Ghost Opera

That was how things were in those days.

Transportation was inconvenient, and bandits ran rampant.

Many people might go their entire lives without visiting the county town more than a few times. Basically, their lives stayed within ten li of their village.

This gave rise to itinerant peddlers who carried their goods on shoulder poles, traveled from village to village, and beat drums to advertise their wares.

These people had a name: they were called hawkers.

There was a man named Liu Wu who had recently drifted here from another region. With no other means of making a living, he had also taken up the business of carrying goods around to sell.

One day.

Liu Wu got into an argument with some villagers and did not manage to leave until near dusk.

Seeing that it was getting late, he knew he would not make it back to the county town. So he planned to stay the night in another nearby village.

After walking about ten li, he arrived beside a riverbed.

He had been here once half a month earlier, but at the time it had been completely dry. For some reason, today it was glimmering with water.

Had someone upstream released water?

Curious, he walked along the riverbank.

Before long, he suddenly saw the riverbank ahead brightly lit. There was even an opera stage set up, with a full-scale performance underway.

Gongs and drums rang out from the stage, while the audience below was packed shoulder to shoulder.

There were even peddlers selling melon seeds, peanuts, candies, and pastries. The scene looked extremely lively.

"They can actually afford to hire an Opera Troupe here? And there are people selling snacks?"

Liu Wu was greatly startled.

In those days, snacks were not as common as they were now.

In places