I Got Rich in Period Fiction
Chapter 453: The Embroidered Gold Plaque

Chapter 453: Chapter 453: The Embroidered Gold Plaque

The previously silent Old Man Qiao suddenly said, "The Erhu, ah, how many years have I not heard Yulan play the Erhu? That girl had such a spirit, and back then, so many people said it was a pity she was born in the countryside. If she had been born in the city, who knows what she would’ve become."

"You’ve heard it, how come I haven’t?"

"This child, I watched her grow up. Old Fang was a good person, it’s just a shame he was born at the wrong time."

"Why do I feel like this is all a dream? Besides farming and looking after children, how could Yulan even know how to play the Erhu?"

"What do you new youngsters know? In the past, everyone knew that this child started playing the Erhu at three, and by the age of eight, she could play ’Moon Reflected in Two Springs’ so beautifully. She’s even accompanied singers in duet operas and songs..."

A crowd began eagerly sharing this bit of common knowledge.

Then someone shouted, "Yulan, start!"

Lin Wen’s mind was still in turmoil, with all the sounds drilling into his ears and buzzing chaotically in his brain, yet he pieced it all together in an instant.

His wife, Fang Yulan, knew how to play the Erhu since she was three and was a musical prodigy, but how did he not know this?

His rural wife, with her somewhat rough hands, had once played the Erhu?

What a joke, this must be some kind of trick, right?

Fang Yulan slowly sat down, placed the Erhu on her lap, picked up the bow, closed her eyes for a moment, and then slowly opened them again. She glanced at the thronging crowd, where it was far from silent, actually quite noisy, but there was an undeniable passion on everyone’s faces, and she immediately saw Lin Wen sitting in the front holding their youngest son, with their eldest son beside him.

The three men were all gaping at her, as if they still hadn’t snapped out of their surprise.

Especially Lin Wen, who had an indescribable look on his face.

It was a look she had never seen on him before.

The next second, with a movement of Fang Yulan’s hand, a melodious and affectionate prelude began to sound across the open space in front of the Qiao Family Team’s office, amplified by the microphone.

As the music began, the place instantly quieted down.

This Erhu was the one her grandfather had used, which Fang Yulan had thought was destroyed. The one Qiao Qingyu gave her that day was borrowed from a neighbor. All she did was mention this back at her parents’ house and unexpectedly, her mother took out a wooden box from an outside storage room and brought out the Erhu, already repaired. The instrument was handcrafted by her grandfather and produced an exceptionally beautiful sound...

At this moment, it even seemed as though people could hear a gentle singing voice.

"A broad river with wide waves, the wind blows the fragrance of rice flowers onto both banks..."

The leader of the cultural publicity team stood on one side of the stage, watching the woman who was, in fact, a village woman, with a complex expression. He had been involved in cultural work for over forty years, and though there had been interruptions, he never abandoned it, only stayed behind the scenes.

His teacher had once said that if there was a chance, he would like to discover those artists hidden among the people.

Those artists, due to lack of opportunity, could not attend professional schools to learn, nor had the chance to showcase their talents, and thus blended into obscurity.

Regrettably, before he could undertake this task, his teacher unexpectedly passed away.

Now he felt his teacher’s words were very true, there were truly masters among the common folk.

This was a musical prodigy who could play tunes without learning sheet music.

It seemed that her talent was engraved in her very marrow. She wondered if it was possible to bend the rules and recruit this person into the cultural publicity team?

Qiao Qingyu finally breathed a sigh of relief. Once the music started, Sister-in-law Yulan would become immersed in her world, and that was when she looked her most beautiful.

People, as long as they have something they do well, why not take the chance to show it?

Not for others, but for themselves.

Because Fang Yulan was from their own village, the members of the Qiao Family Team felt particularly proud. After "My Motherland" concluded, a few elders who were particularly good friends with Mr. Fang stood up to make a request, "Yulan girl, could you play ’Embroidered Purse’ for us?"

Then others started chanting, "Another one, another one..."

In fact, this was supposed to be the final performance.

Now the space at the team headquarters was brightly lit and filled with a cacophony of voices. Qiao Zhiyuan stood nearby with a megaphone, raising his voice to say, "Quiet, quiet! Everyone quiet down, or you can all go home, and I won’t let you watch anything..."

His words were simple but sincere.

Then Qiao Zhiyuan looked towards Fang Yulan. Whether ’Embroidered Purse’ would be played was up to her. He had heard Mr. Fang play it on the Erhu before.

Of course, Fang Yulan could play it. She turned to look at the captain of the cultural publicity team. After all, it was their stage. Having already played ’My Motherland’ for the villagers today, she felt completely content.

How could the cultural publicity team captain refuse? He quickly nodded, signaling her to continue.

Fang Yulan sat down again, and next to Lin Wen, his eldest son clutched his hand and excitedly exclaimed, "Daddy... Daddy... Mom is amazing, she’s so amazing."

Her son thought his mom was amazing, and he had long experienced just how incredible she was, yet he hadn’t expected her to have even greater talents.

Indeed, the night was brimming with merriment, fervor, and excitement, much like when the film projection team first came to the village to show a movie.

But as the ’Embroidered Purse’ began, everyone fell silent. The familiar tune was melodic and lingering, "During Lantern Festival in the first month, the purse unfolds..."

The older people instantly found their eyes brimming with tears. It could be said, even those born in the seventies often couldn’t understand their parents’ adoration for the great figures.

Those people were immovable pagodas in their hearts.

To put it more dramatically, their luster was truly enduring and undiminished.

What should have been a cheerful occasion turned to tears for some older individuals.

This piece, even this song, every time it was heard it brought tears to the eyes, much less when played on the Erhu—an instrument that drew forth echoing, sorrowful sounds full of deep emotion. Even the leader of the cultural publicity team hadn’t realized that he himself was moved to tears.

Lin Wen watched Fang Yulan on the stage, his eyes full of amazement.

That was his wife, who married him in her teens, bore him two sons, and later almost turned enemies with him, until he returned to her side once more, and had stayed there to this day.

Yet, it was only at this moment that he realized he was seeing Fang Yulan as if for the first time!

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