Chapter 30: Singing Opera

As Li Huowang wondered what performance this was, the farming families watching the play below began to stir. They each pulled out one or two copper coins and tossed them onto the stage.

The audience consisted of farmers who eked out a living from the land. Those who threw money were always a minority; most threw ears of corn, potatoes, and other foodstuffs.

Families who were slightly better off might throw some salted fish or cured meat.

Luo Juanhua, however, accepted everything, bowing in thanks to everyone.

"So this is how opera performers earn their pay," Li Huowang realized.

He watched Luo Juanhua humbly kneel on stage, holding her daughter, continuing to sing in a tearful voice while picking up the scattered items and placing them in a basket. From time to time, she would bow to the cheering audience.

He immediately felt that making a living this way was not easy.

Just as Luo Juanhua was happily gathering the items, a small piece of silver was thrown onto the stage.

Her eyes lit up instantly. She reached for the silver, weighed it lightly in her hand, and upon realizing it was at least five qian, she immediately adopted her opera voice, sang, and kowtowed towards the only plump old man in the crowd wearing silk.

"Excellent! Absolutely splendid!" the red-faced old man exclaimed. He looked up, and another piece of silver flew onto the stage, earning more profuse thanks from Luo Juanhua.

Li Huowang felt a bit weary of the spectacle. He yawned, lay down on a pile of straw, and told Zhao Wu, who was standing steadily nearby, "I'm going to nap for a bit. Keep an eye out."

"Understood, senior brother."

When Li Huowang opened his eyes again, the sun was already high in the sky. Others were chatting around him; it seemed everyone had huddled together in the straw pile for the night.

The distant stage had been dismantled, and the Lü family members were packing their props and costumes into a wagon.

"Zhao Wu, how many days of food do we have left?" Li Huowang suddenly asked.

"Not much," Zhao Wu replied immediately. "Three days at most if we ration it."

Li Huowang pulled out the dozens of copper coins and a small piece of dark silver he had taken from the storeroom and handed them to Zhao Wu. "Go to the village and trade for some food. We'll likely need a lot for the journey."

With over a dozen young men, food consumption was very high. The many sacks they had brought from Qingfeng Temple were now almost empty.

Zhao Wu, who was lying on the Simpleton's back, was about to tell the Simpleton to go into the village. But after a moment's thought, he beckoned a more presentable young Taoist acolyte, placed the money in his hand, and whispered some instructions.

Li Huowang pushed himself up from the straw pile with one hand and walked towards the distant stage.

"Elder, when do we set off?" Li Huowang asked Lü Zhuangyuan.

Lü Zhuangyuan, however, looked rather anxious. "Young Taoist, please wait a moment. My daughter-in-law took Xiu'er somewhere this morning and hasn't returned. We'll depart as soon as she's back."

Li Huowang was puzzled. "Hmm? Missing? Isn't that her?"

As Lü Zhuangyuan followed Li Huowang's finger towards the village entrance, he saw Luo Juanhua, holding several feet of cloth and her daughter, walking towards them with a smile.

Seeing his unreliable daughter-in-law, Lü Zhuangyuan immediately flared up in anger. He rushed over with his pipe stem, scolding her fiercely.

Facing her father-in-law's fury, Luo Juanhua looked completely innocent. "Didn't you tell me to go to the village to get cloth, Father? You said it was expensive in town..."

After vehemently venting his anger, Lü Zhuangyuan turned to Li Huowang and said with a smile, "Young Taoist, it's fine now. Let's go."

"Wait, Father! Don't leave yet. While I was buying cloth, I landed us a job."

Hearing this, Li Huowang and Lü Zhuangyuan both looked at Luo Juanhua. "What kind of job?"

"What else could we do but perform? The client is the gentleman who gave the most rewards last night! Go and see him; he said he has some matters to discuss with you in detail."

Upon hearing this, Lü Zhuangyuan stopped in his tracks. He slowly turned around, smiling sheepishly at Li Huowang.

Although the other man didn't speak, Li Huowang understood his meaning from his expression. "It's no bother. Master Lü, earning money is important. Waiting an extra day is fine."

"Oh dear, my apologies, my apologies. I'll be right back," Lü Zhuangyuan said. He tucked his pipe stem into his collar and happily pulled his daughter-in-law back towards the village.

Li Huowang returned to the straw pile. With nothing else to do, he picked up the shriveled Taoist bell and examined it closely.

If he could truly command Master You, it would undoubtedly significantly enhance his strength.

Unfortunately, he couldn't summon it now; he had to find a way to fix it.

He examined it thoroughly several times, finding no other issues. The only apparent problem was the dented bell wall.

"So if I straighten it out, will it work?"

Li Huowang pondered for a moment, then placed a square stone beneath the bronze bell. Next, he picked up another stone and struck the bulging side forcefully.

But with a single strike, a piercing bell sound immediately rang out, causing Li Huowang's head to throb violently. He could barely hold the stone in his hand.

"This won't work. I'll have to ask if there's a blacksmith in this village," Li Huowang muttered, shaking his dazed head vigorously.

Just then, Li Huowang saw the young Taoist acolytes dragging two sacks towards them.

He put away the Taoist bell and hurried over with Zhao Wu, who was still riding on the Simpleton's back.

"Senior Brother Li, we only managed to exchange for this much," the acolyte said, his youthful face filled with unease. Although they were children, they were remarkably sensible and capable, as the undisciplined ones had already been killed by Master Danyang.

Li Huowang reached out and opened a sack, finding it filled with dried sweet potatoes.

"Senior Brother, these dry goods won't last long," Zhao Wu said. "The Simpleton alone eats a pound and a half per meal, and eating too much of this causes heartburn."

Zhao Wu's words made the honest, bald Simpleton hang his head in shame. "You... you... don't... don't abandon me... I... I'll eat less!"

With insufficient food, Li Huowang looked at the sacks before him, pondering a solution.

Lü Zhuangyuan had mentioned that it was still a considerable distance to Jianye City. If they ran out of food midway, his dozen or so people couldn't very well resort to eating tree bark.

He reached into his embrace again and pulled out a golden ring wrapped with red string.

Holding the item, Li Huowang thought for a moment, then reached back and placed it into the hand of Bai Lingmiao, who was holding onto his clothes.

"Take this to trade," Li Huowang said, then pulled out Master Xuanyang's jade pendant and handed it to Zhao Wu.

"Senior Brother, how can we trade this? There's no pawn shop in the village, and no one else can make change for it. Besides, these mud-footed farmers might not even recognize its value."

"If even the jade pendant can't get us food, what then?" Just as Li Huowang was troubled by the food shortage, he saw Lü Zhuangyuan approaching with his daughter-in-law.

"Um, young Taoist, I've run into a bit of trouble with my business. Would you mind helping me out?" Lü Zhuangyuan asked, looking very embarrassed.

"Master Lü, I don't know how to perform opera. I'm afraid I can't help you with your trouble," Li Huowang said, finding the request absurd. Did the man want him to perform a sword dance on stage?

"No, no, it's something you can help with. It's just..." Lü Zhuangyuan said, glancing stealthily left and right, then leaned in and whispered, "That Master Hu wants me to perform a ghost opera..."