Jiang Hua was led to the practice room.
Inside, there was a complete set of musical instruments, and many girls were practicing.
The main leaders of the art troupe were all present.
When Jiang Hua was brought in by Director Cai, all the young girls turned their heads to look at him, whispering and muttering unknown words.
Jiang Hua had some understanding of Yue Opera. It was dominated by female roles, and the recruited male performers were mostly responsible for makeup, stage design, and musical instruments.
Two teachers quietly asked the director, "Director, why are you recruiting a young male actor? We don't have a precedent for this. Besides, he's too tall. We can't find a suitable partner for him on stage."
Director Cai waved her hand and said, "Who told you he's a young male actor? I recruited him as an erhu player. He says he can also play the suona and guzheng. Let's see what you think of him."
One of the teachers said, "I don't think he's any good. He's too young. Look at our musicians. Each of them has been immersed in their craft for many years. We are the face of Yue Opera. We can't recruit people carelessly."
The other teacher also shook her head. "I don't think it'll work out. Someone who claims to be good at everything is not proficient in anything."
"Let's give him a try first. He came all the way here," Director Cai said.
The others nodded in agreement.
"Jiang Hua, why don't you try playing the erhu first? We'll listen."
Jiang Hua immediately put down his backpack, picked up an erhu nearby, and tested it. The tuning was quite good.
"Dear teachers, I will perform 'Galloping War Horses.'"
Director Cai smiled. This kid was a fighter, choosing a level 10 difficulty piece right from the start.
Jiang Hua quickly immersed himself in the performance. At first, everyone was indifferent, but halfway through, one teacher let out a surprised "Oh!"
She looked at Jiang Hua in astonishment. Opera and music were inseparable, and they all had basic judgment.
When he reached the climax of the piece, everyone in the practice room stopped what they were doing and stared at this handsome young man in shock.
Jiang Hua was not affected at all. He closed his eyes and finished playing the piece.
"This..."
This performance was on par with the erhu teacher who had just retired from the art troupe, but that teacher had been immersed in the craft for a lifetime.
This young man was about the same age as the erhu teacher's grandson. How was this possible?
Jiang Hua gently put down the erhu in his hands. He could feel that this erhu had an owner and was well-tuned.
He asked softly, "Director Cai, may I play the bamboo flute next?"
Director Cai noticed that his eyes were bright, unlike those who came from the entertainment industry. He was very pure.
But even the purest person needed to make a living. Just now, he had asked her if he could do business on the side.
She had almost denied him. The young man was probably worried about not being able to earn money and not being able to marry a wife. Haha.
Thinking of this, she smiled and said, "Come, come, give it a try."
Next, Jiang Hua played all the instruments in the practice room one by one, all famous pieces, and his performances were above average.
Of course, the erhu remained his best instrument.
Damn, was he even human? He could play all the instruments. How did he fare so poorly in the entertainment industry?
If they hadn't seen Jiang Hua perform with their own eyes, they would have thought he had hired someone to play for him.
The key was that Jiang Hua was too young. Even if he learned one instrument per year, he would have had to start learning a year ago.
The gap between a genius and an ordinary person was as vast as the distance between heaven and earth.
The teachers and students present were all amazed, feeling as if they had seen a monster.
There was complete silence.
Director Cai had only given him a chance. She still wanted to recruit someone with a bit more experience, and Jiang Hua had a contract.
But in this situation, the few teachers looked at each other. Recruiting this guy was a bargain.
One person could sing, dance, and play various instruments.
If only this guy could clone himself.
The two teachers who had doubted Jiang Hua earlier now looked embarrassed.
It was a misunderstanding. This guy wasn't a young male actor but a master of musical instruments.
The main reason was that Jiang Hua's appearance was too good, causing them to misunderstand at first glance.
Jiang Hua looked at them without saying a word, seizing another opportunity for himself.
"Director Cai, I can also sing opera. Let me sing 'A Fairy Sister Lin Falling from the Sky' for you."
Hey, this kid was still not satisfied and wanted to sing opera. They might not be experts in musical instruments, but singing opera was their specialty.
One teacher said defiantly, "Yunxiao, come and be his stage partner."
Director Cai also laughed. "Alright, if you sing well, we'll take you."
Jiang Hua immediately became happy. As long as he entered the establishment, writing novels, releasing new songs, and live streaming to earn money after work wouldn't be considered a violation of the rules.
He didn't have a strong desire for material things. Let's set a small goal first. Earning 100 million yuan would be enough for him.
"Ahem."
Jiang Hua took a stance and began to sing.
"A fairy sister Lin falls from the sky, like a light cloud emerging from the mountains."
It had to be said that this guy could indeed sing, and he sang quite well. The main thing was that he was a man, singing in the vocal style of a young female role.
It was a bit strange, but somehow pleasant to hear.
Yunxiao, who was his stage partner, had a very standard vocal style, clearly better than Jiang Hua's. But Jiang Hua was a man, someone who had been in the entertainment industry and was accustomed to singing pop music.
Seeing it this way made it very impressive.
This young man was a treasure. It was good that he had been banned, otherwise she wouldn't have been able to find such a gem.
But how could they resolve the contract issue? The art troupe was only a second-level institutional unit, making it difficult to coordinate.
Director Cai frowned. Jiang Hua thought she was still unsatisfied and said one last thing.
"I can write scripts. I can create Yue Opera that young people will like."
"Yue Opera that young people will like, Yue Opera that young people will like."
Director Cai repeated this sentence twice, and then her eyes lit up. Nowadays, young people liked watching movies and enjoyed Korean pop music.
They just didn't like listening to traditional opera.
Traditional opera needed to get closer to young people. It needed to change and couldn't continue with the same old ways.
She clapped her hands and said with determination, "Little Jiang, you're hired. But the salary at our art troupe may not be as high as what you earned in the entertainment industry. Think it over carefully."
Jiang Hua asked weakly, "Does it include room and board, and do you offer five insurances and one fund?"
The teachers glanced at each other and then burst into laughter.
This kid was very interesting, not tainted by the entertainment industry at all. He was quite good, just the type of person they needed.
"We offer five insurances and one fund, and there's also a performance fee for each show."
This meant he had secured a formal position.
"Then thank you, Director Cai."
Before he could finish speaking, Jiang Hua's phone rang. The caller ID showed it was his manager.
He should be considered his former manager. After being banned, the manager had taken on other newcomers.
Jiang Hua had no economic value to them.
Director Cai frowned and glanced at Jiang Hua.
"Answer it."
Director Cai was very gentle. She knew about Jiang Hua's situation in recent years. It was all because her younger daughter was a fan of Jiang Hua.
Jiang Hua answered the phone, and a roaring voice came from the other end.
"Jiang Hua, where the hell are you? This is your last chance. Manager Li's bar is having its opening. You're supposed to go to the bar to show support and entertain a few of her friends. If you don't come, you can forget about ever getting on stage again."
The voice was very loud. Jiang Hua didn't have time to leave the practice room.
To put it bluntly, they just wanted him there because he was handsome, to accompany wealthy ladies for drinks.
Director Cai was furious. This was simply an insult to the arts. How dare they treat a great talent like Jiang Hua in this way?
No, she had to go find the bureau chief. She refused to believe that under the vast sky of this great nation, a few flies could fly about recklessly.
...