novelraw Chapter 348: Jiang Ci: Don't be afraid, it's just that the technique is a bit tiring for the old artist
Chapter 348: Jiang Ci: Don't be afraid, it's just that the technique is a bit tiring for the old artist
Chapter 348: Jiang Ci: Don't be afraid, it's just that the technique is a bit tiring for the old artist
The Village Chief's calloused hand gripped with astonishing strength, incredibly tight.
Jiang Ci had originally planned to pull his hand back, using professional excuses like "incompatible artistic styles" to politely decline this impromptu commercial performance.
But the Village Chief's weathered face was full of the ecstatic joy of having found a savior.
"Young man, it's settled then! Tomorrow, you've got to win some face for your Uncle!"
As Jiang Ci was scheming how to extricate himself, the loudspeaker on the courtyard wall blared, broadcasting the voice of the Director's Team, clearly enjoying the spectacle and not minding if things got bigger.
"Teacher Jiang, what a fantastic opportunity this is! Going deep among the masses, experiencing life—that's the very purpose of our show!"
Teacher Yuan also came over, teacup in hand, patting Jiang Ci's shoulder with a hearty laugh.
"Go on, Xiao Jiang, stop hiding your talents. Let the villagers witness the many skills and arts of young people from the city."
Even Xiao Wu, standing to the side, was looking at him with curious anticipation.
Alright then.
Cornered and put on the spot, looking at everyone's sincere faces, Jiang Ci silently nodded.
A commercial performance it is. Might as well treat it as experiencing the local customs and culture.
Early the next morning, Jiang Ci was dragged by the Village Chief to Old Li's house at the east end of the village.
The wedding venue was bustling with noise and excitement. Dozens of round tables were set up from the courtyard all the way to the threshing ground.
Large red double-happiness characters were pasted all over the walls. The Groom, wearing a brand new traditional Chinese wedding suit, was grinning widely as he handed out cigarettes.
The Bride stood shyly to the side, her face unable to conceal her happiness.
Jiang Ci was placed on a temporary stage set up in a corner.
Holding the Suona Horn, he felt utterly out of place amidst all this joy.
The auspicious hour arrived.
The master of ceremonies, holding a microphone, jumped onto the stage and shouted in Mandarin tinged with a hometown dialect:
"Next, let us welcome the folk artist who has come all the way from the big city—Teacher Jiang Ci—to play a joyous melody for the new couple!"
Thunderous applause erupted.
Steeling himself, Jiang Ci stood up and walked to the front of the stage.
He steadied his mind, silently thinking: System, do me a favor. It's a happy occasion today, let's play 'Good Days.'
He brought the Suona Horn to his lips and activated the skill.
What he had in mind was a cheerful melody, but under the forced guidance of the [Special Edition for Weddings and Funerals], his fingers and breath caused the tune to take a different turn.
The melody initially sounded festive enough, but the more one listened, the more off it felt.
The tune was upbeat, yet it carried a solemn sense of "wishing you a smooth journey."
The cheerful vibe didn't feel like welcoming a bride; it felt more like beating gongs and drums to send someone off on their final journey, joyfully seeing them off with merits fulfilled, ascending to paradise.
Down below.
The Bride's Father, a sturdy farmer, was eating braised pork from a bowl.
As the Suona Horn sounded, his chopsticks, holding a piece of meat, froze mid-air.
He looked up at his daughter in red on the stage, smiling so sweetly.
But this Suona Horn music made him remember that afternoon over twenty years ago when he first held his swaddled daughter in his arms.
So small, so soft.
In the blink of an eye, she was about to become part of another family.
The old man's lips trembled. His chopsticks clattered onto the table.
Looking at his daughter, his eyes instantly reddened. Large teardrops rolled down, dripping into his rice bowl.
The Bride had been smiling, but seeing her father cry, a pang of sadness hit her heart.
The festive Suona Horn music, in her ears, transformed into a song of farewell.
She couldn't hold back. With a loud "wah," she also burst into tears, throwing herself into her mother's embrace.
The Groom hurried over to comfort her, but the Suona Horn music wormed its way into his ears. Looking at his wife and father-in-law crying together,
He suddenly remembered the gravity with which his own father had patted his shoulder and said, "From now on, you are her lifelong support."
A sense of responsibility for soon shouldering a new family, intertwined with the feeling of bidding farewell to past years, made his own eyes grow hot.
A chubby kid who had been grabbing for a chicken leg suddenly stopped, put down his chopsticks, gazed at the sky, his face wearing a melancholy that didn't belong to his age.
The master of ceremonies had intended to tell a couple of risqué jokes, but as the Suona Horn music entered his ears, his mind went blank, and the words on the tip of his tongue changed flavor.
"Thinking back to the old days... when my grandmother was still alive, she held my hand and said... a person's life, ah, is just like this flowing banquet..."
A lively wedding feast had its atmosphere completely derailed.
The guests wiped their tears while toasting each other, murmuring things like "life is short, cherish it while you can."
The whole scene was both comical and permeated with a strange warmth.
Behind the Monitor, the Director's Team was already rolling on the floor laughing.
The Director clutched his stomach, tears of laughter streaming out: "Incredible! If this footage airs, it'll absolutely be the best variety show moment ever!"
The song ended.
The venue fell into an eerie silence for three seconds, then erupted into even more enthusiastic applause, interspersed with rising and falling sobs.
Jiang Ci put down the Suona Horn, bracing himself to be surrounded and beaten up by the groom's family.
Unexpectedly, the Bride, with reddened eyes, lifted her skirt and walked up to him, tightly grasping his hand.
"Thank you, Teacher!"
Jiang Ci was completely bewildered.
"This piece of music is so profound!" the Bride said with a sob in her voice, yet her face was full of excitement.
"It made us understand that marriage is not just a union, but also a farewell to one's family of origin! It's about growth! So deep!"
The villagers also crowded around, applauding.
"This is the most heartfelt wedding score I've ever heard!"
"Yeah, listening to it makes me want to start preparing my daughter's dowry in advance!"
And so, Jiang Ci was inexplicably hailed as a "soul artist."
As a token of gratitude, the Village Chief had someone bring over a large iron cage containing two large white geese with fierce gazes and insisted on giving them to him.
By the time he returned to the small courtyard, it was already late.
The moment those two large white geese were released from the cage, they displayed an extremely strong sense of territory, chasing the curiously approaching Xiao Wu all around the yard.
Jiang Ci tried to subdue them, only to discover the geese had incredibly slick and elusive footwork.
The entire afternoon, the small courtyard was filled with Xiao Wu's screams, Teacher Yuan's laughter, and the triumphant "quacks" of the large white geese.
This kind of chaotic uproar allowed him to relax completely.
In the evening, the three of them sat around the stove, roasting corn.
Teacher Yuan took a sip of hot tea and asked curiously, "Xiao Jiang, seriously, how did you come to learn such a... hardcore instrument as the Suona Horn?"
Jiang Ci watched the dancing flames. He poked at the charcoal embers,
Spouting utter nonsense with a perfectly serious face: "Sometimes when acting, I get too immersed in the role and can't separate the character from myself. I need a sound with strong penetrating power to jolt myself awake from the character."
This reason made both Teacher Yuan and Xiao Wu laugh.
It was then they realized that, stripped of the Film Emperor halo, Jiang Ci was actually just a big boy next door with a uniquely strange train of thought, genuine and adorable.
Just as the atmosphere was at its most harmonious, Teacher Yuan smiled and stood up, wanting to go inside to fetch some peanuts.
The moment he stood, he suddenly let out an "ugh" and his whole body froze.
"Teacher Yuan?" Xiao Wu sensed something was wrong.
Teacher Yuan's body slowly bent over. He tightly supported his lower back with one hand, and beads of cold sweat immediately broke out on his forehead.
"Old problem... acting up..."
Before he could finish his sentence, he gasped sharply in pain, his body went limp, and he began to fall.
The accompanying doctor was still down the mountain; it would take time for him to arrive.
The smile instantly vanished from Jiang Ci's face.
He stepped over in one stride to support Teacher Yuan, helping him lie down slowly and flat.
Xiao Wu was already panicking, at a complete loss.
Jiang Ci crouched down, his expression turning unusually serious.
He rolled up his sleeves, placed one hand on Teacher Yuan's spine, feeling for that stiff, misaligned spot.
He looked up at Teacher Yuan, who was in so much pain he was nearly losing consciousness, and said in a low voice, "Teacher Yuan, bear with it. It might be a bit... very painful."
As soon as the words left his mouth, Jiang Ci's fingers already exerted force, pressing down on that misaligned joint.
A crisp "crack" sound was heard, accompanied by Teacher Yuan's barely suppressed cry of pain, echoing through the night sky.