Chapter 1922: The Idea of a Small Theater

"Are you really going to a small theater to listen to cross talk?"

Zhang Qian sat beside Zhao Fusheng, asking with a look of surprise.

Zhao Fusheng nodded: "Anyway, I'm not in a great mood. Listening to some cross talk—if I can laugh, that's not bad either."

This was his true feeling. He had no particular aversion to Guo Degang; he was just an entertainer. No matter how popular he became, he was far removed from Zhao Fusheng's world.

"Should I make some arrangements?"

Zhang Qian thought for a moment and asked Zhao Fusheng.

"No need."

Zhao Fusheng waved his hand: "Let's just go directly. Let's hear the interesting cross talk Xue Yuanfang mentioned."

The motorcade moved slowly and soon arrived at the small theater near the Beijing Exhibition Center.

A group of people got out of the cars and stood at the theater entrance. Looking at the banner at the door, Zhao Fusheng smiled: "These two are quite popular, huh."

He was naturally referring to Guo Degang and his partner, Teacher Yu, who liked smoking, drinking, and perming his hair.

"Judging by the looks of it, indeed."

Zhang Qian nodded.

It was already evening when they came out, and the performance at the Beijing Exhibition Center was about to start.

"Go ahead and ask if there are any boxes available."

Zhao Fusheng thought for a moment and said to Zhang Qian.

Zhang Qian nodded and arranged for someone to buy tickets.

And sure enough, they managed to get one—a luxury suite box, tickets costing 3888.

"A bit expensive."

Zhang Qian said to Zhao Fusheng.

Zhao Fusheng smiled and waved his hand: "Just for fun, let's listen."

Zhang Qian nodded helplessly, and the group headed inside.

Soon they reached the box on the second floor. Zhang Qian had people guard the door while he and Zhao Fusheng entered and sat down on the viewing platform.

"Not a bad place."

Zhao Fusheng looked around.

Although it was a bit far from the stage, they could still see clearly.

After a while, the performance began. First, two young men performed on stage. Half an hour later, a tall man and a short man walked onto the stage.

"Moonlight before my bed, I suspect it's frost on the ground. Lifting my head, I gaze at the moon. My name is Guo Degang. Hello, dear audience, I am..."

Blah blah blah, that familiar routine—still the same flavor Zhao Fusheng knew.

"This guy is pretty interesting."

Even Zhang Qian, a man of few words, found Guo Degang's cross talk very amusing.

"The jokes are good jokes, but his character? Hmph."

Zhao Fusheng gave a faint smile but shook his head.

Zhang Qian was startled: "You know him?"

Zhao Fusheng didn't speak; he pointed at the stage: "Let's keep listening."

He couldn't explain to Zhang Qian. He couldn't very well tell him that this Teacher Guo, who would later become hugely popular, though claiming to be down-to-earth and calling himself a primary school student of cross talk, was unmatched in the entire cross talk and folk art circle when it came to marketing himself.

This wasn't Zhao Fusheng talking nonsense; it was fact.

Teacher Guo spent his early years in the Tianjin folk art scene, then went to Beijing, and started to become famous around the early 2000s.

What truly left a deep impression on Zhao Fusheng was Guo Degang's act of 'jumping schools to take a master'—changing masters.

So-called 'jumping schools to take a master' meant, in plain terms, abandoning one's original master and taking a new one.

Because a master invests far more effort in his disciple than any other teacher, senior brother, or initiating master, jumping schools itself is a great disrespect to the master.

Of course, many years later, Old Guo cleverly sidestepped the ins and outs of his relationship with Yang Zhigang by saying, 'Later, a teacher who had taught me came out to curse and slander me and even took me to court—that's another cross talk.' Then he wrote about his acquaintance with Hou Yaowen in a tearful manner.

The problem is, to prove your innocence, you don't need to write about how you got to know Hou Yaowen; you only need to fully describe how you fell out with Yang Zhigang.

No matter how moving your recollection of your benefactor is, it cannot prove the legitimacy of your act of taking Hou Yaowen as master. Because if you cannot prove that the master-disciple relationship between Yang Zhigang and you never existed, then your changing to Hou Yaowen is in itself a complete mistake.

As for cross talk, Guo Degang was entrusted by his godfather Jin Jinlai to Yang Zhigang for teaching. Yang Zhigang did his utmost for Guo Degang, bringing various famous masters from Tianjin to teach and lecture Guo Degang, even bringing his own benefactor, the cross talk master Bai Quanfu, to instruct Guo Degang. He was extremely kind and conscientious. And the final outcome was two things: slandering his own master for embezzling public funds, and denying the master-disciple relationship.

Correspondingly, there was the attitude of Guo Degang's other master in the Xihe school, Jin Wensheng. Jin Wensheng said that back then in Tianjin he had no idea who Guo Degang was; he only knew there was a 'Little Five' who ran around after him, sometimes talking with him, and that was it.

Suddenly, a bunch of people ran to Tianjin specifically to listen to Jin Wensheng. Jin Wensheng was puzzled, only later learning that the former Little Five had made it big and become a star in the capital!

Immediately, Guo Degang rushed back from the capital, quickly kowtowed to Jin Wensheng, and together with Yu Qian, Gao Feng, and Li Jing, acknowledged Jin Wensheng as their master.

Such things are actually quite common in the folk art world.

Zhao Fusheng didn't really mind, but he disliked how later so-called 'Deyun girls' brought the fan culture into the folk art circle—that was rather boring.

After listening to some cross talk, he had to admit that Guo Degang's skill was quite good. Or rather, at this time, he could indeed make the audience laugh.

"Still listening?"

Seeing that Zhao Fusheng seemed a bit tired, Zhang Qian asked him.

"No more."

Zhao Fusheng saw that Guo Degang and Yu Qian had already left the stage, so he lost interest. He stood up and said, "Let's go back."

He had no prejudice against cross talk itself; if it was good, it was good. But the private morality of the entertainer wasn't great—that was also a fact.

It was like Uncle Benshan and his disciples' skits were indeed well performed, but the chaotic private lives of those people, to the point where even Teacher Zhao himself couldn't manage them, was an indisputable fact.

As the group left the theater, just as they reached the entrance, a crowd came toward them.

"Gentlemen, not staying a bit longer?"

The speaker was a chubby young man, not tall, with a round face.

Zhao Fusheng looked at him and suddenly laughed.

"What's wrong?" Zhang Qian asked beside him.

"Nothing."

Zhao Fusheng shook his head and pointed at the chubby young man: "Study hard. I think you might become famous someday."

"Huh?"

The chubby young man looked bewildered, clearly not understanding what Zhao Fusheng meant.

When he wanted to ask further, Zhao Fusheng and the others had already walked far away.

"Brother Yue, who was that?"

"Don't know. Never seen him before."

A group of apprentices whispered among themselves, none of them knowing what was going on.

"What are you doing?"

At that moment, a man in a long gown came out and shouted at the apprentices: "Still standing there dumbfounded? Get the hell inside!"

"Yes!"

"Got it."

The young men dared not delay and filed inside.

...

...

"That chubby kid—isn't he kind of funny-looking?"

Zhao Fusheng asked Zhang Qian with a smile as they walked.

"Huh?"

Zhang Qian looked bewildered, then nodded: "Not bad, but too ugly."

Zhao Fusheng chuckled.

He knew that Zhang Qian was never one to gossip. Even he said the guy was too ugly—that chubby kid really wasn't much to look at.

But it had to be said, people like that often had audience appeal.

Maybe audiences just liked that kind.

"What do you think about Future Films setting up a small theater like this?"

Zhao Fusheng casually asked Zhang Qian.

Zhang Qian was taken aback, then shook his head: "I don't know."

He wasn't in charge of such matters and knew nothing about it.

Zhang Qian was like that: if he knew, he knew; if he didn't, he didn't. He wouldn't voice an opinion on things he didn't understand.

"..."

Zhao Fusheng was speechless.

This guy was as consistent as ever, always the same no matter the situation.

But that was also his strength. After all, what people hated most were those who gave random orders whether they understood or not.

Zhang Qian's character of keeping quiet when he didn't know was something Zhao Fusheng really liked.

"Forget it, I'll talk to Ye Jing."

Zhao Fusheng waved his hand and muttered to himself.

He definitely couldn't get anything useful out of Zhang Qian. For this kind of thing, he could only discuss it with Ye Jing.

Zhang Qian chuckled, neither agreeing nor disagreeing with Zhao Fusheng's words, but clearly he approved of Zhao Fusheng's decision.

After all, this was something Ye Jing, as the general manager of Future Films, should worry about. What did it have to do with him?

Not in the position, not meddling in its affairs.

That was Zhang Qian's attitude toward this matter.

As for whether Zhao Fusheng would be unhappy, he wasn't worried at all. If Zhao Fusheng got upset over this, he wouldn't have followed him until now.