Chapter 100: Liang Zhu (Part 4)

Luo Jun did indeed have things to do over the next few days.

And it wasn't the kind of "things to do" that required lying in a hotel reading novels.

Over the next few days, Qin Huai successively saw Bifang vs. thugs with knives and axes, Bifang vs. professional gunmen, Bifang vs. hand grenades, Bifang vs. Molotov cocktails, Bifang vs...

The above content can be summarized as: gangster films, martial arts films, gunfight films, war films, and disaster films.

Qin Huai realized that Luo Jun wasn't bragging when he said he wasn't afraid of guns and artillery; he really wasn't afraid.

It might also be true that he looked down on plant and animal spirits like Chen Huihong.

He and Chen Huihong were simply not spirits from the same world; their combat power wasn't even in the same dimension.

Qin Huai felt that Luo Jun should go to the Marvel Universe to match opponents and see if he could fight the Hulk to a draw.

After easily resolving the minor trouble brought about by the gang infighting, Luo Jun holed up in the hotel to read for a whole day, catching up on all the newspapers he had missed over the previous few days, and then Sunday arrived.

Don't say it, his arrangements were actually quite reasonable.

Handling things the first few days, leaving one day to resolve follow-up troubles and catch up on novels, and a date on Sunday—what a fulfilling week.

On Sunday, Luo Jun woke up naturally as usual, arranged for hotel staff to run errands to buy breakfast, and curled up on the sofa reading the newspaper.

"Mr. Luo, you have a movie at 3:00 PM this afternoon. Would you like the hotel to arrange a rickshaw for you?" the waiter asked after serving the food.

"No need, I'll walk over myself."

"Very well, may I ask..."

"Go to the cafe where I bought the chestnut cake last time at noon and order some food." Luo Jun held his bowl and drank porridge. "My lunch, plus an extra chestnut cake packed to go, deliver it on time. Don't be like last time, where you were nowhere to be seen long after the show ended."

"Very well, Mr. Luo. This time, we definitely won't delay your meal."

"One more thing." Luo Jun looked up at the waiter. "Do young ladies all like pearl necklaces? They only look at the necklaces on the necks when staring at movie star posters."

Waiter:...

The waiter felt it was really hard to answer such questions every time he was asked.

The waiter could only say, "I believe there is no lady who wouldn't like beautiful jewelry."

Luo Jun nodded to indicate he understood, and the waiter left. Only then did Luo Jun grab a baozi with his hand to eat. While eating, he stood up, walked to the bedside, and lifted the suitcase of gold and silver jewelry he had grabbed as a bandit that day with one hand, opening it with one hand.

Luo Jun hadn't opened this suitcase of gold and silver jewelry once since bringing it back to the hotel.

Inside were three pearl necklaces, each of top-tier quality; the pearls were large, round, and lustrous. In this era where cultivation technology was very immature, each necklace could sell for a sky-high price.

One necklace was stained with blood.

Luo Jun somewhat disdainfully picked out the blood-stained necklace and threw it into a corner. He picked through the remaining two pearl necklaces and finally chose the string of pearls on the right that looked fuller, stuffing it into his pocket.

Then he grabbed a handful of silver dollars from the suitcase, put them into another pocket, closed it, and continued eating breakfast.

Qin Huai, who witnessed the whole process, remarked that the pockets of Luo Jun's trench coat were quite spacious.

It was another leisurely morning of reading novels. After these few days, Qin Huai, like Luo Jun, had fallen in love with the serialized novels in the newspapers.

Authors who could serialize novels in newspapers to earn royalties these days were all quite skilled, especially in the art of the cliffhanger. Every time it reached the end, it made people feel anxious and itchy, wishing they could get the next issue immediately to keep buying and reading.

No wonder Luo Jun wrote letters to the newspaper office every time he finished reading, complaining about this immoral cliffhanger behavior; it was indeed very torturous.

Not only torturous for people, but also torturous for birds.

Luo Jun was reading even while eating lunch.

When it was close to 2:00 PM and time to leave, Luo Jun reluctantly folded a few newspapers, stuffed them into his pocket, and left the room with the packed chestnut cake.

Qin Huai:...

Buddy, you don't need to bring novels on a movie date, right?

Liu Tao was already waiting at the hotel entrance.

Liu Tao was clearly meticulously dressed today: a purple qipao, hair slightly curled with the tips of firewood that had just finished burning, a pair of silver earrings on her ears, embroidered shoes, gilded bracelets, red lipstick on her lips, and her eyebrows had been drawn.

It was clear that all the jewelry in the troupe that could be piled onto Liu Tao had been piled on.

Liu Tao was holding a lunch box in her hands.

"Mr. Luo."

Seeing Luo Jun walk out, Liu Tao hurried up to meet him, her hands gripping the lunch box so tightly that her knuckles turned white. She slightly pinched her voice and said softly, "Good afternoon."

"Did you catch a cold? Your voice sounds so strange." Luo Jun looked at Liu Tao strangely.

Liu Tao's face flushed red, and she wished she could dig a hole and bury herself. She whispered, "No... it might be because I didn't sing today, so I didn't warm up my voice."

"Did you eat the chestnut cake from last time?" Luo Jun asked.

"I did."

"Was it delicious?"

"Delicious, even more delicious than the sponge cake Sister Chen Huihong makes."

Luo Jun handed the cake to Liu Tao. "For you, you can eat it while watching the movie."

Liu Tao took the cake and wanted to hand the lunch box to Luo Jun, but after glancing at Luo Jun's clothes, she was afraid the lunch box would dirty them, so she could only whisper, "Mr. Luo... I stewed some soup. I'll hold it for now; you... you can drink it when you have time."

Luo Jun led Liu Tao toward the cinema, casually looking at the purple qipao on Liu Tao's body, and asked, "Do you like that poster very much?"

"What poster?" Liu Tao didn't understand.

"Nothing." Luo Jun said indifferently, "I heard that it hasn't been you singing Zhu Yingtai in Liang Zhu these past few days."

"Ah... yes, my throat hasn't been very comfortable these past few days, so the troupe leader didn't let me sing." Liu Tao followed behind Luo Jun and nodded. "He... he had me learn something else with Sister Chen Huihong."

"Learn what else?" Luo Jun asked, knowing the answer.

"Just... some small techniques." Liu Tao's face turned red again. "I... didn't really learn them well."

"If you don't like it and don't want to learn, you don't have to. You sing quite well as it is," Luo Jun said.

Liu Tao couldn't help but smile.

The cinema was about a 30-minute walk from the hotel. Luo Jun walked slowly, and the two walked for about 40 minutes. It was no wonder the hotel waiter asked Luo Jun if he wanted to call a rickshaw in advance; Luo Jun definitely wouldn't be willing to walk this distance on a normal day.

He just didn't like walking. The plot of the movie was very simple, telling the story of a man who fought bravely on the battlefield and eventually achieved fame and success. The movie itself had no sound and relied entirely on the projectionist to dub it on the side. The projectionist not only had to dub but also explain the movie plot, which could be said to be very hard work.

Liu Tao watched with great interest.

Qin Huai suspected that Liu Tao had even forgotten that Luo Jun was still sitting beside her. When the movie first started, Liu Tao would occasionally glance at Luo Jun, but after the train appeared in the movie, Liu Tao only had eyes for the movie.

When the gunfight scenes appeared, Liu Tao even started eating the chestnut cake.

Don't say it, the cake looked quite good and seemed delicious.

An hour later, the movie ended. Liu Tao was clearly still savoring the movie plot, holding the lunch box excitedly as she walked beside Luo Jun, talking about how wonderful the movie had just been.

"Mr. Luo, that Boss Huang in the movie just now was simply too amazing. Even the senior brother in our troupe who plays the martial role doesn't have such good skills. That..." Liu Tao chattered on, only then realizing belatedly that she seemed to have said a bit too much, and Luo Jun hadn't said a single word.

"Am I talking a bit too much?" Liu Tao returned to her original demure appearance.

"Compared to before, it is quite a lot." Luo Jun said honestly. "You've said more today than all your previous words combined."

Liu Tao began to lower her head. "Then am I very noisy?"

"It's alright, at least your voice sounds very nice."

"Then..." Liu Tao gathered her courage and looked up at Luo Jun. "Will you still ask me out to watch a movie?"

"As far as I know, there is only this one movie recently. I don't like this movie very much and don't want to watch it a second time," Luo Jun said.

Liu Tao's eyes dimmed, and she felt somewhat dejected. "Then will you still come to listen to Liang Zhu?"

"Perhaps. The Shi family troupe has come out with a new mechanical play; I'm going to watch the new play tomorrow."

Liu Tao sniffled, didn't speak, and followed silently behind Luo Jun.

After walking a distance, Luo Jun turned back helplessly, looking at Liu Tao, who had already fallen two or three meters behind him, and said, "You really didn't learn anything that your troupe leader had you learn."

"Huh?" Liu Tao had originally been lowering her head and kicking stones on the ground. Hearing Luo Jun say this, she looked up blankly.

"When I go to dance halls, I don't even need to take the initiative to speak; people just stick to me on their own. I've walked a whole way with you, and you've actually gotten further and further away from me."

"I... I... I..." Liu Tao couldn't say a word for a long time.

"I heard your Liang Zhu two years ago." Luo Jun said. "At that time, your troupe was still in the south, setting up a stage in a county town to sing and sell tickets. I passed by and heard it once. I liked this story very much even then."

Liu Tao said embarrassedly, "I didn't sing well at that time."

Luo Jun nodded. "Indeed, it was much worse than it is now."

"Then did you know our troupe came to Shanghai and came specifically to watch it?" Liu Tao asked boldly.

"No, it was the waiter at the Richard Hotel who told me there was a newly arrived troupe that sang Liang Zhu quite well, and that Zhu Yingtai was sung especially well, so I had them help me book tickets to watch it."

"Then... are you trying to promote me?" Liu Tao asked boldly.

"No."

Liu Tao already wanted to cry. "Then are you..."

Luo Jun took the pearl necklace out of his pocket and handed it to Liu Tao. Liu Tao foolishly took it, somewhat confused about the situation.

"I originally wanted to give it to you when we had dinner, but I see you probably aren't in the mood for dinner now."

"Am I that bad at being a person?" Luo Jun said. "I'm courting you; can you not tell at all?"

Liu Tao was already completely stunned.

With red eyes, she blurted out, "Then will you marry me as a concubine?"

"No." Luo Jun shook his head.

Liu Tao's brain couldn't turn at all, and in the blink of an eye, tears fell down with a splash.

"Birds only have one partner." Luo Jun said. "Until one of them dies, they only have one."

Liu Tao sniffled. "I'm sorry, what you said is too profound; I don't understand."

"I will also only have one partner. Until one of us dies, I will only have one."

Liu Tao looked at Luo Jun blankly.

"I won't have any concubines."

"I will only marry you as my wife."

Liu Tao couldn't help it; in the blink of an eye, tears fell again. "But... if you marry an actress as your legal wife, you'll be laughed at."

"I don't care." Luo Jun said. "I'm the one marrying a wife, not them. What does it have to do with them?"

"When did you stew your dried tangerine peel soup?"

Liu Tao glanced at the lunch box. "In the morning."

"Give it to me; it's even worse when it's cold."

Liu Tao subconsciously handed over the lunch box. Luo Jun opened it, and inside was indeed dried tangerine peel, white fungus, and lotus seed soup, thoughtfully accompanied by a spoon.

"Dried tangerine peel tea... so many ingredients?" Luo Jun frowned.

"Yes." Liu Tao nodded blankly, then reacted and shook her head repeatedly. "No, no, this is dried tangerine peel..."

"Not what?" Luo Jun had already tasted the first bite. "The taste is alright. Why has Troupe Leader Liu always not let you stew it yourself?"

Liu Tao's face was full of joy. "The taste is alright, right? I've been learning from Sister Chen Huihong these past few days. I added brown sugar, salt, white fungus, lotus seeds, and dried tangerine peel, and Sister Chen Huihong also said I've made progress in boiling it."

"If you like it, I'll boil it for you to drink every day from now on!"

Qin Huai left the memory.

Before leaving the memory, Qin Huai only had one last thing to say.

Heh, dog food.

No wonder Luo Jun didn't mention a word; it turns out his memory was all dog food.

Heh, Bifang.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 101 =====