Just when Li Huowang didn't know which play was being performed in front of him, the farmers sitting below started to move. They took out one or two copper coins and threw them towards the stage.
The audience were all farmers who worked in the fields to earn a living. Only a few of them threw money, while more of them threw things like corn sticks and potatoes.
Those who were better off at home might throw some salted fish or bacon at most.
But Luo Juanhua accepted everything, thanking them one by one.
"So this is how the actors earn their pay," Li Huowang thought to himself.
He watched as Luo Juanhua knelt humbly on the stage, holding her daughter and continuing to sing with a sobbing voice while picking up things from the ground and putting them in a basket. Every now and then, she would bow to the people below who were applauding.
He couldn't help but sigh at how hard it was to make a living this way.
Just as Luo Juanhua was happily picking up things from the ground, a small piece of silver was thrown up.
Her eyes lit up as she picked up the silver and found that there was at least five taels. She stopped singing and kowtowed to the only fat old man in silk in the crowd while singing.
"Very good! You sing so well!" The red-faced old man raised his head, and another piece of silver flew up, welcoming Luo Juanhua's thanks.
Li Huowang was a little tired of this farce in front of him. He let out a yawn and lay down on the pile of rice stalks, saying to Zhao Wu beside him, who was relatively stable, "I'm going to take a nap. You keep watch."
"Okay, Senior Brother."
When Li Huowang opened his eyes again, it was already midday, and everyone was chatting around. It seemed that they had all huddled together in this pile of rice stalks last night.
The stage in the distance had been dismantled, and the members of the Lu family were stuffing their props into the carriage.
"Zhao Wu, how much food do we have left?" Li Huowang suddenly asked.
"Not much, we can at most last three days if we're frugal." Zhao Wu replied without looking up.
Li Huowang took out dozens of copper coins and a small piece of black silver that he had dug up from the warehouse and handed them to him. "Go to the village and exchange for some food. It should be enough for the journey."
There were more than ten people, all young men, and their food consumption was very high. They had brought so many bags from Qingfeng Temple, and now they had almost finished eating.
Zhao Wu, who was lying on the back of the idiot, was about to let the idiot enter the village, but after some thought, he called over a young Taoist who looked more reliable, handed him the money, and whispered something to him.
Li Huowang pushed himself up with one hand on the pile of rice stalks and walked towards the stage in the distance.
"Old man, when are we leaving?" Li Huowang asked Lv Zhuangyuan.
Lv Zhuangyuan looked a little anxious at this time. "Young Master, please wait a moment. My daughter-in-law took Xiuer and ran off somewhere early this morning. We'll set off as soon as she returns."
Li Huowang felt puzzled. "Gone missing? Isn't that her over there?"When Lv Zhuangyuan followed Li Huowang's finger and looked towards the village, he saw Luo Juanshua holding a few feet of cloth and walking towards them with a smile, holding her daughter.
Lv Zhuangyuan became furious when he saw his inappropriate daughter-in-law and rushed over to scold her with his pipe.
Facing her father-in-law's anger, Luo Juanshua looked very innocent. "Dad, didn't you tell me to go to the village to get some cloth? You said the cloth in town is expensive..."
After venting his anger, Lv Zhuangyuan turned around and said to Li Huowang with a smile, "Little Daoist, it's okay now, let's go."
"Hey! Dad, don't go yet. When I went to buy cloth just now, I got a gig. It's a singing gig. The employer is the richest old man who gave the most money yesterday! You should go see him. He said he wants to talk to you about something."
Upon hearing this, Lv Zhuangyuan couldn't walk anymore. He turned around and smiled awkwardly at Li Huowang. Although the other party didn't say anything, Li Huowang understood his meaning. "It's okay, earning money is more important. Waiting for another day is nothing."
"Oops, sorry, I'll be back soon." Lv Zhuangyuan said, putting the pipe on his neck and happily pulling his daughter-in-law back to the village.
Li Huowang returned to the stack of rice straws and had nothing to do, so he picked up the withered Dao bell and examined it carefully. If he could really control You Laoye, it would undoubtedly greatly enhance his strength. Unfortunately, he couldn't summon it now and had to find a way to fix it.
After turning it over several times, he found that everything else was fine, except for the collapsed bell wall, which was the only possibility.
"If I straighten it out, can I use it?"
Li Huowang pondered for a moment, placed a square stone under the copper bell, and then picked up a stone and hit the bulging side with force.
But as soon as the stone hit, the piercing bell rang and Li Huowang's head was about to explode. He could barely hold the stone in his hand.
"This won't work. I have to ask if there's a blacksmith in this village." Li Huowang shook his dizzy head vigorously.
Just then, Li Huowang saw those Dao boys dragging two bags towards him. He put away the Dao bell and followed Zhao Wu, the idiot, towards them.
"Senior Li, we only got these." The Dao boys' young faces were full of anxiety. Although they were all children, they were very sensible and capable. After all, those who were not sensible had already been killed by Danyang Zi.
Li Huowang reached out and opened the sack, finding that it was all dried sweet potatoes.
"Senior, these things without oil can't last for a few days. The idiot can eat one and a half pounds in one meal, and eating too much of this stuff causes heartburn."Zhao Wu's words made the simple-minded bald guy feel ashamed and lower his head. "You...you...don't...don't leave me...I...I'll eat less!"
With the shortage of food, Li Huowang looked at the sack in front of him, thinking of a solution.
Lv Zhuangyuan mentioned that there is still a long way to go to Jianye City. If they run out of food halfway, the dozen or so people can't just eat tree bark.
He reached into his pocket again and took out a golden ring wrapped in a red string.
After thinking for a moment while holding the item, Li Huowang handed it to Bai Lingmiao, who was holding onto his clothes.
"Take this to exchange for food." Li Huowang took out Xuan Yang's jade pendant and handed it to Zhao Wu.
"Senior brother, how are we going to exchange this? There's no pawn shop in the village, and these farmers might not recognize its value."
"You can't exchange a jade pendant for food. What should we do?" Just as Li Huowang was troubled by the food crisis, he saw Lv Zhuangyuan and his daughter-in-law walking towards them.
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"Um, young master, this old man has encountered some trouble in business. Can you please help me?" Lv Zhuangyuan looked very embarrassed.
"Master Lv, I don't know how to sing either. I'm afraid I can't help you with your trouble." Li Huowang felt absurd. Did he want him to go on stage and dance with a sword?
"No, no, it's something you can help with. It's just that... " Lv Zhuangyuan looked around sneakily and whispered, "Mr. Hu wants me to sing a ghost play..."
