Chapter 95 - 95 95 Singing Opera

Words : 1895 Updated : Sep 12th, 2025

95: Chapter 95: Singing Opera 95: Chapter 95: Singing Opera “Now what should we do? We set up the stage only to help someone else perform!” Xiao Fang said with indignation, “And the quality, it’s obviously a scam!” “Yeah! This Li Gui’s turned into Li Kui! Now we can’t even argue our case or make any money!” Lao Li also said angrily. Everyone looked at Liu Hun, and Liu Hun said to Lin Shanhu, “Boss Lin, trouble you to gather your disciples to guard the backstage. Don’t let anyone sneak in through the chaos, and protect our goods! Also, get me a gong!” Lin Shanhu nodded, handed Liu Hun a gong, and then summoned his disciples to guard the backstage. Liu Hun took the gong, stepped onto the stage, and started banging it furiously, “Dang, dang, dang, dang...” The sound drew all eyes back to him. Liu Hun yelled to the crowd with a strained voice, “Folks of Xiping Town! Do you like our event?” “Good!” The villagers, having made a great deal and watched a free show, all responded loudly to Liu Hun. Liu Hun chuckled and said, “Folks! We have something even better to give you! Do you want it?” “Yes!” The crowd’s response was even louder, eager for a bigger windfall. “Alright then! I now announce that these cloth shoes are yours for free! Moreover, whoever has paid, just ask for your money back from the seller! First come, first served, until it’s all gone!” Liu Hun shouted, then slammed the gong hard, “Dang!” and announced, “The big giveaway starts now! It’s a race to see who’s got the quickest hands!” Li Si’er, Tang Dejun, and the others were immediately stunned. They hadn’t anticipated Liu Hun pulling such a move. Their original plan was to take advantage of the confusion to sell off the stockpiled shoes at the Cooperative, not only fetching a handsome price for shoddy shoes but also later pinning the blame on Liu Hun. But now they were ruined. With Liu Hun declaring the shoes free of charge, no one could complain about the poor quality if they didn’t have to pay. “Whoa, hey! Stop pushing! Pay up, hey, hey! Who’s reaching into my pocket! That’s my shoe, you can’t take it off my foot!” Li Si’er was trapped by the crowd, his shoes and the money from his pocket completely pilfered, and even the shoes on his feet were gone. “Move it! Who dares to touch me! Don’t push me! I’m not with him! My shoes are for sale! Let go, you crazy woman! Who raised you, dipping into my bag! Ouch, my foot’s getting stepped on.” Cui Hua, usually blustering and acting mad, tried to use her talents to escape but clearly underestimated the strength and wisdom of the masses. In less than five minutes, she stood barefoot on the ground, ashen-faced just like Li Si’er, with no clue as to who attacked her. All she could do was swallow the bitter pill and chalk it up to bad luck. “Ha ha ha ha! Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant! Brother, you are truly a genius!” Xiao Fang couldn’t resist praising Liu Hun as he watched Li Si’er and the others get robbed blind. He was dying to laugh, and his resolve to take Liu Hun to the county city strengthened. “Nah! What’s this called... ‘Fight fire with fire!'” Liu Hun also laughed heartily. While a group of people laughed backstage, Lao Li ran over, beaming with excitement, “I’ve discovered a secret! They’ve brought a lot of goods, all piled up under that crooked-neck poplar!” “Where?” Liu Hun grabbed Lao Li and asked. Lao Li climbed onto the stage and pointed just outside, where a leader and about seven or eight others were standing guard over the goods. “So it’s Tang Dejun! Today, I’ll truly rid Xiping Town of a scourge!” said Liu Hun. He then gathered everyone around, “Today, we’ll need to bleed them good! We can’t openly incite the villagers to loot; otherwise, that’d give them something to criticize us about. So let’s do this...” Soon everyone dispersed from backstage, leaving Liu Hun alone on the stage. The Lin Family troupe and a group of women quickly blended into the crowd. And by this time, the villagers had finished looting Li Si’er and his group clean. But with so many monks and not enough gruel, many villagers were left wanting more. Those who didn’t get their share were even more resentful that they hadn’t positioned themselves closer and began to grumble. Suddenly, a voice in the crowd blurted out, “Folks! There’s more under the crooked-neck poplar! It’s all free! Go get it!” After this call to action, the same message echoed from a different direction in the crowd, “Hurry up! There won’t be any left if you’re too late! It’s all free! You don’t need to pay!” Before long, such shouts were coming from many directions, and the villagers were quickly whipped into a frenzy, surging toward the crooked-neck poplar. Tang Dejun, standing atop the crates of goods, saw the crowd rushing in and tried to find the instigators. But within five seconds, the human wave had already engulfed them. Tang Dejun panicked instantly and hastily commanded the eight men around him, shouting, “Hurry, hurry! Stand guard for me!” The eight burly men stood in the crowd like soap dropped into boiling water, immediately overwhelmed, not to mention guarding the goods. Tang Dejun needed eight hands and still, it wouldn’t be enough. All he could do was yell at the crowd, “Move aside! Move aside! These aren’t giveaways! They’re not free! Don’t you touch my stuff! Ouch!” Standing on top of the crates and gesturing commandingly, Tang Dejun suddenly found the crate beneath him emptied in an instant, and he tumbled off, not yet recovered from his shock when a flurry of feet trampled over him. “Ow! Stop stepping on me! Ah, damn it! Someone’s going to die...” Tang Dejun, gasping for air from being trampled, was luckily hauled up by a hand, which turned out to be Li Si’er’s. “Li Si’er! Oh, Li Si’er! You’ve really screwed me over,” Tang Dejun said, his entire body aching, unable to fathom the internal injuries he’d suffered from the trampling. “Brother Tang, let’s get out of here fast! There’s no more play here!” Li Si’er suggested as he supported Tang Dejun, hobbling out of the crowd with bare feet. Xiao Fang returned backstage, bursting into laughter, “Now that was a real blow to our pride, that old scoundrel Bai Hongcai, who devours people without spitting out the bones, must be seething to death by now.” “But... on the other hand, what do we do with our cloth shoes now?” Lin Shanhu asked Liu Hun. Liu Hun had his own cunning plan and grinned, “A wise man has his own clever ways! Just watch!” He took out the cloth shoes that Tang Dejun had brought and addressed the surrounding Lin Family troupe and the women, “These shoes have thin soles and the workmanship is very crude. They might be fine on smooth roads, but most roads here aren’t main paths. Take some villages like ours in Wanbao Village, the roads are not easy to walk on. In these shoes, they’ll be trashed within three days. And...” Liu Hun trailed off, pointed at the sky suggestively, and said, “The heavens will definitely be on our side! Now, let’s clean up and head home! Wait for the news! I guarantee these cloth shoes will sell out in Xiping Town!” Everyone around Liu Hun obeyed his words without question, not doubting his ability or judgment. They gathered their things and returned to their homes. Taking Liu Hun’s advice, Xiao Fang also got the Lin Family troupe to help move the cloth shoes to their large courtyard to avoid any mischief in Xiping Town. “Smash!” Enraged, Bai Hongcai shook all over, slamming the teacup to the ground and yelled at Li Si’er, “Speak! Explain yourself! What did you promise me before? Did their business flop or not? Weren’t you supposed to sell those overstocked goods from the Cooperative? Where did they go? The money? Where’s the money?” Li Si’er, covered in dirt and dust, replied, “Director Bai, I didn’t expect them to pull such a stunt. All the Cooperative’s overstocked goods were snatched by the people of Xiping Town, now it’s impossible to track them down.” “Didn’t you tell me this was a foolproof plan? Didn’t you say that damned Tang Dejun was very capable? Wasn’t this his brilliant idea? Where’s the brilliance?” Bai Hongcai wobbled, his blood pressure skyrocketing, thinking about the tens of thousands in goods that had been stolen, his heart cut like a knife. “You tell me!” Bai Hongcai, holding his head, sitting on the sofa, turned to Li Si’er and demanded, “What should we do now?” Li Si’er was at a loss. What could he do? Just as things were selling like hotcakes, this disaster had struck, which he never expected. At this moment, Cui Hua stepped up and addressed Bai Hongcai, “Director Bai, you can’t blame us entirely, right? It was Tang Dejun’s idea after all! If there’s blame... it’s his rotten idea.” “Tang Dejun!” Bai Hongcai suddenly realized that Tang Dejun hadn’t shown up today, then he asked Li Si’er, “Where is Tang Dejun now?” “He’s home, nursing his injuries. That day, he got trampled badly by the crowd. If I hadn’t pulled him up, he’d probably be crippled now,” Li Si’er informed Bai Hongcai. “Enough nonsense! Li Si’er! Cui Hua! Bring that Tang Dejun to me! Since it’s his idea, he needs to take responsibility for this mess! Otherwise... hmph! You’ll pay for these losses!” Bai Hongcai laid down his ultimatum and then gestured that Li Si’er could get lost. After leaving Bai Hongcai’s office, Li Si’er turned to Cui Hua with a worried expression, “Cui Hua, what should we do now? We’re caught between a rock and a hard place, we can’t afford to offend anyone. Unless...” Li Si’er suddenly brightened, “Let’s leave this place!” “Run away to where, you fool! How much money do you have? Penniless and you still want to flee! Where could we possibly go? Without connections or money in a strange place, wouldn’t we starve sooner or later? We’ve mixed in these parts for so many years; at the very least, we can get a full meal!” Cui Hua angrily chastised Li Si’er. As if the life had drained out of him, Li Si’er sulkily asked, “Then what do you propose we do now?” “Call yourself stupid and you really are! Bai Hongcai doesn’t know Tang Dejun, right? And likewise, Tang Dejun doesn’t know Bai Hongcai! Besides, even if they do know each other, Tang Dejun can’t even leave his home now, so they won’t meet. This is our chance. We’ll drive a wedge between them, have them at each other’s throats. Once they start fighting, it won’t be our problem anymore, right?” Cui Hua shared her plan with Li Si’er.

Chapter 95 - 95 95 Singing Opera

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