Xiao Xiaowei and the others, having stayed with Qi Shejiang for more than a day, remembered his joke and said, “Hey, why not tell a comedy skit? Aren’t you a comedy artist?” Hearing this, Qi Shejiang drew a circle on the ground with a stone, casually picked up a pot lid, flipped it over, and placed it on the ground, “Then I’ll tell you all a story; if you think it’s good, applaud a bit more.” Everyone burst into laughter, thinking he was joking. Later, he sold performances during the day and went to night entertainment venues, especially brothels, to perform at night. When he drew a circle on the ground, it called for “drawing a pot,” which is a kind of informal performance, done anywhere, just drawing a circle and performing; the money earned was for food, thus called drawing a pot, hoping to earn enough to fill one’s belly. During these days, Qi Shejiang had also pondered some suitable opening lines, mixing in a few light jokes while observing everyone. He had already decided to tell the story of “Mistaken Identity and Reincarnation.”
He had told this story in a teahouse before, but none of those present had heard it. Most of the audience were fellow performers who had agreed to watch the show, so they were quite focused. Qi Shejiang did not recite a prologue but went straight into the story. “… Yang Haoshan was choked up and said, ‘Isn’t this different from the muddled county magistrate? Can’t you at least arrange for me to have a male identity? But he is a little ghost; how can he contest with the king of hell? Finally, holding his nose, he thought, at least let me be a noble’s wife. County magistrate, today it’s your turn to be unlucky!’” Unknowingly, the scene grew quieter and quieter, everyone listening to Qi Shejiang telling stories. “Yang Haoshan got anxious, and he tore open his jacket, flipping the county magistrate onto the bed, crying and shouting: ‘If you have the ability, come at me! Let’s see if I don’t kill you today!’” After about twenty minutes, Qi Shejiang abruptly cut off his story, and people still wanted more. “Wait, this story isn’t over yet!” “Damn, it’s not going to be a cliffhanger, is it?
