Chapter 34: That Lifetime of Emotional Entanglement (1)

In the end, Old Man Jiang and I not only got water to drink, but each of us also received a large bowl of steaming rice cooked with fresh yardlong beans, along with a plate of crisp pickled white radish skin.

The food was simple, but the fresh yardlong beans were sweet and the pickled radish skin was refreshing. I ate happily, and Old Man Jiang also praised it a few times before starting to chat casually with the woman. Before long, her mother-in-law also came out.

The old lady chatted even more enthusiastically with Old Man Jiang. After some idle talk, he casually brought up Li Fengxian. The question was asked very casually, and the old lady answered just as casually.

She said, “If you asked others in this village, they might not know. Many of us moved here during the war against the Japanese, but my family has always been from this village, so I actually know about her. Why are you asking about her?”

Old Man Jiang said mysteriously to the old lady, “You do not know this, but when I was young I rather liked her. Now that I have returned to the village, I thought I would ask around.”

I nearly spat out my rice. I immediately choked and felt like my head was spinning. This master...

I could not find the words and could only look speechlessly at the sky.

Unexpectedly, the old lady was also a gossip lover. Her eyes lit up immediately.

“Really? Which village are you from? To be honest, it was not just you who liked her. Back then, in all the nearby villages within several tens of kilometers, many young men liked Li Fengxian. What a pity, such a pity.”

“Yes, I knew many people liked her. I never dared to say anything back then. After I left the village, those feelings faded. Now that I have come back, I just wanted to ask around. You know, when people get old, they start to miss the innocent feelings of youth. Sigh...” Old Man Jiang said with a sorrowful expression.

My violent coughing had just stopped when his words made me spit rice all over the table again. Innocent feelings of youth? Who in the world was it last night wanting to suppress a ghost, and today he suddenly becomes her admirer?

The old lady asked in confusion, “Is your grandson alright? He keeps coughing and spitting rice.”

“Nothing wrong with him. He just has a weak throat. When he eats too fast, he spits food out. He will be fine when he grows up.”

My parents had always said Old Man Jiang never lied, that he was honest. Yet today he casually diagnosed me with a spit rice illness.

Fine. I could not afford to offend him. I could only eat slowly in small bites, afraid I would spit again later.

“Eldest Sister, tell me then, what is the pity about?” Old Man Jiang kept pressing.

God knows why he was so interested in the life story of a female ghost. I had already given up trying to understand my strange master.

Once the old lady started talking, she could not stop. She slowly recounted the past, and even I became absorbed in it.

Just like any common tragic story, Li Fengxian was half an orphan. Her mother died when she was young, and her father was a drunkard. She was one of the most pitiful children in the village.

Later, her father remarried and cared even less about her. Even so, Li Fengxian still grew up beautifully, becoming a strikingly pretty girl by the age of twelve or thirteen.

Back then in the countryside, girls of that age would normally already have marriage proposals arranged. Her father, though irresponsible, still cared about this. First, a pretty daughter meant a good bride price. Second, marrying into a good family would secure her future livelihood.

Originally, her fate could have gone along this path. It would not have been too miserable. But fate intervened.

Just when her father was looking for a marriage match for her, a wealthy landlord in the village invited a performance troupe.

This troupe was a famous troupe from the city, even featuring well known performers. People back then may not have called it idol worship, but they certainly admired stage performers greatly.

The troupe was invited by the landlord, who spared no expense for his birthday celebration. It was a Peking opera troupe.

In Sichuan, Sichuan opera was more common, but Peking opera troupes were also present. This particular troupe’s most famous performance was Feng Qiu Huang.

The day the troupe arrived, the village was extremely lively. The landlord was not a cruel oppressor, and on his birthday he invited the entire village to watch the performance. Everyone who could come did come, including Li Fengxian.

The performance began with great excitement. The whole village was bustling that day. But something also happened that day. The troupe’s manager took an interest in Li Fengxian.

This interest was not about her beauty, but about her potential to become a star performer. No one in the village knew exactly how this judgment was made. They only knew that the manager seriously spoke to her father and then took Li Fengxian away.

Becoming a famous performer was a far more promising future than marrying into a wealthy local family. Although her father was a drunkard, he understood this.

Poor families did not care much about reputation. At least they did not see opera performers as low class. They were practical and simple minded.

Her father even proudly boasted to the villagers that the troupe manager had said she was slightly old to start learning opera, but she was truly talented material. She was born to be a lead actress.

Five years passed in the blink of an eye. The villagers gradually forgot about it.

Then one day, news came from town. The famous troupe had become even more famous and was performing again in the township. The scale was enormous, even military officials came to watch.

But that was not the important part. The important part was this. Who was the lead actress in Feng Qiu Huang? It was Li Fengxian from the drunkard Li family.

Li Fengxian had returned to the village, and she returned in glory. Her bearing, her aura, everything about her showed the difference between someone who had lived in the city and ordinary villagers.

The drunkard Li’s life improved dramatically. Even his two younger sons later found work in town.

Who told him he had such a good daughter?

Whenever Li Fengxian was mentioned, villagers all said she was destined to become a nationally famous performer.

For a time, the drunkard Li was at the height of his life.

Li Fengxian was not an ungrateful person. Remembering the kindness of the villagers when she was young, she persuaded the troupe manager to perform a free show for the village. Naturally, Feng Qiu Huang was included.

Her performance was breathtaking. Her posture was graceful like a willow in the wind, and her singing was clear and perfect, with lingering resonance. Even Zhuo Wenjun herself might not have surpassed her.

Even more astonishing was the male lead performing opposite her. He was handsome, elegant, and full of charm, as if Sima Xiangru himself had returned.

Together on stage, the two were the perfect embodiment of a romantic pair.

Every gesture, every exchanged glance was full of emotion, fully expressing the essence of Feng Qiu Huang.

The troupe manager was extremely proud. Both leads had been discovered by him. He had originally chosen them in a moment of urgency when older stars left the troupe, yet they had exceeded all expectations.

Even more satisfying was that both leads had said they would never leave his troupe.

That free performance caused a sensation in the village. Wealthy families rushed to matchmake with the drunkard Li through matchmakers.

Although performers were not highly ranked socially, Li Fengxian was a star performer with experience of the city. She was more than worthy of marrying into a wealthy family.

Unexpectedly, every matchmaker returned empty handed. Li Fengxian rejected all proposals.

The drunkard Li could do nothing. His current life depended on his daughter, so he could not make decisions for her.

The villagers speculated endlessly. What kind of man was she looking for? Even the sons of wealthy families were not good enough? Not even local gentry?

Some thought she might be aiming for someone in the city, or even a military officer. Or perhaps she wanted to go to Peking to perform.

Time passed, and people gradually forgot about it. The sun rose and set, and another ten years went by.