Chapter 95 The Beginning of Fame
The most popular event in Sangqing Town every year is the Warm Winter Party, where wealthy families and literati hold warm winter banquets at home, inviting a host of relatives and friends.
Among them, Nanwazi and Beiwazi in Jinyin Lane are the most famous. Tickets for the 500-seat outdoor performance have been priced at 200 coins since the beginning of November, when the Winter Solstice Festival was held. Now, they are being sold for 700 to 800 coins per seat.
The price of a private room in the cabinet has never fallen, starting at two taels of silver with no upper limit.
In Nanwazi, notices were posted everywhere, on flags, paper signs, and billboards, with a row of large characters that read, "The storyteller Zhang Silang is holding a winter gathering here." In Beiwazi, large red posters were posted in the passageway, which everyone called "scarlet posters." They read, "The puppet show 'Little Knife Dropping' will be performed starting today at 5 PM. No exceptions."
They invited famous actors from all over to entertain the crowd. The South Wazi and the North Wazi competed with each other. On one side, they invited the famous variety show actor Song Zhennu, and on the other side, they invited the variety show actor Da Yanwu from Lin'an. They invited people from all over the place, and they made merry all day long until the moon rose above the willow tree.
The common people enjoyed it and would often carry thirty or fifty coins to the theaters and entertainment venues to listen to various storytelling and singing, or watch football matches and tightrope walking to pass the time in the cold.
Nanwazi, not wanting to always be overshadowed by Beiwazi, is busy selecting new skills in an effort to win over the crowd.
More than half a month later, Nanwazi held a competition for participants to enter the Warm Winter Games at Tuanyuan Pavilion, attracting experts from all walks of life.
A dozen or so judges sat in the middle. In front of them was a spacious stage with only curtains, and behind them was a dressing room where people gathered to change clothes. At this moment, there were thirty to fifty people dressed in various costumes, waiting for the call to go on stage.
Those who stand out the most and receive the most applause are ranked first. As for the five-person dance performed by Wang Erniang and her group, who have no reputation, they are scheduled for the last performance and have to wait from morning till night. If they miss it, they will miss the show.
Since nobody has high hopes for them anyway, they're just there to make up the numbers. They can be weeded out later. In a small world like Nanwazi, where you don't fight with swords and spears, you rely on real skills to prove yourself.
Lin Xiushui sat in the dark and damp theater, looked around at the various strange costumes, stamped her numb feet, and finally heard someone outside shout: "First scene, Chen Erlang of Xiaozangye".
She told Wang Erniang and the others that they would go around to the right side and go behind the stands to watch and see what everyone in front of them was capable of.
The first type of magic trick is called "Zangye," which has been popular for decades, from south to north, and always draws large crowds.
Lin Xiushui found a place to sit down. There were fifty or sixty people sitting in the stands. She glanced around and then looked at the stage. She saw that Zhang Erlang, who was performing the first scene, was standing on the stage alone with nothing on him. He patted himself and asked someone to check if he had anything hidden inside.
Then Zhang Erlang stepped back, faced the crowd, opened his hand, then clenched it, and with a wave of his hand, a small white bird emerged from his palm, fluttering its wings and flying away into the distance.
Lin Xiushui stared intently, and under everyone's gaze, wearing a tight-fitting, narrow-sleeved top, she didn't even know how to conjure it up. Suddenly, there was an uproar, and everyone cheered and shouted, "One more time!"
Zhang Erlang remained calm and unhurried. He took an empty bamboo tube, turned it upside down, shook it three times, and then pointed the empty opening at the crowd. There was nothing inside. He covered it with a cloth, placed it on the ground, snapped his fingers, and with a few hissing sounds, smoke and flames began to emerge from the bamboo tube.
Everyone stared in astonishment. Then, a small umbrella appeared out of the cloth, and two or three people stood next to him. A goldfish with water appeared in an empty bowl.
Their skills were superb, flawless, and they were truly exceptional talents. Lin Xiushui thought this was already amazing. Then, a group of acrobats came up and performed a piece called "Eternal Reunion".
A thick rope is tied to two pillars on either side. A person can easily flip up onto the pillar, take two steps, do a somersault, and then stand firmly on the pillar. People below throw bottles and bowls up, and the person kicks the bottles while balancing the bowls on their head.
Everyone held their breath, standing on tiptoe to get a closer look. As more and more bowls were thrown up, reaching seven or eight in total, people were walking unsteadily. Many people muttered to themselves, "This is probably bad; soon the bowls will be smashed all over the place."
When it came to the ninth bowl, he continued walking with his feet still in motion and his head still perfectly aligned as he completed the rope.
Even Lin Xiushui couldn't help but shout out and throw money onto the stage with everyone else. It was truly spectacular, and she didn't even dare to breathe loudly during the whole process.
Everyone used their unique skills, such as manipulating insects to stack nine turtles on their backs, or women's martial arts, leaping and bounding between four pillars with agility, full of power and beauty.
Or they would dance back and forth between a large drum and a small drum the size of a palm, their steps graceful and their singing superb, captivating everyone until the end, when they would finally cheer.
Lin Xiushui was not confident either. Although she felt that she was no less than the others, she also knew that the performances of others were more dazzling.
What was very disheartening was that Wang Erniang and her group were scheduled for the last round, but by the eighth round to go, all eighteen spots were already taken.
The announcer from the stands came over, lifted the curtain, and asked, "We've run out of options, do you still want to go on stage?"
The remaining twenty-odd people in the theater were furious. The man who was making the shadow puppets simply picked up his things and shouted, "I'm not going on!" "Whoever wants to go on can go on, I'm not doing it anymore."
The two storytelling sisters wiped away their tears and cried their hearts out until their performance began. The slapstick comedy trio joked, "Hey, after performing so many slapstick comedy acts, we've become slapstick ourselves."
"That's right, it doesn't even taste as good as chicken."
The place was in complete chaos, with people crying and making a scene. Wang Erniang and the others remained silent, as there were no more spots available.
She slowly raised her head and looked at Lin Xiushui, who hadn't spoken. She hesitated, wanting to say something but then stopped. For so many days, she had worked day and night for this stage, inviting more than a dozen people to help her adjust her clothes and effects, dancing and revising again and again.
Before he could even take the stage, he lost his chance.
“We,” Wang Erniang licked her lips, her voice dry, and looked down at the back of her feet, “aren’t we a little too useless?”
Li Xia covered her face, tears seeping from between her fingers, and hung her head dejectedly, "It's all been for nothing that you put in so much effort."
"Why can't we be more ambitious?" Sun Aqing stomped her foot angrily. They were right here, full of hope that even if they couldn't make a name for themselves on stage, they could at least be more ambitious than before.
As a result, after a lot of effort, I only slept for one or two hours a night, and spent the rest of the time practicing singing and dancing, trying to do justice to myself and to Lin Xiushui's hard work. I stayed up until the middle of the night, so I simply squeezed in with them instead of going back. The next morning, when there was still fog, I got up to see if they could get the clothes together better and make the costumes even more perfect.
But all of this, he didn't even get the chance to go on stage.
They were immersed in an inescapable pain and self-blame, and they wanted to back down.
Lin Xiushui grabbed their hands and said, "No."
"Once it's gone, it's never going to happen again."
She helped each of them up from their dejection, saying, "Even if we weren't selected, so what? At least we did right by ourselves."
True courage is knowing there is no hope, yet still standing on the stage, accomplishing everything, and choosing a new path to start afresh.
Instead of retreating and giving up without any struggle, we should regret it day and night.
“Go up on stage,” Lin Xiushui said resolutely as she stood at the exit. “Let’s finish this path first, and then we’ll think about how to go next.”
The remaining people in the room had lost hope and left in twos and threes, or went on stage to perform hastily and then left in grief and indignation. At this point, only they remained standing in the room.
Wang Erniang also mustered up her fighting spirit, wiped away her tears, and said with her neck stiff, "Let's go. Whether we stick our necks out or not, we'll all get stabbed. Whoever doesn't go is a coward."
"Come on, I'm not a coward."
"No, not me! I'm not scared!"
“Me too, we finally have the confidence and dignity,” Li Xia said.
They deceived themselves, repeating over and over, "I can do it." Lin Xiushui lifted the curtain and told the announcer, "Let's go on stage."
The announcer looked astonished. He was about to cross out their names and tell the audience and judges that the competition was over for the day.
"Are you really going to go?" he repeated. "We really don't have any spots left, they're all booked."
“We know,” the five of them said in unison, “we still have to go.”
He couldn't very well stop them, as the sky was gradually darkening; winter weather was always so awful.
In the midst of such intense and spectacular performances, the dozen or so judges, who had initially shown appreciation, grew increasingly tired as the competition progressed. Even the spectators gradually left the venue, or waited to leave one by one.
When Butterfly Loves Flower took the stage, the remaining people were sparse and listless. A row of judges sitting in the stands chatted idly, talking about what they would eat after work, and occasionally their eyes would drift towards the stage.
Wang Li, who was sitting in the middle looking up, frowned. She saw a tall woman with her hair in a plain white dress walk to the front of the platform, holding two fans in her hands.
Wang Li flipped through the booklet, which contained the words "Butterfly Loves Flowers." She was a little impatient. What was this all about? She should have left already. Staying here meant enduring the cold and suffering.
"What the hell?" Li Dalang next to him complained. "It's already the last minute, and you can still tell it's a joke. Aren't there five people supposed to be dancing? How come only one of them came out? If you don't want to dance, you should just say you don't want to. That would be much simpler."
The others echoed her sentiments. Wang Li, torn between leaving and leaving quickly, chose to take one last look. And that one look was all it took for her to look away forever.
As the drums beat and the melodious singing began, Li Xia, dressed in a plain white dress, slowly waved a large fan in her hand. The soft purple-blue fan surface drooped down, swirling and dancing with her, her snow-white dress like blooming petals.
Wang Li stopped walking, rubbed her shoulders, and looked around listlessly, wondering when it would be time to go back and why it wasn't over yet.
Suddenly she heard someone exclaim "Wow!" and she came to her senses. Looking up at the stage, she saw that the two large fans that Li Xia had been holding were gone, and her snow-white skirt had turned into pink and green.
"I'm not seeing things, am I?" Wang Li closed her eyes, then quickly opened them again. In the short time it took to close her eyes, she spun around on the stage, and a blooming purple-blue flower appeared in her previously empty hair bun. Wang Li was certain that they were two small fans.
Before she could look away, more people came up from the right and left, twirling a pink and white floral dress in their hands, waving it up and down like a large flower that opened and closed in an instant. People who wanted to leave sat down and watched intently.
In the blink of an eye, Li Xia in the middle turned around again, holding two large fans in her hands, spinning them together, revealing her snow-white dress once more. Wang Li vowed to watch carefully this time, she didn't close her eyes, but even if she didn't close her eyes, the other two people on the stage were still circling around Li Xia, the floral dress in their hands still there. Li Xia's snow-white dress changed from pinkish-green to blue-yellow, and then to pinkish-purple.
As she turned, the narrow white sleeves on her upper body suddenly transformed into large, swirling orange petal sleeves, and the fan disappeared again.
Everyone gasped in unison, never having seen such a transformation so vividly express the shape and beauty of a flower.
Just as everyone thought the costume change was over and was about to applaud, the three people on stage squatted down and lowered their heads. Everyone could see that the skirts were layered, like blooming peonies, and the two small fans on their heads were like flower stamens.
A butterfly was attracted. Wang Li shook her head, wondering if she was seeing things. Then she saw a person with antennae on their head, wearing a yellow gauze butterfly wing coat, and two tails hanging down from their back with very clear patterns.
It was quite strange and unique. The person took off their clothes and threw them aside. They also had two folding fans in their hands, blue and purple with patterns. They ran around the flowers, waving their arms up and down. The fans disappeared, revealing pure white clothes and green butterfly wings on their backs.
Overjoyed, they ran into the flower bushes. After a burst of laughter and play, a hiss was heard, mixed with a popping sound. The snow-white butterfly with green wings disappeared before everyone's eyes.
And then, in full view of everyone, she transformed into a beautiful butterfly. The large sleeves that fluttered on both sides became the shimmering butterfly wings. From the armpits to the calves, the upper wing edges were green, mixed with blue, pink and green in the middle, while the lower wing edges were light purple embroidered with gold and silver threads and intricate patterns. As she danced, no one spoke, and everyone was immersed in the beauty of breaking out of the cocoon and becoming a butterfly.
As the butterfly wings enveloped her pure white dress, fluttering among the flowers, they gradually peeled away, revealing a light green butterfly bodice and two fitted long skirts hanging from her waist. Together, they truly resembled a fluttering butterfly.
A real transformation unfolded, and even in the gray sky, the uniqueness, charm, beauty, and astonishment of this dress could not be concealed.
As the performance drew to a close, the flowers and butterflies on the stage gradually disappeared, leaving the audience still immersed in a dream of butterflies and flowers.
"My God," someone finally exclaimed, "What did I just see?"
The woman sitting at the front suddenly stood up, knocking over the chair behind her with a loud crash. She didn't even notice, rushing to the back, exclaiming, "I didn't see it at all! How did it appear? I won't be able to sleep tonight if I don't see it clearly!"
"Mommy, can you see that?" another child shook her mother's arm vigorously. "So many flowers, and butterflies!"
She was lost in memories, "Those were the most beautiful butterfly wings I had ever seen."
It was undoubtedly the best performance everyone had ever seen, and a bunch of people excitedly got up and ran to the back of the theater to watch.
The judges in the stands, recovering from their shock, looked at each other in disbelief. They had never witnessed such a stunning and captivating costume dance before. Even those sitting in the back could directly feel the impact of the changing clothes, let alone those in the front.
"What should we do? We're out of quotas," someone lamented, scratching their head. "If I had known there would be such a good deal at the end, I wouldn't have given them away so easily."
Lady Li looked down at the paper with a troubled expression, then said firmly, "What should I do? Which one should I remove? I definitely want to keep this one."
No one objected; everyone agreed that this unique stage must be preserved. Wang Li said firmly, "Keep it! Even if we have to cut the previous seventeen or eighteen, we must keep it."
When Wang Erniang and the others came down, still immersed in the bittersweet emotions of the performance, they encountered a group of people. They were bewildered and at a loss. When they heard Wang Li say that they could enter the Warm Winter Gathering, they were not excited at all, but dumbfounded.
"What? Really? Really?" Wang Erniang looked around blankly, looking for Lin Xiushui, wanting to see her expression. Only when Lin Xiushui nodded did everyone cheer and burst into tears.
He reached out to take Lin Xiushui's hand, like petals enveloping the innermost stamen of a flower.
Large tears fell onto Lin Xiushui's hands and arms, so hot. Her hands were stiff and cold, yet she felt the warmth of everyone holding her hands.
The five people embraced her, and she felt their warmth and their burning, pounding hearts.
“Ahhh, we,” Wang Erniang choked back tears, “we, we can do it.”
Li Xia sat there, head held high, "I never thought we could actually do it."
Lin Xiushui said, "Because we set off."
Once you set off, it doesn't matter where the destination is.
She will remember that night, when everyone surrounded her, their hearts pounding and tears flowing, and together they rushed out, ran out of Nanwazi, and jumped and danced in the street. Even the cold wind slapping their faces no longer felt cold; instead, they reached out their hands to welcome the wind.
Like a butterfly spreading its wings, waiting for the wind to come, and then riding the wind upwards.
They booked a private room at the best restaurant, ordered two jugs of wine, and filled the table with food.
Everyone was drunk, and even in their drunkenness, they were still sobbing and crying.
Lin Xiushui didn't drink; she gets drunk easily. She simply moved the man who was leaning against her, sprawled out, to the side.
The way she sat there made people feel as secure as a mountain.
Lin Xiushui took a small sip of wine and chuckled.
She whispered, "I can grow wings on my own, why should I rely on a ladder to the clouds?"
From the very last spot, breaking through the original quota to enter the Warm Winter Association, from having no hope to being full of light, everything changed overnight.
Five days later, at the Winter Warmth Gathering, everyone went from feeling uneasy to overjoyed, eager to shine.
The day before the Winter Warmth Festival, the tailor specially went door-to-door to distribute the six expensive tickets he had bought to his old friends.
These were all friends she met while working as a seamstress in wealthy households. They were exceptionally skilled, having spent most of their lives making clothes for officials and their families. They even formed a tailoring society called Caiyun Society, which held monthly gatherings where they would discuss the latest fashion trends, various techniques, and the preferences of wealthy families.
Unlike the gold-clad tailor who dislikes scheming and only enjoys making clothes, they have countless connections.
She wanted to use the Winter Warmth Gathering as an opportunity to pave the way for Lin Xiushui. Before, she hadn't found a suitable time, and her friends had very high standards, so ordinary clothes simply didn't meet their standards.
"What winter warmth party?" Old Mrs. Tang took the invitation. "You never go, do you? It's a 500-person banquet, Jin Huaci. Are you bored in this freezing weather?"
"Fine, don't go then," the tailor snorted. "Let me tell you, if you don't go, you'll regret it later. I've got my eye on a promising talent. Although she's young, her skills are exceptional, and she's more than qualified to work at our Tailoring Cloud Society."
"What's with that look on your face? Do you think I would lie to you or make empty promises? If you don't believe me, give it back to me. If you do trust me, come and take a look tomorrow."
Grandma Tang wasn't that she didn't believe it, but she just thought that there was nothing interesting to see at this large winter gathering with five or six hundred people, and that she would have to squeeze in with everyone else.
It was impossible to stop her from going; she knew the tailor Jin too well and was eager to find out what he was up to.
On a freezing cold day, a few old tailors met up. They all came from wealthy families and hadn't been to a gathering of five or six hundred people in a long time, listening to the cacophony of voices.
From the moment she sat down, Mrs. Tang was fuming. She smiled and asked, "Are you feeling unwell?"
"Are you making us uncomfortable too?"
The tailor covered her legs; the room was chilly. She glanced at the elegant and dignified old lady Tang and said, "You used to say that when making clothes, you should observe more, do more, and talk less. Is that still acceptable now?"
Tailor Xu smoothed things over, saying, "Let's see what amazing work it is."
"Really? You said you're only sixteen? Old Ci, have you been having trouble walking lately and your eyesight has deteriorated as a result? Should I buy you some eye drops?" said Mrs. Zhang.
The tailor was too lazy to explain. "I should have brought eye drops first, so you could use them on me and avoid saying I have bad eyesight if you can't see clearly."
A group of tailors bickered, ate snacks on the table, and watched the performance, nodding with interest. It was the afternoon show, and the performance consisted mainly of song and dance, mixed with variety plays. The five or six hundred people were making a lot of noise and a strange, unpleasant smell.
The noise was so loud that she couldn't hear anything at all, and Old Mrs. Tang's temper started to flare up. Just as she was about to slam her hand on the table and leave, she heard the announcement of "Butterfly Loves Flowers," so she sat down again to see what it was all about.
At first, everything was uneventful; the group chatted amongst themselves, laughing and joking, until even the tailor, Xu, said, "What is it?"
As soon as the costume change began, the entire table stared intently. Old Mrs. Tang clicked her tongue and said, "It's quite something. Putting aside the color, the clothes are made exceptionally well. The waistline and elbows are perfectly fitted, not at all cumbersome."
"The colors are also great. You see, there aren't many colors that are suitable for this color, especially white, which complements other colors very well. This color also looks good when dyed. The fabric is of good quality," Mrs. Zhang said, nodding with satisfaction as she looked at the fabric. "We never thought of this before. It's a great idea."
Up to this point, everyone could comment as usual. But when the transformation into a butterfly occurred, even Grandma Tang, who had seen many gorgeous clothes, couldn't help but widen her eyes. This unique style of clothing was simply amazing. She muttered to herself, "Who came up with this?"
She was so surprised, not to mention the uproar it caused among the crowd. This was a large event with five or six hundred people, and the gasps of shock came like a tidal wave.
"One more round!" The loud demands echoed throughout the entire tent. People threw coins, bags of snacks, and even hairpins and bracelets from their hair onto the stage.
This is very common on the stage. When people like a play or variety show, they will throw money and various things onto the stage as a reward. The more they throw, the more popular and loved the audience is.
Copper coins covered most of the stage, and packages of things were piled up one after another. Many people even tried to break through the stands to throw things up there.
Such a grand occasion is a privilege reserved for top performers.
The tailor, beaming with pride, wanted to show off, but then saw Old Mrs. Tang take off her beaded necklace. "What are you looking at me for? Can't I give you a tip? I'd like to!"
"Tell them to do it again, so I can taste it and see if it's salty enough. I haven't had enough yet, so it would be best to do it several times."
"You should also hurry up and tell someone to come to Caiyun Society so we can have a proper sparring match."
The tailor raised his head. "You just wait."
Nanwazi quickly made arrangements, and "Butterfly Loves Flowers" was performed twice in one day. The second day, even more people attended, creating an unprecedented spectacle.
The last show on the second day was packed with people. Manager Wang Li told them to thank the audience for the generous tips, which amounted to six or seven strings of cash per show, plus a mountain of various snacks and other treats.
Overwhelmed with emotion, Wang Erniang stood there in her butterfly dance costume, facing the sea of people. Besides thanking the audience for their support, she choked up and said, "I am most grateful to Shuiji Clothing for being able to stand here and be seen by everyone."
"Without Lin Xiushui, without her, we wouldn't be where we are today."
She said so loudly and without any hesitation, "We owe everything to her for our future and for bringing us a better Butterfly Love Flower."
"We hope everyone will support us and also support Shui Ji Clothing."
Wang Erniang ran off the stage, raised her arms, waved her wings, and shouted around the arena: "These clothes are Shui Ji Quan Yi, made by Lin Xiushui."
"She is the best seamstress!"
Before this, you may or may not be familiar with this name, but you may have seen a butterfly with red eyes running towards you, spreading its wings to tell everyone.
Everyone knew and understood that Shui Ji Quan Yi was a tailor shop.
I also learned about Lin Xiushui.
Lin Xiushui stood there, the wind blowing the hem of her clothes and also blowing away her tears.
She reached out and embraced a butterfly, thus gaining wings to spread her wings as well.
This was the beginning of her rise to fame.
Author's Note: Red Envelope
I've waited so long! [Please][Please][Please][Please][Please]
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