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As a girl, Xiu'e's happiest days of the year were the times when she followed the rural grass-stage opera troupes and traveled around the countryside. This is naturally something that happens during the slack season after autumn. In central Anhui, folk Huangmei Opera is very popular. A random earthen platform was set up in the village. A group of men and women who had been working in the earth during the day took off their mud-stained coats, put on simple costumes, painted their faces with oil paint, stepped onto the folk stage, and became artists. Therefore, those stories about heaven and earth, such as "Pearl Tower", "Du Shiniang", "Dong Yong and the Seven Fairies", often make the village girl Xiu'e shed tears. This year, Anhui had just been liberated. After liberation, Xiu'e's fascination with rural Caotai opera continued unabated. People in Dali Village said that Xiu'e looked just like the character in the play.