1978 Synthetic Writers

Chapter 638 Cui Jian
First of all, the premise of "Miracles of the Namiya General Store" surprised Li Xiaolin.

Because the story is set several decades in the future.

Decades later, the three main characters, who were the three children who stole things, communicate with each other through the magical "Namiya General Store" and the time and space they live in.

And based on this mechanism, Jiang Xian's storytelling is also very brilliant.

It not only incorporates the background of the times.

For example, our country was ultimately absent from the 1980 Olympics, which turned out to be a clever "information gap" in the storyline.

With its intricate plot, the story cleverly explores human nature in its ending.
"Character Arc Light!"

Li Xiaolin, who knew Jiang Xian very well, was well aware that this was one of Jiang Xian's specialties.

Through the foreshadowing and character arcs, Xiaoxuehua and her boyfriend's characters suddenly gained depth, elevating the entire story to a higher level.

Xiaoxuehua's last letter was completely unexpected by Li Xiaolin.

She did not give up on the Olympics. Although she tried her best until the very last moment, she was not selected to participate in the Olympics, and her country did not even send any athletes to the Olympics. However, she had no regrets. She was genuinely happy and felt that she had gained something more valuable than a gold medal.

Moreover, she believed it was all thanks to the Namiya General Store, because after reading the angry and anxious letters written by Daitun and the others, she was convinced that she had chosen the right path.

"You're such a good writer."

Li Xiaolin sighed, then eagerly plunged into the second story.

Jiang Xian wrote independent chapter titles for each story. For example, the first story about a little snowflake was called "The Reply is in the Box," and the second story was called "The Harmonica Sound in the Dead of Night."
Da Dun couldn't help but laugh because it was so funny. He laughed so hard he bent over backwards. At first, he only made soft noises, but finally he burst into laughter.

"What's wrong?" Haoxuan asked.

"Don't you find it hilarious? She's such a stupid woman. We genuinely wanted her to forget about the Olympics, but she interpreted it in a way that benefited her, saying she was grateful to us because the result was good, and even expressed deep respect for our insightful observations. We don't do things like that."

Haoxuan's expression relaxed. "What does it matter? The result was good anyway."

"Yes, and we had a lot of fun too."

Xiao Hui said, "So far, we have never solved any problems for anyone. Although it was just a coincidence that we got a good result, since she felt that the consultation was very helpful to her, isn't that a win-win situation? Da Dun, don't you think so?"

Da Dun frowned and touched his philtrum. "Of course I can't be unhappy."

"Right? I knew it."

“But I’m not as happy as you are. It doesn’t matter. It’s about time to open the back door. If we keep it closed, time will stand still.” Da Dun walked towards the back door.

Dadun gripped the doorknob, about to open it, when Haoxuan suddenly called out, "Wait a minute."

"what happened?"

Haoxuan did not answer and walked towards the shop.

"What does he want to do?"

Dadun asked Xiaohui, but Xiaohui tilted his head and did not answer.

Haoxuan walked back, a displeased expression on his face.

"What are you doing?" Dadun asked.

"Here we go again," Haoxuan said, slowly raising his right hand. "It seems to be someone else."

He was holding a brown paper envelope in his hand.
Jiang Xian finished writing here, and the first chapter came to an end. He then moved on to the second chapter of the story. Li Xiaolin flipped through the manuscript to read on:

In early July, he received news of his grandmother's death.

As Ah Lang was tidying up the tables and chairs in the shop, his sister Ah Mei called the troupe directly.

He knew his grandmother was in poor health. The last time she went to the hospital, the doctor said that her liver and kidneys were both having problems and she could pass away at any time. But Ah Lang still didn't go home. Although he missed his grandmother very much, he didn't want to go back for some reason.

"We'll be keeping vigil tomorrow, and the burial will be the day after. Brother, when are you coming back?" Amei asked.

Ah Lang scratched his head. "I've been very busy these past few days. I'll have to ask the shop first."

Xiaomei took a deep breath over the phone. "Weren't you just helping out at the store? Didn't you say the job was easy, and that taking a day or two off wouldn't be a problem?"

Amei was right. Not only did she have a good memory, but she was also very shrewd. She couldn't be easily fooled with just a few words. Alang remained silent.

Do you have any conscience at all?

Amei said shrilly, "Our dad is in poor health, and our mom is exhausted from taking care of grandma all by herself. You were raised by grandma since you were little, shouldn't you come back for the funeral?"

Ah Lang sighed, "Alright, I'll find a way to go back."

"As soon as possible! Tonight would be best!"

"That's impossible. The car isn't suitable; it's not that fast."

"Then we'll be back by tomorrow morning, or at the latest by noon."

"Let me see how it goes."

"It's up to you to decide, if you feel it's appropriate to do so."

"What kind of attitude is that?" Ah Lang wanted to complain, but his sister had already hung up the phone.

Starting from the second chapter, the narrative direction shifts, and the protagonist becomes a man named Alang. Li Xiaolin read on with great interest. The timeline at the beginning of the second chapter should be a few years ago. Judging from the information provided by Jiang Xian, it's around 1986. Jiang Xian didn't explicitly state it, but Li Xiaolin could sense it from some details. After all, their era had changed dramatically since 1979.

Alang is in his early twenties. Both his parents are factory workers. Alang learned to play the trumpet as a child and showed musical talent in elementary school. His teacher once suggested to his father that Alang major in music, but his father refused.
After graduating from middle school, Alang was unemployed. Then he went to the countryside. After returning to the city, Alang became an unemployed youth. But throughout this process, Alang never gave up his music.

At this point, the father suggested that Alang take over his shift, but Alang turned his attention to the newly revived performing arts troupe and song and dance troupe.

Unfortunately, these jobs, which are considered secure, are not easy to come by. However, there was a real shortage of staff, so despite his parents' objections, Ah Lang went to work as a handyman in a song and dance troupe in the city and quickly became a full-fledged musician.

After that, Ah Lang and some friends from the band formed a band together and performed in some restaurants. As rock music became popular, he also wrote his own songs.

But reality cruelly poured cold water on him.

Because Ah Lang's singing was not allowed in the face of the current mainstream, his band was forced to disband, and he himself was dismissed from the symphony orchestra for singing and composing these songs.

Ah Lang stubbornly persisted in playing rock and roll, making a living by doing odd jobs at a friend's bar.

In the eyes of Alang's parents, Alang was naturally not doing anything productive.
As Li Xiaolin read A Lang's story, he suddenly thought of a figure who had recently made a name for himself in Beijing.
—Cui Jian.

Cui Jian is a native of Beijing, born in 1961. His original name was Cui Jianjun, but he felt that the name was too ordinary, so he changed it to Cui Jian.

His father was a professional trumpet player, and his mother was a member of a dance troupe. As his father's work changed, the family lived in Xingfu Village, Dengshikou, the Air Force Political Department Art Troupe, and the Air Force Academy. It can be said that Cui Jian's entire childhood was spent growing up in his father's military environment.

Later, Cui Jian learned the trumpet and mastered the "Behrman Trumpet Concerto". At that time, the Shenyang Military Region Art Troupe and the Beijing Military Region Art Troupe were recruiting trumpet players from the public, and Cui Jian's performance received high praise from the examiners.

At that time, the Shenyang Cultural Troupe directly issued a transfer order to recruit Cui Jian into the army, but Cui Jian's mother strongly opposed it, so he did not go.

The Beijing Cultural Troupe directly approached Cui Jian for a meeting. Since it did not require him to leave Beijing, they obtained permission from Cui Jian and his parents. However, the school refused, believing that it would affect the "Down to the Countryside Movement".

But in reality, Cui Jian had just graduated from middle school in 1979.

Therefore, his childhood trajectory is actually the same as that of Ma Xiaojun in "Ferocious Animals" and "In the Heat of the Sun," both of whom spent their childhood in the city.

After graduating from middle school, he became an unemployed youth at home. However, because he could play the trumpet, the Engineering Corps Art Troupe and the General Political Department Art Troupe invited him to help play the trumpet, which was considered as doing odd jobs.

After doing odd jobs for several years, Cui Jian eventually became a trumpet player in the Beijing Symphony Orchestra.

Back then, the buzzing had just ended, and most industries were still stuck in the past decade or so, with official instruments being unplugged.

At that time, the music scene was completely blank, lacking modern genres such as rock, pop, and jazz.

The Beijing Song and Dance Troupe, to which Cui Jian belonged, divided its members into classical and folk music groups based on the only available art forms at the time. Cui Jian was in charge of the trumpet part of the classical string music.

But this didn't take up too much of his time, because he was the third trumpet player, and usually only one trumpet was needed for a performance, so he didn't perform often.

With some free time, timpani player Zhou Yaping came up with a way to make money.

He focused his attention on the large number of foreign students and experts who came to China as a result of the reform and opening up. He contacted institutions such as diplomatic hotels that provided accommodation and catering for foreigners, and formed a small band to play songs from Japanese and European and American movies for them.

Cui Jian was invited because he was able to sing "Straw Hat Song" in English so well.

At that time, most singers came from folk music backgrounds and only knew the singing style of Li Guyi or Jiang Dawei. This made Cui Jian particularly valuable because he could imitate the singing style of English singers very accurately, which was rare at the time.

When Cui Jian came into contact with foreigners and international students, his horizons broadened. He heard the tapes that foreign tourists and students brought to China and heard music that was different from the mainstream at the time. Then he started to learn to play the guitar and quickly learned to sing in public. After singing other people's songs for a long time, he found it boring. In 83, Cui Jian wrote his first song, "I Love My Guitar".

A year later, he released an album titled "Contemporary European and American Popular Jazz Disco - Cui Jian Solo Collection".

In the same year, he also formed the band Seven Pieces with six other professional musicians, playing Western pop music in small restaurants and hotels in Beijing.

This was only in 1984.

Cui Jian continued making music afterward, but the Seven-Piece Band was forced to disband. In 1986, everything took a turn for the better.

That summer, Cui Jian wrote his first rock song, "It's Not That I Don't Understand," and then, in a superb creative state, he wrote "Rock and Roll on the New Long March," "Starting Over," "No Longer Hiding," "Leaving," and "Nothing to My Name."
He then took his band to participate in the Peacock Cup National Folk Song and Popular Song Grand Prix, organized by the Musicians Association.

However, because their singing style was not yet accepted by the mainstream at the time, they were eliminated in the first round of competition.

Later, the editors of China Recording and Video Publishing House proposed to hold a concert featuring 100 singers for the "International Year of Peace". Upon recommendation, Cui Jian was also invited and became one of the 30 solo singers.

So, in 1986, at a concert of 100 singers for the International Year of Peace held at the Workers' Stadium in Beijing, the then-unknown Cui Jian appeared on the stage of the Workers' Stadium wearing an old jacket with one trouser leg higher than the other. Most of the audience was wondering where this guy dressed like a peasant came from.

Then the music started, and Cui Jian sang "I used to ask you endlessly, when will you come with me?" His song "Nothing to My Name" shocked the entire audience.

After a party, "Nothing to My Name" spread like wildfire and quickly became popular. Energetic young people began to sing Cui Jian's songs, and the passion of a generation of young people was ignited by Cui Jian.

At that time, a "Peking University Cui Jian Fan Club" was even formed at Peking University, which was the first official fan club in China.

Unfortunately, his music was soon banned, and he was expelled from the symphony orchestra.

Clearly, Ah Lang bears the shadow of Cui Jian.

In the second story, Ah Lang is conflicted because the mainstream ban on rock music creation, coupled with his parents' poor health. He doesn't understand the point of continuing to pursue rock music, and whether he should listen to his parents and find a so-called "proper" job, taking over his father's factory job before he retires.

The letter from the store was also very exciting, saying that in a few decades, there will be thousands of people competing for one job, and college graduates will not be able to find jobs. You have a secure job, so why don't you hurry up and hold on to it?

Ah Lang explained that his father's factory was not doing well, so he played his harmonica and sang one of his own songs for the people in the shop.

With his parents' encouragement, Ah Lang chose to stick to his own ideas and continue making his own rock music, vowing to make a name for himself and spread his music throughout the country.

Years later, Ah Lang made his own album. Although his singing was still banned by the mainstream, Ah Lang began to perform songs in some orphanages in China, where he discovered a girl named Xiao Qin, who eventually died in a fire.

Decades later, at a concert, superstar Xiaoqin sang the song he wrote, "Rebirth".

(End of this chapter)