After the performance, the audience’s applause was relentless, and the actors had already stepped to the side of the stage but it didn’t stop. It was time for an encore. Zhou Sihe had already walked to the stage entrance, yet the audience was still clapping. He came back.
Zhou Sihe, together with his partner, performed a short segment for the audience and then had an idea, saying, “Today’s warm-up includes my apprentice and some relatives; let me call them up. I know, there are also some of their fans.”
The audience was willing, and so were the viewers in the live broadcast room, all speculating that Qi Shejiang would come up for the encore.
Qi Shejiang had just finished his performance and gone down earlier, but everyone was eager to hear him talk about his thoughts, especially since it turned out he didn’t just have skills in the art of “liu huar,” but he was actually quite good at it.
“Now, this is Jesse, a young crosstalk performer, my former idol,” Zhou Sihe concluded, and everyone laughed.
Qi Shejiang slightly bowed again.
“Earlier, he performed ‘Pi Jingxi’ with my apprentice Liu Qing, and they did very well,” Zhou Sihe stated, “I can see everyone still wants to hear more, right?”
“Absolutely!!”
“Let’s do another one!”
Zhou Sihe said with a smile, “Hey, just now we sang Peking opera, but I know Jesse sings big drum very well; why don’t you give us a segment from that?”
There was a moment of silence before applause erupted again.
Didn’t they say that Qi Shejiang had a strange style with the big drum?
“
However, because of the Peking opera Qi Shejiang had just given, the audience chose to applaud. They could not help but whisper to each other, wondering what kind of flavor he would bring, worried that it might ruin the good impression left by the previous Peking opera.
Zhou Sihe knew this very well, which was precisely why he had Qi Shejiang sing big drum; he was standing with Meng Jingyuan, deliberately trying to give Qi Shejiang a chance to shine.
He hadn’t personally heard Qi Shejiang’s big drum, but he trusted his senior brother’s judgment. Moreover, he wasn’t like those clueless peers; he had insider information and knew Qi Shejiang was indeed a protégé of traditional arts.
This wasn’t prearranged; it was all a spur-of-the-moment decision. Qi Shejiang immediately responded, “Liu Qing sings very well too; let’s do a duet.”
This was a mutual give-and-take; Zhou Sihe elevated Qi Shejiang, and he would also uplift Zhou Sihe’s apprentice, allowing everyone to share the spotlight. They had understood each other during rehearsals and he knew Liu Qing’s capabilities.
Liu Qing was momentarily stunned, but his fellow apprentices pushed him to the front, and the audience erupted in applause to encourage him.
Previously, the segment they performed was quite one-sided, mostly led by Qi Shejiang as the main narrator. However, Liu Qing also supported him, bringing the audience’s emotions up.
At that moment, some outsiders who had previously criticized Qi Shejiang’s basic skills quickly took to Weibo, saying, “Qi Shejiang wants to pull off a beautiful comeback, but he’s too eager. His Peking opera is quite well imitated, but his big drum—that’s not called flavor! Anyone who has heard the live version of ‘He Bi Xi Xiang’ knows it’s completely off-key. They can fool ordinary audiences, but among experts, he’d lose all the face he earned earlier! Zhou Sihe’s fans are into this; if he doesn’t get called out, it’s just his lucky day.”
In an instant, the atmosphere in the live room darkened, especially for Qi Shejiang’s fans, who felt a pang of anxiety.
No one likes their idol being called out while standing on stage.
But their idol was mixed-race, had lived abroad for so long, and could sing traditional Peking opera, which was a huge surprise for them; let alone big drum… Many younger fans didn’t even know that genre.
Those comments sounded so confident; how could they not worry?
“I’ll sing you a famous segment from the big drum piece ‘Qin Tiao.’ Let’s do a line each,” Qi Shejiang was currently preparing to sing with Liu Qing.
“This piece tells the story of Song Dynasty scholar Pan Buzheng going to the capital for an exam, encountering the beautiful nun Chen Miaochang playing the qin at the Nu Zhen Guan temple, and they gradually develop feelings for each other,” Qi Shejiang first introduced the story to the audience.
Once the introduction was finished, he cleared his throat and sang while leaning on the prop table, “In the late spring of March, with birds singing and flowers fragrant, mandarin ducks play in the pond. Behind that pond stands a temple called Nu Zhen Guan, where a nun named Chen Miaochang is…”
An old gentleman in the audience who was used to listening to traditional arts exclaimed, “Who just said this young fellow’s big drum isn’t as good as Peking opera!”
The vocalization was splendid yet delicate, characterized by the signature smooth high notes that were open and expansive, with full emotions and deep charm, capturing the very essence of Meihua big drum!
Chapter Eighteen
The predecessors of the crosstalk community were also secretly watching the live broadcast. After this segment, they couldn’t help but press their hearts, feeling a lingering fear. Thankfully, they hadn’t spoken up earlier; otherwise, it would be a swift slap to their faces.
This Jesse is simply toxic! Why didn’t you say so earlier?
You’ve been called a vase for months!
If they were like that, what about those who barely understood? They were instantly rendered speechless.
No need for these people to analyze; the applause and cheers from the audience said it all.
The most wonderful thing is that, upon careful appreciation, although Qi Shejiang is singing authentic Meihua Daggu, it is different from the way he learned to sing Peking opera in the previous Liu Hu. His Meihua Daggu does not seem to imitate any famous artists. If they had to judge, this is more like a new style! No one can believe that Qi Shejiang created this himself; that’s a skill that establishes a new school. They secretly wonder if his talent is passed down from the elusive Haiqing. That would be a master among the common people. They do not know that Qi Shejiang, as the sole inheritor of the Zidi Shu tradition, came here eighty years ago and has not learned any current schools, naturally standing out on his own. “Good, good!” After the two finished their duet, Zhou Sihe said with a smile, “Can you perform a solo piece of Jingyun Daggu, would ‘Hongmei Ge’ work?” Liu Qing stepped back a bit, Qi Shejiang nodded and began to sing: “Light rain drizzles past the small window, idly I send ink and brush my wildness. The east wind is most feared for its cruelty, fallen petals mourn their beautiful but cold fragrance.
