Ancestors, I told you to seduce the villains, not to turn evil.

The village chief listed all of Li Wu's enemies, and investigated each family that was suspected.

Even the eldest son of Aunt Li next door was questioned.

Fei Huainan was completely ignored; everyone knew he was a cripple.

Xu Manman nodded. "A cripple is good; he makes me feel safe."

Three days later in the blink of an eye.

Xu Manman was eagerly anticipating the performance by the cultural troupe. She pushed Fei Huainan's wheelchair to the village entrance to catch an oxcart.

Quite a few people in the village bought tickets. Everyone was curious about this kind of thing, especially the performance by the cultural troupe, which they had never seen before!

It costs five cents; I can afford it if I grit my teeth.

Xu Manman was worried that there would be too many people today, and there were only a few seats on the oxcart. What if they arrived late and there were no seats left?

She couldn't possibly push Fei Huainan's wheelchair all the way to the county town; she would be exhausted.

In order to secure a spot, the two went to the village entrance early to wait.

As a result, there was no one there.

Xu Manman: "..."

The uncle driving the oxcart explained with a smile, "The neighboring village had a bumper harvest this year, and the village chief knows that everyone is going to the county to see a performance, so he's planning to drive a tractor there."

"Sitting was free, so everyone went to join in the fun."

Xu Manman didn't think the tractor was anything special; on the contrary, she thought it was great that no one was competing with them for a spot.

Xu Manman helped Fei Huainan onto the oxcart, folded up the wheelchair, and then got on herself.

The oxcart driver knew that few people would pay to ride today, so he cracked his whip and the cart moved on.

The group soon arrived in the county, where the roads were smoother.

She first went to the old gentleman's house and had a meal there before going to the Grand Theater with Zhou Lei.

This is the abandoned grand theater, which was demolished long ago, leaving an open space. The space is quite large, and a temporary stage has been set up for the performing arts troupe to come and perform.

Zhou Lei originally wanted to bring Grandpa Zheng and Grandma Bai along, but they refused. They said the thugs were keeping a close watch on them, and seeing them here would cause trouble.

Zhou Lei had no choice but to give up.

The three of them went inside, where there were already quite a few people. Xu Manman spotted the people from Xinghua Village in the crowd.

At this time, everyone came in groups, and people from the same village sat together.

It's easy to recognize.

Xu Manman didn't go up to greet these people. She went inside, chose a good spot, and sat down.

What Xu Manman didn't notice was that a familiar face was sitting not far behind her.

Liu Minhua.

Liu Minhua spotted Fei Huainan and Xu Manman beside him at a glance.

She couldn't help but take a second look.

As Liu's mother was talking to the person next to her, she turned around and glanced at her daughter, only to see her staring blankly into the distance.

Liu's mother glanced around and spotted Fei Huainan.

After all, Fei Huainan was the only one in the entire theater who was in a wheelchair, making him very easy to spot.

Her face immediately turned cold. She tugged at her daughter and spoke in a low voice.

"Luckily I didn't let you marry him back then. Look at the kind of life Xu Manman is living now."

"If you marry him, you'll have to take care of a cripple every day, live a miserable life, and wear patched clothes. Can you endure that kind of life?"

Liu Minhua knew that what her mother said was true, and she couldn't live like that either.

But she was conflicted. She had liked Fei Huainan and always thought she would marry him.

Later, Fei Huainan was injured and discharged from the army. The news was so sudden that she didn't react for a moment.

Before she could even accept the news that Fei Huainan was disabled, her parents made her look for a partner.

She was unwilling; she even hid under the covers and cried secretly all night.

If only Fei Huainan hadn't been injured.

Then she could marry him, bear him children, and become an official's wife.

What a pity!!!

Liu Minhua's eyes were complex, seemingly filled with endless emotions, a kind of mournful and poignant gaze that almost angered her mother.

Her face turned cold, and her voice became stern: "Even if Fei Huainan isn't married, there's no way the two of you can be together."

"The guy your aunt introduced you to this time is pretty good. He works in town and is a minor leader. His family is well-off. You should really seize the opportunity."

Liu Minhua hummed in agreement.

Liu's mother was worried: "He's disabled, his future is ruined, what's there to be so worried about?"

“Xiao Zhang is a leader, even the village chief has to fawn over her. If you marry her, you’re destined to be blessed.”

Liu Minhua understood this principle, but she was originally supposed to be the regimental commander's wife, but now she was just a minor leader in a town. She felt a great sense of loss and couldn't accept it for a while.

Thinking of this, Liu Minhua looked up at Fei Huainan again, feeling even more regretful.

Fei Huainan had already noticed someone watching him. He turned around and saw Liu Minhua. He couldn't help but frown.

Beside her, Xu Manman glanced around and chatted with Fei Huainan with great interest.

"There are so many people, I didn't expect there to be so many."

Fei Huainan's brows relaxed, he glanced around, and said, "About two thousand people."

Xu Manman was surprised; that was quite a lot!

Zhou Lei said with a smile, "With the name 'cultural troupe,' many people want to come and see the excitement."

It's fair to say that everyone was drawn in by the gimmick of the performing arts troupe; some weren't really there to see the performance, they were just there for the fun of it.

Xu Manman nodded. During the promotion, it was said that it would start at 3 pm, and it was only 2:30 pm now, so there was still half an hour left.

They arrived so early that there were practically no empty seats left in the back, but the front row was empty.

At a time when everyone was looking forward to it.

Backstage.

Tao Jing looked at the list of performance programs in her hand, her face darkening.

The performance order arranged by the leaders actually put the third troupe last.

In previous years, the second troupe was always the headliner in any performance, but this time they were made to play a supporting role to the third troupe.

Tao Jing naturally didn't give her a pleasant look.

Gao Qiuyue was different; she treated her subordinates with a stern expression.

When facing her own partner, Gao Qiuyue was in high spirits.

Li Shulan couldn't help but chuckle: "You're that happy?"

Gao Qiuyue has always been calm and serious. She never panics when faced with problems. Even after being suppressed by the Second Regiment for so long, her mentality remains as steady as a rock.

It's truly rare to see such a smug look on her face.

Gao Qiuyue was genuinely happy. She had been overshadowed by Tao Jing's second troupe for so many years, but now that "Blood River" had surpassed Tao Jing's "Sister Liu," she could finally vent her anger.

"I've disliked Tao Jing for a long time, and I'm happy that I beat her this time."

"But this is all thanks to you. If it weren't for your tireless rehearsals day and night, we wouldn't have been able to present 'Bloody River' so well."

Li Shulan gently shook her head, not taking credit: "It's the children's own hard work; they all rehearsed very seriously."

"When I left, they followed me, but then they would sneak back to rehearse."

Gao Qiuyue was indeed very gratified, as these children had been suppressed by the Second Regiment for three whole years.

In the past three years, the Second Regiment has always snatched away any benefits that the Third Regiment has, and the leaders have been protecting them.

He immediately said, "If the Third Regiment had that kind of strength, I would protect you too."

Gao Qiuyue was so angry that she couldn't say a word. "You're biased, and you still think you're right?"

The children have been holding their breath, filled with resentment, ridicule, and bitterness for the past three years.

This time she really lived up to expectations, performing exceptionally well, even better than she and Li Shulan had anticipated.

They completely crushed the second group.

Gao Qiuyue was very satisfied with this: "This time, we owe a lot to Mr. Bai's script."

Upon hearing this, Li Shulan gave Gao Qiuyue a resentful look.

"If only we could invite Mr. Illiterate to our troupe, but unfortunately, we don't even know where he is right now."

Gao Qiuyue felt guilty when the matter was brought up. She was too happy at the time and didn't even ask Xu Manman where she lived.

They had no idea who Mr. White-Letter was.

Now that the stage play is a huge hit, Gao Qiuyue wants to collaborate with Mr. Bai Zi, but she can't even find him.

She had been to the state-run restaurant several times, but had never encountered Xu Manman.

Really careless.