Chapter 60
Zhou Li rolled his eyes and slammed the door shut.
Someone really starts a dyeing factory as soon as he is given some color, and climbs up the ladder by following the pole.
Tang Jing outside the door looked at the closed door, a sincere smile appearing on the corner of his mouth.
It’s very pleasant to get along with Zhou Li because she is a simple person and doesn’t have so many twists and turns in her heart.
Thinking of this, Tang Jing's smile faded. She was different. She had many secrets in her heart.
In the morning, just after dawn, Zhou Li went out and saw Tang Jing standing outside the door, which scared her.
There was heavy frost and dew in the morning. I didn't know when Tang Jing arrived, but I saw that her trouser legs were already wet with dew.
"Awake so early?" Zhou Li asked.
Tang Jingrang stood behind the stone table, which was full of food.
"I contacted my people and took these children away today. I also bought some food."
Zhou Li took a glance and started practicing first.
Last night, Dapeng sent away the older people in the troupe first. Today, the yard was much emptier. She stretched her legs and opened her voice. Her voice was beautiful. Tang Jing, sitting at the stone table, couldn't help but be fascinated by it.
The troupe leader has a crisp voice and his singing style comes naturally and effortlessly. He is not like his usual stage presence and even seems a bit lazy.
Soon, several heads popped out of the door. Xiao Yuan stood behind the group of young boys and opened the door. "If you want to listen, go out."
The five children scratched their heads and smiled embarrassedly.
A few people followed Xiaoyuan, and Tang Jing waved to them. Somehow, these children trusted Tang Jing very much.
Xiao Yuan first looked at the food on the table painfully, then went to practice with Zhou Li with a determined look. In their line of work, if they didn't practice for a day, their skills would slowly deteriorate. Xiao Yuan also wanted to be like the troupe owner in the future, and receive applause from the whole audience as soon as she opened her voice.
She looked at Zhou Li with a moist gaze, and the two of them, big and small, reflected on their mistakes facing the wall.
Tang Jing handed out fried dough sticks and big meat buns to the children. The children ate them voraciously. She kept looking at Zhou Li, listened to her singing a section, and then gave Xiao Yuan some instructions.
By the time the sun rose, Zhou Li had finished her practice. A thin layer of sweat appeared on her forehead. Tang Jing took the initiative to fetch water from the well, while Xiao Yuan happily ran into the house to get a towel.
Zhou Li took a look at the basin that Tang Jing brought over, soaked his fingers in the water, and scooped up the water to splash on his cheeks.
The cool well water took away the heat from his cheeks. Xiaoyuan stood beside him with eager eyes and handed him a towel in time. Zhou Li wiped his face dry and sighed comfortably.
"Eat something?" Tang Jing asked.
Zhou Li nodded and told Xiaoyuan to wash her hands and not to eat with dirty hands.
Knowing that the boss was particular, Xiaoyuan washed her hands thoroughly before going to sit in front of the stone table.
Zhou Li is also particular about eating. He chews his food slowly and carefully, which is very elegant.
Tang Jing observed her and met Zhou Li's gaze. Zhou Li's gaze was like water, clear and transparent, reflecting the blue sky. In her eyes, all things grew. Tang Jing's gaze was like a deep pool, but in fact it was overgrown with weeds and barren.
Tang Jing looked away and handed over the soy milk.
Zhou Li took it, and the two people's eyes met unintentionally, and then they withdrew their tentative glances.
The children were unaware of what was happening. After they finished eating, Tang Jing's men appeared and took them away.
The leading little boy said loudly to Zhou Li: "Thank you, sister!"
Zhou Li's eyes fluctuated. In fact, she did nothing. It was all Tang Jing's fault.
Tang Jing was giving instructions to his men when a carriage stopped outside. Zhou Li didn't know whether it was a good idea to hand these children over to Tang Jing. She touched the little boy's head and said, "You are very brave."
Xiao Yuan watched the boys get on the carriage one by one, then pulled Zhou Li's sleeve and asked, "Boss, where are they going?"
Zhou Li shook his head. Tang Jing walked over and said, "I will send them to our territory, where they will grow up safely."
Xiao Yuan nodded, and Zhou Li took her hand and said, "You have to leave tonight too. Be good and behave yourself when you get to Keats Hospital."
Xiao Yuan was reluctant to hug Zhou Li's thighs and murmured, "Can't I follow the boss like Dapeng?"
Zhou Li sighed, "You are still young. I don't know what dangers you will encounter when you go to Beijing. I may not be able to take care of you."
Xiaoyuan pouted and whispered, "I understand. I will be obedient."
Knowing that Xiaoyuan was a sensible child, Zhou Li picked up both her and Gousheng on the street. These days, there were as many homeless people on the streets as stars in the sky. Zhou Li knew that she could not help them all, so she usually just walked by with a hard heart. But Xiaoyuan was different. This child liked Zhou Li's singing very much after hearing him sing. She chased Zhou Li all the way, and was finally accepted by Zhou Li as half an apprentice.
Zhou Li patted Xiaoyuan's head and said nothing.
Xiaoyuan rubbed Zhou Li's hand.
Tang Jing looked at them, feeling a little envious of the close relationship between them.
She and her adoptive father had never been so affectionate.
In the evening, Zhou Li and Tang Jing went to a banquet.
The gates of the City Lord's Mansion opened to both sides, and the carriages blocked the City Lord's Mansion.
Zhou Li saw the foreigner again and frowned. Tang Jing pretended to be her follower and handed the invitation to the housekeeper at the door.
When the housekeeper saw that the visiting card was written by the concubine herself, he looked Zhou Li up and down and let him in.
The eighth concubine was tidying up in her room when she heard her personal maid exclaim in surprise, "Concubine! Mr. Feihua is here!"
She stood up in surprise, her eyebrows half-drawn, her face full of excitement at the prospect of meeting her idol, "Is this okay for me?"
"Auntie, your eyebrows." The maid reminded.
The eighth concubine hurriedly patched up the other half. She was wearing a Western skirt that had recently become popular in the city, and she had it specially made by a Western tailor.
The eighth concubine looked around in the mirror and thought that if she had known that Mr. Feihua was coming, she would not have listened to the city lord's Western party. She could have held a Chinese party and maybe even invited Mr. Feihua to perform on stage. You know, Mr. Feihua's voice is hard to come by, and Mr. Feihua doesn't stay in one place very often, so there are very few people he can invite.
The Eighth Concubine hurriedly put on her Western hat and wanted to go see Zhou Li. Before she could go out, she reached the bead curtain and heard a burst of laughter. The City Lord opened the bead curtain and walked in. He looked at the Eighth Concubine and exclaimed, "This dress really suits you."
The eighth concubine covered her mouth shyly, "There are outsiders here, what are you talking about?"
The city lord held the eighth concubine's shoulder and said, "Wait a minute, I brought you a gift." He waved to the people behind him, and the followers opened the box and carefully took out a dazzling diamond necklace.
The eighth concubine held her breath and marveled at the beauty of the necklace.
The city lord put it on the eighth concubine, looked at the diamond necklace on her neck and said, "It's only Westerners who know how to make diamonds like this."
"This is too precious." The eighth concubine touched the necklace with her fingers restrainedly, and the cut and sparkling diamond in the middle grasped her heart tightly.
The city lord put his arm around her waist and said, "Today is your birthday, and this is my gift to you."
The eighth concubine had a shy look on her face, but the city lord looked at her indifferently.
He made a deal with a foreigner, and there was a box of these necklaces piled up in the warehouse. He just took out one of them to please his woman.
The eighth concubine smiled as brightly as a flower, put down her hand generously, and did not push again.
The city lord said, "Is that the actress you like here? If you like her, ask her to come on stage and sing for you."
The Eighth Concubine seemed oblivious to the slight and said, "How can this be? Besides, it doesn't make sense today."
"It doesn't matter if it matches or not, as long as you like it."
The city lord raised his hand and said, "Go and invite that... Fei..."
"Mr. Feihua."
The City Lord hugged the Eighth Concubine's slender waist tightly and said calmly, "Please ask her to come on stage and perform for the Eighth Concubine."
In the hall, Zhou Li was still unaware.
This birthday party was modeled after a Western buffet, and many people were not used to it because men and women were in the same space. Candles were lit high in the hall, but Zhou Li's eyes were on a few foreigners. It could be said that everyone in the hall was attracted by those foreigners.
As an attendant, Tang Jing could not come in. She naturally had her mission. Zhou Li was just helping her come in. The attendants were waiting outside. Zhou Li stood in the corner, looking at the food on the table, ready to try it.
At this time, the housekeeper came to the hall. Xuan Ren found Zhou Li and walked over to him with a disdainful look, saying, "Our city lord would like to invite you to perform on stage for our concubine. I have prepared everything. Please come and perform."
Zhou Li was stunned for a moment, her brows knitted slightly, then relaxed. She raised her eyebrows and said, "Performance? Fine, no need to change."
The housekeeper looked at Zhou Li's incongruous clothes. How could a woman wear men's clothes for such a formal occasion? And she had to perform on stage. He said seriously, "Isn't this inconvenient?"
Zhou Li's fair face was lazily saying, "It's convenient, so convenient."
"Isn't this opera all about men pretending to be women and women pretending to be men? Isn't that just right?"
After saying that, she went straight onto the stage.
There was a young girl playing the pipa sitting on the stage. She was stunned for a moment when she saw Zhou Li. Zhou Li smiled at her and started singing. She just stood there and started singing casually, which amazed the audience.
Zhou Li sang about Mu Guiying taking command of the army, and about the enemy invading and the Yang family men fighting hard. Her voice was explosive, and her courage was mixed with a spirit of desperate efforts. Her voice alone suppressed the whispers in the hall.
She looked rebellious in her men's suit, and her singing style was the oldest traditional opera. The combination of the two amazed the audience.
These lyrics seemed to come naturally to her, and Zhou Li had already mastered them.
Applause and cheers broke out all around, as if this had become Zhou Li's home court.
The city lord appeared, hugging the eighth concubine, and stared at Zhou Li with a look of surprise on his face. He didn't expect Feihua to be such a woman.
The eighth concubine was surprised and did not notice the city lord's gaze. It was a great blessing in her life to invite Mr. Feihua to the stage.
Outside the hall, Tang Jing had changed into the clothes of a servant in the City Lord's Mansion at some point. She walked by with her head lowered, and when she saw everyone surrounding Zhou Li enthusiastically, the corners of her mouth curled up slightly, and a flash of emotion passed by.
After Zhou Li finished singing, he ignored the people in the audience and walked straight off the stage.
The foreigners also followed and cheered in their unfluent Chinese.
When Zhou Li walked out of the crowd, she saw the butler who had just spoken standing respectfully behind a man and a woman. She understood what was going on, and the butler hurried over to introduce them, fearing that Zhou Li did not know the rules and would offend the distinguished people.
Zhou Li greeted with dignity.
The eighth concubine's eyes sparkled, "Mr. Feihua's singing is truly amazing. I've loved singing opera since I was a child and have practiced myself, but I'm never even a ten-thousandth as good as you."
Zhou Li disliked the city lord as soon as he saw him, but had a good impression of the eighth concubine.
The eighth concubine looks much younger than the city lord. She is in the prime of her youth and cannot hide her true feelings on her face. It is really a mismatch for her to stand next to the city lord. The city lord is old enough to be her father, but the eighth concubine is so innocent.
The city lord looked at Zhou Li, from her face to her figure, and then back to her face.
The foreigners also came over to talk to the city lord. The eighth concubine pulled Zhou Li away, and the two talked aside.
The eighth concubine held Zhou Li's hand and was reluctant to let go, praising him repeatedly: "Sir, your voice is really amazing. I have never heard anyone sing as well as you. Compared to you, all the ones I heard before were just mediocre women."
Zhou Li laughed and said, "Auntie is too modest. There are many talented people in the world. Feihua just relies on this to make a living."
The eighth concubine's eyes were full of admiration and love. She held Zhou Li's hand and was reluctant to let go. If the cake had not been pushed in to celebrate her birthday, she might have held Zhou Li to talk.
Zhou Li's eyes flashed across her chest. The jewel necklace worn by the Eighth Concubine was so dazzling that even when she spoke, his eyes would be attracted by it from time to time.
The big cake was pushed over, and the city lord waved to the eighth concubine. The eighth concubine let go of Zhou Li's hand with regret. Her reluctance to let go of Zhou Li even overwhelmed her happiness about celebrating her birthday.
The city lord put his arm around her waist and introduced her to everyone. The two picked up a knife and cut the first layer of the cake. The eighth concubine still had to accompany the city lord to meet guests. Those who came today were all important guests of the city lord's mansion. The news spread among the crowd. Zhou Li stood outside the crowd. People kept coming up to chat with her, but she rejected them all. Just when Zhou Li was bored and wondered whether Tang Jing had completed his mission, a gunshot suddenly exploded!
The strong wind blew open the door and all the candles in the hall went out.
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