Chapter 193 What are you thinking?
As soon as the gongs and drums sounded, everyone outside ran into the dam. With so many people there, there was no one left to sit. The benches were just for decoration, but they would be useful as a foothold when more people came. Standing on the benches was much taller than a person, so it didn't affect the view at all.
Facing the stage were tables, chairs, and benches. This was where the commune cadres, those from the lower brigades, and the art troupe sat. Lu Mingjiang and his family sat there, right next to the whitewashed line. With no one blocking their view, they felt quite comfortable.
Wang Chunmei led the way, and Wen Wan accompanied Liu Hongxing and a group of girls from the art troupe. As soon as they came out of the courtyard, they attracted many pairs of eyes.
Wang Chunmei said, "Comrade Liu, there are tables and chairs set up over there. You can let these young comrades sit over there, have a drink of water, and rest for a while."
Liu Hongxing said, "Okay, let's watch the excitement for a while, and then figure out how to arrange the time."
As he was speaking, the person had already arrived.
Lu Donglin had sharp eyes and spotted Wen Wan mixed in with a group of people in military uniforms. He tugged at Zhang Hongying's sleeve and said, "Mom, mom, sister-in-law!"
"Where?"
"Well, well, with a bunch of lesbians wearing big hats."
Zhang Hongying stood up for a moment and then sat down again. Wen Wan had already walked to their side, waved at them, and then sat down with Liu Hongxing, Wang Chunmei and others.
Zhang Hongying was startled. "Oh, isn't that where the cadres sit? Why is Wanwan sitting there? Donglin, I don't know where your brother is. Where did he take your sister-in-law's food? He hasn't had a bite yet!"
Lu Mingjiang cleared his throat and said, "Daughter-in-law Dongping is busy with important matters. Let's enjoy our own fun and don't disturb her."
Over there, Wen Wan and Wang Chunmei sat down, one on each side, and didn't get straight to the point. Instead, they watched the lions gathering the green in the middle of the dam and the people rowing boats and walking on stilts. The yangko dancers nearby were also quite impressive, especially the two trumpet players, two grown men, playing the suola among the female dancers, playing and dancing with vigor, without even taking a breath.
Liu Hongxing looked at Wen Wan and asked, "How many years have you been here?"
"More than a year."
"How do you feel about this place?"
Wen Wan pointed at the crowd and said, "I think it's pretty good. It's a bit backward and the conditions are poor, which you can see. But everyone is very motivated and the people are quite good. At least that's what I think. Maybe I'm just lucky."
After a few small talk, they got down to business. After deciding the order of the program, Liu Hongxing said to Wen Wan, "Since Teacher Wen knows how to sing, why don't we sing a song together at the end?"
Well--
Wen Wan looked at her in surprise, then nodded: "Let's sing one song at a time. You decide which song you want to sing, and we'll get together in advance." Singing was something she had been doing since she was a child, and she was not afraid of it at all.
After a while, Liu Hongxing called out to the people in the art troupe: "Come over and join their yangko team in marching forward."
A group of young female comrades stood up and followed her, smiling and leaving the stage.
Wen Wan and Wang Chunmei were also there.
Dancing the yangge looks simple, but it makes you sweat.
She simply took off her cotton-padded jacket and scarf, ran over and stuffed it into Lu Chun'e's arms: "Help me hold it!"
Zhang Hongying called out to her, "Why did you take off your coat? Be careful not to catch a cold!"
Wen Wan had already run far away.
She was wearing black corduroy overalls, a bright red turtleneck sweater, and a flower tied on the tip of her long braid with a red scarf. Even when standing with a group of girls from the art troupe, her brilliance could not be concealed.
As soon as the group of people got off the stage, they quickly mixed in with the yangko troupe.
Two suona players surrounded them, and the sound was so loud that it deafened their ears.
"Comrade Liu, when does our art troupe's performance start?"
Liu Hongxing said, "That depends on when your community fire show ends."
Wang Chunmei slapped her thigh upon hearing this and said, "Well, we can end this at any time. This was originally to warm up the crowd by welcoming you guys."
With that said, there's no need to wait. After all, the people from the art troupe still have to go back to the guesthouse in the county town in the afternoon, and it's not easy to accommodate them here.
The lion dance has reached its climax. The two lion heads have been placed on the top of the rack, one in front and one behind. It remains to be seen which lion can bite off the big red flower.
The onlookers were all looking over there, staring intently with their heads tilted up, clapping and cheering from time to time.
Zhang Hongying remembered: "What did your brother say then? He said he also performed lion dance? Can you tell whose side he's on?"
Lu Donglin said, "How can I not see it? The pants he's wearing today were made for him by my sister-in-law some time ago. They're black corduroy, the same color as the ones my sister-in-law is wearing. He's wearing the same pair of Warrior shoes my sister-in-law bought him before they got married. You can tell at a glance. Look, it's right there. Try harder, and you'll be able to bite it soon!"
There are four people dancing the lion, the first and the last two. They are two officers from the armed forces department and are selected from the militia camp. They are very agile and nimble.
The onlookers shouted "Come on!" and clapped their hands in applause. Wen Wan also ran over to watch.
When the big red flower was bitten off by the lion, the onlookers cheered and the lion dancer showed his face. Only then did she notice that it was Lu Dongping.
Lu Dongping actually participated in the lion dance? I've never heard him mention it!
Not only did he participate, he also won. Wen Wan felt inexplicably excited when she saw him, and thought he was really amazing.
When Lu Dongping came off the stage and excitedly went to find Wen Wan, Wen Wan had already started working on the stage.
As soon as the sounds of gongs, drums and suona stopped, the only sounds left on the entire dam were whispers and discussions.
Wen Wan went to the office and found a big loudspeaker. She simply put together some lines and started announcing the program. Then the highlight began.
The art troupe has made sufficient preparations for this performance in the countryside. In addition to singing and dancing, there will also be drama and erhu solo.
What the commune prepared was a bit underwhelming, with only two songs.
Wang Chunmei looked at the erhu solo and slapped her thigh, saying, "We can also have someone play the suona. The trumpet maker in our commune is really good at playing the suona. He can play that thing, what's it called? I'll go ask him and see if I can play it."
The piece she was talking about was called "A Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix", which was learned by the trumpet maker in the commune. It was nice to listen to, but it was a pity that he couldn't play it completely, and only knew that part.
It's just one paragraph at a time, and I can make do with it. It's a show after all.
At the end, Wen Wan and Liu Hongxing sang a song together called "Ninety-nine Sunny Days". This song was sung three times today. The people from the art troupe sang it once, the people from the commune sang it once, and Wen Wan and Liu Hongxing sang it again. Each time had a different flavor.
However, Liu Hongxing, after singing one song, really had a new respect for Wen Wan, a young female comrade.
When it was over, the sun was about to set. The people from the art troupe did not delay and got on the bus directly back to the county town to rest for a night as they had to go somewhere else the next day.
Wen Wan was so dizzy that she didn't want to get up from the squatting position.
I was so hungry that I couldn’t feel anything in my stomach. I felt dizzy and my legs were weak.
Lu Dongping finally found a chance to light a fire and toast the egg pancakes he had brought her that morning. He then brought them to her and said, "Hurry up and have a bite first to fill your stomach."
Wen Wan took the teacup from his hand and said, "Let me drink some water first. I'm too hungry."
She found a place to sit down, drank some water and ate a few bites before asking Lu Dongping, "Did Dad and the others go back?"
"I went back as soon as the show was over. Since you weren't greeting the people from the art troupe at the time, I didn't come to say hello to you."
"Tiring, hey, why are you going to dance the lion dance? I haven't heard you mention it before!"
Lu Dongping leaned against the wall next to her and said, "I've got a surprise for you!"
Wen Wan laughed: "It's really a surprise, quite unexpected, you are really amazing."
Lu Dongping grinned: "My wife is also amazing. She sings much better than those people from the art troupe."
Lin Chenghai showed up at this moment to spoil the fun: "Alright, you two can brag about each other after you get back. Dongping, come here for a moment. I have something to do. You can go back after you finish it."
"Here I am, here I am."
Lu Dongping put away his nonchalant look and turned to Wen Wan and said, "Take your time to eat. Wait for me. I'll go back with you."
Wen Wan still had the cake in her mouth, and she nodded with her cheeks puffed up.
After she finished eating, she took the teacup to the office of the Armed Forces Department. Lu Dongping just came out from inside with an envelope in his hand and raised his eyebrows and smiled at her.
"Are you done?"
Lu Dongping took the teacup and said, "You're done, you can go home now."
As he spoke, he went in again, and when he came out, he and Wen Wan went out of the yard and to the road below: "Do you want to go to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy something else?"
Wen Wan thought for a moment and said, "It seems there's nothing to buy. Let's go back!"
The two of them crossed the highway and headed for the yellow mud road that led to the team. Wen Wan then asked, "Why didn't I see my uncle and aunt today? Didn't they say yesterday that they would come over to watch the fun?"
Lu Dongping said, "I heard from Lu Donglin that there was another quarrel at home. Li Laiying didn't look after the child, and Chuyi fell off the bed. That's what caused the quarrel."
Wen Wan shut up. She was not in a position to comment on this matter.
As the sun sets, smoke rises again from the houses scattered among the mountains and forests, and the fields are green, as beautiful as a painting.
At Lu Minghai's house, the stove was still cold. Gao Xiulan and Chuyi refused to enter the kitchen, and Li Laiying had cried enough and pretended to be dead in the house.
Lu Donghai knew that his wife was angry, so he didn't try to be a peacemaker. If it weren't for his daughter-in-law, he would not be able to say it. This matter really needed to be discussed.
The three of them did not stay at home during the New Year's Day, and had no intention of joining in the fun together. Instead, they went to the mountains to chop firewood to vent some energy.
Lu Minghai asked Lu Dongcai, "Second brother, what are you thinking? Can we even live like this? If you keep messing around like this, your mother and I won't be able to handle this for many more days."
Lu Dongfu couldn't help but say, "Second brother, I think you really need to think about this. She may have been holding it in normally, but her true colors showed once she got pregnant. For example, Zhou Lanhua gave birth not long ago. She was almost in labor and couldn't even get out of bed, but now she's in a state of morning sickness and can't do anything. She can't even look after a baby that's only a few months old. Look at the big bump on Chuyi's head from the fall. I don't know if there will be any sequelae. What will we do if it's another girl this time? Are you going to ignore her? Just leave it to our mother to take care of?"
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