novellhall Chapter 18 The Little Fangirl of the Music Academy
Chapter 18 The Little Fangirl of the Music Academy
The four levels of food were listed there, along with their prices.
Lin Hanjiang had already made up his mind while he was in line.
When I reached the window, I said to the lady in the apron serving the food:
"One serving of shredded pork with garlic sauce, one serving of braised tofu, and rice."
He handed in six cents for vegetables and one cent for meals, spending a total of seven cents.
At school, we used cash to exchange for meal tickets. Luckily, I had a little left, otherwise I would have had to queue up to exchange for more tickets.
Rice is only served to prevent waste, and it's not charged by weight. Usually, the auntie serving the dishes gives you rice, and if you want more rice, you ask her to give you more.
It's all just a penny anyway.
The food was quickly served on a white enamel plate with a red five-pointed star printed on it.
The fish-flavored shredded pork is glossy and oily, with only a small amount of shredded pork, mostly bamboo shoots and wood ear mushrooms, but it has a wonderfully fragrant aroma.
Two large pieces of golden, glistening pan-fried tofu were stacked up.
This is a traditional northern Chinese cooking method. The firm tofu is cut into thick slices, coated with egg wash, and pan-fried until golden brown on both sides with slightly crispy edges, forming a thin egg coating. Then, it is simply braised with a prepared savory sauce.
"It smells good."
No wonder Liu Zhenyun likes to snatch the pot of braised tofu.
Lin Hanjiang, carrying an enamel tray, casually found an empty seat in the noisy cafeteria and sat down.
I'd barely taken a couple of bites of rice when I heard a familiar voice, tinged with laughter, say, "Oh, is this what our big star eats? Shouldn't we have something nice to celebrate?"
Looking up, I saw my senior sister Zhang carrying a much more lavish plate, walking towards me with a smile.
She was accompanied by a girl wearing a floral dress.
The girl looked very young, about sixteen or seventeen years old. She was taller and thinner than Zhang Ye, with a simple ponytail. She had delicate features and, with the shyness and curiosity typical of a young girl, was secretly observing Lin Hanjiang.
"Senior Sister," Lin Hanjiang said, putting down his chopsticks.
Zhang sat down opposite him, set out his plate, which contained several meatballs, shredded pork with sweet bean sauce, and scrambled eggs with tomatoes.
She pointed to the girl beside her and introduced her to Lin Hanjiang: "Look, let me introduce you to a junior sister. Zu Hai, from the vocal music class at the affiliated high school, she just turned sixteen this year. Teacher Jin thinks she has a good foundation and is quick to learn, so he asked me to mentor her when I have time."
Zu Hai?
In 1991, while still in school, she released her solo album "East Side Sun, West Side Rain" and won the title of "Top Ten Singers in the Country".
In 1998, Zu Hai participated in the 8th National Young Singers Television Grand Prix and won second place in the professional group's folk singing category.
In 1999, Zu Hai made her debut on the CCTV Spring Festival Gala stage, collaborating with Tong Tiexin to sing "For Whom". With her sincere emotions and outstanding performance, she won the audience's tears and applause and was hailed as the "Queen of Folk Songs".
After that, he became a regular on the Spring Festival Gala.
However, I've never seen Zu Hai this young before; she's already a beauty in the making.
She then turned to the girl and smiled, "Xiao Hai, this is the senior brother Lin Hanjiang I mentioned to you. He won first place in the semi-finals of the Young Singers Competition last night. He's really amazing."
The girl blushed slightly, quickly stood up, and bowed somewhat reservedly but politely: "Hello, Senior Brother Lin! My name is Zu Hai. I just heard your 'The Story of Spring' from Senior Sister. It's a really good song."
Her voice still carried the clear, bright quality of a young girl after puberty, but her breath control and pronunciation already showed some professional skill.
"Hello, Zu Hai. Sit down and let's talk, don't be shy." Lin Hanjiang smiled gently, a slight thought stirring in his heart.
Zu Hai, one of the representative singers in the future folk song field, has a clear, melodious, and very distinctive voice.
Unexpectedly, at sixteen years old, she was still a shy junior at the affiliated high school, following behind her senior.
This encounter didn't happen in my previous life, since I stopped going to school after losing the singing competition.
It seems that everything has changed.
"Hanjiang, have you decided on your final piece? Have you sent it over?" Zhang Ye asked, placing two Four Happiness Meatballs from his plate next to Lin Hanjiang's plate.
Zu Hai followed suit and gave his braised chicken leg to Lin Hanjiang.
He was both amused and exasperated, wondering if he had really reached the point where he couldn't afford to eat.
As he spoke, Lin Hanjiang did not refuse his senior and junior sisters' kindness.
"Thanks."
"Senior sister, I delivered it this afternoon."
"That's good. We need to practice hard these next few days for the final sprint." Zhang said, then looked at Zu Hai, who was listening to them curiously, "Xiao Hai, you should listen carefully too, see how your senior brother Lin prepares for the competition, this is all valuable experience."
Zu Hai nodded vigorously, her eyes sparkling as she looked at Lin Hanjiang, and asked softly, "Senior Brother Lin, are you still singing your own song in the finals?"
"Yes," Lin Hanjiang replied.
"That's amazing..." the girl murmured in admiration, her eyes filled with worship.
For her, being admitted to the China Conservatory of Music was already one in a thousand, and achieving an amazing high score in the CCTV Young Singers Competition was even more unattainable.
To create such moving songs is simply idol-like.
After dinner, the three of them walked through the campus as dusk fell and arrived at the familiar music room building.
Professor Jin Tielin's private medium-sized vocal training room is located at the far end of the second floor and is very soundproof.
I opened the door, pushed it open gently, and pressed the switch. Soft light instantly streamed in, illuminating the entire classroom.
This classroom, which is about 40 square meters, has a simple layout.
An old piano leaned quietly against the wall.
"As usual, start by warming up your voice, don't rush to sing."
Zhang Ye walked to the wall with practiced ease, opened the lid of the old Xinghai brand upright piano, and tried a few notes.
"Xiao Hai, I have a task for you today. When your senior brother Lin is practicing his voice later, you will be responsible for playing a few simple chord progressions to get a feel for the coordination between the accompaniment and the vocals."
"Can...can I?" Zu Hai walked to the piano with a mixture of surprise and trepidation.
"Why not? Just treat it as ear training and practice," Zhang encouraged, then turned to Lin Hanjiang, "Start with the most basic 'humming' and 'bubble sounds,' take it slowly, and open up the channels."
"Practicing your voice before singing" is something their teacher, Mr. Jin, has emphasized countless times.
For the next half hour, the classroom echoed with the rhythmic and professional practice of vocal scales.
Lin Hanjiang stood beside the piano, eyes closed, focusing on the flow of breath and the adjustment of resonance points, gradually increasing the pitch.
Zu Hai sat on the piano bench with his back straight, playing a simple I-IV-VI chord progression as instructed by Zhang Ye, allowing his piano playing to support Lin Hanjiang's steadily rising scale.
"Okay, the passage is almost there, and your throat feels warm."
Zhang checked the time, walked over to Lin Hanjiang, and said a few words to him.
Lin Hanjiang gave his new song to Zu Hai.
Let her play the accompaniment.
When Zu Hai saw the song, he had the same expression as Zhang Ye.
He hummed it once, and was practically screaming "Holy crap!"
"Xiao Hai. Is it okay?" Lin Hanjiang asked again.
"Sure, Senior Brother Lin."
Zhang also became serious and said to Lin Hanjiang, "Now, take the main melody of this song, at a medium volume, without any embellishment, and play it over the piano as if you were speaking. Pay attention to your pronunciation; make sure each word is pronounced clearly, but don't sound stiff."
Lin Hanjiang nodded.
Zu Hai quickly sat up straight, gently placing his hands on the piano keys, ready to play the simplified accompaniment of the marked main melody.
When Lin Hanjiang's deep and powerful voice rang out, Zu Hai's fingers paused slightly on the piano keys, revealing an expression of admiration.
Time flies, and we practiced again and again.
All for the sake of presenting the best performance in the final of the CCTV Young Singers Competition.