“Your father is illiterate, yet he says he wants to check your homework.”
“He knows how to do it. He can tell if a person’s handwriting is good or bad. If he sees a character with bowed legs, he’ll make me ‘eat chestnuts’ (make a mistake). He’ll specifically look at the vertical strokes. They have to be straight. If they’re not straight, he’ll scold me: ‘Look, look, these bowed legs!’ It’s really harmful.”
Old Tang was unwilling for Huaiyu to inherit his craft. No sooner had he seen Huaiyu off than officials began sending out invitations to each stall, trying to extort money from him for various festivals and birthdays. It was all just a way to get money.
Huaiyu knew in his heart that making a living as an entertainer was not easy. Although the father and son were not starving, they had to split their earnings with the landlord on a 30/70 basis and give the soldiers and police "cigarette money." If some thugs came to cause trouble and shouted in the crowd, "You beat them so well!" they would have to ask for their "leniency."
Dad also said:
“Our two generations have been in the arts, and we’ve never had a good ending. Huaiyu has to study! We’ve been poor all our lives, and I’m hoping that one of my children will be literate, that he’ll be successful in the future, that he won’t be illiterate, and that he won’t have to make a living in the underworld. That would make me happy.”
—That's not what Huaiyu thought.
He likes colorful sounds.
He likes to stand in a position among his fellow players and win applause.
It's not a street stall, it's not an overpass, fly away, fly away from this stinking ditch.
So he had a little secret that his father didn't know about except for Zhigao.
"Zhigao, I'm going to school now. Come find me later, and we'll go to our usual spot together."
"Sigh! Where should I go for a stroll?"
Huaiyu ignored him and headed to the school on her own.
Feeling utterly bored, Zhigao strolled to the bird market. Even the remnants of the Qing dynasty, who carried their birds in cages every morning, would encounter such a predicament.
They play with birds, but first they have to play with them for them to sing. If they're lazy and never leave the house, no matter how well they're fed, the birds won't sing properly. Zhigao went to the bird market, his interest piqued.
This person always has a way of making himself go to extremes.
It takes real skill, really. He could sing all sorts of birds – thrushes, larks, red-fronted magpies, red-billed magpies, black-billed magpies, yellow-breasted magpies, and so on – each with its own unique and charming song. Zhigao heard them so many times that he learned them too, and his imitations delighted the bird lovers, who sometimes rewarded him with a few coins.
Zhigao lingered there for a while longer.
Huaiyu's schoolteacher is in his fifties or sixties. He wears a long robe and mandarin jacket, and a round-headed hat. The school is actually located in the temple in Rongxian Hutong. It is a private school with only ten students, all boys, ranging in age from five to fifteen.
Huaiyu wasn't considered a "student" because he hadn't paid tuition. He was only allowed to come to listen to stories and do chores because Tang Laoda had some kinship with Teacher Ding and asked him to.
Huaiyu arrived, having timed it perfectly, and moved to the tree in the courtyard of the main temple to ring the bell. One by one, the students arrived. Some walked on their own, others were wealthy, dressed in black, collarless Zhongshan suits with brass buttons and leather shoes, arriving in rickshaws. Their foot-operated brass bells jingled. Huaiyu watched, a hint of envy in her eyes. "Good," she thought, "I want that outfit too."
Once everyone was present, Huaiyu sat down at the last two-person table in the classroom. He noticed a small knife had been used to carve a line down the middle of the table. He glanced at the senior student beside him; he was the oldest in the class, fifteen years old, from a somewhat powerful family, and had always looked down on street performers.
"Tang Huaiyu, don't cross the line!"
"Hmph! Nobody cross the line!"
Today, the teacher still taught the "Thousand Character Classic": ...In making friends, we should be of similar character and offer each other guidance and advice. Kindness and compassion should never be absent, even in haste. Integrity and humility should not lead to loss, even in adversity. A tranquil nature brings peace of mind, while an agitated mind leads to exhaustion. Holding fast to truth brings fulfillment, while chasing after material things leads to a wandering mind...
Just as they were reading these difficult and seemingly ambiguous words aloud, a quarrel broke out in the class.
A delicate bamboo pencil case with a top-loading drawer fell to the ground with a thud. A cloth bag was also thrown away, and ink cartridges, a ruler, and wooden pencils without erasers were scattered everywhere.
"I told you not to cross the line! Teacher, Tang Huaiyu pushed the large piece of paper over, and when I pushed it back, he got violent!"
"teacher--"
"Sigh, Huaiyu, get yourself ready and stand outside as punishment." Teacher Ding couldn't protect this student who hadn't paid tuition. The students only saw Huaiyu's profile; her jaw tightened, and she coldly walked out.
When class ended and no one rang the bell, the teacher came out to check and found that Huaiyu had left sometime earlier. The teacher had no choice but to dismiss the class.
Inside the courtyard, some children were picking up their parents after school, while others were bringing them snacks. The children ate their snacks while excitedly recounting the story of Tang Huaiyu and He Tieshan. The parents took the opportunity to lecture them on filial piety and righteousness.
Before He Tieshan had even left the entrance of Rongxian Hutong, a flying kick came from the side. He was hit and immediately retaliated, taking advantage of his size, throwing punches and kicks back and forth, making quite a scene.
"They're fighting! They're fighting!"
How could He Tieshan be a match for her? Huaiyu didn't need to do much to beat him up, leaving him bruised and bleeding from his lips, chin, and collar.
When Zhigao arrived, he was terrified. He hurriedly shouted:
"What is it? What is it?"
He Tieshan fled in disarray.
Huaiyu brushed away the mud and dust, and said only:
"fine."
"What's up?"
"It's alright. Let's go."
Without mentioning the cause and effect, he simply walked away, displaying his high aspirations. Zhi Gao, rubbing his backside, pressed on for answers, but to no avail.
Teacher Ding, it's good that he knows, though perhaps he can't hear. He just quietly plays his erhu in his little house behind the temple. Back then, he was a good erhu player; a single note in a reverse erhu, the bamboo melody reminiscent of Ou Fei Duan, could produce five notes in a single bow stroke…
To make a living, he had to suppress the applause he had won and sell his knowledge. These days, there's no such thing as promotion or wealth, so what's the point of learning to read? The more fashionable ones all go to church schools. Finally, he played a section of "The Lament of the Chu Palace," singing softly and melodiously: "Holding a young child in my arms, how heartbreaking..."
Huaiyu led Zhigao to their "old haunt," the Guanghe Restaurant in the meat market. They entered and exited through the back door without being stopped, as the two often came to watch the children's games. They were just kids, so they let them be. Zhigao was good at handling people and often helped out, running errands, delivering teapots and serving drinks, and cleaning up after the meat was being chopped.
What about Huaiyu? He still calls Li Shengtian "Master." — That's his little secret.
Today's matinee performance is of "The Four or Five Flower Caves." Zhigao loves watching these kinds of "demonic plays."
Because it's a matinee performance, the actors don't need to appear on stage; it's generally a lively and boisterous play. "The Four or Five Flower Cave" tells the story of Wu Dalang and Pan Jinlian, who, due to a prolonged drought in their hometown, travel together to Yanggu County to seek refuge with Wu Song. On their journey, they pass through the Five Flower Cave, where the demons Golden-Eyed Rat and Iron-Eyed Rat transform into fake Wu Dalang and Pan Jinlian, becoming entangled with the real Wu Dalang and Pan Jinlian. The matter escalates to the point where it reaches the short county magistrate, Hu Dapao, only to become more confused. Just then, Bao Zheng happens to pass by and gets out of his sedan chair to investigate, but he too cannot distinguish the real from the fake and is unable to make a judgment. Later, Zhang Tianshi from Longhu Mountain in Jiangxi arrives and uses his magic weapon, "Palm Thunder," to reveal the two demons' true forms, and the truth is revealed.