The Rise of the Writers of the Republic of China

Outside Tianjin Railway Station.

Mule carts are waiting on the side of the road for business. Although the automobile has been invented for many years, livestock is still the most important means of transportation in China.

Someone came out of the station and shouted: "Hey, hurry up and get some cars!"

"Come on!" The handlebar waved his whip happily.

The one calling for the car was a theater troupe, there were all kinds of twenty or thirty people, and there were three big cars loaded with stage props alone.

Tomorrow is the day when Meng Xiaodong will make her comeback on stage, so she leaves for Tianjin ahead of schedule, and her family and elders are all accompanying her.

The eldest uncle Meng Hongfang played martial arts and a clown, the second uncle Meng Hongshou sang Wen Chou and played Jinghu, the third uncle Meng Hongrong played a civil and martial old student and Wu Jing, the sixth uncle Meng Hongmao played a clown, and his father Meng Hongqun played an old student and a red student. Meng Xiaodong's mother Zhang Yunhe, second younger sister Pei Lan, third younger brother Xue Ke, fourth younger sister Youdong, and several of her uncles also sang operas or played musical instruments.

Three generations of the Meng family have produced nine famous actors, and grandfather Meng Qi is the most interesting. He served in the Tianping Heavenly Kingdom in his early years and served in the army for more than ten years. He is good at martial arts. He served as an opera troupe teacher under the command of the British King Chen Yucheng. He fought in wars and sang operas in his spare time.

This whole opera family, the opera troupe are all family members. She is absolutely prominent in later generations, but in the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China, she belonged to the lower class, with money but no status, and intermarriage basically chose peers, and married celebrities and wealthy businessmen could only be concubines.

They performed mainly in the South and even went as far as the Philippines. But now the south is fighting all day long, and it just so happens that Meng Xiaodong bought a property in Beiping again, and the whole family simply moved to Beiping to settle down.

After the loading was completed, the journey began, and a few rickshaws were called to be taken by the ladies.

Meng Xiaodong was in a car with his younger sister, Youdong. Youdong was only nine years old this year, but he had already made his debut and sang well.

In the car next to him sat his mother Zhang Yunhe and his third brother Meng Xuexue. Zhang Yunhe turned his head and said to Meng Xiaodong: "Boss, you are almost 20 years old, and you have reached the age to talk about marriage. I asked someone to help you find a match, and there really is a suitable match. You also know that person..."

"Mom, stop talking, I have no plans to get married right now." Meng Xiaodong interrupted.

Seeing his daughter's strong reaction, Zhang Yunhe asked suspiciously, "Do you have a sweetheart?"

"No, don't think too much about it." Meng Xiaodong categorically denied it.

But Zhang Yunhe knew his daughter well, and said softly: "Tell Mom, who is that man?"

"No." Meng Xiaodong said impatiently.

"Okay, okay, you decide your own affairs." Zhang Yunhe was quite open-minded.

At this time in history, Meng Xiaodong had already developed a secret love for Mei Lanfang, and later married Mei Lanfang as a concubine despite her family's opposition, strictly speaking, she belonged to the third concubine. Mr. Mei's first wife is Wang Minghua. Because of the premature death of his daughter, he took the initiative to persuade her husband to remarry to continue the incense, so he had a second wife, Fu Zhifang. Both ladies are still alive today.

Meng Xiaodong is an adamant person, she was willing to be Mr. Mei's concubine in history, and now she is sure that Zhou Hexuan will not waver, she doesn't care what her parents say.

"Sister, is your lover in Tianjin?" Meng Keke suddenly asked.

Meng Xiaodong said angrily, "Little kid, what do you know?"

Meng Ke shouted: "What a brat, I'm fourteen years old!"

"Wait until you turn eighteen." Meng Xiaodong laughed.

"Che, think I don't know, your lover must be in Tianjin," Meng Ke said, "Otherwise, our theater troupe will premiere in the north, leaving Peking alone, and why come to Tianjin?"

Meng Xiaodong was told what was on his mind, blushed and said: "Go, go, stop talking nonsense."

"Read the newspaper, read the "Ta Kung Pao", the governors of the fifteen provinces jointly recommended Zhang Zuolin as the commander-in-chief of the Anguo Army! Marshal Zhang will be inaugurated next month!"

"Read the newspapers, read the "Dazhong" newspaper, "The Legend of Condor Heroes" is a hot serial."

A newspaper boy ran and shouted in the street.

Meng Xiaodong suddenly shouted: "Get a copy of "The Public!"

"Okay, two cents and eight cents." The newsboy ran over happily.

Meng Xiaodong began to read while sitting in the rickshaw. She liked to read what Zhou Hexuan wrote, and a sweet smile appeared on her face involuntarily.

Zhang Yunhe saw it in his eyes and kept it in his heart, always feeling that there was something wrong with his daughter. After she settled down in the inn, she pulled her daughter into the room alone and asked, "Boss, tell Mom the truth, who is your sweetheart?"

Meng Xiaodong said: "Mom, I really didn't..."

"Don't say no!" Zhang Yunhe stared at his daughter, and then comforted, "Mom has no objection, I just want to know about the situation."

Only then did Meng Xiaodong hesitantly say, "It's Zhou Hexuan."

Zhang Yunhe had never heard of Zhou Hexuan's name, so he quickly asked, "Who is Zhou Hexuan? What does he do?"

Meng Xiaodong said: "He is a scholar, the principal of Peking University."

"The principal of Peking University?" Zhang Yunhe said in surprise, "The principal of Peking University can't be done by ordinary people. Mr. Zhou is very old, right? Is his wife still alive? If his wife dies and fills the house, it will be considered a good marriage."

This is the mentality of Peking opera artists in the old society. They despise themselves and think that their daughters marrying older scholars are a good match for their stepmothers.

"Mom, what are you talking about? Brother Zhou is only 28 years old, and he hasn't even been married yet." Meng Xiaodong explained.

Hearing that Zhou Hexuan was young and unmarried, Zhang Yunhe instead had a frowning face, and patiently persuaded him: "Boss, this is a bit precarious. That Zhou Hexuan can be the president of Peking University at the age of 28 must have official backing, and he himself is also very knowledgeable. Such a young talent, I'm afraid we'll look down on our opera singers, you'd better find a colleague and get married."

Meng Xiaodong resolutely said: "No, I'll just trust him, at worst, I'll marry him and be my concubine."

"Oh," Zhang Yunhe sighed, "you have been a child with ideas since you were a child, and I can't persuade you. People are unpredictable, so be careful in everything, so don't let people be deceived. Cultural people are the most unreliable, and you can't be fooled. Not as good as wealthy businessmen and officials. They care most about their reputation and don’t want to be gossiped by others. They are always procrastinating in marriage. It would be great if they could marry you as a concubine. If they cheat your body and abandon it, then you will suffer said."

"Mom, Big Brother Zhou is not that kind of person," Meng Xiaodong quickly spoke for Zhou Hexuan, "He values ​​love and righteousness, and is very good to his friends. He also has a kind heart. He has opened many schools and allowed children from poor families to study for free."

Zhang Yunhe was silent, and asked after a long time: "Then what does he mean to you?"

Meng Xiaodong said distressedly: "He seems to only regard me as a little sister. He is usually very close, but when it comes to feelings, he always avoids it."

Zhang Yunhe was overjoyed when he heard the words: "Silly girl, this is a good thing! The more he is like this, it means that he is more cautious about his feelings, and he is not the kind of person who is always in a hurry."

"Really?" Meng Xiaodong couldn't figure it out.

Zhang Yunhe said: "This man is not bad. If he can really marry him, even if he is a concubine, he should not let you down."

The next day, Xinming Grand Theater.

Meng Xiaodong ran to the backstage exit from time to time, and looked down the stage with his feet on his feet.

Zhang Yunhe stood beside his daughter and asked, "Aren't you here yet?"

"Here we come! Those who just entered the door." Meng Xiaodong said happily.

Zhou Hexuan, Li Shoumin, Shen Congwen, Zhu Xiang, Zheng Zhengyin and others entered together, Zhang Yunhe wondered, "Which one is it?"

Meng Xiaodong said, "It's the tallest one."

The mother-in-law looked at her son-in-law, and the more she watched, the more interesting she became. Zhang Yunhe said with satisfaction: "Sure enough, he is a good-looking talent!"