Male Lead 

Lin Miaoyin and Meng Yuanzheng had only come to see if anyone needed help. After all, this was a team activity, and as the team leader’s daughter, she naturally couldn’t slack off. 

She was just telling Meng Yuanzheng that she was quite interested in that fierce Imperial Army and wanted to try playing the villain, when suddenly she heard someone calling Meng Yuanzheng’s name from the other side. 

Looking up, it was Director He Tian. 

Meng Yuanxing looked at Lin Miaoyin. 

“Go ahead.” 

After receiving Lin Miaoyin’s reply, Meng Yuanzheng walked over. 

She then looked around the performance area, which seemed to be an old ancestral hall. Although the painted carvings were worn and decaying, it still looked quite magnificent and grand. 

After a while, Meng Yuanzheng came back, followed by He Tian, who looked displeased. 

“What’s wrong?” she asked in confusion. 

“Miaoyin, you should talk to your husband. We think he’s perfect for the male lead role, there’s no one better suited for it, but he refuses.” 

“The male lead? That sounds great!” She smiled and tugged at his sleeve. “Why don’t you want to? If you do well, there’s a reward!” 

“I don’t want to,” he replied flatly. 

“Meng Yuanzheng, this is a rare opportunity to perform. Both the county and the commune will send people to watch,” He Tian urged. 

Meng Yuanzheng completely ignored her, and He Tian’s expression grew darker. 

Lin Miaoyin, feeling a bit awkward and unsure about the situation, asked, “By the way, who’s playing the female lead?” 

“I just had them each perform a segment, and in the end, the vote decided it would be Zhu Wanqin.” 

Lin Miaoyin: “Pfft, how did she get it?” 

“Um, Director, can I ask why we didn’t know you had already started selecting the female lead?” 

As soon as she spoke, the other women from the team also turned to look and began asking questions. 

“What? The female lead’s already been chosen?” 

“Weren’t we supposed to come and audition if we wanted to perform? I’ve been preparing for so long, and I didn’t even get a chance?” 

“I just saw her have a few of the girls perform, but we weren’t informed at all.” 

Everyone was unhappy. It felt like they were being looked down upon. 

In the past, when the team rehearsed, anyone who wanted to perform would sign up, then perform a segment, and the role would be decided by vote. 

He Tian’s face turned ashen. She thought to herself, these country bumpkins can’t even read, and they want to play the female lead? Dream on. 

“Say, why can’t we perform?” a fiery-tempered girl asked. 

“You can’t read. The lines are too many to memorize,” He Tian’s expression grew even uglier. 

“That’s not right. Half of us here went to elementary school before. Can’t we memorize lines in a few months? If we don’t know the characters, can’t we ask others for help?” Lin Miaoyin countered. 

“Exactly! You’re looking down on us!” 

“We’ve watched these plays since we were young, and the commune performs one every year. We might even perform better than you!” the girls grumbled in agreement. 

“Comrade Lin Miaoyin!” He Tian was getting desperate. This Lin Miaoyin sure had a knack for stirring things up. 

“What’s wrong?” Lin Miaoyin asked, feigning ignorance. 

“Can’t you raise your ideological awareness a bit?” He Tian huffed, assuming Lin Miaoyin was angry because only Meng Yuanzheng was considered for the male lead and not her for the female lead, so she was inciting trouble. 

But does the female lead role go to whoever wants it? 

Can they even read? 

Lin Miaoyin looked at He Tian in confusion. “I just want everyone to have a fair chance. Is that a lack of ideological consciousness?” 

He Tian surveyed the group in front of her, unable to control her expression, and said, “I understand that you all want to be the female lead, but you probably won’t be able to memorize all those lines. If you mess up, it won’t be something you or I can take responsibility for. If you want to perform, you can try for a supporting role.” 

Her words only angered everyone more. The scene became chaotic as many men gathered around, asking what had happened. 

He Tian was almost drowned by the crowd’s complaints, unable to hold back her frustration as she shouted, “Don’t you have any sense of collective spirit?” 

“If you have collective spirit, why don’t you take out your money and ration tickets to share with us? Why don’t you give us your clothes to wear?” 

A rough-looking young man teased, making everyone laugh. 

He Tian’s face turned red, and the several female educated youth who had been selected for the role also looked uncomfortable. Who knew this group of people was so difficult to handle, and their words so harsh? Zhu Wanqin, in particular, was digging her nails into her skin, staring hard at Lin Miaoyin without realizing it. 

“I suggest we have a fair competition. Whoever wins becomes the female lead,” one of the female educated youths proposed. 

“That’s how it should be,” one of the wives muttered, rolling her eyes. 

He Tian gritted her teeth. “Fine, we’ll choose a segment of lines. Whoever can memorize it fastest and perform it well will be selected. The crowd will vote.” 

Lin Miaoyin wasn’t interested in acting, but she had a new idea. 

She found a childhood friend and whispered a few things to her, then quietly discussed it with Meng Yuanzheng. 

Soon, everyone received the selected segment and began preparing. 

He Tian had intentionally chosen a segment with long lines and emotional outbursts, knowing that most people wouldn’t be able to perform it on the spot, let alone the rural women who probably wouldn’t even recognize most of the characters in the lines. 

Sure enough, after receiving the script, everyone huddled together, asking each other how to pronounce certain characters. 

In reality, they didn’t care much about playing the lead role. They were just there for the fun of it, but they couldn’t stand how these educated youths were looking down on them. 

They weren’t going to just give in without a fight. 

To everyone’s surprise, less than ten minutes later, a young woman spoke up, “Director, I’m ready. Can I perform?” 

This girl was quite pretty, with two large braids, and her voice was clear. 

She was Lin Miaoyin’s childhood friend, who had always loved following her grandmother around singing plays. She had actually heard this play before, and not just once, so she was quite familiar with the lines. 

Everyone paused and turned to look at her. 

She stood calmly, staring ahead, and within seconds, she was in character. Tears streamed down her face, as if her husband, whom she thought had died in battle, was standing before her, but in reality, he had turned traitor. 

She recited the lines fluently, not needing anyone to interact with her. She seamlessly delivered the next line herself. 

The crowd was so moved by her performance that they couldn’t help but get lost in the scene. 

The short segment quickly ended, and once everyone snapped out of it, they erupted into applause. 

Looking around at the others, no one else had memorized the lines. He Tian had truly shot herself in the foot and had no choice but to announce that this girl was the female lead. 

No one objected. Everyone knew the girl loved performing, and since she got along well with others, they were all supportive. 

Just as it seemed the matter would end there, Lin Miaoyin suddenly spoke up. 

“Since the actors were chosen through competition, shouldn’t the director also be chosen this way?” 

Everyone agreed enthusiastically. They were all dissatisfied with Director He Tian after her previous behavior. 

“A director isn’t like an actor,” He Tian replied. “A director not only needs to know how to act but also how to direct. Do any of you know how to do that?” She was quite confident—after all, both her parents worked in the cultural troupe. 

Lin Miaoyin smiled and said, “Yes. My husband does.” 

… 

October arrived, and the weather turned cooler. 

With news of the “Downfall of the Gang of Four” spreading, new ideas began to circulate as well. 

But life in Houtouwan remained peaceful. 

Everyone began planting cabbage, radishes, and other winter vegetables, and Lin Miaoyin and the others dug up the land behind the house to plant vegetables. 

The hydropower station and rice milling factory on the back mountain began construction at the same time. 

Farm work was lighter now, and the children had started school again. Zhu Wanqin had replaced Zhang Hui, who had been reassigned, and was now the elementary school teacher. 

Yan Hongyue and Liang Song got married. His family had done everything properly, treating the bride’s side with full respect. Lin Miaoyin was pleased. At Yan Hongyue’s request, she accompanied her throughout the wedding, which gave her peace of mind. 

After everything calmed down, Lin Miaoyin and Meng Yuanzheng started to focus on their own things. 

Meng Yuanzheng was reviewing, while Lin Miaoyin began to get involved in the black market clothing industry. 

The boss of the two older women was a middle-aged man, and it was said that he had some connections behind him, which helped his business grow. 

He was very optimistic about Lin Miaoyin, believing her designs would become popular in the future, so he let her focus only on designing, taking all the designs she created. 

Lin Miaoyin was waiting for the right moment, saving up enough money, and waiting for the wave of reform and opening up. Then, she planned to invest in opening a clothing factory to seize the early opportunities in the domestic clothing industry. 

Thus, the days passed by slowly. As the first snow arrived and New Year’s Day approached, the play that had been rehearsed for several months was finally about to be performed.