A Different Spring Festival Gala

Si Ming looked around. Although the furniture and walls were old, this place truly had the feel of home. Even if you bought a house elsewhere, it would only be a house, not a home.

"By the way, why don't we just buy this place?"

Given his current status, the local government is unlikely to cause him any trouble. Besides, he's buying it with real money, not trying to embezzle state assets for nothing, and he doesn't intend to demolish and rebuild. Even if it's inconvenient to expose Heaven's Will Palace's identity, Murong Qing can come forward. The face of Spirit Transformation expert is more effective than that of the mayor.

"Give up, it's impossible," Yao Bilian suddenly said.

"Why? Is there a policy that says these welfare housing units can't be sold? I can always buy another house to replace it."

"That's not the issue. It's because I've already bought the house, and I have no intention of reselling it to anyone else."

Si Ming asked in surprise, "When did you buy it?"

Yao Bilian said, "It was around the time I got married. My family asked me what kind of dowry I wanted, and I asked for this house. Otherwise, why haven't any new orphans been sent here for so long?"

"So, all these years I've been living a life of dependence on others?"

"It's good that you understand this. Remember to be respectful to me from now on, and I'll waive your rent."

Si Ming was speechless when the sound of the Spring Festival Gala officially starting came from the television, accompanied by festive music.

Over the past few years, Si Ming has missed the show for one reason or another, and today is the first time he has watched it seriously with others.

He was captivated after watching for only a short while. Compared to the Spring Festival Gala he had seen in his previous life, this gala might be inferior in terms of stage setup, but it was far superior in terms of content. Moreover, it exuded an indescribable grandeur. If he had to describe it, it would be the confidence of "all nations paying tribute"—I don't need to please anyone, but everyone else has to please me.

The sketches here don't preach positive energy or offer platitudes; they're just serious comedies, designed to make people laugh. There don't seem to be any strict restrictions. Si Ming even saw a sketch actor smoking on stage to make his character more vivid.

Moreover, the scope of the crosstalk is astonishingly broad, with various satirical jokes readily available, ridiculing officials and satirizing muddled policies one after another, giving the impression of being spies sent by hostile forces to cause trouble.

Si Ming's first reaction was, "How the hell did this pass?" But then he thought, since it was dominated by Mohist School thought, it would be strange if it didn't satirize the rulers.

Then a slight regret arose: even if he brought over those classic sketches from his previous life, such as "The Protagonist and the Supporting Role" and "Such Packaging," it would probably be difficult to create a masterpiece. He wouldn't be mediocre, but he also wouldn't stand out.

"The Spring Festival Gala here is so good!" Si Ming exclaimed sincerely.

Chapter 742 A Different Spring Festival Gala

Si Ming quickly understood why the restrictions on the Su State's party were so lenient. Besides the Mohist School's sword hanging over their heads, preventing officials from acting arbitrarily, the most important reason was that the Su State was the strongest country in the Sea Continent. Its position was more stable than America of the United States on Earth. Neither Nation of Valor nor Germany could threaten the Su State's position due to their own limitations. Therefore, its people, from top to bottom, had a strong sense of self-confidence.

We can correct the shortcomings that have been exposed. We won't immediately suspect that it's a frame-up by foreign media. If there are any, we'll correct them; if not, we'll strive to improve. It's not a big deal. In the absence of a powerful external threat, self-reflection is very important. Ultimately, the mindset of the top leader and the second-in-command is different.

Comparing the Spring Festival Gala programs in his memory, Si Ming discovered other differences. For example, acrobatic programs were completely absent because most people who had practiced martial arts could do those seemingly dangerous moves, so they weren't exciting at all.

Dance performances are no longer obscure. Thanks to the presence of martial arts, the performers can execute various high-difficulty moves and even release True Qi as special effects, making the content incredibly exciting. There's no need to find a large group of people to act as human backdrops to enhance the atmosphere.

The reason why dances in the past were made so elaborate and lively, like square dancing, was because professional dances did not suit the tastes of the general public. Ordinary people could not understand them and were too lazy to appreciate so-called art. The director had no choice but to find a bunch of people to make a big show of it, at least to attract attention.

However, dance in this world doesn't need these tricks. With various light-footed skills and True Qi, it can fully display the special effects scenes in movies, turning dance into martial arts dance, which is attractive enough. The number of people is usually less than ten.

Dance styles are not limited to ethnic dances that overly showcase ethnic culture. After all, in this world, the local dances of ethnic minorities are indeed somewhat unacceptable. Not to mention the Shaman School who specialize in the study of dance, even the Confucian School who advocate self-discipline and adherence to propriety have preserved a large number of High Antiquity dances.

In addition, the Military School strategist's magnificent war dance and the Legalist School strategist's meticulous court dance are both very distinctive. The Xiang Family even has a bewitching dance that captivates the soul—this is too explicit to be broadcast on public media, otherwise it would be considered a crime of disseminating obscenity.

In this era's Spring Festival Gala, sketches are no longer the main focus; the main attraction is the unique martial arts performances from the extraordinary world. It can be said that fifty percent of the evaluation of a Spring Festival Gala is determined by these martial arts performances.

Even if the other programs are mediocre, as long as the martial arts program is exciting, everyone will say that this year's Spring Festival Gala is good. If the martial arts program is not good, even if the other programs are very exciting, the audience will not be satisfied and may even call to complain and scold the director for his poor performance. Once a large-scale complaint incident occurs, the person in charge of the TV station may even have to appear on CCTV News to apologize to the audience across the country.

The television in the living room was showing a martial arts program. A handsome man and a beautiful woman stood facing each other on the stage, engaging in a spectacular and chaotic fight. Punches and kicks flew back and forth, leaving many afterimages. Finally, they clashed palms, creating a loud sonic boom, and the two were knocked back to opposite ends of the stage. Then, they quickly activated their martial Cultivation Body, stepped into the air, and faced each other in mid-air.

The man was enveloped in a burst of golden light. He pushed his hands forward, and a golden dragon formed from condensed True Qi roared out. At the same time, the beautiful woman on the other side spread her hands, and a silver phoenix appeared, crying out as it pounced on the golden dragon.

The golden dragon and the silver phoenix roared and fought fiercely, neither willing to give an inch. Their True Qi surged like a tide, and for a moment, the light shone brightly. The sound of their collisions assaulted the eardrums of the audience.

As the golden and silver light faded, the man and woman descended from the sky, still fiercely battling as they fell, spinning rapidly. Upon landing, they high-fived once more. The golden dragon devoured the beautiful woman, and the silver phoenix devoured the handsome man. The force of their energy carried them directly off the stage, ending the performance.

Si Ming thought it was alright after watching it. Although from a practical point of view, the man and woman's moves were incredibly fake and full of flaws, the show wasn't about winning but about attracting viewers. Just like fights in movies can't always be realistic; a bit of exaggeration is what makes them more appealing. However, everyone around him gave it a bad review.

Yao Bilian complained, "What is this? It's just two people fighting to a draw again. There's no originality at all. I remember the year before last it was a dragon and tiger fight, last year it was the Vermilion Bird and the Black Tortoise, and this year it's a dragon and a phoenix. Does the director think this is innovation? Even if it's old wine in new bottles, you could at least use Taotie and Qiongqi. At least that would look fresh."

Murong Qing said, "Taotie and Qiongqi are both ferocious beasts, it's too unlucky to have them appear during the New Year. It would be more appropriate to replace them with something like the Golden Toad, Bai Ze, or Pixiu."

Ying Zhou was also dissatisfied. "Their punches and palms were weak, probably because they were afraid of hurting each other. Their coordination was not good at all. Moreover, the man's cultivation was obviously much higher than the woman's, so he hesitated a bit every time he made a move, which seemed particularly awkward. It's not that we have to make it a real fight, but even if it's acting, it should be more realistic."

Murong Wu quickly tried to lighten the mood. "After all, it's the martial arts competition that's shown first. It's probably just to set the stage, like it has been done several times before."

Yao Bilian snorted, "I'm afraid it'll all be this perfunctory. If the next martial arts program doesn't satisfy me, I'll call and complain right away. I don't have the patience to wait until tomorrow."

The next program was a skit, but the theme was unusually serious, about war, albeit in an absurd and comical way. It was about two veteran soldiers from opposing sides who would pretend to be dead whenever they encountered a strong enemy. As a result, the two acting masters met, creating a farcical situation that was both hilarious and absurd, with a touch of dark humor. While the audience laughed, they couldn't help but ponder the deeper meaning behind the story.

Murong Qing said seriously, "It's a good story. The screenwriter put a lot of effort into it, and the actors portrayed their characters very well."

Yao Bilian said, "It's a pity that the skit was on the wrong stage. People watch the Spring Festival Gala for entertainment and relaxation, not for reflection. On other stages, judges could comment on it and help the audience understand the deeper meaning of the skit. But the Spring Festival Gala doesn't have judges, and it doesn't give you time to reflect. People's impression can only stay at the level that the skit was very interesting, which is a bit of a waste."

Si Ming, "If we change the stage, we might not have this many audience members. Compared to playing niche art that's only for self-admiration, expanding our audience is the top priority."

"That's true."

What impressed Si Ming even more was that there were people from a different ethnic group appearing in the program just now. They came from a small country called Hemp State, which is located next to Su State.

Ninety percent of the land in the Eastern Continent belonged to the Su State, while the remaining ten percent consisted of remote and desolate areas. Occupying these areas would not bring any benefits; on the contrary, it would require a large investment of manpower and resources to manage the environment, making the disadvantages outweigh the advantages. Therefore, when the Mohist School carried out their war of unification, they spared those small, remote tribes.

These tribes range in size from a few thousand to three hundred thousand people. Some live in the mountains, some in the plateaus, and some in the deserts. Although the authorities collectively refer to them as foreigners, they are actually closer to clan tribes. Their leaders are more like chieftains or tribal chiefs than kings.

However, these were not what Si Ming was concerned about. What he was concerned about was that although there were many foreigners participating in the program, the theme of the program was not to promote friendship between the two countries. It was simply because the program needed a foreigner to play a role, and the foreigner just happened to meet the requirements. Moreover, he also noticed that the acting skills of these foreign actors were generally excellent, at least exceeding the average level of the program.

After the skits came the magic tricks. There is no such term as magic in the Sea Continent. What is passed down are all kinds of tricks invented by Eclectic School, such as sword swallowing, face changing, and immortals picking beans. These are quite common. With the help of Internal Cultivation, there are even more tricks. Today, it has formed three major systems. "Manipulation, manipulation, and concealment".

On Earth, magic entered official occasions in China in 108 BC when Emperor Wu of the Western Han Dynasty, Liu Che, held a performance featuring "Fish and Dragon Dance" and "Hundred Entertainments" to entertain foreign envoys. Among them, "Fish and Dragon Dance" was magic, which later became part of court etiquette.