Chapter Sixty-Seven: Why Isn’t He Good Enough?

"It's over! I drank too much!"
The next morning, as soon as Yang Qing woke up, he was assaulted by a splitting headache. He strongly suspected he had bought fake liquor.
Heading downstairs, he found Jin’er preparing breakfast and asked her in a low voice,
"Jin’er, how did I get home last night?"
Tan Jin’er paused, then replied, "Sister-in-law and I dragged you back."
"Oh, right... then... do Xia’er and the others... do they know I was drunk?" Yang Qing grew nervous.
"Pfft!"
Seeing his anxious expression, Tan Jin’er laughed, "No, you all got back in the middle of the night. Xia’er and the others were already asleep."
"Phew! That's good, that's good," Yang Qing exhaled deeply, then sniffed at the lingering scent of alcohol on his clothes, frowning lightly.
"Why don’t you go take a shower?" Tan Jin’er seemed to read his concern, suppressing a laugh.
"Ha, no need. If I shower now, I’ll wake them. I’ll step outside for some fresh air."
Saying this, he walked towards the door, but as soon as he stepped out, he saw Bai Zhijun being kicked out by his mother.
He looked at Bai Zhijun with a slightly odd expression and tried not to laugh. "Got disciplined by your wife?"
"It’s all your fault!" Bai Zhijun shot him an annoyed glare. "What kind of fake liquor did you buy? I almost didn’t wake up!"
Yang Qing replied, "...Maybe the liquor was just too good and you got greedy?"
Bai Zhijun shot back, "Nonsense! Why are you outside too?"
Yang Qing looked up at the sky, speechless. "I don’t want Xia’er to know I didn’t keep my word."
Bai Zhijun gave him a look, "So, where to now? Back to the alley?"
At this, Yang Qing pondered. "What about Zhuzi and the others?"
"They left. They said they still have work to do today, want to hurry up and finish renovating the house."
"What?" Yang Qing was shocked. "Didn’t they all get drunk last night? How can they still work today?"
As he spoke, he pulled Bai Zhijun along. "No way! Let’s go check on them. No one should work today, especially since tomorrow’s the Dragon Boat Festival. Let them take the day off and rest."
"You're right," Bai Zhijun nodded, then looked at Yang Qing. "You’re not staying with the little ones?"
"Heh, today Xiaoxue is taking them out to play. They won’t be back until this afternoon. I can go air out the smell of alcohol and then cook dinner at the courtyard later," Yang Qing replied with a smile.
"Alright, let’s go. By the way, you and Miss Qin—"
"Ha, you’re getting nosy too?"
"Get lost! I’m just concerned about you!"
"Hahaha..."
...
Jinghua, Huayue Association, Folk Traditional Instruments Ensemble.
"Teacher, did you watch the video I sent you?"
A young man entered an instrument rehearsal room and addressed a middle-aged man who was tuning an erhu.
"Hmm? What video?"
"The one that's been all over the internet these past few days—the erhu piece, 'Galloping Horses.' Didn’t you see it?"
The middle-aged man paused his tuning, frowning slightly. "I’ve been busy and haven’t had time. Play it for me now."
"Alright!"
The young man immediately found the video of Yang Qing performing "Galloping Horses" on his phone, opened it, and handed it over.
As the first neigh of a horse sounded, the middle-aged man’s previously relaxed gaze sharpened, and he straightened in his seat, watching attentively.
A few minutes later, his eyes trembling with emotion, he asked his student hoarsely, "Who is he...?"
Seeing his teacher’s reaction, the young man knew he’d succeeded and replied with a smile, "Teacher, what do you think of the piece?"
"Extraordinary! And his technique... that plucking method, it’s simply... simply..."
"Innovative! It’s a new breakthrough!" the young man replied excitedly. "Teacher, in mid-June, the foreign instrument ensemble will come for our musical exchange. I want to recommend him!"
"Hmm..." The middle-aged man considered this. "You mean to have him represent us for the erhu?"
"Yes, what do you think, Teacher? This 'Galloping Horses' is enough to outshine those foreigners!"
"Mind your words," the middle-aged man scolded, but then smiled. "You’re right, 'Galloping Horses' is indeed enough. But..."
He frowned, then changed the topic. "Tell me about this person first."
"Uh," the young man hesitated. "His name is Yang Qing. I haven’t met him. Actually, I know him, but he doesn’t know me. I saw him play 'Galloping Horses' during a livestream."
He thought for a moment and added, "Oh, right, he’s not from our industry. He runs a small shop selling pancakes and steamed buns—it’s quite popular."
"Not from our industry?" The middle-aged man’s frown deepened. "That could be a problem. I don’t mind, but those old stubborn ones... Let me make a call and ask."
He picked up the phone and dialed. A few minutes later, he hung up, his expression dark.
The young man who had listened in was furious.
"Why not him! Damn it! A bunch of old fossils! Talking about pedigree... To hell with that! The foreigners are at our doorstep, and they’re still playing petty games!"
"Enough!" the middle-aged man barked. "This isn’t the first time. If necessary, just have him join the association first, and it’ll be fine."
"Nonsense!" the young man snapped. "The membership application and review process alone will take a month! By then, it’ll be too late!"
"I think they just don’t want Yang Qing at the exchange. Afraid he'll steal their thunder and embarrass them! No, wait..."
He paused, looking at his teacher. "Teacher, do you think they’ve seen the video and want to..."
"Nonsense!" the middle-aged man immediately understood what he was implying and reprimanded him. "They may be stubborn, but they have their bottom line. They would never steal a junior’s composition."
"Heh, you never know!" the young man sneered, then turned to leave.
"Where are you going?" the middle-aged man called after him.
"I’m going to Yangcheng! I’ll have Yang Qing register the copyright for 'Galloping Horses' and make a public statement: without his personal permission, no one is allowed to use or perform this piece anywhere, in any form!"
"Damn it! If they want to play dirty, I’ll cut off their lifeline!"
The middle-aged man thought, Young people these days are so bold and ruthless!
But... I like it!
...
"Xiaobai, Xiaobai, do you know what that fish is called?"
Xiaobai replied, "No! Tell me!"
"Heehee... Xier doesn’t know either! Heehee..."
Xiaobai: (＃－.－)
Yangcheng Polar Ocean World—Xier is here again!
But this time, she’s brought along Xiaobai, Xiaochun, Xiaoxia, and Bai Mama.
As soon as they entered, Xier became an energetic little tour guide for Xiaobai, pointing out the names of various fish—though Xiaobai was left quite distressed.
She was supposed to be the older sister in kindergarten, yet she was so clueless.
"Idiot! Why say anything if you don’t know!"
"Heehee... If you don’t know, you have to ask!"
"Then don’t ask me! I don’t know anything either!"
"Xiaobai, aren’t you in kindergarten? How do you not know anything?"
Being looked down upon by silly Xier, Xiaobai rolled up her sleeves in exasperation. Seeing this, Xiaoqiu hurriedly stepped in between the two to mediate.
Tan Jin’er and Bai Mama shook their heads as they watched. Xiaobai would never hit Xier; the three little ones were inseparable.
"Jin’er, where’s Qingzi? I didn’t see him this morning," Qin Xue asked curiously.
Hearing this, Jin’er glanced at the three noisy children, then at Xiaochun and Xiaoxia holding hands and watching the fish in the distance, and whispered,
"Brother Qing drank too much last night. He didn’t want Xia’er and the others to find out, so he slipped out early to air out the alcohol."
"Oh, is that so?" Qin Xue’s eyes narrowed with a smile. "So, this means we can keep him from drinking in the future."
Tan Jin’er laughed as well. "As long as the little ones are around, it’ll work!"
"Giggle..."
Bai Mama, listening to their conversation, glanced at Qin Xue with a curious look.
There’s something going on between her and Qingzi!