"I'm sorry, I won."
Ruyi played a tile. Li Yi smiled and pushed down his tile wall. Ruyi jumped off the heated bed in annoyance. She glared at the two and said, "You two are in cahoots. I'm not playing anymore!"
Ever since Ruyi became Li Yi's mistress, Li Yi's luck came back. He kept gesturing secretly and Ruyi always understood his meaning. Thus, Miss.Liu became the only one who lost money in the family.
Although winning money was not the main point in the end. At most, she used a few copper coins to deal with it. However, there were wins and losses in playing mahjong. It was not a good thing to always lose. Miss.Liu was obviously angry. She was probably going to take her sword to the courtyard to chop the air.
If there was a god of mahjong, Xiao Huan must be her biological daughter. It was just that recently, she was obviously absent-minded. She was not focused when playing mahjong. No one knew what she was thinking.
The next day, Li Yi changed his room into a storage room. The reason was that the room that had been ravaged by carbon poison could not be lived in. He began to live together with Xiao Huan with a peace of mind.
Although he had to choose between being a beast and being worse than a beast, he had no choice but to choose the latter. But compared to the past, this was already a groundbreaking event.
The reason why Xiao Huan was a little unhappy might be that she could no longer hug Ruyi to sleep. She had to sleep on the heated bed in the kitchen for a long time. But it did not matter. When spring came, he would build her another room. It was not a good idea for a girl to always sleep in the kitchen.
Of course, the position that should have belonged to her was occupied by him. The little servant girl felt wronged first. He would slowly make it up to her later.
He took Xiao Huan to buy the hairpin that she had liked for a long time. She would no longer have a depressed expression on her face.
The two people walking in front were chatting. They were talking about the new play in the Changping Street Theater. It was called "A Chinese Ghost Story".
The former brothel was no longer called a brothel. It was called a theater. Although most people were not used to it, the name was not the point. The point was that the plays performed in it were more novel and special. It was not comparable to any straw shed in the courtyard.
He hoped that this "A Chinese Ghost Story" would be better than the previous "Painted Skin".
Of course, special places always had special rules. It was said that the theater was different from ordinary brothels. Not everyone could enter just because they wanted to. They had to buy a so-called "ticket" at the door. Although it was called a ticket, it was actually a small wooden plaque. On it was written the plays that could be watched with the wooden plaque, as well as the amount of time that could be spent inside. When they left, they had to return the wooden plaque.
The tickets weren't expensive, only a few copper coins were enough. It wasn't even as much as the tips they threw out at once.
Someone cursed inwardly. Those actors were crazy for money. Had they never seen a brothel that took the initiative to accept money? You want money, right? I won't look anymore, okay?
Many people were very satisfied with this. They felt that the idea of the theater was really wonderful. The appearance of the tickets was to keep those who had no money outside. The last time they went to watch a play, there were actually beggars sitting next to them. They were dirty and smelly.
There was only so much space in the theater. If they were late, there wouldn't even be a place to stand. Now, it was better. Those who only wanted to join in the fun and were unwilling to pay for tips could not enter. They were happy to be at peace. They sat leisurely with a pot of tea and a stack of broad beans. After watching the plays they liked, they would leave.
It was extremely comfortable. Of course, when a new play was released, they had to be more agile. Who would care about a few copper coins for the people who lived in the prefectural city? If they were late, they could only stand.
"Thank you, son-in-law."
With a newly bought hairpin in her hair, Xiao Huan's eyes turned into crescent moons again. In one hand, she held a tanghulu. It was a gift from Aunt Xu when she met her on the street. In the other hand, she held onto Li Yi's arm. She took a bite and leaned over to give a bite to Li Yi.
She took a bite. The tanghulu in the winter didn't melt so easily. The taste was improved. Those women had been trying to make more delicious tanghulu. Now, they had developed several different styles.
After eating the tanghulu, the young maidservant looked up at Li Yi and said expectantly, "Son-In-Law, let's go to the theater to watch a play, okay?"
Just now, she heard the two people in front of her talk about A Chinese Ghost of Qiannu. The son-in-law had told her this story. After hearing so many ghost stories, she was no longer afraid. The last time the son-in-law brought her to see the "Painted Skin" stage play, she only screamed when the ferocious-looking female ghost came out. The son-in-law said that A Chinese Ghost of Qiannu was not that scary, so the young maidservant felt that it was okay for her to go and take a look.
He did not reject Xiao Huan's request. Today, he had brought her out for a stroll. She grew up in the village and did not come into contact with many people. The young maidservant maintained her innocent and lively temperament very well. With her chattering by her side, any worries would be swept away.
A small room was built at the entrance of the brothel. It was only big enough for one person. A dozen people lined up and passed by the small room. After placing a few copper coins inside, a wooden plate would be handed out from the inside.
As one of the major shareholders of the theater, of course, Li Yi did not need to buy a ticket. He held Xiao Huan's hand and walked directly through the entrance. The people in the line originally wanted to question him, but when they saw the young man at the entrance politely salute the young man, they swallowed their words and obediently lined up to buy the ticket.
After walking through the entrance, they faced the stage directly. The expanded stage was more than twice the size of the previous one. The seats below were also increased. There were separate stalls on both sides. Spending a few copper coins, one could buy a plate of broad beans and a pot of tea. There were three flavors of broad beans, and one could choose freely. Of course, other than broad beans, there were also many pastries. When watching a play, eating some snacks and drinking a cup of tea would immediately improve one's taste by a lot compared to those who only knew how to shout.
The price of the seats in the theater was not the same. The closer one was to the stage, the clearer one could see, and the higher the price. Therefore, most of the time, there would be empty seats in the first row. Some people would feel that there was not much difference between the front and back. It was really not worth it to spend a few copper coins for a seat in the front.
The curtain on the stage had not been opened yet. One could see many figures behind the curtain. They were probably still making preparations. People were still lining up to enter the theater. There were not many people in the seats. He pulled Xiao Huan to sit in the middle of the first row and waited patiently.
He glanced at the wooden plate in the hands of the person beside him. On it were the words "Painted Skin", indicating that the next performance was still "Painted Skin". Senior Pu Songling was indeed a master of his generation. There was a performance of "Painted Skin" here, indicating that this play was quite popular.
He turned his head and looked around. He realized that from the previous brothel to the current theater, too much had changed in just a few days.
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