He came with a few friends to check things out first. If it was really funny, then he'd let them come over too.
There was no point in wasting time with Meng Xin.
The atmosphere at Da Fei's place was incredibly lively.
Lin Chudong: How can we make it appealing to both refined and popular tastes?
Zuo Quan: Tell me.
Lin Chudong: Teacher Zuo, take off your pants and sing Kunqu Opera!
Zuo Quan: Ugh!
The audience burst into laughter.
Cheng Huanhuan laughed until her stomach hurt. Da Fei's crosstalk was hilarious. Where did he get so many jokes from?
It's a pity Deng Siqing was busy with her show tonight, otherwise she really should have come to see it. It was so funny.
After about an hour, the theater was almost full.
Lin Chudong said, "That's about enough time for today. Everyone should come early tomorrow."
They had already started very late, and the theater should have closed by now.
Although it wasn't full today, going from zero to 80% occupancy was already a big improvement.
Their makeshift crosstalk stall is rarely full, and this attendance is only noticeable on weekends.
Today, Dafei's arrival attracted a large audience.
While some were drawn by Dafei's fame, wanting to see a celebrity,
this wasn't a free event. The majority of the audience here genuinely enjoyed crosstalk, and the fact that they sat for over an hour was due to the captivating nature of Dafei's performance.
The audience jeered, "Don't leave! One more!"
Zhang Mengnan and the others joined in, shouting, "One more!"
Even Cheng Huanhuan joined in.
Lin Chudong gave a wry smile, "Alright, how about a rapid-fire delivery?"
The audience cheered immediately, "Great!"
Zuo Quan asked, "Which segment will you perform?"
He was actually a little worried. Dafei was indeed quite funny.
After all, with his success in sketch comedy, his understanding of punchlines and jokes was certainly sufficient.
However, rapid-fire delivery was unique to crosstalk; without prior training, it was impossible.
Zuo Quan was still somewhat concerned that Dafei would be performing a rapid-fire delivery.
Lin Chudong announced, "Let's perform a segment from 'The Reckless Man'!"
The audience erupted in applause and cheers. These were all seasoned crosstalk fans; "The Reckless Man" was a classic tongue twister, a long one that tested not only memory but also eloquence.
These days, no one in the crosstalk theaters dared to perform this segment. Even if the audience called it out, the performers would pretend not to hear—not because they didn't want to, but because they genuinely couldn't.
Zuo Quan frowned slightly. Da Fei was incredibly bold. This segment, "The Reckless Man," demanded exceptional basic skills.
While he could memorize it, memorizing and performing were completely different.
Memorizing was possible with effort, but tongue twisters required intonation, rhythm, and a catchy delivery for the audience to engage.
Zuo Quan himself dared not perform this segment in public, fearing it would alienate his audience. Da Fei's performance was far too risky.
Lin Chudong: "During the Later Han and Three Kingdoms period, there was a reckless man who, since the Oath of the Peach Garden..."
Lin Chudong enunciated each word clearly and precisely, every syllable reaching the audience's ears with impeccable rhythm.
He was a master of tongue twisters, a true expert; while "The Reckless Man" was extremely difficult, it was a piece of cake for him.
Zuo Quan was initially a little worried, but after listening to a short segment, he immediately felt relieved.
Wow, Da Fei's basic skills are even better than his!
Did he practice this specifically?
Do singers practice this?
No, Da Fei is a host, so it seems reasonable for a host to practice tongue twisters.
The audience applauded and cheered frequently. They had initially thought Da Fei was just a showman, but today they saw that he was definitely a master of crosstalk. Even Meng Xin next door might not be able to recite this "The Reckless Man."
Listening to tongue twisters is all about the rhythm, and this rhythm had everyone's blood pumping.
Lin Chudong was in excellent form, holding a fan, his eyes and expressions perfectly executed.
"...Shout once, and Cao Cao's soldiers retreat; shout twice, and the water flows freely; shout three times, and the Dangyang Bridge is broken!"
"Later generations praised him in a poem: 'He saved Zhao Yun at Changban Slope, frightening away Cao Cao's million-strong army; his name was Zhang Fei, courtesy name Yide; a reckless man whose name will be remembered for eternity!'"
The audience erupted in cheers, all standing and applauding. This three-minute-plus rapid-fire delivery was simply exhilarating. Rapid-fire
delivery is the essence of crosstalk; this wasn't just about laughs, it was pure enjoyment.
Da Fei's skill was incredible!
Cheng Huanhuan also stood up and clapped excitedly. Da Fei's ability was unmatched!
His eloquence surpassed even hers as a professional host.
She had only intended to join in the fun and watch Da Fei tell jokes, but he hadn't expected such an explosive rapid-fire delivery—it was amazing!
She took out her phone and immediately sent a WeChat message to Deng Siqing.
"Your Dafei is really good with words!"
Deng Siqing: ? ? (Click the video).
...
Meng Xin's performance also ended. Usually, crosstalk performances don't go past 10 PM.
There weren't many audience members left, and only a few people in the venue, so they ended early.
Some of the remaining audience members were die-hard fans, and others felt they had to see the whole thing since they had paid.
However, they weren't very satisfied with the performance, feeling that the two performers hadn't done a good job.
Meng Xin said, "What's going on today? Why are so many people leaving early?"
Everyone paid money; even if there were some parts that weren't well said, it shouldn't be enough to make them leave, right?
Unless there's something else that makes them not care about the ticket price and leave early.
One or two leaving is normal, but more than half have left today, which is a bit illogical.
Suddenly, a young man ran out from backstage.
"Master, here's your phone, take a look!"
Meng Xin quickly checked; several videos had been sent to him by friends.
The first segment was Dafei's satirical piece, "Meng Xin Eats Shit." While the video didn't get many likes, it became quite popular in Beijing.
After all, there are many crosstalk fans around Tianqiao, and finding the joke funny, they started sharing and commenting.
The second segment was Dafei's "Eight Hopes," a satirical poem. The comments were all about Meng Xin:
"The language is crude, but the meaning is sound; Dafei's poems are always classic."
"Isn't this poem a perfect description of Meng Xin? His previous report on 'Audition Online' showed his pettiness."
"Meng Xin really did a despicable thing. He lost the competition because he was less skilled, so he reported the game behind its back. He's truly incompetent."
"Crosstalkers all hope their peers die. Meng Xin probably wishes all comedians were dead, right?"
"..."
Meng Xin's face darkened. Had Dafei gone to perform crosstalk next door?
Giving up a perfectly good singing career to stir up trouble in the comedy world, and now he's gone even further, directly performing crosstalk—wasn't he trying to steal his livelihood?
The third segment was Dafei's "The Reckless Man."
This segment garnered the most shares and comments; even those unfamiliar with crosstalk were captivated. His rapid-
fire delivery was simply unmatched in the crosstalk world.
The comments section was flooded with tagging Meng Xin, urging him to do a similar segment and see if he could pull it off.
"Dafei's going to go into crosstalk and steal our livelihoods; Meng Xin might not be able to make a living anymore."
"This segment is godlike; which crosstalk performer can match this level? Come out and tell us!"
"Meng Xin: He said all my lines!"
"Haha, whoever says it gets to say it! If he's so capable, he should do it too!"
"..."
Not only were these segments highly commented on, but Dafei's response to the audience's attempts to engage also received high praise.
Most importantly, netizens recorded Meng Xin's response.
His refusal to let the audience participate, thus affecting the integrity of the art, was immediately turned into a joke by many netizens.
"It's definitely affected. He can't remember the lines, and he can't wrap things up. Isn't that right, Master Meng?"
"It's mainly because you're not capable enough. Look at Dafei.
" "Dafei: It's all thanks to the contrast with his peers.
" "Daxin's crosstalk is all memorized from a textbook. He
easily forgets the lines when the audience responds."
"..."
Seeing these comments, Meng Xin's blood pressure rose with anger.
"I was wondering why there were fewer people here. Turns out they went to the other side?"
"Let's go see!"
Meng Xin led several apprentices and stormed over. He wouldn't let Dafei bully him on his own turf.
The audience over there had just left. As soon as Meng Xin arrived, he blocked the entrance of the makeshift crosstalk stall.
"Dafei, you're really something. Coming to our crosstalk industry to steal our livelihood. Did you even ask me before performing crosstalk here?"
Lin Chudong was changing clothes when she heard Meng Xin's words and sneered.
"Who do you think you are?"
At CCTV, Dafei had given him face, but this bastard had taken advantage of his kindness, reporting "Audition Online" to disgust him. Now that they met, he naturally wouldn't give him a friendly look.
Meng Xin roared, "You little brat, you dare insult me?"
Before Lin Chudong could speak, Zuo Quan came out with several of his apprentices.
"What's wrong with insulting you? Who told you to come here looking for trouble? Did you buy a ticket to enter this place?"
Zuo Quan and Meng Xin were mortal enemies. Today, Meng Xin had poached his partner. Cutting off someone's livelihood was like killing their parents; Zuo Quan and Meng Xin were mortal enemies, even more so than Dafei.
The group, tense and ready, blocked the entrance to the crosstalk shop. Lin Chudong sneered.
"Brother Zuo, don't get agitated. Let them do it. I'm just looking for a place to perform."
If Meng Xin didn't cause trouble, he'd have to deal with him for a while.
But if he dared to call for a fight, then it was perfect—one strike, one kill, sending him straight to jail.
As for calling in his disciples to fight, Lin Chudong wasn't afraid at all. With his unrestricted fighting skills, even if he killed a few people today, it would be self-defense, and he was sure he would handle it perfectly.
But Meng Xin's disciples were just bluffing; how could they dare to make a move?
Besides, the person in the room was the big star Da Fei. Do they even have the guts?
They've seen the variety shows and news reports. Dafei is a master of seduction and also an expert in criminal law. If a conflict breaks out, they'll be the ones who suffer.
Meng Xin sneered, "Pretty impressive, trying to steal my audience. You really think you're something special? Fine, we'll see!"
With that, Meng Xin led his apprentices out, spitting at the door as he left.
Zuo Quan cursed, "Damn it, what are they?"
"Teacher Dafei, have you been telling me these past few days?"
Lin Chudong nodded. "Tell me, I'll leave when they go bankrupt!"
Zuo Quan slapped his thigh. "That's settled. All the revenue from these past few days is yours. I don't want a penny. As long as we can take him down, I'll pay any price!"
Their two businesses have been on this street for years, constantly battling each other.
Meng Xin, relying on his connections, always poachs his audience.
He'd been holding onto this for a long time, and now that he finally had a chance to take him down, he was willing to lose money to do it.
After eliminating Meng Xin, they would be the sole power.
With Da Fei as their backer, of course they had to go for it!
...
Back home, Meng Xin's face was incredibly grim. He immediately called upon his allies. Those who
had previously joined him in criticizing Da Fei online were Aluminum Foil Min and Chen Hexi.
These two were also a crosstalk duo, holding a large share in Da Xin Crosstalk Troupe. They usually performed outside and occasionally came back to help out.
Now that Da Fei had gone to their competitor, they would definitely come back to help.
This time, they had to fight them to the death.
The four of them met up at a restaurant. Aluminum Foil Min asked, "Brother Xin, what are you planning to do?"
Meng Xin replied, "Starting tomorrow, we'll lower the ticket prices to thirty-one yuan, and one hundred yuan for the first row."
Aluminum Foil Min frowned. "Brother Xin, after lowering the prices, it'll be difficult to raise them back up."
Meng Xin said, "It's alright, we'll take down the amateur troupe first, and then the market will all be ours, right?"
Aluminum Foil Min's brow remained furrowed.
"Dafei is quite popular. If he promotes himself, audiences from all over the country will come, and the theater will definitely be packed,"
Meng Xin sneered. "His fans have nothing to do with us. Our audience mainly consists of veteran crosstalk fans from this area."
"As long as we have a large audience here, it's fine. I don't believe Dafei would give up his own career just to come here and perform crosstalk?"
Aluminum Foil Min nodded. "That makes sense. He's just trying to annoy us because he can't swallow his pride. If we put in some effort, he won't be able to afford to waste time."
Meng Xin said, "Exactly, that's the logic. I don't believe he can really produce a bunch of classic works and spoil these audiences' tastes. Is he that amazing?"
...
Zuo Quan treated Lin Chudong and Cheng Huanhuan to a meal to express his gratitude.
Afterwards, he was also a little worried and asked...
"You only have a few days left, are you really sure you can take down Meng Xin?"
Lin Chudong asked. "Let's give it a try. Even if we can't take him down, we should at least cripple him."
"My idea is simple: cultivate the tastes of this audience so that even after I leave, they'll still come to you. Use this time to find a new partner."
Zuo Quan nodded. Da Fei was indeed very talented and had a real knack for crosstalk, but Da Fei couldn't partner with him forever. He had to seize the opportunity in just a few days.
Zuo Quan said, "Cultivating the audience's tastes won't be easy."
Lin Chudong said, "I'm confident in my jokes, but to win over the audience, I need some unconventional methods."
"When you performed crosstalk before, did the audience respond often?"
Zuo Quan shook his head. "Not often. Even when they did respond, sometimes they ignored us, and sometimes their jokes weren't good, they always interrupted."
Interrupted jokes are annoying for anyone. The performer had built up the punchline for a long time, and the joke was about to be delivered, but the audience beat them to it, immediately ruining the effect.
Lin Chudong said, "Don't worry about them stealing our jokes. I'm only telling new material; they can't steal it."
"Starting tomorrow, encourage them to join in the fun, and I'll handle it. We'll also add a small question-and-answer session where the audience writes down questions, and I'll randomly select some to answer."
Hearing Lin Chudong's words, Zuo Quan was a little worried.
"Will this work? It's too risky! Many audience members are deliberately trying to find fault. If we don't do it well, it might backfire,"
Lin Chudong said. "Since we want to complete the task within a few days, we have to take risks. Don't worry, I wouldn't dare take on this task without the necessary skills. Leave it to me."
Zuo Quan nodded. "Okay, then, should we lower the ticket prices?"
Lin Chudong shook his head. "Absolutely not. The more cheap the audience, the worse the effect. Set a uniform price of 300 tomorrow, regardless of the seat, even standing room only."
Zuo Quan was taken aback. Although he felt this was a bit inappropriate, since Lin Chudong was confident, he'd go along with it!
...
The next morning, when Zuo Quan opened his eyes, it was already nine o'clock.
Suddenly, a disciple knocked on his door.
"Master, hurry up and go see!"
Zuo Quan got up quickly. "What's wrong? Has something happened?"
"No, the audience is lining up to buy tickets at the entrance, it's a really long line. The city management told us to deal with it quickly."
Zuo Quan glanced at the time on his phone. Good heavens, the performance was at seven o'clock in the evening, and they're already buying tickets at nine in the morning?
"Hurry up and go sell tickets."
...
At the entrance of the makeshift crosstalk shop.
The line had already stretched across the street and around a corner.
Among them were Zhang Mengnan, who had been in the first batch yesterday, and several chefs from the restaurant.
A middle-aged man and his wife passed by, and the woman said,
"Honey, what are they lining up to buy? Are they buying food? Should we line up for a while?"
The man's name was Li San. After hearing his wife's words, he nodded. "Okay, let's line up for a while."
The couple, unaware of what was going on, joined the line. Seeing that no one had moved for a long time, Li San asked,
"Brother, what are you lining up to buy?"
Zhang Mengnan said, "Buying tickets? Grass Stage Crosstalk Hall, didn't you know?"
Li San looked speechless. "I thought we were buying food. Honey, this is for crosstalk, shall we go?"
His wife said, "Let's buy a couple of tickets too. There's a reason so many people are queuing."
Zhang Mengnan smiled. "Let's buy them. Da Fei is performing tonight, he's hilarious. I came to see him yesterday."
Li San shrugged. "I don't care much about celebrities."
"It's really interesting. Even without fame, this crosstalk is definitely worth the ticket price."
Li San and his wife discussed it and decided to buy two tickets to try their luck.
...
Meng Xin woke up early in the morning and immediately went out to see what was going on.
Seeing the long queue, he frowned.
Damn, the celebrity effect is powerful, huh?
Meng Xin quickly took out his phone and called one of his apprentices.
"Go check next door, see if they're giving away tickets."
The apprentice quickly ran back. "Master, they're offering 300 tickets over there, the same price for everyone. Those who buy early get front-row seats, so people have been lining up since early this morning."
Meng Xin frowned. "300 tickets and people still want to see this? Damn, it's easy to make money off celebrities. We'll see tonight."
He admitted that Da Fei was famous, but the audience paid to see him perform crosstalk. If you don't satisfy the audience, no matter how famous you are, it won't work.
We'll see how it goes tonight! By
3 PM, Meng Xin still had a small portion of tickets unsold.
Although the price had dropped considerably, the impact of Da Fei's performance was too great, and the remaining tickets just wouldn't sell.
Low attendance not only affects the performers' mentality but also the audience's.
It's like going to a restaurant. If a restaurant is packed, you think it must be delicious and you want to go in, even if you have to wait in line.
If a restaurant next door is empty, you feel it's no good and won't even go in.
Meng Xin contacted the two aluminum foil vendors and sent out the remaining tickets. He contacted a few organizations, and the one or two hundred tickets were quickly given away.
...
At the Caotai Crosstalk Theater, Zuo Quan wiped the sweat from his brow and said,
"Dafei, the tickets are sold out. We've even sold fifty more than we should. Even if we add small stools for the audience, it's not enough."
Lin Chudong said, "Could you arrange for more plastic stools? If all else fails, they can sit on the stage."
Zuo Quan was dumbfounded. "Will that work?"
"It will work!"
Zuo Quan wasn't unfamiliar with large venues. Large crowds were fine, but the environment had to be good.
In a large theater or stadium, you could easily hold several thousand people.
But this was a small theater. The audience had already paid a high price of three hundred yuan for their tickets, and once inside, they could only sit in a corner. The seats were uncomfortable, and the chairs were not good either.
If something went wrong at this moment, the audience would start cursing. If so many people started making a scene, the theater might as well close down.
Despite Lin Chudong's confidence, Zuo Quan was still quite nervous.
The key was that he didn't know what Lin Chudong would say that evening. With so many lines, Lin Chudong didn't have time to rehearse with Zuo Quan; he simply told him the key jokes and asked him to fill in a couple of lines, leaving the rest to improvise.
Zuo Quan swallowed hard, feeling incredibly excited. In all his years of performing crosstalk, he had never experienced such a large-scale event.
That evening, Deng Siqing and Cheng Huanhuan also arrived wearing masks. To avoid causing a commotion, the two wore masks throughout the event. Lin Chudong arranged a discreet spot for them, ensuring they wouldn't attract attention.
Ticket checking began at 5 PM.
Normally, it was 5:30 PM, but due to the large crowd, it started a little earlier.
In no time, the entire theater was full.
Amidst the anticipation of the crowd, Lin Chudong and Zuo Quan emerged from backstage.
Instantly, applause and screams erupted, nearly lifting the roof off the theater.
-----------------------
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