Chapter 80

Outside the rehearsal room, Lin Zaishan answered the call from the other party.

"Hello, may I ask if you are Teacher Lin Zaishan?" A clear and polite girl's voice came from the phone.

"Yes, I am. Who are you?"

"Hello, I am Silvia, Li Wei, Assistant to Teacher Guan Yaling from Cai Die Records. You can call me Silvia or Xiao Wei."

"Oh, hello Xiao Wei. You called me for...?"

"It's like this, Teacher Lin. You previously joined our Cai Die team in the 'Strongest Singer-Songwriter' competition. For the subsequent rounds, Sister Yaling and our Cai Die Records production department will provide you with some assistance in your participation and creation. Do you have time on the morning of the 18th, October 18th? Can you come to Cai Die Records? Our production department would like to have a meeting with you to discuss how we can better collaborate in the future."

"Sure, I'm free on the morning of the 18th and can come over. Send me a text message with the detailed address and time of where I need to go, and who I should contact when I arrive."

"No problem, no problem. You can contact me when you get here. I'll send you the text message right away."

"Alright, see you the day after tomorrow."

"Thank you, Teacher Lin, see you the day after tomorrow!"

Lin Zaishan hung up the call with Li Wei. Less than half a minute later, Li Wei sent him the address of Cai Die Records and her contact information.

"9:00 AM on the 18th, go to Cai Die Records..." Lin Zaishan repeated, noting the schedule in his phone and setting an alarm to avoid forgetting.

Back in the rehearsal room, Bai Ge approached him, "Dad, who was on the phone?"

"It was Cai Die Records. They invited me to their company for a meeting the day after tomorrow."

"Did Cai Die confirm that they're taking you into their team?"

"I don't know, I'll find out when I get there. You guys should focus on the rehearsal and not think about other things."

Lin Zaishan organized the kids and prepared to continue the rehearsal.

"Master, let's not rehearse 'Heaven Above' anymore. After hearing you sing 'Heaven Above,' I was really affected. I just can't replicate your feeling. I've never been to the northwest of Zhongzhou."

"You're just looking for excuses."

A sudden idea struck Lin Zaishan, and he told Zhang Hao, "You haven't experienced the风情of the northwest of Zhongzhou, right? Now there's a great opportunity for you to experience it. The Huayin Laokuang is performing a special show at your school. I and Gezi went to see it this afternoon, and it was really good. You should go and see it to experience the local folk culture. ... Gezi, is there a special show every other day?"

"Yes, the next one is at 2 PM the day after tomorrow."

"Haozi, you guys go and find tickets for the show the day after tomorrow. There are several segments in it that are ancient, tragic, and rugged, with a strong earthy flavor. Listen to them, and you'll find more of the feeling of 'Heaven Above.'"

"Are you serious?" Zhang Hao was about to cry, "The stage design for Huayin Laokuang was done by our art department. We saw their rehearsals, and there's nothing ancient or tragic about it. It's completely a rustic village sound!"

Liu Yang, Song Peng, and others agreed. They had indeed seen Huayin Laokuang, and for these visually-oriented trendsetters, Huayin Laokuang was too rustic.

"You kids, why are you so obsessed with foreign things? Everything from abroad is great, but your own ethnic things are considered rustic. Can you stop being so ungrateful? Without our ancestors, would there be you today?"

"Master, you're being too harsh. We're not ungrateful. We like many folk things, like Minju and Hakka opera. We used to enjoy watching them when we were young. We also like participating in folk activities like worshipping the gods and welcoming Mazu. Lao Bi, who is from Yuezhou, has almost been converted to Mazu worship by us. He always joins us during the Mazu procession every year." Zhang Hao changed the subject, "But Laokuang, this thing from the north, is too strange! If it were Qin opera, with the fire on stage, it would be more interesting. Laokuang—really can't understand it!"

Li He and others echoed, feeling they couldn't accept Laokuang.

"You can't accept it because you approach it with a resistant attitude. In music, you need to have a spirit of inclusiveness. Don't always think that only rock is cool and modern, and stick to it until you die. Any type of music or performance form has its own strengths worth learning from. Since you want to pursue a career in music, you should have an open mind and learn more, rather than reject everything. It's fine to like rock, but what is rock? The most genuine, the most bold, and the most heart-stirring things are the essence of rock. If you listen carefully, many segments of Laokuang contain these elements of rock."

"Master, do you mean—Laokuang is rock?" Li He, quick-witted, asked in surprise.

"You can say that. It's a form of rock that originated in Zhongzhou hundreds of years ago." This wasn't Lin Zaishan's statement; it was said by the true godfather of rock in China, Cui Jian.

When Lin Zaishan said this, all the kids, including Bai Ge, were stunned!

"Don't look so stupid, okay? Rock can be combined with many types of music. Rock is a free and versatile form of music."

Lin Zaishan thought for a moment and said, "How about this: go see the special show of Laokuang the day after tomorrow. Watch it with an open mind, don't reject it, and try to feel the folk music of Zhongzhou. If you develop a slight interest in this type of music, you can try talking to the Laokuang artists and see if they are willing to combine their art with your rock music. I can help you adapt and create a song that blends the ancient and modern, combining Laokuang and rock, as your encore performance for the competition."

"Is that possible?"

Zhang Hao's jaw almost dropped to the ground!

Laokuang, so rustic, can be combined with rock?

That's too exaggerated!

For Lin Zaishan, it wasn't exaggerated. In another world, a music group had tried it and succeeded.

Tan Weiwei's song "Give You a Little Color" seamlessly combined Huayin Laokuang with modern rock, and the live performance was absolutely amazing.

At the closing ceremony of the university art festival and the final of the band competition, if the Believers band could perform such an encore, it would definitely shock the students from all over Minzhou and help promote Laokuang.

"Dad, are you serious? Can you really combine Laokuang and rock?" After seeing the full performance of Laokuang in the afternoon, Bai Ge found it extremely unbelievable!

"I can try to expand that segment, 'His elder uncle, his younger uncle, they are all his uncles~ High tables, low benches, they are all made of wood~' and turn it into a more modern and impactful Laokuang."

"Wow! Dad, you're amazing! I really want to see how you turn Laokuang into rock!"

"I'm not turning Laokuang into rock. Many segments of Laokuang are inherently 'rock' in nature. I just want to blend modern rock with Laokuang to make modern rock more grounded and make Laokuang more appealing to young people. If this music is really created, every note will make the ground smoke." — Lin Zaishan borrowed the praise from another world's Liu Huan, a master's evaluation. "You can look forward to it. If we really do it well, you'll dominate the stage!"

Zhang Hao and the others were extremely eager, wishing they could hear how Lin Zaishan would combine Laokuang and rock right now.

"Master, we will definitely go to the special show of Laokuang the day after tomorrow! After watching it, we'll talk to Mr. Zhang and discuss the collaboration. I think Mr. Zhang will be very interested! If they can perform at the closing ceremony, it will be much more effective in promoting Laokuang than their special show!"

"Who's Mr. Zhang?" Lin Zaishan was confused.

"Don't you know? Mr. Zhang is the promoter behind Laokuang's southern tour. He is also one of the main descendants of Laokuang." Zhang Hao and the others had designed the stage for Laokuang and communicated with Zhang Jiale, so they knew about this and had met Mr. Zhang.

"Is that so? Then go and talk to the Laokuang artists. Try to get this collaboration done. Singing Laokuang will help you feel more of the earthy flavor and Central Plains culture, which will be beneficial for singing 'Heaven Above.'"

Lin Zaishan urged, "This time, you must do your best to get into the top three. Otherwise, if you prepare the encore performance of Laokuang and don't get the chance to perform it, it will be very embarrassing."

"Haha, don't worry, Master. With you backing us up, we don't need to talk about the top three. Our goal is only one—champion!"

Zhang Hao, full of passion, cheered and rallied his brothers.

"Yay—champion!"

The five members of the Believers band were all hyped up.

Lin Zaishan didn't let them slack off and supervised their rehearsal until 9:30 PM.

Later, Liu Mengmeng called Lin Zaishan, inviting him to have a late-night snack and discuss the work arrangements for the coming period.

Lin Zaishan went to have the late-night snack with Bai Ge.

Liu Mengmeng and Bai Ge had met several times at wedding performances and had become quite familiar.

Bai Ge was very grateful to Liu Mengmeng for helping Lin Zaishan secure so many job opportunities. In Bai Ge's view, Liu Mengmeng's dedication to helping such a "big villain" as Lin Zaishan was like being inspired by Mazu, and she had a very good impression of Liu Mengmeng.

Even though she knew Lin Zaishan still had some concerns about Liu Mengmeng's identity, Bai Ge, based on her intuition, felt that Liu Mengmeng wasn't out to harm Lin Zaishan. Liu Mengmeng was genuinely moved by Lin Zaishan's music and was willing to help him achieve his goals. If it were her, she wouldn't follow a deceitful fat man like Ma Xiaodong but would definitely follow Lin Zaishan.

That night, Liu Mengmeng told Lin Zaishan about the five wedding performances she had arranged for him before the end of October.

"The Strongest Singer-Songwriter" would air on November 11th. Before that, Liu Mengmeng wanted to secure a few more wedding performances for Lin Zaishan.

To be honest, Liu Mengmeng couldn't predict the social impact of Lin Zaishan's comeback after the show aired. She had been at the recording site and knew how awkward the situation was.

If the show aired and Lin Zaishan's opportunities to perform at weddings decreased, it would be very disappointing. Before that, they should try to secure as many opportunities as possible.

Lin Zaishan thought the same way. After working with Liu Mengmeng for a while, he found that this clever and beautiful girl could understand his thoughts very well. She could think of many things without him having to say them, which made him very comfortable.

There were some things Lin Zaishan was also willing to discuss with Liu Mengmeng.

"Cai Die Records invited me to their company for a meeting the day after tomorrow. Have you heard anything? Are they sure they want me?" Lin Zaishan asked Liu Mengmeng.

"I haven't heard anything about that. Actually, I hope they don't want you and you can reject them."

Bai Ge asked, puzzled, "Why?"

Liu Mengmeng explained to Bai Ge, "Cai Die's parent company is Guo Entertainment, which has always valued the group's image. Even if Cai Die's team is forced to accept Teacher Lin, in the second round, which is an internal team competition, they might eliminate Teacher Lin. The second round is decided entirely by the mentors. If they are determined to eliminate you, Teacher Lin, no matter how well you perform, you won't escape being eliminated."

Bai Ge analyzed, "I read some gossip that the relationship between Cai Die and Guo Entertainment isn't very good. Guo Entertainment has been focusing on developing their main record company and not giving Cai Die much promotional resources. Now that my dad has joined Cai Die's team, it will be very beneficial for Cai Die's promotion. If the higher-ups at Cai Die see this, they probably won't easily eliminate my dad, who is a hot topic."

"That's a possibility. But I still think it's too risky for Teacher Lin to choose Cai Die. If they reject you, the show can re-record a segment and send you to another team."

"Let's not. I still think Cai Die's team is more suitable for me. Joining another team would be worse."

"Ah..." Liu Mengmeng sighed helplessly at Lin Zaishan's attitude and didn't say anything more.

...

October 18th.

8:30 AM.

In the music meeting room of Cai Die Records.

General Manager and Chief Producer Wu Yifan received the fax of the competition themes from "Singer-Songwriter" and said with a smile, "These four themes are interesting. Who came up with them?—About oneself, about ideals, the imagination of a small character, and retro style."

Guan Yaling also received the fax of the themes.

These four themes would be the theme settings and style restrictions for the team internal PK after the preliminary round.

That round would be a Cantonese special.

Each team would have a 1-on-1 PK mode.

The four winners would directly advance to the next round, and the four losers would have another PK, with the two winners advancing and the other two being eliminated.

From this round onwards, the singer-songwriters would create within a limited scope, not freely.

The four PK participants would draw their PK themes from these four themes. They would then have a week to create a finished Cantonese song to perform on stage.

The show claimed a week of creation time, but in reality, to ensure the quality of the show, they immediately sent the themes to the four mentors after determining them, so the mentors could guide the participants to create with ample time to produce the best works.

Looking at the four themes, Guan Yaling was slightly surprised, "The imagination of a small character—Who came up with this theme? It's too difficult! Whoever draws this theme is dead!"

"The show sets themes with varying difficulties to make the draw more interesting," He Miao was interested in such thematic designs.

Wu Yifan said, "The show is quite thoughtful. It not only sets content but also style. Whoever draws the retro style Cantonese song will have an interesting task. There's a lot of room for creativity, but it's not easy to create a song that is both retro in melody and appealing in content to modern people."

"Among these four themes, the one about ideals seems the simplest. The retro style has a lot of creative space but is hard to do well. The imagination of a small character is definitely the most difficult. As for the theme 'About Oneself,' it's also challenging for creators. Who would dare to sing about themselves in a song? That takes a lot of nerve," Guan Yaling laughed. She wouldn't dare to sing about herself in a song.

Wu Yifan, however, said, "The theme 'About Oneself' is good. When Lin Zaishan comes, we can use this theme to see how he views himself now."

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[New week, let's push the rankings! Kneeling for recommendations!]

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