Chapter 34: A Lifetime of Love (1)

In the end, not only did I and the old man get water to drink, but I also got a large bowl of freshly boiled cowpea rice, plus a plate of crispy pickled radish skins.

The food was simple, but the fresh cowpeas were sweet and the pickled radish skins were refreshing. I ate happily, and the old man also praised it a few times, and then began to chat with the woman. In a short while, her old lady also came out.

The old woman and the old man talked even more happily. After a while, the old man mentioned Li Fengxian, and the old woman answered casually. She said, “In this village, if you ask others, they may not know how many people moved here during the war against the Japanese. But my ancestors were from this village. I really know about her, but why are you asking?”

The old man said mysteriously to the old woman, “You don’t know, I really admired her when I was young. I’m not back in the village, so I’m asking around.”

I almost spat out my mouthful of rice, and immediately choked. I felt like I was being bombarded with praise. This master…! I couldn’t find the right words to describe him, so I could only look up to the sky in silence.

I didn’t expect the old lady to be a gossip, and she was excited to hear it. She said, “Really? What village are you from? Seriously, not only you, but many young men in the surrounding villages also liked Li Fengxian. It’s just a pity, a pity.”

“Yes, I knew that there were many people who admired her, but I didn’t dare say it. Later, when I left the village, it became less intense. Now that I’m back, I just wanted to ask. You know, when people get old, they miss the innocent feelings of their youth. Alas…” Old Jiang looked sad.

Poor me, my severe cough has just gotten better, and he provoked me into spitting out a tableful of hot rice with his words. Pure feelings of youth, who knows which one was suppressing others last night and has become an admirer today.

“Is your grandson all right? Is he coughing and spitting up rice?” the old woman asked in confusion.

“Nothing, he has a problem with his windpipe. He coughs and spits when he eats too quickly. It will be fine when he grows up.” Poor me, my parents kept saying yesterday that old man Jiang doesn’t lie and is an honest person, but today he gave me the “spitting disease.”

I can’t afford to get into trouble, so I’ll just eat small mouthfuls to avoid spitting it out later.

“Sister, tell me, what is the problem?” The old man kept asking, and I don’t know why he wanted to know the life story of a female ghost. I was too lazy to ask about this strange master.

Once the old woman started talking, she couldn’t stop, and she began to tell me about the past. In the end, even I was so engrossed in the story that I couldn’t help but sigh.

Like the usual story, Li Fengxian was half an orphan. She lost her mother at a young age, and her father was an alcoholic.

Later, her father remarried and paid even less attention to her. However, Li Fengxian still grew up slowly and became extremely beautiful at the age of 12 or 13.

According to the rules of the time, the girl should have been married off by now. Although her father was indifferent to her, he still cared about this matter. First, he thought that the girl was pretty and that a good husband would bring more money to help support the family. Second, he thought that if she married well, she would have a secure future.

If things had gone on like this, Li Fengxian’s fate would have been tolerable, at least she wouldn’t have been too miserable. But fate had other plans. Just as her father was looking for a husband for her, the landlord of the village, Wang, invited a troupe of actors to perform at his house.

This troupe was a famous troupe in the city, and it even had famous actors. Who says there was no idol worship at that time? At least people were very fond of some famous opera singers.

The troupe was hired by the landlord Wang for his birthday, and it took a lot of effort and money to get them.

In Sichuan, Sichuan opera is the main form of opera, but there are also many Peking opera troupes. This troupe was a Peking opera troupe, and the most famous opera was “Feng Qiu Huang”.

The day the troupe arrived, the village was bustling with excitement. The landlord was not a bad person who exploited the villagers, and on the day of his birthday, he invited everyone in the village to watch the opera. Everyone who could come that day came, and of course, they included Li Fengxian, who was a famous opera star.

The opera was performed with great fanfare, and the village was extremely lively that day. However, something happened that day. The boss of the opera troupe took a fancy to Li Fengxian.

This appreciation was not for her beauty, but for her potential to become a famous actress. As for how he saw and appreciated her, the villagers did not know the specific process, but they knew that the troupe boss solemnly found Li Fengxian’s father and finally took Li Fengxian away.

After all, becoming a famous actor is a far more promising prospect than finding a well-off family in the village. Although Fengxian’s father was a drunk, he was not confused about this matter.

Poor people don’t care about reputation. At least poor people don’t think that people in the opera world are low-class. They are honest and simple.

Anyway, Fengxian’s father had once boasted to the villagers that the opera troupe’s boss had said that although Fengxian was a bit old to learn the opera, she was indeed a talented person, and that the female lead role was hers!

In the blink of an eye, five years passed, and the villagers gradually forgot about the matter. At this time, someone in the town spread the news that the famous opera troupe was even more famous and had come to the town to perform again. The show was a huge hit, and even the bigwigs of the army came to listen to the opera.

But that’s not the point. The point is, who was the female lead in the troupe’s most popular play, “The Phoenix Seeks the Phoenix”? It was Li Fengxian, the drunkard from the Li family!

Li Fengxian returned to his hometown, and he returned in style. His bearing and temperament were indeed different from those of the people in the countryside.

Li’s life improved, and even his two sons who were born later found a job in town.

Who wouldn’t want a daughter like that? When it comes to Li Fengxian, everyone in the village says that she will become a famous actress that the whole country will know about.

For a time, Drunken Li was the talk of the town.

Li Fengxian was not a heartless person. Remembering the kindness of the villagers when she was young, she persuaded the opera troupe owner to perform a free show for the villagers, which of course included “Feng Qiu Huang”.

Li Fengxian’s appearance was beautiful, slender and graceful, like a willow in the wind. Her singing was also clear and melodious, with a lingering tone that seemed to linger in the rafters. It was as if Zhuo Wenjun were alive and more beautiful than her by three points.

What’s even more amazing is that the young male lead who sang with Li Fengxian was handsome and handsome, and his singing was also extremely good, as if the talented Sima Xiangru had been reborn.

These two people on stage are simply the best portrayal of a talented man and a beautiful woman.

Even a single movement, a single glance, is full of affection, and it is simply the essence of “Feng Qiu Huang”!

The troupe owner was very proud, saying that Li Fengxian and the male lead were both his discoveries. When the famous actors in the troupe wanted to leave for better opportunities, he chose these two in a hurry, but he didn’t expect them to be even better than the original.

What made the troupe owner even happier was that both the male and female lead actors said that they would never leave his troupe.

This free performance for the villagers caused a sensation in the village. The wealthy families in the area all sent matchmakers to ask the drunkard Li to marry them. Although the status of a performer is indeed not high, he is a famous actor who has seen the world and is more than enough to match a country squire.

What no one expected was that all the matchmakers came back with their noses in the air, and Li Fengxian rejected all the marriage proposals.

Drunkard Li was helpless. After all, his current life of luxury was brought about by his daughter, and he could not make decisions about her marriage.

The villagers were talking about it, saying that this little Fengxian (Li Fengxian’s stage name) was looking for a certain kind of man. She didn’t like the sons of the big families in the village, and she didn’t like the sons of the village gentry?

People thought that Li Fengxian was looking for a man from the city, maybe an officer? Or, maybe she wanted to go to Beijing to perform in the opera? Who knows?

As time passed, people gradually forgot about the whole thing. The sun rose and set, the years passed, and in the blink of an eye, another ten years had passed.

The once-in-a-lifetime beauty Li Fengxian was sent back to her hometown because she had gone mad!