Chapter 4 The Kind Manager Uncle

  Mr. Guo Wen's old man rested in the background for two or three minutes and then went on stage again, but Zhou Xiao had lost his desire to continue watching, he returned to his own resting room, preparing for the afternoon performance.

  Before long, the door of the room was opened again, and the person who came in was none other than Mr. Inoue, who had just made a phone call to him.

  "Arrived quite early, haven't you?" Inoue greeted. This theater manager had the standard looks of a middle-aged Japanese man, with slightly sagging cheeks, a half-bald head and a somewhat loose-fitting suit, the kind of person you'd see walking down any street in Japan.

  "You're early too!" Although he looked ordinary, Zhou Xiao didn't dare to be slow and quickly stood up to greet him.

  "What's the point of coming so early, it's boring," said Inoue.

  "I was at home with nothing to do, so I thought I'd come over and take a look..."

  "Uh...” Zhou Xiao hadn't finished speaking when her stomach started growling.

  Inoue took a look at Zhou Xiao, his gaze passing through the open old-fashioned suit that had been passed down for who-knows-how-many hands, and landed on Zhou Xiao's stomach. Before leaving the house, Zhou Xiao had deliberately tightened his belt to make himself feel less hungry, but by cinching his waist so tightly, Inoue couldn't help but notice. He smiled knowingly: "Haven't eaten again, huh? You're such a stubborn kid, come with me."

  "Huh? Where are you going?" Zhou Xiao asked.

  "What else can we do? Let's go eat." said Inoue.

  "Thank you!" If it were the previous Zhou Xiao, he might have refused awkwardly again at this time. But now Zhou Xiao wouldn't do that, his stomach was growling the loudest, so he hastily agreed.

  "It's nothing, a meal can't be that expensive, you stubbornly refuse to take money from home, you silly kid, if you starve your body like this, you'll suffer later." Inoue said as he walked away.

  Zhou Xiao followed behind, nodding his head repeatedly with a humble heart. He, who had inherited the memories of Japan's Zhou Xiao, also found the behavior of this body's previous owner somewhat despicable. How could someone be so stubborn as to starve and faint in a rental house just because they didn't want to ask their family for money?

  Zhou Xiao and Inoue came out of the theater and slipped into a ramen shop. Unless it was a big store, Japan didn't have many places to set up tables and private rooms. This ramen shop was just like that. As soon as you entered, there was a long bar counter, behind which was the kitchen for making noodles, and in front of the counter were a dozen or so stools where customers ate.

  Because it's almost noon, there are quite a few customers in the ramen shop at this moment. However, the only sound in the entire shop is the slurping of the chef and the service staff. As for the several customers sitting at the counter, not one of them makes any extra noise. The vast majority of people have their heads down, slurping away as they eat their noodles. One of the strange habits of Japanese people is that when eating ramen, they always make a loud slurping sound.

  "Go ahead and order, I can still afford a meal." Inoue said casually.

  Zhou Xiao looked up at the counter above, on which a row of bamboo slips were hung, with prices for various noodle dishes written in brush script. On average, they were basically between 300 and 500 yen, which was also one of the reasons why Inoue could afford to treat others. Even if Zhou Xiao ate until he was stuffed, it would be hard to spend more than 2,000 yen alone.

  She casually ordered a bowl of ramen and Zhou Xiao started eating with her head down.

  I don't know if it's because I'm too hungry or what, but Zhou Xiao thinks this ramen is really delicious, the meat on top of the ramen is also very tasty, and the soup is also very good to drink.

  As he ate and ate, he suddenly burst into loud sobs.

  Why cry? From familiar China to unfamiliar Japan, relatives and friends are all gone, the era has also become a memory of the past. Indeed, there is a good direction, Zhou Xiao is very clear that in this era, as long as no major problems arise, he will definitely achieve success that was impossible for his ancestors. However, even so, he still feels extremely anxious and uneasy, which is quite normal.

  "Silly child." The old man beside him, Inoue, didn't know the real reason why Zhou Xiao had cried. He thought it was because she couldn't eat anything.

  Zhou Xiao cried while eating, and ate while crying. By the time he finished crying, the noodles in his bowl were almost gone.

  "Hey!" Mr. Inoue handed over a few paper towels: "Silly kid, after crying, just honestly tell your family members, what's embarrassing about kids asking parents for money?"

  "No, I won't want it," Zhou Xiao wiped her eyes and said very stubbornly: "If you want money, then all the suffering you've endured so far would be in vain. I must do it myself."

  "Hey...... you kid, if you can't hold on anymore just remember to come find me, I can still afford a meal."

  "Ah! Uncle Inoue, I will definitely repay you!" Although it was just a meal, although it was only giving myself a job when I was at the end of my rope, this act of sending charcoal in snowy weather, even though the current Zhou Xiao is no longer the same person as before, still feels extremely moving.

  "You call me Uncle, I won't let you down. Have you finished eating? Let's go back after we finish eating, there's still a performance this afternoon," said Inoue.

  As soon as he mentions performing, Zhou Xiao gets a headache. The few jokes that belong to his predecessor seem meaningless to him. If they were performed on stage, the silence would be absolute zero. But if he doesn't perform, with his current state of being penniless, he can't just rely on Uncle Jing's support and eat for free.

  "Unfortunately, I'm just a small manager, so I can't arrange too much work for you. You still need to work harder, and then I'll be able to arrange more work for you..." Inoue said as he walked alongside Zhou Xiao.

  "It's already good enough, Uncle Ito. After today's performance is over, I'll try to find something else that can be done." As soon as Zhou Xiao finished speaking, she felt a wave of resistance coming from the depths of her soul.

  "You're thinking this way is the best, you kid, too stubborn, and how did you just decide on this one? It's really helpless." Inoue shook his head and said with great helplessness. In Zhou Xiao's memory, every time she couldn't eat a meal, Inoue had advised her many times, but the stubborn former boy wouldn't listen. So now Inoue was saying this with regret instead of advising again, because he knew his advice was useless. Moreover, hearing Zhou Xiao say that she would go find something else to do, Inoue also understood that she had come to understand a bit and become more flexible, as long as she didn't ruin her body, it was already very good.

  Having dinner, Zhou Xiao and Jing Shang finally returned to the theater. As soon as they entered the theater from the back door, they heard a very noisy voice coming from the backstage: "He's taken that kid out for dinner again? Zhou Xiao's face is really thick! How can he deceive Uncle Jing so thoroughly?"

  Upon hearing this, Inoue's face was filled with embarrassment, while Zhou Xiao had a subtle expression, as if the voice had appeared in his memory before.

  The two walked in and took a look, and indeed it was a man who looked to be around thirty years old pointing at the theater staff and saying some very excessive words: "You too! How can you just let that kid go? He looks suspicious and has ulterior motives. If something happens to Mr. Ijūin, all of you will have to pay the price!"

  "Sakaguchi! That's enough already! Don't be too outrageous!" said Inoue.

  This guy named Sakaguchi... looks just like a comedian!

  They say he looks like a comedian... basically it means... ugly, that's all.

  Moreover, it can't be the ordinary kind of ugliness that can be submerged in the crowd. A qualified ugly artist must have a special ugliness, an ugliness with characteristics, an ugliness that makes people unforgettable at first glance!

  What makes Sakaguchi unforgettable is his eye bags. Although his eyes look quite spirited, the area below them looks like he's been up for seven or eight consecutive nights, making people feel extremely tired just by looking at him, unless they're familiar with him, in which case they'd know that this is almost entirely natural.

  With this appearance, he has also gained some fame. Not only is he the most prominent comedian in this small theater, but he has even replaced his predecessor on a morning variety show! Although it was just a short segment of a few minutes, for such a small theater, being able to achieve this level is already a "corner" (a notable achievement).

  "Mr. Inoue, you're back?" Sakaguchi turned around and said, his expression changing quickly. One second ago, he was still yelling at the staff, but in the next second, he was greeting Inoue with a smile. His voice didn't have too much flattery, but it was relatively gentle. In Zhou Xiao's memory, one of the main reasons Sakaguchi could perform here regularly was that the real boss of this theater was his relative. However, it wasn't that Sakaguchi owed the theater boss a favor, but rather the other way around. Although he was an artist who even struggled to get on TV, in this small theater, he was already a pillar-like existence.