Chapter 2818 Rich And Colorful

In the near future, given the overly prominent commercial associations of the Ziming House brand, those involved would seek to avoid creating the impression that the Checkered Skirt Club was merely a subsidiary. They also wished to prevent overuse of the word "club." To these ends, the Commercial Department and the club's gentlemen decided to adopt "Troupe East Gate" as the unified name for their developing idol theater chain. In all publicity, it would be completely separated from the original Ziming House Entertainment and the Checkered Skirt Club, connected only through capital and management.

Though the name changed several times, this merger would have far-reaching influence on the idol entertainment industry of this timeline. Just as ancient Roman cities invariably featured theaters and arenas, cities in this era could usually find branches of Ziming House and Troupe East Gate, spreading Australia-Song's distinctive pop culture and lifestyle around the world. However, since the club's name happened to match Senator Dongmen Chuiyu's surname, many outsiders assumed it was his private property. This misunderstanding caused the Checkered Skirt gentlemen no end of trouble and disagreements.

Beyond the Troupe East Gate theater, which struck outsiders as outlandish, stood the original flagship venue of the Cultural and Arts Department—the supremely rustic "Pili Hall Puppet Theater." Though built using the same red-brick truss structure as the Central Experimental Theater, it featured more traditional wooden eaves and windows, and its relatively modest size lent it a more approachable air. A small plaza fronted the theater, and the steps leading from there to the ticket windows were perpetually crowded with children and young teenagers.

Compared to the more formal Experimental Theater and the overly niche Checkered Skirt Club, Pili Hall's puppet shows currently commanded the widest audience and the most demanding performance schedule. Though called the "Lingao Puppet Theater," it was actually an improved hybrid based on old-timeline Taiwanese puppetry. Naturally, many famous plays from that tradition had been shamelessly "originated" by Senators in another timeline.

As the home base of the Lingao Puppet Troupe, the hall hosted at least four performances daily. Under the Propaganda Department's guidance, new plays were constantly in development.

The two girls walking past paid no particular attention to the notice board beside the small plaza. On its promotional poster, a girl dressed as a fisherwoman stood resolute upon a reef, braving wind and rain while holding a storm lantern aloft. This was actually a memorable moment in Imperial theater history, for after The Trial and The Promised Land, the third of the twelve long-running classics, The Lighthouse, would premiere at the puppet theater.

The launch of The Lighthouse formed an important component of a major propaganda campaign initiated by the Australia-Song apparatus, signifying the Senate's complete change of attitude toward Zhu Ming. In this play, a female was chosen for the first time as both the main subject and central figure, completely overturning traditional drama and literary depictions of women as either virtuous wife-and-mother figures or romantic heroines—a work considered a milestone in the women's liberation movement. Du Wen was not only an active advocate and promoter of this production but had herself served as one of its screenwriters.

Across the road from what would one day be sent to museums as the prototype billboard for The Lighthouse stood the under-construction "Wanbi Bookstore," an export-turned-domestic-sale establishment. It had secured this prime location adjacent to the Central Experimental Theater rather than neighboring Guangming Avenue beside the "Commercial Press" because the Lingao Wanbi Bookstore was positioned as a so-called cultural bookstore. Its interior design incorporated a small performance atrium, providing space for opera and storytelling, while its book selection emphasized literary quality. In appearance, Wanbi Bookstore largely adopted the design approach of its Hangzhou store, becoming one of the rare traditional-style buildings in this area.

Past Pili Hall, the girls had already spotted a wide road running parallel to East Gate Avenue—Guangming Avenue, destined to be equally prosperous in the future. Many assumed the avenue's name was meant to praise the Empire's greatness, but it actually derived from the building the girls were currently passing: this timeline's first cinema—Daguangming Cinema.

Since the name "Australian shadow plays" had spread not long after the Senate's landing, this venue had become a must-visit for outsiders coming to Lingao. Though the Experimental Theater also showed films intermittently, its overly "artistic" atmosphere intimidated many commoners. Ordinary people preferred the more accessible "cinema."

The cinema stood at the intersection of Guangming Avenue and Baihui Street. Its exterior was unremarkable—still the familiar blue-brick truss architectural style—but atop the building rose a tower-style clock tower fitted with the latest large clock from the "Taibai Watch Factory." Zahra, who had visited before, knew the true essence lay within.

The main screening hall was a domed structure with seating for three hundred, complete with an orchestra pit. Besides screening films, it could also support stage performances. The proper screen material could not yet be manufactured, so substitutes were used—the effects slightly inferior, but in this timeline, even projection onto white cloth proved stunning enough. When "films" were shown, the darkened room would suddenly blaze with light. With a steam whistle's shriek, a train appeared on the wall, belching white steam and hurtling toward the audience...

This alone often frightened visiting outsiders—who had only ever seen "Australian flip books"—into fleeing through the doors. When they came to their senses and returned, they were invariably amazed at the realistic effects of these "films"—truly a tremendous taste of Australian marvels.

However, limited by available equipment, the films shown were mainly reels brought from the old timeline. With the continuous increase in chemical developing agent production, the Propaganda Department had already positioned this art form prominently in future development plans. But currently, only this single venue served the public.

The intersection of Guangming Avenue and Baihui Road where the Australian cinema stood would also become a famous landmark in the future. For the purposes of industrial upgrading and contesting discursive power, with Senate approval, the irregularly published Chuantouzhi was about to be elevated to this timeline's first professional financial and trade newspaper: Lingao Commercial Daily. The Commercial Department would serve as its sponsor, with the Propaganda Department responsible for unified guidance and management. This marked the formal breaking of the Propaganda Department's complete monopoly on media.

Over the following decade or so, Nanyang Express, Financial Times, Story Magazine, Zhiyin, Tianshui Life Weekly, Knowledge Is Power, and many other newspapers and magazines would follow Lingao Commercial Daily in being founded and headquartered here, transforming Guangming Avenue into the new timeline's Fleet Street. Eventually, even the initially displeased Lingao Times relocated its editorial department to this area. Since the buildings of several newspaper offices enclosed a small open space, the Municipal Department added greenery, benches, and a statue of the first figure in Australia-Song journalism, Senator Dingding, creating a modest public plaza. This came to be known as "Times Square" or "Dingding Plaza."

Times Square had not yet appeared, but diagonal to Daguangming Cinema, directly facing the site of the future Commercial Daily building, the newly opened "Four Seasons Hotel" already gleamed in splendor. This new-style hotel with its high-end old-timeline name was actually the former commercial hall under the Commercial Department. As East Gate Market had grown increasingly prosperous, keeping notoriously rough and unhygienic foreign sailors and general merchants here was no longer appropriate. Thus, led by the Commerce Department with cooperation from the Foreign Affairs Department and Port Authority, the original sailor facilities in the Bopu area were expanded and rebuilt into the new commercial hall.

The original commercial hall underwent renovation and expansion. The accommodation portion's exterior remained largely unchanged, with only internal room renovations—particularly the addition of independent bathroom facilities to each room. Meanwhile, the former Senator reception area was opened as a lobby, with bars, laundries, and other guest services added, transforming it into this timeline's new high-end hotel serving Senators and premium clients. This change also carried the intention of competing with Longhao Bay Resort. After all, when it came to luxury enjoyment, "Australian-style" still had to set the standard.

The original commercial hall's most famous attached dining section, formerly called the Commercial Hall Restaurant, received the independent brand "Xinghua House." It would temporarily continue operating as a hotel subsidiary, with future plans for independent operation and franchise expansion. The newly branded Commercial Hall Restaurant proved quite energetic. Besides retaining the original building, they constructed an entirely new three-story building along Guangming Street—not only featuring large glass windows and completely new decor, but crowned with an open rooftop terrace. Watching bustling Baihui Road while enjoying beer and barbecue became a favorite pastime among some local naturalized citizens.

Directly facing the new Xinghua House Restaurant stood the destination the girls were crossing the road to reach: Peony House East Gate Main Store.

The two girls crossing the street were drawn less by their map than by the aroma wafting into their nostrils. Even standing on the far side of Baihui Street, they could smell that strange food scent in the air. It was an indescribable experience—at first sniff, a hint of sharp cooking fumes, yet carrying a certain tantalizing power that awakened a peculiar hunger. Wave after wave of fragrance washed over them, quickening their pace.

Before them rose a typical three-story Australian-style truss building. What set it apart was its alternating layers of blue and red brick. Atop the structure stood a golden logo nearly a full story tall. The logo took the shape of two side-by-side Chinese-style memorial arches, yet no matter how the girls looked at it, it seemed like a slightly distorted English letter "M." Beside the arch logo, "Peony House" rendered in three Song-style characters confirmed they had reached their destination.

(End of Chapter)