Brothels were places where it was easy to gather and disperse. Many of those storytellers, singers, and performers were entertainers who traveled across provinces and prefectures to roam Jianghu. If they could sustain a living in a place, they would be able to settle down for a long time. If they couldn't attract enough customers, they would naturally have to find another place to make a living.
Even if they sang on stage in the same brothel, they might not meet again for the rest of their lives after a certain separation. Xiao Zhu and Wan Ruoqing were born in Qing 'an Prefecture. Although they wouldn't leave, if they left this group, their future would only be more difficult.
"If we can't attract customers, then we have to think of a way. What if we go to the next place and there are still no customers?" Li Yi shook his head. These people only knew how to escape when they encountered problems. If escaping could solve problems, they wouldn't be so miserable now.
"Then let's go to the next place." The girl leaned on the wall and looked at Li Yi as if it was a matter of course.
Running around performing for a living was the current situation of this industry. A story was like a play. The more they performed in the same place, the fewer customers there would be. At this time, it was very necessary to go to a place where no one had heard or seen these things.
Grandpa Sun could tell the story of "The Painted Skin" for a few days every time he went to a place. When the people there were tired of hearing it, they would move on to the next place. It would be much better than staying there.
"No dreams, no goals, no customers. Can't you think of a way to attract customers?" Li Yi was exasperated that the entertainment industry in this world was still at a very primitive stage. Just a little bit of novelty would be enough to attract these ancient people who had not seen much of the world.
"You think it's easy to attract customers!" The girl rolled her eyes at him. Even if they could invite people, most of them wouldn't give them money. Sometimes, they wouldn't even get a few copper coins in a day.
"You won't understand even if I tell you. Go, go, go. Call your Sister Ruoqing over." It wasn't easy to communicate with this girl who wasn't very smart. Li Yi waved his hand and said.
"If you want to see Big Sister Ruoqing, just say it. Why are you looking for excuses …" He glanced at Li Yi and climbed down the wall.
"Sister Ruoqing, Li wants to see you …"
Wan Ruoqing was in her room thinking about how to continue living in the prefecture city with Yuzhu in the future when a young girl's shout came from outside the door.
She didn't take the young girl's nonsense to heart, but she was afraid that he was looking for her for something, so she got up and walked out.
…
…
"Stage play?" In the courtyard, Wan Ruoqing looked at Li Yi with a puzzled expression. "What's a stage play?"
"A stage play is … Forget it, that's not important." Li Yi knew that there was no such thing as a stage play in this world, and it would be troublesome to explain it to her. He said, "You can think of it as the acrobatics that are often performed in the brothels, but it's different. There's no need to make up a song, and the language is straightforward and easy to understand. You just need to make some changes according to the story. I'll use 'Painted Skin' as an example …"
Hearing his description, Wan Ruoqing's face gradually showed a look of realization.
Unlike any other play, it tried its best to restore the content of the story. Although it was very different from the current mainstream, it was easier to do and worth a try.
The young girl stood behind Wan Ruoqing. After hearing Li Yi's description and imagining it in her mind, she couldn't help but feel a chill run down her spine.
She was already scared enough just listening to Grandpa Sun's story. If all the doors and windows were closed, the room would be pitch-black. If she performed "Painted Skin" on stage, wouldn't it be scary to imagine the malicious ghost baring its fangs and brandishing its claws on stage …
She hurriedly erased these images from her mind, rolled her eyes, and said, "But we can't always perform" Painted Skin ". The customers will get tired of it after watching it too much."
Li Yi glanced at this little girl. She was so young, yet so cunning. By saying this, wasn't she going back to the starting point and thinking about those stories?
"I will provide you with the subsequent scripts and stories." After Li Yi spoke, the young girl's face lit up, but then she heard him say, "As for the distribution of profits, we'll discuss it after they all agree."
Originally, Li Yi didn't intend to take out those stories, but if the old man and the others really left, the days in the future would probably be much more boring.
Of course, the most important reason was because of Wan Ruoqing. From the young girl, he understood some of their current situation. After knowing her for so long, Li Yi had a general understanding of her character. She looked weak, but she was actually very independent and strong-willed. If he openly helped her, she would most likely refuse. This kind of cooperation would probably not touch her pride.
Wan Ruoqing looked at her, and a hint of gratitude appeared in the depths of her eyes. She said, "If it wasn't for the fact that no one was willing to leave, they would definitely agree."
The matter was urgent, so Wan Ruoqing and Xiao Zhu didn't stay for long. They had to discuss it with them first before they could give Li Yi an answer.
When the two of them walked out of the shop, three figures walked in from the opposite direction.
"Miss, the son-in-law said that we're going to buy a big house in the prefectural city in the future. Are we not going back to the village?" Xiao Huan was holding some things she had just bought from the street as she spoke to Liu Ruyi.
After living in the prefectural city for a few days, she finally understood what it meant to be lively and prosperous. She could see all kinds of people, and it was very convenient to buy things. Every day, she could accompany the son-in-law to the brothel to listen to music and watch dramas. It was much more interesting than the monotonous life in the village.
"Why? Don't you want to go back to the village?" Liu Ruyi looked at her and asked with a smile.
Xiao Huan thought about it, then shook her head and said, "Wherever the young miss is, Xiao Huan will be there."
No matter where it was, of course, she would follow the young miss. However, if the son-in-law was in the prefectural city, the young miss would naturally be with him …
As she spoke, she walked through the door. Two women walked out of the shop.
The shop had temporarily stopped selling Ruyi necklaces, so naturally, they could not be customers. Furthermore, the two women were not unfamiliar faces. One was the young girl who had scared her last time, and the other was the son-in-law's friend who she often saw in the brothel next door.
Liu Ruyi raised her head and looked at the woman who was walking towards her. The other party seemed to be stunned for a moment, then nodded slightly to acknowledge her before leaving with the young girl.
She remembered clearly that this woman had been to her house once. She seemed to be … her husband's friend.
A few simple thoughts flashed through her mind, but she quickly threw them to the back of her mind.
On the other side, when she was walking back to the brothel with Ruoqing, the young girl looked back a few times and couldn't help but say, "That person just now seems to be Li's wife. She's so beautiful …"
Then, as if she had thought of something, she turned to look at Wan Ruoqing and added, "Of course, Elder Sister Ruoqing is also very beautiful. She's not much inferior to her. No, she's even more beautiful than Li's wife …"
Wan Ruoqing only smiled and didn't say anything. Although she was unwilling to compare herself to his wife, she had to admit that the two of them were really a perfect match …
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