On their day off, Jiang Hua took the three young girls with him.
Following the address Wei Yuan had sent, they took a taxi.
Li Yunxiao asked, "Jiang Hua, you're not going to sell us, are you?"
Jiang Hua gave her a side-eye, "Only if someone wants to buy. You're all so skinny, not much meat on you."
This offended all three women, who started verbally attacking Jiang Hua.
The car stopped at the entrance of an old-looking alley. Even Jiang Hua wondered if they had come to the wrong place.
Looking at this secluded area with a few three-wheeled cargo vehicles on the road, Jiang Hua wondered if he might actually be the bad guy here.
Junjun walked ahead nonchalantly.
The two younger girls quickly went to hold her hands, one on each side.
Jiang Hua felt envious. The ancestors' strict selection process wasn't for nothing. To be a lead actress in the Yue Opera troupe,
You couldn't even get in if you weren't beautiful.
Soon, they stopped in front of a closed shop.
"Wait here, I'll go knock."
Li Yunxiao whispered something in Junjun's ear, and the three girls became a bit nervous, stepping back slightly.
The shop door opened from inside, and a young man with messy hair stood there.
"Are you Liu Chao? I'm Wei Yuan's friend, here to record songs today."
Liu Chao glanced at the three girls behind Jiang Hua, his eyes full of disdain.
Another one trying to impress girls by recording songs. He had seen too many of these.
Record a few songs to act like an artistic youth, trying to deceive naive young girls.
How could Wei Yuan make such friends?
He said, "Recording is fine, 1000 yuan per song."
The girls covered their mouths. It was so expensive, 1000 yuan per song!
"Can I take a look at the equipment first?"
Liu Chao didn't say anything, but turned and walked into the shop.
"Jiang Hua, it's so expensive. Let's find somewhere else," Qingqing tugged at Jiang Hua's sleeve, thinking it was too costly. Eleven songs would cost over 10,000 yuan.
They had just started performing in New Dragon Gate Inn and didn't have much performance pay. This was two months' salary.
Jiang Hua smiled, "This is the normal price for recording. More professional producers start at 10,000 minimum."
"Making music is really expensive."
This amused Jiang Hua. Making music wasn't just expensive, it didn't even make money.
Many singers had changed careers.
"Alright, let's go in. After we're done, I'll treat you to hot pot."
"Haha, sounds good!"
Now they weren't afraid anymore. They all entered the recording studio.
It was small, but fully equipped. Things were piled messily, but the instruments were well-maintained.
Liu Chao sat to the side and said, "One thousand per song. If you need accompaniment, that's extra. I'll have to call someone in for that."
Li Yunxiao wanted to say this was a rip-off, even worse than her Dragon Gate Inn.
Jiang Hua quickly stopped her. This little girl shouldn't speak carelessly.
"That's fine, we can handle it," he said and started setting things up.
He could play all the instruments, why would he need to call anyone?
Liu Chao smirked on the side. Still pretending. This guy was really going all out to impress girls.
But these girls were really pretty. He should warn them later.
"We cried,
We laughed, we looked up at the sky,
A few stars still shining..."
Jiang Hua tested the sound. Liu Chao immediately sat up straight.
These lyrics were good, though the accompaniment wasn't finished yet.
He walked over to Jiang Hua and glanced at the music score in the notebook. It showed some skill.
Jiang Hua quickly finished the accompaniment, and Chen Lijun did a sound check.
As soon as the opera vocals came out, Liu Chao was stunned. It was so damn impressive.
The arrangement, the style, it was so bold. Opera vocals mixed with traditional Chinese style, it was breathtaking.
Since it was Chen Lijun's first time recording, there were some flaws. Jiang Hua stood beside her, patiently explaining.
Qingqing watched the two from outside the recording booth, saying, "Yunxiao, I think Jiang Hua is so handsome. He can do everything. But I feel like he's a bit distant from us. If he becomes famous, he'll definitely leave the art troupe, right?"
"He wouldn't dare. He made a promise to the director to work in the art troupe until retirement."
"If Jiang Hua runs away, I'll drag him back," Li Yunxiao said fiercely, glaring at Jiang Hua.
They quickly got into the groove. Professional opera vocals were indeed different.
It took less than an hour to record the first song.
Jiang Hua came out, and Liu Chao immediately stood up from the mixing console.
"Damn, brother, are you a professional? This sister's opera vocals are amazing too. Brother, add my contact, I'll give you a discount."
This was good news. With Liu Chao's cooperation, they finished recording all the opera-style songs. Jiang Hua wrote an additional song "Chi Ling" for Qingqing.
It wasn't breathtaking, but it should be quite popular.
The girls were all hungry. Jiang Hua could record the rest of the songs by himself.
"Let's go eat!"
Qingqing was still listening to her recorded song on her phone, hardly believing it.
So this was how songs on music apps were made.
Everyone downloaded the three songs they recorded onto their phones.
They treasured them, listening as they walked.
"Boss, what time do you close at night? I have a few more songs I want to record later."
Liu Chao snapped back to reality.
"Oh, Teacher Jiang, you can come anytime."
Jiang Hua nodded, preparing to pay.
Liu Chao stopped him, saying, "No, no, no need to pay. Teacher Wei Yuan and I are best friends. His friends are my friends. You coming to record here is an honor for me."
"That's not right..."
Liu Chao patted his chest, saying, "What's not right about it? As long as you can give me some guidance in the future, Teacher."
Li Yunxiao pulled Jiang Hua aside and whispered, "Jiang Hua, this doesn't seem right. We should pay. Or we can chip in for you."
Jiang Hua smiled, "How could I let you pay? When these songs become hits, I'll cover your extra meals for the year."
The girls were happy, though they didn't believe these songs would become popular.
It couldn't be that easy, right?
Jiang Hua transferred 3000 yuan to Liu Chao, saying, "Brother, take this for a morning's work. As for guidance, we'll learn from each other. It's nothing special."
Liu Chao stood at the door, watching them leave, feeling it was incredibly harmonious.
A talented man with beautiful women. Teacher Jiang had already won him over with his talent.
As soon as Jiang Hua and the others left the alley, Liu Chao immediately took out his phone and sent a voice message to Wei Yuan.
"Wei Yuan, where the hell did you find this genius? Damn, it's absolutely amazing. Opera vocals with traditional Chinese style, can you believe it?"
"I got goosebumps. After doing music for so many years, I feel like what I've been doing before was shit."
"I don't care, where the hell are you? Come back and form a band. This friend of yours is too incredible. Let him write a song for us. Just one song, and we could be famous."
He was so excited he almost jumped up, the three songs still echoing in his ears.
The music industry was about to experience an earthquake.
...