Chapter 92: Traveling to Maozhu County, Meet the Opera Troupe

When they arrived in Maozhu County, it was mid-October and the weather was already very cold.

The two arrived in the evening and then found an inn to stay in. The first thing they did was to take a hot bath.

"Go out and buy some thick clothes tomorrow, and ask about the route afterwards." Liu Mingan said across the screen.

Jiang Ning, who was soaking in hot water behind the screen, said lazily, "Hmm."

This ancient way of traveling was really unbearable. As the carriage traveled all the way, Jiang Ning felt that her bones were about to fall apart. Even if she was not moving now, she still felt that she was shaking in the carriage.

Jiang Ning secretly put this account on the person who betrayed her. When she found the person who beat her and betrayed her, she would definitely get back from him!

The next day, the two went downstairs and took a look around. They found that what the driver of Gujiu Town said was right. In Maozhu County, "bamboo" can be seen everywhere, and there is really nothing interesting.

The streets are full of bamboo objects, which are dazzling. For example, bamboo mats, bamboo beds, bamboo fans, bamboo curtains and the like are not mentioned. The wine shop sells bamboo leaf wine, the stalls sell bamboo tube rice, and the stalls selling women's accessories also have various bamboo hairpins.

However, when he saw someone holding a wooden barrel to sell insects, the ignorant Liu Mingan was silent.

The vendor split the bamboo joints, and there was a pile of white twisted and wriggling insects inside. The vendor smiled brightly and carefully shook the insects into the wooden barrel.

The buyer reached into the pile of insects, picked up a handful and selected them in his palm. The insects crawled out from the gaps between his fingers and crawled along his fingers.

Liu Mingan's scalp tingled when he saw this scene. Even if he turned his back and didn't watch it, the scene was replaying in his mind.

"This is a bamboo worm, don't be afraid, you can fry it and eat it." Jiang Ning explained kindly.

Liu Mingan looked around and made sure that there was no one around before whispering, "Isn't it... maggots?"

Jiang Ning saw his frown and his expression as if he had swallowed a fly, and thought that Liu Mingan was afraid of insects, but then she realized that it was a misunderstanding.

"It's not a maggot, it's a bamboo worm, it grows inside the bamboo, it's quite clean." Jiang Ning said with some amusement.

Liu Mingan nodded, and finally felt less disgusted: "It's true that every ten places have different customs, and every hundred places have different customs. I've seen too little."

Jiang Ning followed Liu Mingan on the street and asked around, and heard good news when she was buying clothes.

It was a ready-made clothing store. When the proprietress heard that they wanted to go to Qushui City, she slapped her thigh and said excitedly, "Yesterday, a troupe came to me to buy cloth for costumes. They said they wanted to go to Qushui City. The troupe usually has more than a dozen people, and they must have cars and horses. You two go to the troupe owner to discuss and ask them to take you along the way..."

Liu Mingan hurriedly thanked them, and he and Jiang Ning each bought two sets of thick clothes. After putting them back in the inn, they found the troupe in a large mansion according to the address given by the proprietress.

"Are you going to Qushui City?"

The troupe owner was a 60-year-old old man, holding a purple clay pot and drinking water, looking at Jiang Ning and Liu Mingan and asked with a smile.

"Yes, please help us, Mr. Cui. We don't know the way."

Liu Ming'an asked the boss's wife and found out that the boss's surname was Cui and his given name was Shan. He was said to be a friendly person.

After Liu Ming'an finished speaking, he took out a tael of silver from his pocket and handed it over, and then said sincerely: "We promise not to cause any trouble to you."

Cui Shan looked at this handsome, gentle and polite young man, laughed, and pushed the silver back: "It's on the way anyway, so it doesn't matter if I take you with me. We can have more people to chat with along the way."

Liu Ming'an was delighted to hear this, and hurriedly bowed to thank him, but he heard Cui Shan say: "Don't thank me in a hurry, I have something to say in advance."

"Please speak, Mr. Cui!" Liu Ming'an said respectfully.

"From Maozhu County to Qushui City, you have to pass through Zhuangzhu Village. Do you know this?" Cui Shan asked.

"I know." Liu Ming'an nodded. The boss of Baixiaolou also said so.

"We will stay in Zhuangzhu Village for two or three days. If you are not in a hurry, you can come and set off with us after breakfast in three days."

Liu Ming'an turned to look at Jiang Ning, but saw her put the silver in the hands of Cui Banzhu and thanked him earnestly: "Thank you, Banzhu. We will come. This little silver is just a treat for everyone to drink tea. Bye."

"Hahaha... Thank you very much!" Cui Shan was not a shy person. He accepted it generously and sent the two of them out the door.

Three days later, Liu Ming'an and Jiang Ning had breakfast and went to Cui Shan's house.

There were twelve people in the troupe, and Liu Ming'an and his group made a total of fourteen people. The whole team had four carriages, which were used to carry people, as well as boxes for musical instruments, costumes, knives and other items.

Along the way, Cui Shan had nothing to do, so he chatted with Liu Ming'an and told him about his experiences in running a troupe. Usually, people in his troupe were tired of listening to him and ignored him, but Liu Ming'an was a good listener, always listening carefully and giving feedback in time. Cui Shan really liked this young man.

The two chatted very well, and in less than half a day, they were already calling each other "Uncle Cui" and "Ming'an", which was like a friendship regardless of age.

When they were almost at Zhuangzhu Village, Cui Shan said, "Ming'an, the village chief of Zhuangzhu Village likes scholars the most. You will definitely be a guest of honor when you go there."

It was indeed so. When the group entered the village, Cui Shan introduced Liu Ming'an to the old village chief. The village chief's eyes immediately lit up, and he bowed to him, calling him "Liu Juren".

Liu Ming'an was startled by this. Cui Shan patted him on the shoulder and laughed. After a while, he whispered to him, "The village chief may want to get some of your bookish air!"

"What?" Liu Ming'an didn't understand.

"When he was young, the village chief took the exam to become a scholar, but he failed after a lifetime of trying. He forced his two sons to take the exam, but unfortunately, neither of them was good at studying. Now he has set his sights on his grandson. This time he invited us to perform for his newly born grandson. Do you know which operas they are singing?"

Liu Ming'an shook his head. He didn't know much about opera.

Cui Shan had a sly smile in his eyes, and he counted on his fingers like an old naughty boy to Liu Ming'an: "The Number One Scholar Pays Homage to His Mother", "The Number One Scholar Matchmaker", "The Number One Scholar Butcher", "The Number One Scholar Score", "The Number One Scholar"...we will sing these two days."

After hearing this, the only words left in Liu Ming'an's mind were "Number One Scholar".

“Hahaha…that’s why he respects you. You just have to accept it. This old man is a little obsessive, and it’s a lifelong disease in his heart…after we finish the opera, we’ll go to Qushui City together.”

After saying this, Cui Shan left to direct the stage set up at the entrance of the village.

This was the first time that Liu Mingan had such a special treatment because of his identity as a scholar, and he still couldn't understand it for a while.

"Aning, why do you think this village chief has such a strong belief?"

He had suffered all his life, his son had also suffered, and even his newborn grandson was placed with such deep expectations.

Jiang Ning thought for a while and said, "Everything is inferior, only reading is superior."

Liu Mingan didn't quite agree: "Scholars, farmers, merchants, how can there be a difference between superior and inferior?"

Jiang Ning looked at Liu Mingan. The young man's eyes were clean and his eyes were as clear as a child's. His mind was simple and pure. It was obvious that he had not been beaten by reality.

Not to mention in the feudal society with clear class distinctions, even in modern times where people shout "all men are born equal", the gap between people is often greater than the gap between people and dogs. Where is the real equality?

Liu Ming'an has not left Lingshan Town for the past 19 years. His horizons and experiences are limited to those few books of sages. The dark side of the world has not yet been revealed to him.

Jiang Ning did not think of convincing Liu Ming'an. A pure heart is a rare and precious thing in the world. She is willing to protect Liu Ming'an's innocence as much as possible.

In the end, Jiang Ning changed the subject by talking about other things.

"Let's go and help Cui Banzhu set up the stage. They don't seem to be busy enough."