"Young master, you've already checked on the people. Is there...any problem?" Boss Li asked nervously when he saw Zhu Hao's eyes still wandering over these people.
Zhu Hao nodded: "The person is fine, but the clothes..."
Boss Li said without hesitation: "It's all yours."
Zhu Hao nodded again: "I will also keep the odd jobs in your troupe. The wages will remain the same as before, including those who sing, play music, and beat gongs and drums. It's the same as before, but I will settle in Anlu and stay here to perform."
Zhu Hao spoke in a very loud voice, and the people in the troupe were surprised.
What's happening here?
A child is actually pointing fingers here like an adult, and his tone seems as if he is the new boss, but the problem is... isn't this a joke?
The woman stepped forward and asked, "Boss, I wonder who our new boss is..."
"It's this young master in front of you... Young Master Zhu. He will be your new master from now on. He will take care of your food and drink. If you really can't make it, he will give you back your freedom. Our fate is over."
Mr. Li's words made everyone in the troupe go crazy.
A kid buys a troupe! ?
Could it be that Boss Li didn't want to do this anymore, so he made up an excuse and hired someone to pretend to be the new boss, and then let them go their separate ways?
For many people, being able to gain freedom is great, but for apprentices and veteran musicians who are not yet able to perform on stage, it is a bolt from the blue.
Are you going to let people live?
"Let's go, let's go to the government office to register and sign the contract. I'll come back and arrange a new residence for you." Zhu Hao said.
The woman insisted, "Anlu is not a big city, and it is not a place where many merchants gather. I'm afraid it will be difficult to maintain the opera in one place for a long time, right?"
Yu San smiled and said, "You don't have to worry about that. Anyway, you just need to know who to follow for dinner. You should act out whatever you are told to act out. Why do you want to pick on others?"
Everyone in the troupe looked at Yu San with wary eyes.
If they had doubts about the behavior of their new employer before, now more people are worried about their future livelihood.
Those who are capable and can find new jobs at any time secretly rejoice. If the troupe fails to operate, won't they have to lay off the staff? Then they may not even have to spend money, and they can be free, or even get severance pay.
…
…
Come out of the yard.
Troupe Master Li asked people to harness the carriage. Yu San was very excited: "Brother Hao, you are really capable. You pushed him down to fifty taels in one go... I asked Troupe Master Long before. His shabby troupe offered me eighty taels. He doesn't have as many people as this one, and the actors' singing and skills are not as good as ours. It's simply...
"Even if this troupe can't survive in the future, we can still make a profit by selling the contract."
Zhu Hao said, "Do you think that troupe owner Li is stupid? If the troupe can't continue to operate, who will take care of these people? We have to hire people to serve them. At most, we can break even or make a small loss... But we can dismiss the drivers later. The troupe will not move for the time being... Oh, by the way, I'll give you another ten taels of silver. Find someone to come over. I want to create a new costume and props."
"Costume and makeup?"
Yu San was confused.
Zhu Hao said unhappily: "It's the abbreviation of costumes, makeup and props. Use your brain. If you want to start a new play, how can you do it without some new costumes?
"I will make the first performance of the new troupe a sensation in the whole city. From now on, not only the local troupes in Anlu, but also the troupes in the entire Huguang area, will have to follow our rules whenever they mention singing opera. We want to be the industry leader... Do you understand?"
Yu San was stunned by what he heard. He seemed to understand, but when he thought about it carefully, his mind was full of confusion.
But there was one thing he understood clearly: this young boss had great ambitions.
Previously, it wanted to be the largest local storytelling venue in Anlu, and now it wants to be the largest opera troupe in Huguang... Oh, no, it wants to be the most famous opera troupe?
Zhu Hao raised his head 45 degrees to look at the sky, and said with emotion: "I can see that no matter what business you are in, you are always sailing against the current. If you don't move forward, you will fall behind. If you can't make money, you will end up in failure like Mr. Li...Okay, let's quickly arrange the transfer."
Yu San no longer knew what words to use to talk to Zhu Hao. Not only were the two of them not on the same channel, they were not even in the same country.
The only thing he could do was to follow Zhu Hao's footsteps, hoping that he could drink some soup while Zhu Hao was eating meat.
…
…
Zhu Hao originally wanted to go back to Prince Xing's Mansion that day, but because he had bought a troupe, had to rehearse a new play, and arrange accommodation for the troupe members, etc., he decided not to go back that night.
Everything is being implemented in an orderly manner.
The contract was transferred to Zhu Hao, who signed and sealed it, and the government arranged for his settlement.
Afterwards, everyone in the troupe, young and old, moved to their new residence in the city under Yu San's arrangement. The courtyard was rented by Yu San. There were two courtyards, front and back. The place was not big. There were rooms for eight people to sleep in, with a large bunk bed, and also rooms for two or three people. The famous actors and musicians in the troupe had their own separate rooms.
By the time we had packed up our belongings, it was almost sunset.
Only then did Zhu Hao reappear with Yu San.
People gathered.
"Let me introduce myself to you formally. I am your new boss. My last name is Zhu. You can call me whatever you want. From now on, you don't need to perform those old dramas anymore. Perform all new ones for me."
Zhu Hao said, "Okay, each of you come out and introduce yourself. Tell me your name and your specialty so I can tell you what to do."
The troupe members were very reluctant, but still came out to announce their names, directors, and some simple backgrounds.
Zhu Hao then realized that there were two couples in the troupe. They both had sons, but their sons were not in the local area. One of the couples had a daughter, the eight-year-old girl who signed the indenture contract. She took her father's surname, Song, and had no full name, but her nickname was Ping'er.
The music industry also favors boys over girls, so there was no hope of having a daughter, so she followed her parents to join the opera troupe, learned skills, signed a contract to sell herself, and followed her employer to have a meal without having to pay for her family to support her.
It was different for his son. Although he still had to learn opera, as long as he had some ability, he would become a musician. There were special people teaching him in his hometown, and it was just like studying. He only learned a skill and did not need to sign a contract to sell himself.
Gong Yeling, whose contract was due to expire in one year, stepped forward and said, "A new play needs a good script. Where can I find a good script?"
Zhu Hao looked at him with a smile on his face.
Zhu Hao had discovered before that there were many people in the music class with strange surnames. This was because after the establishment of the Ming Dynasty, not all ethnic groups of the Yuan Dynasty in the Central Plains returned to the desert. Many of them were classified as music class by the Ming government as a punishment for their enslavement of the Han people.
The Yuan surname must be changed to a Han surname. Without a family tree, you can't just use whatever surname you want. The government won't easily register you. If you insist on giving yourself a big surname, won't the local clan with that surname be angry with you? Why do you have the same surname as me?
In the end, they could only change their surnames to some less famous ones to avoid oppression from the clan, and eventually it became a habit passed down from generation to generation.
Yu San said: "The new play is written by our young master himself, you don't have to worry about it, just focus on rehearsing."
The old musician of the troupe often asked after printing: "This is our young master, and who is the big master..."
Zhu Hao smiled and said, "You don't have a big boss. If you must say there is one... it might be my mother, but I just used the little pocket money I earned to buy a troupe to run it, so there's no need to alarm my mother. You should rehearse the play well and pay attention during the performance. I won't let you go out to entertain guests...
"Come with me to go over the new manual later. We only have one night, so you should seize this opportunity and feel free to ask questions if you have any questions. When I'm not around, San... that's the shopkeeper Yu, will be in charge of your daily life. If you have any needs, you can tell him directly. If he can't solve it, come to me."
Yu San straightened his back immediately.
Before, he was only in charge of a storytelling stage, but now he is the nominal owner of this big opera troupe. More than 20 men and women follow him. He feels a great sense of accomplishment whenever he thinks about it.
But why did he always feel that the people in the troupe were wary of him?
…
…
It was not until early the next morning that Zhu Hao returned to the palace.
When entering the palace, the guards looked at him with curiosity, because Zhu Hao was the most diligent one in the past and always came back a day early. Even when the palace was closed on Fridays, they let Zhu Hao and Jing Hong go home the night before, because they took into consideration that Zhu Hao was too active and wanted to give them more time to spend with their family.
Who knew Zhu Hao would change his personality this time? !
Zhu Hao packed up his things and saw Lu Song bringing Jing Hong back from the cafeteria... Jing Hong actually returned to the palace the night before.
After asking Jing Hong to go into the house to pack up, Lu Song called Zhu Hao to the yard, found a secluded corner and asked, "Why didn't you come back yesterday?"
Zhu Hao said: "I usually come early, but not this time. Is it a mistake? I just went back to the palace at the normal time."
Lu Song frowned: "You know what I'm talking about."
Zhu Hao shook his head and sighed, "Of course I know what you are talking about... Do you think I stayed one more night to discuss something with the Jinyiwei or my family? Actually, no, I just bought a troupe and am preparing to start a new play...
"Don't look at me like you're interrogating a criminal... I've already said that I no longer have the confidence to stay in the palace. This is a dangerous place. If you're not careful, you'll never come back. Since my heart is no longer in the palace, why am I still acting so positive?"
Lu Song stared at Zhu Hao with a sharp gaze and asked sternly, "Does that mean you will spy for outsiders and sell out the interests of the palace in the future?"
"Hey, don't say such harsh words, okay? Lu Dianzhang, even if you don't regard us as people in the same boat, don't hurt each other, okay? I have such a good relationship with the princess and the prince, and I also know that there is a hidden dragon in the Prince Xing's Mansion. Why should I sell out the palace and make myself unhappy?"
As he was speaking, someone came in from outside. It was Lu Song's son Lu Bing.
When Lu Song saw his son coming, he stopped questioning Zhu Hao and left with a gloomy face.
Lu Bing ran over, grabbed Zhu Hao's hand, and said happily: "Zhu Hao, I came to look for you with the two princes yesterday. I waited for a long time but didn't see you. Why did you come back just now?"
Zhu Hao then realized that the palace had lifted the restrictions on Zhu San and Zhu Si's contact with him. Normally, the two would come to the West Courtyard to play with him, which further proved that he was gradually integrating into the Xingwang Palace.