Chapter 22

“Sigh...” Zhou Siyin sat in his office, shook his head, and kneaded the space between his eyebrows. There were too many things to do.

As the person in charge of Kunlun Bookstore, there were too many things to worry about. Kunlun Bookstore and its affiliated library, in Jingcheng alone, not including the branch libraries, had several thousand employees, including the manual workers.

Just for the time being, he had to replace an incompetent editor-in-chief, formulate business plans, scold Zhou Ruojuan, and prepare for the birthdays of Taishang Laojun, the Nine Heaven Xuannü, Guanyin, Samantabhadra Bodhisattva, and the Great Emperor Zhenwu in the second lunar month...

So busy!!

“General Manager, a Mr. Ji Shuangyu is here to see you.” His assistant said, lightly knocking on the open door.

Zhou Siyin was a little surprised. He hadn't made an appointment with Ji Shuangyu. Although he had indeed been planning to look for Ji Shuangyu today, it seemed they were on the same wavelength. 'No, that's not the right phrase to use... No, wait, hmm, I shouldn't be so rigid with my word choice...'

“Please show him in.” Zhou Siyin took out a box from his drawer. Underneath the box was Ji Shuangyu's manuscript. After opening the box, a row of pen nibs was revealed. These had been sent by Zhou Hanque.

Her fountain pen factory was in Jinling. Recently, she had been urging the old masters and engineers there to step up their experiments and try to produce pen nibs. This batch was newly made. Originally, Zhou Siyin had planned to bring the nibs to Ji Shuangyu for a test write and to discuss the copybook at the same time.

Ji Shuangyu was led in, and employees turned their heads to look at him all along the way.

Around the Lantern Festival, who in all of Jingcheng didn't know of The Record of Sympathetic Joy? And in all of Kunlun Bookstore, who didn't recognize the calligrapher of the Calligraphy Education masthead? So beautiful... ah no, so talented.

And he was their General Manager's good friend.

'Hmm, it must be tough for him, being friends with the General Manager. The General Manager's temper... he just replaced an editor-in-chief today.'

Ji Shuangyu went all the way to Zhou Siyin's office and greeted him in front of the assistant, “Hey! Xiao Zhou!”

Assistant: “!!!”

Zhou Siyin: “.........”

Zhou Siyin slowly glanced at his assistant.

'You really can't judge a book by its cover.' The petrified assistant quickly closed the office door. He didn't even dare to pour tea, just lowered his head, said, “My apologies,” and scurried out.

The last time they parted, Ji Shuangyu had secretly seen him off, leaving Zhou Siyin in a strange mood. After thinking it over, he had prepared to offer a relatively amiable smile this time, but it froze on his face.

“You are not allowed to call me Xiao Zhou,” Zhou Siyin warned. “I paid for it!”

'He thought, the renewal can't expire so quickly!'

“Well, I can't just keep calling you Mr. Zhou or Boss Zhou, can I? Have you forgotten? You're my best friend!” Ji Shuangyu said with great emotion.

Zhou Siyin: “I'm your richest friend, aren't I...”

“Close enough.” Ji Shuangyu took a pen nib. “Is this a newly ground nib?” He tried writing with it a few times and felt that after several modifications, it was getting close to the ideal writing feel.

After talking about the fountain pen and the copybook, Ji Shuangyu finally remembered his purpose for coming. “Actually, I came here today to ask for a favor—friend.”

He grabbed Zhou Siyin's hand.

“Hiss—!!” Zhou Siyin sucked in a sharp breath, nearly jumping out of his chair.

Ji Shuangyu: “??”

Ji Shuangyu: “...Are you really that easily startled? Brother Baoduo.”

'Heaven is my witness, he really hadn't meant to startle him this time. He just held his hand. It wasn't the first time they had shaken hands, yet his reaction was so extreme this time that it almost startled him too.'

Zhou Siyin: “.........”

He also felt he had lost face. He usually wasn't like this; it must be because Ji Shuangyu had startled him repeatedly. Once his heartbeat returned to normal, he said coldly, “If you have something to say, just say it.”

“It's like this, my younger brother and sister are both out of school, but it's so hard to get into one. You must know more about it, so could you help out and give me an introduction?” Ji Shuangyu said.

He was here precisely for Lei-zi and Feifei's schooling. Before the New Year, Ji Shuangyu had bought them elementary school textbooks. Although the two of them said school was too expensive, they had nearly worn out the textbooks reading them at home... Or perhaps it was because Ji Shuangyu said they could only live in a new house if they studied hard. In any case, they were working very hard.

Ji Shuangyu tested them and felt they were familiar with the material and should be able to enter school. Even if they couldn't keep up with their peers, they could start in a lower grade. The learning atmosphere at school was also better than at home.

“Education is a crucial matter.” Zhou Siyin mentally reviewed his options. The current system was gender-segregated schooling. “My family sponsors the Jingming Private School, which has affiliated middle and elementary schools for both boys and girls. The teachers are all talented and virtuous. You can take a look there first. You've met the principal, Mr. Sun.”

Ji Shuangyu was a bit lost: “Who?”

Zhou Siyin reminded him, “He bought the couplet from you for seventy yuan...”

Ji Shuangyu: “Oh, oh! It's my good friend Mr. Sun, of course I remember!”

Zhou Siyin: “...”

'So my title of 'best friend' really isn't anything special...'

Zhou Siyin: “There are several other good schools as well. You can take your brother and sister to see them all, and I will make the arrangements.”

Ji Shuangyu thanked him repeatedly. He knew he could count on Zhou Siyin.

......

The next day, the weather was clear, and Zhou Siyin accompanied Ji Shuangyu and his younger siblings to visit the schools.

Although they were looking at schools for Lei-zi and Feifei, they couldn't just leave Lulu and Baozi at home alone. So, as Zhou Siyin sat waiting in the back seat, Ji Shuangyu opened the car door and shoved a child in first. “Catch!”

Zhou Siyin caught Baozi, who had been unceremoniously tossed at him: “...”

While the other younger siblings were arguing over who would sit with Ji Shuangyu, Ji Leizong had already very sensibly climbed into the front passenger seat.

“Alright, alright, everyone get in.” Ji Shuangyu sat down next to Zhou Siyin with Feifei on his left and Lulu on his right. The cars of that era weren't particularly spacious, and the back seat was instantly packed full.

Zhou Siyin: “...”

'He had never been in such a crowded car...'

Ji Shuangyu poked his head out from behind the children. “Let's go!”

Driver Hu coughed. “Master, should I get another car?”

'Get another car? Who's getting out? Me?'

Zhou Siyin calmly moved Baozi, who was waving his hands and trying to pinch his face, a little further away. He said to Driver Hu with a deadpan expression, “This is fine. To the school.”

Driver Hu: “Yes... pfft.”

......

With Zhou Siyin personally bringing Ji Shuangyu, who was also a calligrapher highly regarded by Zou Muyun, Principal Sun of Jingming School naturally gave them a warm reception. He called out Ji Shuangyu's moniker, saying with mock complaint, “Gourd Elder, you could have just come to me directly. Next time, there's no need for Baoduo to make arrangements.”

Jingming School was sponsored by the Zhou family to begin with, and with the influence of the Changle Theater, Principal Sun spoke to Ji Shuangyu like an old friend as he showed him around the school.

The cafeteria, the study hall, the library, the laboratory...

Everything was indeed very well-equipped, especially the bright and spacious classrooms where students were already studying. Both Ji Leizong and Ji Feifei loved what they saw and were reluctant to leave.

“Why don't you let your brother and sister sit in on a class and get a feel for it?” Principal Sun suggested with a smile.

“I think that's a good idea.” Ji Shuangyu sent the two of them to the boys' and girls' classrooms respectively. They were given stools to sit on and audit the class. Although they might not be at the same level as the other students, the main purpose was to experience the teachers and the learning atmosphere.

The students in the class were very curious to see someone suddenly join them, but their attitude was friendly, without any exclusion or malice.

Especially towards Ji Feifei.

The number of female students was still very small, less than a tenth of the number of male students. The girls' classes were very small, and a transfer student was even rarer. Everyone stared at the new companion who had arrived. If they weren't in class, they would have already started talking to her.

This was the first time Ji Feifei had participated in this kind of group life, and the first time she had been stared at by so many people. No one was ignoring her! She herself found it incredible. She looked down at her hands. “You can see me...”

Ji Shuangyu: “...”

Ji Shuangyu: “Don't say things like that in the future. What if you scare people...” 'Especially your brother's best friend.'

He held Baozi in one arm and Lulu by the hand with the other, watching from outside the classroom for a while before leaving with some peace of mind.

Principal Sun then took him on a tour to boast about the school's book collection. It was clear he wasn't just showing off to a student's parent, but also because Zhou Siyin was there. He was showcasing his achievements and, while at it, trying to ask Zhou Siyin for more books...

In the open area in front of the library, upperclassmen were holding a club activity.

“Hehe, this is one of our school's clubs, the Spring Thunder Drama Club. The students write and perform civilized new plays together. It's not just teachers and students from Jingming; it's a joint effort of five schools. It's very innovative, and it's also the first time female students have participated,” Principal Sun said with a proud look.

“Oh, right, didn't they also perform at the charity fundraising show the other day?” Ji Shuangyu recalled.

Principal Sun's smile suddenly became a little unnatural. It was precisely because no one was watching the students' performance that day that they had invited the Hanxi Troupe to help out. “That's right. This, uh, new drama is different from old drama. Its main purpose is to open minds, and students can also practice their public speaking skills... cough.”

Ji Shuangyu didn't look disdainful. He smiled. “That's true. Extracurricular activities are good for the mind and body.”

Principal Sun suddenly thought about how the Spring Thunder Drama Club had been clamoring for improvements and to set a new trend lately, and also remembered Ji Shuangyu's brief comments on the history of Western drama during the charity performance. An idea struck him. “Gourd Elder, why don't we... go take a look together?”

Ji Shuangyu had no objection. He might as well see how their student clubs were organized. He had just heard that the school had many cultural and sports clubs and even organized events like sports meets.

The students of the new drama club were conducting a rehearsal on campus, with students performing and students watching.

The new drama, formed in imitation of Western theater, was in fact the primitive form of Huaxia spoken drama.

—Currently, when speaking of new drama, there were actually several different forms if subdivided.

There was modern new drama, which referenced Western sets and was adapted from Huaxia opera.

There were hybrids of opera and spoken drama, which still contained many singing parts, and some even retained role types like sheng and dan.

And then there were the students' plays, which were a more thorough imitation of the Western style, with more speech-like content and fewer songs. They believed the first two types were not authentic new drama.

There were also divisions between the local school and the foreign school, and so on.

In short, it was all still in an exploratory phase, merely the embryonic form of modern Huaxia spoken drama.

These new dramas had been popular for a period because they adopted the novel Western forms. But later, as local opera also learned to use set mechanisms, and investors in new drama cared more about commercial melodrama while neglecting the plot, they gradually lost their luster.

The new dramas performed by students, although closest to modern spoken drama, were performed by amateurs who emphasized promoting ideas, often inserting speeches, and lacked entertainment value. Moreover, it was currently popular for major universities across the country to perform foreign plays, which was the least commercial pursuit.

When it came to the origin of new drama and the largest talent pool, it was still in Hushang. Just like with the mechanically-enhanced set dramas.

The standard elsewhere was more average. If the student drama clubs in Hushang still had an audience, then Jingming's club found it very difficult to attract interest. Their attendance at the previous charity fundraiser was dismal, and they were even attacked by old drama enthusiasts for being a clumsy imitation of Western theater.

Ji Shuangyu watched for a while. It was similar to the snippet he had seen last time. After all, they were still in the exploratory stage and had not yet established a complete system. Everyone lacked theoretical knowledge of drama. For example, in terms of acting, it was either typecasting or simple imitation of external appearances.

The old drama enthusiasts' words were harsh, but their imitation was indeed too crude and didn't suit the local context.

On stage, the students were performing a self-adapted and self-directed Western play, Lorraine's Coin. The students wore makeup to give them deep-set eyes and high noses and were dressed in Western clothes. After a scene ended, the students and teachers saw Principal Sun and gathered around to greet him.

Principal Sun introduced Zhou Siyin and Ji Shuangyu to them.

They didn't react much to Zhou Siyin, but upon seeing Ji Shuangyu, everyone in the drama club showed a strange expression.

Hmm... Although old drama was influenced by new drama, imitating its stage mechanisms, and some new dramas also took the path of opera reform, in the final analysis, the two were different art forms.

Old drama required singing skills and martial arts; all singing, recitation, acting, and acrobatics followed fixed patterns. New drama advocated natural movement, requiring no special training, and even amateurs could go on stage.

Everyone in Jingcheng now knew that Ji Shuangyu was the first to advocate for the Xieyi Style in old drama stage design, removing excessive Western elements.

And their Spring Thunder Drama Club belonged to the school that most thoroughly imitated Western theater. What they had just performed was a famous overseas work...

If Ji Shuangyu could still find some common ground with the people from the Oriole Song Stage, then he and their Spring Thunder Club were complete opposites.

The supervising teacher of the Spring Thunder Drama Club, who was also the club president and de facto general director, Yu Jianqing, saw the principal and said excitedly, “Principal Sun, I'm planning for the students to hold another public performance. New drama is what we hope to use to enlighten the public and open their minds. How can we do that if we don't perform off-campus often? What do you think?”

Principal Sun nodded. “A public performance isn't out of the question, but at the last charity show, there were very few people who could appreciate it...”

Furthermore, a public performance required funding, a venue, costumes, and publicity. In the past, the various schools would jointly allocate as much as two thousand yuan to the Spring Thunder Club each time, and it never made a profit, though that didn't matter. The problem was that if no one watched, what was the difference between performing on-campus or off? Even with public performances, the audience often consisted only of students and intellectuals, becoming narrower and narrower.

Yu Jianqing had indeed thought about this deeply. There were very few professional spoken drama talents in all of Huaxia right now. He had taught himself by reading a few foreign books and had been thinking these past few days that it wouldn't do if no one came to watch.

He said in a deep voice, “That's right. We have also studied this seriously and have come to deeply realize that we cannot be too detached from the masses. We hope to attract more ordinary citizens to come and watch. We are too lacking in stage knowledge. For example, in our rehearsals of classical Western-dress plays, we don't have enough understanding of the customs and atmosphere of that era. With insufficient research, how can we call it realism? We really need a professional in this area to enhance the stage design in order to attract an audience.”

As he spoke, he glanced at Ji Shuangyu. It wasn't for any other reason, but in fact, he had also gotten inspiration from Ji Shuangyu. Didn't they all say that Ji Shuangyu's stage design had saved the Changle Theater?

'If we advertise a faithful restoration of foreign classical scenes, costumes, and customs, shouldn't the box office be better than previous public performances?'

“We've contacted a foreign stage designer. If he joins us to provide guidance, it will surely be a great boost. This designer only requires a monthly salary of eight hundred yuan, plus a car for transportation,” Yu Jianqing said carefully.

The two thousand yuan budget had always been sufficient each time, as all departments were handled by club members. But if they were to hire an outside designer, it wouldn't be enough.

Principal Sun: “...”

'No matter how carefully you phrase it, you can't describe eight hundred yuan with the word 'only'!'

'Many of the teachers and students at their school came from wealthy families. They had a tendency to not treat money as a serious matter.'

And Ji Shuangyu, who had been listening with a polite guest-like smile, also changed his expression. Eight hundred?!

'Damn, foreigners really know how to earn money!'

His salary had risen again and again, but he was still only making two hundred and eighty a month at the Changle Theater! And Xu Xinyue still howled every day about how the theater was small and couldn't afford to pay more!

Yu Jianqing smiled bitterly. “Eight hundred yuan is the minimum, and that's a discount I got through my family's connections.”

Ji Shuangyu gave them a look of disappointment, which they found baffling.

Zhou Siyin mused, “If you can learn from it, and the public performance is a success, then it's indeed not a loss.” The Zhou family, as sponsors, was involved in all the school's finances, so it wasn't meddling for him to speak up.

Principal Sun was getting eager. He tentatively asked Ji Shuangyu, “What do you think, Mr. Ji?”

Everyone thought he was just being polite. Why ask an old drama director about a new drama problem? It had always been old drama professionals who went to consult new drama experts on reforming their own stage designs.

Ji Shuangyu had been holding back for a long time, so long his eyes had turned red. The moment Principal Sun asked, he opened his mouth and said, “You'd be better off hiring me than some foreigner!”

Everyone: “???”

'Do you know what you're saying...'

The standard-bearer of the old drama Xieyi Style, who had just battled with the Hushang school that championed realistic sets and mechanisms, and had even openly accepted many apprentices, looking like he was about to establish his own school... an old drama director, was standing here telling them to hire him to design for a new drama??

Ji Shuangyu's figure seemed to grow taller inch by inch in everyone's eyes. He said in a clear voice, “If you want to be popular with the masses, then you absolutely shouldn't hire a foreigner to stage a famous Western work. Since this is Huaxia vernacular drama, it should be rooted in Huaxia soil, so that it won't be ill-suited to the local context. Besides, the most special thing about new drama, apart from the stage mechanisms, is that it's closer to life than traditional opera, without so many stylized movements. Your acting just now was still too exaggerated, too unrealistic!”

Everyone: “............”

The most confusing event of the year had just occurred. The founder of the Xieyi Style was lecturing us that our movements were too unrealistic...!! And he even climbed onto the stage himself, while holding a baby!

Author has something to say:

Zhou Siyin: Why is my courage getting smaller and smaller?? So strange!