Farm Tough Girl
Chapter 433 - 433 432 Asking for Money_1

Chapter 433: Chapter 432 Asking for Money_1 Chapter 433: Chapter 432 Asking for Money_1 Fortunately, the effect was still pretty good. After all, having gone through two plays, everyone’s expectations of Mei Garden had risen significantly. Whether it was any novel script, people felt that it should be something worth looking forward to. As for the interruption of The Condor Heroes, it was likely to be somewhat forgotten with the thrilling plot of Journey to the West.

In the hustle of preparing for the sudden decision to perform Journey to the West, Muniang had several sleepless nights. Writing the script was one thing; casting the roles was crucial. Due to the urgency, they naturally wouldn’t adopt the competitive selection process, and there was even less time to recruit female actors.

It was precisely because there was no time to recruit female actors that Muniang decided to opt for Journey to the West, a play with four male protagonists. After much deliberation, Muniang had finally settled on a list.

But one of the four main characters did not include Zhong Yulang this time. Muniang didn’t want him to continue appearing on stage, as the audience might feel there was no novelty; who could stand seeing the same lead actor all the time?

Muniang thought of Shen Dong, the one with potential, and decided to promote him.

Today was the day Muniang would announce the cast list. Everyone was anxiously guessing who would play the roles. When Muniang arrived at Mei Garden, everyone’s hearts were in their throats.

Muniang directly distributed the list, having prepared several detailed copies.

As expected, Shen Dong was the first to react, “I’m playing Sun Wukong? Lady, is this true?”

Muniang gave him a look, “Perform well. If you mess up this time, next time you won’t even get to be an extra!”

Shen Dong nodded excitedly, “I will definitely perform well!”

Muniang didn’t have so much time to waste, so she said, “You’ve all seen the scripts already; you should have a rough idea. No time to dawdle now, hurry up and get ready!”

“Yes!”

After giving some instructions, Muniang turned and left. No sooner had Muniang stepped out than the backstage erupted.

“Why is Yue Guan’er not here? He’s actually not a main character. Did he have a fallout with Madam Li?” someone whispered.

“Who knows? It seems like Madam Li is pushing for Shen Dong. That means Yue Guan’er probably won’t have a part.”

Upon hearing this, Shen Dong felt somewhat sorry for Zhong Yulang. He anxiously looked at him, “Big brother, why didn’t Lady give you a role?”

Then, realizing something was amiss, he quickly added, “I really didn’t mean to steal your role.”

Zhong Yulang didn’t even raise his eyelids, obviously thinking Shen Dong’s words were somewhat brainless, “Appearing on stage continuously would also tire the audience. Isn’t that an obvious truth you should know after so many years as an actor? Lady never targets anyone deliberately. She doesn’t want Mei Garden to rely on just one or two star attractions, nor does she always want to use the same attraction to draw attention. So, promoting anyone is a possibility. No need to be so insecure, just do your job well.”

Zhong Yulang wasn’t originally inclined to say so much, but with Guo Yuehua’s recent issue, he thought it better to clarify things now. He had thought it through, but others might not. Looking at their gossiping, he knew that they were probably too concerned about the matter.

If Zhong Yulang had been chosen for a lead role, his words might have seemed hollow to the others. But now, since he was not selected, his words naturally became valuable advice. If even Zhong Yulang wasn’t bothered, then the rest naturally wouldn’t be either.

Zhong Yulang went into Muniang’s room and asked, “You wanted to see me?”

Muniang nodded and gestured for him to sit and talk.

“This time I’m planning to start expanding on Mei Garden, and begin recruiting new actors. Since you don’t have a role this time, I’m entrusting this task to you.”

Zhong Yulang was taken aback, “Open a branch theater?”

“Yes, although Mei Garden’s business is now full house every show, it proves that our plays are indeed popular. But it also shows that our theater is too small. So, I’m planning to expand a bit. The area around our theater is quite spacious. When the time comes, you should file a claim with the government office, and opening a small hall next door would be nice, convenient for attracting more spectators.”

Zhong Yulang listened and felt it made sense. Muniang always managed to foresee some issues before they arose. Now that their plays were becoming increasingly popular, it was about time for an expansion; after all, it wasn’t great for other people to scramble for seats each time.

“Alright, for this recruitment of new actors, are we still only taking women?”

Muniang shook her head, “No, both men and women. We need thirty male actors and ten female actors. Once recruited, they will start unified training. That way, if we need more actors in the future, we won’t have to specifically go out looking for them. It’s both troublesome and urgent to have backup options available.”

Zhong Yulang agreed, “Alright, I’ll start getting ready these next few days.”

Having nearly finished with her current tasks, Muniang was ready to visit Chen Yuhua, but as soon as she reached the back yard, she saw Chen Yuhua’s parents.

“Are you here to see Yuhua? Please, go in quickly,” Muniang said with a smile.

But Chen Yuhua’s parents said, “We have already seen her just now and were just about to look for you, Lady.”

Muniang was startled and thought, to look for her?

“What’s the matter?”

Chen replied, “Yuhua doesn’t have any parts to play in Mei Garden at the moment, and she’s not in great health either. I was thinking of taking her back home to avoid troubling you.”

Muniang frowned, “Aren’t you busy with business, Chen? Yuhua is bedridden every day. Who would take care of her if she goes back? It might be better for her to stay here.”

“But our Yuhua now doesn’t have…”

Muniang seemed to understand. Chen Yuhua’s parents probably didn’t want to trouble her. She said, “She is one of the pillars of Mei Garden. She will need to get on stage to continue playing in ‘The Condor Heroes’ in the future, and there will be new roles to play. How can she be of no use? Don’t be so formal with me, Chen. This residence was originally given to her by me, and the maidservants were all arranged for her early on. All of these are what she deserves.”

Chen gratefully replied, “You’ve been so kind to our Yuhua; I really don’t know how to thank you.”

Muniang smiled, “It’s nothing, don’t mention it.”

Muniang thought the conversation was over and was about to say goodbye to the old couple to go inside and visit Chen Yuhua when she saw Madam Li nudging Chen with her elbow. Chen seemed to struggle a bit, as if he had something to say but was hesitant.

Muniang then said, “Just speak your mind. There’s no need to be so polite with me, considering my close relationship with Yuhua.”

Chen had no choice but to say, “Actually, there is another matter we came for.”

Chen paused for a moment, his face reddening slightly before he said, “Yuhua was injured this time, and, by rights, it should be considered a work-related injury. Shouldn’t there be some compensation in silver?”

Muniang was momentarily stunned, then burst into a forthright laugh, “That is indeed right; I had forgotten.”