Chapter 398: Really Got a Treasure
After entering the inner room, Manager Zhuang asked the teahouse attendant to bring two cups of tea.
Seeing this, Chen Changsheng spoke up, “The teahouse seems to lack a Storyteller.”
Manager Zhuang sighed deeply, then began to explain patiently.
In Qingshan City, there weren’t many people making a living telling stories to begin with. There were only two or three Teahouses and Opera Houses around, and thus only three or four Storytellers to serve them.
This was turbulent times. A few years back, one Storyteller couldn’t pay all his fees and was beaten to death. Another, feeling deeply wronged, grumbled on stage about the Southern King and ended up in prison.
“And that left only one. We managed to keep him with great effort,” Manager Zhuang continued. “But one day, he performed a scene about ‘the tiger stranded in flatland’ on stage. We never found out who it offended, but after stepping down, he was invited away. Later inquiries revealed it wasn’t bad news; he was specifically hired to tell stories privately for someone, so he wasn’t coming back.”
“Without a Storyteller, fewer people come for tea. It feels like something’s missing, and business suffers. That’s why I’m desperate.”
“Sir, if you have real talent, I sincerely ask you to stay at my Tang Family Teahouse. The monthly pay will certainly not be little.”
After rambling all this, Manager Zhuang finally took a sip of tea to soothe his throat and exhaled a long breath. He was genuinely anxious. Regardless of whether the newcomer had skill or not, he wanted to show proper courtesy first before discussing matters.