Returning to the county opera troupe in 77

The performance of "Sister Aqing" on the third day went equally smoothly.

Lu Meiyin became a household name in Zaohuaigou, and also showed the local villagers that the county troupe actually had two mainstays.

Before dawn on the fourth day, Chen Xiangdong and the production crew began dismantling the stage and shed.

After a busy day, the loading was finally completed. By the time the tractor returned to the theater troupe's compound with people and supplies, it was already past midnight.

He quickly went back to the woodshed and took a nap, finally shedding his exhaustion.

"Thump, clang, clatter..."

Chen Xiangdong was sound asleep when a series of chaotic drumbeats suddenly came from outside the woodshed, irritating him. He pushed open the door and saw Lin Gouwa sniffling and tapping on a small drum with two chopsticks.

Lin Gouwa stared blankly at Chen Xiangdong, who looked displeased, and timidly shrank back, asking, "What's wrong, bro?"

Chen Xiangdong said irritably, "The troupe's courtyard is huge, why do you have to come to my doorstep to practice?"

"Um, it's close to where I live," Lin Gouwa muttered softly.

Where do you live?

Lin Gouwa pointed to the row of prop and storage rooms separated from the woodshed by a passageway. Chen Xiangdong couldn't help but click his tongue. Hey, they even live right across from him.

"Aren't these rows of houses storage rooms? Do you live here alone?"

Lin Gouwa nodded first, then shook his head: "No, not exactly. I live in a room by myself, and there are a few girls living in the room next door."

"A girl?"

Chen Xiangdong immediately understood. It seemed that Li Zhangqing, Fu Xiaoyue, and those other girls had been arranged to stay in the room next door.

Just then, a door across the hall opened, and Li Zhangqing, now dressed in a clean cotton-padded jacket and trousers, came out. Seeing Chen Xiangdong, she instinctively stopped and timidly called out, "Brother Xiangdong."

Chen Xiangdong nodded and casually asked, "Are you getting used to living here?"

Li Zhangqing pursed his lips and responded, then lowered his head and walked away quickly.

Chen Xiangdong suddenly slapped his forehead and remembered!

Yesterday, when he was coming back on the tractor, Liu Dezhu asked him to come over this morning, saying he would teach him some basic drumming techniques.

He quickly waved goodbye to Lin Gouwa, then turned and hurried towards Liu Dezhu's dormitory.

Chen Xiangdong jogged to Liu Dezhu's dormitory and knocked on the door.

"Come in," came Liu Dezhu's voice from inside.

Pushing open the door, he saw Liu Dezhu sitting on the edge of the bed, fiddling with a pair of drumsticks. Seeing him, he grinned, "I thought you'd forgotten about it."

"No way," Chen Xiangdong chuckled. "Master Liu, where do we begin?"

Liu Dezhu stood up, took a stool and made him sit down, and then placed a small drum between the two of them.

"Do you have drumsticks?"

"No." Chen Xiangdong had thought the other party might give him a pair of drumsticks, but Liu Dezhu bluntly said, "That's right. Drumsticks are a drummer's livelihood. If you don't even have a decent pair of drumsticks, what are you trying to learn to play?"

Chen Xiangdong was taken aback: "Then where do I get it?"

"Find them yourself." Liu Dezhu put the pair of drumsticks on the table, crossed his arms and looked at him. "Find two handy wooden sticks, the length and thickness are up to you. Round them, smooth them, and those are your tools. Only when you're comfortable using them can the drumbeats resonate with you."

After listening, Chen Xiangdong nodded and turned to walk out.

"Hey, where are you going?"

"Looking for a stick."

"Hey? Today, I'll use a pair of drumsticks I made before to practice. You have to return them to me when you're done."

As Liu Dezhu spoke, he pulled a pair of well-worn drumsticks from under his pillow and handed them over. Chen Xiangdong took them and weighed them in his hand; they were just the right weight for him.

Liu Dezhu moved the stool forward a bit. "Relax your wrists and follow along. Today I'll teach you the most basic slow long hammer stroke, which is where most drummers start."

He picked up the drumsticks, flicked his wrist slightly, and a series of even, resonant sounds fell from the drumhead: "The key to slow, long drumbeats is evenness, stability, and continuity. You can't rush it, nor can you break it. Like pulling a bellows, each push and pull must be powerful."

He talked as he played, his arms still, relying entirely on his wrists for power. The drumbeats were neither too fast nor too slow, like raindrops hitting tiles, with a rhythmic sparseness and density. Chen Xiangdong stared at his hands for a long time, then tried to play a couple of times himself, but the drumbeats were as stiff as stones hitting the ground.

"Relax your wrist, don't stiffen it." Liu Dezhu stopped and pressed down on the back of his hand. "You're beating your drum like you're chopping dumpling filling. Is that what you call drumming?"

Chen Xiangdong gave an awkward smile and readjusted his posture. This time, he calmed himself down and tried to find the right feeling for each beat. By the tenth or soth beat, the drumbeats finally started to have some consistency.

Liu Dezhu nodded: "Hmm, it's starting to look promising."

Chen Xiangdong tapped away, getting more and more comfortable with each beat. Compared to the rapid, impenetrable rhythm of the other beats, the slow, long taps were much simpler. The drumbeats became more and more continuous and smooth, as if they had found their own rhythm, flowing out uncontrollably.

As Liu Dezhu watched and listened, a hint of surprise appeared in his eyes.

This is the first time I've ever touched a drumstick, and I've managed to hit it this well?

"stop!"

Liu Dezhu waved his hand, frowned, and looked at Chen Xiangdong: "Have you ever played the drums before?"

Chen Xiangdong was completely absorbed in the drumbeats when the sudden sound startled him so much that he almost dropped the drumstick. He looked at him blankly and said, "I...I already played it, what's wrong?"

Liu Dezhu immediately revealed a "I knew it" expression: "I knew it. How could someone be so proficient at hitting a slow hammer so smoothly in just one hour on their first try?"

Chen Xiangdong blinked: "The day before our troupe went to the countryside, I tried playing the 'quick wind' for half a day. The slow long hammer, this is the first time I've tried it."

"What?"

Liu Dezhu's eyes widened immediately, his expression as if he had seen an alien.

Is this really the first time this guy has ever used a slow hammer? He's only just started learning and he can already do this well?

Liu Dezhu's mind was in turmoil.

When he first learned to play the drum, he couldn't play rhythmically at first. He relied entirely on his perseverance, playing day and night, and pondering whenever he had free time. It took him three whole days to play the long hammer drum properly.

His master praised him for his quick comprehension, saying he had a talent for learning drums.

This little brat... could he be a monster?

He calmed himself down and asked, "You can also play the 'Jiji Feng' (a type of percussion instrument)? Who taught you?"

Chen Xiangdong answered honestly, "You."

Liu Dezhu's face changed, and he was about to scold him, "Bullshit, nonsense, when did I ever teach you?" when he heard him continue, "That day outside the woodshed, didn't you demonstrate it to Lin Gouwa once? So I tried to learn it."

"what?"

Liu Dezhu's mouth gaped open; he was completely stunned.

Performing something once and teaching it in detail from beginning to end are worlds apart. Can Chen Xiangdong really learn it after just one viewing? That sounds like a fantasy.

He took a deep breath, suppressing the restlessness in his heart: "Then... you knock it once and I'll see."

Chen Xiangdong picked up the drumsticks as instructed, scratched his head, and said, "Master Liu, I'm just messing around with it. Please don't laugh at me if I don't play it well."

"Enough talk, just knock."

Chen Xiangdong steadied himself, flicked his wrist, and the drumstick landed on the drumhead.

"Thump thump thump, clang clang, gurgle gurgle..."

The drumbeats were rapid and dense. Although the power was a bit lacking, the rhythm was surprisingly good, with only minor inaccuracies in the key points. Overall, from slow to fast, from sparse to dense, he really captured the essence of "urgency" in his playing.

As he finished playing, he abruptly stopped, the drumsticks hovering in mid-air, and the room instantly fell silent.

Liu Dezhu stared wide-eyed, remaining silent for a long time.

Chen Xiangdong asked cautiously, "How's Master Liu...?"

Liu Dezhu glanced down at the drum, his voice hoarse: "What the hell...did I encounter a monster?"

Just then, a panicked shout came from the courtyard: "Something terrible has happened! The props storage room is on fire!"

"What?"

Chen Xiangdong and Liu Dezhu's expressions changed drastically at the same time. Li Zhangqing, Fu Xiaoyue, and those girls were still living in the props and storage room!

The two men threw down their drumsticks and dashed out the door.