If you aren’t reading on lazysakuratranslations.com then these translations were stolen!
Lin Lixuan looked for craftsmen in the county town. This time, he didn’t have any problems. When he repaired his house in the village last time, his generosity became famous. If they worked for him, they could get good food and drinks from them. So it was easy to find craftsmen.
Most of the craftsmen were the same people as last time. After all, All Water County was only so big. The foreman was familiar with Lin Lixuan. They were familiar with each other. The foreman patted Lin Lixuan’s shoulder. The two smiled. “Don’t worry. I’ll build you a beautiful teahouse. It’ll be two floors, and you’ll be able to use it for hundreds of years.”
The old foreman came with a few craftsmen to survey the land. They spoke about how to build it and how many pillars it should have. They conversed on how to design it and how to make a big stage in the middle and how the roof should be made…
Lin Lixuan told them how he wanted it to look and told them how to design the teahouse. A square platform would be built in the center of the first floor, and the back desk would be designed too. There would be space to walk as well as space for people to play there.
The second floor would be made of private rooms. Each room would have a different theme. The second floor bar should be carved into a crescent moon design.
Lin Lixuan explained all of his requests one by one. “I can roughly understand Boss Lin’s ideas, but this drawing might have to wait a few more days. You can see if you’re satisfied with it then…”
“Okay, I’ll leave this to you!”
“Boss Lin, will you have food for us again this time?” They all missed Ger Yan’s craftsmanship.
Lin Lixuan glanced around. The workers looked at him in unison and all waited for an answer. Lin Lixuan brushed his nose. “Our store is right next door…”
“When the time comes, you can eat for free…”
The craftsmen shouted together, “Okay, Boss Lin is so nice!”
“Next time you have a job, you can come to us…”
“The chicken farm on the mountain, are you going to expand it…?”
After agreeing with the craftsmen and finalizing the drawings, the renovations and reconstruction of the teahouse was in full swing. The entire teahouse had to be rebuilt, which took about the same amount of effort as when they built the house the last time.
The dilapidated frame on the teahouse was demolished. The building that had stood on the corner of the street for decades had collapsed. The surrounding residents came to inquire and discussed, “What are you demolishing the old teahouse for?”
“Hey, isn’t it that old man’s teahouse?” “Why did he suddenly sell it? What about the old man?”
“That old man returned to his hometown. I heard he sold the teahouse to Boss Lin from Songyun Bookstore. I heard he wanted to…”
“I heard he wanted to build a storytelling building…”
“A storytelling building. I wonder what that’s for…”
“Probably for reading stories, right?”
“Yo, that sounds good…”
Such big movements also attracted the attention of the local yamen. The brothers., Zhang Shuishen and Zhang Huoda, who were more familiar with Lin Lixuan. came to inquire with Lin Lixuan.
“What are you doing?” “I heard it’s some sort of storytelling building…”
Lin Lixuan told him his plans. Zhang Shuishen clapped his hands and called out, “I heard you say your store, oh, it isn’t a bookstore or something. You need to find someone who can speak well…Take a look, what do you think about me?”
Zhang Shuishen offered himself in this way. “Let me tell you, within All Water County, you won’t be able to find anyone else who’s better to be a storyteller than me… I’ve been gossiping in the market since I was a child. There’s nothing I don’t know. I speak completely different from other people!”
“I have a mouth that turns stone into gold!” ！ ！”
In fact, there was no need for him to recommend himself. Lin Lixuan also knew that Zhang Shuishen had this ability, but he was a public servant, so how could he come to do this? “You work for the government, so how could you come here to be a storyteller…However, if you know someone who’s good at this, you can introduce them to me…”
“Well, I really want to try it…If you don’t want to be a government officer…” When Zhang Shuishen heard Lin Lixuan’s idea, his heart was hot. He felt that this was very suitable for him. Being unable to do it, he felt very uncomfortable.
If he couldn’t be a storyteller, and he had to introduce others, Zhang Shuishen would have a headache. It was as if cold water was splashed on his head, making him have a headache.
Lin Lixuan searched the market for a long time and found ten qualified people. These people had to be literate, loud, and most importantly, have a good memory, speak clearly, and have strong appeal. This was in order to attract the audience to listen to his story and immerse themselves.
They found the people, but they still needed to be trained for a while. He had Songyun Bookstore as support, and there were many stories that could be told. So many stories had to be recited one by one. Each person was responsible for different books. They memorized their own. Lin Lixuan was counting on them to master more than three books before the storytelling building was built.
The storytelling building was completed after two months of construction. The entire frame was built with wood. It was completely new from the outside. The signboard Lin Lixuan wrote himself was covered with a red cloth. Five or six adults could enter the front doors together. As soon as he stepped in the building, he felt the inside was bright. The square platform in the middle was higher than people’s knees but not higher than people’s waist. It was a good height for people to watch from. Sitting on the table, the chair and bench from the platform was high. You could easily see the entire stage.
When Lin Lixuan came to inspect, there was already someone who was sitting on the high platform in a tall posture, telling a story. He cleared his throat and let his loud voice spread…
His voice echoed throughout the first floor. It was loud and mellow but not harsh. It sounded like music. Lin Lixuan was very satisfied with him.
After taking a turn around the first floor, he climbed up to the second floor. The second floor had small private rooms. Each private room overlooked the platform below. It suited distinguished guests to enjoy the story alone. In each small private room, Lin Lixuan also posted a lot of calligraphy and paintings on the wall. He added some scholarly pens and inks, as well as a ceramic clay pot that had been transported from the porcelain factory from the next town over. The entire room was decorated tastefully.
It was almost completely sorted out. They could open on an auspicious day. Lin Lixuan carefully flipped through the yellow calendar and set the opening for the sixteenth of this month.
He didn’t even need to publicize it. The residents of All Water County had long been looking forward to the opening. They couldn’t wait for him to open.
Someone came earlier to ask, “Your storytelling building is built. There are many people coming in and out of it. Everything should be arranged!”
“Sixteenth. It’ll open on the sixteenth of this month. We welcome everyone!”
“Okay…”
On the morning of the sixteenth, the golden sunlight streaked across the sky. The light and shadow reflected the red pillars. The entire building was illuminated.
The crowd outside was full of people. Under everyone’s expectant gaze, the door of the storytelling building opened. The red cloth was uncovered. The three big characters appeared to everyone’s eyes.
Lin Lixuan beckoned the guests and welcomed them into the door. Every time Lin Lixuan opened a door, there would be a discount. This time, he wasn’t stingy either. On the day of the opening, everyone entered for free.
It was bustling. There were many people, but it wasn’t chaotic. There were many seats inside the building. There were also a lot of people. Although Lin Lixuan had already ordered more benches, with so many people visiting, there still weren’t enough seats.
The crowd flocked to the scene. The babbling erhu sounded from inside, playing a melodious melody. After the music came, the noise around them silenced. The scene was quiet. The storyteller on the high platform sat on the high wooden chair. The bamboo board in his hand snapped. He began to tell a story to the audience.
The loud and clear voice was filled with emotion. It echoed inside the entire building. Everyone could clearly hear what he said. Everyone held their breath. They concentrated their ears. Their eyes were glued to the stage. Between the table seats, the building’s servants walked back and forth, brewing tea for the guests and serving melon seeds.
On the stage, a legendary story was told by this gentleman. It was filled with grievances, hatred, and legends. Inside this small pavilion, the stories unfolded, and everyone was fascinated by it. When it reached the climax, they even forgot to spit out the melon seed shells and their tea cups spilled…time flew.
The voice on the stage ended. The audience woke up from their dream.
“It’s over?”
“What about the next paragraph? What happens next?”
“Why didn’t you finish? What happens next…”
“Why is it the same as All Water Tales? Where’s the next part!”
“That’s right…”
The noisy audience was like a vegetable market. The storyteller on the high platform raised the corners of his mouth. He was very happy with the crowd’s reaction. He felt that his performance achieved the desired effect. This gentleman forcibly calmed his joy, suppressed his excitement and said to the people below in a loud voice, “If you want to know what happens next, please listen again next time. I hope you return tomorrow!”
“I’ll have to wait till tomorrow. I might not have time tomorrow.”
“Hey! Sir, let’s discuss this. How about you finish it today? I just want to know how it ends!”
“Exactly! You just have to tell us if the woman dies or not.”
“It’s a woman?” “Wasn’t it a Shuang’er?”
“What the heck are you guys listening to!” “How can it be a Shuang’er…”
“He’s masked, after all, and he’s tall. He has to be a Shuang’er.”
“Who says there aren’t tall women?”
