I, strive for the prosperity of the motherland! 【system】

Rishengchang Banknote House was the last attraction Su Xing and his group visited. After Sister Li took everyone around and gave the explanation, today's trip ended.

The group left the scenic spot and got back on the sightseeing bus.

The performance of "See Pingyao Again" was held outside the Upper West Gate of the ancient city. In order to watch the performance conveniently, Su Xing and others asked the driver and Sister Li to take them to the vicinity of the West Gate.

Sister Li tried to chat with these young people again to liven up the atmosphere, but no one wanted to pay attention to her.

As they approached the west gate, Sister Li finally couldn't help herself and stated her purpose. "Um... did everyone have a great time today? Could you please give us a good review on the platform?"

Su Xing and his friends bought the tickets online, so good reviews are very important.

Upon hearing this, several academic geniuses looked at Sister Li in surprise. They couldn't understand how she could have the nerve to make such a request.

Sun Pengfei laughed, "Sister Li, do you really think we had a lot of fun?"

Sister Li's smile faltered. "Is there something I didn't explain well enough?"

Sun Pengfei said: "You are quite good. Before entering the ticket store, we were quite satisfied."

"Uh..." Sister Li's face suddenly showed an embarrassed look. She tried to make amends, "That's actually a ticket number. It's a tourist attraction included in our itinerary..."

Cheng Xiuning immediately raised her phone, turned on the camera, and pointed it at Sister Li. "Are you sure?"

Sister Li quickly raised her hand to block the camera, "What are you doing? You don't have to do this..."

A boy said, "We just hired a car and asked you to be our tour guide. This isn't a shopping tour. Are you forced to enter any store?"

Sister Li: "..."

Facing Cheng Xiuning's camera, she no longer dared to insist that it was a serious tourist attraction.

Zhang Caifeng then said, "We didn't hear any useful explanations at that experience store, and we almost got scammed out of our money."

Sister Li said, "You can't say that. Those are just normal tourist souvenirs. They don't cost much. Besides, you didn't buy any, did you?"

Su Xing said calmly, "You delayed us for so long, why didn't you tell us?"

Cheng Xiuning said, "That's right! Our time is very precious!"

Sister Li: "..."

Su Xing added, "Of course scenic spots can sell tourist souvenirs, and tourists can buy them voluntarily based on their feelings and moods, but we will not accept your brainwashing shopping behavior."

Sister Li didn't dare say anything else.

The driver also pretended to be deaf and dumb and drove in silence.

Although the fault mainly lies with Sister Li and the experience store, he, as the driver, also took them to the experience store according to Sister Li's instructions, so he is not innocent.

The sightseeing bus finally arrived at the parking lot at the west gate.

Su Xing and the others got off the car.

Sister Li watched them leave and didn't mention asking for a good review again.

The performance of "See Pingyao Again" is at 2 pm, and it is almost 1 pm now.

A few students were afraid that they didn't have enough time, so they randomly chose a small shop nearby, ordered some simple food, and filled their stomachs.

After lunch, they hurried to the performance venue.

The performance of "See Pingyao Again" is a large-scale situational experience drama and also the first project of the "See You Again Series Performance Project" in the northern region.

The project began planning in March 2011 and was officially premiered in February 2013, just over two years ago.

There are not as many tourists watching this sitcom now as there will be in a few years, so there is no need to queue up too long in advance.

Su Xing recalled the video about "See Pingyao Again" she had watched in her previous life. At that time, the tourists who came to watch the performance were so crowded that it was difficult to move. It was extremely exaggerated.

Each performance lasts ninety minutes, and there are normally two performances a day. During the peak season, three more performances are added a day, which means there are five performances a day.

Su Xing had seen netizens’ high praise for this sitcom online, and she was looking forward to the performance.

They arrived at the venue's waiting area, where many tourists were already waiting.

Although there were not as many tourists as Su Xing had seen in the video of his previous life, there were still quite a few.

Soon the show was about to begin.

Su Xing and his classmates followed the crowd forward.

Before I could see the whole theater, a staff member in a blue shirt handed me a piece of paper with the words "Tongxinggong Escort Agency" printed on it and whispered, "Just follow the light."

This "walking performance" has hidden secrets from the moment it enters.

After passing through a dark corridor, the view suddenly brightened. The streets and alleys of Pingyao in the late Qing Dynasty unfolded in the light. Faded signs hung on the gray brick walls, and the signs of wine shops swayed gently in the wind. The air seemed to smell like aged vinegar and dust.

"The Zhao family is selecting a bodyguard!"

A shout broke the silence, and men in short clothes and wide belts around their waists gathered together one after another, practicing punches and kicks with their bare hands. The strength between their muscles and bones made people clench their palms.

Zhao Dongjia stood on the high platform, his voice as heavy as the bricks on the city wall: "232 people, to protect the Wang family, life or death." As he finished speaking, someone inserted wooden plaques with names on them into the sand table. The densely packed wooden plaques resembled a forest of people about to die...

Su Xing had read about the plot of "Meet Pingyao Again" on the Internet: It tells the story of the late Qing Dynasty, when Zhao Yishuo, the owner of a bank in Pingyao Ancient City, gave away all his property and went to Tsarist Russia to rescue the only bloodline of the bank's owner, Wang. 232 escorts from the Tongxinggong Escort Agency went there together. In the end, Zhao and his escorts all died in a foreign land, but the Wang family bloodline was continued.

At this moment, she entered the performance venue, as if she had really traveled through time and space, witnessing that tragic history with her own eyes...

Following the crowd into the backyard of the escort agency, amidst the flickering candlelight, the escorts were saying goodbye to their families.

The woman in the floral jacket was mending her husband's cuffs and stuffing an oil-paper bag into his arms with red eyes.

The young man touched his father's dart bag and whispered, "I'll wait for you to come back."

Suddenly someone started singing a Pingyao folk song. The tune was desolate, mixed with the crackling sound of candlelight, and some tourists shed tears unconsciously.

There are no boundaries of the stage here. Everyone standing by the stone steps seems to have really become a crowd of onlookers, watching a group of ordinary people walk towards a doomed tragedy.

Tourists are both spectators and participants.

Following the crowd, I turned into the Zhao family compound, where candlelight was illuminating the silks all over the yard.

"Girls, help the Zhao family pick out some fabric for their wedding dress!"

A woman in Manchu clothing came over with a tray filled with blue, red and blue silk.

Su Xing's fingertips traced the dark patterns on the bright red silk, and the woman immediately smiled and said, "Young lady, you have good taste! This is Lu silk, which was once specially sent to the palace as a tribute."

The tourist lady next to her chose royal blue, and the woman said, "This color goes best with silver jewelry. The craftsmanship of Pingyao Silver House is superb."

As he spoke, he stuffed the cloth into our hands, as if he was really preparing dowry for the family of the escort who was about to go on a long journey.

The escorts were handing out "peace amulets" to the family.

A bearded escort walked up to Zhang Caifeng and put a wooden sign with the word "Smooth" written on it into her hand.

"Miss, please keep this talisman for me and we will come back to get it."

The earnestness in his eyes was so genuine that Zhang Caifeng subconsciously clenched the wooden sign and forgot to respond.

An old lady, her eyes red, handed the luggage to her escort son and quietly wiped away her tears as she turned around...

The empathy at this moment is more touching than any lines.

In the scene of "bloodline inheritance", in the dim space, dozens of women sat cross-legged on cushions, whispering stories of childbirth, light and shadow flowed on their faces, from the shyness of a girl to the tenacity of a mother, and those fragmented whispers gradually merged into a torrent - it was this endless atmosphere of life that gave the sacrifice of 232 lives a heavy meaning.

In a cave not far away, the cry of a baby suddenly rang out, piercing the heaviness and lighting up the entire space...

Finally, we walked into the spacious hall, where hundreds of eight-immortal tables were filled with Pingyao beef and rice wine. Actors walked around with wine glasses in their hands, smiling and inviting everyone to "eat and drink".

Someone sang "Going West", and there was no sadness in the song, but rather it was full of relief.

Only then did everyone realize that during the hour and a half of walking, they had forgotten that they were just spectators. The dust, candlelight, and singing had already kneaded the story of three hundred years ago into their breath...

When I walked out of the theater, the setting sun had dyed the theater's outline into a warm yellow, and the silhouette of the city wall was silent in the sunlight.

Su Xing thought of the wooden signs inserted into the sand table, and suddenly understood the deep meaning of this performance - it was never about telling a heroic legend, but about allowing every viewer to touch the character of ordinary people, and understand the soul of Pingyao in fireworks and life and death.

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PS: I posted a clip of the performance of "See Pingyao Again" on Douyin.