ECG -Chapter 14 Zhou Dongbing

Lin Hao spoke into the microphone on the stand:

“I won’t play the bass anymore. I’ll let my buddy Xiao Wu come up and play a few bars instead!”

After saying that, he smiled and waved at Wu Xiaozhou below the stage. He wasn’t going to let go of this chance to let Wu Xiaozhou practice.

When Wu Xiaozhou heard that, he cursed inwardly.

Damn, I’ve only been learning for half a month, okay?!

And you’re already asking me to go up there and play?

No way!

Absolutely not!

Lin Hao raised an eyebrow—

Wu Xiaozhou immediately ran up onto the stage.

Lin Hao leaned close to his ear and whispered:

“Just those six bars, repeat them twice and it’ll be over!”

Wu Xiaozhou didn’t say anything. He picked up the electric bass and felt that the touch was pretty average; it couldn’t compare with his own KS bass. Unfortunately, he was still just a beginner and didn’t even recognize what brand this one was.

Clack clack clack.

He immediately started playing. Lin Hao quickly came over and turned up the volume knob.

“Damn! Are you trying to kill me?!” Lin Hao was sweating. “The volume wasn’t even on, and you were playing for what?!”

Wu Xiaozhou wasn’t embarrassed at all. He laughed and started playing again.

The twelve bars were too fast. Just as Wang Pangzi and the others revealed shocked expressions—

It was over!

“Classical Thump” was definitely a powerful weapon for showing off electric bass skills. Those twelve bars left everyone completely stunned.

Seeing that Wu Xiaozhou had already put down the electric bass, Wang Pangzi hurriedly shouted:

“Damn, that was way too short! Way too short! Brother, brother, please, play a little longer!”

Wu Xiaozhou carried the bass and put it back on the stand. Because he lacked experience, it almost fell over, but Lin Hao reacted quickly and caught it.

Wu Xiaozhou didn’t care anymore. He raised his head, put his hands behind his back, and walked off the stage with a humble expression, repeatedly waving his hands.

“Forget it, this bass doesn’t feel right in my hands! Let’s just leave it at that!”

Wang Pangzi was heartbroken.

He hadn’t heard enough!

Although those twelve bars had some repetition, they incorporated too many difficult electric bass techniques. There were even two techniques he had never seen before.

Seeing that Wu Xiaozhou ignored him, Wang Pangzi quickly walked toward Lin Hao.

Before Wang Pangzi could say anything, Lin Hao asked:

“How was that bass part?”

He wanted to hear what this insider had to say.

Wang Pangzi scratched his head and thought for a moment.

“How should I put it… the techniques and skills are both amazing, but, but…”

Lin Hao smiled and said nothing.

“It’s just that it sounds a little strange. Maybe this part was newly practiced? Is he still not very familiar with it?”

Wang Pangzi looked completely confused.

This chubby guy’s sense of music and rhythm were both fine. He was only lacking a lot technically, probably because he had been staying in a small city like Chunhe. It was a matter of limited exposure.

Lin Hao was a little surprised. He hadn’t expected this little fatty’s judgment to be so sharp. He had immediately spotted Wu Xiaozhou’s problem.

After all, Wu Xiaozhou’s techniques, skills, and tone just now would sound absolutely shocking and impressive to ordinary people.

Even ordinary musicians might not be able to tell what was wrong.

But this fatty had actually noticed the sense of unfamiliarity.

That made Lin Hao look at him in a new light.

Only Qian Yu sat there awkwardly without moving. The other members of the band had already gathered around.

Lin Hao was somewhat overwhelmed by their enthusiasm. Chu Yu and that man also walked over.

“Little brother, how about coming to my office for a cup of tea?”

The man smiled.

The man didn’t need to explain anything. Lin Hao already understood what he meant.

At this moment, he also happened to want to escape the entanglement of these guys. So he waved to Wu Xiaozhou, and under the disappointed gazes of the band members, the two followed Chu Yu and the man away.

On the second floor.

Inside the antique-style office, Chu Yu sat in front of the large solid wood tea table and began brewing tea.

The man didn’t show even the slightest bit of negligence because Lin Hao and the others were young. Instead, he politely invited the two of them to sit down, then took out a pack of Soft Zhonghua cigarettes and tried to light one for them.

Wu Xiaozhou accepted the lighter and said with a smile that he would do it himself.

Afterward, the man introduced himself: “My name is Zhou Dongbing. Friends younger than me call me Third Brother. Friends older than me call me Old Third or Dongbing. Call me whatever you like!”

“Clack.”

Wu Xiaozhou’s cigarette fell onto the tea table.

Lin Hao didn’t understand what was going on with him and quickly reached out to pick it up.

“Zhou… Zhou Dongbing?” Wu Xiaozhou stammered.

Zhou Dongbing nodded. “You know me?”

Wu Xiaozhou stared wide-eyed, but for a long while he couldn’t say a word.

Seeing the atmosphere becoming awkward, Lin Hao quickly introduced himself and Wu Xiaozhou.

With smoke curling through the air, Zhou Dongbing listened to Lin Hao speak, but his eyes were fixed on Wu Xiaozhou.

After Lin Hao finished speaking, the room fell silent.

Chu Yu, who was pouring tea, noticed something and quickly called softly, “Dongbing!”

“Ah!”

That one sound pulled Zhou Dongbing back from his memories. He looked a little embarrassed and hurriedly greeted them, “Drink tea, drink tea!”

The few of them picked up their cups and took a sip. Lin Hao praised, “Good tea!”

Chu Yu smiled lightly. “Thank you!”

After a moment of thought, Zhou Dongbing said to Lin Hao, “I just heard you say that the two of you are about to start university?”

Lin Hao nodded.

“What a pity!”

Chu Yu’s beautiful eyes turned, and she gave him a sideways glance. “What are you saying? Getting into university is a good thing!”

Zhou Dongbing burst into laughter. “Yes, yes, your big brother was wrong! Come, I’ll use tea instead of wine to apologize!”

“Don’t dare say that,” Lin Hao replied. Then he and Wu Xiaozhou both raised their tea cups.

“I’m not someone who likes beating around the bush. I want to discuss something with you, little brother. Would it be possible for you to come here every day and sing a few songs before school starts?” Zhou Dongbing looked at Lin Hao calmly.

Lin Hao really hadn’t considered coming out to sing. After all, university was about to start, and he wouldn’t be able to do it for long.

In his previous life, he had never left this kind of environment. From the earliest dance halls, to music restaurants, then nightclubs, bathhouses, bars, performance venues… all kinds of places where people performed. He had truly grown tired of them long ago.

Wu Xiaozhou was unusually quiet today, sitting to the side and silently smoking.

Seeing that Lin Hao wasn’t answering, Zhou Dongbing continued, “As for the performance style, you can decide yourself. At minimum, two songs. One hundred yuan per song. The more you sing, the more you’ll get. How about it?”

Hearing that price, Wu Xiaozhou’s eyes immediately lit up.

Lin Hao was also somewhat tempted. Through this period of spending every day online at Wu Xiaozhou’s house, he had a very clear understanding of this current world.

This place was especially similar to his own world in the early 2000s.

In these performance venues, even in some big cities, whether it was bands or singers, they usually only got around 100 yuan a day. Song requests and flower baskets were counted separately.

In some smaller cities, smaller-scale bars paying 50 yuan for solo performances and 80 yuan per band member were completely normal prices.

For this Boss Zhou to offer him 100 yuan per song, not to mention Spring River City—even in the provincial capital, it would absolutely be considered an astronomical price!

And he had even said: the more you sing, the more you’ll get!

If he sang ten songs, that would be 1,000 yuan, which was equivalent to the average monthly salary in this city.

Wu Xiaozhou became anxious. Stimulated by the money, he was no longer silent. He secretly poked Lin Hao’s thigh.

Lin Hao really didn’t like these kinds of performance settings, but when he thought of his father’s hands—those hands full of cracks that could never seem to be washed clean—why should he still act reserved?

After thinking for a moment, he said, “Thank you, Brother Zhou. I just have one small request.”