Yan Fansun and others were very enthusiastic about their work. The key was the support of the advanced and excellent lecture notes provided by Li Yu, which made it go very smoothly.
After finishing his work, Zhang Boling said to Li Yu: "Brother Shucai, I happen to have a few theater tickets here. Let's go and listen together."
Yan Fansun said: "Yes, the big characters are here today. The opening scene is the stand-up comedy of Fu Genshuo, the leader of the "Eight Freaks on the Bridge" in the capital, and then the famous actor Yang Xiaolou from the capital appears in the finale."
Fu Gen is the third generation cross talk successor, and is known as Gui Sanye among insiders.
This lineup is basically equivalent to the later generations of Guo Degang and Jet Li appearing at the same time, which is absolutely sensational.
But currently opera is definitely more popular.
Li Yu said: "The battle is not small. Is there a big shot here?"
Yan Fansun said: "I heard that Li Guojie is coming and has spent a lot of money."
Li Guojie is Li Hongzhang's eldest grandson and has inherited Li Hongzhang's first-class marquis.
Unlike after Rong Lu's death, the Rong family had almost no heirs, but Li Hongzhang's family has been doing well.
The wealth left by Li Hongzhang is huge, estimated to be 20 million taels of silver. Even calculated according to the most conservative purchasing power parity method, it is almost equivalent to 6 billion yuan in future generations!
I can't say he was as rich as any country, but he was definitely at the top of the wealth pyramid at the beginning of the 20th century.
There are really not many people who can surpass the Li family. It seems that the only one who can make money is Prince Qing.
Among the other four famous officials in the late Qing Dynasty, Zeng Guofan died early; Zuo Zongtang left only tens of thousands taels after his death; Zhang Zhidong left even less.
I really can’t compare to Li Hongzhang...
For comparison, Hu Xueyan, the most famous red-top businessman in the Qing Dynasty, has been in business all his life. At his peak, his assets were only about 20 million taels of silver.
Li Hongzhang was only an official and did not do business specifically.
Of course, he did create many big industries, and he also had Sheng Xuanhuai, the most powerful official and businessman in the late Qing Dynasty after Hu Xueyan, under his command.
Li Guojie now spent money to enter the Capital University as a lecturer. Li Yu had met him before.
Li Yu and others immediately arrived at the theater.
Yan Fansun handed him a theater ticket. Li Yu looked at it and saw that the ticket price was 700 Wen, which was already very high.
I went to the Wenming Tea Garden in Beijing before, and the "balcony" in a good location cost 400 Wen.
The reason why the ticket price is so high today is probably because two famous actors were invited at the same time.
Nowadays, Yang Xiaolou's reputation is not small. After all, he was able to enter the Nanfu Theater of the Imperial Palace and was appreciated by Cixi.
Although the old woman is disgusting, people who live in a well-off society often go to the theater and watch a lot. I can't say that I am a good appraiser of art, but my artistic taste is indeed not low.
Li Yu and others had just sat down when Li Guojie entered the door. He saw Li Yu at a glance and walked up to say hello: "Master! I didn't expect you to be so kind."
Li Yu smiled and said: "Entertainment is indeed good."
Li Guojie is a noble son. He has listened to opera and cross talk since he was a child. He said proudly: "It just so happens that we can enjoy it together today. I am not only a great opera master, but also a lover of folk arts."
Li Yu is really not as good as him in this aspect.
A few people sat down again and started eating melon seeds.
The first to take the stage were Fugenshuo's stand-up comedy, "Taiping Lyrics", "Exploring Qingshui River" and so on.
Li Yu had heard of Deyun Society before, so he was not unfamiliar with these.
Although Zhang Yunlei's "Exploring the Qingshui River" does sound better, but when it was sung by artists in the late Qing Dynasty and early Republic of China, it has more of the flavor of the story itself.
Because the story told by Tan Qingshuihe is actually quite tragic. It is basically a story about two young men and women who were restricted by feudal ethics and eventually both died in love.
It's a bit like the plot of a peacock flying southeast.
The above is just an appetizer. After that, Fugen came back with a more interesting episode of "The Big Bodyguard".
This is the double-talk crosstalk that is more common in later generations, but the form belongs to the initial stage, and many aspects are not as perfect as stand-up crosstalk.
Li Guojie introduced him: "The master with rich roots is Zhu Shaowen, whose stage name is 'Be Not Afraid of Being Poor'. He once performed for Prince Gong."
Later, many crosstalk artists regarded Zhu Shaowen as the founder of crosstalk. There were actually artists before him, but Zhu Shaowen's achievements and reputation were more prominent, especially his pioneering of double-talk crosstalk, so he was regarded as the "founder" by the crosstalk circle.
After Fu Gen finished his performance, Yang Xiaolou appeared.
In terms of influence, Beijing Opera's status is indeed higher at this time.
Accompanied by the band playing in the background, Yang Xiaolou showed up with martial arts steps, and the audience burst into applause.
Li Yu can understand cross talk, but he really doesn't understand Peking opera very well, so he can only cheer along with the others.
After a piece of music ended, everyone took advantage of the break to go to the toilet and buy some tea.
Suddenly someone from behind shouted loudly: "You, are you Japanese?"
The speaker had a strange mouth and was obviously a foreigner.
The Japanese replied: "Are you a Russian red deer?"
"Red deer? Are you scolding me?" the Russian said angrily.
"Yes, you are the Russian Red Deer!" the Japanese said arrogantly.
The Russian simply quit and yelled back in Russian: "Sukabu! Do you have the guts to fight with me?"
The Japanese directly unbuttoned their clothes: "I am a judo master after all. Today I will let you Russians know that not only can we defeat you on the battlefield, but we will not lose in fights either!"
"What a waste of judo! Strength is king, little Japan, I will not show mercy, be careful to die here!" The Russian looked very tall and began to unbutton his clothes.
The Japanese didn't wait for the Russian to finish taking off his clothes, then reached out and grabbed him by the collar and threw him out.
The Russian fell heavily on a table, and one of the table legs instantly cracked.
When the spectators around them saw that they were really fighting, they all got out of the way.
These two people were jealous because after all, the two countries were already at war and had declared war on each other. They couldn't stand each other very much.
The Japanese rushed over and then grabbed the Russian by the collar. The Russian did not take off his clothes and punched the Japanese in the face.
The Japanese had no choice but to loosen their collars and dodge back.
The Russian then jumped off the table, stood up again, and cursed: "Sukabu! You are planning a sneak attack!"
The theater security guard rushed over to break up the fight: "You two gentlemen, if you have something to say, don't do anything!"
The Russian punched him, but the security guard didn't block him and was knocked aside.
The Russian cursed angrily: "What qualifications does a Chinese have to stop me? I must let the damn Japanese die here today!"
The Japanese were also not to be outdone: "Come here, I will use you to comfort the emperor today!"
The Russian was furious and rushed over and threw a punch. The Japanese raised his hands to block, but the punch was indeed very powerful. He was hit several steps back and overturned many tables and chairs.
The Russians were about to pursue their victory when another Chinese suddenly appeared in front of them.
The Chinese shouted angrily: "Don't act wild here!"
The Russian didn't take him seriously at all and punched him. Unexpectedly, the opponent easily dodged it and kicked him in the crook of the knee.
The Russian couldn't stand on his feet and fell forward.
Seeing this opportunity, the Japanese quickly kicked the Russians in the face.
The Russians cannot avoid this situation.
The Chinese man followed up and met the Japanese leg squarely with his kick.
The Japanese man said "Ouch" and fell down holding his calf.
However, the Chinese man retracted his legs lightly, and then scolded: "You don't even realize that this is a public place, so you are allowed to do whatever you want? If you don't accept it, set up a ring. I, Huo Yuanjia, will fight with you one by one to the end!"
Li Yu's eyes lit up, good guy, it turns out it's Hohohohohohohohoho!
With a flick of his mouth, he actually sang Jay Chou's song.
At this time, Huo Yuanjia had not yet gone to Shanghai to found the Jingwu Sports Association, which became the famous Jingwu Sect in subsequent film and television works.
But he has already made a name for himself in Tianjin. Three years ago, a Russian strongman took advantage of the Gengzi national crisis to clamor for "invincible opponents in China." Then Huo Yuanjia immediately made an appointment with him through Nong Jinsun. Unexpectedly, this
Hercules found out that Huo Yuanjia was a tough guy with real skills, so he backed down in the face of battle.
So when the Russians heard about Fearless's reputation, they also felt a little guilty.
The Huo family was originally from a bodyguard agency, a business of licking blood from the sword head, and fights were very fierce.
The Japanese had never heard of Huo Yuanjia's reputation. After rubbing their calves for a while, they stood up and said angrily: "Baga! Don't stand in my way, sick man of East Asia!"
He made a posture and rushed over again. Suddenly a young man flew out from behind Huo Yuanjia, raised his leg and kicked him in the calf again.
Even in real ring competitions in later generations, such as the very famous K1 (a famous international stand-up fighting event), it is very useful to hit one position with the whip leg at the same time, which will cause muscle tears and the opponent will quickly lose combat effectiveness.
The ground cannot rise.
The Japanese's injuries were getting worse at this moment. He screamed in pain, covered his calves and completely shrunk to the ground, unable to stand up.
Huo Yuanjia called to the security guard: "Kick them out!"
Then he said viciously to the Japanese and Russians: "Remember my name. If anything happens, we will tell you in the ring."
The security guards quickly crossed the Japanese and Russians and left, which happened to be not far from the newly established Tianjin Police Department.
The Police Department was established by Yuan Shikai, and they did not dare to deal with foreigners at will. At most, they would send them back to their respective embassy areas.
The waiters in the theater hurriedly came out to clean up the broken tables and chairs.
Li Yu stepped forward, cupped his fists and said, "Master Huo!"
Huo Yuanjia saw that Li Yu didn't have braids and asked suspiciously: "Who are you?"
"He is Li Yu." A voice came from Huo Yuanjia's side, and it was Nong Jinsun who spoke, "Junqing (Huo Yuanjia's nickname), have you forgotten, I told you."
Huo Yuanjia said: "I remembered that you are the emperor's teacher, famous in the West, you also established schools and education, you are a great sage!"
Li Yu laughed and said: "A saint can't say that."
Nong Jinsun stepped forward and cupped his hands and said, "Master Imperial, I'm Nong Jinsun."
Li Yu replied: "I have admired you for a long time!"
Li Guojie on the side was a little frightened. He had hid outside the gate just now. Then he came back and asked: "Is it okay to treat foreigners like this?"
Nong Jinsun had received a strict education and acted cautiously. He said: "Master Marquis, don't worry, this place is directly under the jurisdiction of Beiyang. Moreover, the Japanese and the Russians are at war with each other. We are fighting on both sides without losing our bias.
On the contrary, nothing happened."
Li Guojie said: "That's good."
He is also worried that the Russians and Japanese will unite. But he has forgotten that the Qing Dynasty is now a fish and meat, and what they are fighting for is you.
With such a fuss, I will definitely not be able to listen to the drama anymore.
At this moment, Yang Xiaolou suddenly ran out with the flower gun on the stage. He had just taken off his heavy costume backstage, and said angrily: "Foreign devils still dare to fight in front of me! Come out quickly!"
Huo Yuanjia smiled and said: "No need, they have been beaten away by me. And you are just showing off your skills, don't really use knives or guns with others."
Yang Xiaolou was unconvinced: "You have to fight even if you can't beat me!"
Huo Yuanjia put away his smile, stopped mocking him, and praised: "You have courage."
Seeing that the Japanese and Russians were indeed not there, Yang Xiaolou looked at the fancy gun in his hand and sighed: "I just hate that although I play heroes like Zhao Zilong and Guan Yunchang, I don't have the ability to kill the enemy."
Li Yu said to him: "Everyone has his own strengths, brother Yang, don't be depressed."
Yang Xiaolou didn't know that Li Yu also came to listen to the play. He was surprised and said: "Brother Li! You are here too! I'm really sorry that I didn't let you finish listening."
Li Yu didn't understand Beijing opera anyway, so he said: "It doesn't matter, I just watched a good show today."
Then he said to Huo Yuanjia: "Master Huo, you are truly a Jingwu hero."
Huo Yuanjia was stunned and said: "Jingwu Hero? What a good title! I like it!"
Li Yu looked at the boy who had kicked the Japanese again and asked, "Who is this?"
Huo Yuanjia introduced him: "His name is Liu Zhensheng, and he is my apprentice."
Liu Zhensheng stepped forward and clasped his fists and said, "I have seen the emperor's master."
Liu Zhensheng was Huo Yuanjia's great apprentice, and the prototype of Chen Zhen, the protagonist of later "Fist of Fury".
Li Yu said happily: "It's rare to see a group of heroes. How about we all have a drink together?"
Huo Yuanjia and Nong Jinsun said: "It is a great honor to be invited by the emperor's master."
In fact, in their eyes, the status of Li Yu and others is much higher.
When Yan Fansun and Zhang Boling saw Huo Yuanjia's master and apprentice take action, they also felt very passionate and immediately agreed to go with them.
Li Yu looked at Li Guojie: "Master Hou, where are you?"
Li Guojie, however, didn't particularly want to associate with people from the green forest, so he said, "I still have something to do, so I won't go."
Li Yu didn't force him to stay.
Yang Xiaolou said: "Can I come with you?"
"Of course." Li Yu readily agreed, and then said to Fu Gen, "Mr. Fu, let's come together."
Fugen did not expect that the majestic Imperial Master would take the initiative to invite him, and said excitedly: "It is a great honor to be able to sit with the Imperial Master."
Huo Yuanjia smiled and said: "By the way, I will play one more part."
Fu Gen specializes in cross talk and is very good at answering questions: "It's just right for the food and wine."
Before leaving, Huo Yuanjia suddenly asked again: "Have you paid the fees?"
Yang Xiaolou and Fugen shook their heads.
Li Yu's eyes flashed and he said to Li Guojie: "Master Hou, look..."
Li Guojie understood very well and immediately said: "Today's performance fee and reward will not be less."
Fugen and Yang Xiaolou immediately said: "Thank you, Lord Marquis!"
Li Guojie said awkwardly: "It should, it should."
Yang Xiaolou and Fugen each earned 60 taels of silver today, which is equivalent to 4 taels of silver. This is equivalent to 1,200 yuan in future generations.
And this kind of situation is not uncommon. Including performances for dignitaries, there are only about ten performances a month at most.
Sometimes dignitaries would give more rewards, but no matter how you calculate it, compared with the income of later celebrities, it is simply a drop in the bucket.
After all, they are also among the absolute top in the current entertainment industry, especially the extremely popular Yang Xiaolou.
Fortunately, overall, they can already afford a life above the middle class.
After the Republic of China, their performance fees continued to rise.