Chapter 94

Staring blankly at the white silk in his hand for a long time, Duke Dingbei finally let out a long breath and muttered, "This kid, how is his brain wired? How could he come up with such a clever method? It's simply..."

At this moment, he didn't know what words to use to describe it.

Wanrou, who was standing beside him, leaned over to take a closer look. Her almond eyes widened in surprise, and her mouth opened in a perfect circle.

"He didn't let me spread the simplified notation for a reason..." Wanrou, like her father, let out a long breath and said in disbelief, "This guy is really amazing. How did he think of this? Is he even human..."

"Ha ha ha..." The Duke burst into laughter and said, "No matter what, with this thing, it looks like his goal will be achieved this time!"

He carefully placed the white silk in his chest and slowly calmed down. Changing the subject, he asked Wanrou, "Daughter, how are your dance and music preparations going?"

"Hehe!" Hearing about the dance and music, Wanrou's thoughts returned, and she answered with a confident smile, "It should be fine. Jiang Xingchen's talent is well-known... I'm currently adding music to the 'Men Should Be Strong' song to make up for the limitations of using only the big drum!"

Duke Dingbei thought for a moment and said in a low voice, "The big drum has been promoted in the capital and various territories for some time now. I've heard that many dance troupes have found skilled craftsmen to replicate it... Clearly, they are also making the big drum the core of their music and dance arrangements. You shouldn't be too optimistic!"

"Huh?" Wanrou frowned and asked, "Someone has actually made the big drum?"

"The manufacturing process of the big drum isn't that difficult. As long as you observe it a few times and study it carefully, you can definitely replicate it... The problem now is, if other dance troupes also use the big drum and compose similarly inspiring music, your advantage will be gone!"

Duke Dingbei paused for a moment and continued, "Even if your drum dance is excellent, there are people in other dance troupes with better dance foundations than you. They might also choreograph similar dances... So, daughter, don't be complacent!"

After hearing Duke Dingbei's words, Wanrou's expression became serious. Her father was right. The big drum had been promoted, and someone had already replicated it. In other dance troupes, there were many people with deeper foundations than her. If she stopped improving, she would definitely fall behind.

"Alright! Think carefully, but don't overwork yourself!" Duke Dingbei said meaningfully, then patted her shoulder and added, "I'm going to the capital for a while. Practice well. If the New Year performance is successful, your third-class baron title is guaranteed!"

In the past, Wanrou's health was poor, and he didn't want his daughter to overwork herself. But now, Wanrou's health had recovered, and she was showing signs of improvement. His mindset had naturally changed. No matter how much he claimed to be indifferent, deep down, he couldn't help but want his daughter to inherit the territory.

Therefore, he specially reminded her today not to be complacent.

After that, he patted Wanrou's shoulder again, and Duke Dingbei turned and strode out of the room, heading for the capital...

As soon as Duke Dingbei left, Wanrou went directly to the Imperial Academy in Hongyuan City. Her father's words had indeed given her a strong sense of crisis. Dance and music were not only her dream but also her only path to inheriting the territory.

The reason she went to the Imperial Academy was that she had already handed over the staff notation to several judges for joint research. Now, she needed their help to perfect the music.

When she arrived at the Imperial Academy, the judges were also studying the big drum. While the mass production and wider promotion of the big drum were good for the dance and music world, it had appeared just before the New Year performance. This meant that other dance troupes would also use the big drum as the core of their arrangements, giving Zijin no advantage.

Actually, in their district, besides Zijin, there were also Xuanfei and Chenxi dance troupes that had won. They didn't need to worry too much. Even if they didn't win the top prize in the New Year performance, they wouldn't suffer any losses. The benefits of the big drum and the new performance style were already theirs.

However, everything changed after Wanrou brought the staff notation. They still couldn't remember how excited they were when they first saw it. They just knew their minds went blank... Once they perfected this system, they could rise to the top and even enter the upper echelons of the Imperial Academy in the capital.

With the staff notation, they naturally wanted to help Wanrou and promote the 'Men Should Be Strong' song, making it clear to everyone in the industry, thus earning the greatest rewards.

"The main issue now is to compose music for this song. We've tried various instrument combinations, but none of them seem to match the song's momentum!" One of the judges frowned and shook his head.

"That's true, this is indeed a problem!" Another judge nodded and then said to Wanrou, "But don't worry, it's not easy to coordinate with the big drum. Other dance troupes will also find it difficult to compose such an inspiring and rousing song!"

The elder who spoke during the preliminary selection pondered for a moment and finally said, "I think we should bring Jiang Xingchen here. After all, he is the original creator of this song and should have the deepest understanding of it!"

Wanrou's heart raced at this suggestion, and she immediately nodded, starting to write a letter to Jiang Xingchen. This time, no matter what, she had to bring him over. They couldn't fail the New Year performance!

A day later, Jiang Xingchen was stunned for a moment after receiving the letter, then slapped his head.

He had known all along that the big drum in this ancient world was simple to make, unlike the intricate craftsmanship of modern drums. It was easy to replicate. But he hadn't paid much attention to it. While he had been busy with purchasing supplies for his return to the territory, deep down, he had underestimated the craftsmen of this world.

Now he finally understood that this world was not lacking in skilled and creative people. Although they didn't have the same array of techniques as he did, they couldn't be underestimated. What they lacked was the concept, and what he had more of was the vast amount of information from the information explosion era. Even though he only knew the names of many things or their basic functions, they were the result of countless predecessors on Earth accumulating knowledge through life, work, production, and entertainment.

"Idiot! Open a workshop, set up an assembly line, and it would be a huge amount of money." Finally, Jiang Xingchen slapped his head again.

Then, he saw Meier approaching him cautiously, looking nervous.

"Ah~" His eyes twinkled, and Jiang Xingchen let out a loud shout, scaring the little girl so much that she almost fell to the ground.

"Brother! What are you shouting for? You scared me to death!" Seeing that Jiang Xingchen was fine, Meier puffed out her cheeks and complained.

"If I had shouted a bit later, you would have definitely attacked me!" Jiang Xingchen remembered that the little girl had said he wouldn't react to stimuli when he was in a fit, and he had already been attacked several times because of it!

"Hmph! You were definitely doing it on purpose!" The little girl slapped him, still angry. Jiang Xingchen's sudden shout had really scared her.

"I wasn't doing it on purpose, it was just a reflex!" Jiang Xingchen firmly denied.

"You were, you definitely did it on purpose!"

"No, it was just a reflex!"

"Yes..."

"No..."

The two seemed to be bickering, but in reality, they were just joking around. They often did this, even enjoying it. This natural and genuine interaction made them feel more connected and the warmth of home.

Xin'er watched the two siblings bicker and felt a bit envious. Her brother, though he cared for her, would never play with her like this!

"Alright! No more fighting, it's my fault!" Every time, it was Jiang Xingchen who admitted defeat.

Seeing the little girl's eyes crinkle with laughter, he said, "Meier, pack up. We're leaving for Hongyuan City today!"

"Ah?" Meier was surprised and asked, "Why are we going back to Hongyuan City?"

"To prepare for the New Year performance. Sister Wanrou is getting anxious!"

"But isn't there still nearly two months left?" Meier started packing while asking curiously.

"We need to compose music for 'Men Should Be Strong,' and the time might not be enough!" Jiang Xingchen explained with a smile.

"Brother, you can compose music too?" Meier asked again.

"Where do you get so many questions? Hurry up and pack!" Jiang Xingchen lightly tapped Meier and shook his head with a smile.

He didn't know how to compose music, but Wanrou had mentioned in her letter that the main issue was coordinating the instruments with the big drum. He was going to Hongyuan City to study the instruments.

He definitely couldn't handle complex and intricate instruments! But string instruments had existed before the Qin and Han dynasties. Humans on Earth had flutes made from crane leg bones eight thousand years ago. If people back then could make them, he, with his array of techniques, could definitely do it too.

It didn't matter that he didn't understand music scales and tuning. Didn't he have Wanrou and the judges at the Imperial Academy? He understood the concepts and new things, and making the instruments wasn't a problem. The rest could be left to the professionals.

After Meier finished packing, Jiang Xingchen informed the old man and said goodbye to the villagers. He gave a large sum of money to Grandma Yun and Grandpa Fu, and asked Han Xiaowu to take care of the rest, instructing him not to stop work.

Du Xin'er stayed at home. After all, it had only been a month since her surgery, and Jiang Xingchen wasn't sure how well she had recovered internally. It was better not to take her. Once they reached Hongyuan City, he would have Du Rui return early.

After making all the arrangements, Jiang Xingchen originally wanted the old man to turn into a superhero, but the old man refused. So, they had to travel by carriage.

The road was still difficult, but compared to when they came, it was much better. On the fourth day, they finally returned to Hongyuan City.

Just as they arrived at their home next to the Imperial Academy, Duke Dingbei also reached the capital and entered the home of the Imperial Finance Minister.