Crosstalk: Stop playing with your uncle!

Chapter 6 National Crosstalk Competition
After the performance, Qi Long was very happy to see the extra two hundred coins, thinking his singing was not in vain!

He asked the customer service of the software, and the customer service said that the same audience can only generate one coin in the same occasion.

In other words, the two hundred coins were donated because he was not praised so much during the crosstalk performance, but was shocked by the operatic tone!
Carrying a cell phone filled with a lot of coins, Qi Long went out to eat with his peers Guo Degang, Yu Qian, Sun Yue and Gao Feng.

When his fellow apprentices had their own gatherings, Guo Degang said that the children felt uncomfortable with him being their master.

At the dinner table, Guo Degang immediately asked Qi Long to download the China Copyright Network, sing a cappella segment and register the copyright of "Exploring the Window".

After finishing all this, I started eating and drinking.

Guo Degang didn't drink, so Qi Long started drinking with Yu Qian, Sun Yue and Gao Feng.

Not long after they started drinking, Yu Qian's phone rang.

Seeing the caller ID, Yu Qian immediately stood up and answered the call: "Master!"

Although the people at the table could not hear Shi Fukuan's voice, they all stood up.

"I didn't drink alcohol. Hi, I just drank a little. It wasn't my intention to drink. They forced me to drink!" Yu Qian argued like a child.

Everyone was happy, because you were the only one who was clamoring that we must drink.

This is the master taking care of his apprentice again. No matter how old you are, even if you are in your seventies or eighties, you have to listen to what the master says.

"Qi Long? I'm fine. Yes, yes, yes. I went on stage today. I'm fine. There are no sequelae!"

Qi Long knew that this was talking about himself.

Yu Qian handed the phone to Qi Long: "Brother, my master wants to talk to you."

"Uncle!" Qi Long shouted after picking up the phone.

"I heard from Qiangzi that your injury has healed? No sequelae, right?"

"Thank you for your concern. I'm much better now. I'll ask Dongqiang to take me to see you when I go to the imperial capital later!" Qi Long said respectfully.

After his master Mr. Hou passed away due to illness, his master's partner took good care of him both in art and in life, and he was considered the closest elder in the crosstalk circle.

"After a while? Come over tomorrow. The National Crosstalk Competition is being held again. I have a recommendation spot for you and Dongqiang. There's no need for auditions. We can just hold offline re-selections. You two should get ready quickly and come to me when the time comes. I'll show you!" Mr. Shi shouted in a commanding tone.

Are you alright? If you are alright, why don’t you go to the crosstalk stage and shine!

"Really? Okay, okay, I'll check the tickets right away. If there are no plane tickets, I'll take the high-speed rail to the capital. Don't worry!"

The National Crosstalk Competition is a good opportunity. Many crosstalk performers became well-known to the public through this originally annual competition. Even Guo and Yu have participated in it.

Qi Long and Gao Dongqiang were young and incompetent at the time, so they did not sign up to participate.

When the two grew up and their crosstalk performance became more and more proficient, the competition was cancelled!

It feels like: when you are in elementary school, college is free; when you are in college, elementary school is free; before going to college, college students are guaranteed jobs; after entering college, college students have to rely on themselves to find jobs!
Before I graduated, there was no air conditioning in the dormitories and classrooms; right after I graduated, air conditioning was installed in the dormitories and classrooms.
In a word: I can't catch up with the good times. I didn't expect that this competition would be held again this year, so I will definitely participate!

I have seen a lot of good crosstalk through the magical software, so shouldn’t I show it off?
This competition is open to the whole country, with auditions held in various places. Each pair or individual will perform a three-minute short performance, which will be scored by the judges, and then all will go to the capital for the semi-finals.

Crosstalk performers like them who have famous folk artists as recommenders can directly participate in the semi-finals, and the subsequent competitions will be broadcast on TV after passing.

Even in the advanced Internet age, performing on TV is still the fastest way to increase your popularity.

If this is played out well on TV, wouldn't the coins come rushing in? Then, I can draw the maximum guaranteed amount and learn all the skills!
Not long after the performance at Deyun Society ended, many audience members who were recording the show with their mobile phones uploaded the video to various platforms. Many people who like to listen to crosstalk would open it and take a look as soon as possible.

However, most people tuned in to the crosstalk by "Guo Yu" and said: I'll sleep here tonight!
Then start to enjoy it.

Not many people watch videos of Guo Degang's disciples, and even fewer people click on the videos of Jin Henan and Qi Long, two crosstalk artists whom no one has ever heard of.

Even though the audience recommended Qi Long's crosstalk and encores to other friends in the super chat, not many people saw their recommendations and clicked on them to enjoy them.

Until that night, a UP host [Wen Dalu] who specializes in commenting on crosstalk released a video: "Express report on the crosstalk special performance of Deyun Society Beichuncheng!"

"Surprise, surprise, my friends! I actually saw a crosstalk artist whom I liked very much, Qi Long, at the first show of Deyun Society's crosstalk special!"

He briefly introduced that Qi Long was a disciple of Mr. Hou, and had been performing crosstalk in Xiaoyuanzi, Jin Province, and that he had heard it before.

And commented: He has the demeanor of an old gentleman at a young age, has a strong confidence on stage, is very relaxed, and is very comfortable to listen to.

"He is a comedian. I don't know why he played the supporting role for Jin Henan today! The effect is very good! He is just like Lao Guo. When he plays the supporting role, he always interferes. Lao Guo's interference often makes his apprentices dare not speak or become listless, and the rhythm is messed up.

But Qi Long is different. This "On Funny" is a battle of wits and courage. He can always make up for it or come up with a funnier joke later!"

He then played a clip and gave it a very high evaluation: "I think this crosstalk can be ranked in the top three of the whole show, and it is no worse than Lao Guo's hard-working performance."

After praising him, Wen Dalu expressed regret again: "I don't know if Qi Long has joined the Deyun Club. His partner is also very good in my impression. The two of them have a very good understanding of each other. I don't know if there is a rift. I hope not. I highly recommend this crosstalk."

Wen Dalu is a crosstalk UP host and has many crosstalk enthusiasts following him. When they saw that he used nearly one-third of the video to introduce and recommend a crosstalk, they watched the entire crosstalk after finding the clip interesting.

Most people thought it was really funny after watching it.

Because "On Praise and Laughter" is an old piece, various famous crosstalk artists have performed it, and crosstalk audiences can recite it by heart.

But it is rare that the supporting actor has the upper hand in the battle of wits and courage that begins right from the start, and the jokes are so funny that it makes people laugh out loud.

Some of the people who have watched it went back to Wen Daliu’s video to post comments and recommend it to other viewers: It’s really good, you’ll regret it if you don’t watch it!
Soon, Wen Dalu pinned a comment.

Crosstalk artist Gao Dongqiang: [UP host, you are worrying too much. We are fine. He went to Beichuncheng to help out because Zhu Hecong, the partner of Jin Henan of Deyun Society, had acute gastroenteritis. From what I know about him, a lot of the words in this crosstalk were improvised by him.]

The comment was pinned by Wen Dalu, who then commented: "That's even more incredible. The work of saving the situation at the last minute was so amazing. I look forward to the two teachers bringing us more wonderful works in the future!"

My novel was successfully signed today. I am flattered. I will continue to work hard. Thank you to the editor for taking a fancy to it!

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(End of this chapter)