I was reborn after my cousin stole my life.

Chapter 59: The Cultural Troupe

Add a small spoonful of lard, two drops of soy sauce, and hot rice. Slice a crisp pickled radish and stir-fry a plate of vibrant green pork cracklings and bok choy.

Both of them enjoyed the dinner very much.

After the meal, without waiting for Yuan Xiu to call him, Jiang Zhou moved a stool and sat down next to Yuan Xiu.

Yuan Xiu took out her textbook and asked him in a low voice, "There's something I don't understand here..."

Jiang Zhou leaned closer: "..."

Yuan Xiu's days were very fulfilling. Studying took up most of her time, and the rest of the time was spent doing laundry, cooking, and taking care of the household.

She would occasionally go to the rehearsal during the day, just to make an appearance in front of Wu Yufen and find out if the performing arts troupe's band was coming that day. If they weren't coming, then she wouldn't need to go to the dance team's rehearsal either.

Judging from Wu Yufen's words, the cultural troupe's band will probably have to wait until the military dependents participating in the dance program have mastered the dance they are going to perform.

She did mention a few more times that she should come to the rehearsal room often to build rapport with everyone, but Yuan Xiu ignored her completely.

More than half a month after the last letter, Yuan Xiu received another letter from her hometown. This time it wasn't delivered by Yuan Juan, but rather someone from the mailroom told her that there was mail for her and that she should go and pick it up herself.

She finished reading the letter on the way. This letter was not much different from the last one. The only difference was that she no longer asked who was gossiping about her behind her back. They should know her attitude.

She would naturally embellish the things she told Yuan Juan in her letters and tell them to them.

The elderly couple never say harsh words; they only use sweet words to win you over, claiming it's for your own good.

Then they'll complain about how hard they work and how tired they are, trying to make you feel sorry for their struggles.

The letter ended with the sentence: "Grandpa and Grandma are looking forward to your reply."

Yuan Xiu burned the letter; it was perfect for starting a fire while cooking rice.

……

"Xiao Yuan, come on! Come with me!" Yuan Xiu was startled when Wu Yufen grabbed her. She suddenly jumped out from behind, grabbed her hand, and pulled her away, not knowing where she was going.

"Sister-in-law, wait a minute, where are you taking me?"

She had just come out of the service center, carrying three kilograms of yarn she had just bought. She was thinking about knitting a new sweater for herself and Jiang Zhou each when she had some free time. As she was thinking about the design, Wu Yufen suddenly appeared.

"Go to the performing arts troupe!"

Wu Yufen held her hand with her arm and said as they walked, "The band won't be here, let's go by ourselves."

Yuan Xiu thought everyone was going, but when she arrived, she found that she was the only one there.

Wu Yufen led her over and left, saying, "Little Yuan, you need to practice hard. This is what Chairman Gu personally instructed us to do. He wants you to rehearse with the band so that you don't fall behind. I've already spoken to them. Just wait here."

Yuan Xiu stood alone in the empty rehearsal room of the cultural troupe.

"..."

There was no one in the rehearsal room, so Yuan Xiu found a place to sit down and waited for a while before she heard messy footsteps coming this way.

She quickly stood up.

Several young girls in training uniforms entered first. "Who are you?"

Yuan Xiu then introduced herself.

Wang Ting, walking at the very back, heard Yuan Xiu speak, pushed aside the people in front of her, and looked at her curiously, "You're Yuan Xiu? What are you doing here?"

"It was Ms. Wu from the Parents' Committee who brought me here. She said it was for me to rehearse with the band teachers in the group."

A slightly older girl pouted, "When did the parents' committee have to use our performing arts troupe's rehearsal room to rehearse a program?"

Another girl nudged her and whispered, "Don't say that. They're all the boss's wives. It's not good if people hear that."

The girl didn't say anything.

In the cultural troupe, the young performers fall into two categories: one is like Wang Ting, the daughter of a leader with status and background; the other is those who were admitted from local areas through examinations.

Performing arts soldiers have a short career span; those with ability are promoted to officers, while those without have to retire and return to their hometowns when their time comes.

Getting promoted is not an easy thing.

Besides being promoted, they have another good way out: being close to the leader and getting the best of both worlds. They can marry a promising young military officer or marry the son or daughter of a leader.

Even if you don't stay in the performing arts troupe, the place you're assigned after your discharge won't be bad.

Before Jiang Zhou got married, he was a hot commodity among the cultural soldiers who wanted to find an excellent partner.

Some people in the cultural troupe had heard of Yuan Xiu's name and the dramatic story that happened to her.

Those who are particularly interested in Jiang Zhou himself naturally pay more attention.

As soon as she mentioned her name, those who followed Jiang Zhou knew that she was Jiang Zhou's lover.

The older member of the performing arts troupe couldn't help but say something that wasn't very pleasant to hear.

Wang Ting: "Please sit down, don't stand."

Yuan Xiu smiled and sat down again.

Wang Ting and the others began warming up.

Wang Ting was close to Yuan Xiu and was very curious about her. She had been away from the army for a while, but after returning, Wang Yufen dragged her to rehearse a program for the parents' committee. It was only after meeting Yuan Juan that someone told her about the feud between Yuan Xiu and Yuan Juan.

She thought Yuan Juan was a good person, but it turns out she's shameless too!

Did you slap her across the face?

"Huh?" Yuan Xiu was taken aback. "Who did you slap?"

Wang Ting glanced at her. "Who else could it be? That Yuan Juan! You didn't slap her, did you?"

As she turned her arms and kicked her legs, she sized up Yuan Xiu. "You look like the kind of person who would be bullied to the point of being humiliated, but would still lower her head and endure it."

Yuan Xiu was even more stunned. How did she figure that out?

"I really can't stand people like you, honestly." Wang Ting frowned. "Considering you're at least somewhat agreeable, I advise you to change your temper. You need to be tough! If someone bullies you, you have to repay them a hundredfold! Show them you're not someone to be trifled with! Otherwise..."

A shadow of gloom flashed in her eyes, "They deserved to be killed..."

Yuan Xiu looked up at her and said, "Thank you."

Wang Ting waved her hand, finished warming up, and went to rehearse with her teammates.

Several more soldiers, both male and female, entered the rehearsal room, each carrying a musical instrument.

Some carried flutes, some carried harmonies, some carried trumpets, some carried erhus...

Upon seeing Yuan Xiu, someone approached him: "You must be Comrade Yuan Xiu? Hello, I'm the band leader..."

The captain's surname was Li, so Yuan Xiu called him Captain Li.

He was in charge of the music for all the programs in the New Year's Day performance.

"You can sing the song now, right?" Captain Li asked.

After receiving an affirmative answer, he added, "Let's go through it once, and see how accurate your pronunciation is..."