Chapter 39 Erhu

The film crew followed Xiao Yao to the entrance of a small courtyard on the west side of the village. Even before stepping inside, the creaking sound of an erhu drifted into their ears.

"You don't want to learn the erhu, do you?" Chen Min asked, guessing his intention.

"Why not?" Xiao Yao replied. "I've always felt the erhu is the most incredible stringed instrument in the world. It only has two strings, yet it can play complete melodies. It's much more amazing than guitars, ukuleles, violins, cellos, pipas, or guzhengs. So I want to try learning it."

"How did you know someone here plays the erhu? Are you sure someone will teach you?" Chen Min continued to question.

"When I was looking for Chen Yang at Judentang yesterday, I saw an old grandfather playing the erhu there. We passed by here again this morning during our competition, and I saw the same grandfather enter this courtyard. So I guessed he probably lives here and came looking for him," Xiao Yao explained. "As for whether the grandfather is willing to teach me, that depends on my own effort."

With that, Xiao Yao stepped into the courtyard.

Inside the courtyard, an elderly man with graying hair and a silver beard about ten centimeters long was sitting by himself, happily playing the erhu. Seeing Xiao Yao and the film crew enter, the old man stopped playing.

"Hello, Grandpa," Xiao Yao greeted him with a polite smile.

"Uh... hello," the old man replied, then looked at them in confusion. "What is this about?" Although he knew a television crew was recording a show in the village, he had no idea why they had come to his house.

"Grandpa, I think your erhu playing is wonderful. I want to learn how to play, and I was hoping you could teach me," Xiao Yao said bluntly.

"Haha," the old man glanced at the film crew behind Xiao Yao and looked at him with an amused smile. "Little fellow, aren't you here to film a show? What's this about learning the erhu?"

"It's related to the show, too," Xiao Yao said. "We have a performance in the village tonight, and I need to perform an act as well. I want to learn the erhu from you and play it for all the grandpas, grandmas, uncles, and aunts at Judentang tonight."

"Oh, that's quite an idea. I'm the only one in this village who plays the erhu. If people could hear a little kid play the erhu, they'd definitely find it quite novel." The old man smiled and nodded, then changed the tone. "However, don't you think you're taking this too lightly, little fellow? What time is it now? The performance is tonight. Can you really learn it in such a short amount of time?"

"Let's give it a try," Xiao Yao said, full of confidence. "I have a great memory and I learn things very quickly. Plus, my dad is a singer, and I can play the piano, the electronic keyboard, and the ukulele—which is a four-stringed instrument somewhat like a guitar. So I already have a certain foundation in music. Grandpa, would you be willing to teach me and give it a try?"

"This little fellow is quite interesting," the old man said with a smile. "Anyway, I don't have anything better to do, and it's rare to find someone still interested in the erhu nowadays. Let's give it a try. By the way, what's your name, little fellow?"

"My name is Xiao Yao, and my nickname is Bayi. Grandpa, you can just call me Bayi," Xiao Yao said.

"Good. Well, Bayi, let's test you. I'll play a few notes, and you listen. If you can identify them, I'll teach you. How about that?" the old man said with a beaming smile.

***

Was this going to be a test? "Alright, no problem," Xiao Yao answered with absolute confidence.

The extensive ear-training exercises Xiao Yao did with Xiao Siqi were not for nothing. Although the tone quality of the erhu was quite different from that of a guitar or piano, Xiao Yao had zero trouble recognizing the basic musical scales.

"Good. Wait a moment, Bayi, I'll go get an erhu for you." The test was naturally passed with flying colors. Seeing that Xiao Yao had come empty-handed and knowing that these people couldn't possibly have brought an erhu with them, the old man turned around and went back inside to fetch one.

At this point, Chen Min decided not to say anything further, simply standing aside with the film crew to quietly watch and record.

The old man brought out an erhu and handed it to Xiao Yao. He explained the structure of the instrument, the names and functions of its various parts, the overall sound production principle, and the techniques for operating the bow and strings.

The old man only explained it once, and Xiao Yao immediately repeated every single detail without missing a word. The old man's eyes lit up upon hearing this, giving him a bit of confidence in his ability to teach this little kid within half an afternoon.

Within ten minutes, Xiao Yao had mastered the basic movements of playing the erhu, including pressing the strings with his left hand and pulling the bow with his right, and was able to accurately play every scale he needed.

Xiao Yao had originally considered playing the famous erhu masterpiece "Reflection of the Moon on the Erquan Spring" from his past life. Unfortunately, in his previous life, Li Hao hadn't had any special fondness for the erhu. He only knew the name of the renowned piece and had never listened to it in its entirety, let alone remembered it. Thus, he had no choice but to spend another twenty minutes learning a piece suitable for erhu performance from the old man. For the remainder of the time, Xiao Yao began practicing continuously.

Chen Min was quite accustomed to Xiao Yao's various heaven-defying, monster-like performances. Previously, however, she had merely thought of him as someone excessively precocious, with a mental maturity approaching that of an adult. But now, she was witnessing Xiao Yao's terrifying memory and learning capacity. The old man basically explained everything only once, and he remembered and understood it all completely, executing it in a very polished manner. Such an ability was something a normal adult—or even his father Xiao Siqi, who had a profound musical background—might not necessarily be able to achieve. Chen Min had been present yesterday evening when Chen Yang offered to introduce Xiao Yao to his master's basketball school. At the time, she felt it was a pity that Xiao Yao missed out on that opportunity. But now, after witnessing Xiao Yao's performance, she finally understood that the opportunity she had deemed quite good was really nothing special to someone like Xiao Yao. With this kind of terrifying ability, in which field would he not succeed in the future?

Perhaps due to his martial arts training, aside from raw talent, Xiao Yao did not lack effort and perseverance. He practiced a single melody for over half an hour straight, stopping to rest only when the old man nodded in approval again and again.

The old man was naturally extremely satisfied with Xiao Yao's performance. Being able to teach a disciple in about an hour was undoubtedly a very happy thing in his eyes. Moreover, this little kid was going to perform for the villagers at Judentang tonight, which would undoubtedly bring great face and honor to the old man in the village; he would be able to brag about it for a long time.

"Alright, little fellow," the old man said with a smile. "If you can play at this level tonight, you're guaranteed to shock the villagers, young and old."

"Thank you, Grandpa." Xiao Yao smiled modestly, then added, "Since you taught me how to play the erhu, you can be considered my teacher. But I still don't know your name, Grandpa."

"Haha," the old man affectionately patted Xiao Yao's head and said, "This old man's name is Hua Junyi. Did you remember it?"

"Yes, Grandpa Hua, I remember it. Thank you. From now on, I consider myself your student. When I have time in the future, I'll come back to see you and play the erhu for you," Xiao Yao said.

"Alright, since you're my student now, I'll give you this erhu as a welcome gift," Hua Junyi said with a smile. "Use it for your performance tonight. You've been practicing with it for so long anyway, so you're used to it."

"Thank you, Grandpa," Xiao Yao quickly expressed his gratitude. He had actually been thinking of asking Hua Junyi to borrow the erhu for the evening performance, but he hadn't expected the old man to give it to him out of sheer delight. Naturally, it was an offer he could not decline.

***

After chatting with the old man for a little while and practicing the tune taught by him for a bit longer, the time approached 5:30 PM. Prompted by Chen Min's reminder, Xiao Yao headed back to Judentang to prepare for the evening performance.

Inside Judentang was a raised stage spanning over ten square meters, usually used as a performance platform for the village's opera troupe. Tonight, it served as the stage for the guests' performances. Behind the stage was a wall built of stone bricks serving as a backdrop, with doorways on both the left and right sides. Both doors led to the same room behind the scenes—the backstage area.

When Xiao Yao returned to Judentang and entered the backstage, he found that the fathers had already put on their opera costumes and started applying their makeup. Looking at the theatrical costumes on their bodies, they had indeed prepared an ancient opera. The other four children were also present, looking with amused expressions as their fathers sat and applied makeup on one another.

The first to notice Xiao Yao entering was Xiao Siqi. Seeing Xiao Yao walking in carrying an erhu, Xiao Siqi asked, "Bayi, you're back. Why are you carrying an erhu? You don't intend to perform the erhu tonight, do you? I don't seem to remember you knowing how to play it. When did you learn?"

Xiao Yao smiled and said, "I didn't know before, but I do now. I just learned it this afternoon. I found a grandfather in the village who plays the erhu and learned from him for half the afternoon. This erhu was a gift from him, too."

"Really?" Hearing this, the other fathers shifted their attention over. Their feelings were quite similar to Chen Min's. Although they were accustomed to Xiao Yao's monstrous talent, such monstrosity usually manifested as a maturity close to that of an adult. To learn to play the erhu in one—or rather, half an afternoon—was a perverted learning capacity that many adults could never achieve.

"Time was limited, so I only learned one piece called *Flowing Waves*. But I've mastered the basic techniques and everything. As long as I have the sheet music, I can play it. I suppose it counts as real," Xiao Yao said.

The performance was scheduled for 7:00 PM.

The villagers rose with the sun and rested with the sunset, eating their dinner relatively early. By 7:00 PM, most villagers had finished dinner and were ready to come to Judentang to watch the guests' performances.

The first to take the stage were, naturally, the fathers' opera. As director and screenwriter, Sun Zhihao chose a well-known story from Zhejiang Province, *The Legend of the White Snake*, for his adaptation. Although in this lifetime there was no version like the one starring Zhao Yazhi and Ye Tong that swept across the country, the story of the White Snake was still a household name in Zhejiang, where it took place. As soon as the title of Sun Zhihao's play was announced, it immediately drew waves of cheers and applause from the audience.

Sun Zhihao's adaptation was easy to understand and leaned toward comedy. The villagers in the audience could understand it and enjoyed it, so everyone was naturally happy. Especially seeing the stars working hard on stage to entertain them, the villagers—though not very good at expressing themselves—felt a deep sense of sincerity and were extremely satisfied in their hearts.

Following the fathers' performance came the children's acts. The villagers naturally had no strict demands for the children; whatever they performed was fine. As long as a child stood on stage, it was met with full-house cheers and applause.

While the children's performances could not compare to those of the professional fathers, Zhao Rui's martial arts, Sun Tingting's singing, and Lin Qisan and Zhou Zhihao's fashion runway show still opened the villagers' eyes.

As for Xiao Yao, he was quite naturally arranged to appear last as the grand finale.