Chapter 106: You Can't Mess with My Fans! (Please Support and Vote!)

“Dad...”
“Good day, former Director!”

The enforcement team was stunned as they saw Zhang Yaozhong, the former Cultural Bureau Director who had just retired last year, rise from the audience seats.

Waving to a group of his old subordinates, Zhang Yaozhong let out a heavy snort at his son-in-law, Sun Guowei.

“Since when do you care when I show up? You and Xiaoling haven’t been to my place for half a month. If I dropped dead at home, you probably wouldn’t even know! And you’re telling me where I should or shouldn’t go?”

Despite his sharp tone, Zhang Yaozhong was actually quite satisfied with Sun Guowei as a son-in-law.

Still, having just watched the play and seeing the man who “kidnapped” his daughter, the anger was hard to suppress.

Sun Guowei’s face flushed red as he was publicly rebuked by his father-in-law, especially after just experiencing a large-scale family values education on stage. “Dad, it’s just been busy at work lately...”

“Don’t think you can fool me. You don’t know when the Cultural Bureau starts or ends work? You punk. We’ll settle this later!”

Zhang Yaozhong glared at his son-in-law and turned away.

Facing the tenants who had come to evict them, his thick brows furrowed sharply. “Let me ask you, what exactly do you think you’re doing?”

The tenants, not fools, had already realized the identity of this old man from the Cultural Bureau’s earlier behavior.

Ordinarily, a Cultural Bureau leader wasn’t considered a big shot.

But often, a leader’s influence depended less on rank and more on their specific duties and jurisdiction.

For example, in Chaoyang District’s police station, no celebrity with a guilty conscience would dare to act recklessly...

In a place like Rongdian, which thrived on cultural industries, the cultural department wielded significant weight.

Seeing the dozen or so tenants silent, Zhang Yaozhong snorted. “I’ve been sitting here listening to you shout for ages! So, it turns out you brought a bunch of kids here to cram during their holidays and called it a legitimate business. You think because you’re running a small theater here, everyone must give way to you?”

“What kind of logic is that!”

A loud shout cut through the air, and the tenants shrank back.

“What is this Youth Center for? I was there when it was approved. It was clearly meant to raise the cultural literacy of young people and children! Now look at what it’s become—a mess! It was supposed to be a place to improve cultural quality, but what are the kids actually getting? Isn’t that ironic?”

The tenants shrank their necks further, mumbling, “Why are you picking on us? We’re all legitimate...”

Zhang Yaozhong gritted his teeth in anger. “Picking on you? I’m more than happy to pick a fight today! You want an inspection? Fine, I’ll contact the Education Office, and we’ll inspect everything together!”

“I want to see all your English schools and tutoring institutions—whether your licenses are valid, whether your qualifications are up to par!”

“Check how many of you have connections with school homeroom teachers, who don’t properly teach when they should, then push kids to tutoring schools to earn kickbacks.”

“Then thoroughly investigate how many of the holiday tutors you hire are active teachers ignoring repeated orders from the Education Committee forbidding public school teachers from tutoring, sneaking out during holidays to earn extra cash!”

Those words sent chills down the spines of the tenants.

“Well said!”

A group of elderly audience members, who had been restless when the Cultural Bureau staff entered to ask for a commercial performance permit, now burst into applause, seeing a capable figure in the audience speaking sense.

Amid the cheers, the tenants dared not utter another word.

Taking a deep breath, Zhang Yaozhong glared at the tenants. “Why are you silent now? Weren’t you all so talkative just a moment ago? Listen, I’ve retired now and everyone tells me to cultivate my temperament and stop meddling in educational affairs. But two years ago, if I caught any of you, I wouldn’t let you off! Now get out of here!”

Hearing this, the tenants felt as if they’d been granted a pardon and dared not mention moving the small theater again.

With the troublemakers looking dejected as they left, Li Shixin approached the old man and bowed.

“Thank you, brother.”

Zhang Yaozhong quickly steadied him, exhaling a heavy breath and smiling. “Brother, you’re too polite.”

Just as Li Shixin was about to flatter the retired cultural official further, Zhang chuckled, “But brother, what I said about moving the small theater is serious.”

“Huh?”

Li Shixin looked puzzled.

Zhang Yaozhong smiled and said, “The play and the performance were excellent! Brother, just look—this first premiere, the small theater was already full. Once word spreads, where will you find enough space to fit the audience?”

That was indeed a problem.

The theater’s popularity had far exceeded Li Shixin’s expectations. Seeing it packed to the brim, with many elderly latecomers forced to sit on small stools, he sighed. “If it comes to that, we’ll just add more shows. What else can we do?”

Hearing this, Zhang Yaozhong laughed and slapped his chest hard.

“If it were young actors, that’d be fine. But you’re an old man—can your body handle extra shows?”

“Brother, I’ve worked in cultural management for decades and have seen many plays. But today, your performance moved me deeply. And with tickets priced at just over ten yuan, plus your generosity in donating proceeds, I’d feel guilty not helping. I’ll call the bureau later to get your permit processed. Next time, we have to move to a bigger venue!”

“How about the Performance Hall at the Cultural and Sports Square?”

Li Shixin knew the Cultural Square’s Performance Hall—it wasn’t far from the 98 Workers’ Stadium Square and was a cultural facility completed just two years ago. The theater inside could seat over two thousand people.

In terms of scale, it was far superior to the old Youth Center.

Shaking hands firmly with Li Shixin, Zhang sighed. “And this play, ‘Only You,’ it’s perfect for elderly audiences. But I think it should be seen especially by the families of elderly people, particularly those with Alzheimer’s. Really, if they watch it and feel it in their hearts, that’s when it truly matters.”

Hearing Zhang’s plan, Li Shixin nodded deeply.

He had been thinking along the same lines.

Originally, the premiere was just to gauge audience reaction.

If it succeeded and the play’s reputation grew, his idea was to have it shown to patients’ families in hospitals and nursing homes, accompanying the elderly to watch.

That would be the truly appreciative audience!

But that was part of the plan after the premiere’s success and word of mouth spread.

Today, by chance, meeting Zhang Yaozhong had unexpectedly accelerated the schedule.

Seeing Li Shixin’s earnest agreement, Zhang patted his hand vigorously. “Brother, you don’t need to worry about these things. You focus on rehearsing the play well. I may be retired now, but I can still contribute some leftover energy.”

“If you trust me, leave the promotion to me!”

“Wonderful! If Brother Sun can help secure a larger venue, we can use this small theater for fan events in the future!”

“Hmm! That’s a good idea!”

Seeing Zhang take charge, the group of veteran fans were overjoyed.

Li Shixin’s heart swelled with pride.

A new elderly loyal fan gained!

Old man, your charm is unstoppable!

“Thank you, thank you, friends!”

Bowing deeply to everyone present, Li Shixin suddenly had a flash of inspiration.

“Please wait a moment! For today’s first premiere at the small theater, I’ve prepared a little gift for everyone.”

Amid the eager gazes, Li Shixin returned backstage alone.

“Come, come, one cane per person. It’s small, but it’s a token of appreciation. Don’t look down on it!”

In no time, Li Shixin returned with several large sticks, carried by tall helpers.

Seeing the theater staff holding bundles of canes, the audience erupted in excitement.

“Hey! This is perfect! With the snow and slippery roads these days, I was just about to buy one!”

“Hey! Eighteen yuan for the ticket today was totally worth it!”