Chapter 74 Chapter 74 Performance

The couple looked down at their daughter. Her rosy face, big eyes, and smiling face were so adorable.

Xia Junshan squatted down, gently touched his daughter's braid, and praised with a smile: "Our Qinqin is so beautiful."

Xia Qinqin turned around and looked at Meng Yufei expectantly. As expected, receiving her daughter's sparkling eyes, Meng Yufei smiled, bent down and patted her head and said, "Well, indeed, Qinqin looks really good today."

Hearing the praise from her parents, Xia Qinqin smiled with satisfaction.

Meng Yufei then said to Lu Yannan, who was standing next to Xia Qinqin with a stern face, "Yannan looked great today too. Thank you for your hard work in performing in the afternoon."

Lu Yannan raised the corner of his mouth slightly and said, “It’s not hard.”

Xia Qinqin also nodded and said with a smile: "It's not hard, it's fun."

Meng Yufei encouraged with a smile: "Then I look forward to your performance this afternoon."

"Yes, Mom, Dad, don't worry, I will definitely perform well." Xia Qinqin puffed out her chest confidently.

In the morning, Xiao Zhang went to the dock to pick up the person from the cinema. When he contacted him yesterday, he said he would arrive at about 11 o'clock. Xiao Zhang came to the dock half an hour in advance and waited there.

With the sound of the whistle, the ferry slowly drove into the dock, and then passengers were disembarked from the deck one after another. Xiao Zhang looked over. After being on the island for a long time, he could recognize who was from the island at once.

After a while, when most people on the ferry had gotten off, I saw a middle-aged man wearing a half-worn work suit, carrying a large bag coming down.

This person was most likely someone from the cinema, so Xiao Zhang hurried over.

After the middle-aged man came down from the deck, a young man followed closely behind him, carrying two large bags in his hands and walking down the deck with steady steps.

The young man was tall but a little thin. The half-worn work clothes looked strangely good on him. When the sea breeze blew, the loose clothes swayed, giving people a sense of fragility and thinness.

His eyes slowly moved up to his face, and Xiao Zhang paused. The young man was wearing a pair of glasses, and he was gentle, with delicate features and fair skin.

For some reason, Xiao Zhang felt his heart beating.

The middle-aged man looked around the dock and saw Xiao Zhang standing not far in front of him. He was wearing a military uniform. Because there was a show to perform today, Xiao Zhang took out his old military uniform and put it on.

The middle-aged man said, "I guess that girl is the one who is here to pick us up. Let's go and ask her."

Two men came towards her carrying bags.

Xiao Zhang stepped forward and said with a smile: "You are from the cinema, right? I am a staff member of the logistics department of the family hospital. You can just call me Xiao Zhang."

The middle-aged man said, "Hello, Comrade Zhang, I'm the projectionist at the cinema, my name is Zheng Minzhou." Then he pointed to the young man behind him and introduced him, "This is my apprentice, his name is Chen Yanze."

Xiao Zhang smiled and said, "Master Zheng, Comrade Chen, come with me. Let's go to the guesthouse to put our luggage first, and then go to the cafeteria to eat."

As he said this, he stepped forward to help Chen Yanze who was behind him with his luggage, "Comrade Chen, let me help you."

Chen Yanze shook his head: "No need, I can do it, this bag is very heavy."

Xiao Zhang smiled, nodded and said, "Okay, thank you for your hard work."

The guesthouse on the island was near the family compound, and Xiao Zhang came early in the morning to book a room, saying that the family compound's logistics department would reimburse them.

The two of them registered at the front desk with their work IDs and company certificates. Xiao Zhang waited outside for them to put their luggage away before taking them into the family compound.

The young soldier standing guard at the gate of the compound saw that it was Xiao Zhang, nodded with a smile, looked at their ID cards and let them in.

Xiao Zhang was in a good mood all the way. When he walked over from the pier, he kept introducing the scenery of the island to the two of them, as if he wanted to tell them all he had seen and heard in the past few years on the island.

At noon, Meng Yufei specially asked the canteen to open a small stove, cooked a few dishes, and entertained the two comrades from the cinema in a small private room at the back.

"Master Zheng, Master Chen, the conditions on the island are limited, so we will just have a simple working meal at noon. I hope you don't mind." Meng Yufei said with a smile.

Master Zheng said hurriedly, "Director Meng is too polite. There are only two of us. I feel embarrassed to serve such a sumptuous meal."

The dishes on the table were a plate of braised fish, a plate of scrambled eggs, a plate of stir-fried shrimps with green onions, a plate of stir-fried vegetables, and a bowl of kelp soup.

By the standards of this era, it's pretty good.

Especially compared with the hospitality here at the family compound when I came here last year, it is much better than the big pot meals in the cafeteria.

It wasn't just the two of them who came last year. Master Zheng had heard his colleagues complain several times about the bad attitude of the troops on the island.

Actually no one wanted to come on this business trip to the island. Master Zheng had just been transferred from the county to the city. He was new here and took over this job that no one wanted to do.

I had originally prepared myself to be bullied, but I did not expect that from the moment I arrived on the island, Comrade Xiao Zhang who came to receive me was very nice. Director Meng also greeted me with a smile and even specially arranged a small stove for me.

These special treatments were not surprising to the projectionist, but who could blame him for having such low expectations at the beginning? This was much better than expected, so he was naturally happy.

Director Fu went to the army at noon, and the head of the Personnel Department would not arrive until after May 1st, so Meng Yufei brought Chief Qian from the General Affairs Department over.

Xiao Zhang ran around serving everyone, pouring water for everyone and getting bowls and chopsticks to set the table for everyone.

Meng Yufei said: "Xiao Zhang, please sit down and have dinner together."

Xiao Zhang nodded, "Okay." She smiled and walked over to sit next to Chen Yanze.

There was a gleam of surprise in Meng Yufei's eyes. She glanced at Chen Yanze beside her and took a closer look.

Hmm... thinking of Xiao Zhang's request for a mate that day, a smile flashed in her eyes.

Section Chief Qian invited everyone to dinner and chatted with Master Zheng, asking about each other's work and discussing the movie showing in the afternoon.

"Master Zheng, do you need our help in showing the movie this afternoon?" asked Section Chief Qian.

Master Zheng smiled and said, "Xiao Chen and I can set up the movie projector. But I'd like you to cover the windows and doors with cloth."

These days, you can’t show movies outdoors during the day because you can’t see clearly. You can only show them indoors, and you have to cover all the windows tightly.

Section Chief Qian: “This is as it should be.”

Xiao Zhang smiled and said, "I had prepared the cloths for covering the windows yesterday. They are all curtains borrowed from the homes of several sisters-in-law in the family compound. When the time comes, I will hang a few more layers to ensure that they are well covered and no light can be seen."

Section Chief Qian said, "Xiao Zhang, you have gained a lot of experience under Director Meng during this period. Director Meng is indeed the person that the director often praises. Not only is he capable at work, he is also very good at leading his subordinates."

Meng Yufei smiled and said, "It's all my credit. Young people learn things quickly and grow fast." She turned around and said, "Master Zheng, don't you agree?"

Master Zheng nodded and said, "Yes, young people learn things quickly." He thought of his apprentice sitting next to him, "My apprentice, Xiao Chen, is a college student. He was assigned to us last year. In less than a year, he can use the movie projection machine better than I can."

Chen Yanze said hurriedly: "Master taught me well."

Section Chief Qian said, "Oh, Master Chen is a college student! What a coincidence! Director Meng is also a college student, and he is a student of Tongji University in Haishi. There are two college students sitting at our table today."

Hearing that Meng Yufei was also a college student, Master Zheng said, "Director Meng looks like a cultured person, and it turns out that he is a college student. By the way, Xiao Chen is also a college student in Hai City. Which school is he from?"

"Hai City University of Foreign Languages." Chen Yanze whispered.

"Yes, yes, University of Foreign Languages, that's where you learn foreign languages." Master Zheng nodded.

Section Chief Qian asked curiously, "Then why were you assigned to our place?" He was even assigned to show movies in a cinema. Not only was this a waste of talent, but he also didn't want to do what he learned.

Master Zheng paused, looking somewhat embarrassed, as he considered what to say.

Chen Yanze next to him said, "My mother's hometown is here."

Master Zheng said hurriedly: "Yes, he is also half Qiongzhou."

Section Chief Qian was very tactful and did not ask any more questions. He started talking about other topics.

Xiao Zhang kept looking at the people around him. He asked, "Do you want more water?" Then he said, "This shrimp is delicious. It's the specialty of our canteen chef. Come and try it."

Chen Yanze thanked me politely. He held the chopsticks and ate in a gentle and graceful manner, and looked very well-educated.

Meng Yufei chatted with Master Zheng for a few words, then turned to Chen Yanze and asked, "Master Chen, did you grow up in Hai City?"

Chen Yanze put down his chopsticks and nodded slightly, "Yes. Director Meng, you can just call me Xiao Chen."

Meng Yufei smiled and said, "Okay, then I won't be polite. I see that you are about the same age as Xiao Zhang. Are you about 25?"

Nowadays, people start studying at different ages, and there is a big age gap between classmates.

Chen Yanze said: "I am twenty-two years old."

That means you started school quite early.

Meng Yufei asked again, "Do you have a date?" Then she smiled and said, "You are so outstanding and a college student, I'm sure many people have introduced you to someone."

Chen Yanze looked at Meng Yufei's smiling face, blushed slightly, and shook his head.

Master Zheng looked at Meng Yufei in surprise. Are young girls nowadays so brave?

Seeing that Master Zheng seemed to have misunderstood, Section Chief Qian hurriedly said, "Director Meng, you want to introduce a date to Xiao Chen. Isn't this usually done by Director Wang? Why are you changing your career to become a matchmaker now?"

Meng Yufei smiled and said, "Chief Qian, once this person gets older, he can't help but want to introduce someone to the young people."

Section Chief Qian glared and said, "Director Meng, you are old, so what should we do? We are all old men."

Meng Yufei said, "Chief Qian, I'm almost 30 years old. Looking at Xiao Chen and Xiao Zhang, aren't they just children?"

Master Zheng was surprised and said, "I thought Director Meng was about the same age as Xiao Chen."

Only then did he realize that he had misunderstood. Meng Yufei looked very young, and although everyone called her Director, he thought it was just a casual title. After all, nowadays, when no one knew the other person's position, everyone would call her Director.

Section Chief Qian said: "Director Meng looks young, and her children are already in kindergarten."

After they finished their lunch while chatting and laughing, Meng Yufei said, "Master Zheng, you and your disciples should go back to the guesthouse and rest for a while. Come back to watch the show at 2 pm. I've reserved a seat for you."

Master Zheng nodded and said, "I'll trouble Section Chief Qian and Director Meng."

Meng Yufei winked at Xiao Zhang and said, "Xiao Zhang, please take them back to the guesthouse. Please pick them up in the afternoon."

Xiao Zhang looked at Meng Yufei gratefully and replied with a smile: "Okay, I promise to complete the task."

The performers all had lunch in the cafeteria. Zhou Wenqian ate a few bites in a hurry, then pulled the children who had finished their meal to the backstage and applied a thin layer of lipstick on each of their lips.

After applying makeup to the child, Tang Jiayi brought her daughter Yueyue over and said, "Teacher Zhou, could you please apply makeup to Yueyue as well?"

The little girl looked at her expectantly and anxiously.

Zhou Wenqian smiled and nodded: "Okay."

Yueyue had two pigtail braids the same style as Qinqin and the others, but the hair ties on top were goose yellow, which matched her skin tone very well.

Zhou Wenqian waved to Yueyue: "Come, auntie will do your makeup for you."

"Thank you, Auntie!" Yueyue ran over happily.

…

At two o'clock in the afternoon, the event officially began.

Commander Li came in with a group of people. Except for a middle-aged man in a black Zhongshan suit next to him, everyone else was in neat military uniforms.

Director Fu followed behind and guided several leaders to their seats.

On the left of Teacher Li is the invited city leader - Vice Mayor Wu.

May Day is a major holiday. During the day, workers in cities across the country take to the streets to celebrate. Today, there is also a parade in Qiongzhou City. □□, the mayor, is bound to participate, so Deputy Mayor Wu was sent to the military. He is in charge of the job placement of retired soldiers, and he often deals with the military.

To the right of Li was Political Commissar Yu, and next to him were the heads of the various regiments. These people sat in the first row, and the others sat in the back row.

After the officers were in the family compound, it was time for the family members to come. They sat down early and discussed in groups of three or four.

"I heard there will be a performance later. I've been here for so many years, but this is the first time I've seen such great attention paid to May Day."

"This is Mr. Li's first year here, so he must have some new things."

"I heard there will be movies in the afternoon and evening. The logistics department is doing pretty well lately."

"I think they feel embarrassed about the bribery incident before, and they want to perform well this time."

This lady guessed it right.

Seeing Master Li coming in, they lowered their voices, but some people still whispered: "Hey, among these team leaders, it seems that Team Leader Xia is the most upright."

"That's right. He's the youngest, so of course he looks energetic."

"Hey, who is the man next to Captain Xia?"

"He is Captain Jin of the Second Regiment. I heard that he has been stationed on the small island next door for the past few months and rarely comes back."

"I heard from my wife a few days ago that Captain Jin's wife will also join the army."

After hearing these words, the person who was secretly eating melon seeds behind him stopped what he was doing.

After the leaders were seated, Meng Yufei took a breath and went on stage to host the event.

"Hello, comrades. Today is May 1, International Labor Day. We gather here to celebrate the festival of the vast number of workers...

Those participating in today’s event include…”

Xia Junshan sat in the first row, looking at Meng Yufei who was talking confidently and eloquently, with a smile on his face and full of pride.

Xia Qinqin, who was waiting in the backstage, pulled Lu Yannan next to her and said excitedly: "Brother Yannan, look, my mother is amazing."

Lu Yannan nodded.

Xia Qinqin turned around and asked Fangfang beside her, "Aunt Meng is so great, and her words are so pleasant." Fangfang nodded in agreement.

Yang Yongming said: "Qinqin's mother seems like a leader. My father said that leaders are very powerful when they speak."

Xia Qinqin said: "My mother was originally a leader, she is the director."

After several leaders finished speaking, Meng Yufei went on stage again to announce the event.

"Next, please enjoy the dance performed by the family home's publicity officer, Colin Yuexin - The sun comes out and shines in all directions."

There was loud applause from below.

After all, Xiaolin used to be in the art troupe, and she has been practicing this month, so she is a pretty good dancer.

Zhou Wen Qian looked at the people dancing on the stage and was distracted for a moment.

Xiao Zhang, who was coordinating the performers backstage, turned around and saw the expression on his friend's face. He walked over, took her hand and said softly, "Wen Qian, I see that you have almost recovered now. If you want to dance, you can call me to join you. It just so happens that I haven't danced for a long time, and my basic skills have fallen behind."

Zhou Wenqian smiled and said, "Let's talk about it later." Then she lowered her head and grabbed a little boy who was running around, and reminded him, "Be good and line up here. Don't make any noise. The teacher will give you candy later."

Xiao Zhang sighed, knowing that it was not appropriate to say anything more now, and turned around to continue his work, asking the people who were going to the next chorus program to prepare.

Zhao Zhengliu sat in the audience, watching the people dancing. His mind once again recalled the first time he met Zhou Wenqian. He thought: Qianqian’s dance is still the best... She really likes dancing...

Yueyue and her grandmother sat at the back, watching the dancers on the stage with envy in their eyes, and whispered, "Wow, they are so beautiful."

Aunt Liu heard her voice and asked with a smile: "Yueyue, do you want to dance too?"

Yueyue nodded, then shook her head.

Aunt Liu asked, "What's wrong?"

Yueyue said: "Mom said that dancing is not good. Grandma doesn't like girls dancing..."

Aunt Liu was startled, then said, "Your mother has misunderstood. I don't mind girls dancing. As long as you like it, I will support you in whatever you do."

"Really?" Yueyue's eyes lit up with joy.

Aunt Liu touched her granddaughter's hair lovingly and said with a smile, "Yes, grandma likes to see you happy the most."

After Xiaolin finished dancing, Meng Yufei went on stage to announce the next program.

The chorus at the supply and marketing cooperative was quite standard. After all, it was practiced by a few people after get off work. But fortunately, there were many people and the voices were loud, so the chorus could hold up in such a large venue.

After the chorus, the Women's Committee asked the families to rehearse a stage play. Director Tian wrote the script and Director Wang directed the rehearsal.

Both of them are people with a lot of life experience, dealing with all kinds of people for a long time, so the scripts they write are full of life. Several family members are also very capable and acted very hard, making the audience laugh when they quarrel.

Teacher Li turned to the Political Commissar Yu beside him and whispered: "I heard that Director Wang is in charge of this program. It's going well. It seems that their Women's Committee has done a good job."

Political Commissar Yu laughed and said, "She has been so busy lately that she has no time to cook. I have been eating in the cafeteria for more than half a month."

Teacher Li laughed and said, "Then I will treat you to a big dinner in a few days."

After the lively stage play, it was Xiao Zhang's poetry recitation. She took the script and walked onto the stage with a straight step. She was a frequent performer before, so she was not afraid at all and began to speak passionately.

The two people from the cinema were sitting in the audience. Xiao Zhang went to the supply and marketing cooperative to pick them up in the afternoon.

Master Zheng nudged Xiao Chen next to him with his elbow and said in a low voice: "This comrade Xiao Zhang is very good. He is good at work and has a good personality. What do you think?"

Xiao Zhang's attitude was too obvious. Master Zheng was not stupid and he could tell that Xiao Zhang liked Chen Yanze.

Chen Yanze looked at the person on the stage, shook his head slightly, and whispered, "She is a very good person. I don't want to cause trouble for her."

After hearing what he said, Master Zheng sighed and continued watching the show without saying anything else.

After Xiao Zhang finished reciting, it was time for the last program, a singing and dancing performance by the children.

Tang Jiayi and Zhou Wenqian were busy getting the children to line up in order. Zhou Wenqian reminded them, "Do you remember what the teacher taught you before? Just perform according to the usual training. It doesn't matter if you forget. Just remember to open your mouth and sing the song together."

"Okay~" the children nodded in response.

Tang Jiayi said: "After you finish your performance, the teacher will give you candies. You must perform well, understand?"

"Got it!" the child responded loudly. Meng Yufei just happened to have finished her announcement, and the clear child's voice immediately attracted everyone's attention.

Zhou Wenqian and Tang Jiayi hurriedly asked the children to start performing on stage.

After the children came on stage, they found their positions and stood according to the previous rehearsal. Xia Qinqin and Fangfang, as the two best dancers, stood at the front and led the dance.

Zhou Wenqian quietly raised her hand in the audience. When Xia Qinqin saw it, she began to sing, and the children followed along.

Clear and pleasant voices rang out, and the tender and neat chorus of children was filled with innocence and beauty, like a clear spring, moistening people's souls.

"Sailing on the sea depends on the helmsman,

All things grow with the help of the sun.

Rain and dew nourish the crops,

..."

As they sang, they also danced to the lyrics and the movements choreographed by Zhou Wenqian.

After a while, they gathered together like a small boat, and the movements of the children on both sides rowing the boat were very cute.

After a while, they dispersed again, pretending to be little seedlings, pretending to be growing out of the soil after being illuminated by the sun and moistened by rain...

From a professional dance perspective, these moves are very simple and not difficult at all, but they are very suitable for this song.

Moreover, these movements performed by children looked particularly adorable, and coupled with the children's clear singing, the people in the audience watched with great interest.

After the performance, there was warm applause from the audience.

The children happily ran off the stage, and Zhou Wenqian smiled and praised: "Everyone performed very well."

Tang Jiayi held a bag of candy and said with a smile: "Come on, have some candy. You performed very well just now. The teacher will reward you with two candies."

"Wow, that's great!" The children happily rushed over.

Deputy Mayor Wu turned to Teacher Li and said, "Teacher Li, your academy is really a place where many talented people are hidden. This afternoon I was really enlightened. There are many talented people, big and small, with many talents and abilities."

Teacher Li laughed out loud and was very satisfied with the event. He pointed at Xia Junshan next to Vice Mayor Wu and said, "The person in charge of this event is Captain Xia's wife, who is also the host on stage. She is a talented person, a top student who graduated from Tongji University in Hai City."

Deputy Mayor Wu looked at Xia Junshan and praised him, "Oh, people used to say that a man is talented and a woman is beautiful. I think you two are both talented and beautiful."

Xia Junshan smiled and said, "You are too kind."

After the performance, Meng Yufei came on stage and said, "This May Day performance has ended. Next is a 20-minute break. We will ask the projectionist from the cinema to show us a movie later, okay?"

"good!"

The audience shouted excitedly.

Meng Yufei walked off the stage with a smile and breathed a sigh of relief. The event was finally successfully completed and she was quite satisfied with the result.

She noticed on the stage just now that Teacher Li was smiling the whole time and looked very satisfied.

Director Fu, who was sitting in the third row, was talking to the person next to him with a smile on his face, his mouth almost reaching his ears, and he looked very satisfied.

It's good to be satisfied, and it's not in vain to work so hard for so long.

As soon as I stepped off the stage, Xiao Zhao, the communicator, ran over and said with a smile, "Sister-in-law, the commander wants you to come over. He has something to tell you."

"Oh, okay, I'll be right there." Meng Yufei nodded and walked over from the backstage.