Chapter 83
A month later.
The four newly signed affiliated towns, including the East and West ones, all received Ye Qing’s message about “Happy Spring Festival”.
In Zhucheng, in the mayor's office, a large group of people sat in front of the LCD TV, watching the latest promotional video with great interest.
Spring Festival couplets with black characters on a red background, big red lanterns, crackling firecrackers, tempting candied haws, colorful fireworks...
Everyone present stared intently. To them, every frame of the video held a strong attraction. The long absence of the New Year holidays did not make them feel unfamiliar, but rather deeply touched them, as if it was a brand engraved in their bones. They only needed to gently lift a corner, and everything would return to normal.
When the last frame of the video ended, everyone was immersed in the beautiful fantasy.
After a long while, Lu Zhicheng coughed lightly to interrupt the silence: "Everyone has seen it, what do you think?"
Zhu Yuanze, a rising star in Zhucheng, was the first to speak: "I think we should first announce the news to the residents as soon as possible. The resources in Taoyuan are limited, so it's first come, first served."
"Then I started preparing the program. Art comes from life, and my idea was to hold an open audition and select from the residents."
Niu Lao Da from the Soldiers' Battalion slapped his thigh vigorously and laughed heartily, "Haha~ Minister Zhu, this is a brilliant idea. Initially, I wanted each of the affiliated towns to produce eight performances. How can we, a bunch of us who are just wielding swords and guns, pull this off?"
"Well, it's really good. There are sometimes jugglers in the city who put on performances. It's more than enough to put together eight shows."
"Oh, then don't worry. Minister Zhu is truly admirable."
Zhu Lao's beard trembled with laughter. Although he was not praising him, he felt inexplicably happy.
"Well, let me say this in advance," Lu Zhicheng looked at the crowd with a subtle hint of joking, "This is the first Spring Festival Gala since the Fallout apocalypse. We officials must take the lead and be responsible for at least one of the programs."
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone looked left and right, but no one looked at Lu Zhicheng who was in the front.
"Then let Lu Feng and Lu Yun take the lead. There is only half a month left, so you can come up with the program ideas yourselves." Lu Zhicheng said without hesitation.
"Haha, thank goodness it wasn't me."
Listening to the constant snickers around them, Lu Feng and Lu Yun looked at each other with disbelief on their faces.
As the persons in charge of Fengyun Supermarket, they were invited to attend the weekly meeting today because of their outstanding performance. However, they did not expect to be assigned a tricky job on their first visit, and it was their own brother who tricked them.
There is a lack of entertainment in the post-apocalyptic world. They haven’t even watched any of the shows themselves, so where can they get ideas to perform on stage?
That was a party that all four subsidiary towns would attend, and it was a great opportunity to show off in front of the main city. If they were given such a difficult task, they would bring shame to Zhucheng if they failed, and would be drowned in the spit of the residents when they returned.
Lu Zhicheng looked relaxed, as if he hadn't noticed the confusion on his brother and sister's faces. "Alright, that's it. Everyone, do your part and make good preparations. Tonight, half a month from now, we'll have a lively Spring Festival!"
Everyone left happily, except Lu Feng and Lu Yun, who looked hurt.
"What should we do? Big brother wants us to prepare a program!" Lu Yun punched the air with his hands, looking crazy.
Lu Feng sat slumped in the chair, as if all his energy and blood had been sucked out. This was an area he had never been exposed to before. It was extremely difficult to create a program from scratch and perform on stage.
"Can you please stop asking me what to do every time? I don't know either!"
Lu Yun was yelled at and felt a little aggrieved: "I'm used to it, so what should we do now?"
Lu Feng's breath was stuck in his throat, and he couldn't vent it in front of his own sister, so he had to swallow it down.
"What can I do? I'll just work overtime to find information."
Lu Yun exclaimed, "Yeah, those books we borrowed cover all kinds of genres. Maybe we can find some inspiration here. Let's go and flip through the books!"
The other three affiliated towns received the same notice, with joy mixed with a hint of worry.
In addition to the party, various pre-holiday preparations are also in full swing.
Ye Qing ordered people to post Spring Festival couplets and hang big red lanterns in advance in places with high traffic, such as the four city gates, schools, government service centers, and canteens.
The gardens, plum groves, bamboo gardens and other landscapes are all decorated with colorful lights. When the lights are turned on at night, the colorful lights shine brilliantly, making the entire city as magnificent as an oil painting.
The melodious electronic music in Fountain Square has been replaced with festive traditional songs, including "Congratulations on Prospering," "Good Luck Comes," "Here Comes the God of Wealth," and "Happy New Year." These familiar songs shine brightly on this special occasion. They are so catchy that even toddlers can hum along.
In addition to these preparations, the most popular items are the various New Year goods sold in containers, including firecrackers, fireworks, lanterns, Spring Festival couplets, Yuanxiao, etc. These New Year goods are time-limited and will be sold out in the system mall after the Spring Festival and cannot be purchased until the next Spring Festival.
Several administrative and logistical staff members of the government affairs center and the little beggar were sent to the container to help, but they were still busy and dizzy.
Ye Qing built a large supermarket with an area of 5,000 square meters. The main business in the containers was moved to the supermarket, and currently only some holiday gifts are sold.
After several months of education, the residents' quality has improved significantly. Everyone knows to queue up actively when shopping. However, even after queuing, the scene is still noisy.
"Brother, give me two candied haws."
"How much are the fireworks? They're called fairy wands."
"You can write your own Spring Festival couplets. I've found a couplet that I really like!"
…
The little beggar was busy going back and forth between the cash register and the shelves, sweating even in the middle of winter. He wiped the sweat from his forehead while getting the New Year's goods and said to Ermao beside him, "We have plenty of goods, but so many people are fighting for them. The affiliated towns must be fighting tooth and nail!"
This is indeed the case. Currently, there is only one small train responsible for delivering goods. The four affiliated towns purchase goods according to the cycle, and can only arrange for one day a week. There is a certain limit on each purchase, so you can imagine how popular it is.
Xiaoru is a 15-year-old girl. She was sent to Fengyun Supermarket by her parents and grandparents early in the morning to queue up, saying that she wanted to buy a Spring Festival gift package to take home like her neighbors and have a good New Year.
When the neighbors brought back the Spring Festival gift packages, their whole family went to watch, and my grandparents couldn't let go of them.
"Mom and Dad, you can go out and work with peace of mind. Grandpa and Grandma, you wait for me at home, I will definitely buy it back." She waved goodbye to everyone and walked straight to Fengyun Supermarket.
Along the way, she met many pedestrians who were hurrying on their way. They were probably just like her, rushing to buy the new batch of goods in the supermarket.
Before daybreak, there was a huge crowd of people. Xiaoru was anxious and gradually quickened her pace and started running.
Her home is at the foot of the mountain, on the edge of the city, some distance away from the Fengyun Supermarket in the center. She was so tired after running all the way that she was out of breath, but she didn't dare to stop. There were so many people rushing to buy this batch of goods, and it was not certain whether it would be her turn, so she had to get up early.
After running all the way, I finally saw the supermarket, but the entrance was crowded with people, circling around the open space several times like a snake.
Xiaoru's eyes went dark and she almost fainted. She had arrived early enough, but there were still so many people!
This Spring Festival gift package was a must-buy. Her parents and grandparents all lived here before the radiation, and they have a special feeling for the Spring Festival. This was her first Spring Festival in over 30 years, so she had to celebrate it well. Moreover, she was carried away by the rich atmosphere, and she also had a little more anticipation.
Without thinking too much, Xiaoru quickly explored with her eyes, found the end of the team and lined up.
Because young people have to go out to work, most of the people who come are children and housewives.
The supermarket had not opened yet, and they were bored and gathered together to chat about gossip. Xiaoru was panting and listening with her ears perked up.
"Have you heard that there are a lot of things in this Spring Festival gift package!" A woman wearing a gray headscarf took out a handful of melon seeds from her pocket and said while eating them.
"I heard there are eight bags of nuts, a sausage, a pair of couplets, a pair of lanterns, and a box of fairy wands," a woman carrying a basket came up and said, "and it's only 20 crystal cores. It's not cheap at all!"
"Oh my, this is too cheap! There are 8 bags of nuts! Is this true?"
The woman carrying the basket glanced at them. "My husband's from the military camp. Boss Niu said it himself. How could it be false? Insider information: this is a special promotion offered by the big boss in the main city just for the Spring Festival. It won't be available after this year, so everyone is rushing to buy it."
Another woman came over and said, "My boss said the same thing. She's such a good person. Without her, we wouldn't have such a happy life."
"Yes, I hope she lives a long life."
"I hope she will be happy and give birth to a big fat boy."
Xiaoru was listening at the side and saw everyone putting their hands together and blessing the sky, so she followed suit and blessed the big boss whom she had never met before.
After the blessing, she asked quietly, "Um...Excuse me, with so many people here, will it be our turn? I also want to buy that Spring Festival gift package."
The women looked at her with disdain, the kind of look that looked at a fool.
Xiaoru was a bit discouraged, but she still added, "This is my first time buying here, so I don't know the market conditions."
The woman in the gray headscarf who had started the conversation gave her a pitying look and sighed, "Based on my daily experience snatching up goods, there's a high probability we won't be able to grab any. But we're not here primarily for the gift packs. If we can't get them, we can buy other things. During the Spring Festival, everything is 10% off!"
Xiaoru opened her mouth wide and let out an "ah" after a long time, but she came here just for the Spring Festival gift package and she wouldn't buy anything else.
But there was no other way. Since she was already here, she would not give up until the last moment, so she waited patiently.
While waiting, she looked around and saw that many people, probably experienced, took out folding chairs and sat on them to poke the hemp ropes without wasting any time.
Xiaoru secretly took note of it and decided to do the same next time.
Time passed in relaxed chatting. As soon as the sun rose, the supermarket staff opened the door and the crowd rushed in instantly.
"Watch your step, watch your step!"
"Don't be impatient, don't be impatient!"
How can she not be anxious? She is at the back of the queue, and if she doesn't hurry, she won't get a share.
As expected, what she wished for came true. She struggled to push through the crowd and finally squeezed to the container of Spring Festival gift packages. It was clean and had been sold out long ago.
"It's sold out. Let's go buy some bread. Fragrant and sweet bread~" Seeing that the shelves were empty, several women who came with her went to other shelves together.
Xiaoru stood there at a loss. She remembered her parents' instructions and the expectant eyes of her grandparents. If she went back like this... No way!
She quickly grabbed the staff member who was about to leave.
"Excuse me, sir, is there anything I can help you with?"
Holding him was just a reflex in an emergency. When the staff asked her about it, Xiaoru didn't know how to answer. She twirled her fingers, mustered up the courage, and whispered, "Do you have any Spring Festival gift packages left?"
"Sorry, we're out of stock~"
Xiaoru was anxious: "But I really need it! Can you help me?"
"Uh, I'm sorry, I can't help you with that."
Xiaoru's eyes gradually dimmed.
"But there is another way."
She looked up suddenly: "What can I do!"
"The city lord is publicly recruiting performers for the Spring Festival Gala. Those selected will not only receive a free Spring Festival gift package, but also a trip to Taoyuan at public expense."
"Thank you~"
Xiaoru ran out loudly and didn't hear what the staff said next.
"But you need to have talent. How can you be selected without talent?"
Xiaoru only listened to the first half of the staff's speech and ran out. When she reached the door, she suddenly realized that she had forgotten to ask where the selection location was.
She slapped her head hard and cursed inwardly, "Idiot, what should I do if I am so careless?"
"Openly recruiting candidates for the Spring Festival Gala program! Openly recruiting candidates for the Spring Festival Gala program!" A voice came from not far away.
Xiaoru's eyes lit up. Isn't this news delivered to her door?
She looked in the direction of the voice and saw a small shed not far from the supermarket entrance. Under the shed was a long table. Three young people were sitting at the table. They all wore red armbands and judging by their attire, they looked like officials.
"Boss, why do we have to select here? We even have to use a human loudspeaker to make announcements. There are so many people here that I feel embarrassed to speak."
Zhu Yuanze glanced at the young man next to him and said coldly: "This is the place with the largest flow of people. Wouldn't it be great if we could reduce our publicity work?"
The young man pouted and said, "It's good, but it's a bit embarrassing."
Zhu Yuanze: "Then can you find a place with more traffic than this?"
The young man thought for a while and realized that there was indeed no more suitable place than this. It was spacious here, and apart from the supermarket, there was only this shed. If they just put their things here, someone would come and ask them a few questions.
"Okay, but will anyone come?"
There were indeed a lot of people asking, but when they heard that special skills and performances were required, they were so scared that they didn't dare to say a word.
Zhu Yuanze looked at the bustling Fengyun Supermarket and said, "It will happen. With so many people choosing seven programs, it should be possible."
Xiaoru had no idea what the rules were, so she just stood aside and watched with the crowd.
The first person to come on stage was a short woman. She stood straight in front of the three judges, holding a basket of vegetables.
The one in the middle should be the biggest leader. Xiaoru saw that the other two were very respectful to him.
He asked, "What talents do you have?"
The woman was stunned for a moment, then asked quietly, "Uh, what's the talent?"
Xiao Ru sighed when she saw him: "Just what can you do?"
The woman immediately burst into laughter, holding her head high with confidence: "I can cook. The food I cook is delicious. Everyone in the neighborhood knows my cooking skills."
"Judges! Judges! I can show you how to eat. I can eat a whole cow!"
There was a loud thunderclap beside her, and Xiaoru was almost scared. She looked at the fat woman next to her in surprise and suspicion. Knowing how to eat is also a talent?
"Judges! I can mend clothes, I wonder if this counts~"
"Judges, choose me. I can dig and weed!"
"If I were chosen, I would..."
"Stop, stop, stop!" A man wearing a red armband standing next to the senior leader couldn't stand it any longer and stood up, silencing the others with a gesture. "These are... these are all your abilities, but they don't count as talents. Talent is something you can perform on stage, you know."
In the silence, a man in a plaid shirt across from Xiaoru raised his hand: "Um... I can sing, does that count as a talent?"
"Right!" The man with the red armband immediately pointed at him and looked at everyone, "Yes, this is called talent! Come up and show it!"
Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, the short woman left the stage in disgrace, while the man in the plaid shirt walked forward confidently.
He coughed lightly in a pretentious manner, raised his head and began to sing: "I am Qingzang Gao... Gao, ah, ah."
As soon as he opened his mouth, he spoke in an unpleasant hoarse voice. Everyone else covered their ears and looked at him in confusion.
The red armband waited for him to finish singing out of respect, but couldn't stand his howling anymore, so she waved her hand to stop him: "Alright, alright."
The man in the shirt was so excited that he didn't notice the trauma he had caused to others. "So, leader, did I pass?"
"You will definitely not pass like this." Xiaoru thought to herself and looked at the judges.
Sure enough, the red armband asked the leader in the middle for his opinion and flatly refused: "Sorry, no!"
The man in the plaid shirt was unconvinced and shamelessly asked, "Why didn't you pass? Didn't they say good talent is enough?"
The red armband said sternly, "This is a performance on stage. Are you sure your talent will make everyone happy?"
The people around him echoed: "Exactly, he has no self-awareness at all."
The short woman who was the first to leave the stage mocked him the most fiercely: "With this voice, it's worse than a butchered pig, and you still have the nerve to go on stage."
Despite being ridiculed by everyone, Plaid Shirt remained unmoved: "I just don't believe you can find someone more suitable than me. At least I can sing. Can you sing?"
This is true. The others were just children before the end of the world. They have long forgotten the few songs they knew by this age. They can't sing, but they still have basic aesthetic sense.
After this incident, everyone had a certain understanding of the selection criteria. Not only did they have to have talent, but it had to be presentable talent. For a moment, everyone was embarrassed to go on stage.
Seeing this, the man in the plaid shirt was very proud: "See, I told you that we couldn't recruit anyone. Why don't we all take a step back..."
"Excuse me, I want to perform singing too."
"What?" The man in the plaid shirt looked in the direction of the voice and saw a timid underage girl.
Seeing Xiaoru's appearance clearly, the man in the plaid shirt curled his lips in disdain: "You, don't join in the fun."
"Yeah, little girl, don't embarrass yourself on stage. Didn't you see what happened just now?"
"What kind of songs can you possibly sing at such a young age? You'd better just watch quietly."
It's normal for everyone to react like this. They have experienced the normal world and they themselves wouldn't do that, let alone a teenage girl like this.
The man with the red armband didn't think so. This little girl looked timid, but she was able to stand up on her own initiative. This meant she was either really strong or very courageous. He decided to give her this opportunity.
"Okay, you try it." He looked at Xiaoru with anticipation.
Xiaoru ignored the opposition of the people around her and stepped forward. This was her first time performing in front of so many people and she was inevitably a little scared. She lowered her head and did not dare to look at the people around her, nor did she dare to look at the three judges above.
"Hello everyone, I'm... my name is Xiaoru, and today I'm going to sing 'A Cloud Made of Rain in the Wind'."
Zhu Yuanze still kept his head down, but the girl with the red armband became interested. This little girl has the potential, maybe she can really make it.
Xiaoru's heart was pounding. She opened her lips and began to sing: "Wind...wind...wind."
She couldn't sing for three consecutive times because she was too nervous.
Snickers had already begun to be heard around, especially from the man in the plaid shirt. He said to the person next to him with a gloating expression: "I told you so."
Xiaoru closed her eyes and took several deep breaths. The expectant eyes of her parents and grandparents involuntarily appeared in her mind. She opened her eyes and started over.
"There's a cloud made of rain in the wind, a cloud made of rain. The heart of the cloud is full of rain, and every drop of it is you."
Zhu Yuanze raised his head instantly, his eyes shining. Everyone else stopped what they were doing and listened blankly to the girl's beautiful singing.
Xiaoru's voice is clear and beautiful, like leaves washed by spring rain, refreshing the ears. She doesn't have many techniques, but her tonal transitions are incredibly smooth, and her talent alone is enough to captivate everyone.
"Whenever I think of you, there's a rain cloud in the wind."
After the last sentence was finished, everyone fell silent. They were too immersed in the beautiful singing to react.
Xiaoru looked at everyone carefully, feeling a little nervous. Everyone's expressions were different from what she had expected. Was there any hope or not?
"Good, very good!" Zhu Yuanze was the first to react and clapped his hands vigorously.
The others seemed to have just woken up from their dream and applauded in agreement.
“That sounds really nice.”
“The sound lingers in my ears!”
"I didn't expect the little girl to be so capable."
The man in the plaid shirt suddenly blushed and retreated in shame.
Xiaoru asked hesitantly: "Excuse me, leader, I..."
"You're hired, come and register."
"Really? That's great!"
She clasped her hands together and almost jumped for joy.
The person in charge of registering information was another red armband wearer. He registered Xiaoru's name, home address, and family members, then handed over a red box. "This is a gift for the candidates. Remember to come to rehearsal on time at 9 o'clock tomorrow. Three meals a day are provided, and there will be a bonus on the last day~"
Xiaoru held the Spring Festival gift package that was twice as wide as her body and smiled from ear to ear: "Okay, I will report on time."
Not only did she get a free gift package, she also found a good part-time job. Her parents will definitely be happy for her when they know about this.
The red armband continued, "By the way, if you have a suitable candidate, you can recommend one to us."
Xiaoru tilted her head and thought for a moment before excitedly saying, "I have a friend who can do acrobatics. Is it okay to do the fire ring trick?"
The red armband's eyes lit up. Could this be the joy of buy one get two free?
"Sure, let him come for an interview today. If he's suitable, we can consider it."
"Yes, good leader." Xiaoru nodded vigorously.
"Okay, go back now."
"Okay, thank you, boss. I will tell my friends the news as soon as possible."
After saying that, Xiaoru hurried out.
The man with the red armband looked at the conspicuous red gift box on the ground and shouted at the girl's back as she left, "Xiaoru, you forgot to take your Spring Festival gift package!"
Xiaoru stopped in her tracks, hurried back and picked up the gift box on the ground, with a hint of embarrassment on her face: "Sorry, I forgot."
When the red armband asked if there were any other candidates to recommend, she put the huge Spring Festival gift package on the ground because it was too heavy. However, she forgot about it when she left. This was the main task of the day, and she even forgot about it. I'm really impressed.
The red armband waved his hand nonchalantly: "It's okay. It's easy to forget things when you're too excited. Just remember to show up on time tomorrow and don't forget to recommend that fellow fire circle friend to us."
Xiaoru nodded and assured: "No!"
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