Rebirth 03: Starting a Business After Giving Up a Secure Job

Chapter 150 Inviting a Renowned Teacher to Provide Special Training for Shen Jingyi

The business training for the four sections officially began that afternoon.

Old Zhou, along with Zhou Hai and a dozen or so sales representatives from the housing rental sector, used a village in Xipu Town as their training site, starting by canvassing each building from the village entrance bulletin board.

The landlord's rental notice posted on the utility pole was blown away by the wind and was reduced to half. He asked the salesperson to take a picture and record it first, and to put three labels on each listing.

Apartment type, commute distance, whether it's a direct rental from the landlord or a sublet.

Zhou Hai took a measuring tape and measured the width and depth of a single room, then wrote down the dimensions and orientation in his notebook.

Sun Ke followed Sun Hao to the Export Processing Zone of the High-tech West District, where several electronics factories had just settled and were facing a severe labor shortage after the Spring Festival.

Sun Hao told Sun Ke about the case of Shenzhen Jiarun Plastics, including how to set up a table at the factory gate for registration and how to do two-way matching between the job seeker information database and the recruiting company database.

Sun Ke took out his phone and pulled up the list of HR personnel he had accumulated in the High-tech Zone. He made a few calls on the spot and arranged meetings with the HR managers of three electronics factories that were short of staff after resuming work after the Spring Festival.

At their workstations in the secondhand goods section, Liu Fang and Chen Li pasted the inspection process sheets from the Shenzhen Inspection Point onto the wall one by one. From the grading of scratches on mobile phone casings to the safety inspection of rice cooker circuits, each item corresponds to a standardized inspection photo and text description.

He Juan and Liao Ping posted data on the supply gap in Chengdu's domestic service market on a whiteboard, and then dissected the Chengdu version of the training syllabus one by one, comparing it with the certification standards of Shenzhen.

He Juan specifically mentioned the news that Chengdu faced a shortage of 10 nannies during the Spring Festival, saying that the period after the holiday was the best time to acquire customers.

Lin Feng stood outside the training room for a while.

Four training rooms were open at the same time, each filled with whiteboards, forms, and the sounds of discussion.

He didn't go in; he just looked at each doorway and then went back to his office.

After the training for the four major sections of the Chengdu Station was launched, Lin Feng handed over the daily implementation to Xu Qiang.

The four lecturers from Shenzhen, each accompanied by a section manager from Chengdu, spent their days in the training room refining their sales pitches and practicing street canvassing.

The sound of keyboards and discussions in the office area, related to workflow, echoed from morning till night.

Lin Feng goes to the company every morning to check the previous day's daily report and handle a few matters that require his approval, thus freeing up his time in the afternoon.

There's still one thing he hasn't done.

Before the Spring Festival, Lin Feng had promised to support Shen Jingyi in participating in Super Girl and to hire professional vocal and posture teachers to train her.

Shen Jingyi was moved to tears.

The words have been spoken; now it's time to keep them.

Lin Feng scrolled through his phone's contacts in his office, found Tang Lei's number, and dialed it.

The phone rang a few times before being answered. In the background, the sound of guitar strings could be heard, indicating that Tang Lei was probably in the rehearsal room.

Lin Feng asked him if he knew any vocal teachers, local to Chengdu, the kind who had taught professional singers.

Tang Lei thought for a moment and said that he knew many people in the Chengdu vocal music circle, but when it came to someone with solid professional skills who could also take on short-term intensive training, the first person he thought of was Professor Lai Li from the Sichuan Conservatory of Music.

Tang Lei said she had interacted with Teacher Lai several times. Teacher Lai is a soprano singer who has won the National Young Singers Television Grand Prix. She has been teaching for many years and has trained many professional singers. She is currently teaching graduate students at the Sichuan Conservatory of Music.

"But she doesn't accept students casually," Tang Lei added. "I'll contact her first, and then you can personally take the students there."

Lin Feng asked Tang Lei to help him schedule a time, the sooner the better. Tang Lei agreed and hung up the phone to make the call.

Tang Lei replied two days later.

Riley is at school on Wednesday afternoon; we can meet there.

Tang Lei sent the address to Lin Feng, which was the practice room building of the vocal music department on the main campus of Sichuan Conservatory of Music. He also added: "Teacher Lai is very straightforward. If it's okay, it's okay; if it's not okay, it's not okay. Don't beat around the bush with her."

On Wednesday afternoon, Lin Feng drove his Audi to Sichuan University of Technology to pick up Shen Jingyi, and was immediately surrounded by students.

She had just finished class, wearing a light gray sweater, her hair clipped back, and carrying a guitar case as she ran out of the school building.

She opened the car door, sat in the passenger seat, placed the guitar diagonally on the back seat, and asked him where they were going while fastening her seatbelt.

"I'll take you to meet a teacher."

"What teacher?"

"Vocal teacher, Professor Lai Li from Sichuan Conservatory of Music."

Shen Jingyi paused in fastening her seatbelt. She turned her head to look at him, waiting for him to continue.

"I promised you before the Spring Festival that I would arrange for a vocal and physical training teacher to give you special lessons and support your participation in this year's 'Super Girl' competition. This teacher, Ms. Lai, has been teaching vocal music at the Sichuan Conservatory of Music for many years and has trained many professional singers. Let's meet her this afternoon so she can see your potential."

Lin Feng started the car, turned the steering wheel to the left, and drove out of the school gate towards the city.

"Just sing well, don't worry about anything else."

Shen Jingyi nodded, her eyes filled with surprise.

A black Audi drove along Hongguang Avenue, heading south of the city.

The main campus of Sichuan Conservatory of Music is located at Jiuyanqiao, which is almost an hour's drive from Sichuan University of Technology.

Lin Feng parked the car in a temporary parking space at the school gate, and the two got out and walked into the campus.

The Sichuan Conservatory of Music has a strong artistic atmosphere. The roadside trees are camphor trees, which do not lose their leaves in winter, and their canopies form a dark green corridor overhead.

Someone was playing a trumpet in the distance, and the intermittent notes of scale practice drifted out from one of the open windows.

A girl carrying a violin hurried past them, the violin case swaying gently on her back.

Several musical instruments—piano, flute, and drums—were playing simultaneously from an old building on the left, each playing its own instrument without interfering with the others.

The vocal music department's practice room building is located deep within the campus; it's a four-story old gray building.

Several black-and-white photos hang on the walls of the hallway; they are photos of graduates from previous years at their concerts.

Lin Feng and Shen Jingyi walked up the stairs to the third floor. Every time they passed a door, they could hear vocal exercises coming from inside. Some were bel canto, some were folk songs, and some were popular songs.

As Shen Jingyi went upstairs, her fingers gripped the guitar case strap tightly and then loosened.

Lai Li's music room is at the end of the corridor on the third floor.

The door was ajar, and the sound of piano scale practice could be heard from inside. A female voice was singing "Mi Ma Mi Ma Mi," each note drawn out long and steady, with excellent breath control.

Lin Feng knocked on the door.

"Please come in."

Pushing open the door, the music room was bright. The window faced the camphor grove on campus, and the afternoon sunlight slanted in through the glass.

Lai Li sat in front of the piano, her short hair flowing gently, wearing a dark gray sweater, her back straight.

She looked to be in her early fifties, with soft facial features and the composure unique to someone who had stood on stage for many years.

She was giving a young girl a vocal exercise, playing the piano with one hand and gently pressing the girl's abdomen with the other to check her breathing.

She looked up and saw the person at the door, told the girl to stop here for now, and asked the girl to pack up the sheet music and leave. Then she stood up and walked over.

"Hello, Teacher Lai, I'm Lin Feng." Lin Feng handed over his business card.

"Tang Lei called me. Are you Tang Lei's friends?"

"Tang Lei is my good brother and also a long-term partner of our company."

Lai Li squeezed his hand, then shifted her gaze from Lin Feng to Shen Jingyi.

"Do you want to study vocal music?" Lai Li asked Shen Jingyi.

"Yes," Shen Jingyi said.

Have you studied it?

"I've studied it. I'm a sophomore in the music department at Xichuan University of Technology, majoring in vocal music and composition." Shen Jingyi placed the guitar beside her and sat up straight.

"I've taken courses in sight-singing, ear training, music theory, harmony, and form analysis. Last semester, I sang 'I Live at the Head of the Yangtze River' for my vocal final exam and ranked in the top three."

Lily nodded and looked her over again.

"Since you've learned it, sing me a song first. Sing one that you're good at."

Shen Jingyi took the guitar out of its case, tuned the strings, and plucked a few notes to set the key.

She took a breath and began to sing "Winter Rain in Chengdu".

Her voice trembled slightly when she uttered the first phrase, but she steadied herself on the second. Her eyes were closed, her fingers tracing the strings. The practice room was devoid of speakers and lights; only she and a wooden guitar remained.

Riley crossed her arms over her chest, her expression remaining unchanged from beginning to end.

After singing the last note, Shen Jingyi opened her eyes, her fingers resting on the strings.

"Your voice is nice and distinctive. Did you write this song yourself?"

"Yes."

"The melody and lyrics complement each other well, and the emotional progression in the chorus is also reasonable." Lai Li loosened her crossed arms.

"But your breath control is too shallow. You're singing using your diaphragm, not your throat. In the chorus, you hit a few high notes by forcing them up with your throat; I can hear you straining. You're a classically trained singer; you should have learned diaphragmatic breathing."

"I've studied it. The vocal teacher in my department taught me."

"Show me how to do it."

Shen Jingyi stood up, took a breath, her abdomen bulged, and then slowly exhaled, her abdomen contracting.

The movement was standard, with almost no rise or fall in the shoulders and chest.

Riley reached out and pressed against her abdomen. "When you inhale, push your stomach outwards against my hand. It's not just pushing forward, your lower back also needs to push outwards. Your diaphragm expands 360 degrees."

Shen Jingyi did as instructed.

This time, she inhaled much deeper than before, and she could feel the difference when she pushed her lower back outwards.

"The method is correct, but when you sing high notes, your diaphragm relaxes, your breath can't support it, and your throat automatically comes up to help. You need to practice abdominal breathing until it becomes a subconscious muscle memory, something you can do without thinking, before you've passed the test."

Lai Li withdrew her hand: "The professors in the department probably said the same thing to you."

Shen Jingyi nodded: "In the large class, each person only gets a few minutes of individual instruction, so I practice by myself while looking at the sheet music."

Lai Li sat back down at the piano and asked her to sing the last few lines of "I Live at the Head of the Yangtze River".

Shen Jingyi took a deep breath and let her hands hang naturally at her sides.

The first two lines begin in the low register, the voice is deep and steady, supported by breath control. As the middle range rises, the break occurs near E in the second octave, the voice is slightly dry on that note.

She adjusted her breathing and managed to finish the high note, though her throat was noticeably tight.

"Stop." Riley lifted her hands from the keys. "Your break point is near E. You didn't use breath support for that note; you raised it from your throat. Did you feel it?"

"I can feel it."

"The biggest problem with formally trained students is that they know a little about everything but are not proficient in anything."

Lai Li closed the sheet music and placed it on the music stand, then looked at Shen Jingyi.

"Your pitch, musicality, and theoretical foundation are so-so, but what you lack is meticulous refinement. The transition at the break point, the control of the larynx in the high register, and the breath distribution in long phrases—these all require one-on-one attention to detail."

She leaned against the piano and tapped the lid lightly twice with her fingers.

"Your vocal cords are well-suited for popular singing, and your tone has a natural narrative quality. However, popular singing demands just as much breath support as bel canto. If you can't sustain your breath, your larynx will rise in the high register, and once it rises, your tone will become tight."

"I'm fine when I practice, but once I finish singing the whole song, I can't keep going in the second half."

"Because your breath control isn't planned. You need to plan in advance where to take a breath, where to sneak a breath, and where to use a quick breath. It's not about singing until you're out of breath and then having to change your breath on the spot. We'll work on this step by step later."

Lai Li turned around and looked at Lin Feng.

"Mr. Lin, Tang Lei gave me a general overview over the phone, but I'd like to hear your explanation. What are your specific thoughts on bringing her to see me?"

Lin Feng briefly explained Shen Jingyi's basic information.

The president of the digital music club sang an original song at the school's New Year's Eve party last year; both the lyrics and music showed a certain level of maturity.

"Don't worry about the fees! I absolutely respect Professor Lai's professional standards. The price will be exactly what it should be."

You can arrange the training intensity according to her capacity. Although time is tight, my idea is not to take shortcuts just to pass the audition.

"Now that I've made up for my weaknesses in the basics, I won't be afraid to go any further in the future."

Lin Feng paused for a moment: "Teacher Lai, you're Tang Lei's friend, so I won't beat around the bush. Her most valuable asset isn't her technique, but the genuine substance in her songs. Technique can be honed, but that substance can't be taught. As you just said, it's not something you can learn through practice."

Riley leaned against the piano and remained silent for a while.

"Tang Lei praised you highly on the phone, saying you have good judgment and are reliable. Meeting you in person today, he certainly speaks frankly." She walked up to Shen Jingyi.

"I have a general idea of ​​your foundation. Your pitch and musicality are above average for a classically trained student. Your vocal break and larynx position need systematic correction, but they're not major issues. I've never seen a typhoon before; I'll have Teacher Yang check your posture during the next class."

She picked up a pencil from the piano, opened the first page of "Kong Kong," and ticked off several etudes.

"Practice these few exercises this week. The key is to open up your lower back when you inhale and keep your diaphragm from collapsing when you exhale."

Practice abdominal breathing for at least half an hour on an empty stomach every morning, then eat. I will check during the next class.

She handed the sheet music to Shen Jingyi: "Today isn't a formal lesson, just a preliminary assessment. From now on, we'll follow the schedule, three times a week, one hour each time, followed by an hour of physical training after the vocal lesson."

""

"Thank you, Teacher Lai."

Shen Jingyi accepted the sheet music with both hands and bowed deeply.