With Jin Feng saying this, Chen Wenyuan’s mouth was completely sealed.
“Sir, this… how can I ever repay you?”
Chen Wenyuan felt the silver was burning his hand.
“If Young Master does not mind, come with me to Xihe Bay. I will build a stage. You write the stories, Miss Qingyuan performs. What do the two of you think?”
Seeing Qingyuan leading the girls in dance rehearsals, Jin Feng had this idea.
Though it was only vague at first.
Now meeting Chen Wenyuan, Jin Feng’s idea immediately became clear.
The Great Kang had few entertainment options. If they could rehearse stage plays, it would certainly attract large audiences.
Whether it made money was not important. The key was that it could unite people’s hearts.
At any time, the hearts of the people are the most crucial.
When people are united, even Mount Tai can be overturned.
When hearts are divided, no matter how many troops or how fine the weapons, it is all in vain.
“This proposal from sir is wonderful. This humble girl is more than willing!”
Qingyuan quickly expressed agreement.
Chen Wenyuan actually had no relatives left in Xichuan. Upon hearing this, he felt tempted, yet did not decide immediately.
After hesitating, he said, “S… sorry, sir. I… I want to discuss it with Xiaolian!”
“That is only proper.” Jin Feng smiled. “I imagine Young Master is already impatient to redeem Miss Xiaolian, right? Then hurry along. I will have someone drive a carriage to take you into the city!”
On ordinary days, Chen Wenyuan would certainly feel embarrassed to trouble Jin Feng.
But at this moment, his mind was full of redeeming Xiaolian, so he did not refuse. Instead, he bowed deeply to Jin Feng. “Many thanks, sir!”
Jin Feng smiled and called Big Liu to arrange the carriage.
Qingyuan also took the remaining manuscripts to reply to those scholars.
Knowing Qingyuan was going too, Chen Wenyuan did not dare sit inside the carriage. Instead, he sat with the escort in the coachman’s position.
Generally, when redeeming a brothel girl, even with sufficient silver, the madam would make difficulties.
Some excessive madams would even publicise it widely, telling guests that a certain girl was about to be redeemed. Those wanting her services should seize the opportunity.
This marketing tactic was similar to the retirement works in some country from Jin Feng’s previous life. Though simple, it was very effective.
Many guests originally uninterested in the girl might nominate her because of it.
But the madam of Hanxiang Tower knew Chen Wenyuan now had Jin Feng as a backer. Moreover, Xiaolian was not a top courtesan. The madam dared not cause any trouble at all. She very readily had the indenture contract fetched.
One guest had already nominated Xiaolian and wanted to make a fuss upon hearing this, but as soon as he saw the escorts following Qingyuan and Chen Wenyuan, he immediately backed down.
That very evening, Xiaolian was taken out of Hanxiang Tower by Chen Wenyuan.
Looking back at the place that had tormented her for years, Xiaolian could not help squatting on the ground and bursting into loud sobs.
She had dreamed of escaping this pit of fire. Now her dream had finally come true.
Chen Wenyuan did not urge her. He simply stood silently by her side.
Xiaolian cried for several minutes before stopping.
That night, Chen Wenyuan did not even spare time for intimacy with his beloved. He worked through the night to revise the manuscript again.
Early the next morning, he delivered it to Damang Slope.
Xiaolian went along too.
At her first sight of Jin Feng, she knelt on the ground and kowtowed.
Jin Feng persuaded her for a long time before she stopped.
“Mr Jin, Xiaolian and I have discussed it. We have no relatives left in Xichuan. We are willing to follow sir back to Xihe Bay!”
Chen Wenyuan said with a smile. “From now on, we will rely on sir!”
“Hahaha, excellent. On behalf of Xihe Bay, I welcome Young Master Chen!”
Xihe Bay was sorely lacking in talent now. That a scholar like Chen Wenyuan was willing to join made Jin Feng very happy.
Not long after Chen Wenyuan and Xiaolian arrived, the jailer also sent over the death row prisoners Jin Feng had marked.
There were men and women, dozens in total.
Jin Feng naturally could not experiment with gunpowder here with them. He had Zhang Liang find a place to settle them temporarily.
In the following days, Jin Feng either revised the script with Chen Wenyuan or watched Qingyuan rehearse the programme. His days were busy and fulfilling.
Knowing Jin Feng was anxious, Qingyuan led the girls in very diligent rehearsals. In just two days, they memorised their lines perfectly.
Over these three days, the selection in the main camp down the mountain continued.
With Jin Feng’s reminder, Dazhuang and Han Feng deliberately slowed the selection process. They also did not announce results. Moreover, everyone in the entire camp bore facial brands, so no one mocked another. Thus, the girls’ mindset remained relatively stable.
But even dragging it out, the selection would end in two days. Then results had to be announced.
Hearing this news, Jin Feng discussed with Qingyuan and finally decided not to wait for the dancers to rehearse proficiently. On the third afternoon, they performed the hastily rehearsed story several times on a temporary stage in the camp’s drilling ground.
The girls were all worried about the selection results. How could they have the mood to watch a play?
But Dazhuang and Han Feng required everyone to attend. They had no choice but to line up, move small stools in batches, and sit around the stage.
As the performance began, the girls’ attention was gradually drawn in. They watched seriously.
The story compiled by Chen Wenyuan was half true, half false.
The background was this Danzhu invasion. There were three protagonists. The prototypes for two male leads were Han Feng and Zhou Youda. The final female lead was fabricated by Chen Wenyuan.
In the story, the female lead was unfortunately captured by the cavalry, taken to the prisoner camp, then suffered humiliation and had her face branded.
But in the end, persuaded by Han Feng, the female lead rallied the vast masses of women. They cooperated with Han Feng and Zhou Youda to assault the horse camp, ultimately helping the Weisheng Army and escort team achieve victory.
The female lead not only personally killed the cavalry captain who had humiliated her, but also thereby met Han Feng.
After escaping the cavalry camp, the female lead wavered and lost her way. Finally, she wanted to take her own life, but was spotted and saved by Han Feng passing by.
Worried that after leaving, the female lead might attempt suicide again, Han Feng kept her by his side, caring for her constantly.
In this process, the two gradually developed feelings.
At the story’s end, under Han Feng’s persistent persuasion, the female lead finally abandoned thoughts of suicide. She followed Han Feng back to Xihe Bay and joined the soap factory.
In the soap factory were all people sharing the same misfortune. The female lead finally untied her heart’s knot completely. In the end, she married Han Feng, and they lived a harmonious and happy life together.
This could be called the first stage play in Great Kang history. The story was also very simple, without overly melodramatic plots. The dancers’ performance was unskilled, even featuring serious stage mishaps like stuttering and falling.
But the story’s background was almost identical to the girls’ experiences. It was told entirely in plain speech, so the girls all understood it. Many felt deep empathy.
When seeing the cavalry captain humiliate the female lead, countless girls burst into loud sobs. Several who lost control even rushed onto the stage, wanting to bite to death the escort playing the cavalry captain!
The performance was paused for a time. Only after the girls’ emotions calmed did it resume.
