Upon entering, Shi Zhongming immediately stepped forward to take the briefcase. This dignified man did not sit down but instead stood by his side, introducing everyone to the others.
There is always another mountain higher than the one you climb.
"Mr. Jin."
Jin Xiaofeng sat down and nodded to them.
His face was rectangular, with a striking hooked nose and a pair of piercing, beast-like eyes. A single glance at Huaiyu was enough for him to say:
"It's done."
Those opposite him always felt uneasy, as if they were seen through. Is that so? Is my score already written on my face?
Jin Xiaofeng was only slightly more enthusiastic towards Li Shengtian, and it didn't sound like mere polite formalities; he simply said:
"Welcome, everyone. Let's have some fun. I love listening to opera. I'll definitely come and watch you perform after you've been on stage. A star performing at the Happy World is a natural advertisement. Has Zhongming talked to you about this?"
Shi Zhongming then added, "Mr. Jin means that your nighttime shows should naturally be on the Lingxiao Grand Stage, and your daytime shows should be on the Lele World stage. Consider it us lending you the stage so you can introduce your skills to the audience..."
After saying half of what was said, Master Hong understood:
"However, the matter of the matinee performance was not explained at the time."
Shi Zhongming ignored him:
"Our Happy World can also arrange performances for you free of charge, and we won't ask you to take a cut. Running around to various venues is just a way to earn a living. The more performances you do, the more income you will have. In fact, as long as you keep things lively on stage every day, it doesn't matter if it's a repetitive play."
After all that flowery talk, the real purpose was to get them to automatically reduce their fees for Japanese shows. In other words, performing at the Music World was equivalent to "paying tribute" and joining in the fun.
Li Shengtian, a man of the world, laughed and said:
"But I didn't plan to go to the amusement park during the day—"
Just as he was about to push his head away, Jin Xiaofeng also laughed;
"Let the younger apprentices perform; it won't trouble the master. Do you think they'll defy you? It's not about judging their abilities, but at this time and in this place, I'm not going to let anyone take over. The seats are empty; it's just that my judgment was wrong."
It seems to have come to an end, with no room for further development.
Jin Xiaofeng glanced at Shi Zhongming:
"Zhongming, take Boss Li and the others out for some fun later. It's going to be performed in three days, so make sure the publicity is done."
Shi Zhongming agreed and then reported:
"A recruitment advertisement came in yesterday. It's from a middle school run by a member of the Central Committee. Didn't they invite you to be their chairman? Now they're using your name in big letters to recruit you. I haven't published this yet. What do you mean by this—?"
"Just a side note, let them post it. No need to mention such trivial matters again. The gift from the exchange didn't suit my taste, so I'm not accepting it. Return it."
"them--"
“You’re too rigid in your approach to things, why don’t you teach them? If you’re busy, have Shih-lin go.”
"I'll go."
Just as he was about to lead them away, Shi Zhongming suddenly turned around:
“Mr. Jin, Miss Duan didn’t arrive until 3:30 this afternoon. Mary called and said that after filming, she fell asleep and refused to get out of bed.”
Upon hearing the words "Miss Duan," his deep-set face suddenly lit up.
In the blink of an eye, it was back to normal.
Having left Fengmanlou, and faced with this colorful and vibrant world of entertainment, I really don't know where to start playing.
As the number of tourists increased, they bought a ticket for just two cents, entered at midnight, and could play until late at night.
Shi Zhongming politely led the way, saying that the Republic Pavilion, Republic Stage, Republic Hall, Republic Building, etc., were all different plays performed by famous actors. This place was really something else, and who would dare to refuse it?
"Gentlemen, the daytime performance hasn't started yet. Why don't you come to the Peking Opera theater to take a look? The rehearsal won't start until tomorrow," Shi Zhongming said.
When we arrived at the stage, the workers were setting up the scenery.
Huaiyu found it strange:
"Huh, why are you using soft backdrops?"
"Oh, we stopped using 'old-fashioned' posters a long time ago. What's popular now is to draw scenes like living rooms, bedrooms, gardens, and studies on film. When changing scenes, someone shouts from below, and someone puts it on."
Li Shengtian asked, "What does 'conservatism' mean?"
Shi Zhongming thought to himself that Beijing and Shanghai were indeed ten or twenty years apart, and then smiled faintly and said, "It's probably a misunderstanding about the lion rolling the 'embroidered ball'. Anyway, it's all just a muddled mess, so it's been made civilized."
Just as I was feeling a little embarrassed by my "uncivilized" behavior, I suddenly heard:
"Senior brother!"
Li Shengtian was startled and quickly followed the sound to identify the person. A set designer came over. Li Shengtian remembered him; this was his junior brother, Zhu Shengwang. They had also studied martial arts, but due to overtraining, Zhu Shengwang had suffered a stroke and could no longer sing, only perform somersaults. After graduating, he had been working as an extra, learning set construction. Not long after, he left Beiping.
"What brings you to Shanghai?"
“Senior, I don’t go on stage anymore, I specialize in ‘stage modification’. You know what? Set designers are very popular. Besides working in theaters, I also paint movie sets.”
“They’ve become the chosen ones!” Shi Zhongming said.
Li Shengtian was pleased to see his junior brother's success:
"I can't believe it! You used to be such a clumsy kid, and now you're making movies?"