meiqi, Shi Nan wanted to climb up the ladder even more. Only when he was strong enough, others would not be able to summon him and dismiss him at will. When Shi Nan thought of some things in the past, he felt so ashamed. He had lost all his dignity as a man.
"She's not even my past, not my ex-girlfriend." Shi Nan said, "But you are my wife."
"I'm not as pretty as her, nor as talented as her," said Pan Yun.
"She has her strengths, and you have yours." Shi Nan said, "You can't compare your weaknesses with her strengths. Regardless of whether you are better than her or not, I value you more."
When Pan Yun heard this, she smiled and said, "That's right, you have to value me, like me, and treat me well."
"Yeah." Shi Nan nodded.
"You are not allowed to go to see her perform secretly. If you go, you must take me with you," Pan Yun said. "If I hear from others that you went to see the opera alone, I will be laughed at. You can only have me in your heart, no one else."
"Only you." Shi Nan said, just saying it, which did not affect Shi Nan's thoughts on Jiang Moli in his heart.
Shi Nan watched Jiang Moli singing on the stage, and he felt that Jiang Moli was even more amazing than before. Jiang Moli was so outstanding and so dazzling that Shi Nan couldn't help but take a few more glances.
Looking at Pan Yun beside him, Shi Nan thought that Pan Yun was indeed not as good as Jiang Moli, and was far behind. Shi Nan did not have much love for Pan Yun. On the surface, he was still very nice to Pan Yun and basically went along with Pan Yun in everything. If he did not go along with Pan Yun, it must be because he went along with Pan's father, such as Shi Nan's attitude towards Pan's illegitimate child.
Shi Nan didn't choose sides. He didn't have the ability to do so, and no one took him seriously. All he could do was be kind and not offend those people. No one knew who would win in the end. Shi Nan was starting his own business, not competing for Pan's father's company shares. There wasn't much conflict of interest between Shi Nan and those illegitimate children.
Even Mrs. Pan's attitude towards those illegitimate children was much gentler, not to mention Shi Nan.
The next morning, Jiang Moli didn't have to go to work and would go in the afternoon.
The company leaders were delighted this morning, their faces beaming with smiles. They'd initially worried about ticket refunds, and everyone had already done so. Fortunately, some people were still asking if they had tickets for later shows, but they said they couldn't get them. The company leaders were reassured, knowing this year's revenue couldn't be bad. Last year's second half of the year was truly dismal, and even the beginning of this year was significantly lower than before.
If Jiang Moli hadn't given birth so quickly, the boss would have had a bigger headache. Fortunately, giving birth only takes ten months, not three years.
When Teacher Lu arrived at Jiang Moli's house, Jiang Moli had not yet gotten up.
"I'll go call her." Jiang's mother said.
"No need to call her." Teacher Lu stopped Jiang's mother, "I just came to take a look."
"She came back late yesterday and was quite tired, so she was still resting." Jiang's mother did not bother Jiang Moli, and Sheng Jiahao also spoke quietly when he got up.
"Let her rest," Teacher Lu said quickly. "Yesterday was Jasmine's first performance since giving birth. She prepared a lot, so she must be tired."
Teacher Lu decided to go check on the baby. The baby's name was Sheng Haoxuan. Teacher Lu and others usually called children "baby" or "baby," or added the word "little" in front, like "little baby" or "little baby." The child was still young, so they didn't call him by his name yet.
The baby was quite well-behaved and not very noisy. He wanted to see his mother every day, and if he didn't see her one day, he would cry. At first, everyone thought he was hungry, but later they realized he just missed his mother.
Jiang Moli hasn't performed outside of the province yet, but she plans to go later. Right now, Jiang Moli needs to see her baby more often. If she does go out of town, it'll mostly be in nearby cities, which are more convenient. When the baby gets older, she'll go to cities farther afield, and by the end of the year, she'll likely be heading to a more distant city. Fortunately, the roads within the province are relatively flat, making travel easy. Unlike some provinces, which are mountainous, even short distances can take a long time to get there.
"Little baby, grandma is here. Do you remember grandma?" Teacher Lu looked at the baby with a smile.
The baby was still very young, not even three months old, and would be three months old in a few days. The baby looked at his grandmother and then at the others.
"He's full and very well behaved," Jiang's mother said. "It was too hot at noon, so I didn't dare take him out. I'll take him out later in the evening. I got him a small mosquito net because there are too many mosquitoes outside."
Adults may get a big red bump when bitten by mosquitoes, let alone children.
Jiang's mother had already made preparations, even going to the hospital to buy some baby-friendly ointment to avoid being left without any after mosquito bites. Jiang's mother was very attentive to her baby and prepared many things for him. When Teacher Lu came over, she would also bring some baby-friendly items.
"There are a lot of mosquitoes, and they're very poisonous," Teacher Lu said. "We need to prepare some ointment for Jasmine, too. When she gets bitten by a mosquito, the bite becomes bruised, red, and swollen, and it doesn't go away for days."
Teacher Lu remembers a lot of things about Jiang Moli, and she really cares about Jiang Moli.
Last night, He Jingxian returned home very late, and Qi Shixin did not ask much. When He Jingxian left the house and said she was going to see an opera, Qi Shixin knew it.
Jiang Moli has a new play, and He Jingxian must go to listen to it. He Jingxian is not going to support Jiang Moli, but to see where the gap between herself and Jiang Moli is. She wants to be more powerful than Jiang Moli, but unfortunately she can't do it.
After He Jingxian went to work in the morning, she heard people at work talking about Jiang Moli's new play.
“I heard that many people went there and said it was beautiful.”
"Of course. Jiang Moli's level is there. I feel that even if she sings casually, many people will like it."
"Unfortunately, she is no longer from our unit. She belongs to the provincial Xiao Baihua."
"If she were in our unit, we wouldn't have to worry about the tickets being in trouble."
…
"You didn't go to see it, so how do you know whether Jiang Moli sings well or not?" He Jingxian said.
"You went to see it. Do you think she sang well?" asked a colleague.
"She..." He Jingxian didn't expect her colleague to ask her back. She didn't really want to say how Jiang Moli sang.
Until now, He Jingxian still doesn't want to admit that she is worse than Jiang Moli. She always feels that because she has to give birth to a child, she can't always go on stage, and she has lost the opportunity to become a mainstay.
"Okay, tell me about it?" the colleague asked again, "You must have seen it, so if you have, tell me about it."
"I……"
"She did go to see it." Zhou Yiran came over. "I saw her when I went there yesterday."
Zhou Yiran looked at He Jingxian, "If you went, you went. If you didn't go, you didn't go. You spent your money to buy the ticket and watched it openly. You are just an ordinary audience member. You can really say whether it is good or not."
"I won't talk about her." He Jingxian wanted to say that Jiang Moli's new play was not good, but Jiang Moli's new play was not bad, she even liked it a little. He Jingxian couldn't say that. Whether Jiang Moli's new play was good or not had nothing to do with her. He Jingxian said again, "If I say it's good, do you think I'm complimenting you? If I say it's not good, you will say that I'm jealous of Jiang Moli."
Yes, that’s right. I still can’t say those words. I absolutely can’t say them.
He Jingxian said that she couldn't fall into this trap and she must handle things well.
"Didn't you go to see it too? Tell me." He Jingxian said.
"Moli and I are good friends. I'm not afraid of you accusing me of talking nonsense. Whatever Moli sings is beautiful and pleasant to the ears." Zhou Yiran said, "You're also in the same industry, so you don't need me to analyze everything one by one, right?"
Zhou Yiran didn't like to analyze. She felt that if she liked something, she liked it, and if she didn't like something, she didn't like it. Unless she was going to learn, what was the point of analyzing so much? Zhou Yiran didn't like to cause herself trouble. Analyzing others didn't mean she was learning, so what was the point? Zhou Yiran had already laid down. She didn't think about working hard, she didn't think about how to do this or that.
Zhou Yiran was already very happy to have a friend like Jiang Moli.
"You've been to see Jasmine perform quite a few times." Zhou Yiran said, "Don't worry, Jasmine hasn't seen you perform much."
"I..." He Jingxian was very unhappy when she heard this.
Zhou Yiran was telling the truth. He Jingxian had indeed gone to see Jiang Moli's performances many times. When He Jingxian was upset, she would go to see Jiang Moli's performances. He Jingxian thought that she and Jiang Moli graduated from the same school, so she went to see Jiang Moli's performances again.
In short, He Jingxian always thought of Jiang Moli from time to time. She saw Jiang Moli's success and always wondered if she hadn't kept giving birth to children. He Jingxian would think about the things she didn't get, and she would think about them a lot, over and over again.
"Whether or not Jasmine's performance is good isn't up to you or me to decide," Zhou Yiran said. "If those people want to know whether it's good or not, they can go and see it themselves. Word of mouth has proven Jasmine's ability. Many people like her, and she's popular with the public."
"..." He Jingxian didn't want to say more. Zhou Yiran must be on Jiang Moli's side.
He Jingxian looked around and realized she didn't have a friend like Zhou Yaran. Suddenly, she wondered, why didn't she have a friend like Zhou Yaran? She suddenly realized she was quite lonely. She had no friends at her previous workplace, and even after joining the South City Theatre Company, she still had no real friends.
Zhou Yiran didn’t know what He Jingxian was thinking. She only knew that her good friend Jiang Moli was amazing. With such a good friend, it didn’t matter whether she was successful or not.
When Jiang Moli woke up, it was already around ten o'clock. Jiang Moli washed up, tidied herself up a little, and went to check on the baby. The baby was not in the room, but went downstairs. Jiang Moli went downstairs again to check, and sure enough, the baby was downstairs.
"You're awake now, go eat quickly." Teacher Lu said.
"..." Jiang's mother originally wanted to say that Jiang Moli's mother-in-law had come, and that Teacher Lu had been here for a while.
"Let's eat together?" Jiang Moli asked.
"I've already had breakfast, so I can wait." Teacher Lu said, "Go and eat quickly, and we'll talk after you're done."
"Then I'll go eat." Jiang Moli said. She wanted to take another look at the baby before going to eat.
Ever since Jiang Moli had her child, she always thought about her child and had to check on her child from time to time. If she didn't check on her child, she would feel uncomfortable and feel like something was left undone. Jiang Moli had to check on her child to see if he was okay. If he was okay, she would feel much more at ease.
After Jiang Moli finished her meal, she rinsed her mouth and cleaned her teeth before coming over to sit with Teacher Lu.
"There were a lot of people yesterday," Teacher Lu said. "The effect was pretty good. I heard people say it was good today."
"I hope so." Jiang Moli said.
Jiang Moli was still a little worried. The first scene of a new play was always different, and she was afraid it would start strong but end weak. Jiang Moli wanted it to start strong but end strong, that would be the only way.
"You did a great job." said Teacher Lu.
"I feel embarrassed because you all praise me so much." Jiang Moli said with a smile.
"Okay, let's be honest. We can't criticize you just because you're doing well. That would be wrong of us." Teacher Lu said, "You guys really did a great job. Very good."
"Wait a moment, I still have to go to work." Jiang Moli said.
"Are we going to have a meeting?" Teacher Lu asked.
"Yeah." Jiang Moli nodded. "It's the first scene of the new play, so we have to summarize it."
Although it may seem like we can't come up with anything yet, this is how things work in some units within the system. We always have to hold meetings to discuss things, clarify things, say a few words, and then record them.
"That's not so bad," Teacher Lu said. "You still have performances coming up, and the intensity is quite high. I guess the revenue in the first half of the year wasn't good, so I want you to add a few more performances."
"I'm not sure." Jiang Moli replied, "I don't even pay attention to revenue."
"Don't worry about it. Your leaders know the difference," said Teacher Lu. "They know who's doing well and who's not. Just focus on your job. At your age, you can still sing for many years."
Jiang Moli is not yet at the age to retire. It is still the right time for her to be the mainstay for many years.
This incident made the unit leaders more aware of Jiang Moli's strength. Although the others performed well, the fact was that if Jiang Moli was not there, there would not be so many tickets. Without Jiang Moli, there would not be so many people watching this new play.
In the afternoon, when Jiang Moli went to a meeting at work, her boss praised her. Jiang Moli just smiled and said, "It's the result of everyone's hard work. I alone don't have such great ability."
Jiang Moli did not negate the contributions of others. Everyone achieved success together, and it cannot be said that the credit was all due to Jiang Moli alone.
"You're being modest," the leader said, glancing at the others. "You have to keep up the good work in the upcoming performances. If the performances are good, there will be more tickets, and you'll get more bonuses too."
The boss deliberately mentioned bonuses. Some people are simply focused on the bonuses, not the performance itself. As long as there's money, they'll work harder. After all, some people aren't the star performers; they're more ordinary. Some people simply treat their work as just another one, not necessarily striving for it. Just like Zhou Yiran, it's just a job; it's okay as long as they're doing it well enough. As long as their performance isn't too bad and they don't lose their job, there's no problem.
Some people, with a big carrot hanging in front of them, will work harder and won't even think about taking time off. Some people have a rebellious mentality. Even if the performance is great, if they see the audience focusing on someone else, they'll think about taking time off and not performing. Such people are rare, but they do exist.
After the meeting, Jiang Moli went to practice again and planned to go back after get off work.
"This time, the bonus should be quite a lot." Qiao Yuwei walked beside Jiang Moli, "I wonder if we have to wait until the end of the year to pay it out. It would be best if it were paid monthly. If we wait until the end of the year, wouldn't we have to live a hard life for the next few months?"
"It should be paid out every month." Jiang Moli said, "Wasn't it paid out monthly before?"
"That was in the past, when you went back to give birth. Our revenue wasn't very good, and the monthly bonuses were small," Qiao Yuwei said. "The boss even said we should wait until the end of the year to pay it out. Now that we have a new play, I hope the boss won't think about paying it out until the end of the year."
"I haven't heard of it. I only found out about it after you told me." Jiang Moli said, "Don't worry too much. I guess the leader is just talking about it. If there's no official document, it means it hasn't been implemented yet. A unit like ours can't just implement it without issuing a document. This isn't something a leader can decide."
"That's right." Qiao Yuwei nodded. "Monthly payment is better. There are so many places where we need to spend money, especially after having a child. We need money everywhere."
"It will be fine." Jiang Moli said.
"Maybe it will be better when the child grows up. After the child grows up, we still have to prepare some things for him." Qiao Yuwei said.
When Jiang Moli heard what Qiao Yuwei said, she thought of Zhou Yiran, who often said that raising a child is not easy. Of course, raising a child is not easy. Children are not that easy to raise. If children were easy to raise, many people would be willing to have children. If children are not easy to raise, parents have to take care of them more and pay more attention to them. They cannot ignore their children.
Even Jiang Moli herself has to take more care of the child. She works outside, but she also wants to go home on time and see the child more often. The child is still so young, so she still has to accompany the child.
Jiang Moli wondered when they started talking about children so much, was it after they got married, or after they had children? Maybe it was because they were almost old enough that they talked about children so often. If they were not old enough and did not have children themselves, they probably would not talk about children so often.
Nancheng Drama Troupe, Zhou's mother and some other leaders are already discussing asking Provincial Xiaobaihua for the copyright of the script.
"The script is okay, but not particularly outstanding," Zhou's mother said truthfully. "It also depends on the actor. For example, Jiang Moli has a lot of fans. Even if they don't know her, they'll go and see her after hearing about her. Our company lacks such people. Even if we buy the script, the effect may not be particularly good."
Mother Zhou must say it in advance, so that she won’t say later that the effect is not that good.
They have already set a good example, so if others try to imitate them, the results will be poor.
"We have to buy it." said the leader of the South City Drama Troupe.
"Why don't we wait a little longer?" Aunt Qi said, "Wait ten days or half a month and see what happens."
Zhou's mother didn't say much. Whether the situation was good or not, those people had eyes and they could see it.
In the next half month, Jiang Moli performed several more shows, all of which were packed and tickets were hard to come by.
This drama is a huge hit!
Jiang Moli's first drama after giving birth was so popular that her popularity increased further.
Many people were discussing this play, and since it became a hit, some local theater troupes began performing it. These organizations were early in acquiring the copyright and were also more experienced in arranging the play. While the performances of the same play by local troupes weren't as successful, they were nonetheless satisfied.
Jiang Moli felt reassured after seeing so many people genuinely enjoying the play. She had previously worried the play wouldn't do well, and she wanted to push herself further. She hadn't considered applying for the award a second time, and the organizing committee didn't want to see the same person win multiple times. A few years ago, someone won the award two years in a row, once a year, and the same person won both years. While everyone recognized that person, some said it was detrimental to the growth of rising stars.
Therefore, the trend in recent years has been to favor different opera actors rather than the same person, allowing a hundred flowers to bloom.
The drama became a hit, and Jiang Moli was even featured in the news. Reporters interviewed her. Jiang Moli couldn't always boast about how great she was. She always said the entire team was excellent, and the others were amazing. That's what allowed Jiang Moli to reach such heights. Without the team, there wouldn't have been this drama's explosion.
He Jingxian saw Jiang Moli's interview on TV and felt more and more aggrieved.
Qi Shixin saw He Jingxian reading about Jiang Moli again, and he didn't want to talk about it anymore. If Qi Shixin said anything, He Jingxian would say that she was only doing it to give birth to his child, and that's why she couldn't be as good as Jiang Moli.
Qi Shixin thought that even if He Jingxian also went to act, He Jingxian might not be that good.
"She really likes being on TV." He Jingxian said, "Yes, after she's on TV, more people know her, and more people watch her shows."
Qi Shixin looked at his three daughters and decided that it would be better for him to continue taking care of them.
He Jingxian looked at Qi Shixin, and Qi Shixin only had his daughter in his eyes.
"If I had known you loved daughters so much, we would have only had one. Why did we have so many?" He Jingxian said, "My career has come to a halt because of them."
Qi Shixin still prefers sons, but He Jingxian didn't give birth to a son, so Qi Shixin has no choice. All three daughters are Qi Shixin's biological children, so Qi Shixin can only take care of his daughters more and not let them suffer. If He Jingxian doesn't take good care of the children, and if Qi Shixin doesn't pay more attention to the children, what will happen to these three children?
"They are like this, and I don't know what they will do in the future." He Jingxian said, "If they don't sing with me, what will they do?"
"Study first." Qi Shixin said, "When the time comes, they will naturally know what they should do."
"Don't let them become useless." He Jingxian said.
“…” Qi Shixin didn’t think he would ruin his daughters. With a mother like He Jingxian, his daughters would definitely think about working harder.
Teacher Lu also saw the report on TV and thought Jiang Moli was right. The success of a play depends on the entire ensemble. Even if others praise Jiang Moli's performance, she should be more modest. If she's not modest, she'll be easily criticized. If she's more modest, people will at most accuse her of pretense, which is actually better.
When someone becomes famous, any random statement they make can be taken out of context. Even if it's clearly not what they meant, people will say that what they said must have meant that, and it couldn't possibly have been something else.
Most of the time, people don't pay much attention to what they say.
"Not bad." Teacher Lu said.
Father Sheng poured a glass of water, came back and sat next to Teacher Lu, and looked at the TV.
"Is this an interview?" asked Sheng's father.
"You can tell at a glance," Teacher Lu said. "Moli is good this way. Those reporters sometimes like to dig holes in people's minds when they talk to them. Not all reporters are good."
"That's your student." said Sheng's father.
"Even if Jasmine wasn't my student, she would have performed very well," Teacher Lu said. "She wouldn't be any worse off under another teacher. To be honest, I don't think I've helped her much."
Teacher Lu values Jiang Moli. She believes that Jiang Moli has good character and knows how to work hard. Teacher Lu has many students, but none of them are as outstanding as Jiang Moli. When Teacher Lu talks about Jiang Moli with other students, she always tells them to work harder. She doesn't expect them to be like Jiang Moli, but only hopes that they will work harder and learn to pursue higher levels of art.
Recently, Shi's mother has not liked to go out again. Jiang Moli's new play has become a big hit, and many people are talking about Jiang Moli's new play. Some neighbors deliberately talk about Jiang Moli in front of Shi's mother, but Shi's mother doesn't like to hear it. She only wants to see Jiang Moli fail, not succeed.
"They only know how to flatter Jiang Moli. Jiang Moli doesn't live here. It's useless for them to say good things about Jiang Moli. It's useless at all!" said Shi's mother.
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