The entertainment tycoon of the Republic of China

One of Wen Heng's labs is located in the Wenjia Workshop, which is currently one of the safest places in Hankou.

After returning from the inspection mansion, Wen Heng plunged into the laboratory and began to study those drug samples, and invited Qi Xiuji to discuss it together. The three meals a day were settled hastily in the workshop, and he wished to break up his time. Serves in two.

Xie Yan knows the importance of developing this kind of medicine and antidote, so even though she feels her heartbeat for the first time in these years, she can only watch the person she likes not appear all day long, comforting herself that everything is only temporary.

During the two days Wen Heng stayed in the laboratory, Xie Yan was not idle either. The opening of the Grand Theater was imminent, and the rehearsal of the Hankou Romance drama was also coming to an end.

In the plan of Xie Yan and An Yujing, the date of the play will be set on the day before the end of the serialization of Hankou Qiyuan novel, and there will be some small Easter eggs in the play that are not in the novel version and the storytelling version, attracting more The audience goes to watch.

Bai Luoqiu had already negotiated a sale and transfer with Tiansheng Theater, so Xie Yan and the others simply set the rehearsal location at Tiansheng Theater, which also saved the effort of actual combat exercises.

At this time, the assassination of Bai Luoqiu by a foreigner at the racecourse in Tiansheng Theater has already spread in Hankou. After all, Bai Luoqiu is a real top star in this era, and his every move has attracted much attention. This matter involves foreigners. Add a legendary color.

Walking on the streets of Hankou, if you just ask anyone, he can tell you a story of Bai Luoqiu's grievances and hatreds with foreigners.

The reason why Bai Luoqiu came to Hankou for another purpose this time is that the foreigners assassinated him because they were afraid that he would rob the foreigners of their business after singing. This is already the most reliable answer that is closest to the truth.

In addition, Bai Luoqiu once had an old relationship with a foreigner, and was murdered because of love and hatred; Qiu carries confidential information about foreigners with him, and foreigners take risks for the information... Such a bizarre theory emerges endlessly.

The story of Bai Luoqiu and foreigners can spread so widely in such a short period of time, it is naturally due to the contribution of Mu Xiuxiu's master and apprentice. The best candidate for public opinion news.

Under the strong fanfare of Mu Xiuxiu's master and apprentice, Bai Zhai's dry explanation of "this matter has nothing to do with foreigners, please don't speculate for no reason" was instantly thrown away by the public, and they doubted it. Bai Zhai avoids this matter so much, maybe there is really something else hidden.

And this is exactly what Bai Luoqiu and Xie Yan hoped to see.

Such rumors spread in Hankou, and almost everyone believed that Bai Luoqiu was assassinated by foreigners in Tiansheng Theater. Even if the people behind Li Tianwei knew that Li Tianwei was plotted against by Bai Luoqiu, they would not dare to let the Li family go there with great fanfare. Put pressure on important people.

--What?Li Tianwei from the Li family in Hankou disappeared after going to Tiansheng Theater to find Bai Luoqiu?Could it be that he was the one who assassinated Boss Bai?Could it be that the Li family really has something to do with foreigners?

Xie Yan used time and time again to tell everyone that everyone is fearful, whether it is the Li family or foreigners, at this point, they don't want to take the risk of being found out about the connection between the two, so the matter of rescuing Li Tianwei can only be temporarily pressed. They even had to do everything possible to cover up the fact that Li Tianwei was missing, so as not to be found out.

And these hours are enough for Young Marshal Luo to pry some useful things out of Li Tianwei's mouth. Xie Yan only needs to be busy with the matter at hand and wait for the good news.

Because of the tension with foreigners recently, Xie Yan may encounter plots if he is too prominent. After thinking for a while, Xie Yan decided not to reveal to the public that he is the current one. Therefore, in the past few days of drama rehearsal, he has always used Bai Luoqiu's The identity of the apprentice appeared.

Fortunately, everyone in the theater company knew that they would perform in Tiansheng Theater in the future, and Tiansheng Theater was already owned by Xie Yan. With the boss An Yujing's respectful attitude, no one dared to look down on him because of his young age.

The drama version of Romance in Hankou has been simplified and has eight main characters. In addition to the two absolute protagonists of Aisha and the old boatman, there are also Aisha's stepmother and her lover, the evil godfather and good missionary of the church, and Doctor Qi in Huazhong Lane. , and the wife of the old boatman who died tragically in his early years.

As for the other bunch of extra characters without lines, they will be performed by eight actors separately.

Yangrui's little Aisha has received unanimous praise from everyone. An Yujing tried to find a way to buy her a long golden wig. She also specially studied the daily appearance of foreign children. After wearing the wig, the light on the stage dimmed. I can't see his face clearly, he looks exactly like a foreigner.

Most of the other actors were found by An Yujing from various troupes in Hankou. These actors either had bad voices or average figures, and they were not outstanding in the original troupe, but An Yujing took a fancy to them. After carefully selecting their stage experience, they were dug out one by one.

Many of these actors have never known that there is such a way of acting in dramas before. They don’t need to sing with their voices, they don’t need to do somersaults, and they don’t need to pretend to be colorful. They can perform tricks just by talking on stage? !

Seeing that the problem that has troubled me for many years does not exist here at all, the actors put all their energy into this play as if they met their confidant Bole. I memorized all the lines in just one day, went to the theater before dawn every rehearsal, and practiced behind closed doors before leaving after dark.

These actors have been in the troupe for so many years, and they know how much confidence an entertainer can have when they have a good show. A generation of famous actors like Bai Luoqiu can even get the courtesy of going on tour in various provinces!

The story of Romance in Hankou, which is already well-known in Hankou, is the best time for them to become famous, and the Tiansheng Theater took advantage of the momentum of Bai Luoqiu, who also took the stage here. The status is definitely going up!

Xie Yan watched the rehearsals of the actors for two days in the theater, and she was not consciously infected by the steaming atmosphere. During the day, she discussed the details of the performance with the actors, and at night, she went back to revise the script according to what she wanted during the day, and took it early the next day. To An Yujing, say that An Yujing asked Mr. Present to change it.

The Hankou Romance drama has been adapted, and some tedious details have been deleted. The final version is divided into five episodes.

The first episode is about the well-known Aisha who came to China with her stepmother after losing her father. She was persecuted by her stepmother and her stepmother’s lover in collusion with the evil godfather, and she was sealed in a coffin and sank into the river. However, she was lucky enough to be rescued by Yan Laowu, a veteran boatman on the dock. next story.

The second chapter tells that Aisha was sent to Dr. Qi's clinic by Yan Laowu to see a doctor. Doctor Qi came back from abroad and knew English, and asked about Aisha's life experience. However, before they could figure out a way to help Aisha, a good neighbor Discovered the existence of Aisha, and told the evil godfather about it in order to get an extra can of milk from the church.

The third chapter discusses with the godfather and the stepmother, fearing that other foreigners will be held accountable after the incident is revealed, they simply decide to hire someone to kill Aisha and the old boatman, and when the killer arrives at the old boatman’s hut, he is not asleep It turned out that when the neighbor informed the evil godfather, a kind missionary in the church overheard the incident and tried to secretly tell the old boatman.

In the fourth episode, after experiencing this incident, the old boatman knew that he could not protect Aisha alone, so he discussed with Dr. Qi and planned to take Aisha to the consulate in the British Concession to seek help from the British consulate. However, how could the vicious stepmother miss this point? ?She had already gone to the consulate ahead of time under the guise of asking for help, claiming that a Chinese man used witchcraft to abduct her daughter who was supposed to be sealed away. If that man comes to the consulate to make trouble, the consul must pay attention to safety and must not be bewitched by him. They also bought two soldiers from the consulate so that they would take the opportunity to kill Yan Laowu if they had a conflict. At that time, only Aisha was left as a little girl, and she could still be at her mercy.

At the beginning of the fifth chapter, Yan Laowu confronted several consulate soldiers at the gate of the consulate. The poor old boatman didn't know that these people had hidden murderous intentions, so he led Aishabi to explain.

A pistol was quietly aimed at the head of the ignorant Yan Laowu, and the crisp sound of loading resounded on the stage, and the tense atmosphere was instantly pushed to the highest level!

"Aisha!" However, just as the soldiers were about to attack, a little boy wearing overalls suddenly rushed out of the consulate, grabbed Aisha's hand, and barely blocked the gun aimed at Yan Laowu. .

It turns out that this child is the son of the consul. I met Aisha when I went to a banquet with my mother. Aisha helped the little boy find the lost pocket watch. The two are very good friends. According to the plan, he took Elsa directly to the consul and explained the situation.

The consul was dubious about this matter, so he sent someone to call Aisha’s stepmother and the priest of the church to find out what happened. The stepmother was having trouble with her lover at this time, when she heard someone from the consulate call her for questioning, she panicked when she thought that the matter had been revealed .The lover was afraid of being caught by the consulate, so he picked up a piece of clothing and wrapped it around his body, and wanted to jump out of the window to escape. Unexpectedly, he lost his mind and went to the wrong window after finishing the work. He stepped on the air and fell directly from the second floor to the street. Broke a leg.

"Bah! Foreign devils without clothes are really shameless, don't look at A Cui, let's go home!" A woman spat at her lover who was lying naked on the ground and moaning, and hurried away, covering her daughter's eyes.

Seeing her lover falling out of her window like this, the stepmother was so anxious that her eyes went dark, but the people of the consulate still forcibly took her away under the consul's order.When they arrived at the consulate, the stepmother wanted to play a deceptive mother-daughter relationship with Aisha, but Aisha hugged Yan Laowu's leg tightly and refused to let go, which made the consul more convinced of what they said before.

Now only the evil priest has not yet arrived, and the people sent by the consul have not returned for a long time. Just when the consul wanted to send people to check the situation again, the priest finally arrived late, but he was coaxed and kidnapped by a group of people The leader is the good missionary who knows the priest's secret.

After some trials, the consul learned of the crimes committed by the priest under the guise of his identity over the years, including the tragedy of the fifth wife and daughter of Yan Laowu that happened in other places decades ago.The consul ordered the priest to be executed, and had his stepmother and lover arrested, and they could be sent back to England for trial together with their crimes. The manor is unmanaged.

The consul wanted to send Aisha back to the country together, but Aisha knew that the old butler was dead. She had no relatives in England, and the only person in the world who was kind to her was the poor Yan Lao Wu, who would not leave without saying anything.

In the end, with the help of the consul and the consul's wife, they sold the British manor in the name of Aisha, bought a big house in Hankou with a large sum of money, and opened a restaurant. Knowing what happened to her, they came to the restaurant one after another to support her, and the business of the restaurant was booming. Yan Laowu not only cured her lame leg for many years, but also lived a life of adequate food and clothing.

At the end of the story, Yan Laowu watched the priest be executed with his own eyes, and took Aisha on the way home for the first time.The graves of his wife and daughter were full of weeds, and the big black dog named Heizi had been dead for many years, but its descendants seemed to remember something and danced around Yan Laowu.

Yan Laowu swept the tomb and took Aisha to live in the old house. He slept very peacefully that night. His wife and daughter in his dream smiled at him, and the family had a good reunion with fish and meat. meal, waved away.

Yan Laowu wanted to reach out and grab them, but he woke up suddenly. Looking out the window, it was already dawn the next day. Aisha, who had the same wicker ring on her head as she remembered her daughter, jumped into the house. Seeing that he woke up, she grinned , suddenly yelled in a crisp Huaxia language.

"father!"

……

The story of Hankou Romance is not very long overall, and the plot is relatively simple. It can be so popular in Hankou, on the one hand, because of the ingenious selection of materials, which took advantage of the curiosity of the public who seldom listen to stories about foreigners; Because the presenter's plot design is very ingenious, interspersed with funny and thought-provoking places, the rhythm is clear and lively, so that people of different levels can find the meaning in it.

What needs to be done to rehearse a drama is how to show these rhythms in a specific way of performance.To achieve a good effect, everyone in the drama company must work together to adapt, rather than just copying.

Xie Yan stood under the stage, thinking about the plot arrangement in his heart, while watching the rehearsal of the actors on the stage. What they are rehearsing now is the content of the second episode. The killer sneaked into Yan Laowu's hut, but what he saw was a A majestic big black dog.

The killer is played by the actor who plays the lover in a black mask, but the big black dog becomes a problem.

In the plot, this dog was met by Yan Laowu near the river beach where Aisha was picked up. It is very similar to the sunspot he once raised in his hometown. The dog barking heard that night when he rescued Aisha belonged to it.

In Beijing opera, animals such as dogs and cats are generally performed in a virtual way, and there are no real objects on the stage. The audience knows what happened on the stage according to the actors' libretto and actions. Flowers, raise your knees and turn around to go up the bridge and down the stairs.

However, the stage of drama is more realistic and not suitable for this kind of performance. It is impossible for Xie Yan and the others to actually pull a dog up. After all, whether a dog can act is a matter of opinion. If a dog is not well controlled, it is a big problem to rush off the stage and hurt the audience. up.

In the end, it was Xie Yan’s suggestion to refer to the performance method of Japanese Noh drama, and let an actor dressed in black symbolize "Nothing" hold a big black dog made of cloth, interact with the actors on stage, and complete the plot related to the black dog.

The actor who controls the black dog is an urgent new one. His name is Heizi. He has a baby face. He was originally a martial arts apprentice in a theatrical troupe. Not being able to become a teacher, not only was he beaten and scolded every day, but he was not paid. This time, An Yujing bought it for a few dollars, and he was as happy as a monkey, jumping around in the gaps when he was not rehearsing, and kept talking. .

As soon as the rehearsal of the play was over, he took off the black hood on his head, and before he had time to take a sip of water, he squatted on the edge of the stage to gossip.

"Sir, Mr. Xie! You are Boss Bai's apprentice. Is it true that Boss Bai was assassinated here?"

Xie Yan was thinking about the plot, when he heard Heizi talking and suddenly asked himself, he smiled ambiguously, "I don't know about it, anyway, Master just told everyone not to spread it. Why, aren't you rehearsing a play, you Why ask this?"

"I just thought of this when I was talking about the story written by Mr. Discovery just now." Heizi rubbed the back of his head embarrassingly. The story, and finally recognized the father and daughter, I was really shocked when I heard this for the first time.”

"I don't think Boss Bai's matter has something to do with foreigners? Maybe Mr. Discovery came up with an idea later and wrote a story about Boss Bai and foreigners. Then we will know what happened!"

"..."

"I don't know how to grow my brain" Mr. Discovery stood in front of Heizi, the corners of his mouth twitched slightly. He knew that the ending of Hankou Romance would be difficult for many Chinese people in this era, but this was his first time. Hear directly from "readers".

After all, in the minds of many Chinese people, foreigners and Chinese people are still two straight lines that are completely impossible to have an equal relationship. It is strange enough that an old Chinese boatman rescued a foreign noble girl at the beginning of Hankou Romance. Let the little girl call the old boatman dad?This is simply a fantasy!

When Xie Yan wrote this ending, he knew that this plot might cause some controversy, but he still did not choose to change it, because he wrote this book to tell the Chinese people that foreigners are not much nobler than us, and that the quality of a person is really determined. , is his heart, not his color and hair.

Although the stepmother and lover are foreigners and aristocrats, they have vicious minds and do mediocre things. Yan Laowu is poor and illiterate, but is willing to help a girl he has never met. Besides, there are also greedy and stupid Chinese neighbors, kind Brave foreign missionary... The characters in Hankou Qiyuan never distinguish between good and evil by skin color, in order to tell people that there are good people and bad people in all groups, and don't mark a person who doesn't understand in advance because of prejudice.

At the end, Yan Laowu has already loved Aisha as her own daughter, and Aisha also regards Yan Laowu as her relative and only support. The two love each other like father and daughter. Can't Aisha express her feelings by calling "Daddy"?

Xie Yan wrote a separate postscript for these thoughts, and intends to attach them when the Hankou Romance novel is published. At that time, it should cause a heated discussion in Hankou, and even spread to other places in China. Xie Yan believes that the truth They are all debated. Under the influence of this atmosphere, more and more people will definitely think about this question and get the real answer.

But in front of him, Xie Yan, who hadn't put on her vest yet, could only respond to Heizi with a smile.

"Mr. the presenter must have his reasons for writing this way. Maybe he will explain it when he has the opportunity in the future. However, the presenter is just a person who writes stories. What he writes does not represent the truth. Even if he writes about Bai Luoqiu Stories don’t mean those stories really happened.”

At this age, after being inspired by Heizi's words, Xie Yan already had a new calculation in her heart.

The whole story of Hankou Romance has come to an end, and it is time for him to pick up what he promised Mr. Wen to promote the adult school, and come up with a short story that is easy to understand.