Farm Tough Girl
Chapter 400 - 400 401 Came to Back Up_1

Chapter 400: Chapter 401: Came to Back Up?_1 Chapter 400: Chapter 401: Came to Back Up?_1 Guo Yuehua made his rounds, and the effect was indeed extraordinary. After all, the play “The Smiling, Proud Wanderer” had become wildly popular in Chatu Town, with Mei Garden’s seating often completely full. The people of Chatu Town naturally recognized “Ren Yingying,” so when Guo Yuehua took to the streets, everyone who passed by had to take a look, followed by gazes of admiration or excitement.

Guo Yuehua stood tall, filled with a sense of achievement. Only at this moment did she truly feel that she was indeed a person of high standing, sought after by many, rather than a lowly person forced to sell her body.

Originally becoming an actress was a move of desperation. Even if she hadn’t sold herself, no one would have truly respected her. Whenever she was looked down upon by the ladies from wealthy households, her heart would sting with pain. But now things were different—she wore clothes made from the same fabric as those wealthy young ladies, and they even imitated her style. What, then, was the difference between her own worth and that of a young lady from a wealthy family?

Thinking this, Guo Yuehua’s heart swelled with pride. Even when encountering noble ladies, she could now walk past with her head held high in satisfaction.

The focus of the crowd was firstly on Guo Yuehua and secondly on her impressive clothing. They marveled inwardly at how an actress could enjoy such fine treatment, yet, on the other hand, they also began to take mental note of the eye-catching items she wore.

Thus, Yuyang Embroidery House’s business exploded, for anything that people admired on Guo Yuehua was clearly made by Yuyang Embroidery House, leading them to patronize the establishment.

Embroidery House’s income multiplied these past few days, proving the effectiveness of this type of promotion. Madam Liu couldn’t help but praise Muniang’s cleverness. She had understood when Muniang spoke of how a popular play could boost related businesses, but only now did she really grasp it.

The play “The Smiling, Proud Wanderer” had stirred up Chatu Town for more than a month, and today it finally had its perfect finale. With the conclusion of the play, Muniang these past days had been counting silver she could hardly keep track of. The renovations for the second floor of Mei Garden had been a major investment, but now, in just over a month, they had made their money back!

And that was just the income from the theater—the Embroidery House had likewise seen a significant boost in earnings.

Muniang, in high spirits, told the group of actors, “Today marks the perfect end to the play. You have all worked hard for over a month, and now you can rest a bit. The play was a great success, and each of you will receive a reward of ten taels of silver as a token of my appreciation.”

The crowd cheered, “Thank you, Lady!” Indeed, having a new boss was good—they had gotten back their Servant’s Certificates and now could easily receive such a generous reward.

After everyone dispersed, Muniang instructed Zhong Yulang, “Although our play has ended, there are still many who relish it, so we’ll perform it again from the beginning. We’ll continue with three shows a day, morning, noon, and evening, but we won’t repeat the same act every day like before—three acts a day, and in about half a month, we should be able to perform the play a second time in its entirety.”

Zhong Yulang complied, “Understood, but don’t we need to arrange a new play? We need to have something new after this, right?”

Muniang shook her head, “Not yet, we can’t waste the potential. The value of this play hasn’t been fully tapped yet. Don’t think it’s all over just because the play has finished.”

Mei Garden needed to continue replaying “The Smiling, Proud Wanderer” to sustain the lingering popularity, and it was time for her to kick off major promotional activities for her products. She was too busy to even think about a new play. It would be crazy to attempt it now—better to take it easy for the moment.

Moreover, if they were to produce a new play, the actors would have to endure more arduous work. Everyone had been quite exhausted over this past month with three scheduled performances every day without fail. Aside from this, they had to find time to rehearse the next day’s performance. It was time to give everyone a rest—there was plenty of time to earn silver, and it would be inhumane to push them too hard.

Zhong Yulang internally clicked his tongue; this was the first time he had heard such words. However, having stayed with Muniang for a while, it was no longer surprising. She always managed to come up with something extraordinary.

Just then, a servant came to report that Old Mr. Zhu had arrived.

Muniang was about to ask which Old Mr. Zhu it was when Zhong Yulang reminded her, “Could it be the Old Mr. Zhu from Zhu’s Silver Tower?”

The servant bowed and said, “Exactly.”

Muniang looked suspiciously at Zhong Yulang, whose face darkened, “He is Yun Guan’er’s former lover. The last time Yun Guan’er sneaked out to take on work privately, he was with this Old Mr. Zhu.”

Muniang snorted coldly, “I wonder who it is. What does he want? Our Mei Garden has nothing to do with the silver tower. Could it be that he knows I dealt with Yun Guan’er and is boldly seeking trouble with me now?”

Muniang had returned the Servant’s Certificates to all the actors in Mei Garden since actors actually do not sign such contracts. She did not want to deliberately mistreat them with the old methods of Mrs. Luo, but since Yun Guan’er was not to be trusted, she had not yet returned his certificate, infuriating him so much that he was still sulking about it.

Zhong Yulang frowned, “Last time, Old Mr. Zhu had let us take Yun Guan’er away openly. Why would he suddenly care about Yun Guan’er’s wellbeing now?”

“Who knows what tricks Yun Guan’er has pulled?” Muniang replied irritably.

The servant was in a quandary, “Lady, should we meet him or not?”

“Go and find out. If he really comes for Yun Guan’er, you can just kick him out,” Muniang said, showing she was not so easy to deal with.

“Understood.”

As the servant left, Muniang continued to discuss the play’s arrangements with Zhong Yulang. It was then that Yun Guan’er, head held high like a fighting cock, came strutting over, speaking in an arrogant tone.

“Old Mr. Zhu has come? Humph! Let me tell you, Old Mr. Zhu has a lot of clout. Don’t even think about keeping my Servant’s Certificate any longer!”

It turned out someone had overheard the conversation between the servant and Muniang, went straight away to inform Yun Guan’er, and that’s why he was so brazen now—his old lover Old Mr. Zhu had finally come to back him up.

Qiao Muniang holding onto his Servant’s Certificate had upset him quite enough, and he had been holding a grudge until now. Finally, upon hearing the news of Old Mr. Zhu’s visit, he saw a glimmer of hope to puff his chest out in triumph.

Muniang coldly glared at him, “I don’t care if he’s Old Mr. Zhu or Old Mr. Dog, no one can force me, Qiao Muniang, to do anything against my will. You’re getting ahead of yourself. Is your backside healed and itching again? Do you need another thirty lashes?”

Upon hearing this, Yun Guan’er’s face turned white. To be honest, he was actually quite scared of Muniang. After all, the beating he took last time had left him in pain for a good half month.

But then, the servant entered with Old Mr. Zhu. Instantly, Yun Guan’er acted like he saw a savior, pitifully throwing himself into Old Mr. Zhu’s arms, cooing, “Old Mr. Zhu, you’ve finally come. I’ve really suffered a great deal!”