As for him, the voice he was most familiar with was that of his shige (senior brother). This was how he learned his craft, listening to shige as if he were half a master. When he practiced properly, it was always shared with shige first before he presented it in front of his shifu (master).
It was during these interactions that Old Master Meng was willing to step forward and play the rogue for once. After the “opposition” softened, many colleagues from the crosstalk community came to the Meng family to witness the ceremony for Qi Shejiang.
Qi Shejiang had arrived at the Meng residence long before, with Old Master Meng sitting with his eyes closed, listening to him perform a solo piece. Qi Shejiang’s two disciples, Mo Sheng and Qi Leyang, were also present, greeting guests alongside Meng Jingyuan.
A visitor came from outside, chatting briefly with Meng Jingyuan at the gate. Meng Jingyuan introduced, “These are my shushu’s two disciples. Shidi (junior brother), please take the guests to the back.”
Thus, the visitors greeted Mo Sheng and Qi Leyang as well.
Originally, this was a kind gesture from the Meng family; it was natural for the disciples to do work for their master and get a chance to show their faces. However, their status had also risen, so they both felt a sense of dread throughout the process.
“Shishu (uncle master)!” One of them called out. Upon seeing his face, it was a well-known crosstalk actor. “Shidi, how good to see you!” another called, appearing to have performed on the Spring Festival Gala in some year.
They had already realized their elevated status and had been warned by Meng Jingyuan once, but today’s event was too grand, and with so many people present, they couldn’t help but fall into panic again.
After a long psychological preparation, they finally calmed themselves down and took the guests to the backyard. This was the old mansion of the Meng family, a traditional quadrangle courtyard.
Old Master Meng was sitting on a chair in the porch, while Qi Shejiang was at the bottom of the steps, performing his solo in the courtyard. Today, he was recounting “Song Gong’an,” which tells the story of Song Ci, the ancestor of forensic medicine during the Southern Song dynasty.
In the past, this was one of Qi Shejiang’s signature pieces.
