Chapter 354: Youthful Charm

The long-standing problem of musical accompaniment for this project was also partially solved with the appearance of the Liu opera troupe. Although their instruments were not a good match for the aerobics routine, they were the most musically proficient natives he could find at the moment.

His idea was to first familiarize them with modern music, and then have them learn modern instruments.

The first piece he required Liu to learn was “Youthful Charm.” It was primarily played on traditional instruments, making it a very suitable introductory piece.

He himself rarely watched these videos. The time since he had transmigrated was not long enough for him to forget the length of the students in the videos. He had personally filmed almost all of them. He had watched these children train, sweat, get injured, and win awards. Some had graduated, and he had sent them off. Many more had not yet graduated in the year he transmigrated. Sometimes he felt he had betrayed those children. His promise to invite them to his wedding had become an unrealizable one. Training a group of maid cheerleaders was, for him, a form of spiritual compensation.

Before he set off, he had specifically discussed the matter of training cheerleaders with Hu Qingbai from the education department, Fang Fei from the propaganda department, and Xiao Zishan. Needless to say, everyone had expressed their support.

Although the issue of costumes was difficult to solve, Zhu Mingxia felt that if he started now, the problem would probably be resolved by the time the team was actually formed. As for how to solve it, that was a matter for the light industry and chemical industry departments.

“How is it? Are you confident?” he asked, seeing Liu Yisi still pondering.

Liu Yisi stood up gracefully and bowed. “Master… uh, Chief, this is the first time I have heard this kind of music. I can’t quite grasp it yet. I will need more time to understand it…”

“I will give you time, but you must be diligent,” Zhu Mingxia said. “This matter is very important. Not just you, but your girls must also learn diligently.”

“I understand.”

Zhu Mingxia said no more and walked out directly. Liu Yisi quickly took a few steps forward to lift the curtain—a full display of her skills in serving people.

Zhu Mingxia stood in the courtyard, looking at the figures practicing in the main hall. “Old Gao, thank you for the materials you left me. I used to watch you train students, and now it’s my turn to train maids. I will do my best,” he said quietly.

Liu Yisi was very puzzled by her new master’s peculiar musical concepts, but she was now a slave who had pressed her thumbprint on an unbreakable contract. Let alone being asked to learn a few new tunes, even if her master wanted her to play while lying down, kneeling, or standing on one leg like a golden rooster, she would have to obey.

If she weren’t a middle-aged woman over thirty, and not the type that everyone found pleasing to the eye, she wouldn’t have been surprised even if he had asked her to play naked. Masters all liked some strange tunes. Although this Chief Zhu’s clothes and manners seemed “un-Chinese,” perhaps he had some rare Australian tastes.

She diligently transcribed the music from the repeatedly played tune into a notebook. This was a “childhood skill” she had acquired through hard work when she was learning her art in the brothel years ago. She could roughly transcribe most tunes after listening to them a few times. It was with this skill that her troupe had always been able to be the first to perform any new popular tune or song over the years, winning them many patrons. In this line of work, even when focusing on the high-end market, the competition in Jiangnan was fierce. Especially the various brothels and famous courtesans, whose resources were far superior to her rootless, wandering troupe.

Liu Yisi had worked tirelessly over the years, barely keeping the troupe afloat. Although they had been on the brink of disaster several times, they had somehow managed to survive. This time in Dengzhou, they had almost been left to die without a burial, but fortunately, there had been a turn of events…

Although the entire troupe had become slaves, at least they had survived. Although the few men in the troupe had been dragged out and hanged for some unknown offense against the master, which had left the whole troupe uneasy for several days, Liu Yisi quickly figured it out. Not only was she not afraid, but she even felt a little secretly pleased.

The master had directly executed the men in the troupe, which meant he didn’t want any men among them. What did that mean? It meant that Master Zhu had taken a liking to them. Her troupe would at least not be relegated to the status of lower-class maids who washed clothes and pounded rice.

But for the past few days, they had been on a boat in a daze. They had never been on a sea vessel before, and the boat was crowded. The journey was rough and bumpy. When they finally reached the shore, they didn’t know where they were.

However, after they landed, had their heads shaved, and were bathed—a process called “purification”—and then sent to this separate courtyard, it seemed to confirm her speculation from the refugee camp.

She remembered the various embarrassing encounters during the “purification” when she first arrived. She thought that perhaps Master Zhu was also interested in her. In addition, he had been coming over specifically to guide her playing these past few days, and had just spoken to her with kind words… Her heart couldn’t help but pound. So, she also had a chance. Liu Yisi was secretly pleased—a life of luxury was just around the corner.

Liu Yisi’s greatest hope had originally been that her daughter, Siyu, would be noticed by Master Zhu. But it seemed that Ruhua—now called Zhao Jinghan—was more favored by Master Zhu. In the refugee camp, she had had to flatter this “adopted daughter” greatly, lest Ruhua gain power one day and settle old scores with her. Over the years, she hadn’t treated her own biological daughter much better, let alone a girl she had bought or picked up.

But where on earth was she now? This was what made Liu Yisi most uneasy. After landing, she had only seen fields and wilderness along the way, but no towns. It was much more desolate than Jiangnan, though the roads were very smooth.

Could they be overseas? Liu Yisi now thought about the strange people she had seen on the way from the dock to the city, all dressed strangely and speaking a language she couldn’t understand.

And the courtyard they lived in was also very strange. The courtyard was not large, and the houses and windows were very low and small. The floors were all paved… These unusual houses puzzled her. If they were the dwellings of the poor, the wooden floors, the decorations on the beams and pillars, the tiles on the roofs, and the heated floors in every room were not something the poor could afford. If they belonged to a rich family, she had never seen any rich family build such low-ceilinged houses.

Although it was almost the end of the second month, the heated floors in the rooms were still on. It was so warm in every room that they couldn’t wear cotton-padded clothes and could only wear single-layered shirts.

As Liu Yisi was lost in thought, she saw her daughter, Liu Siyu, and Zhao Jinghan return to the room. The three of them lived in this room.

The two girls were holding a piece of roasted sweet potato, laughing and eating as they walked. The young girls in the troupe were all of similar age. They usually performed together, and were also abused by Liu Yisi together, so they were all on good terms with each other.

Both of their heads were shaved clean, and their clothes were also strange—not the uniform cotton long gowns issued after purification. They wore short-sleeved, round-collared, tight-fitting fine linen blouses that exposed their arms, and silk lantern pants, barefoot.

Perhaps they hadn’t expected Liu Yisi to be in the room. Both of them froze, fell silent, and quickly hid the sweet potatoes behind their backs.

Although the entire troupe had been taken in as slaves, Liu Yisi, as the troupe leader, still commanded respect. The two girls, who had been beaten with canes and made to kneel on broken tiles by her, were afraid of her.

“What are you afraid of? You look like a pair of dumb geese! I’m not a tiger, I won’t eat you!” Seeing their dazed expressions, Liu Yisi couldn’t help but curse. Her temper had improved a lot recently through constant self-reflection, but since she was used to beating and scolding them, seeing the two girls’ wooden expressions, her anger flared up, and she started scolding them.

“Mother…” the two girls called out timidly.

“Don’t be afraid,” Liu Yisi realized her tone was harsh and quickly put on a smile, softening her voice. “You are all my good daughters, what are you afraid of? Come here!”

Unaccustomed expressions appeared on the two girls’ faces. They quickly came over and sat next to her on the heated brick bed.

Liu Yisi asked a few questions to show her affection and specifically told them that now that their hair was gone, they must always wear hats to avoid catching a cold.

“A woman’s head can’t stand the cold, or you’ll get sick when you’re old…” Liu Yisi said.

“Mother…” Liu Siyu couldn’t help but ask, “Master shaved all our hair… Is it, is it… that he wants us to become nuns…”

“How could that be,” Liu Yisi smiled. “Daughter, you can rest assured. Your good days of enjoyment are just ahead,” she said, giving Zhao Jinghan a meaningful look. “This is all thanks to your Sister Zhao.”

Of course, the two girls understood what “good days of enjoyment” meant, especially Zhao Jinghan. She was a few years older than Liu Siyu and understood the ways of the world much better. What Master Zhu had implied when he gave her a name and the troupe leader’s changed attitude towards her these days all hinted at something.

The rumor that Zhao Jinghan had caught Master Zhu’s eye and would soon be taken as his concubine was already known to everyone in the opera troupe.

To be honest, she didn’t dislike this Master Zhu. Although his hair and clothes were strange, and she couldn’t fully understand what he said, he was handsome and spoke to everyone kindly—he seemed like a good person. Becoming his maid or concubine was not a bad outcome for her.

But she didn’t know what Master Zhu’s official wife was like. Zhao Jinghan had witnessed the ruthlessness of a first wife. She herself had almost been beaten to death by one, and she had also seen sisters in the troupe and in her profession who were taken as concubines and then tortured to death by the first wife, or driven out. So she was both expectant and afraid.

But recent events had confused her. For the past few days, all the sisters in the troupe had been living in the same courtyard. Master Zhu had not shown any special interest in her, nor had he summoned her to see him alone.