Chapter 449 Red Star Farm's Entire Staff Makes Their Debut
"What? The women in our compound are brave enough to take up arms and fight, and can make a fortune by farming, but they chicken out when they're on stage?" Su Yue walked over at some point, carrying a megaphone, and her voice echoed throughout the compound. "The family compound next door said that we're just a bunch of country bumpkins who only know how to have kids and cook, and we can't even put on a decent show."
These words caused an uproar in the crowd.
"Who said that! Who dares to call us unsophisticated!" Cuihua was the first to push forward, rolling up her sleeves. "Director Su, just tell me what to do! It's just going on stage, right? I'm not even afraid of the Japanese, why would I be afraid of a stage?"
Count me in!
"And me too!"
In less than half an hour, the registration forms were filled to the brim.
The rehearsal space was set at Warehouse No. 2, which had just been vacated on the farm.
Without lights or sound, dozens of military wives stood crookedly in their usual work clothes.
Chu Jingya held the pointer and looked at the group of special "actors" in front of her, feeling a chill run down her spine.
When they were made to march in formation, they marched like they were going to a fair.
When asked to do a stretching exercise, they all stiffened like terracotta warriors that had just been unearthed.
"Stop!" Chu Jingya shouted. "Don't treat this like torture! Do what you normally do in the fields! Cuihua, how did you use your strength when you carried the sea buckthorn basket? Stand up straight and keep your shoulders down!"
Cuihua scratched her head and tried to make a movement, but it still felt awkward.
"Forget who I am, forget this is all an act." Chu Jingya threw down her pointer, walked up to Cuihua, and rolled up the sleeves of her polyester shirt. "Look at me."
This once-shining star of the Beijing stage bent down and made a gesture as if carrying a bag in the air.
His shoulders slumped slightly, his knees bent, and then he exerted force suddenly, his back and waist tensed instantly, and his face showed a look of gritted teeth yet full of hope.
The warehouse fell silent in that instant.
Cuihua's mouth dropped open. This action was more like her own than anything she had ever done herself.
“Art is not about pretense.” Chu Jingya straightened up, a fine layer of sweat beading on her forehead. “Art grows from the soil. You are the best material.”
For the next two weeks, the Red Star Farm was brightly lit every night.
These women, who toil away in the fields during the day, seem to be on steroids at night.
Some people are memorizing their lines, while others are practicing their blocking.
To perfect the action of delivering water to the front lines, Zhao Tiezhu's wife walked hundreds of laps around the yard carrying a basin. Zhao Tiezhu felt sorry for her and tried to help her carry the basin, but was scolded.
Su Yue wasn't idle either.
She called her old connections at the Beijing Federation of Literary and Art Circles and obtained a batch of the latest stage lighting blueprints, asking Gu Beichen to have the engineering corps modify them accordingly.
They also had Huo Wenxuan transfer a batch of fabric from the factory, and he and several skillful sisters-in-law worked through the night to make performance costumes.
Three days before the performance, Gu Beichen came to inspect the venue.
He stood at the warehouse entrance, looking at the bustling scene inside, and turned to Su Yue, saying, "Commander Zheng said that if this performance goes well, it will be promoted throughout the entire army. This is not just entertainment; it's soft power."
"Don't worry." Su Yue leaned against the door frame, watching Chu Jingya correcting the actors' movements. "This play is definitely more exciting than the model operas."
On the evening of August 1st, Army Day.
The military region's auditorium was packed to capacity.
Commander Zheng sat in the first row, next to Gu Beichen and several division-level officers.
The curtain rises.
There was no elaborate set design, only a few backdrops made of discarded canvas: on one side was a desolate salt flat, and on the other side was a sea buckthorn forest laden with fruit.
The lights suddenly turned on.
Dozens of military wives dressed in coarse cloth clothes with their trousers rolled up rushed onto the stage.
They were carrying hoes, carrying poles, and baskets.
The music wasn't orchestral, but rather the rhythmic sound of shovels striking the ground—heavy, powerful, each strike hitting the audience's heart.
"Hey-yo!"
A loud shout pierced the sky.
Cuihua stood at the front, her face painted with oil paint, making her skin appear dark and shiny.
She slung the carrying pole across her shoulder, unleashing the explosive power honed through years of labor.
The plot is very simple.
The drought has arrived, the well water has dried up, and the seedlings are dying.
Some people cried, and some wanted to give up.
At this moment, a figure in a white coat stepped forward (that was Su Yue's character, played by a young military wife).
She led everyone to find water, dig wells, and fight against the heavens for food.
The soldiers below the stage watched in complete silence.
This isn't acting; this is just their wives' daily life.
When the scene of the Red Star Well emerging from the water was performed, several plumes of white dry ice smoke suddenly sprayed out from the stage, and dozens of military wives threw down their tools and hugged each other, crying and cheering.
The music suddenly became more exciting.
That was a piece of music that Chu Jingya specially commissioned to be composed, which blended the rhythms of island folk songs and marches.
"Who says women are inferior to men? This barren land has been turned into a gold mine!"
The chorus began, and although the pitch wasn't perfect and it was even a bit off-key, the powerful roar that came from their chests was enough to lift the roof off the auditorium.
Commander Zheng suddenly stood up and led the applause.
The applause was like a tidal wave, one wave higher than the next.
Some soldiers had tears in their eyes and clapped their hands frantically.
Sitting in the back row, Zhao Tiezhu looked at his radiant wife on the stage, grinning foolishly, but tears kept streaming down his face.
That was his woman.
A woman who usually only goes around the stove and haggles over a few cents for groceries.
At this moment, she is the protagonist.
After the performance, all the actors came to the front of the stage to take their bows.
Chu Jingya was pushed to the very center.
She changed into a simple Lenin suit and held a bunch of wildflowers in her arms—the ones a young soldier had rushed up to and given to her.
She took Cuihua's hand and bowed deeply.
"Thank you everyone." Chu Jingya's voice was a little choked up. "This play belongs to every military wife who has silently contributed behind the scenes. You are the strongest foundation of this island."
Su Yue stood by the side curtain, watching the scene on stage.
Gu Beichen walked over at some point and draped a coat over her shoulders.
"Why aren't you going on stage?" Gu Beichen asked in a low voice.
"I'll just watch from the audience." Su Yue tightened her coat, which still smelled of his body heat. "This is their highlight moment."
“You are also a main character.” Gu Beichen held her hand. “Without you, there would be no play, and no farm.”
Su Yue smiled and grabbed his fingers with her own: "Chief of Staff Gu, save those words for when we get home. Now, it's time to celebrate our victory."
The backstage area is in complete chaos.
The women, still buzzing with excitement, their faces painted with face paint, chattered excitedly about who had stolen the beat and who had stepped on whose foot.
"Director Su! I didn't forget my lines, did I?" Cuihua rushed over, grabbing Su Yue's hand and refusing to let go. "My legs were shaking like a leaf!"
"Great job!" Su Yue gave her a thumbs up. "Even more impressive than a movie star!"
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