Chapter 79

......

The eastern expedition was always in vain!

It's hard to part with the great capital Chang'an!

Since ancient times, Chang'an has been a land of prosperity!

The Zhou, Qin, Han, and Tang dynasties flourished here!

The mountains and rivers are like brocade!

Eight rivers flow around the city!

......

In the small and large theaters of the East, on the stage, a group of elderly artists from Huayin, Zhongzhou, were performing their family's traditional old腔 (old腔 is a traditional Chinese folk opera style) with great enthusiasm.

Their singing was sometimes tender and passionate, sometimes strong and powerful, with a grand and heroic spirit, evoking the grandeur of a mighty man singing about the great river flowing eastward. The ending notes incorporated the melody of the Wei River boatmen's chants, using a solo singer with a chorus, a style known as "dragging the wave" in folk terms. The accompanying music did not use the suona (a type of Chinese horn), but instead featured the rhythmic beats of the wooden clappers, making it very down-to-earth and unique.

In the audience, the 300-seat auditorium was full at the beginning, but after an hour of the performance, many students had left, leaving the audience half empty.

Lin Zaishan, wearing a gray baseball cap and sitting in a rear position, was quite engrossed in the performance.

Although he didn't understand much of the local dialect in the old腔, he was deeply moved by the high-pitched and powerful singing and the free and unrestrained passion of the elderly artists.

Beside him, Baidove, wearing the same baseball cap, was also watching with great interest.

This form of traditional art had a strong impact on Baidove when seen live.

However, after listening to one or two segments, like other young people, Baidove also felt a bit tired, thinking it all sounded the same, and gradually lost her sense of novelty.

Especially since she couldn't understand what the old腔 was singing about, this further diminished her appreciation.

But seeing that Lin Zaishan was not at all annoyed and was still very interested, Baidove also found it interesting.

This was the first time the father and daughter had come out to watch a performance alone; they had never even seen a movie together before.

Sitting next to Lin Zaishan, Baidove would occasionally steal glances at him, worried that he might get bored. After all, this form of traditional art was quite niche, and watching too much could be tiring.

But seeing that Lin Zaishan had been engrossed for almost an hour without getting annoyed, Baidove felt a sweet satisfaction, enjoying the leisurely and intimate time with her father.

At home, they often spent time alone, but now in the theater, the environment was completely different, and Baidove found it particularly warm and comfortable.

......

His eldest uncle, his second uncle, they are all his uncles!

High tables, low benches, they are all made of wood!

The cart moves, the wheels turn!

Roosters don't lay eggs!

Snakes without legs can still run!

The well and the cellar can't be knocked over!

......

In a new segment, the old腔 artists sang a well-known piece among the locals.

Baidove, smiling, covered her mouth and whispered to Lin Zaishan, "What is this singing? 'His eldest uncle, his second uncle, they are all his uncles?'"

Lin Zaishan, amused by Baidove's playful tone, whispered back, "This is a segment from Qin腔 (Qin腔 is another traditional Chinese opera style)."

Baidove asked, "The Qin腔 with the fire-blowing?"

"Qin腔 is not just about fire-blowing," Lin Zaishan replied with a faint smile, without elaborating much.

After Zhongzhou became powerful, various folk cultures began to spread outward. Compared to the nearly extinct old腔, Qin腔 had a higher degree of expansion and popularization in other regions. However, for a southern child like Baidove, the only memorable point about Qin腔 was the fire-blowing.

At 3:50 PM, the 110-minute old腔 special performance ended.

About a dozen elderly artists, along with Zhang Jiale, waved to the audience.

However, at this moment, only a few dozen students remained in the audience.

"Clap, clap, clap—"

The remaining students stood up and gave the elderly artists the most enthusiastic applause.

Lin Zaishan stood up with Baidove and also clapped to pay tribute to the elderly artists.

The first performance of old腔 was very successful, but not perfect.

For the students, this traditional art form was too unattractive, and Zhang Jiale, who had been performing on stage, felt this very clearly. However, he was not discouraged. As long as the promotion continued, he believed that one day, old腔 would be accepted and loved by more people.

After the performance, Lin Zaishan took Baidove out of the theater. Outside, many students had already gathered, waiting for the drama special to start at 4:30 PM.

Some students had left halfway through the old腔 performance and were now discussing with their classmates outside. Their evaluation of old腔 was simply three words—too boring!

They couldn't understand why the arts festival had scheduled such a special performance, and even arranged seven performances over two days!

In their view, this was a waste of the small theater's resources! They thought it would be better to schedule more drama or music performances.

It was rumored that a rock band had originally planned to have a special performance at the arts festival, but the organizing committee did not approve it and instead gave the venue to old腔. This made the students very angry, and some even wanted to organize a petition to reduce the number of old腔 performances and give the theater to the rock band, so the students could really have a good time.

Hearing the students' discussions, Lin Zaishan sighed inwardly. The young people in this world were heavily influenced by Western culture, and traditional Chinese culture seemed too rustic and worthless to them, with no acceptance at all.

In fact, in the previous life, it was almost the same. Young people were rarely willing to accept traditional Chinese culture and arts, and even Peking Opera was losing its market, let alone other traditional arts.

"Zhang Hao called. Are they done with their work and can start practicing?" Baidove said, holding her phone as they walked out of the small theater.

"Ask them. If they're done, they should start practicing right away. I have nothing to do either. Time is tight, and your songs are still a mess."

Baidove, embarrassed, stuck out her tongue and answered Zhang Hao's call.

Zhang Hao had just finished his work for the arts festival and called to arrange a practice session with Lin Zaishan.

They agreed and went to the music department's practice room for intensive rehearsals.

......

I want to fly to the highest, farthest, and most carefree place,

I want to embrace the most beautiful moment,

I want to see who will be my friend until the end,

You are the one I look forward to the most,

......

"Awesome!"

During the rehearsal of "Heaven and Earth," when Zhang Hao sang "I want to fly to," the sudden high note, sharp and piercing, made Lin Zaishan feel very exhilarated!

Just this one line had a strong resemblance to Su Jianxin and showcased Zhang Hao's significant improvement.

This song, "Heaven and Earth," was the one that the Believers band performed with the most feeling among the three songs they were rehearsing.

Perhaps the song resonated deeply with these young people, and every time they rehearsed it, they sang with great passion, delivering a fantastic live performance.

It was a group song, and each of the five members of the Believers band had a part to sing. After consulting with Baidove, Lin Zaishan did not assign her any lyrics for this song.

Baidove was tone-deaf and couldn't sing, and besides, this was a man's song. Adding a childish female voice would be out of place.

Even though she didn't sing, Baidove felt the passion of the Believers band while rehearsing the song, and her lead guitar playing was particularly full and powerful.

During the guitar solo before the climax, Baidove played with great freedom, almost like the original uncle in his youth.

This young girl indeed had the blood of the original uncle, or perhaps she had watched too many of his concert videos and subconsciously imitated him. At certain moments, she was completely immersed in her performance, as if she and the guitar were one, her small body moving with the rhythm of the music, very impressive.

This song, "Heaven and Earth," should be at a performance level after a few more days of rehearsal.

"The Feast Will End" was also going well, and the singing difficulty was not high. With this song, the Believers band should have no problem making it to the finals.

However, the ultimate killer song for the finals, "Heaven Above," was not satisfactory to Lin Zaishan when Zhang Hao sang it. That night, Lin Zaishan focused on rehearsing "Heaven Above" with the Believers band.

......

Disheveled hair flying, the cold wind of the twelfth month,

Wild doves soaring through the blue sky,

Pity me, my fate is already sealed,

I cannot walk with you.

......

No reason, no reason,

Only excuses, only excuses,

Only the heaven above remains,

Only the heaven above remains.

......

"Stop! Stop!"

Using his hands to signal a stop, Lin Zaishan called the band to a halt.

"What's wrong, Master?"

Zhang Hao was puzzled. The band's opening was quite good, so why were they stopped?

"You're singing this song terribly! You're singing the first line too low!"

"What? My pitch is high enough, it's not low, right?"

"I'm not talking about your pitch being low, I'm talking about your feeling! Do you understand what I mean by feeling? I've told you many times, this song needs a distant and desolate feeling. When you start singing, you should make the listeners imagine a cold wind in the twelfth month and wild doves soaring through the blue sky."

"This... is too difficult."

"I've shown you how to sing it."

"You sing it too well! I can't learn it!"

Recalling how Lin Zaishan had sung "Heaven Above" with such a strong sense of atmosphere, Zhang Hao looked troubled.

The other band members, including Bi Yonggang, nodded in agreement. Zhang Hao simply couldn't sing with the same feeling as Lin Zaishan. Without the right experience, it was impossible to achieve that feeling.

"You're not putting your heart into it, so of course, you can't learn it! When you sing this song, don't imagine yourself on a warm and pleasant beach by the East Sea. Imagine yourself on the Loess Plateau, in the land of the Three Qins, singing alone in the snow."

Using his hands to gesture, Lin Zaishan explained further to Zhang Hao, "When you sing, you need to place your voice further back, increasing the spatial sense, rather than pushing it up to the palate. That makes the sound too direct and lacks spatial and distance sense. This song can't be sung that way; it's too low."

Zhang Hao "oh oh oh" adjusted his voice placement.

"Right, that's it. The voice should be placed further back, and then burst out during the climax. Also, when you sing this line—'Pity me, my fate is already sealed, I cannot walk with you'—if you can't visualize the scene, imagine your girlfriend has passed away, and you can't be together in this life."

"Ah?" Zhang Hao was stunned.

"I'm just giving an example. If your girlfriend passed away, wouldn't you be very sad?"

"Should... be, I guess?"

"What do you mean, 'should be'?" Baidove scolded Zhang Hao, "If your girlfriend is gone, you wouldn't be sad? Do you really like her?"

Li He, grinning, revealed, "Haozi has only one girlfriend on the surface, but he has several backups in secret. Losing one or two wouldn't bother him."

"Damn!" Zhang Hao, laughing, kicked Li He.

Lin Zaishan glared at them, "Stop fooling around! Focus on the rehearsal! Do you want to win the championship or not?"

"Of course, we do!"

Bi Yonggang, who had been silent, spoke up. He knew that the band's anger at participating in the competition was largely to help him get back at someone. He also wanted to get back at that woman and show that the Believers band was the best!

After Zhang Hao calmed down and returned to the song, Lin Zaishan continued to patiently explain, "If you can't imagine your girlfriend passing away, think of this—she's sitting in the audience, watching you sing this song. But you've already broken up, with no reason or cause. You're in pain, but you have to let go. The world is impermanent, and not everything will go as you hope. Love, hate, and emotions, when it's time to let go, you must let go. As a man, you shouldn't be so troubled by these things. Imagine yourself standing on the ancient plateau, embracing the sky, singing 'Heaven Above,' and a heavy snowfall quietly begins, melting all the love and hate..."

Before Lin Zaishan could finish, Bi Yonggang couldn't help but interrupt, "Master, your song is so well-written!" He felt that the small emotions in his heart were about to dissipate.

Zhang Hao tried to understand the song's atmosphere, recalling how Lin Zaishan had sung it, but still felt troubled, saying, "Master, did you write this song in Chang'an? When you sing it, you have such a strong feeling because you've been there and can empathize with the desolate atmosphere. I've never been there, so I can't find the feeling!"

After listening to Zhang Hao's version a few times, Baidove also felt that he couldn't capture the feeling Lin Zaishan wanted. It was too much to expect Zhang Hao to reach her father's level.

Hesitating, Baidove suggested, "Dad, Zhang Hao is really not good at this. He'll ruin the song. Why don't you change it to another song?"

"Changing the song now is too late. Besides these three songs, you need to rehearse an encore song. If you make it to the top three, you'll need something to perform if the audience calls you back."

Zhang Hao suggested, "Then let's use the encore song as the third competition song. We can save 'Heaven Above' for after we win the championship. That way, I won't have to worry about performing poorly. ... Cough, cough."

"Are you catching a cold?" Lin Zaishan was concerned when he heard Zhang Hao cough.

"Just a slight cold. Don't worry, Master. I'll take medicine, and I'll definitely be better in two weeks."

"Even if you get better, it will affect your rehearsals. After a cold, the throat is very sensitive, and it might affect your performance on the day of the competition. At this critical stage, you must take care of your health. If your girlfriend gave you the cold, you should be more restrained and avoid seeing her for a while."

"I understand, Master. Don't worry, I won't let it affect the competition." Zhang Hao said hopefully, "Why don't you start rehearsing the encore song with us? We're all looking forward to it."

The others also showed their anticipation.

But at that moment, Lin Zaishan's phone rang. It was a call from Caidie Records.

---

[Please vote for recommendations! The next chapter will be updated at midnight!]

Page flip AD starts

Page flip AD ends