Mei Liangxin left.
The three little dwarfs were left in the room, raging helplessly.
"Baka, how dare someone look down on our Great Bandit Empire like this! What should we do now?"
"Destroy every obstacle standing in our way! We'll visit the teahouse again later. I'd like to see just how capable they really are!"
"Yoshi, Hano-kun, I suggest we find more connections to negotiate an acquisition. As long as the price is right, I believe someone will be willing to work for us!"
"Good, we'll do it that way! Dragon Country has an old saying: under a heavy reward, brave men will emerge! Don't worry about spending money. As long as we can take over this teahouse, no amount is a problem!"
The three discussed their strategy, still unwilling to give up on the teahouse.
If they had initially chosen the teahouse as an investment because of its prime location and long-standing reputation,
then now, they wanted even more to use money to crush it, to break the pride of those opera performers from within, and let their own culture corrode this outstanding one!
Acquiring the teahouse seemed to bring them a perverse sense of accomplishment.
After leaving the hotel, Mei Liangxin felt inexplicably irritated.
Peking Opera, the national essence, placed loyalty above all else. None of those who had walked out of that courtyard back then would dare forget the hatred born of national humiliation.
Especially when dealing with those Japanese harboring ulterior motives!
After getting into the car, he casually dialed a number.
"Hello, it's me! I'm afraid I'll have to trouble you guys!"
"Send a few people to keep an eye on the teahouse. I pissed off a few little Japanese today, and I'm worried they might play dirty!"
"They're targeting the teahouse. I've already checked it out. They said they wanted to set up some kind of cultural attraction of theirs. What kind of bullshit is that? You think I'd agree to it?"
"Heh, no need to bring anything. Just show up. They won't dare make too much trouble!"
After hanging up with a smile, Mei Liangxin's expression gradually stiffened. The conversation he had had with those three Japanese men still echoed in his ears, and the more he thought about it, the worse it felt.
The culture of the national essence had been neglected far too severely, yet these little dwarfs had the nerve to turn around and claim they admired and wanted to study it?
They did not cherish the treasures passed down by their own ancestors, only to have outsiders worship them instead. What kind of logic was that?
After thinking for a long while, he let out a deep sigh.
He drove toward the restaurant.
Meanwhile, as the sky began to darken, Su Chen finally arrived in Jinshi City and came near the teahouse as agreed.
The teahouse stood close to a commercial street, where pedestrians flowed endlessly and the atmosphere was exceptionally lively.
From afar, Su Chen looked at the somewhat old and solemn teahouse. It clashed with the modern buildings around it, yet it gave off a sense of peace and depth. Unlike the modern buildings beside it, which could be taken in at a single glance, this ancient-style structure rose layer upon layer. Every tile and every brick bore the marks of time and the refinement of art. One could not see its full depth at a glance; its grandeur lay in the smallest details.
The entire duplex teahouse was roughly three stories high. It was not difficult to imagine the bustling scene in its heyday, when every seat had been filled with guests.
The teahouse's unique style still drew quite a few people inside to take a look.
However, they were only interested in seeing the building itself and had no interest in opera.
Its unique architectural style could not conceal the teahouse's desolation and deserted entrance.
Su Chen looked at the teahouse with a complicated expression and began preparing for the task.
After parking the car in a space, he did not enter the teahouse. Instead, he stopped and waited some distance away.
He lowered his head to check the time. Old Qiao should be arriving soon.
The sky quickly darkened, and lights in the distance gradually came on. This bustling, noisy street was only just beginning its true "life."
After a long while,
a car came to a steady stop outside the teahouse, and a trembling figure was helped out by Qiao Sheng.
That figure was Qiao Xiang. At this moment, he was actually dressed in a full opera costume as he struggled to step out of the car.
He looked at the teahouse with a complicated expression, his eyes seeming to hold expectation and hope.
Qiao Sheng supported him, his brows furrowed and his face full of heartache.
That attire immediately drew many puzzled looks on the crowded commercial street.
"Hm? Who's that? Why is he wearing an opera costume?"
"Could he be from that teahouse?"
"No way. The teahouse stopped staging operas ages ago! Besides, what era is this? Opera's long outdated. Who would listen to it?"
"Exactly. And I heard that teahouse is about to be demolished to make way for a large shopping mall!"
"Then isn't that old man dressed like that because he wants to sing opera?"
There happened to be an internet celebrity on the commercial street. Seeing this, the streamer curiously stopped and pointed the camera at Qiao Xiang in front of the teahouse.
"Everyone, I actually spotted an old grandpa in an opera costume on the commercial street. Can you guess what he's getting ready to do?"
Many viewers watching the livestream were drawn in by the elderly man in opera costume who had suddenly appeared on screen.
The comments immediately flooded in.
"Where is this? Why is there still someone singing opera?"
"What's going on? How did the streamer run into a grandpa in an opera costume on a commercial street?"
"No way, is the streamer going to let us hear Peking Opera?"
"Looking at that old man's condition, he probably can't sing anymore! Still, that costume looks pretty good!"
"Hey, I know this teahouse. It's been in decline for years! No one listens to opera now!"
The voices around him reached Qiao Xiang's ears without the slightest attempt at restraint.
His expression did not change. With his hunched body trembling, he steadfastly walked toward the teahouse. The moment he reached the threshold, he suddenly stopped.
All the passersby watching him froze in surprise.
They looked at that figure from behind.
The old man's bent body supported the opera costume.
Time spared no one, yet the bearing possessed only by a Peking Opera master had not diminished from him in the slightest. Every movement displayed peerless grace!
In a clear, resonant voice, weathered and carrying a hint of hoarseness, he declared loudly,
"This old man has come to sing opera. This is our national essence! How could it ever become outdated?"
With the old man suddenly appearing in the livestream, the viewer count in the broadcast room surged rapidly.
The streamer seemed to sense a hot topic and hurried forward, asking the figure from behind,
"Sir, Peking Opera is outdated. No one has listened to opera for a long time now. Who are you preparing to sing for?"
At that moment, both the passersby at the scene and the viewers in the livestream were drawn in by the question.
"Peking Opera is one of the oldest cultures within Huaxia Culture! Our operas tell of Dragon Country's long and enduring history, and of the loyalty, filial piety, propriety, and righteousness passed down through countless generations! How could it become outdated?"
"This opera can be heard by beggars, by common folk, and by nobles!"
"It can be heard by... these vast mountains and rivers, and this flourishing age beneath heaven!"
His words were simple and concise, yet they struck straight to the heart!
In just a few sentences, he evoked endless stirring emotion!
Everyone present froze, their pupils trembling slightly as they looked at Qiao Xiang!
Those words made their scalps tingle!
It felt as though something deep in their bones had been awakened.
Before you continue