Xu Xinyue always felt that Ji Shuangyu spoke strangely. Did he know what he was talking about or not?

Before speaking with him alone, he had asked Jiang Sanjin about this person's background. There didn't seem to be any major issues; he had grown up in Jiang Sanjin's alley. So, he temporarily suppressed his suspicions and said tentatively, "I want to know about the skeleton trick and the beheading trick."

The set designers in Hushang all had their own factions; getting in was easier said than done. At a time when old and new ideas were clashing, it was impossible for craftsmen to casually pass on their techniques.

They kept the details of their mechanisms very secret. After all, these were the means by which various troupes and theaters made money, unless you could poach their set designer with a high salary.

Xu Xinyue didn't have the money to poach anyone. Through an introduction, he had managed to learn some superficial techniques. As for such crucial mechanisms, how could he possibly know about them?

'Skeleton trick? Beheading trick?' Ji Shuangyu fell silent after hearing this. "Could you describe what these mechanisms look like and what effect they create?"

Xu Xinyue: "...Do you actually know or not??"

Ji Shuangyu: "Please tell me first. As I said, if I understand the scientific principles behind it, I can figure it out."

How could he possibly know what existed at this time? He figured he'd have Xu Xinyue describe it and see if he could figure it out. After all, judging from the stage design of various theaters these past few days, the technology was not very advanced.

Xu Xinyue had never attended a Western-style school, so his concept of what was scientific or not was vague. But since they had come this far, he had no choice but to describe it: "I saw a play, the one where Sun Wukong fights the White Bone Demon. The actor playing the White Bone Demon, when it was time for her to reveal her true form, really showed a skeleton body."

After listening, Ji Shuangyu said, "Oh." 'A chaotic dance of demons indeed,' he thought. "It's an X-ray."

Xu Xinyue: "Eck-es-ray? What?"

It was said that X-ray equipment was already available in the country at this time, but it was likely only in a few private hospitals, and the average person wasn't particularly familiar with it.

But when brought onto the stage, it became the skeleton trick.

"It's a Western medical technique that allows you to see a person's bones. If you ask around at the major hospitals, you'll surely find it." 'Hushang has it, so it should be here too,' Ji Shuangyu pointed out.

As for the beheading trick, Xu Xinyue hadn't even described it yet, but he had already guessed what it was. It was probably a magic trick that made it look to the audience like the person's head was detached from their body.

"Oh, oh!" Xu Xinyue vaguely remembered seeing a text advertisement in the newspaper about some hospital introducing a "bone-viewing technique," but he had never connected it with the skeleton on the stage. His blood boiled with excitement. This mechanism alone could attract a lot of attention!

Ji Shuangyu said earnestly, "But it's best not to get too greedy, boss. Don't you think that because there are too many mechanisms on stage, Boss Ying is a bit timid in his movements, focusing only on coordinating with the mechanisms and not really letting loose?"

"Now that you mention it... yes, a little." Before, everyone was a bit like someone lost in the mountains, unable to see the whole picture. Looking back now, it seemed everything was just as Ji Shuangyu had said.

Xu Xinyue suddenly remembered something and said, "Hey, you said before that no one was at fault, and that Ying Xiaonong was coordinating well!"

Ji Shuangyu: "Because I didn't dare to speak ill of him. He looks like he can fight, and he's so fierce."

Xu Xinyue: "..."

'He was clearly only fierce with me, not you...'

Seeing that Xu Xinyue seemed to be listening, Ji Shuangyu lowered his voice and said wisely, "Mechanisms may be eye-catching, but the play must be the foundation. Just like the size of the stage, 'appropriate' is best. If you just blindly pile up mechanisms, it's not adding flowers to a brocade, but putting the cart before the horse. Such art will not last long."

'Don't you see that by the 21st century, the trend of lantern-and-color plays has long become history, or rather, it has been integrated into the stage itself? Opera still focuses on its essence, having eliminated the mechanisms that were only for attracting attention.'

'As for those Western-style sets? They disappeared long ago!'

'There is good stage design, of course, but it must never overshadow the main performance, blindly creating a spectacle by piling in all sorts of magic tricks.'

'Even now, there are theaters that close down because they focus only on mechanisms and not the play. The audience has aesthetic standards, you know.'

Xu Xinyue shuddered. Pondering it carefully, he felt this young man made a lot of sense. A mere spectacle wouldn't last long!

Then, he said sincerely, "What the hell do I care. I want money."

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

'...How should I put this? Sure enough, the financial backers are the same in any era.'

'It feels so familiar. In modern times, he had excellent control over a film's art direction, yet he still had to satisfy the investors' love for "big scenes," ultimately achieving a perfect balance with art and earning a good reputation.'

For Xu Xinyue, he was just a businessman; reviving his business was more important. He had chosen Temple of the Spiritual Official to add mechanisms to, turning it into a gimmick play, precisely because it was easier to add gimmicks to a supernatural play and make it more spectacular.

Xu Xinyue added, "And it has to be cheap. I have no money."

Ji Shuangyu: "..."

'...That's a bit shameless of you!'

'Even if I told you the effect was created with an X-ray, you wouldn't be willing to rent the machine! You want to save money and have a spectacle, how can you have it both ways?'

'But, the first rule when facing an investor is: don't tell the truth.'

So Ji Shuangyu opened his mouth and said, "Rest assured, boss, I will absolutely use the most affordable price to make you the most spectacular theater in Jingcheng!"

Xu Xinyue looked at him curiously. His family owned a theater, and he had met many people growing up, yet he felt he had never seen anyone like this.

This extra's choice of words often struck him as absurd, yet they were extremely persuasive. He wasn't like the swindlers on the street who made empty promises, and Xu Xinyue couldn't help but be captivated, wanting to place his hopes in him...

Ji Shuangyu: 'This is all experience accumulated from years of bullshitting investors!'

After chatting a bit more and gradually calming down from his initial excitement, Xu Xinyue began to have second thoughts again. He was someone whose emotions fluctuated. "Listening to you, do you really think... it'll work?"

The play had already lost its audience. By just expanding the stage and changing the lighting and props, could it really... become popular?

He was quite uneasy and wanted some reassuring confirmation from Ji Shuangyu. He felt that Ji Shuangyu's words just now were very bluffing, so perhaps if he said it would work, he would calm down.

Ji Shuangyu: "If I say it'll work, can you give me a red envelope?"

Xu Xinyue thought for a moment: "Forget it. I think everything is destined by fate."

Ji Shuangyu: "..."

......

Boss Rooster was truly stingy. He refused to pay right away, saying he needed to see the final effect and that the money had to be saved for expanding the stage and buying new sets.

Although Xu Xinyue was stingy, Ji Shuangyu had asked around and found that the Xu father and son had always had their principles. They didn't arbitrarily deduct money from the troupes, otherwise, no troupe would have cooperated with them for so long.

At any rate, Xu Xinyue advanced two packets of coppers to Ji Shuangyu, lest the man starve to death before the play's remake was a success.

Even for these two packets of coppers, Xu Xinyue had Ji Shuangyu sign a document, with Ying Xiaonong as a witness, stating that it was an advance payment and if he messed things up, all the coppers had to be returned, and so on.

Ji Shuangyu quickly pocketed the money and thanked him repeatedly. Seeing some pastries on Xu Xinyue's desk, he casually grabbed two of the cheapest-looking steamed buns.

Before Xu Xinyue could stop him, he cried out in pain, "My pastries!"

There was no one else in the theater as tactless as Ji Shuangyu, taking Rooster Xu's pastries to eat.

This was truly like plucking a feather from an iron rooster's rear. Although Xu Xinyue was reluctant, angry, and anxious, he held back because he still needed Ji Shuangyu for the design, and merely put away the remaining pastries.

Ji Shuangyu said brazenly, "Thank you, boss."

He ran into Ying Xiaonong again on his way out.

Ying Xiaonong asked him how much money the boss had given him for the redesign.

Ji Shuangyu held up a palm. Fifty yuan.

Ying Xiaonong was shocked. "That little?!"

How could that be enough? Just painting the scenic flats would cost far more than that. Not to mention, he also had to buy embroidered silk and other materials. These weren't disposable items and would be reused in the future. But, you still had to buy them first, right?

Could it be that the situation was already so dire? Ying Xiaonong asked, "Boss, have we lost all the money we earned from the previous few shows, with only this little left?"

Xu Xinyue: "No, but this is all I'm willing to spend."

Ying Xiaonong: "..."

Xu Xinyue added defensively, "Besides, he agreed to it!"

Ji Shuangyu had a completely harmless look on his face.

'Of course. No matter what Xu Xinyue requested, he would agree to it first. Anyway, if he ran out of money later, he could just go back to the investor for more. This was a director's basic skill!'

Besides, he had no intention of using Western-style scenic flats, so that major expense didn't need to be factored in at all.

Ying Xiaonong sighed. He didn't expect Ji Shuangyu would dare to take on this job. He praised Ji Shuangyu again, "So young, and so good-looking."

After two seconds, he probably felt that wasn't right and hastily added, "And capable too!"

The others: "..."

"Thank you, Boss Ying." 'In any case, it was still a compliment,' Ji Shuangyu thought as he bowed his head honestly in thanks.

Unexpectedly, Ying Xiaonong happened to take a step forward. Ji Shuangyu's felt hat caught on his stage beard, and before he could react, Ying Xiaonong flicked his head. Ji Shuangyu's hat fell off, and the cloth wrapped around his head came loose, letting his shoulder-length hair fall down.

Ying Xiaonong's expression changed instantly. Following his lead, the entire backstage area gradually fell silent, staring blankly at Ji Shuangyu's hair.

Ji Shuangyu: '...Damn!'

Actually, chemical hair dyes had already been invented by this time.

The problem was, before Ji Shuangyu arrived, he had been celebrating a success. Egged on by the crew members who wanted to see if the director's handsome face could pull off the look, he had whimsically satisfied them by bleaching and dyeing his hair.

Moreover, it wasn't a common color like brown or yellow, which could at least be explained away as malnutrition. He had bleached it to a niche silver-gray, a shade that the chemical dyes of this era could not achieve.

His features were purely of Huaxia ethnicity, rather delicate and elegant; he was often mistaken for a girl as a child. And although his hair was silver, it wasn't like an albino's, with a flushed face and eyebrows and eyelashes that were so white as to look pathologically abnormal.

When he first transmigrated, the original "Ji Shuangyu's" younger siblings were startled. After bluffing his way past the children, he had kept his hair wrapped up, taking great care to hide it when changing into his extra's costume to avoid attracting attention and causing trouble.

Director Ji had good features, and he could indeed pull off this look.

But it was a rare sight in the mortal world. The white strands of hair fell beside his cheeks, his glass-like eyes shimmered, creating a perfect atmosphere. Beyond being handsome, it added a touch of unearthly strangeness, making him extremely captivating at first glance.

Ying Xiaonong, who had seen plenty of stage makeup, gasped.

Jiang Sanjin was the first to snap out of it. He asked, "Your hair wasn't like this before. H-how did it turn white overnight? Shuangyu, what happened to you?"

Legends told stories of beauties and famous generals whose hair turned white overnight. It was said that Wu Zixu's hair turned white overnight when he was crossing the Zhaoguan Pass. But in reality, who had ever seen a full head of black hair turn white in an instant?

'And it's so evenly white, and quite good-looking...'

Most of the people here worked in the theater and were familiar with opera. For a moment, their minds were filled with romantic notions.

Ji Shuangyu was also good-looking. Could it be that he had a lover separated from him by death, whom he could not be with, and had grieved until his hair turned white?

'Oh, and I heard his parents passed away. Or maybe it's due to his filial piety?'

Ji Shuangyu could see everyone's wandering gazes and had no idea what they were imagining. He didn't want to seem too strange, so he quickly put his hat back on and said solemnly, "I'm just so poor that my craving for meat turned my hair white!"