"Can you help me?"
Hoyle looked puzzled and frowned slightly.
As the second son of the Simon family, he has seen a lot and has encountered many eloquent liars. Most of these people will throw out a topic to attract your attention when they meet, and then use superb words to lure you into the trap.
The Simon family is a business giant in Peacock City, second only to "Moses Voyage". His father taught him this knowledge since he was a child.
Hoyle looked the young man in front of him up and down.
The other person looked about the same age as him, or even younger. He was a little too handsome, with an extraordinary temperament, which even surprised and envied him. He was dressed in black and was very tasteful, especially the hat and the silver cane in his hand, which looked like they were tailor-made for him.
"He doesn't look like a scammer or a salesman, but we can't rule out the possibility... After all, some scammers are very skilled in makeup and disguise, and specifically target the powerful and wealthy."
Hoyle reminded himself.
"Yes, Mr. Hoyle."
Chen Lun took off his hat and put it against his chest, nodding slightly.
"I'm the head of Jack's Circus. You can call me Jack... If we join, your theater might surpass 'Tartar' and 'Golden Rum' and become the number one theater in Peacock City. It might even be upgraded to a higher level and become famous in other cities."
Hoyle said nothing, his frown deepening.
The mustached man next to him couldn't help but sneer.
"Are you kidding? If so, I'd just like to say you're quite humorous, sir."
Chen Lun glanced at him and raised his eyebrows.
"Who is this?"
"This is Mr. Covey from our 'City Garden'. He is the best magician in the theatre and many of the audience come here just for him."
Hoyle introduced.
Kewei, who had a mustache, took off his hat with a little pride, turned the hat flower in his hand, and said:
"Mr. Jack, you are so immodest. Even the Royal Drama Troupe in the Royal City is not as arrogant as you... Aha, surpassing the other two opera houses? Even raising the level?"
His hand shook, and a white dove flew out of his hat, flapped its wings, circled around, and then returned to his shoulder.
After Kewei showed off his skills, a look of disdain appeared on his face.
There was a hint of vigilance in his eyes.
"I really don't know how powerful your circus is. For animal training, we already have the Selina Sisters, for burlesque performances, we have the Elf Group, and for magic, I have you... Although City Garden is facing a minor predicament now, this is not a place where any third-rate group can join and get free food and drinks."
Chen Lun felt the man's hostility and immediately understood what was going on.
It was a kind of exclusion of colleagues, coupled with a bit of protectiveness.
Hoyle remained silent for the time being. Although what Covey said was a bit harsh, it was what he wanted to express.
"Mr. Jack, you probably came here because you saw the job advertisement, right?"
Hoyle pointed to a notice on the side of the opera entrance, which said something like "We are sincerely recruiting performance teams and will offer preferential treatment."
Chen Lun glanced in the direction the other party pointed, then looked away.
He really didn't see it.
"May I ask what Jack Circus is good at? This way I can judge whether there is any possibility of cooperation between the two parties."
Hoyle's words were very tactful, but in fact he had some doubts about this little-known and unfamiliar circus that he had never heard of.
"Hmm... I don't think I'm particularly good at anything."
Chen Lun pondered.
Kewei immediately sneered.
Hoyle on the side was also a little disappointed.
As the second son of the Simon family, he, like his other brothers and sisters, was allocated a share of the family property from his father, which was actually a test of some kind.
Only by developing and strengthening the industry can one be qualified to prove his ability to inherit the family property and take over the "helm" from his father.
This is an extremely simple identification method, but also a cruel business test.
Whether you do it through legitimate or illegitimate means, as long as you can expand your industry, it can more or less prove that you are an outstanding leader in the business world.
At that time, Hoyle chose the "City Garden" Opera House as the "test paper" because he had some feelings in mind. When he was a child, he often liked to go to this theater in his home to watch performances, and over time he fell in love with this place.
He regarded the theater as his second home.
But after taking over, Hoyle found that "City Garden" was much more difficult to manage than he had imagined. Compared with other businesses of his brothers and sisters, it was more difficult for the opera house to grow and develop. The biggest and most core problem it faced was the resident performance troupe.
No matter how exquisite and luxurious the theater's decoration is, how comfortable the seats are, or how it is hyped, operated and promoted , what is ultimately presented to the audience is the performance on the stage.
Once the performance troupe is not strong enough and the performance is not exciting enough, the reputation of the theater will gradually decline, and eventually it will become a third-rate theater with no one paying attention.
Hoyle's goals are high, but the reality is cruel.
As the old generation of actors and troupes left, and the newly recruited mainstays left, the current "City Garden" is about to fall from the ranks of the three major theaters. If it were not for its former glory that barely supported its reputation, it would have long since become a third-rate theater.
So Hoyle is now very anxious and urgently wants to find a performance troupe that can lead the theater to glory again.
At this moment, he noticed from the corner of his eye that the young man in the black hat in front of him raised his head and smiled:
"Don't get me wrong, I mean, I'm good at everything , so there's nothing I'm particularly good at."
Hoyle was stunned.
Kewei's smile also froze.
Chen Lun raised his hand and whistled.
call out--
The white dove perched on Kewei's shoulder suddenly flew into his hand, and then swayed left and right in his palm and danced to the tune of a simple whistle.
It even cooed and sang along with the melody.
Such a fairy-tale scene made Hoyle's mouth open slightly, and Covey also ignored the "betrayal" of the white dove and his eyes widened.
“This…this…?!”
But the next scene was even more shocking.
Several goldfinches, blue tits and an owl flying low over the opera house entrance all heard the whistle and landed on the gentleman in the black hat, swaying to the melody.
That scene simply left the two of them dumbfounded.
"Ah, I'm so sorry. Although I'm just the head of the circus and not a real performer, I do know a little bit about animal training."
Chen Lun smiled politely.
He then waved his hand, and the birds on his body took off and circled above his head, as if surrounding their master.
"This is just a little knowledge... of animal taming techniques?!"
Hoyle's voice trembled slightly.
As for Kewei and the short salesman beside him, they were already stunned and silent.
"Of course, animal taming also requires a lot of skills. I am just an apprentice who has just begun to learn the ropes..."
Chen Lun spoke in a gentle tone and was very humble.
Then, he seemed to remember something.
"Oh, by the way, I also know a little bit of magic."
He just stretched out the silver cane in his hand and hooked the hat in Mr. Covey's hand, then snapped his fingers.
Bang!
A white dove fluttered out of the hat, just like the magic that Covey had just performed.
But the difference was that another one flew out of the hat immediately afterwards.
Then the third, the fourth, the fifth...
White doves seemed to be escaping from their cages, more and more. That ordinary hat seemed like a bottomless pit.
In the eyes of Hoyle and Covey, dozens or even hundreds of white pigeons filled the air in front of the opera house.
"It's... it's incredible! This can't be called magic, this is simply magic!"
Hoyle jumped up on the spot like a little child, his face flushed with excitement.
He cheered and looked up at the white doves in the sky.
Kewei was so shocked that he took a few steps back and almost fell to the ground.
"This is impossible! How could you hide so many pigeons in your hat? It must be in your cuffs... No! That's impossible! How did you do it? How did you do it?!"
This scene directly overturned Kewei's worldview, destroyed all the magic tricks in his mind, and even made him feel ashamed of himself. It was as if his painstaking efforts and research on skills over the past few decades were just a joke in front of real magic.
Immediately.
The circling white pigeons and other birds dropped countless white feathers and bird droppings.
It fell accurately on Kewei, instantly turning him into a smelly shit man.
“Ugh! Ugh…!”
Kewei knelt on the ground and vomited out all the sandwiches and milk he had eaten in the morning.
Hoyle and the short salesman were startled and dodged the "dung man" repeatedly, covering their noses with disgusted expressions.
"Oh my sun, Mr. Covey, you stink worse than my grandmother's feet right now."
The little guy pinched his nose and spoke in a muffled voice.
"Shut up! Shut up!!"
Kewei was shocked, angry and upset. He wanted to speak, but when his mouth reached the taste of food residue.
He felt like he was about to throw up his stomach.
"I'm sorry, I didn't expect these little guys to be so naughty. Maybe they have an upset stomach."
Chen Lun looked apologetic.
He snapped his fingers again.
Bang!
The white doves in the sky disappeared and turned into playing cards, falling all over the ground.
This series of scenes has attracted the attention of countless passers-by around, who gathered around to watch curiously.
There was silence for a few seconds.
Then there was warm applause.
Crackling...!!
"Mr. Jack! Please follow me in! There are too many people here... Let's go to my office to discuss in detail. Don't worry, I will definitely give you a satisfactory contract!"
Hoyle stared at Chen Lun with his bright eyes.
His tone was tense and urgent, even with a hint of pleading.
"Please join 'City Garden', I implore you..."
Hoyle knew that the young director in front of him was the person he had always wanted to find. Only such an outstanding person could save the theater and lead it to glory.
"Of course, I also want to sit down and rest. The chairs in the cab are too hard."
Chen Lun shrugged and said.
"Come in, Mr. Jack, please..."
Hoyle was very attentive, and the haggardness and dark circles under his eyes seemed to have faded away all of a sudden, leaving only vitality and hope.
As the two entered the theater, Covey, who was completely ignored, was still vomiting on the ground.
The short salesman tried hard to hold back his laughter and ran in right after him.
“Damn it!”
Kewei wiped away the tears that were choked by the stench and said through gritted teeth.