Chapter 52

"Hey, Dad, did you go to the Oriental TV station? Why are you dressed so formally?"

This was the first time Bai Ge saw Lin Zaishan wearing dress pants, leather shoes, and a white shirt, with the shirt tucked into the pants. His serious appearance made Bai Ge feel very uncomfortable.

"I went to a wedding banquet."

Lin Zaishan smiled mysteriously, slipped off his shoes, and entered the house, putting down his guitar case.

"Whose wedding banquet?"

"I'll tell you later." Lin Zaishan asked Bai Ge, "Why are you back so early? Didn't you say you'd be back in the afternoon?"

"Hehe, I came back early to give you a surprise."

She opened the stew pot slightly, fanning the air towards Lin Zaishan, "Smell it, Dad, it's super fragrant!"

"Stewed pig's trotters?"

Lin Zaishan saw the "treasure" in the pot.

"Yes!"

Bai Ge remembered that two months ago, she had marinated four pig's trotters for Lin Zaishan, who loved them very much but didn't want to finish them all at once, taking four days to eat them all.

At that time, she wanted to buy more pig's trotters for Lin Zaishan, but they were too expensive, and they couldn't afford them easily.

"Quite a luxury! Did you find a wallet?"

"Almost like finding a wallet. I received an extra payment for a manuscript today. The website had rejected it, but the editor told me today that they decided to use it and paid me. Haha! It's like a windfall!"

"This isn't a windfall; it's money you earned by writing."

"Anyway, it's extra income. And there's even better news: I've been writing a music-themed web novel, and it's now signed with a website. In a month, I'll start earning money from it. If the novel does well, we can eat pig's trotters every day!"

"Haha, you're so easy to satisfy. You're so happy just to eat pig's trotters every day."

"We can't even afford to eat pig's trotters once a month now. Eating them every day, shouldn't we be happy?"

Imagining the future, Bai Ge suddenly thought of something and frowned, asking Lin Zaishan, "Dad, you cooked such fragrant pig's trotters for me, but you're not drooling. Did you eat a lot at the wedding banquet?"

"Of course! Hehe." Lin Zaishan rubbed his round belly, still savoring the satisfaction of clearing half a table at the banquet.

"No wonder. I guess my surprise was in vain."

"Don't give me a surprise; I'll give you one. Finish with the pot, wash your hands, and take off your apron and come over."

Lin Zaishan walked to the workbench, crouched down with his back to Bai Ge, and took out the red envelope from the wedding banquet payment from the drawer.

He then secretly took out another red envelope from his pocket, took out the money, and put it into the first envelope, making it thick with 6200 yuan!

"What surprise?"

Bai Ge took off her apron, wiped her hands, and curiously approached the mysterious Lin Zaishan.

"Ding ding ding ding!"

With a dramatic flourish, he handed the thick red envelope to Bai Ge.

Bai Ge was stunned, feeling the thickness of the envelope, and asked Lin Zaishan in disbelief, "Money?"

"Open it and see."

Bai Ge opened the envelope and saw a thick stack of red hundred-yuan bills, which scared her. She asked Lin Zaishan nervously, "Where did you get so much money?"

"From singing! They invited me to perform at the wedding banquet. In the few days you were away, I've already performed at two wedding banquets. There's another one next Wednesday. If you're free, come with me and enjoy the food!"

"Wow! Dad, you're amazing! You earned so much from two wedding banquets!"

Shocked, Bai Ge's face lit up with joy. She clasped her hands and thanked the sea outside the window, "Thank heaven, thank earth, thank Mazu!"

"Why are you thanking heaven and earth? If it weren't for your years of care, I wouldn't have had the chance to bounce back."

"Dad, you're amazing! You're my idol!"

Bai Ge, excited, pounced on Lin Zaishan, giving him a big bear hug with all her strength—wrapping her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck, almost choking him.

Held so tightly by his daughter, Lin Zaishan felt a mix of happiness and pain. He was happy because Bai Ge was happy, but he was also pained because Bai Ge was too thin—almost skin and bones.

Being hugged by Bai Ge felt like being hugged by a skeleton, which was not a pleasant sensation.

Which parent would be happy to see their child so thin?

"Count the money quickly."

Lin Zaishan gently pushed Bai Ge away.

"Hehe."

Bai Ge loved counting money. She took out all the money from the envelope and counted it happily, "One hundred, two hundred, three hundred, four hundred... fifty-nine, sixty, sixty-one, sixty-two! 6200! Dad, you're amazing! 6200! That's enough for two months' rent, with some left over!"

Overwhelmed by the amount, Bai Ge ran to the floor-to-ceiling window, opened it, and shouted to the distant sea, "Ah~~~! Ah~~~! My dad is amazing!"

Her voice sounded like a happy bird in flight, and Lin Zaishan was deeply moved.

Moved by her enthusiasm, Lin Zaishan suddenly thought of something.

In the memory of the old man, Bai Ge's voice was "unpleasant," with a childish tone that hadn't changed for years.

The old man and Bai Ge herself thought her voice would always be like that, as if her voice change was complete.

Moreover, Bai Ge's vocal cords were underdeveloped, and she was naturally tone-deaf when singing.

Because of this, Bai Ge hadn't sung for a long time, only occasionally playing the guitar. Her music dreams were fading away.

Actually, when Bai Ge was young and living with her mother, she loved singing and playing the guitar, and she had developed a very good sense of music.

Unfortunately, as she grew older, her voice became worse, and her music dreams grew more distant.

Now, having accepted the harsh reality, Bai Ge no longer wanted to sing.

But Lin Zaishan thought that deep down, Bai Ge must still have a bit of a music dream.

He had heard Bai Ge sing before, and it was indeed untrainable—her voice was thin and childish, her vocal cords were underdeveloped, and her pitch was completely off, especially in high notes, which were always off-key and very unpleasant.

Moreover, her diaphragm between her chest and abdomen might not have developed well, making her voice lack power, sounding like a tone-deaf child, not at all like a 19-year-old girl.

But now, as Bai Ge excitedly shouted out the window, the "ah" sounds were quite pleasant to Lin Zaishan, almost losing their childish tone, and her vocal cords seemed a bit thicker.

Lin Zaishan wondered if, due to malnutrition, Bai Ge's body was developing very slowly, and if she was still in her voice change period. Could her vocal cords still be developing? If her body fully developed, would her vocal cords be complete?

Bai Ge had a very good sense of music. If her voice could regain its plasticity, she might become an excellent singer!

"Dad, I love you so much! I'll buy you Seven Miles of Fragrance every day! We'll never eat instant noodles again!"

When Bai Ge spoke excitedly, her voice returned to its thin, childish tone, lacking the pleasant and resilient quality it had when she shouted.

Lin Zaishan decided to take Bai Ge to the hospital for a check-up, to have a throat specialist diagnose her vocal cords.

"Dad, I love you so much! I love you so much!"

Bai Ge, overjoyed, started dancing and even jogging in place!

Lin Zaishan watched, both amused and speechless.

Seeing Bai Ge so excited, he didn't dare tell her right away that he had earned another 100,000 yuan!

Would Bai Ge faint from excitement if he told her now?

"You don't have to be so excited, it's just 6000 yuan."

"It's 6200 yuan! Dad, you used to have money, so you don't care about such a small amount. But for us now, this is a huge income! And you earned it! Don't hold back, you must be happy too!"

"Hehe."

Infected by Bai Ge's enthusiasm, Lin Zaishan smiled happily.

He was indeed happy to earn so much money.

In his previous life, he earned only 700 to 800 yuan per wedding banquet.

Now, his rate was 5000 yuan for two songs. How could he not be happy?

"Dad, sing a song! You love singing after eating! What did you sing at the wedding? Sing it for me to hear!" Bai Ge, so happy, really wanted to hear Lin Zaishan sing.

"Haha, I'll skip the wedding songs. I'll sing them at your wedding, or you can come with me to the next wedding banquet and listen then."

"Okay! What will you sing now?"

"Let's sing a happy song, called 'Poor but Happy,' hahaha."

Bai Ge's poor but happy attitude truly touched Lin Zaishan.

He prepared to sing "Poor but Happy" to match the mood.

You have to admit, sometimes struggling in poverty can be a kind of happiness.

If you haven't experienced hard times, who would be so happy about 6000 yuan?

Everything is in the heart.

The greatest happiness in life is not in what you possess, but in the process of pursuing it.

The brightest flames of joy in the world are often ignited by unexpected sparks.

And the fragrant flowers that occasionally bloom on the path of life are often grown from seeds that fell by chance.

Whether poor or rich, as long as we have a heart that loves life, we will always find the side of life that smiles at us.

Like Bai Ge now, happy like a little bird.

And Lin Zaishan, because Bai Ge was happy like a little bird, felt incredibly happy himself.

Standing in front of the MIDI keyboard, Lin Zaishan adjusted the mixing effects and presented Bai Ge with the incredibly cheerful "Poor but Happy"—

...

Little person, oh~

Life is full of vigor~

Loving to be poor but happy~

Free spirit, oh~

Not too serious~

Ha ha ha, we are poor but happy~

...

Like a crosstalk performance, Lin Zaishan combined traditional Chinese performance arts with pop music elements, and Bai Ge immediately praised, "Dad, this song is so interesting!"

"Haha."

Lin Zaishan laughed happily, feeling like he had become decades younger. The humorous singing style made both him and Bai Ge incredibly happy—

...

Who are you, little one~

Your figure rivals Yang Guifei~

Your beauty surpasses the Seven Fairy Maidens~

Your grace is like jade~

...

Red men and green women~

All in their twenties~

Pure, happy, and brave in pursuit~

Unafraid of beatings and punches~

...

...

Little person, oh~

Life is full of vigor~

Loving to be poor but happy~

Free spirit, oh~

Not too serious~

Ha ha ha, we are poor but happy~

...

That noon, in the atmosphere of being poor but happy, Lin Zaishan and Bai Ge enjoyed a meal of pig's trotters.

After Bai Ge's excitement calmed down a bit, Lin Zaishan told her about earning 100,000 yuan by producing a new album for the Believers band.

This time, Bai Ge wasn't as wildly excited as before. The first time Lin Zaishan earned a large sum of money, the impact was undeniable.

But with this even larger sum, Bai Ge had some practical concerns: "The Believers band is quite average, Dad. Can you really train them?"

"Let's try. No one starts at a high level. As long as those kids are willing to learn and practice, they have potential. Especially the lead singer, Zhang Hao, who has a great voice."

"The lead singer is good, but the others seem quite average, with no outstanding talent. Especially the big-headed lead guitarist, who is really bad."

Bai Ge didn't play music herself, but she often listened to songs and wrote music reviews, so her appreciation of music was quite strong. She had only seen the Believers practice once, but she had a fairly objective impression of the band.

"The lead guitarist is indeed terrible. The band has been trying to replace him, moving him to rhythm guitar and finding a new lead guitarist."

Suddenly, his eyes lit up, and Lin Zaishan looked at Bai Ge's thin arms, which were visible from her sleeveless white T-shirt. He stroked his chin and suggested, "Dove, why don't you be the lead guitarist for their band?"

"Me?" Bai Ge was startled and quickly refused, "I can't do it!"

"You always play the guitar, and you have some skill."

"Dad, don't tease me. I know my limits. My level is far from being a lead guitarist!"

"Your guitar skills—honestly, they're not the best, but they're dozens of times better than Song Peng. You play better with your eyes closed than he does with his eyes open."

Bai Ge blushed slightly, unable to refute this because she was indeed much better at playing the guitar than the big-headed Song Peng. But she didn't think her level was good enough to be a lead guitarist.

"The band is about to participate in the music competition at your East Art University. The competition is next month, and they still don't have a suitable lead guitarist. I suggest you step in for now. If you like playing in a band, you can continue practicing with them. If you find it tiring and don't like it, we can quit after the competition and let them find a new lead guitarist."

"Can I... really do it?"

Bai Ge was still hesitant and lacked confidence.

She had always played for fun and had never joined a band, so she didn't know what it would be like.

"Of course you can. I received 100,000 yuan from them, and I have a responsibility to guide their band in this competition. Just thinking about that big-headed Song Peng as the lead guitarist gives me a headache. If he performs as the lead guitarist, my reputation might be ruined. They'll be singing songs I wrote."

"Ah! You should have said that earlier! I won't let them ruin your songs! I'll be the lead guitarist!" Hearing this, Bai Ge immediately lost her fear and became indignant.

"Haha, don't get too excited. Just go and participate calmly, treat it as a game. See if you really like performing on stage. If you do, we can develop in that direction."

Bai Ge quickly shook her head, "No, no, no, I don't like performing on stage. I can't sing, you know. My goal is to be your strongest support! To help you rise again!"

Lin Zaishan, moved and touched, patted Bai Ge's little head, "Your goal shouldn't be to help me rise again. Our roles are completely reversed now. You've been doing what I should be doing for you—earning money, supporting the family, and thinking about my future. In the future, I'll correct this—earning money, supporting the family, and helping you achieve your dreams."

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[The next chapter will be updated at midnight. Kneeling for recommendations!]