Chapter 1 Decline

Author: XiangzhuMM

Chapter 1 Decline

Summer, 1993.

Dongfang County, the westernmost part of Hainan, the rice farm of Sigeng Village Commune.

The setting sun uses the sky and the earth as paper and light as ink, splashing colorful oil paintings, weaving one beautiful scenery after another, covering the entire commune rice field, and the scattered scenery on the stage is mottled and jumping in the light and shadow. In the blink of an eye,

, darkness casts a black veil over the whole world in the name of night, and on the brightly lit Qiong Opera stage, the curtain slowly opened for the first scene of "Poetry on Red Leaves". The ethereal, simple and freehand stage complemented each other, although there were no flowers or trees.

but

A glimpse of the changing seasons, seeing no waves but like seeing rivers, lakes and seas; singing and reciting songs to hit the song "Collecting loyalty, filial piety and righteousness through the ages, into a moment of joy and sorrow". The curtain opened and the shadows of flowers moved. Twenty-seven-year-old Huang Simei, dressed in pink and gold

The hairpin is inserted obliquely,

Her voice is as graceful as the sound of nature. She is graceful and graceful, and her appearance is like a jade pistil, just like a beauty walking out of a painting. She is seen swaying step by step and mellowing every word. The rice field in the commune is several miles away, and the sound of coconut trees echoes instantly.

Island Qiongyin.

"The heavy door is locked and the curtains are hung, and the spring dawn in the painting hall is full of swallows flying together. I am infinitely sad that I can't arrange a photo, so I temporarily move out of the boudoir. Hundreds of flowers emit fragrance, and the sunrise flowers have long shadows. The gentle wind ruffles the green spring waves, and the willows bend to welcome people.

.No

I came to the east gate and saw the red apricots sneaking out of the wall. The peonies were delicate and fragrant, and the peonies were fragrant. The white butterflies flew over the roses. The flowers were blooming in red and green, and the birds were singing in spring. The peach blossoms were falling randomly, which was heartbreaking...

"

Huang Simei's deeply penetrating performance is like an ink painting flowing vertically and horizontally. "Everywhere without painting is a wonderful scene." She is elegant and gentle, like a noble lady walking on the historical canvas. What's even more amazing is the tactful way she opens her mouth, which is like the cry of an oriole.

Beautiful and sweet, the "Jiang Yurui" who is full of melancholy in the boudoir is vividly played, making the audience feel like they have returned to the Southern Song Dynasty.

In the Shangshu Mansion in West Lake in the last years, I felt her sorrow and was immersed in her loneliness. Unfortunately, in the huge commune rice field, there were only a few old ladies with tall backs and white hair, and two chasing girls.

The children playing with each other - the five-year-old boy Zhang Wenxuan is Huang Simei's eldest son, and the three-year-old girl Zhang Wenqian is her youngest daughter.

When the scene of "Garden Party" was sung, the old ladies in the audience were already nodding their heads, and some were lying directly on the benches, snoring loudly. Only two children had too much energy, and after the commotion in the audience, they ran to

We were playing with the curtain on the stage. It was the last scene of "Sacrifice for Love"

, both Huang Simei and Zhang Chennian couldn't help but feel sad. The Kuban singing was full of sadness: I don't know if they were lamenting that Wen Donghe and Jiang Yurui were born at the wrong time and couldn't fall in love; or they were lamenting that their ancestors had passed it down.

Qiong Opera has gradually declined and is no longer what it used to be.

Our ancestors have a saying, "The play has started and come from all directions to listen. One side is human, three sides are ghosts, and four sides are gods. As long as you open your voice, you must finish singing regardless of whether there are people in the audience. If mortals don't listen, it doesn't mean that ghosts and gods don't listen."

The audience was empty, but Dongfang Qiong Troupe still persisted in performing the whole play.

After the curtain call, there were still tears on Huang Simei's cheeks. After the leader led the members to put the instruments, costumes and headdresses back into the box, Zhang Chennian rubbed his swollen head and shouted tired: He ran a commune tour in eight villages.

, he already felt a bit overwhelmed. Of course, the point is that not many people have the leisure to listen to Qiong Opera now, and he doesn’t know how long he can last with a free tour like the Oriental Qiong Opera Troupe. Huang Simei greeted her children and handed him a

After ordering a cup of Kuding tea, she said, "Thank you for your hard work!" Looking at her husband Sanya and Dongfang running in both directions, she felt sorry for herself. It was just that after practicing basic skills for so many years, Zhang Chennian never complained that she was tired, and it had only been two years since she started running a stall in the sea.

, feeling that her basic skills were not as good as before, she couldn't help but warn others with tea: "It's just that as actors in Qiong Opera, just like this Kuding tea, it must be bitter first and then sweet. You, you can't be fooled by the sugar of the market economy.

The juice has soaked your bones until your bones are gone!”

Zhang Chennian drank a big sip of Kudingcha, Kudingcha. The tea is as its name suggests, but it also has a mystery: it is bitter in the mouth and sweet in the aftertaste. Nowadays, the market economy is turbulent, so he changed his profession and went to sea for two years, and finally found it. A little bit of knowledge. When he came back from this trip, he thought that he had to think of a way to persuade his old mother to look at the outside world. She couldn't just sit in a well and watch the sky and guard the troupe without letting go.

After Comrade Xiaoping gave a speech on his southern tour, the couple became active in order to support the daily expenses of the Dongfang Qiong Troupe. After a tour, the couple started a stall business selling local goods to the city. The couple got down. After a lot of hard work, he finally found a way to set up a stall, but his mother-in-law Meng Huaxiang was only willing to let Zhang Chennian go into business temporarily, while his daughter-in-law was determined to keep the troupe. Not only that, Meng Huaxiang also asked Zhang Chennian to develop basic skills. He could not be left behind, and he had to participate in the Qiong Opera tour every month. Zhang Chennian complained a lot about this, but Huang Simei was very open-minded: Although the market economy is good, the treasures passed down by the ancestors cannot be said to be released. Just think about it. In those days, when the Oriental Qiong Troupe’s tour was not packed with people and was an unprecedented event? Since she had enjoyed the splendor of famous actors and actresses, she had to endure the loneliness of time and space. So she took the initiative to stay and took over Zhang Chennian’s place. As the leader, he leads the Dongfang Qiong Opera Troupe, inherits the training, and vows to carry forward the good things of his ancestors.

Zhang Chennian looked at the crowded cinema opposite, his eyes darkened, and he let out a long sigh for a long time. In the past few years, he often thought of the tours in Thailand and Singapore. During the performances, the Oriental Qiong Troupe's banknote rewards were more than the curtains. It's still high, it's really like a dream. Unfortunately, times have changed! Nowadays, people don't listen to plays, they listen to pop songs and watch movies, such as Teresa Teng, Long Piaopiao, Feng Feifei, and even foreign Beetles and John In Denver, everyone sings "Sweet Honey", who still sings the Qiong opera passed down by the ancestors? The treasures left by the ancestors have their own magnificence and essence, but popular songs have surged in with the force of breaking the bamboo. .

The couple chatted while putting away the boxes. Zhang Wenqian rushed over with her short legs, cheering in a sweet voice and asking her father to put her on his neck to "ride a horse". Zhang Chennian put her daughter on his neck and rode on it. The rice field was running wildly: "Drive! Drive! Drive!" Zhang Wenqian's silvery laughter instantly filled the rice field. She silently put all the boxes and cages into the car, and Huang Simei asked softly: "Mom, tomorrow night, Russia Are there still performances in Xianling?" Meng Huaxiang snorted heavily, with a solemn look on her face. She guessed that her son must have encouraged her daughter-in-law to engage in market economy again! But if the Qiong Opera passed down by three generations of the old Zhang family was broken in her own hands, How could she go to hell to meet them?

Zhang Chennian was laughing and raising the baby, and he went up and hugged his mother with a smile: "*** taught us: 'In this small world, how many flies hit the wall?' The earth will still rotate without anyone. Even our Oriental Qiong Troupe If we don’t act, there will be Ding’an Qiong Opera Troupe, Haikou Qiong Opera Troupe, Wenchang Qiong Opera Troupe... where will it be cut off? Anyway, you have to defend it, you have to defend it yourself. This time, I must take Simei away! You are too old to think too hard. Click it!" Meng Huaxiang raised his eyebrows, took out a prop whip from the box, and chased Zhang Chennian and whipped it: "You monkey grandson! I'll beat you to death! It's a treasure passed down by our ancestors. I don't want to carry it forward. Talking all day long about reform and opening up, market economy, and running a street stall are more noble than singing opera, right?..." His son Meng Huaxiang knows best. Zhang Chennian is a thoughtful person. Once he makes a decision, nine cows will pull it. If she didn't come back, she became angry because she was worried that her son would abduct her daughter-in-law and set up a stall in the sea to become a treacherous man.

The two little kids didn't know why, so they thought their grandma and dad were also having fun. They clapped their hands and shouted, "What a monkey! Your butts are blooming!" Huang Simei didn't know whether to laugh or cry. She turned around and called the uncles from the troupe to get on the bus and prepare to go back to Russia.

Xianling, continue to tour. Every time I tour ten miles and eight towns, I rely on this little jingling truck.

, more than a dozen cages were filled with stage scenery, props, costumes and headgear. The theater troupe sat on the cages, chatting at the top of their lungs amidst the loud noise of the trucks, and the topic was no more than who.

My wife has given birth to a big fat boy, whose sow has given birth to a few piglets, and whose sweet potatoes are selling well this year.

When the Dongfang Qiong Troupe arrived at Exianling Commune, it was already midnight. Meng Huaxiang directed them to set up two simple sheds, put blankets on them, and men and women slept separately. In recent years, after the troupe changed to a private contracting system, every night

During the rural tour, they couldn't even sleep

A full sleep: arriving in the dark, falling asleep without hesitation, and then getting up when the rooster crows to hoist your voice and practice basic skills. In the early years, when people went to the countryside to eat on public meals, they were not only received, but also paid a lot of money. Nowadays, theater troupes even have basic

Living income cannot be guaranteed. Er Niangjiu

Fengshan, with green trees on the mountain and blooming flowers at the foot of the mountain, makes people forget to leave. Erxian Cave has winding paths and quiet waves, and the waves crashing on the cliffs of the cave are a unique experience. I don’t know if it’s because the air in Erxian Village is good, or because I feel a sense of belonging after returning home. Zhang

Shen Nian felt refreshed when he came back

The breath was refreshing, sweeping away the tiredness from the endless spinning. Just lying down, his enthusiasm was greatly traumatized again: the people on the stage sang a sad farewell song, and the lingering sound echoed at the foot of the mountain; the huge commune rice field below the stage was empty, and again

Lively with no one coming and going.

The liveliness on the stage and the coldness off the stage combined to create a different kind of desolation: Huang Simei's bitterness was heart-broken; Zhang Chennian's cry was like a burning sensation.

"It's hard to live as you wish in this world, and you can only repay Nandan with death... My little sister has suffered in this life, but my brother still has a long future. Although he was demoted and returned to Qiongnan, I advise you to be patient and safe. How can the dark clouds cover the sun? There will be a day

The sun and the phoenix rise to the sun. Husband and wife, white-headed alliance,

The will is unswerving and the oath is firm. The country hates the family and it is difficult to settle the hatred. What's the point of living alone? It is better to go to hell with tears and blood, leaving sorrow and anger in the world forever. The pines and cypresses come from home and the weather is cold, and they are willing to live and die together without stealing. Hold the West Lake together

Get rid of it and turn it into Xu Chao Xue Dan!"

After the closing ceremony, Meng Huaxiang gave Zhang Chennian a loud chestnut and scolded her because the two of them were too deeply involved in the scene when they were singing about their love. It looked like the end of Qiong Opera, which made people watch

My liver and gallbladder are shattered. In the past, Meng Huaxiang praised them all for having such a level of performance, but today they are scolding them. Zhang Chennian doesn't know whether to admit that he has indeed contributed to the decline of Qiong Opera, or to quibble with himself.

It's just that empathy is better.

After being scolded, Zhang Chennian still put away his playful smile and calculated an account for his mother seriously: Since he set up the stall, he has paid two to three hundred yuan to the theater troupe every month. Just look at the ten miles and eight towns this month.

The tour - zero income from tickets and zero income from tips; but the expense of truck fuel,

The troupe spent over a hundred yuan on rent, food, drinks, and shit. They could not make ends meet, and could not see a way out. Meng Huaxiang wiped the bright erhu in her hand and remained silent. She knew that times had changed, but she was reluctant to leave the legacy passed down by her ancestors.

The treasures who came down always believe that Qiong Opera will always clear up the clouds and regain its glory.

"My dear brother, this blanket is for you!" A clear voice sounded, and Zhang Chennian looked up. The eldest sister dressed in Li clothes was holding a Li brocade blanket in both hands, looking at him with bright eyes, and said She explained in broken Hainanese that she watched "Zhang Wenxiu" by Dongfang Qiong Troupe at the commune rice farm half a year ago and thought Zhang Chennian acted very well, so she knitted this blanket of Zhang Wenxiu and Third Sister and came here specially tonight. Give it to him.

After saying that, the eldest sister threw the blanket on Zhang Chennian, turned around and ran away. Zhang Chennian hurriedly hurried but failed to catch up. Holding the blanket was like holding a brazier in a dilemma. Meng Huaxiang took the blanket and carefully Whirling, my heart feels like a ball of cotton is blocked, quite sentimental like a rabbit dying and a fox grieving for its own kind: The Li brocade in my hand takes at least three to five months to weave. The workmanship is exquisite, and the double-sided embroidery is lifelike. People who know how to do it will regard it as a treasure. .It is a pity that there are fewer and fewer people wearing Li brocade nowadays, and naturally there are even fewer people who know how to cherish it.

Li Jin was like this, and Qiong Ju was like this. The mother and son looked at each other, and they both saw a hint of helplessness and sadness in each other's eyes.

The night fell, the stars twinkled, and there was only silence surrounding the Oriental Theater Troupe. On the way home, everyone in the troupe was unusually silent, leaving only the loud noise of the small truck echoing in the air. The most remote place in Erxian Village In the southwest corner, the Oriental Theater Company, which covers an area of ​​several acres, is surrounded by wooden fences. The bright red bougainvillea blooms in the wind, and the red, green and yellow colors add a retro and gentle color to the entire theater. Next to the theater, there is a The two-story bungalow is the home of Zhang Chennian and his three generations.

After the meal, Huang Simei turned on the Peony TV set at home. Color TV sets are rare in Dongfang County. One year after Zhang Chennian went to Sanya to set up a stall, he specially traveled across the ocean to Guangzhou to bring back this color TV set. The advertisement slogan "Although peonies are good, they still need to be loved by lovers". On the TV, the announcer of CCTV broadcast in a clear and eloquent tone: "The responsibility system based on household joint production contracting and the two-tier management that combines unified production and decentralization." The system is a basic system of China's rural economy, which must be stable in the long term and continuously improved; the Third Plenary Session of the 14th CPC Central Committee was held, and the "Decision of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on Several Issues Concerning the Establishment of a Socialist Market Economic System" was adopted, outlining the socialist The basic framework of the market economic system; the Jiangxi Jiujiang Yangtze River Bridge was completed. The railway bridge is 7,675 meters long, 900 meters longer than the Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge, and the pier span is 216 meters, ranking third among similar bridges in the world..."

Zhang Chennian watched the news broadcast and couldn't help sighing: "The development of today's era is really rapid! It seems like a thousand years in the blink of an eye!" Huang Simei nodded thoughtfully: "If our Qiong Opera can also catch up, It would be nice to just hop on the express train of this era and develop at a faster pace! Unfortunately, as the old and the new change, something will always disappear..."

Keep a love and write a legend.
Chapter completed!