Chapter 30: Performing Opera

Chapter 30: The Opera

Just as Li Huowang was wondering what sort of play was being performed before him, the farming folk seated below began to stir, each pulling out a copper coin or two and tossing them onto the stage.

The audience consisted entirely of peasants scraping a living from the soil, so those who threw coins were always in the minority; far more common were ears of corn, potatoes, and other such staples.

The slightly more affluent households tossed at most some salted fish or cured meat.

Yet Luo Juanhua accepted every offering without refusal, bowing in gratitude to each.

"So this is how opera troupes collect their pay," Li Huowang realized inwardly.

He watched Luo Juanhua kneel so humbly on the stage, clutching her daughter while continuing to sing in a tearful cadence, reaching out to gather the scattered offerings into a basket and occasionally bowing to the cheering crowd below.

He couldn't help but sigh at how hard it was to earn a living this way.

Just as Luo Juanhua was happily gathering her spoils, a small piece of broken silver was tossed up.

Her eyes instantly lit up; she picked it up and weighed it lightly in her hand, realizing it was at least five mace, and immediately adopted an operatic tone, singing as she kowtowed to the only plump old man in the crowd dressed in silk.

"Bravo, bravo! Sung exceedingly well!" The flushed old man looked up and flicked another piece of broken silver onto the stage, earning a flurry of thanks from Luo Juanhua.

Growing weary of the farce before him, Li Huowang yawned and lay back on the straw pile, saying to the relatively steady Zhao Wu beside him, "I'm going to catch some shut-eye. Keep watch."

"Yes, Senior Brother."

When Li Huowang opened his eyes again, the sun was already high in the sky; the others were chatting idly around him, having evidently spent the night huddled together in this very straw pile.

The distant stage had already been dismantled, and the Lü family was busy stuffing their props and costumes into the carriage chests.

"Zhao Wu, how many days of rations do we have left?" Li Huowang suddenly asked.

"Not much. If we ration it strictly, three days at most," Zhao Wu replied promptly.

Li Huowang pulled from his bosom the few dozen copper coins and a small piece of black silver he had swindled from the storeroom back then, handing them to him. "Go to the village and trade for some grain. We'll need enough for the road."

With over a dozen people, all strapping young men, the consumption of food was immense; the many sacks they had brought from the Qingfeng Temple were now nearly depleted.

Zhao Wu, lying on the fool's back, was about to tell the fool to head into the village, but after a moment's thought, he beckoned over a presentable young Taoist boy, placing the money in his hands while whispering some instructions.

Propping himself up on the straw pile with one hand, Li Huowang strode toward the distant stage.

"Old sir, when do we set out?" Li Huowang asked Lü Zhuangyuan.

Lü Zhuangyuan looked rather anxious at the moment. "Little Daoist Master, please wait a moment. My daughter-in-law took Xiu'er off somewhere early this morning and I don't know where they've gone. We'll leave as soon as she returns."

Li Huowang was puzzled. "Hmm? Missing? Isn't that her right there?"

Following Li Huowang's pointing finger toward the village entrance, Lü Zhuangyuan saw Luo Juanhua, holding a few feet of cloth and cradling her daughter, walking toward them with a beaming smile.

Seeing his unreliable daughter-in-law, Lü Zhuangyuan flew into a rage, rushing over with his tobacco pipe to scold her fiercely.

Facing her father-in-law's wrath, Luo Juanhua looked utterly innocent. "Father, didn't you tell me to go to the village to buy cloth? You said the cloth in town was too expensive..."

After venting his fury, Lü Zhuangyuan turned back to Li Huowang with a beaming smile. "Little Daoist Master, all is well now. Let's be on our way."

"Hey! Father, don't leave just yet. While I was buying the cloth, I managed to secure us a job."

Hearing this, both Li Huowang and Lü Zhuangyuan turned to Luo Juanhua. "What sort of job?"

"What kind of job could we get? An opera job, of course. The patron is the very gentleman who gave the most generous tips last night! Go and see him; he said he has some matters to discuss with you in detail."

Upon hearing this, Lü Zhuangyuan was rooted to the spot; he turned around slowly, offering Li Huowang an awkward, apologetic smile.

Though the man said nothing, Li Huowang understood his meaning perfectly from his expression. "It's of no consequence. Master Lü, making a living comes first. We can wait another day."

"Oh my, oh my, my apologies, my apologies. This old man will be right back," Lü Zhuangyuan said, tucking his tobacco pipe behind his neck and gleefully dragging his daughter-in-law back toward the village.

Li Huowang returned to the straw pile and, with nothing else to do, picked up the dented Taoist bell to examine it closely.

If he could truly command Lord You, it would undoubtedly greatly enhance his strength.

It was a pity the thing couldn't be summoned now; he had to find a way to repair it.

Turning it over and over, he inspected it carefully several times and found nothing else wrong; the dented bell wall was the only possible issue.

"Then if I hammer it back into shape, will it work?"

Li Huowang pondered for a moment, placed a square stone beneath the copper bell, and then picked up another stone to strike the bulging side with force.

But the moment the stone struck, a piercing ring rang out, and Li Huowang's head instantly split with agony, his grip on the stone nearly failing.

"This won't work. I need to ask if there's a blacksmith in this village," Li Huowang muttered, shaking his groggy head vigorously.

Just then, Li Huowang saw the young Taoist boys dragging two sacks toward him.

He put the bell away and, along with Zhao Wu on the fool's back, hurried over to them.

"Senior Brother Li, we could only trade for this much." The young boys' youthful faces were filled with unease; though they were mere children, they were remarkably sensible and capable, for the senseless ones had already been killed by Danyangzi.

Li Huowang reached out and pulled open the burlap sack, finding it filled with dried sweet potatoes.

"Senior Brother, this greaseless stuff won't last us many days either. The fool can eat a pound and a half in a single sitting, and eating too much of it gives you heartburn."

Zhao Wu's words made the honest, bald, hulking fool hang his head in shame. "You... you... don't... don't... leave me behind... I... I'll eat less!"

The rations were running short, and Li Huowang stared at the sacks before him, pondering a solution.

Lü Zhuangyuan had mentioned that Jianye City was still a long way off; if they ran out of food halfway, his group of over a dozen men couldn't very well resort to gnawing on tree bark.

He reached into his bosom once more and fished out a gold ring wrapped in a red cord.

Holding the object and thinking for a moment, Li Huowang reached back and pressed it into the hands of Bai Lingmiao, who was tugging at the hem of his robe.

"Trade this instead." Li Huowang pulled out Xuanyang's jade pendant and handed it to Zhao Wu.

"Senior Brother, how are we supposed to trade this? There's no pawnshop in the village, no one can make change for it, and these mud-caked peasants might not even know its worth."

"If the jade pendant can't be traded for grain either, what should we do?" Just as Li Huowang was troubled by the food crisis, he saw Lü Zhuangyuan approaching with his daughter-in-law.

"Um, Little Daoist Master, this old man has run into a bit of trouble with a job. Could I trouble you to lend a hand?" Lü Zhuangyuan looked exceedingly embarrassed.

"Master Lü, I don't know how to perform opera. I'm afraid I can't help with your trouble." Li Huowang found it utterly absurd—did the man expect him to go on stage and perform a sword dance?

"No, no, it's something you can help with, it's just..." Lü Zhuangyuan paused, glancing around furtively before leaning in and lowering his voice. "That Lord Hu wants me to perform a ghost opera..."

(End of Chapter)