1RomanceEB Chapter 78 He's got money, just like Master Jing!
Chapter 78 He's got money, just like Master Jing!
Chapter 78 He's got money, just like Master Jing!
Zhou Hua walked in first.
He was followed by a dozen or so men and women, each carrying a musical instrument case on their back, shoulder, or in their arms.
Good guy!
Lin Hanjiang took a closer look and realized that this was quite a large-scale operation.
The string section includes violins, violas, cellos, and even double basses carried on a shoulder pole.
Woodwind section: flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon.
Brass section: French horn, trumpet, trombone.
There was even a timpani that needed to be assembled.
This is essentially a small, but fairly standard, orchestral ensemble.
"Good morning, senior brother. Oh, junior sister Xiao Hai is up so early too, working so hard."
Zhou Hua walked over with a grin. Today he was wearing a flashy Hawaiian shirt and jeans, which made him stand out among a group of simply dressed students.
He pointed to the students behind him who were unloading instruments and greeting each other, his tone slightly smug: "How about it? The lineup is alright, right? These are all students who paid to watch the fun, juniors who volunteered to contribute to the graduation party. I've put together a temporary graduation selection competition orchestra for them! You guys will rehearse first this morning, and Wang Xiaolan has also made plans for this afternoon, so they'll use it then."
Lin Hanjiang was genuinely impressed by this kid.
His organizational and persuasive skills are top-notch.
"Wow, Zhou Hua! You managed to organize all this. This lineup is definitely a waste of your talent to provide accompaniment for this small competition."
Zhou Hua chuckled, leaned closer, lowered his voice, and said with a touch of江湖气 (a kind of chivalrous spirit): "Hey, since you're my senior brother and Xiao Hai is my lovely junior sister, it's family business, so I'll waive the rehearsal fee for you two. Isn't that generous of me?"
Lin Hanjiang raised an eyebrow: "Rehearsal fee? You mean—Wang Xiaolan and the others will use it this afternoon, and you'll be charging them?"
'
Zhou Hua had an expression that said, "Is this even a question?"
"Senior, what you're saying is ridiculous. There are more than a dozen of us here, carrying all these precious instruments in this sweltering heat, tuning them, rehearsing, and wasting time and energy. While it's right to dedicate ourselves to art, everyone should at least get some compensation for their labor, enough to buy an ice pop to cool off, right? Wang Xiaolan and the others' program has nothing to do with me. Let's keep things official, that's fair."
"Not bad, kid, you've got a good business sense." Lin Hanjiang chuckled; this was very much in line with Zhou Hua's personality. "How much did you get from them?"
Zhou Hua extended his right hand, spreading his thumb and forefinger to form the shape of the Chinese character "八" (eight).
He lowered his voice, but couldn't hide the excitement of earning extra money: "80 yuan for an afternoon, for the whole orchestra, not much, right?"
"twenty one?"
Lin Hanjiang was genuinely surprised this time.
In 1992, how much did an average worker earn in a month? A student orchestra rehearsal cost 80 yuan in an afternoon, which was definitely not a small amount.
Wang Xiaolan's willingness to agree indicates that she can afford it.
As expected of Master Jing!
"Damn it!"
Lin Hanjiang couldn't help but pat Zhou Hua on the shoulder, laughing and scolding him.
"Well done, Zhou Hua. You've got some skill with that bamboo bar, it's really impressive."
Zhou Hua shrank back when he was slapped, and deliberately made a bitter face: "Senior, why are you swearing at me? This is a reasonable fee, reflecting the value of artistic labor. Try hiring a decent band outside, it won't cost less than a few hundred yuan. This is a classmate price, a friend's price."
"I was just praising you," Lin Hanjiang couldn't help but chuckle. "It's a good thing to be quick-witted. It seems our music academy will not only produce singers and instrumentalists in the future, but also cultural agents like you."
He glanced at the younger students who had already started finding their places and opening their instrument cases to tune their instruments.
"Alright, Manager Zhou, since the lineup is so impressive and you've waived the fees for me, let's get started quickly. Don't delay your afternoon's revenue-generating endeavors."
"Yes, sir!"
Zhou Hua immediately got into character, turned around, clapped his hands, and raised his voice.
"Fellow academy members, take your positions. Let's go over Zu Hai's performance first. String section, make sure your pitch is right. Wind instruments, especially the oboe, double-check your A note—"
"Squeak"
"Waaah"
"Thump, thump-thump————"
As the band members took their places, the empty concert hall was instantly filled with the sounds of tuning and testing instruments.
The violin searches for the perfect A note, the oboe tunes its reed —
Lin Hanjiang stood at the front of the wooden stage, his forehead damp with sweat.
The concert hall was old-fashioned. Although the ceiling was high, there was no air conditioning. Only a few ceiling fans spun weakly overhead, stirring up the stuffy heat in the room.
He looked at this hastily assembled, yet quite professional, folk music ensemble.
He smiled and nodded.
"good."
Then, turning to Zu Hai, who was still somewhat reserved beside him, he whispered, "Xiao Hai, distribute the sheet music."
"Oh, okay, okay."
Zu Hai seemed to wake from a dream. She went off the stage to get her bag from her seat. When she opened it, she was holding a stack of mimeographed sheet music.
Then he jogged back to the stage, a little clumsy but very serious, and handed out the sheet music to each musician's music stand.
The musicians took it, leaned closer to look, and their faces showed a hint of curiosity.
This sheet music seems to be for a new song.
The scores for folk songs and opera accompaniment that I usually rehearse are quite different.
Lin Hanjiang and Zhou Hua went out to the school store and bought some ice water, popsicles, and soda.
They found a group of people waiting.
Lin Hanjiang immediately instructed Zu Hai to distribute the food to the band members who had been waiting for a long time.
Some things still have to be done personally.
He, as the senior apprentice, can only teach; it's unknown whether Zu Hai can grasp the meaning of human relationships and social graces.
After sending these messages, Zu Hai ran back to Lin Hanjiang's side, his face slightly flushed from running, and tiny beads of sweat glistening on his nose and forehead.
Lin Hanjiang looked at her and couldn't help but smile, handing her a bottle of ice-cold mineral water: "Have some water, calm down, don't be nervous, just think of it as us rehearsing in Teacher Jin's vocal studio."
Zu Hai took the bottle of mineral water. The cool touch made her take a deep breath and whisper, "Senior brother, this song has such a cheerful tune. It's different from the ones I used to sing."
"We want something different."
Lin Hanjiang also unscrewed a bottle of water and took a sip.
My gaze swept over the musicians who had begun to peruse the sheet music and were occasionally exchanging hushed conversations.
A female classmate who plays the violin laughed and said, "This piece is so down-to-earth, it makes me happy. It's more energetic than the sad pieces I usually play. It's just that I need to practice the repetitive syncopated rhythm."
"Haha, I feel happy too."
"I once cried during a concert."
A group of people nearby echoed this sentiment.
"Everyone, take your time. Let's go through the melody once first."
Lin Hanjiang clapped his hands and raised his voice.
"Thank you all for your hard work. It's hot, let's hurry up and line up."
He then looked at Zu Hai and asked softly, "Xiao Hai, are you ready?"
Zu Hai clenched his small fist and nodded forcefully.
Lin Hanjiang smiled and clearly said to the band, "Let's begin, let's sing 'Good Luck'!"
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