Chapter 4

The sound of applause came from the classroom.

Chen Kangjie looked in the direction of the sound and saw a beautiful girl walking gracefully towards him from the front row. She was about 20 years old, with black, shiny hair that fell to her shoulders, a fair and smooth complexion, eyes like autumn waves, a light and graceful figure, and a checkered floral dress. Her chest was prominently protruding, and she wore a pair of orange sandals.

"You have a very unique way of expressing bravery. What's your name?"

"Chen Kangjie."

Without thinking, Chen Kangjie blurted out the answer. In the 21st century, there were so many beautiful women, from various female celebrities to ** porn stars, and Chen Kangjie had seen plenty on his computer. Logically, he shouldn't have been so captivated, but this girl was so pure, like a lotus emerging from clear water, naturally beautiful without any artificial embellishment.

Seeing Chen Kangjie almost drooling, the beautiful girl smiled, feeling curious. Usually, it was adult men who would have such a dazed expression when they saw her, but why was this little boy also so lost in admiration?

Chen Kangjie also came to his senses, scolding himself for being so obvious.

The beautiful girl didn't say much more, turned, and walked up to the podium. Chen Kangjie asked Ma Wei who this beautiful woman was.

"What, you don't recognize our music teacher, Ms. He?"

"Oh."

Chen Kangjie feigned realization, but in fact, he really didn't know this Ms. He. In his memory, the music teacher in elementary school was an old lady from the north.

In this music class, Ms. He taught everyone a song called "Fengyang Flower Drum." Students generally liked music class because there was no homework, no exams, no physical labor, and no mental exertion, making it even more relaxed than art class. Ms. He taught the song using traditional Chinese singing techniques. The song was originally a folk song, and Ms. He's voice was melodious and soothing, making everyone learn it with more focus.

Of course, Chen Kangjie also took this rare opportunity to focus on a class. The first reason might be Ms. He's graceful appearance, especially the elegance of her movements. The second reason was that this folk song had a strong rhythm and was pleasant to listen to. Chen Kangjie remembered that this folk song was included in Chou Huajian's 1996 concert, "Xuan," with a rock arrangement that was very successful. Chen Kangjie had bought this CD and watched it many times, and even though the audience at the Red Hall didn't know the song, they were still captivated by its rhythm.

There were only two classes in the afternoon. After everyone sang "Fengyang Flower Drum" together, the class ended. Chen Kangjie saw Ms. He leave the classroom with her textbook and left Ma Wei to chase after her.

"Ms. He."

"This student, do you need something from the teacher?"

Chen Kangjie scratched his head, trying to appear as cute as possible. Actually, he chased after her not because of her beauty (even if she was beautiful, he was only six, and he knew that), but because he had a plan to make money and wanted to see if Ms. He could help. Of course, he couldn't reveal his plan until he was sure.

"Nothing, I just want to chat about music with you."

In fact, Chen Kangjie knew nothing about music before, but he did like listening to songs, as most people in the internet era do.

"Chat about music? Haha, little student, didn't the teacher just teach you a song? What music can you chat about?"

Ms. He found it amusing to hear such a topic from such a cute little boy and smiled.

"Hehe, I just wanted to ask, if the 'Fengyang Flower Drum' were sung in a rock style, do you think it would be good?"

"Rock? What rock?"

Ms. He was a bit surprised. She hadn't heard of any rock singing style. She was familiar with popular, classical, and traditional Chinese styles, but not rock!

Chen Kangjie then remembered that rock music in China started in 1986 with the "Northwest Wind" entering the nascent youth culture. The earliest rock song was probably "Nothing to My Name" by Cui Jian, who is known as the "Father of Chinese Rock." In 1989, Cui Jian released his first album, "Rock on the New Long March Road," which was the first true rock album in China. Later, the Black Panther Band's "Black Panther," the Tang Dynasty Band's "Tang Dynasty," and the compilation "China Fire I" were released, becoming classic records in Chinese rock history.

Chen Kangjie realized his mistake and, to cover his nervousness, adjusted his attitude and continued:

"Rock originated in Europe and America. Its fundamental spirit is a strong sense of reality and a deviation from or conflict with dominant values, which is the basis for distinguishing rock music from commercial pop music. Rock music often opposes the dominant culture, which is usually modern capitalist industrial culture. Like many modernist arts, rock music reflects various issues in the process of social modernization and modernity, and even more fundamentally, it resists modern industrial civilization, urban culture, and market culture, criticizing alienation and numbness in human nature. Rock singing styles include: shouting, screaming, gothic, and ambient."

Ms. He listened to Chen Kangjie's long explanation with wide eyes, as if she had seen a ghost. She studied music, but she had never heard of these things. This six-year-old student had surprised her twice today, and this time, his explanation of "bravery" was even more surprising. She asked with doubt:

"What's your name? How do you know all this?"

"My name is Chen Kangjie. You already asked me this afternoon. I read it in the newspaper."

Chen Kangjie answered without hesitation.

"Is that so? Oh, I think I did ask. Is the newspaper still there? Can you show it to the teacher?"

Ms. He felt a bit embarrassed, remembering that she had asked his name twice today, but she quickly changed the topic and asked curiously.

"Teacher, sorry, I used the newspaper for the toilet. I can't remember which newspaper it was."

Chen Kangjie had to continue lying. Where could he find such a newspaper? Fortunately, at that time, many people used newspapers or book pages for the toilet.

Hearing Chen Kangjie's answer, Ms. He showed a look of regret and a bit of embarrassment at the mention of the toilet.

"You little rascal, the teacher will go to the library to find it herself."

Chen Kangjie thought to himself, "You won't find it. It doesn't exist. You'll know in a few years when rock becomes popular."

"Do you know what the rock singing styles of shouting, screaming, gothic, and ambient mean? Can you sing them?"

Are you kidding? Asking a six-year-old to sing rock? Only you would think of that, Chen Kangjie thought to himself.

"Teacher, I don't know these things. I just saw them and didn't understand, so I asked you."

Actually, Chen Kangjie knew. Shouting: 1. Breathing: from the dantian, using the maximum force to push the air, impacting the vocal cords. 2. Pronunciation: when the air from the dantian impacts the vocal cords, the throat produces a hoarse sound, and the air pushes the sound out of the mouth. 3. Note: use low notes, don't press the throat. The range is generally from low to mid-range. Screaming: 1. Breathing: from the dantian and chest, when the air from the dantian reaches the chest, it is pressed down [feeling] to the throat. 2. Pronunciation: when the air is pressed to the throat, the throat is pressed down, and the sound is pushed out of the mouth. 3. Note: use high notes, must press the throat. The range is generally from mid to very high. Gothic: 1. Breathing: pure chest sound, using the chest to expand and directly push the air to the throat. 2. Pronunciation: when the air reaches the throat, use normal pronunciation, and the dantian's vibration makes the sound deeper. 3. Note: generally use low to mid-range, no dantian breathing. Ambient: 1. Breathing: same as gothic. 2. Pronunciation: multiple choices, can use air singing or overtone singing.

These were things he had seen online before, but he couldn't say them, as it would be too shocking.

As they chatted, they walked towards the school gate. Ma Wei followed from a distance, not wanting to approach because, like many students with poor grades, he didn't like being with teachers.

After further conversation, Chen Kangjie learned that Ms. He's real name was He Wanrong, a recent graduate from the music department of Qianzhou Normal University, who was interning at the Zhongdi Mine School. She had two months left before returning to the university to complete her thesis and await placement. As they were about to part ways at the school gate, Chen Kangjie suddenly asked:

"Sister Rong, do you know how to read sheet music? If you hear a song you don't know, can you write it down?"

Ms. He was a bit surprised. It was the first time a student had called her "sister" instead of "teacher," but seeing this cute and steady little boy, she actually liked it. She had no younger brothers, so having a brother like this would be nice. She bent down and patted Chen Kangjie's head, smiling.

"Yes, what do you need it for? Do you want to sing a song and have me write the music for you? Haha."

"You guessed right, that's exactly what I want."

"Exactly what you want, huh? Haha, what songs do you know?"

"I know a lot. I'll sing them for you another day when I have time."

Chen Kangjie put on a capable and cute act.

"Sure, I'll wait. If you sing well, I'll help you, haha."

Ms. He nodded with a smile. She didn't really believe that Chen Kangjie knew any songs, thinking it was just a child's talk. Little did she know that this simple conversation would open the door to a brilliant future for both of them.

After Ms. He left, Ma Wei approached.

"Chen Kangjie, what did you talk about with Ms. He?"

Chen Kangjie had a mysterious look and smiled.

"Ma Wei, you wouldn't understand even if I told you. You'll know later."

Ma Wei looked不服气 (unconvinced), pouting, "Hmph, still a good friend, but you won't tell me."

Chen Kangjie didn't mind, slinging his backpack over his shoulder.

"Let's go. I'll tell you later, okay? You look so pitiful, I'll buy you an ice cream."

Ma Wei's anger turned to joy. In the morning, Chen Kangjie's mother had given him a dime. At that time, the average worker's salary was 70 to 80 yuan, and ordinary officials earned about 100 yuan. In 1986, a lecturer who graduated from Tsinghua University in 1961 earned only 113 yuan, so people had very little pocket money, only a few yuan a month. However, ordinary ice cream cost only 4 fen, and cream popsicles cost 8 fen.

Chen Kangjie and Ma Wei walked hand in hand to the small store at the entrance of the Farmer School to buy ice cream. The Farmer School was actually called Pingzhai School, next to the Zhongdi Mine School. Since it mainly served children from the surrounding rural areas, people called it the Farmer School. The Zhongdi Mine School generally only accepted children of mine workers, with better teaching facilities and teacher quality. After graduating from junior high school, students could directly enter the mine technical school and become formal workers after graduating from the technical school, so only a few children with special connections to the mine could attend the school. The school had a junior high school and an elementary school, with three classes per grade in the elementary school and two classes per grade in the junior high school. At that time, it wasn't fully compulsory education, and not all children could enter junior high school.

Just as they were about to put the ice cream in their mouths, they heard the voice of their sixth sister, Juyan.

"Lao Wen, how do you have money for ice cream? I want one too."

Turning around, they saw Chen Mei and Chen Jing walking over, with their fourth sister, Juxiang, smiling at Juyan's pretend anger.

"Juyan, come here, I'll give you some."

In Chen Kangjie's family, the four youngest siblings called each other by name, never "sister" or "brother," except for "eldest sister," "second sister," and "third brother." Over the years, Chen Kangjie had a good relationship with his siblings, especially with his sixth sister, Chen Jing, who was close to his age. They often quarreled over attention, but this time, Chen Kangjie wouldn't argue over such trivial matters and would treat her more like a sister. Chen Jing was seven but only in the first grade because she had been studying in the countryside with Ma Fangqin. After the family got a house, the sisters moved to the mine to study, and when she transferred to the city school, she was required to repeat a year, making her Chen Kangjie's junior. Chen Kangjie started school early, possibly because he was a boy or the youngest, and he was taken to the mine school at the age of five.

"Sure."

Chen Jing took the ice cream and bit into it. Perhaps realizing her brother had none left, or feeling a bit embarrassed about "stealing" his snack, she pushed the remaining ice cream back to her brother.

"Lao Wen, here, I don't want it anymore."

Chen Kangjie never understood why he was called "Lao Wen." Usually, people called children "Xiao Wen," "Xiao Song," "Xiao Qiang," etc., but why was he called "Lao Wen"? It was a bit strange, and he could only guess that it was because he was the youngest, and his family hoped he would grow up healthy, so they called him the opposite.

"Juyan, take it. I and Ma Wei will share one, and you and Juxiang can share one."

Chen Kangjie wouldn't take it back. Eating ice cream didn't matter to him, as he had eaten all kinds of ice cream and even Haagen-Dazs before.

Besides, in his previous life, he and Ma Wei often shared an ice cream, taking turns to bite, with the first one only getting a small bite.

He turned to Ma Wei and motioned for him to bring the ice cream.

"You bite first, and the rest is mine."

The first bite usually didn't go past the middle, about a third. If you bit too hard, it would freeze your throat, so Ma Wei, being "clever," asked Chen Kangjie to bite first to get a small "advantage."

Chen Kangjie didn't mind and bit off a quarter, making Ma Wei smile.

Seeing her brother also had ice cream, Juyan felt relieved and gave Chen Mei a small bite before happily holding Chen Kangjie and Chen Mei's hands and heading home.

Just as they reached the house, Chen Qiancheng ran over with a smile.

"Lao Wen, I heard you were very impressive today, making your class president cry and even getting Wang Xueping to report to the teacher. Did the teacher call you to the office and not scold you?"

Chen Qiancheng was also a childhood friend of Chen Kangjie, in the same grade but in a different class. He was quite handsome, and in junior high school, he even claimed to look like Lin Zhiying, though he didn't really look like him, just had a similar hairstyle.

Hearing this, Ma Wei's interest was piqued, as he wanted to know what happened when Chen Kangjie met the teacher.

"Is that true? Did they really not call your parents?"

Chen Mei also became concerned when she heard about calling the parents.

"Lao Wen, what happened? What's going on?"

Chen Jing also put on a listening face. It was just a small matter, but why did it become such a big deal?

"Ask Ma Wei."

Chen Kangjie didn't want to explain, and everyone turned to Ma Wei.

Ma Wei had no choice but to give a brief explanation of what happened in the afternoon. He could only give a brief explanation, as a second-grader couldn't describe things clearly.

After Ma Wei finished, Chen Kangjie added:

"Actually, it's nothing. Ms. Chen is very reasonable and didn't scold me. I finished the Chinese homework she assigned yesterday in five minutes in front of her, so there was no way she would call my parents."

Chen Kangjie didn't take it seriously, as a university graduate with 30 years of life experience wouldn't consider it a big deal.

Seeing Chen Kangjie's confident expression, they were a bit skeptical. Usually, Chen Kangjie dragged his feet when doing homework, often taking one or two hours to finish. How could he finish it in five minutes today? Especially Juyan, who didn't believe it at all.

"Don't look at me like that. I'm not the same person I was yesterday. I'm starting to study hard from today, and with my genius mind, I'll be the top student in the grade."

Chen Kangjie was telling the truth. He was indeed not the same person, as he had been reborn. However, hearing this, everyone dismissed it as nonsense.

"Ma Wei, what homework did the teacher assign this morning? I didn't go to class, so tell me, and I