"I heard that there is a new play in the brothel outside the city. It's called 'A Chinese Ghost Story'. It's better than the Painted Skin. Do you want to watch it together?"
"Haha, I've seen it a long time ago. The theater in the city opened two days ago. It's a little slower outside the city. This time, I came to listen to Old Zhao talk about Wulin."
At the entrance of a tile-roofed house outside the city, two men greeted each other with a smile and walked in side by side.
"I want to watch 'A Chinese Ghost Story', but I'm afraid I can't today. I just came from there. The brothel is closed today. I'll come back early tomorrow." A person who came out of the house reminded them.
"It's closed? Why? "
"What's wrong with those people? They don't want to earn money …"
…
…
People who liked to watch plays and listen to songs inside and outside the prefectural city were surprised to find that the recently built brothels were all closed today. Those who wanted to watch new plays and listen to Wulin stories suddenly had nowhere to go. They could only go back home after cursing for a while.
In the city, the well-received Changping Street Theater also hung up a sign that it was closed today, making countless people leave in disappointment.
At this time, in the theater, a few managers of the brothels outside the city gathered there, frowning.
"Miss Wan, we can't just close like this. These days, 'A Chinese Ghost Story' is very popular. If we don't open for a day, we will lose five strings of coins!" A gray-haired old man said with a sad face.
As soon as the old man finished speaking, everyone's eyes were on the only woman present.
On the surface, it was Old Sun who was in charge, but they all knew that Miss Wan was actually the one who had the most say when it came to big things.
Before Wan Ruoqing could say anything, another old man slammed the table. His beard trembled as he said, "These despicable b * stards! It's not easy for the children to have enough to eat, and now they're plotting against us. We can't hand over the script. It's more important than our lives. They want to buy it just because they have money. This is robbery! Anyway, I don't have many years to live. Even if I have to risk my old life, I will splash their blood! "
Wan Ruoqing hurriedly said, "Don't worry, Mr. Qian. No one wants to hand over the script. No one wants to give it to them. Mr. Sun is going to solve this problem. He will not let those people succeed." Wan Ruoqing said.
"It's difficult …" The old man who spoke first sighed and said, "We have no power or influence. What can we use to fight against them? Those children are still lying inside."
As soon as the old man finished speaking, everyone saw Old Man Sun accompanying a young man walking over from the back door.
"How's the injured?" The young man walked over and asked directly.
Everyone looked at the young man with a hint of doubt in their eyes. After looking at Old Sun, they seemed to understand something, and their expressions changed.
Wan Ruoqing came over and said, "We've already sent for a doctor. They only suffered superficial wounds. It's not a big deal. One of them broke two ribs and may need some time to recover."
Li Yi asked again, "Who did it? Did you find out?"
"They are all famous ruffians in the city. They said that since we are in their territory and under their protection, we should give them money as compensation. We didn't want to provoke them and wanted to send them away with some copper coins. We didn't expect them to ask for ten coins as soon as they opened their mouth. They also said that they would come to ask for it once a day. Dongzi and the others only argued with them for a while before they were injured."
This time, it was the grey-haired old man who spoke. His tone was very respectful. Seeing Oldman Sun and Miss Wan's attitude toward this young man, he knew that this young man was the benefactor who gave them a living. So, he told them the whole story in full detail.
"Why didn't you report it to the authorities?" Li Yi looked at him and asked.
Qing 'an Prefecture and even Anxi County had been divided into small districts by him. Each district had a special person in charge, who was responsible for fighting and bullying the good. When he was working under County Magistrate Zhou, he didn't care what the bailiffs and bailiffs did. In order to fulfill the agreement with Her Royal Highness, before he left the yamen, he restrained those guys a lot. If there was any dereliction of duty or bullying the common people, he didn't have to do anything himself. Liu Yishui would make them pay for it.
The old man shook his head and said, "We can't report it to the authorities. Those ruffians often enter the yamen. If they are caught and locked up for a few days at most, when they come out, we will be the unlucky ones. Moreover, this time they were ordered by someone to make us hand over the script. We are all doing this for a living. Those people are so cruel!"
Everyone, including Old Man Sun, had worried expressions on their faces.
The authorities wouldn't care about the life and death of these lowly actors. With the power of those people, if they really reported it to the authorities, they would be even more unlucky.
They finally had something to look forward to. Were they going to walk into the abyss again?
Old Sun's old face showed strong unwillingness. He seemed to have aged a few more years.
Other than Li Yi, the one who was least worried was Ruoqing.
Because only she knew that the person behind them wasn't just a weak scholar. In Ning Wang Fu, he had reprimanded the new Jinshi in front of so many officials. He had offended many people, but he was fine. On the other hand, Cui Yanxin and Jiang Zi 'an hadn't been appointed by the imperial court. Their careers hadn't even started, but they had already reached the end …
Old Sun and Old Qian were worried that after reporting it to the authorities, those ruffians would take revenge. Little did they know that the person those ruffians and idlers should be most afraid of was him …
"Go back. Everything will return to normal. Do what you need to do. I will take care of these things." After Li Yi spoke, everyone looked troubled.
Before the matter was resolved, those people wouldn't give up. As soon as they opened the door to perform, those ruffians would definitely follow.
Before they could ask what they were worried about, a group of people suddenly rushed in from behind. The man in the lead cracked his knuckles and asked excitedly, "Young master, who are we looking for trouble this time?"
…
…
In the morning, the doors of the theater and the brothel were still tightly closed. In the afternoon, they opened their doors to welcome the guests. There were still a few days before the New Year. The New Year's goods had been bought. More and more people had nothing to do at home.
If people were idle all the time, they would get sick. Therefore, many people would find something to do in these days.
The brothel was a good place to go, especially the newly built ones. They attracted the attention of many people.
They were already tired of those old things. Only something fresh like "A Chinese Ghost Story" could please them.
Although there were two men who looked extraordinary in the theater, Old Man Sun didn't feel relieved at all. He glanced at the young man who was chatting with Miss Wan and could only sigh.
So what if he could chase those ruffians away? He could chase them away once or twice. Could he chase them away countless times? They would always make a comeback. What should he do when that time came?
Moreover, those ruffians who were looking for trouble weren't the main point. Those who were interested in the script were the ones who should have a headache!
Old Man Sun patted his swollen head and an arrogant laugh was heard.
"Old man, business is good. Have you raised enough money? I always keep my word. If you can take out ten strings of money, I will leave immediately and come back tomorrow. "
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