Xiao Changyu wiped out the traces of life in the wing room without a trace and then walked back to the front yard to see Mo Songyan, whose head was wrapped in gauze, holding an axe, standing tall and straight with graceful movements, swinging and chopping in one breath, indescribable masculinity… and strangeness…
In a daze, Mo Songyan noticed his gaze and instantly revealed a mouthful of white teeth. He also wiped the sweat off his face and said, “Is there a place to rest at the back?”
Xiao Changyu nodded and silently picked up a stack of firewood and walked to the stove to start the fire.
Just as he touched the flint, Mo Songyan’s voice rang out in his ears once again: “What did we say? We’ve agreed that I’ll do these rough works, why don’t you ever listen? Let me do it. I have only a few minor injuries, so it’s not like I can’t do these.”
While speaking, he stretched his hands under Xiao Changyu’s armpits and lifted him up, then ignored his angry expression, pulled him aside, and said, “If you’re not at ease, just stand here and watch. How can I let you come here when there is smoke and fire? Although I used to have a bad temper, I wouldn’t let a thin and weak man like you endure this…”
Thin and weak?
Although he stuttered, he was still a 1.78-meter tall man. His muscles are thin but well-developed. Even if he can’t be compared with Mo Songyan’s strong physique of 1.9 meters, but he can’t be described as thin and weak either, right?
Moreover, this person is three years younger than him…
Why does a person who is younger than him say that he is thin and weak?
He held onto the door frame to steady his feet, waved away Mo Songyan’s arms, raised his head, and glared at him with anger on his face. Unexpectedly, he noticed the gauze on Mo Songyan’s head, and the anger in his heart immediately dissipated by half.
Forget it. After all, he was beaten like this just to save him. If he is willing to do the hard work, then let him do it. He will boil medicine for him.
So he straightened his clothes and made a gesture of invitation.
Mo Songyan’s almond eyes smiled into crescents, and he patted Xiao Changyu’s head as if to comfort his younger brother and said, “That’s right. As a person, you should know how to show weakness at the right time, which often brings unexpected gains…”
For Mo Songyan, although Xiao Changyu is actually older than him, if it comes to his appearance, he looks more like a younger brother to him. It’s unclear whether he was born like this or if he has a secret to keep his youth. Anyway, Xiao Changyu looked very young, and his short stature naturally gave him a desire to protect the child.
After saying that, he turned and walked towards the stove, squatted down, and looked at the pile of firewood and fell into deep thought: Flint…how should I use it?
He gripped the flint and frantically recalled the historical articles he usually read in his mind.
Just as he was thinking hard, Xiao Changyu, who had not seen the smoke rising for a long time, came over and saw Mo Songyan holding the flint with a serious face, as if he had a grudge against the flint.
Xiao Changyu sighed secretly. As expected, he knew that this big guy would not be useful.
He squatted down, snatched the flint from Mo Songyan’s hand, and scraped the groove a few times with the scraper. Then sparks appeared, and the firewood was successfully ignited.
Mo Songyan, who was standing beside him, didn’t feel depressed at all. Instead, he praised, “Capable ah, how do you know how to use this? It is actually supposed to be used this way. I’ve learned it. You teach me this time, I’ll do it myself in the future. What do we need to do next?”
Xiao Changyu ignored him and stood up to put medicine into the earthen jar, adding an appropriate amount of water to it. Finally, he placed the jar on the stove and squatted on the side, staring at the fire.
Mo Songyan was bored by the side and started chatting aimlessly. How do you know this place? Do you know where there are many people in this place? How do you know how to do these things? Are you born mute or become mute later in life…
With his questioning, Xiao Changyu gradually moved away from him until finally Mo Songyan asked him, “Do you know about Xiangsheng?”
Xiao Changyu stopped and turned his head to look at the other party.
Xiangsheng—he had actually heard of the word before, and it left a deep impression on him. At the time…
But thinking of that person, he finally shook his head and pretended not to know.
Mo Songyan fell into deep thought because of his shaking head: Xiao Changyu’s lack of knowledge of Xiangsheng did not mean that there was no Xiangsheng in this dynasty; after all, Xiao Changyu was not the kind of playboy who would wander around all day. It was normal for him to have something he didn’t know.
It seems that he still needs to visit and investigate.
If there was no Xiangsheng in this dynasty, then it would be a good opportunity for Mo Songyan to show his talents!
Starting from scratch, start a new genre of Xiangsheng, and a decade later, become a master and recruit a few apprentices. It’s so delightful to just think about it!
……
The next day, in a bustling corner of the commercial street, stood a beautiful tall man with gauze wrapped around his head and a broken cymbal ringing in his hand, shouting, “Take a look, take a look, take a look, it’s a good idea to take advantage of a bargain. You can make a fortune in just half an incense stick of time. You say you are coming, or coming, or coming?!”
This series of shouts attracted many people to gather around. Mo Songyan then put down his cymbal and picked up the prop he had made at night—the allegro playing rhythmically: “Listen to what I say when the bamboo clappers sound. I am the most idle person on the whole street. I have nothing to do but talk. I promise to make you laugh!”
As Mo Songyan spoke, he observed the audience’s reactions.
Single Xiangsheng performance is the most difficult to grasp; after all, there are no people to cooperate with him to shake the burden together. Therefore, he chose this slightly lively form of fast-paced Xiangsheng with humorous language and a strong rhythm. At least it can make a few people laugh, right?
With his lifelike performance, the onlookers gradually began to smile, some chuckled softly, some smiled slightly, and some burst into hearty laughter. Mo Songyan saw hope in those smiles—
There’s hope!
Thanks to his efforts, in less than half an hour, some of the audience were already laughing so hard that they were rolling on the ground.
Seeing that the momentum was good, Mo Songyan worked harder to tell jokes. When the clapper finished, he concluded, “Don’t just laugh, everyone, remember the lessons learned, there is no such thing as a free lunch, you have to work hard to get rich!”
“How’s it, everyone? Half an incense stick of time has passed. Have you all made a fortune?” He arched his hand and asked the audience.
The onlookers were puzzled and asked, “Made a fortune where?”
Mo Songyan struck the cymbals with a “duang~” sound and said with a smile on his face, “Your smile is worth a thousand gold!”
Everyone was stunned at first, then they looked at each other, and finally there was sparse applause.
Mo Songyan took the opportunity to say, “If you find this interesting, please give me a bite of food. I will thank you on behalf of my husband!”
Upon hearing these words, the people who had originally applauded instantly changed their expressions and said, “After listening for a long time, it sounded like some jugglery to beg for money. I have to say that these street performers really have a lot of tricks up their sleeves!”
“You still have to say? Other street performers at least perform something, but he just talks and wants us to pay for his services?!”
“For what reason?!”
“That’s right, for what reason?”
“You made it sound nice. What a smile worth a thousand gold? I even laughed and showed it to you. Why would I still have to give you money?”
“That’s right. You have a husband, and we don’t? We have a wife and children. Do you think it’s so easy to cheat people out of money these days?”
“You are a big man, why don’t you do something else instead of talking nonsense and trying to take a shortcut here? It really makes your parents embarrassed.”
……
A group of people said one thing after another, saying that Mo Songyan was a charlatan who was worthless and would only seek personal gain. If this had happened to an ordinary person, they would have been so ashamed and angry that they would either look for a hole to hide in or start a loud quarrel, but Mo Songyan was not annoyed at all.
He is thick-skinned.
This is also the result of years of practice. If one wants to perform Xiangsheng well, one really can’t care about their face. On stage, the supporting performers and comedians belittle each other, and the audience below is just laughing. Can you care about your face?
As the saying goes, a shameless person is invincible.
Mo Songyan just stood there and listened to the group of people complaining, and as he listened, he even started chatting with them—
Mo Songyan: “Have you never seen this kind of performance?”
Audience A: “I’ve never seen. Street performers all show off their unique skills, such as crushing rocks with their chests and breathing fire dragons from their mouths. Who stands and talks like you?”
Mo Songyan: “I also learned this from my master, and I also didn’t know that it was possible before. To be honest, my ability is actually suitable for finding a stage. I speak on the stage, and everyone sits below the stage, drinking tea and eating snacks while listening.”
Audience B: “You even have a master? What kind of unreliable master teaches this to people?”
Mo Songyan said, “Hey, don’t say it like that. You’ll know later. My skills can attract people from all over the world.”
Audience B: “Boasting can’t pay tax. How can you be so capable? I don’t believe it!”
Audience C: “According to what you said, you are almost like a storyteller ah, they’re all listening while drinking tea…”
Mo Songyan: “It’s similar, but also different. The storyteller sits and tells stories, while I stand and tell stories. I can also tell stories with several people at the same time.”
Audience D: “Several people talk together? How do you say it then?”
Mo Songyan: “You will know later…”
Audience E: “If you want to stand on stage and talk, I’ll give you a suggestion: find a teahouse, borrow the venue of the teahouse, just like the storyteller, and you guys can split the money you earned.”
Mo Songyan: “Yo, you’re giving me ideas, which means what I’m saying is okay, right?”
Audience E: “What you said is quite funny, but who would pay for a laugh? Isn’t that stupid?”
……
Everyone was chatting enthusiastically, and the group of people who had looked down on him just now were now very friendly to him, almost calling him brother.
Mo Songyan also understood that everything is difficult at the beginning, so he didn’t care about the defeat in the first battle. He just needed to learn from the experience and keep trying.
If it doesn’t work on the first day, there’s still the second day, the third day, and the nth day. As long as he works hard, he will succeed sooner or later.
Besides, he also learned a lot of information this time. He knew that there was no art of Xiangsheng in this dynasty, and he also knew that storytellers were quite respected here. He also knew that the people here usually go to teahouses to drink tea, listen to music, and listen to stories.
Of course, there are other ways of entertainment, but Mo Songyan is not interested in those and only listens to a general idea.
After everyone dispersed, he was thinking about Xiao Changyu and couldn’t wait to go back. However, when he opened the door, he saw that Xiao Changyu was not the only one in the broken-down temple…
