Chapter 15 Don’t Make the Mistake of Empiricism (Seeking Follow-up Reading)
Wang Quan's family finished washing up early and sat neatly in the main room, some reading and some doing needlework.

Hearing the noise of the bicycle, the second brother Wang Heping ran out very actively to help his third brother lift the bicycle.

Even his father Wang Quan could read the newspaper. He really got a headache when he saw the words.

There were more than a dozen magazines neatly tied up on the back seat of the car.

Wang Yuanchao asked in a low voice:

"How was your chat?"

Wang Heping whispered:

"Agreed. Thanks."

Wang Yuanchao didn't say anything else.

After moving the car back to the main room and exchanging a few simple words, everyone went back to their own rooms.

Wang Yuanchao wanted to take a shower in the yard, but his second brother pulled him back to the room and brought him a basin of warm water.

"You want to die? You fainted yesterday, how can you take a shower today? Just solve it quietly! If our dad finds out, he will definitely beat you to death!"

Wang Yuanchao was at a loss whether to laugh or cry. The bump on his head disappeared in the morning!
I had to tidied myself up and went to sleep quickly.
-
The next morning, Wang Yuanchao woke up from his sleep. The feeling of going to bed early and getting up early was really wonderful.

He went to the yard in his slippers to wash up, but of course he had to go to the public toilet outside first.

Mother is busy doing laundry, while the eldest brother is practicing Tai Chi? The second brother has already packed up and is going to catch the early morning bus. He thinks that he will be promoted soon, so he must perform well.

As for the younger sister, she had just returned with the toilet and bumped head-on into Wang Yuanchao who was on the way.

What kind of fairy sister is this!

Yan Jie Di from the Yan family next door is, like my younger sister, also in the first grade of junior high school. She is not as good as Wang Li in study, diligence, appearance and figure. She is not as good as Wang Li. It's really... let's not talk about it anymore.

No wonder the Yan and Wang families, who live opposite each other, can't get along. The comparison between them hurts them so much.

Wang Yuanchao returned to the front yard and began to wash up. His mother asked:

"Would you like a bowl of noodles? I'll make it for you!"

At first glance, the mother looked particularly good. Then, the father had not yet gotten up. Everyone was quiet. The younger sister even turned her morning reading into silent reading. Wang Yuanchao nodded repeatedly.

His mother cooked the noodles very quickly and picked out an egg from the kettle on the side for him. Wang Yuanchao only took a glance and saw that there were two more in the kettle.

He chuckled silently in his heart: Being young has its advantages for men!

In addition to the meat oil, there were also a few oil residues in the noodles. It seemed that his mother really felt sorry for him and wanted him to have a good rest.

Wang Yuanchao went to Chen Xueru's silk shop yesterday. There were height measurements on the wall. He estimated it himself and it was about 168 cm.

So, the eldest brother should be around 172cm tall and the second brother should be around 176cm tall.

My mother is slightly shorter than me, about 165cm tall. My father is about the same height as my older brother, and my younger sister is about 160cm tall.

Therefore, he must improve his nutrition and exercise more. He cannot be lower than his second brother, right?
After breakfast, Wang Yuanchao didn't wait for his father to get up. He put on his beloved all-purpose Jiefang bag, took the huge sum of 5 yuan, including 2 yuan, 1 yuan, 1 yuan, 5 yuan, 5 cents, and 10 cents, handed to him by his mother, stuffed two bottles of good wine into the bag, and went straight to Teacher Cao's house.

Anyway, Teacher Cao can't go to the Children's Palace to teach so early.

Wang Yuanchao saw from a distance that Teacher Cao was fiddling with the flowers and plants in front of his house, oh, the green onions and garlic.

"Good morning, Teacher Cao!"

Teacher Cao is a man in his 30s with a big black mole above his left lip, not far from his philtrum.

As a result, he lost his chance to perform on stage and ended up becoming a music teacher in their school.

"Oh, you're from the Korean War. You're the former first trumpet player in the school's military band. What do you want from me?"

It seems that the teacher's wife told Teacher Cao yesterday that a student came to see him.

"Teacher Cao, I want to take the recruitment exam for the Railway Art Troupe. They only require a junior high school diploma. So, I want to ask you for help to consolidate my knowledge."

Wang Yuanchao followed Teacher Cao home. When he entered the house, he placed two bottles of Xifeng on the table and said:

"My father ordered me to do this. If I take it back, he'll break my legs!"

Cao Yuanxiang retracted his outstretched hand and cursed with a smile:

"You want the teacher to make a mistake!" Wang Yuanchao just stood there scratching his head and grinning foolishly. It was really not appropriate for him to talk, so it was better for him to pretend to be an ignorant boy.

Sure enough, seeing him do this, Teacher Cao shook his head and said:

"When is the recruitment exam for the art troupe? What will the exam cover?"

“On Friday, they didn’t tell me the specific content, they just said there would be a written test, and then there would be an interview after passing the written test.

The brief introduction of the art troupe says that it has four sub-troupes: singing and dancing, rap, drama, and acrobatics.

I am going to take the rap or drama exam."

Cao Yuanxiang thought about it and said honestly;
"Rap groups are all crosstalk performers, you know?"

Wang Yuanchao was stunned. No way? A rap group, a rap group, doesn't it have the word "sing" in it? He even planned to find some music scores with Teacher Cao so that he could practice singing. But the rap group recruited crosstalk performers?
What should he do with his treasure trove of hundreds of songs?
Seeing Wang Yuanchao was stunned by what he said, Cao Yuanxiang comforted him:

"The art troupe is indeed not our school's military band, but it probably recruits people who can play musical instruments. But we have to see their specific requirements to know.

Generally speaking, rap groups and drama groups recruit young talents and want to train them. Think about it, how many junior high school graduates can perform dramas or crosstalk?

Is that the reason?"

Perhaps because he was afraid that Wang Yuanchao did not understand the job screening and training, Cao Yuanxiang explained it in more detail.

But Wang Yuanchao certainly understood. Isn’t it just recruiting management trainees first and then assigning suitable positions?
Confined to the stereotype that the military art troupe was a place where generals sang, he really thought that the railway art troupe also recruited music talents. By then, once his talent for songwriting burst out, it would be unstoppable.

Seeing Wang Yuanchao remained silent, Cao Yuanxiang continued:

"Anyway, you can still review your cultural subjects, especially Chinese and politics.

You have to pass the written test first."

For the art troupe exam, besides Chinese and politics, can't we also take math, physics and chemistry?

After Teacher Cao reminded him, Wang Yuanchao finally realized that he had not prepared for the written test! If he failed the written test, how could he get the interview and the opportunity to show his talent?

So he said:
“Thank you for the tip, teacher.

But Mr. Cao, I also want to get familiar with a few instruments that I used to play. It’s always good to have more skills.”

Cao Yuanxiang frowned. Why didn't this kid listen to my advice? The singing group doesn't recruit trumpet players, they recruit singers! Those are all traditional operas, there's no time to learn them now.

But considering the two bottles of wine sent by the child's parents, of course, I still have to find a chance to return them in two days. I can't help. So I said:

"As the saying goes, keep your fists ready and your songs on your lips. Look at the entrance of the Chinese Academy of Drama, there are so many people warming up their voices every morning.

In terms of professionalism, you are definitely not as good as those who have a family background in technology or those who are gifted.

If you have really made up your mind to join a rap group or a drama troupe, you might as well go back and watch a few more crosstalk performances and dramas to get a feel for it and see if you are suitable for this path in the future.

Of course, you can’t neglect the review of academic subjects. If you can’t pass the written test, everything else is out of the question.”

Teacher Cao put it tactfully: Wang Yuanchao, you are not a professional at all. If you want to join the art troupe, you can only rely on luck.

Wang Yuanchao thought about it and decided that it was more important to find a regular job. Having a regular job means belonging and can protect against risks.

There is no rush for the singing career. Except for some popular songs, most songs may have to wait for ten or twenty years before they can shine.

Anyway, the treasure trove of songs is there and won’t run away.

But if you spend more time with Teacher Cao, you will have sufficient reasons to compose songs for him in the future. He is also a talented person who has been immersed in music for many years and has accumulated a lot of experience.

Wang Yuanchao saw the guitar case hanging on the wall (with the word "guitar" on it), and thought for a moment, and said:
"Then Mr. Cao, I'll learn guitar from you. Anyway, I can't take my dad's wine back."

Cao Yuanxiang was stunned and said with a smile:

“I have only recently started to study this kind of Western musical instrument, and this is the guitar I use at school.

I can’t teach you that.

But if you have time, come to my place and we can study and discuss it together, it's no problem."

[The singing was done by a song and dance troupe, but Wang Yuanchao thought it was done by a dancing troupe, so he didn’t even mention it, and that’s how the misunderstanding ended.]

(End of this chapter)