Chapter 148: The Erhu Leads the Way (Subscription Requested)

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The next day dawned with clear skies and a boundless blue firmament.

After Yang Qing and his group arrived at the parking lot of the Jinghua Grand Music Hall, Zhao Yuzhu lovingly placed a kiss on little Qiu'er's cheek and departed first.

"I'll head off first as well."

Yang Qing patted little Qiu'er's small head, looked at Qin Xue and Qin Hao, and smiled helplessly. "Dongning said there are people blocking the main entrance outside the venue, so I need to go through the side entrance and enter with him."

Hearing this, Qin Hao scoffed. "Brother-in-law, can you stop playing humble? Isn't it a good thing to have fans blocking you?"

Qin Hao smiled. "With what you said to those little Japanese demons at the venue yesterday, let alone young people, I reckon even seventy or eighty-year-old grandpas would become your fans. After all, they are the protagonists and eyewitnesses of that era!"

Yang Qing nodded in silence. "They are the heroes of that era, and even more so, the founders of this era! A salute to them!"

"Yeah, so come and shoot my movie! Bring the miniature epitome of that era onto the silver screen, display their brave and fearless spirit to the world, and pay tribute to them in the fashion of our era!"

Qin Hao looked intently at Yang Qing, his gaze burning, and spoke in a deep voice.

Yang Qing opened his mouth, speechless for a long moment. He had never imagined that Qin Hao's attempt to overtake on a curve would be so swift and fierce!

Every three sentences he spoke never strayed from his ultimate goal!

With a wave of his hand, Yang Qing left. Qin Xue held little Qiu'er's hand as they walked outward, turning to ask Qin Hao:

"Why are you so insistent on having Qingzi star in your movie? Is it simply because of his currently skyrocketing popularity?"

"Yes and no."

Qin Hao smiled. "Popularity is traffic, and that's one aspect. The second aspect is that I've taken a fancy to brother-in-law's knife skills, which match my current script exceptionally well. And then there's... hehe... brother-in-law's musical talent. He can score the music for my movie, which saves me a lot of trouble."

Qin Xue: ......

"You certainly calculate things shrewdly, but let me tell you, if Qingzi really agrees to you, you mustn't treat him unfairly. Otherwise, I'll make you pay dearly!"

"How could that be? Sis, you can rest assured. Besides, I'm doing this for your and brother-in-law's own good."

"Oh? How so?" Qin Xue asked, startled.

"Ahem..." Qin Hao gave a dry cough and said, "Think about it, Sis. Mom doesn't oppose you and brother-in-law anymore, but what about Dad?"

"With the old man's overbearing personality, will he agree to you being with your current brother-in-law? Impossible."

Qin Hao shook his head. "The old man dotes on you a lot, but precisely because he dotes on you so much, his demands for brother-in-law will be even higher!"

"That being said, if brother-in-law wants to win Dad's approval, he must defeat or even conquer him in the very field where Dad excels!"

"So what is the field where Dad excels? It's Qin's Entertainment, which ranks in the top three in China and holds an eighty percent share!"

Qin Hao spoke in a deep voice. "Therefore, brother-in-law must enter this industry! And given his current popularity, if he can work hard enough and has the comprehension, this will be a shortcut to achieving success faster than in any other field!"

Hearing this, Qin Xue fell silent. After a moment of quiet, her voice lowered. "I don't want him to work this hard. I'll go and talk things through with Dad. If he doesn't agree, then I..."

"Sis!" Qin Hao interrupted her. "Do you think brother-in-law would agree with that idea of yours? He won't! And besides, how could the journey of realizing one's life value be considered exhausting?"

Qin Hao said with confidence, "Trust your little brother. He will be very happy!"

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Qin Xue remained silent, a trace of sorrow and heartache now clouding her face.

Yang Qing had no way of knowing about the conversation between the Qin siblings at the moment. He would probably only find out when little Qiu'er, blinking her big eyes right now, went back and whispered secrets to him.

By this time, Yang Qing had already entered through the side entrance accompanied by Li Dongning. Returning to the lounge of the Chinese Orchestra, Yang Qing distinctly felt a change in the atmosphere.

There were laughter and smiles, and people were polite.

Yes, unlike the day before when no one paid him any attention except Lu Baiwu, the Chinese musicians resting in the room all stood up upon seeing Yang Qing arrive, greeting him with smiles and respectful nods.

Hearing one "Master Yang" after another felt rather awkward and strange in Yang Qing's heart.

In truth, he wanted to say he was unworthy of being called a "Master"—all of this was simply because he had a cheat system!

"Master Yang, come in and sit."

Just as Yang Qing was having these strange, wandering thoughts, a laugh reached his ears. Lifting his eyes, he saw a plainly dressed middle-aged man looking at him with a full face of smiles.

"Qingzi, this is my master, Liu Yukun."

At this moment, Li Dongning whispered in Yang Qing's ear, then stepped forward to greet Liu Yukun: "Master, how is it that you were willing to come out today? Weren't you supposed to be staying in your little dark room doing penance?"

"You little brat! What are you saying!"

Liu Yukun cast a stern glare and scolded Li Dongning, then turned to Yang Qing with a smile: "Master Yang, please come inside. Let's have some tea and rest for a bit."

"Master Liu, please don't call me that. I cannot bear such a title."

Yang Qing quickly smiled wryly, adopting a very humble posture. "I just got lucky; I'm no grandmaster. You are Dongning's master—just call me little Yang."

"Haha... That simply won't do."

Liu Yukun was immensely pleased by Yang Qing's modest attitude and laughed heartily. "Although people in our profession can be rather stubborn at times, etiquette cannot be discarded. The one who achieves mastery is the teacher—that's the rule!"

"This..."

Yang Qing looked somewhat helplessly toward Li Dongning.

Li Dongning immediately spoke up: "Master, you should just call Qingzi 'little Yang'. Otherwise, if you call him 'Master', wouldn't that make me have to call him 'Grandmaster'? You'd be turning a young man old for no reason—that's no good!"

"You brat! Is that how seniority works? Completely unlearned!"

Liu Yukun scolded Li Dongning once more, then looked at Yang Qing's helpless, pleading expression, shook his head, and laughed: "Alright then, let's address each other according to generation and ties, how about that?"

"Very well! Uncle Liu, please sit," Yang Qing immediately smiled.

"Mm."

When people lift each other up on a sedan chair, everyone is happy.

Taking a sip of tea, Liu Yukun began: "Little Yang, you're the very first to take the stage today. How are your preparations coming along?"

"Mm, no problem at all."

"Oh, haha... That's great then! I'm very much looking forward to your performance. By the way, which piece are you planning to play first?"

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"How about getting their blood boiling first?" Yang Qing smiled.

"Haha... Excellent!"

...

At 8:50, the audience had all entered and taken their seats. Unlike the quietness of the previous day, today the Chinese audience members looked toward the front rows with expectant eyes, searching for the figure that had made their hearts surge with passion.

Not seeing him, they felt no annoyance; instead, they chatted softly in groups of twos and threes, discussing what kind of wonderful spectacle would unfold today.

At 9:00, the official leaders and masters in the first two rows had all taken their seats. The exchange meeting was about to begin, yet Yang Qing's figure had still not appeared, causing some audience members to grow anxious.

Yet just as they were growing impatient, a figure abruptly appeared on the stage. Instantly, the entire hall fell dead silent, followed in the very next instant by the explosion of thunderous applause.

The applause continued enduringly for a full minute before finally subsiding, leaving even Lu Baiwu with no choice but to sigh with emotion: Time ages people, and the waves behind push the waves ahead.

As the applause died down, Yang Qing bowed to the crowd and then spoke: "I present to you all a erhu piece called 'Horse Racing'. Thank you."

The music fading, he took the erhu and sat down upon the prepared chair. The atmosphere instantly turned pin-drop quiet.

"Is this your Chinese erhu?" Francesco asked in awkward Mandarin. "It only has two strings. What kind of music can it possibly pull out?"

Hearing this, Lu Baiwu smiled. "This is the unique charm of traditional Chinese instruments. I believe it, and Yang Qing, will not let you disappointment you. Look forward to it."

"I hope so!"

Francesco smiled, then turned his gaze toward Yang Qing on stage with renewed interest.

Right at that moment, Yang Qing looked at him and smiled back, after which he placed his bow across the strings and drew it sharply.

"Whish—whish..."

A sound resembling the neighing of a horse suddenly rang out through the entire hall.

In an instant, Francesco and the other foreign masters sitting in the first two rows widened their eyes, staring blankly at Yang Qing on the stage.

This is... horse neighing!

An instrument with only two strings actually produced the sound of a horse neighing, and so vividly at that! This was simply... unbelievable!

The foreign audience members sat in a daze, but the Chinese audience members erupted in excited cheers. "Horse Racing" truly had to be heard live from Qing Shen to have the most incredible feel to it!

Yang Qing's performance officially began. This time, he was truly giving it his all, employing various techniques to absolute perfection.

And thus, a musical piece that made the bodies of these foreign masters tremble with excitement was presented to the world.

The sounds of horse neighing, horse snorting, horse hooves, and whistling whips fiercely intertwined, and a passionate, heroic scene of horse racing naturally rose vividly in their minds.

The venue completely boiled over.

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