Chapter 70: Stunning
Zhong Chushan sat not far away, watching Zhou Wangshu play the melody through the curtain.
When that zither music started, the originally noisy hall suddenly fell silent. Whether they understood it or not, everyone was listening to the zither music in a daze.
“Manager, did you change zither players today?” A customer called over the manager and asked.
The manager chuckled and said, “The original zither player is sick today, so we temporarily paid a high price to invite a master craftsman. I wonder what everyone thinks?”
“Good melody, good zither skill. But once his zither music starts, no one pays attention to whether the young ladies dance well or not. I think the young ladies can step down.”
The manager looked around and sure enough, as that customer said, no one in the entire place was watching the dance on stage; everyone was immersed in the zither music.
“This master craftsman is hard to invite. Today was a sudden situation, and we begged him for a long time before he agreed to play one melody. Normally, we couldn’t invite him.” The manager said, “Everyone, please enjoy. I won’t disturb you.”
“Such good zither music can’t be heard every day—it’s really a pity! However, someone with such zither music should have this kind of temperament. If he came to the dance hall every day to play, he wouldn’t qualify as a master craftsman; he’d just be someone fishing for reputation to earn money.”
Zhong Chushan pinched a pastry from the side and bit into it, looking as if he had taken a blow.
He hadn’t performed like this during zither lessons these past few days. If he had, the zither skill master would probably have worshipped him.
“I heard from the servants that you came to see me. I waited half a day without seeing you and had to hobble over to find you—what kind of brother are you?” Chen Buyu appeared, leaning on his crutch.
Zhong Chushan made a shushing gesture.
Chen Buyu looked puzzled. “Since when do you like listening to the zither? We’re all rough people—what’s so good about this stuff? Huh, today’s zither music is really good—nice!”
“Want to go see who the zither player is?” Zhong Chushan said mysteriously.
Chen Buyu pinched a pastry and ate it. “I know the zither players in the dance hall; none of them have this level of zither skill. Did you change zither players? Then this zither player must be expensive, right?”
“You’ll know if you go look.”
Zhong Chushan was acting all mysterious, so Chen Buyu couldn’t help but grow curious. He hobbled over with his crutch. When he lifted the curtain, his eyes bulged like copper bells, and he nearly tripped.
“He he he…” Chen Buyu pointed at the person behind the curtain.
“Shh.”
The melody ended. The manager smilingly came over, bowed to Zhou Wangshu, and said, “Young Master Zhou, could you play one more melody?”
“If I play another melody, the price won’t be the same as before.” Zhou Wangshu smiled. “Also, this is the last melody. Even if you offer a higher price later, I won’t play anymore. I hope the manager won’t agree to the customers’ requests.”
“Of course, of course.”
The melody Zhou Wangshu had just played was particularly lively and joyful to match the style of that dance, with a whole style that made people feel relaxed, like basking in sunlight. Now when the zither music started again, it was like a pair of lovers being intimate and lingering—first full of affection, then overflowing with resentment, then brimming with murderous intent, and finally, in the very end, a sorrowful ending.
This melody was harder to control than the previous one. The entire melody shifted through several moods continuously; without decades of experience, it was impossible to handle such emotions.
After this melody ended, the customers in the entire hall were already in tears. Even a roughneck like Chen Buyu had cried himself into a mess.
“What’s wrong with me? I I I… my eyes must be sick.” Chen Buyu wiped his tears.
The customers in the hall called the manager over. When the manager heard they wanted an encore, he quickly said that the master craftsman had left through the back door after playing the second melody.
After the manager finally appeased the customers, he hurried upstairs to find Zhou Wangshu.
He gave Zhou Wangshu a deep bow and said, “Young Master Zhou, I have an presumptuous request.”
“I can come play ten times a month, two melodies each time, but these ten times will be at my discretion, not open to the public, and you must safely escort me back to the academy afterward.” Zhou Wangshu knew what he wanted without the manager even speaking. “As for the price, fifty taels of silver per month.”
“This…”
“If it’s not possible, forget it. Buyu and I are good friends; actually, I don’t really want to earn this money.”
“Young Master Zhou, please wait a moment. Why don’t you hold on while I go consult the owner?”
“No need to consult. I approve it.” Chen Buyu said. “Where else can you find a master craftsman with my brother’s zither skill? Besides, today’s reputation is out—who knows how many people will come for the reputation? If they come and find there’s no legendary master craftsman, do you want our dance hall’s reputation to be ruined?”
“The young owner is right. Then it’s settled.” The manager said. “If there’s nothing else, I’ll take my leave first.”
“What about today’s pay? And for fifty taels of silver a month, even if you don’t pay it all upfront, shouldn’t you give a deposit?” Chen Buyu reminded.
“The young owner is right to remind me. I’ll have the accountant send it over right away.”
Once the manager left, Zhong Chushan put his arm around Zhou Wangshu’s shoulders and looked at him with astonished eyes. “The zither you play at the academy isn’t much better than mine. What happened today? Come clean, or I’ll tell the teacher at the academy.”
“My mother’s zither skill was excellent. I learned some basics from her starting young. After my mother died, some trouble happened at home, and I was sold by human traffickers, ending up here.”
Zhong Chushan dropped his earlier playfulness and patted his shoulder. “You must have suffered a lot, right? If your mother had such zither skill, your family must have been well-off before.”
“We had some modest property and did some business, but after the incident, I fought wild dogs for food and picked rotten vegetable leaves from gutters… Never mind, never mind.”
“Right, let’s not talk about that.” Chen Buyu’s eyes reddened.
Seeing Chen Buyu’s state, Zhong Chushan said irritably, “Your leg is like this now, but you still can’t change your soft-hearted habit?”
“This is a dance hall, not a brothel. Why force the girls to learn dance? If they don’t want to learn, just let them not learn. Staying here as a maid can still offset the debt!”
“If your parents were as soft-hearted as you, could you still be the young owner of the dance hall?” Zhong Chushan curled his lip. “Soft-hearted.”
“What about you? Your family’s gambling house has chopped off so many people’s fingers and driven so many to death—don’t you feel guilty?”
“Why should I feel guilty? The gambling house is open for people to come play; we didn’t force them in. If they can’t control themselves, who do they blame?”
“It’s getting late; we should head back.” Zhou Wangshu reminded.
