Han Qingsong came back and relayed the information to Lin Lan, asking if she would like to watch it.
Lin Lan smiled and said, “Let’s take Xiaowang to see it.”
The staff gave them a small board and asked them to check out the play.
Han Qingsong brought Lin Lan and Xiaowang over. They saw a dark red curtain on the stage with more than a dozen actors getting ready. Some of the cast practised their dance moves, some started their vocal warm-ups and the instrumentalists played their erhu(3). All in all, the scene was rather lively.
(T/N: A traditional chinese instrument that resembles the sound of an ethnic violin)
Xiaowang was immediately attracted to the set.
Han Qingsong signalled for Lin Lan to remain here while he went ahead to take care of some errands. In a while, he would return to pick the two up.
Lin Lan nodded and said in a soft voice, “Go ahead. Even if we leave early, we’ll wait for you at the ticket area.”
With that, Han Qingsong left.
Lin Lan led Xiaowang to watch the rehearsal.
Their rehearsal was very casual and the performance wasn’t finished as a whole, but the cast members were getting into it little by little. Merely the rehearsal itself was quite interesting to those who have never watched a play before.
Which was why the staff introduced Han Qingsong to bring his wife and children over to watch it.
When one of the musicians started to play the erhu, Xiaowang listened even more carefully with gleaming eyes, not moving an inch.
In the end, he was still immersed in the world of the play even after the rehearsal ended.
Lin Lan sat with him for a while longer and when everyone on the stage was gone, Xiaowang suddenly started humming one of the tunes that he heard throughout the rehearsal. Although he couldn’t express the rhythm very accurately with his voice, the tunes he hummed were all correct.
“Mom, does my erhu sound good?” He asked Lin Lan after humming.
Lin Lan praised it sincerely, “It sounds good, I’ve never heard such a nice sound.”
Xiaowang was very happy as he took Lin Lan’s hand and suddenly exclaimed, “Where’s father? Father is lost!”
Lin Lan laughed heartily for her child who seemed to be a bit late at realising things. She picked him up and said, “Let’s go outside and look for him.”
After they went out, Erwang and Maisui also came out as they excitedly recounted the storyline. When they saw Lin Lan and Xiaowang and heard that they had watched the rehearsal, they regretted that they had missed it.
Lin Lan smiled and said, “Don’t be greedy. Dawang and Sanwang haven’t arrived yet?”
Erwang spread his hands, “We looked around, but we didn’t see them.”
Lin Lan, “Don’t worry, they’ll come back sooner or later.”
The family had an agreement— they would gather here when the sun started to set. If they didn’t show up, not only would there be a fair punishment that awaited them, but they wouldn’t be allowed to come here to play much either.
After resting for a while, Lin Lan heard someone selling candied haws outside. Lin Lan said, “I’ll treat you to a snack. However, because your allowance was spent entirely, you’ll have to share one stick of candied haws.”
The children were more than happy.
Erwang went to buy one and came back. He gave Lin Lan one piece first before everyone else ate a piece as well. After leaving one for their father, the children finished off the rest.