Chapter 123 Do What We Can
Different from the main city area with a strong academic atmosphere, joy and noise are the main themes at night in the Grand Bazaar.
On normal days, if there are no evening performances, the Zubair Theatre members would take a short break after dinner and then do their own things in the theatre.
Prop engineers Nega and Rikal will set up the scenes needed for the next day's performance on the stage and make costumes for other members. Theater manager Sheikh Zubair will concentrate on writing the script for the performance, while Nilu and Kurosh will rehearse backstage.
But after meeting so many mercenaries from the desert, Nilu's heart could not calm down for a long time. She walked barefoot on the carpet prepared for her by Rikal, and her hands and feet mechanically performed dance moves according to instinct.
Her dance was still graceful, but her thoughts had drifted away.
It's not like she had never dealt with the mercenaries of the Gilded Brigade before. When she stood on the stage, there would always be one or two desert people with wheat-colored skin and long red scarves in the audience.
Although their numbers were far less than those of merchants, porters, or even scholars, and she had long learned of their plight from nearby residents, she did not agree with the view that "desert people are born with intellectual disabilities", but she had not deliberately taken the time to gain a deeper understanding of the world of mercenaries.
To this day, groups of mercenaries pour into the Zubair Theater, trying their best to show themselves in order to get a job that does not require bloodshed or risking their lives. They are willing to wait for five or six hours in the sun for this. This scene has brought great shock to Nilu.
In the kingdom of wisdom, Sumeru, dancers and odd jobs have always been looked down upon or despised. She had never thought that such a job with average salary, no holidays and no respect would attract so many people from the desert.
She was originally rehearsing in the theater wearing the performance costume made for her by Ricard, oblivious to the people around her, but every desert dweller who saw her had eyes filled with envy, hope, or desire.
Those gazes almost pierced through her. She felt that they had completely broken her defenses. Her eyes flickered and she quickly turned away and hurried off the stage and into the dressing room, trying to avoid it all.
But when she used trembling fingertips to untie the cumbersome clothes, and took off the gorgeous clothes one by one, until she finally stood naked in front of the mirror, her mind was in a mess when she reached for the pair of golden earrings, as if she heard someone whispering in her ear, asking her to face the suffering that one-third of the country's population was experiencing.
She seemed to hear someone whispering: You live in the same country, why is your skin white and delicate, like flawless jade, while their skin is black, have you ever thought that it is the mark left by the sun...
I didn't. I always knew that they were treated unfairly, but I never tried to change it. I felt that my power was too small to do such a great thing. But now Mr. Shakespeare has given me such an opportunity. I will obey his will and try to do what I can.
Nilu used her voice to fight the whispers, then she changed into her regular clothes and stood next to Zubair.
The theater manager who was recruiting was not surprised by Nilu's appearance. He whispered to Nilu, "Nilu, take a good look at them. Who dances better? Write it down."
Nilu nodded, listened carefully to the mercenaries' self-introductions and watched their performances.
For the first time, she learned that 20 percent of the desert people knew how to train falcons and snakes. They could make falcons swoop down according to their wishes, grab prey with their sharp claws, and then fly back to their hands accurately. They also knew how to make snakes dance without the use of flutes.
They are all born singers and dancers. Before coming to the rainforest area, they would sing and dance around the campfire, praising the gifts given by nature or begging the wind and sand not to flood the village.
Nilu appreciated their impromptu performance, which was an art, a different kind of art from her dance, more direct and unrestrained, but both could bring people joy and enjoyment of beauty.
Some of them are over fifty years old, and some are only fourteen or fifteen years old. They could have stood on the stage like her, accepting the flowers and applause of the crowd, or stood on the ridge of the field to enjoy the joy of the harvest, or walked into the church and swam in the ocean of knowledge...
But they can only be mercenaries, can only waste their lives in battle, and sell their flesh and blood for food and water. Because they come from the desert, they can only be mercenaries, can only be looked down upon, and can only suffer unfair treatment.
Such people, those who suffer, account for one third of the total population of Xumi.
Nilu put her hand on her chest and closed her eyes to calm herself down. She realized once again what a great thing Mr. Shakespeare was doing.
It is my honor to be his helper, Nilu thought.
"Nilu, I have compiled a list of mercenaries for the interview. I have already screened out some mercenaries who are not suitable for the stage based on their age and appearance. Take a look at these people and see which ones' performances impressed you the most." Theater manager Zubair greeted.
"...Okay! I...let me take a look." Nilu's voice was a little awkward as her thoughts were interrupted. She straightened her slightly messy collar as if to cover up, quickly walked up to the auditorium and walked to Zubair, taking a thick stack of lists from him.
"This lady has beautiful long golden hair. Her dance is very powerful. She is also an excellent falcon trainer. She said that if she were in the desert, she could let her falcon perform dance with her. However, when she passed through Kawanyi, the Thirty-Man Group prohibited her from passing because she was carrying a falcon. In order to find a job, she could only let her 'companion' return to the paradise created by the Red King..."
Nilu pointed at a name and spoke softly.
The young lady said this calmly, and seeing her sad expression, she comforted her in return, saying that falconers in the desert would eventually let their falcons return to the wild, and this was a rule followed by all tribes.
The falcons help us for seven years, and then we will send them back. When we say goodbye to them, we will prepare a farewell banquet for them. Don't be sad for us, because the destined day of departure has just arrived early due to a small accident.
"I have been with it day and night for five years. It has caught many preys for me and saved me from starving to death while crossing the desert and becoming a skeleton in the yellow sand. I owe it a grand banquet." When she said this, the blonde female mercenary showed a little reluctance in her eyes.
"Is she the best dancer?" Zubair asked calmly.
"Yes, she was the lead dancer during their tribal sacrifices." Nilu said with certainty.
She didn't think it was inhumane for Mr. Zubair to ask this question. She knew they couldn't help every mercenary out of trouble by recruiting new members.
Compared to me, Mr. Zubair, who had to listen to the mercenaries' stories and make a choice among them for the whole afternoon, must be under greater mental pressure, Nilu thought.
Zubair nodded: "Okay, what about the others?"
Nilu pointed out several people, used words to describe their appearance and talents, and retold their stories. Literature was not the dancer's specialty, but she was just a reteller. She just had to tell these stories engraved in her heart again, so her stories were particularly moving.
Abe and Thorin, who came to play with her, were attracted by the story. The two children sat quietly on the steps, holding their cheeks, waiting for their sister Nilu to introduce the experience of the next mercenary.
"Let's just pick these few." Zubair circled a few names based on Nilu's description. "I have also selected the clerks. I will write to them right away."
After that, he seemed to be talking to himself and said, "I saw several other theater members in Baoshang Street rehearsing similar programs outdoors. They should also be facing the problem of insufficient manpower. The abilities of these mercenaries are also very good. We can introduce them to them."
"Really, Mr. Zubair?!" Nilu widened her eyes slightly and said with great surprise.
“But I guess it can only solve the employment problem of 50 to 60 mercenaries.” Zubair nodded with a smile, then he sighed, “…the number of people is too large.”
Although Zubair Theater is the most famous and largest theater in Xumi City, this is all a theater manager like him can do. Compared with other theater managers, the most he can do is recruit more people and give five or six more mercenaries a job.
Hopefully Xumi will eventually turn out just as Mr. "Shakespeare" described it.
After the performances of the poetry drama and opera, what should we do next?
Zubair was also deeply touched by what happened today. He began to look forward to the next letter from "Shakespeare" and wanted to know whether this Mr. "Shakespeare", who had great ideals and vision, could come up with any way to change the status quo.
...
On Tuesday, at the Institute of Chemical Engineering
"Ah? Failed?" Dixia washed off her makeup, entered the laboratory and came to Harold, where she was told the situation. She couldn't help but show her disappointment.
Harold nodded and said calmly, "I'll show you."
Harold brought Dishia to the area where the mother copy was.
Dixia discovered that several mother plants that were originally bagged and quiet like potted plants became somewhat active. They shook their leaves and swayed their receptacles, trying to shake off the paper bags that blocked their vision.
"I didn't take the paper bags off their heads right away so you could see with your own eyes how the mother plant behaved after pollination failed."
Harold said this, pointing to the three mothers numbered 1,2,5, , and .
"I selected these three from the first batch of wild Liarflowers I obtained. Although they have been domesticated, they are still somewhat aggressive. They did not launch a fire attack when they sensed that I was nearby, but from the frequency of their struggles, you can easily tell that they are wild."
Then he pointed to the four mothers numbered S2, S3, S5, and S8.
"These numbers starting with S are from a batch of wild lilies I purchased later."
"The ones starting with 0 are the first generation of artificially bred flowers, and the ones starting with 0? are the second generation of artificially bred flowers. Look, they are obviously much more obedient. Let's ignore these ones for now and take a look at these ovules that are still developing."
Under Harold's guidance, Dishia raised the small flashlight driven by elemental force to illuminate the mother in the bag.