ECG -Chapter 53 Summer Vacation

That afternoon, Lin Hao went to a music shop and bought a Hongmian guitar for 900 yuan. He also bought a new set of bass strings for Wu Xiaozhou. The strings currently on Wu Xiaozhou’s bass had come with the instrument when it was purchased and were already close to worn out.

That evening, Lin Hao headed to Ferry Bar alone with the guitar on his back.

Fourth Sister didn’t lower the price just because he had called her first. The rate remained 200 yuan per day, performing from 8:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

Two hundred yuan for half an hour was already considered a very high rate in the provincial capital. Most singer-guitarists earned only 80 to 150 yuan per performance.

Some smaller bars didn’t hire full bands and instead had a single guitarist-singer performing from 8 p.m. until 11 p.m. Even for such a long set, the most they would usually pay was around 200 yuan, and some paid even less.

Of course, there were performers who earned more, but they were already well-known—at the very least, famous within the provincial capital’s music scene.

Compared with the rates he had received at Black Knight Bar in Chunhe, however, this price seemed low.

In reality, the amount Black Knight had paid him was already an astronomical rate for Chunhe. But Zhou Dongbing was a man of great generosity, and he also genuinely admired Lin Hao’s talent and felt an inexplicable fondness for both him and Wu Xiaozhou.

Back then, Zhou Dongbing had offered 100 yuan per song, yet Lin Hao had only earned 200 yuan a day because he had deliberately limited himself to singing just two songs. He didn’t want to take advantage of the man’s goodwill.

In a continuous thirty-minute set, he could easily perform six songs.

Setting aside whether Black Knight Bar could even afford a daily cost of six hundred yuan, if he had really done that, he certainly wouldn’t have lasted there long.

Lin Hao asked Fourth Sister whether he could perform only three songs a night.

She refused.

After some negotiation, they agreed on four songs per night, with flower basket tips split evenly, and payment settled in cash every day.

Lin Hao didn’t bring up the idea of settling accounts every ten days. Daily payments were more troublesome, but since they didn’t know each other well yet, it felt safer that way.

That night, the first song he performed on stage was still “Blue Lotus.” The next three songs, however, were popular hits from this world. Although they earned thunderous applause just the same, Fourth Sister was visibly disappointed.

She had assumed Lin Hao would perform his own original songs.

Instead, just like Wan Yong, he had sung this song again.

Fortunately, Lin Hao possessed an extraordinarily versatile voice. Whenever he sang a song, it sounded almost as if the original artist were performing it. That unique ability became a defining characteristic of his performances.

Fourth Sister could only hope that someday he would bring out more quality original compositions.

After the incident involving Wan Yong, Lin Hao realized that he could no longer casually perform new classic songs.

Those songs were all future capital.

Before that lousy website was completed, releasing them too early would inevitably create problems.

As a result, he mostly sang songs that already existed in this world—songs he had learned during this lifetime—while only occasionally slipping in one or two of his previously performed “originals.”

Privately, he urged himself to write down more songs as quickly as possible.

That included the two songs he had sold to Han Ying on the train, the piano piece Flight of the Bumblebee, the trumpet piece The Spanish Matador, and many others.

Once that website was finished, he intended to immediately apply for music copyrights.

If the site still wasn’t operational by summer vacation, he would simply take a few days off and make a trip to Yanjing himself. No matter what, he had to register all those songs first.

He also set a new rule for himself:

If circumstances ever forced him to perform another “original” song, he would avoid using the blockbuster hits that had dominated the annual charts in his previous life. Average-quality songs would be enough.

On the fifth day after the semester began, Fatty Meng returned to the dormitory after drum practice and shared a piece of gossip he’d heard:

Wan Yong had dropped out of school.

Rumor had it that he had gone to Yanjing.

Lin Hao wasn’t surprised.

After the public backlash, most people would have been too embarrassed to remain at school.

The only downside was that he had effectively made an enemy.

If Wan Yong ever managed to become somebody in the future, trouble would be unavoidable.

The thought crossed Lin Hao’s mind and then quickly passed.

He had never been afraid of things like that.

When soldiers came, he would block them; when floodwaters came, he would dam them.

He had weathered far greater storms in his previous life.

Why would he fear someone like Wan Yong?

Days passed one after another.

At Ferry Bar, Lin Hao accumulated a large following and gradually began making a name for himself in the provincial capital’s music scene.

As the weather grew warmer, he intentionally started bringing Wu Xiaozhou, Fatty Meng, Yan Xiaoqi, Boss Gao, and the others to Ferry Bar more often.

After finishing his own set, he no longer left immediately.

Instead, he encouraged them to study the performances of the bands on stage.

Occasionally, they even joined in to play some popular songs, building up valuable stage experience.

One day, the keyboardist Liu Ming pulled Lin Hao aside and told him that a friend’s band was looking for a keyboard player. He asked whether Lin Hao was interested.

Lin Hao declined without hesitation, citing his heavy academic workload.

From a professional standpoint, his skill level no longer required additional training.

From a financial standpoint, he was already earning more than 200 yuan a day, which was more than enough for his needs.

Because of that, he had no intention of accepting any outside gigs.

It was a weekend morning.

To everyone’s surprise, Xia Yumeng and Jiang Rong from the Teachers’ University came to visit their dormitory. Lin Hao treated everyone to a day out, taking the three wolves from his dorm and the two beauties out for food, a movie, and fun all day long.

Xia Yumeng was still the same as ever—straightforward, outgoing, and beautiful. She could get along with anyone wherever she went.

Jiang Rong seemed much more cheerful than before, probably because she had been spending time with Xia Yumeng.

That evening, all four of them escorted the two girls back to the Provincial Normal University.

On the bus ride back to school, the three hungry wolves immediately started debating which girl was prettier, Xia Yumeng or Jiang Rong. Before long, the discussion shifted to who was most compatible with whom.

Lin Hao rarely joined in. The warm summer wind drifted through the window, carrying with it the restlessness of youth.

He enjoyed it immensely. Everything felt so beautiful. His forty-two-year-old soul had gradually merged with this young body.

As he watched the high-rises and scattered streetlights flash past outside the window, he finally found his answer.

Of the two girls, he liked Xia Yumeng more.

But it wasn’t because of her looks. What attracted him was her open-hearted, generous, and easygoing nature.

After the professional assessment exams before summer vacation, Lin Hao received a phone call from Fan Gang.

“Kid, could you stop hiding your abilities so much in the future? People are starting to say there’s something wrong with my judgment!” Fan Gang complained over the phone.

Lin Hao could only laugh.

In this examination, he had once again played an ordinary piece—not particularly impressive, but not bad either.

Summer vacation had begun.

Neither Lin Hao nor Wu Xiaozhou returned to Chunhe. Both had already discussed it with their families and decided to stay in the provincial capital to work during the break.

Fatty Meng went home, though his house wasn’t particularly far from the school, so he could still drop by occasionally.

As for Cui Gang, jobs related to his major were hard to find, so he went home to spend the vacation.

Only Lin Hao and Wu Xiaozhou remained in the dormitory.

Ever since military training the previous year, Lin Hao had sworn to start running and improving his physical fitness. Unfortunately, he had given up after only a few months because of the freezing weather.

This summer, however, he laid down a strict rule: every morning at 6:30, the two of them would get up and run around the Music Department’s plaza for half an hour. Then they would have breakfast and return to practice.

Lin Hao borrowed an electronic keyboard.

In the mornings, Wu Xiaozhou practiced his fundamentals while Lin Hao read books.

In the afternoons, Lin Hao accompanied Wu Xiaozhou in the dormitory, playing together with him and starting with popular songs.

That evening, Wu Xiaozhou was delighted to discover that Bai Zhitao had also stayed behind at Ferry Crossing Bar.

Bai Zhitao knew perfectly well what Wu Xiaozhou was thinking, but she always felt there was something a little unserious about him, so she didn’t dare get too close.

After finishing his set, Lin Hao didn’t leave. There happened to be a few empty seats, so he and Wu Xiaozhou sat there watching the band’s performance. From time to time, Lin Hao pointed out things Wu Xiaozhou should learn from.

When the band took a break, Bai Zhitao came over and sat with them.

The band members gathered in a corner not far away, apparently holding some kind of meeting.

“Lin Hao, why do I feel like the more I sing, the worse I’m getting?” Bai Zhitao asked.

Lin Hao had told her before to focus on sweet, gentle songs and avoid pieces with excessively wide vocal ranges.

But she clearly hadn’t listened, so he couldn’t be bothered to repeat himself.

Wu Xiaozhou grinned.

“Haozi, help Taozi out, will you?”

Recently, this guy had changed the way he addressed her. He no longer called her “Big White Legs” behind her back or to her face. Especially in front of Bai Zhitao, he now affectionately called her “Taozi” every chance he got.

Lin Hao spread his hands helplessly.

“I already told you.”

He didn’t say the second half of the sentence:

But you never listened to me.

Bai Zhitao blushed slightly.

“There just aren’t that many sweet songs. If I keep singing the same few songs over and over, I’ll probably get replaced soon anyway. Besides, I just heard that Fourth Sister might be replacing our band too.”

“Oh?”

Lin Hao was startled.

Only then did he understand why the band members hadn’t come over to sit with them. Apparently, they had heard some news.

Thinking about it, though, it was perfectly normal.

Most bars wouldn’t keep the same group performing forever. After a while, customers lost their sense of novelty—especially with bands that played pop music.

Wu Xiaozhou asked:

“What are you going to do?”