Chapter 260
Chapter 260
-----------------------------------------------------------------
>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 260
>Chapter Title: The Play
>-----------------------------------------------------------------
“No white flour here. Want some sorghum or corn flour?”
The skinny old man, squatting on a large square stone and cradling a big porcelain bowl, called out to Lv Zhuangyuan, who was asking about buying grain.
“That field’s full of millet, ain’t it? How come there’s no white flour? We’re payin’ good money, not robbin’ ya.” Lv Zhuangyuan sounded a bit reluctant.
Coarse grain might fill ya up, but it sure didn’t taste as good as the fine stuff. And since it wasn’t comin’ out of their pockets, no need to skimp.
The skinny old man shook his head like a rattle. “Nah, that won’t do. Gotta save the white flour for the officials’ tax grain. If I don’t pay up, they’ll drag my boy off for hard labor.”
“Little Daoist, what d’ya think?”
Lv Zhuangyuan turned his head, shooting Li Huowang—who was petting Mantou’s head with one hand—an inquiring glance.
Once he got the nod, Lv Zhuangyuan turned back to the old man. “Alright, alright, coarse it is. We’re buyin’ a lot, though, so ya gotta give us a discount.”
Bag after bag of grain got loaded onto the carriage, sinking the wheels slightly into the dirt.
Still, buyin’ so much had its perks—at least the old man agreed to lend them two empty granaries for the night.
Even though it was all coarse grain, young Yang managed to whip up somethin’ tasty.
He slapped sticky clumps of mixed-grain dough around the black wok, baking them into golden flatbreads.
The flatbreads went with soup made from yesterday’s leftover sheep bones. That was their dinner.
Simple fare, but it tasted damn good.
“Little Daoist, lotsa folks around here. We oughta post extra guards on the sheep tonight, or some no-good bastard’ll come sneakin’ ’em away.”
Lv Zhuangyuan held his bowl as he reminded Li Huowang, who was munchin’ on a flatbread.
“No worries. Mantou can sleep in the sheep pile tonight. She’ll bark if anyone tries stealin’ ’em.”
Li Huowang tossed the picked-clean sheep bone to the ground. Mantou bolted up from under his stool, snatched it in her jaws, and dragged it off.
She pinned it with her front paws and chomped away with relish, bones crunchin’.
“One dog might not cut it. Tell ya what—my youngest’ll bunk down with her. I just heard the prices around here. Past Qingqiu, these sheep fetch top dollar.”
Seein’ Li Huowang didn’t object, Lv Zhuangyuan grinned, feelin’ pretty pleased with himself. “Heh, the Lv Troupe’s pullin’ its weight again!”
“How’s your daughter-in-law holdin’ up, givin’ birth out here in the open? Want me to find a midwife in the village to check her?”
“Nah, she’s fine. She’s birthed one already—second time’s like takin’ a dump. Er... sorry, Little Daoist, shouldn’t talk like that at dinner.”
Just as the group was eatin’ in the rundown granary, a racket erupted outside.
Gouwa, squattin’ by the door, glanced back at Li Huowang inside. He grabbed a flatbread from the pot, crammed it in his mouth, bowl in hand, and headed out to investigate.
The room went quiet, save for slurps of soup and the smacking of chews. The cornmeal flatbreads stuck to the teeth—had to chew slow.
Before long, Gouwa burst back in, empty bowl in hand, face lit up with glee. “Hey! Guess what I just saw?”
The others glanced at him, then went back to their dinners. Nobody bothered humorin’ him.
Seein’ no one bit, Lv Xiucai stepped in to save face. “What’d ya see?”
Gouwa slammed down his bowl and clapped his hands in excitement. “I just spotted a whole opera troupe! Men and women! They’re settin’ up a stage at the village head right now!”
Li Huowang barely reacted, but every soul in the Lv Troupe perked up.
If there was one thing like raw hatred in this world, it was between rivals in the same trade.
“Hot damn!” Lv Zhuangyuan slammed his bowl down, wiped his mouth with both sides of his sleeve, straightened his hunched back like a rooster, and strutted out.
“C’mon! Let’s go see. I wanna check how they do opera in Great Liang!”
Li Huowang glanced at his retreating back and kept eatin’ his chewy flatbread.
Lv Zhuangyuan didn’t give a damn about much, but mention opera rivals, and it was like he’d been shot full of adrenaline.
Li Huowang couldn’t care less, but the others sure could. Days on the road left no time for fun.
Word of opera had ’em all fidgety. They scarfed down their food, dropped their bowls, and hustled outside.
“Senior Brother Li, let’s go watch too.”
“Yeah, Daoist, c’mon. I love opera.”
“No.”
“Senior Brother Li, pleeease? It’s so much fun. Grandma used to hold me up in the crowd to watch.” Bai Lingmiao tugged Li Huowang’s arm, her voice goin’ all soft and wheedlin’.
“Yeah, c’mon, Daoist, I’m beggin’ ya.” The monk in his tattered robes sidled up to Li Huowang’s other side, eyes full of longing.
Li Huowang’s lips twitched at the monk. He swallowed a curse and set down his bowl, stompin’ out.
Cheers from Bai Lingmiao and the monk followed him.
Outside, the once-empty village head was packed tight. Walls and trees crawled with spectators. Looked like the whole damn village turned out—Lv Troupe included.
Li Huowang grabbed Bai Lingmiao’s hand and hopped onto a rooftop in three strides. They sat on the hard tiles, watchin’ the brightly lit stage in the distance.
The troupe had hung lanterns all over it, makin’ the stage glow brightest.
“Clang clang clang clang~” With the signature opera tune, a red-faced general—six flags on his back, long plumes on his helmet—strode onstage in rhythm.
He twirled his white double hammers with the beat, struck a fierce pose, and the music cut. Then he belted out, his bold voice ringin’ strong and hearty.
“Hear the gongs and drums thunder!! Awaken my~ soul to shatter heaven’s gates with mighty will~ Recall the blue steed of yore~ so proud and fierce! While I draw breath, duty calls! Not one inch of soil to foes!!”
“Great!!”
Bai Lingmiao clapped along with the monk’s cheers. Li Huowang glanced at her joyful profile, then up at the actor.
The lyrics seemed to capture some Great Liang general’s mindset before battle. Li Huowang had no clue what play it was, who the guy was, or where he was fightin’.
He’d only come ’cause they nagged him, so he watched the muddled plot like everyone else.
At first, Li Huowang figured it was same as Lv Zhuangyuan’s shows—just different singin’. But soon he spotted the differences.
(End of chapter)