ECG -Chapter 15 Come Earlier and Sing a Few More Songs

Zhou Dongbing waved his hand. “Just say it!”

“I don’t want to work with the band. Could you give me a fixed time slot? Every day, I’ll play guitar and sing two songs during that time slot. Would that be okay?”

Zhou Dongbing glanced at Chu Yu, feeling a little disappointed.

Originally, he had wanted Lin Hao to work together with the current band so that he could also help improve the band’s level.

He had seen Lin Hao’s performance on stage earlier. Although it was very brief and he himself was an outsider, he could tell from the shocked expressions of the band members that this handsome, refined young man in front of him had absolutely extraordinary musical skills!

Although he had already instructed Xiao Guang to go to the provincial capital to look for a band, things like the price, when they could arrive, and how long they would stay were all uncertain.

Using someone local was always better than hiring outsiders; it would save a lot of trouble. But from what Lin Hao meant, it was obvious that he did not want to get involved with the current band.

“Lin Hao, if you don’t like the guitarist in the current band, we can just replace him tomorrow!” Chu Yu said with a smile.

Lin Hao quickly waved his hands.

The reason he exposed Qian Yu at the instrument shop was because his act of deceiving students and their parents had crossed Lin Hao’s bottom line. But if he got him kicked out now, then he would be the one breaking the rules!

Every industry had its own unwritten rules. People who did not follow those rules often ended up “dead” in a very miserable way.

Exposing Qian Yu for selling fake guitars in public had already ruined his reputation as a teacher. If he also took away his nightclub job, then he would truly be cutting off his livelihood. As the saying went, cutting off someone’s means of making a living was like killing their parents. Even when killing someone, there was still a point where things should stop. After all, everyone had it difficult.

He looked at Zhou Dongbing. “Brother Zhou, I want to ask you something.”

“Go ahead!”

“What style do you want this bar’s performances to follow?”

“Originally, we hadn’t decided on any particular style. But your Sister Chu recently became obsessed with rock music, so I wanted to find a rock band and make the bar have a rock style.”

Lin Hao slightly shook his head. “Rock music was popular in China for a while a few years ago, but it has already declined. There aren’t many good songs being passed down now.”

Zhou Dongbing and Chu Yu nodded. Lin Hao had hit the nail on the head; he was right.

“In our Spring River City, you could say there isn’t even one truly decent rock band! Even if there are some in the provincial capital, I don’t think their level would be that high either!”

“Besides, if you hire a band from the provincial capital, with food and accommodation included, no one would come for less than 200 yuan a day.”

“If you spend 100 yuan or a little more to hire someone, I believe their skill level won’t be much different from the current group.”

Zhou Dongbing slowly nodded. “That’s true. Traveling such a long distance and leaving their families behind—if they don’t earn enough, it really wouldn’t be worth it.”

Lin Hao continued, “But if you pay too much, how long can this bar survive?”

He did not know the financial situation of the two people in front of him. He was only considering the operating costs of running a bar.

“What’s your opinion then?” Zhou Dongbing asked.

“I think you can’t mix personal preferences into business. You like rock music, but does that mean everyone who comes here likes rock? How many people actually enjoy listening to rock music nowadays?”

Zhou Dongbing and Chu Yu silently nodded.

“I think it would be better to follow a popular music route. After all, pop music is familiar and liked by the general public. Bands and singers are also easier to find! There aren’t many bars in Spring River City. As long as the male and female singers are good, business definitely won’t be bad!”

Zhou Dongbing looked at Chu Yu. After thinking for a moment, she nodded.

“Good!” Zhou Dongbing lightly clapped his hands and laughed. “Little brother, you’re a professional! You’ve solved our confusion! Otherwise, we’ve been hesitating this whole time, always wavering and unable to make up our minds!”

“So, we’ll decide on this then?” When he said this, he looked at Chu Yu again.

Chu Yu giggled. “What do I know? You two decide!”

Zhou Dongbing took her hand and gently patted it. “Silly girl, this bar was opened for you. If you don’t make the decisions, who will?”

Chu Yu’s eyes turned red, and she said nothing more.

Seeing the situation, Lin Hao felt it wasn’t appropriate to stay any longer. He stood up and smiled.

“Brother Zhou, then it’s settled. Starting tomorrow, I’ll come over on time at night and sing two songs before the eight-thirty opening. What do you think?”

Zhou Dongbing also stood up and smiled. “Come earlier and sing a few more songs!” After saying that, he stretched out his right hand.

Lin Hao did not say anything else. He simply smiled and shook his hand.

Zhou Dongbing and Chu Yu escorted the two of them downstairs. On the stage, the male and female singers were singing a duet, full of tender emotion.

When Brother Guang saw them coming down, he also followed and escorted them outside.

Standing outside the door, Lin Hao suddenly remembered something else. A little embarrassed, he said:

“Brother Zhou, I’ll have to trouble you with one more thing!”

Zhou Dongbing smiled as he looked at him.

“I don’t have a guitar. Could you help me prepare an acoustic guitar?”

Chu Yu giggled. “I have one at home. I bought it when I was in college back then. Unfortunately, I still don’t know how to play it even now!”

Lin Hao had already felt that asking someone else to provide the guitar was a little unreliable, so at this moment he didn’t have the nerve to ask about the brand or price. He hurriedly thanked him.

On the way back.

Lin Hao asked, “You’re acting weird today. What’s going on?”

“You’ve never heard of him?” Wu Xiaozhou asked.

“Heard of who?”

“Zhou Dongbing.”

Lin Hao thought for a moment. That name really did exist in his memories. He was probably someone who mixed around in the underworld of Chunhe City.

“Is he that impressive?”

Wu Xiaozhou gave a bitter smile. “More than impressive!”

His face was full of admiration. “When he became famous, we were still wearing split-crotch pants!”

“He was at his peak ten years ago. I heard he had countless brothers around him. The Nanshan Mine, timber, sand and gravel for commercial property projects, and so on… all of those were in his hands!”

“You’ve heard of Yang Si from the provincial capital, right?”

Lin Hao nodded. He did remember this person, because that guy was too famous!

On the other hand, he didn’t have much of an impression of this person called Zhou Dongbing. It might also be because he himself had never really been involved in society.

“I heard that before Master Yang Si from the provincial capital died, the two of them were close friends who had their arms around each other’s shoulders all the time!”

“You mean, this Zhou Dongbing is…”

“Don’t talk nonsense!” Wu Xiaozhou quickly stopped him.

“If he was so powerful before, he shouldn’t have fallen to the point of opening a bar, right?” Lin Hao asked curiously.

“Didn’t you figure it out?” Wu Xiaozhou said.

“Figure what out?”

“This bar was given to Chu Yu by him!” Wu Xiaozhou laughed.

“Oh, I remember now. It really is like that!” Then he asked again, “Are they a couple?”

Wu Xiaozhou chuckled. “Do you think they look like one?”

Lin Hao shook his head. “No!”

Wu Xiaozhou looked full of longing. “He’s really cool. It’d be great if we could still be that cool when we’re his age!”

Lin Hao thought about it and felt that Wu Xiaozhou wasn’t wrong. Zhou Dongbing wasn’t even as tall as him, yet at over thirty years old, his figure hadn’t gone out of shape at all. His facial features, appearance, clothes, and manner of dressing were all very clean and neat. He was calm and understated.

Some people were like fireflies in the darkness. No matter where they were placed, they would make people’s eyes light up. Zhou Dongbing was that kind of person.

……

11 p.m., Black Knight Bar.

The band’s performance had ended, and there were hardly any customers left.

Zhou Dongbing sat in a booth in the corner, quietly smoking. His face was hidden in the shadows, flickering between light and dark. His eyes were filled with stories, yet his face showed no signs of hardship.

Chu Yu walked onto the stage, and everyone put down what they were doing.

She was smiling brightly. “First day today. Not bad. In a while, go find Guangzi and settle the payment!”

Everyone’s mood was a little uneasy.

Especially Qian Yu. His small eyes kept blinking as he stared at the beautiful woman in front of him, afraid that the words “you don’t need to come tomorrow” would come out of her mouth.

“Starting tomorrow, find another female singer. Also, stop doing rock music. Change to pop music instead!”

Everyone immediately let out a sigh of relief. Qian Yu almost wanted to shout: Yeah!

As soon as Chu Yu left, Brother Guang came over. He stuffed a stack of money into Qian Yu’s hands and added, “Split it outside. Don’t divide money inside the bar. It’s not good.”

Everyone left the bar, pushed their bicycles, turned left, and stopped not far away.

A piece of tissue was still stuck to Qian Yu’s forehead. He happily distributed the money while saying, “First day today, not bad. We received more than twenty flower baskets. Let’s keep working hard tomorrow!”

Everyone smiled happily.

The bassist, Wang Pangzi, suddenly burst out laughing.

Everyone didn’t understand what he was laughing at, so they followed his gaze.

Qian Yu’s face instantly turned green.

Beside them was a clean and tidy storefront. On the blue signboard were seven white acrylic glowing characters:

“Qian Lili Pet Clinic.”