mijobooks Chapter 38 Two Years Later
Chapter 38 Two Years Later
Summer has quietly passed, leaving behind little secrets.
I keep it deep in my heart, deep in my heart, I can't tell you...
Time slips away unnoticed in these pink memories.
Two years have passed in the blink of an eye.
Late July, 1994.
One summer evening, after dinner.
The music room, which was converted from the entire house, was brightly lit.
A cabinet air conditioner against the wall was blowing cold air.
The music room has changed dramatically; the walls are now covered with sound-absorbing material.
In those days, there weren't many high-tech materials; it was mostly glass wool or egg-based insulation.
Chen Lang knew that glass wool was extremely dangerous, but he chose it because he thought egg-shaped cotton was bouncy and chewy.
The entire music room was dark, which was completely contrary to Liu Qianqian's aesthetic.
The effect is so-so, but it's unbearable in the summer because it's stuffy and hot.
Chen Lang persuaded his mother, Xiao Li, to take out the monthly allowance from Shen Jingfang's workplace and spend a huge sum of money to buy this 3-horsepower Chunlan floor-standing air conditioner.
More than eight thousand yuan.
In an era when the average wage for workers was less than 400 yuan, this was an enormous sum of money.
Moreover, this 8,000 yuan is only the cost of buying an air conditioner.
There are also several hundred yuan for installation fees, an air conditioner usage permit, wiring modifications, and subsequent electricity costs, which will be a considerable expense.
Liu Xiaoli agreed without hesitation. Seeing the two children coming back from next door every day looking like they had been pulled out of the water, she felt extremely sorry for them.
Chen Lang also wanted his maternal grandparents and mother to have a window installed in their rooms.
Several adults disagreed.
The elderly person strongly resisted buying such luxury items that cost several thousand yuan.
I'm willing to use anything for my child, but I always find it difficult to use it myself and make excuses.
They said it was too noisy, the electricity bill was expensive, and the humidity was too high.
Chen Lang was both touched and helpless; this family was full of stubborn people.
If reasoning doesn't work, he can't just go up and force the old fool to back up the car; he can't persuade him with virtue.
In the end, they only installed one in the music room, and didn't install one in his and Sisi's room; they just used fans.
A small family concert is being held here regularly.
"Thump, tap, thump-thump, tap..."
The powerful and rhythmic drumbeats make you want to tap your feet along.
Chen Lang sat behind the drum set that had been with him for two years, shaking his head and playing.
He has grown quite a bit taller, and at seven years old, he can already fully master this complex instrument.
The swing of his arms was full of power.
At the piano, Yao Beina tilted her head, her fingers dancing across the keys.
At thirteen years old, she had blossomed into a graceful young woman.
Liu Qianqian stood beside her, playing the violin.
She wore a plaid sundress, her hair was tied in pigtails, and her body swayed to the rhythm as she played the violin.
The expression on his face, like Chen Lang's beside him, carried a seriousness beyond his years.
She's been beautiful since she was a child, and she really changes every year.
When she wasn't smiling, her aloof and otherworldly aura was increasingly resembling the familiar look in Chen Lang's memory.
Yao Feng was holding a wooden guitar, frowning as he played arpeggios, his expression occasionally contorting in a grimace, looking very absorbed in the game.
Aunt Li Xinmin stood at the front with a smile, singing, holding a microphone in one hand and waving the other, looking very much like an artist.
Sweet singing voices filled the music room.
"I can't forget you, I'll write you in my diary."
I can't forget you; you're still on my mind.
"A romantic summer, and a romantic you."
"Give me a pink memory."
Han Baoyi's "Pink Memories" has been given a new lease on life after being rearranged by Chen Lang.
He added richer layers to what was originally a simple arrangement.
Powerful drumbeats, agile piano, melodious violin, and crisp guitar strumming.
The rhythm of the whole song is several times stronger than the original version.
It's full of the pop music flavor of the late 1990s and even the early 21st century.
Chen Lang's musical talent has grown rapidly in the past two years.
It started with adapting children's songs like "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" and "Two Tigers".
Later, they began to try adapting grand songs like "Dedication of Love" and "Asian Heroic Spirit".
He also turned the classic song "On the Hopeful Fields" into a rock version.
When I first performed at home, I almost made my grandparents' jaws drop.
By now, he can easily handle the adaptation of various popular songs.
Whether it's Aaron Kwok's "I Can't Stop Loving You" or Little Tigers' "Green Apple Paradise".
Whether it's the campus folk song "My Deskmate" or the Mandarin versions of those Cantonese hits.
Any song he's ever heard can be adapted into a completely new version in a very short time, leaving his own unique mark.
Of course, many of them draw inspiration from good adaptations from previous works.
But in this life, all of it naturally belongs to him as his unique wealth.
Therefore, his adaptations are always full of all sorts of imaginative ideas.
Some chord progressions and rhythm designs seem completely illogical to musicians like Yao Feng who have formal training.
In his hands, however, things become exceptionally harmonious and full of novelty.
Yao Feng himself is a composer.
But when facing his nephew, he often felt inferior.
Chen Lang's ideas greatly inspired his uncle and teacher.
This allowed him to break free from the constraints of many traditional composition theories.
This year, Yao Feng was successfully awarded the title of Outstanding Young and Middle-aged Expert in HUB Province.
This made him quite proud for a while.
He often boasts that his nephew deserves at least half the credit for this.
Of all the musical instruments, Chen Lang improved the most in the drums.
His master, Yu Deshen, truly shared all his best skills with him.
Those three bows back then were definitely worth it.
Chen Lang was also adept at understanding human relationships and social dynamics.
I never go to someone's house to learn drumming empty-handed.
It's either two packs of good cigarettes or a bottle of good wine.
His family is not short of money.
Although the mysterious and beloved father, Shen Jingfang, has been out of contact for the past two years, the money has never stopped flowing in.
Every month, Liu Xiaoli would receive a salary of over six hundred yuan plus various allowances, which would be sent to her on time.
It keeps increasing every year; now it's over 600 yuan a month.
What did this mean in 1994?
It's worth noting that the average monthly salary for urban employees across the country that year was only a little over 300 yuan.
Liu Xiaoli has a high income at the opera house; her monthly salary and bonuses combined are only a little over four hundred yuan.
The money Shen Jingfang sent each month was more than the salary of a regular worker.
Chen Lang was sometimes curious.
What kind of amazing company does his cheapskate father work for?
The salary is so high, and the benefits are incredibly good.
Besides money, the family also receives some benefits from their employer during holidays and festivals.
Cigarettes, alcohol, rice, noodles, oil, eggs, meat, and fruit.
It has everything.
Especially during the five major holidays of Mid-Autumn Festival, New Year's Day, August 1st, National Day, and Spring Festival, the gifts sent are so numerous that our house is almost overflowing.
The cigarettes are a whole carton of Hongtashan cigarettes, plus a pack of Ashima cigarettes.
Don't be fooled by the fact that cigarettes costing several hundred yuan a pack are common in later generations.
But in the 90s, a pack of Hongtashan cigarettes costing 10 yuan was the standard for older brothers.