The voice defending the girls was a crisp female voice. Xiaoxiao looked over and was imdiately surprised. She had seen this woman before, the one who had confronted Wang Xiangxiang at the Marriage Fate Temple, and she was also the one who helped them hail a sedan chair.
"Everyone is equal, and you have no right to judge their pasts. Besides, they have reford now. They work hard to live a good life—what’s wrong with that? I actually admire their courage. Could you do the sa if you were in their shoes? Probably not," she said.
"In my eyes, you are no better than them, always gossiping and finding fault in others. It would be better to go ho and look in the mirror. Why are your husbands looking at others instead of you?"
After finishing, Wen Nuan walked toward Xiaoxiao, leaving the crowd speechless and unable to respond.
Seeing Wen Nuan heading her way, Xiaoxiao said with a smile, "Thank you for just now, for speaking up for the ladies."
Xiaoxiao was genuinely grateful. Although she very much wanted to tear those people to shreds herself, as a mber of the Grand Theater and, more so, as the proprietress, publicly tearing into the crowd would be very inappropriate and could seriously damage the Grand Theater’s image, which would be very detrintal to its developnt.
But having the public tear into the public was a different matter.
"It was nothing. I only spoke the truth," Wen Nuan said with a gentle smile on her face. "Do you still have tickets? I’ll buy one."
Xiaoxiao handed her a ticket, "This one’s on , to thank you for helping us just now."
"Hehe, no need. The ladies have worked hard, and it would be disrespectful to watch for free," Wen Nuan declined, pulling out silver to give to Xiaoxiao.
Wen Nuan’s actions left Xiaoxiao no choice but to accept the silver, which represented recognition of the girls’ efforts, "Then thank you."
"Don’t ntion it. I am Wen Nuan. How about you?"
"Zhong Xiaoxiao."
"That’s a very nice na. Last ti at the Marriage Fate Temple, things were too hurried to get acquainted."
"It’s not too late to get to know each other now."
"That’s true."
The two shared a smile, and Xiaoxiao felt an indescribable sensation, as though the woman before her was quite unique and could perhaps beco a good friend.
"Well, you must be busy, I should get going. See you tonight."
"Alright."
Wen Nuan walked away, disappearing into the bustling street.
With Wen Nuan’s help, the girls were no longer downcast; finally, soone recognized and spoke up for them. Smiles returned to their faces, and they continued with their dancing.
It wasn’t long before Yang Ming spoke up, "Wife, all the tickets are sold out."
"Already?" Xiaoxiao was very surprised. They had brought three days’ worth of tickets to sell, and this was just one morning.
"Yes, I didn’t expect it either." Yang Ming was also amazed because his wife said they were only out to promote the Grand Theater and hadn’t expected to sell many tickets, yet they sold so many.
Perhaps it was the people-friendly prices that made them sell so quickly. Xiaoxiao did a rough calculation; even if the theater was packed with custors, after distributing the silver among everyone and deducting expenses, she would only have a profit of three hundred taels per month for the Grand Theater. That was much less than what she made running the brothel.
If there were any mishaps, they might even run at a loss, but she had no regrets. To gain recognition for this art form and for the girls, she felt it was very necessary. Once everything was on the right track, it wouldn’t be too late to start so small theaters to make silver.
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