Chapter 345： There are things that must be guarded

Chapter 345: There are things that must be guarded

Pei Anzhu remained calm and figured out the situation of the entire theater.

Soon the time came, and preparations were made for the show to start. Many people who came to the town to travel and were interested in the theater also bought tickets to enter the theater and found their own seats.

The lights in the theater were turned off, and it was dark all around. Only the curtain in the lobby was bright.

There are shadow puppets behind the curtain, and as the music sounds, the play begins.

 Pei Anzhu was drinking tea while looking at the large curtain in the lobby. The shadow puppets behind it were very flexible. Along with each line, they completed many difficult actions.

Even the lines have their own styles, unlike the voices produced by the operator alone.

The people below clapped and applauded, and Pei Anzhu also clapped.

A shadow puppet show lasted about twenty minutes. After the performance, the shadow puppets came to a close and the guests left, but Pei Anzhu was not in a hurry to leave. She called the waiter in the west building and asked:

“I like the shadow puppets here very much, but I don’t know if I can sell them?”

"For sale," the waiter said, "In addition to performing shadow puppet shows here, selling shadow puppets is also our main source of income. The ones hanging on the wall in the lobby and there is a booth on the west side of the first floor, the shadow puppets inside are all for sale. "

"That's all? But I don't like any of these. I wonder if the shadow puppets you just performed in the show will be sold?" Pei Anzhu asked, "Can you help me ask the shadow puppet master if he doesn't sell them?" If so, are you willing to accept my customization? I would like to engrave some of my favorite characters.”

The waiter hesitated for a while and said:

“Guest, please wait a moment, I’ll go ask for you.”

Pei Anzhu smiled and nodded, continuing to sit in the box, waiting for the waiter to ask the result.

Not long after, the waiter came back and said to Pei Anzhu:

“Sorry, guest, the shadow puppets in our theater are not for sale except for the ones I just mentioned.”

“Our shadow puppet master also does not accept private customization. He said that each shadow puppet he carved is his child. He will not sell his children because he is afraid that others will treat his children badly.”

Speaking of this, the waiter showed an awkward smile and explained:

“Perhaps they are doing this kind of traditional art a little bit differently. Please understand.”

Pei Anzhu is curious:

“The shadow puppeteer’s shadow puppets are not for sale, so the shadow puppets hanging downstairs and in the booth were not carved by him?”

"No, those are all carved by apprentices and are not as good as those carved by the shadow puppet masters in our theater, so they are sold cheaply, fifty-one pieces. How about you, the guest, settle for the next best thing and buy two to make do? "

"That still doesn't work. I don't like to make do with compromises. If you want to buy, buy the best. Since you won't sell, I'll leave first." Pei Anzhu stood up and prepared to leave.

But the waiter stopped her at this time and said:

"Guest, it's like this. Although the shadow puppets carved by the shadow puppet master are not for sale, he can teach you how to carve them. Do you want to learn to carve the characters you want? It's just that our shadow puppet masters have a bad temper. Under normal circumstances, I don't Recommend customers to learn from him.”

After hearing this, Pei Anzhu suddenly became happy:

“Okay, I was just about to learn it, but unfortunately I couldn’t find a good master before. If the shadow puppet master is willing to teach me, that would be great!”

As he spoke, Pei Anzhu took two hundred yuan from his bag and stuffed it into the waiter's hand:

“Thank you, this is a tip.”

The waiter collected the money and hurriedly took Pei Anzhu to find the shadow puppet master. He directly led Pei Anzhu to the basement in the backyard on the first floor, which surprised Pei Anzhu. She originally thought that the basement was a secret space and belonged to the shadow puppet artist alone.

Unexpectedly, even the waiter knew about it.

The waiter explained while leading the way:

“Our shadow puppeteer has such a weird temper that he doesn’t use the spacious and bright studio, but prefers this dark basement. Fortunately, with the advanced technology, we can make the basement similar to the one above.”

"But who makes him the boss? This theater belongs to him. He can be wherever he likes. We working people don't have the right to say anything. But every time someone wants to see him, I always have to follow him. Please explain."

“It’s not that our theater is treating the old man harshly, it’s really him who wants to live in the basement.”

Pei Anzhu smiled as she listened to the waiter's complaints. From the other person's tone, she could hear a strong sadness of being beaten by a social animal, which was not easy.

However, she caught the key point from the waiter’s words and asked:

"You said, this theater belongs to a shadow puppeteer? Why did he open a theater here?"

"I don't know about this. It has been a long time. After all, this theater was handed down from his ancestors." The waiter said, "I heard that several generations of his family seem to have been making a living in theaters here. This place was not developed before. The theater was there when the tourism industry was not so developed, and I don’t understand how they managed to keep going when business was so poor at that time.”

Pei Anzhu understands very well.

Several generations of ancestors have opened theaters here and performed shadow puppet shows. No matter how bad the business is, they have no idea of ​​leaving, which shows that there is something they need to keep here.

They can't leave because they don't feel safe.

Pei Anzhu had a guess in his mind and followed the waiter to the basement.

As expected, times have developed, and basements can be built to be very comfortable. I don’t know what method they used to ventilate them, and installed very bright lights, and the temperature here seems to be kept at a constant temperature forever.

“Mr. Zhu, there is another customer who wants to learn how to carve shadow puppets with you.” the waiter said.

"I understand, you go up first." Mr. Zhu waved his hand, and after the waiter left, he said to Pei Anzhu, "I have been carving shadow puppets all my life. To me, this is a sacred thing. If you really If you want to learn, you have to follow my requirements, otherwise I won’t teach you.”

Pei Anzhu glanced around the basement and looked at Mr. Zhu:

"I wonder what Mr. Zhu wants? You can tell me and see if I can do it."

“Follow me and learn to carve shadow puppets. You can’t leave the theater until you complete a shadow puppet.” Mr. Zhu said, “Don’t worry, someone will arrange your accommodation and food.”

Pei Anzhu suddenly understood.

Presumably Zhou Jianbo's wife stayed in the theater under this condition, and then gave Old Man Zhu a chance.

"Yes, yes, but I am traveling with my friend. I have to go back and tell her. Otherwise, if she finds out that I am missing, she will call the police and look for me everywhere." Pei Anzhu said.

Generally, people who secretly harm others are afraid of the police coming. Although they may not be able to find anything, it is a trouble and a psychological burden for them.

So, after hearing what Pei Anzhu said, Mr. Zhu immediately said:

"Then you go back and explain to her first, and then come back. Remember, you come alone."

“Okay.” Pei Anzhu nodded.

After discussing with Old Man Zhu, she left the theater and returned to the hotel. At the same time, her consciousness covered the basement and she heard Old Man Zhu stroking a shadow puppet on the wall and whispering:

“Child, wait a moment, it will be your turn soon.”