Among those who came were those who came to express their condolences, and many of them were Zhao Qingting's apprentices.
The profession of opera singing is very particular. Children must learn from their masters from an early age and be raised at home like sons. Now that Zhao Qingting is dead, these apprentices will naturally have to work hard.
Zhao Qingting is a well-known person in Jishui, so many people came to investigate, but no one paid attention to me and Duanmu Qing. This also saved us a lot of trouble.
Duanmuqing and I bowed several times to Zhao Qingting's body, which was parked in the freezer in the mourning hall, and then someone came over and asked us to sit aside.
I had nothing to do anyway, my arm was connected, and I was in a good mood, so I sat down and drank tea leisurely.
In the evening, someone started to light a fire to cook. Xu Yang glanced at me, his eyes full of doubts.
I knew what he meant, he was asking me if I wanted to stay.
I smiled and nodded. There are free meals. If you don't eat, you won't get it.
And I have forgotten how many years it has been since I had this kind of big pot meal, and I really miss it.
But the most important point is that after I came here, I always felt that something was wrong, but I couldn't see what was wrong for a while.
So I decided to wait a little longer, maybe I could find something when it gets dark.
Duanmuqing once said that Zhao Qingting said something before entering the underworld, saying that the thing had woken up.
Zhao Qingting would never say this for no reason. He must have seen something before he died. What was that thing in his mouth?
Maybe that thing is hiding in this villa at this time.
The large bowl of food served at the funeral really tasted good. Xu Yang and I finished a large bowl alone, and then we burped with satisfaction.
By this time it was getting dark, and the host took away the dishes and placed a pot of tea on each table.
No one moved, as if they were waiting for something.
Xu Yang and I didn't move, but we were a little strange in our hearts and didn't know what they were going to do.
Not long after the time passed, a middle-aged man walked to the middle of the courtyard, and then bowed in a circle to the guests around him.
I took a look at the man, and he looked somewhat similar to Zhao Qingting. He should be his son.
After saluting, he said: "Hello, fellow colleagues, everyone should know what happened this time. The provincial opera competition will be held in our Jishui, and my father attaches great importance to this competition.
My father has been singing opera all his life, and his biggest dream is to carry forward this industry, make more annual report people like it, and let this industry continue to be passed down.
My father has also made a lot of efforts in recent years, and the country is paying more and more attention to traditional culture, so our lives are getting better and better."
After he finished speaking, everyone present nodded. Now the country really attaches great importance to traditional culture. In contrast, the status of traditional artists like them is getting higher and higher, and their lives are getting better and better.
Xu Yang and I looked at each other, but we didn't expect that there would be such a game.
"This competition will be held at the Jishui Temple Fair. The reason why it was chosen in Jishui is also the result of my father's hard work. Moreover, the prize money for this competition is a full two million."
"Although we are opera singers, my father has always said that no matter what profession you are in, you must act and sit upright, and this is especially true in our profession.
My father put a lot of effort into this competition, just to let our colleagues from Jishui feel proud in the competition.
But I never thought that it would end up like this!"
After his words fell, everyone in the audience was stunned for a moment, and then began to whisper.
Xu Yang and I looked at each other. Now it seems that Zhao Qingting's death is not that simple. What his son said today must have something to do with this competition.
"Although my father fought for this competition, in the end, the organizers found my father and told him that they had already decided on the results of the competition, so they could just vote according to their wishes.
My father was already ill. When he heard this, he fainted and left.
As my father's only son, I, Zhao Wencheng, am also a member of our Jishui Opera Association. I have only one purpose for letting you guys stay here today, which is to tell everyone that our counterparts in Jishui will never cooperate with this kind of inside story!"
After Zhao Qingting's son finished speaking, his face was filled with anger and he clenched his fist fiercely.
At this moment, the situation was immediately stirred up, and the crowd was excited for a while.
Many people yelled and cursed.
"Fuck his grandma, these idiots are too much, we Jishui colleagues will never agree to it!"
"That is, let them play by themselves, and we cannot let them tarnish our industry!"
Seeing how angry everyone was, a smile appeared on the corner of Zhao Qingting's son's mouth, but it quickly disappeared.
"Okay, since everyone is opposed to this kind of shady competition, we must make this competition fair and just, so that we can stand upright and behave as human beings. Everyone is the judge. I hope that when the time comes, everyone will vote fairly.
To be fair, you must be worthy of the old man!"
After saying this, the room suddenly became chaotic. Everyone rushed to swear that they would not dirty this industry. God, everyone will definitely fight against those dirty insiders.
The old man is Emperor Ming of the Tang Dynasty, that is, the Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty.
In the later period of Xuanzong, he often hung out with actors and actresses, drinking and listening to plays in the palace every day, which brought the actor's status to a new level.
In addition, there are many legends from later generations, so today's opera people will worship him as the ancestor and call him Lao Langshen.
Each of these artists was very excited and made promises, while Xu Yang and I watched coldly.
It doesn't look like an opera association, but rather like the Tiandi Club holding a gathering here.
But it doesn’t matter if the scene is chaotic, at least no one notices me and Xu Yang.
The scene was chaotic for a long time before it finally calmed down. Everyone had finished expressing their opinions and then said goodbye one by one and went back.
Xu Yang and I also followed and walked out.
When I walked out of the Zhao family gate and looked at the people coming out one after another, I couldn't help but sneer.
Zhao Qingting's son is very talented in public speaking and knows how to mobilize emotions, so the oath seemed to be a success.
But this is just the surface. Who knows how many people are different from what they appear to be.
Zhao Qingting is the initiator of this competition, but he is only one of the judges.
Since the organizer was able to find him this time, the other judges might not be able to find him, so no one among those judges knew whether any of them had promised anything to the organizer.
After all, the organizer will not do these tricks in vain, there must be some interests involved.
As long as interests are involved, it's hard to say. After all, people's minds are far apart, and who can know what others are thinking.
Although today's oath-taking ceremony is so lively, there may be a few of them who have received benefits, and today is just a show.
Xu Yang and I walked to the car. Xu Yang started the car and wanted to go back.
I waved to him and asked him to stop the car.
"Why, aren't you going back?" Xu Yang asked me a little strangely.
"I don't think it's that simple."
I put the backrest of the seat back a little, letting myself lie down half-ly, and looked at the guests from the Zhao family who were coming out one after another.
"That Zhao Qingting's son is very good at cheating. I always feel like he has some purpose in today's scene."
"I'll let someone investigate this competition. On the day of the temple fair, our police force will also go out to maintain public order," Xu Yang said.
I nodded, Xu Yang is a policeman, and maintaining public order is his job.
However, he had no way to participate in the dark side of this game.
"Then let's go back now?" Xu Yang said.
"Don't worry, I'll go in and take a look after everyone has left." I said.
After staying in Zhao Qingting's house for such a long time, although I didn't find anything unclean, I always had an uncomfortable feeling.
I can’t say what this feeling is specifically, it’s just an intuition, and I have always trusted my intuition.
"Then do you want me to go in together?" Xu Yang asked me.
I smiled, pointed to the courtyard wall in front of me, and said to him: "Do you think you can climb up quietly?"
The Zhao family's courtyard wall is very high, much higher than other people's homes. This kind of courtyard wall is certainly not a problem for me.
But it’s a bit difficult for ordinary people.
In addition, Xu Yang's identity is different, even if he can enter, there is no guarantee that he will not be discovered by others.
If a police officer breaks into a house without permission, it will be hard to tell if someone discovers it, so it's better for me to go in by myself.
"Okay, I'll wait for you outside." Xu Yang glanced at the courtyard wall and immediately changed his mind.
We waited in the car for a while, and all the people attending condolences had left, and the door of Zhao's house was closed.
I got out of the car, then walked around the gate and came to the wall behind.
He took two steps back, then sprinted suddenly, scratching his fingernails lightly on the wall, and then climbed over the high wall.
Although this wall is high, it doesn't take any effort for me to climb up.
I looked around and then walked towards the memorial shed.
At this time, there was no one in the mourning shed. I think everyone had been busy all day and should have gone to rest.
But there was a woman kneeling in front of the memorial shed.
The woman looked about twenty years old. She was wearing linen and was burning paper money in a brazier.
I frowned. I had never seen this woman after staying here for so long during the day.
Now she is kneeling at the memorial shed to burn money and paper. Judging from her age, she must be Zhao Qingting's granddaughter.
I had no intention of alarming her, and planned to go around the funeral shed and go to the morgue at the back to take a look at Zhao Qingting's body.
Just then, footsteps sounded and a man walked over.
I stopped and looked up, and saw that it was none other than Zhao Qingting's son, Zhao Wencheng.
He came over, squatted next to the woman and whispered a few words, and then the woman rested her head on his shoulder and cried softly.
Seeing this situation, I thought they were father and daughter, and Zhao Qingting was comforting his daughter.
The next moment, the woman threw herself into his arms and kept sobbing.
I originally planned to go around, but the next moment I unexpectedly stopped!
