Chapter 20

Compared to professional calligraphy journals, and comparing Zou Muyun's review to those of the theater critics on the front lines, even a fool would know which side was more authoritative...

Zou Muyun's special contribution analyzed the calligraphy of the masthead and also explained the exaggerated advertising slogan, detailing why it was more suitable than Tan You'an's, because it was indeed very meaningful. Even Tan You'an himself, one would think, would have no objections.

Ji Shuangyu himself had indeed never been to school, but he was backed by high officials and famous scholars. They even directly brought up Tan You'an, and the comparison truly created a strong impression. Although it was because of the fountain pen, ordinary people didn't care about the details; they only knew this person was incredible! A great man of culture!

The people who had been attacking Ji Shuangyu for his lack of schooling these past few days felt as if they were being publicly executed.

They really couldn't understand: You're someone who can write better than Tan You'an, so why would you go work in a theater? We were so confident in attacking you, slapping your face, yet you showed no martial virtue at all and transformed into a calligrapher worthy of founding his own school in the words of the Minister of Education?!

Those who can write and publish articles, if not all learned scholars, have certainly studied. To disregard facts like this, unable to win on the merits of actors or stage mechanisms, and then forcibly criticize the director, immediately became a joke. You're either disregarding the facts or you're simply ignorant; pick one.

These people were so ashamed they wished they could find a way to destroy all the publications that had already been sold. The accusations in their theater reviews had come back like a boomerang and stabbed them to death.

The onlookers had a good laugh for a while. They had seen plenty of theater critics attacking each other, but it was rare to see one get their face slapped so thoroughly. It was quite interesting.

From this day on, the rival theater critics were shaken and didn't dare to publish any more attacks for a time.

With the publication of the inaugural issue of Calligraphy Education as a turning point, the difference in the box office trends of the two sides gradually became apparent.

The masthead incident was actually the fuse, its process merely hastened by Calligraphy Education. The situation was already clear—

After all, the stage mechanisms at the Oriole Song Stage were dazzling, but they were overdone. When people watch gimmick plays, the gimmick is important, but the play is also very important. Such hustle and bustle could be popular for a while, but it couldn't last.

Otherwise, Jingcheng also has amusement parks where one can see magic and acrobatics. There has to be a distinction, right?

Changle Theater's The Record of Sympathetic Joy could be described as appealing to all tastes, and it also made a beautiful dan actor famous. The queues for tickets were visibly growing longer day by day, showing an upward trend.

Let's talk about the impact of Calligraphy Education's publication. The debate between fountain pens and brush pens in the world of calligraphy was no less heated than the conflict between the new and old schools in the theater world.

Once this journal came out, those who had been arguing about fountain pens versus brush pens had something new to do: turn their guns around and collectively scold the people who used fountain pens for speed and wrote sloppily!

What, you think you don't have to practice your handwriting just because you bought a fountain pen? You've already given up the traditional brush pen, how dare you also abandon Huaxia calligraphy?

I heard in the journal that Mr. Ji Hulusheng is going to release a copybook. Look at him! Minister Zou Muyun's analysis revealed that Mr. Ji lost his schooling at a young age and worked in a theater, yet he could still practice and develop such fine handwriting despite the hardships of life... Say no more, I'm pre-ordering the copybook right now.

Even adults were greatly attracted, thinking they should buy a copybook when it came out. After practicing, they could write both quickly and well. In this society, good handwriting was truly well-regarded.

Some skilled calligraphers also grew curious about fountain pen calligraphy and went to try and develop their own style. One could imagine that this directly promoted the development of Huaxia's hard-pen calligraphy.

And all of this...

...in turn, had an impact on the Changle Theater.

Namely, the playbills they posted outside were all stolen overnight by "discerning individuals"!

Somehow, word got out that Ji Shuangyu was the one writing Changle Theater's playbills.

Ji Shuangyu's fame as a calligrapher soared. Many opportunistic people began to speculate that he might become a great calligraphy master in the future, and who knew how much his works would sell for. Even though these were written with a brush, who cared.

Excellent, steal them immediately! Collect them! Wait for the price to go up!

When Xu Xinyue found out, he was so angry he almost cried, stomping his feet. "Are these blockheads shameless or what! I paid money to hire people to post those posters, and I have to rent the space... Ah, I'm so mad, I'm so mad!"

He could only have someone else write new ones—not Ji Shuangyu this time, of course—and hire people to post them again.

But as it turned out, those people, who knows what was wrong with them, stole his newly written posters too. They probably didn't know the situation and had no idea who wrote them. In any case, they peeled them off first; it was no loss to them.

Xu Xinyue's tears finally fell. "Why, why!"

This not only wasted his promotional funds, but it also greatly diminished the effectiveness of his advertising, which had an even greater impact. He had no choice but to write a third version, this time intentionally writing it like a dog's scrawl and adding a note: "This calligraphy was not written by Ji Shuangyu. Sirs, please have mercy!".

The incident became so big and was so comical that the publicity actually reached a new level.

Furthermore, some calligraphy enthusiasts, amidst this atmosphere, heard that The Record of Sympathetic Joy opened with calligraphy as its backdrop, creating a brilliant effect in black and white, and they all ran to show their support.

The four words "appealing to all tastes" were truly being thoroughly embodied.

As a result, the Changle Theater, with its strong staying power, ended up selling tickets for a whole month, directly doubling the highest record in Jingcheng! The number of performances was already close to that of a popular, long-running play in Hushang!

The Oriole Song Stage, with its highly touted Hushang-style sets, ended its box office run after sixteen consecutive days of performances. If it weren't for the Changle Theater, this would have been considered an excellent result, definitely a resounding success for its debut in Jingcheng.

But they just had to choose to step on the Changle Theater to rise, directly confronting them.

Now, with the comparison, the Oriole Song Stage's loss in this grand rival performance was very obvious. Although its box office was high, it was derided as a circus.

......

Xu Xinyue, witnessing all this, felt as if he had fallen into the clouds.

It wasn't just today. From the very first day The Record of Sympathetic Joy was staged, every step he took felt like walking on clouds.

As an investor without a very high level of aesthetic appreciation, he was worried before the show. On the first day of its success, he thought, 'Oh, this is great, if we can perform for a few more days and let me lose gracefully, that'll be enough.'

And then later, how did the situation start to turn around? How come the queue across the street was no longer as long as ours? How come they were canceling their show?!

It was as if he had had a long dream. Xu Xinyue himself found it hard to believe.

Xu Xinyue, who had been peeking from the doorway, couldn't help but walk out for the first time. He saw that the playbill posted across the street had already changed its show. The staff over there all pretended the rival performance had never happened, keeping their heads down as they worked, too embarrassed to look in their direction...

They had admitted defeat!

"We won? We won??" Xu Xinyue rushed back into the Changle Theater ecstatically, announcing the good news to everyone. "The Oriole Song Stage really pulled their show! They've chickened out!!"

The people of the Changle Theater and the Hanxi Troupe all wore the same expression as him, their smiles more festive than during the New Year celebrations a few days ago.

It wasn't just happiness from defeating a competitor; an indescribable pride surged within them.

When the Oriole Song Stage announced with great fanfare that they were staging a rival play, who wasn't afraid? That was a master of Hushang-style sets, while our stage style was criticized by many as being short-lived. How many people in all of Jingcheng were optimistic about our chances?!

Now, they had turned the tables against the odds. The invincible Hushang-style stage mechanisms had met their Waterloo in Jingcheng, cut down by the Xieyi Style sets.

This represented not only their success and the success of the Xieyi Style, but also the revival of Huaxia's traditional aesthetic.

This awareness flowed through everyone's heart. Even if they couldn't clearly articulate it themselves, they could only scratch their heads and say: "See, I told you we weren't bad either."

"Director Ji, Director Ji!" Xu Xinyue saw Ji Shuangyu and called out to him, only then realizing that he had unknowingly shed a few tears. Even a tough guy has a tender side. "Whoo... who said the Xieyi Style wouldn't work? The Oriole Song Stage pulled their play! We won!"

Ji Shuangyu smiled too. "We won? That's great! Boss Rooster is giving out red envelopes!"

Xu Xinyue: "..."

Everyone, in unison: "That's great! Boss Rooster is giving out red envelopes!"

Xu Xinyue: "??? I never promised that!"

He first refuted the thing he cared about most, and only then did he say in horror, "What did you call me? Why do you all know? You've been doing this behind my back???"

However, no one heard his reply. With simple smiles, they all swarmed him. Ying Xiaonong locked Xu Xinyue in an iron-like grip, and the crowd submerged the boss, pulling money from his pockets.

Xu Xinyue's heart-wrenching screams could be faintly heard from the pile of people: "I don't have any... Don't... Don't!! You can't do this to me!! Don't tear my clothes!"

......

With the Oriole Song Stage's glum admission of defeat, many opera troupes in Jingcheng began to stir restlessly, planning how to follow the trend of the Changle Theater's sets.

As long as they jumped on the bandwagon early enough, they could definitely reap the benefits.

It could even be said that for the time being, no troupe dared to imitate the position of director, not only due to resistance from conservative forces, but also because the difficulty was simply too high!

—To be honest, although they verbally questioned whether a "director" was suitable for the opera stage, a conclusion yet to be reached, which actor didn't envy the Changle Theater?

In their theater, the stage mechanisms made way for the actors, and the sets elevated them. There was absolutely no need to drink for courage before going on stage.

Heaven have mercy, they were opera singers, not acrobats.

Was the lead actress of the Oriole Song Stage not beautiful, were her costumes not lovely? But why did Jin Que become famous while that lead actress did not? An expert could tell at a glance that the focus of the play was no longer on her!

But just look at Ying Xiaonong, and then look at Jin Que.

Two plays in a row, didn't that prove something? The once-fading Ying Xiaonong had made a comeback, even climbing to a higher position. The unknown Jin Que had become an overnight sensation.

On the stage of the Changle Theater, the lighting built momentum for them, the sets harmonized with them, and the story was adapted appropriately... If you had talent yourself, it would be difficult not to become famous.

Throughout Jingcheng, for a time, no one dared to say again that Hushang-style mechanisms were unparalleled in the world. And no one dared to rashly claim that Huaxia opera sets needed to be judged by Western standards!

......

The camera now turns back to Director Ji's private life. After The Record of Sympathetic Joy officially began its run, he relaxed quite a bit. Though the money wasn't in his hands yet, he was already strolling all over Jingcheng looking at courtyard houses. This one was beautiful, that one had a rich cultural heritage—there were almost too many choices.

At this time, Zhou Hanque had also drafted the contract. They arranged for this day, sending a driver to the Changle Theater to pick up Ji Shuangyu. They would all have a meal at Drunken West Wind Restaurant, sign the contract, and the two thousand yuan would belong to Ji Shuangyu.

The thought of a grand meal put Ji Shuangyu in an excellent mood. As he waited for the driver at the entrance after work, his mind was filled with "San Bu Zhan," "mutton hot pot," "clay pot shark fin soup," "amber lotus seeds," "five-spice donkey meat"...

With a boss paying, he allowed himself to dream extravagantly.

Just as he was daydreaming, a shadow fell over Ji Shuangyu. He looked up and saw a tall, thin, gaunt middle-aged man staring intently at him.

Ji Shuangyu: "?"

The other person spoke with a voice as faint as a thread: "I am Jiang Sihai. This round, I'll count it as your win. However, I will learn my lesson and place more importance on the actors. We have a long road ahead of us. The superiority of realism versus expressionism is not yet settled."

Ji Shuangyu was completely confused until the man mentioned realism and expressionism, at which point he had a sudden realization. "You're the set designer from the Oriole Song Stage!"

Jiang Sihai: "..."

Jiang Sihai: "I already told you I'm Jiang Sihai!"

Ji Shuangyu: "Ah, my apologies, I'd forgotten."

The boss had only mentioned this name once a long time ago, and later he was always referred to as "Shiguazi." Forget him, even the author wouldn't remember this person was named Jiang Sihai without doing a full-text search!

After competing for so long, this was the first time he had seen his counterpart in person.

Ji Shuangyu held no ill will toward him. The Hushang-style stage mechanisms were a trial-and-error process on the opera stage. Although the mechanisms couldn't be the main characters, it couldn't be said that the experience they gained was completely useless.

Among the Hushang-style set designers, many later became mainstays in the world of Huaxia opera stage design, and some later achieved great success in the world of magic... ahem.

Moreover, while a realistic style wasn't very suitable for the opera stage, it had a great future on the drama stage. Ji Shuangyu's own profession was a film director, but due to family influence, an open mind to learning, and other reasons, he had also dabbled in other art forms.

Therefore, Ji Shuangyu comforted him, "Hey, realism, expressionism, stage mechanisms, sets... these are all matters of art. Each has its own strengths. It's mainly the bosses who are making money; it has little to do with us workers. We should unite and demand a raise—what's your monthly salary?"

Jiang Sihai had come to make threats. A raise? He felt ashamed just taking his current monthly salary!

No matter how high the box office was, he had lost to a young brat. He had even lost face for the entire Hushang school. When he returned to Hushang in the future, he would have no honor and would likely be ridiculed by his peers. Therefore, he really couldn't go back without defeating this person.

He hadn't expected Ji Shuangyu to spout a bunch of nonsense and drag the conversation to a raise. He sure had the nerve; could he himself have such nerve?

Jiang Sihai snapped out a harsh threat: "Don't think you can keep winning just because you're good-looking! I will never admit defeat!"

With that, he flicked his sleeve and left.

Ji Shuangyu: "..."

'...Unfair! It's as if I won before because I was good-looking!'

Just as Ji Shuangyu was feeling speechless, the driver arrived.

The car took him to the commercial district and stopped in front of a restaurant. The sign read "Drunken West Wind." A waiter led Ji Shuangyu inside. In a private room, Zhou Siyin and Zhou Hanque were already waiting.

In fact, as soon as he entered, Ji Shuangyu had a faint feeling that something was wrong. The decor was somewhat Western-style, and there was even a hand-cranked elevator, which was rare at the time.

However, Ji Shuangyu still held onto a sliver of hope until he saw the two of them and Zhou Hanque spoke.

Zhou Hanque said with a smile, "Mr. Ji has arrived. I have checked and confirmed again, this is the most expensive and fashionable foreign food restaurant in Jingcheng. I imagine you eat plenty of traditional dishes normally, so today, why not try their specialty cheese and steak."

Ji Shuangyu froze. "Cheese? Steak? Isn't this 'Drunken West Wind'?!!"

Zhou Hanque said, bewildered, "Yes, it is Drunken West Wind."

Ji Shuangyu: "No, is it Drunken West Wind or Drunken East Wind..."

Zhou Hanque chuckled. "Many foreign food restaurants have names like this, since we're in Huaxia, after all. Have you ever had cheese? It has a bit of a smell, but it tastes good and is very distinctive."

Ji Shuangyu: ".........."

Fraud! This is brand name fraud!

He never had the time, nor did he think to ask, because he simply hadn't expected this place to serve Western food. There were many foreign hotels and Western restaurants, as well as places like this, called foreign food restaurants, opened by Chinese people after learning Western cooking techniques. In terms of naming, some were Westernized, but many also had names full of Huaxia color like this, catching a Ji Shuangyu who lacked certain common knowledge completely off guard...

Zhou Siyin had originally thought Ji Shuangyu would be happy today. It was the most expensive restaurant, after all.

He had been observing Ji Shuangyu and saw a flash of grievance in the other's beautiful eyes, which he quickly suppressed as he sat down. But this concealment looked like he was forcing a smile...?

Zhou Siyin: "??"

What does he want?? Even a place this expensive isn't good enough??

Ji Shuangyu: Swallows his aggrieved saliva. It's expensive, sure, but what's so special about it? How can steak be more special than five-spice donkey meat, wah!!

Author has something to say:

Zhou Siyin: Didn't you want the most expensive? Is it still not enough??

Ji Shuangyu: You don't understand my heart wuwuwuwuwu, go spend Valentine's Day by yourself.