I Only Want to Lie Flat But Am Forced to Cultivate Immortality-Chapter 165 - 104 Accident

In the Linhai Theater, there are many opera students, each with outstanding actors in various roles like Sheng, Dan, Jing, Mo, and Chou.

Today, Xu Qing followed Second Master Feng to the Pear Garden Theater. They were here to make the first move and find a suitable master to teach the embroidery girl opera singing, in hopes of securing the learning arrangements.

In the Pear Garden, regardless of one’s age or gender, as long as you have the skills, a good singing voice, a performance that moves the audience, then you are worthy of the title "master".

For ordinary people, seeking out a master is not easy. You have to wait outside until someone sends a message for the master to decide whether or not to make an appearance.

In essence, it’s like dealing with big-time celebrities.

However, that applies to regular folks.

But Xu Qing and Second Master Feng are not ordinary people, are they?

The funeral business has always had dealings with opera troupes. Sometimes, when holding funerals for wealthy families, it is necessary to invite opera performers from the Pear Garden to sing at the event.

One must know that the money spent on funeral opera is much more than regular performances.

If there’s a grand three-day and three-night opera performance, the cost of one session can equal half a year’s income for a troupe.

So in a sense, Xu Qing and the Pear Garden could be seen as business partners.

As for Second Master Feng, there’s no need to say much more. He is a frequent patron of the theater, known for his generosity and is the sort who, upon arrival, can make the lead actors come out to greet.

When the troupe leader saw Xu Qing and Second Master Feng arriving together, he pondered.

The troupe leader thought, how did these two seemingly unrelated people end up together? Could it be that Second Master Feng’s family is holding a funeral and needs someone to sing funeral opera?

That would be wonderful! Given Second Master’s generosity, wouldn’t they be singing funeral opera for seven days and seven nights? How could the silver be scarce!

Second Master Feng did not know the troupe leader’s thoughts, otherwise, he would certainly unleash a big bow, poking a few holes in the other side’s body.

"May I ask what brings Second Master and Mr. Xu here..."

Second Master Feng got straight to the point, directly mentioning the matter of hiring a master to teach opera singing.

Upon hearing this, the troupe leader immediately showed an embarrassed expression.

"Second Master, opera is our expertise, how can we easily teach it to others..."

"One hundred liang of silver."

"It’s not about the money. You must understand, skills shouldn’t be easily passed on, and Daoist techniques shouldn’t be cheaply sold. These are ancestral rules..."

"Three hundred liang."

"Ha, what’s this about, Second Master! There’s an old saying: rules are dead, people are alive. Teaching and solving doubts is a great merit. It’s just that I wonder which master Mr. Xu would like to hire?"

...

In the largest opera stage of the Pear Garden Theater, Xu Qing and Second Master Feng were sitting below, having the place to themselves.

"Sheng, Dan, Jing, Mo, Chou, all the famous actors— which one does Mr. Xu want to start with?"

"My cousin is a girl, learning Dan roles is the most fitting."

Xu Qing had no hesitation. With the embroidery girl’s figure and tone, it wouldn’t be suitable to paint her face heavily and have her learn from a Jing role master to sing as Bao Gong, would it?

Upon hearing this, the troupe leader started throwing out professional terms.

"Our Dan roles are also divided into several types: Zhengdan, Huadan, Wudan, Daomadan, Laodan, Caidan, and Huashan. Mr. Xu, which category are you looking to choose?"

Zhengdan, also called Qingyi, portrays dignified and elegant women; Huadan portrays innocent and lively young girls or feisty young women; Wudan, as the name suggests, involves skills in dancing with weapons, often portraying heroic female generals.

Daomadan involves middle-aged women skilled in martial arts; Laodan portrays elderly women; Caidan represents comedic and humorous characters...

As for the last category, Huashan, it’s the all-around master combining elements of Qingyi, Huadan, Wudan, Daomadan.

Xu Qing had previously aided many female Dan roles in attaining transcendence, like Qing Luo from the Celestial Heart Sect and Sai Yuxian from the theater, both of whom were famous actors.

Even Princess Yan Ning, the thousand-year-old female ghost in the tomb, could hum a tune.

So he was familiar with what the troupe leader was saying.

"I think, why not just go straight to the top; let your Huashan master step in."

"Mr. Xu sure knows how to choose. Boss Liu is the pillar of our theater, the lead actor who carries the flag. She performs daily and has no time to teach singing."

"Five hundred liang." Second Master Feng was blunt.

In Second Master’s eyes, anything that can be solved with money is not a real problem.

Troupe leader Chen, hearing this, no longer mentioned how busy Boss Liu was and immediately headed to the backstage to invite Liu Su’e to perform.

Xu Qing was a principled man and didn’t want to spend Second Master Feng’s money. But Feng had said, not letting him spend money is not treating him as a friend.

"Second Master, five hundred liang is not a small amount..."

Though Xu Qing was now quite well-off, spending someone else’s money, regardless of the amount, made him uncomfortable.

"Don’t worry about it. Over the years, I’ve spent no less than ten thousand liang in the theater. Look at this walnut in my hand; one piece costs two hundred liang. I even find it cheap; it lacks that feeling when I handle it."

"It’s just unfortunate that the guests from South Mountain are too honest. If he had asked for a thousand liang, I might have felt something."

Xu Qing had heard of Second Master Feng’s vast wealth, but he hadn’t expected such luxury.

A walnut worth two hundred liang, if it were anyone else, that would be outrageous, treating people like fools to be scammed to death!

But for Second Master Feng, it’s different. He spends money to buy a feeling; if the feeling comes, a chunk of hard earth would be more precious than a piece of gold.

At that moment, Xu Qing was holding the walnut Feng had given to Xuan Yu.