Heaven's Formula

The two interrupted their conversation and looked towards the other end of the hall, only to see a man walking towards this side.

The person who came was the sender of the invitation - Xia Fan.

"Girls, good afternoon." He gestured to everyone to sit down, and he moved a cushion in the center of the lobby and sat down, "Thank you for taking the time to come to the villa. This time, I invite you all because of my fancy." All of you for your outstanding talent and experience in performing."

"One week later, it will be the new year that declares the end of winter and the arrival of new year. Her Royal Highness decided to hold a grand celebration ceremony on this day, and set it as Jinxia's first long holiday. The ceremony will last for three days, and finally There will be many performances in the city in one day, playing music and dancing are indispensable. And this requires the help of everyone to achieve a complete success." Xia Fan smiled, "Although I am in charge of the overall planning and program arrangement, but The specific details still depend on the guidance of professionals."

"My lord, you are too polite." A woman leaned forward and said, "Compared with your helping my little girl, this request is nothing serious."

"Indeed. We may not know anything else, but we still know a thing or two about playing, singing and dancing."

Xia Fan waved his hand, "This is not a simple help, but an extra job, during which the remuneration and necessary subsidies will not be small. If you don't want to accept it, you can ask it at any time—since it's the work of the Bureau, Of course it won't be mandatory."

Not one quit.

Liu Ruyan also had a strange feeling in her heart.

Obviously when showing talent in a drunken brothel, there is always an indescribable boredom and boredom, but at this moment, she doesn't feel repelled at all.

"I understand." Xia Fan nodded after looking around for a week, "That's right - apart from providing consultation and guidance for the celebration, there is another thing that requires your professional ability, and that is to teach someone to sing."

"Who is that person?" Liu Ruyan asked curiously.

"Chi."

I seem to have seen this name somewhere...

Liu Ruyan thought for a while, and then showed a surprised expression, "Could it be that she—"

"That's right," Xia Fan affirmed her guess, "She is the dragon girl in the Shenjin Weekly News."

Chapter 386 The Tortuous Road

In this day and age, it is not appropriate for women to show their faces.

The low status of women stems from the inequality in the labor force, which in turn leads to income inequality.The economic base determines the superstructure. This statement applies to the whole society, and it also applies to the families that make up the society.

Xia Fan opened up a large number of jobs suitable for women to change this situation - and this is not a forceful reversal. With the popularity of qi and various magic tools, individual production capacity is constantly improving. Gender belt The difference in labor force is gradually decreasing.In the past, a blacksmith led three or five apprentices to make a shovel by beating and beating for a long time. Now a female qi-sensing person controls the punching machine of the astronomical instrument, and can smash out a sharp piece in less than half an hour. The income is basically three times that of traditional industries.

It can be predicted that this income will greatly improve the status of female workers in the family.Even if other people want to obstruct it, women with income can move out and live independently.

But this change is slow.Even if the facts have already happened, the old-fashioned concept will continue for a long time.

That's why Xia Fan wanted to take advantage of the New Year's festival to carry out a new round of publicity.

The choice of songs is also the result of much consideration.

First of all, singing is not ashamed—the poet writes lyrics and sings on the spot when he rises up, the fishing boat sings the late return voyage at sunset, and even the ancient carols at the festival are basically scenes that everyone enjoys talking about.Compared with dance, which is a "seductive movement" that shows the beauty of the body, singing is much more popular. As long as it is not the Yingying Yan language dedicated to brothels, folk songs or classic piano music are suitable for both men, women and children, and everyone's acceptance will be higher.

Secondly, songs can convey ideas and inspire people's confidence.

The women gathered here are all good players, and it should not be a problem to compose a catchy folk song for Jinxia City that reflects the changes in the local area.The more it is sung, the spirit in the lyrics will naturally have a subtle influence on people.

In the end, it subverts tradition.

According to past habits, the candidates for singing in this kind of grand ceremony are basically well-known literati or officials of the Ministry of Rites. It has never been used before, let alone a demon as the lead singer of the main axis-this move can be described as every point, All are shaking the traditional concept of Qiguo.

This is exactly what Xia Fan wanted.

After the plan was put forward, Ning Wanjun naturally had no objection, or she had a three-point preference for unconventional things, otherwise she would not have disguised herself as an alchemist to closely observe Xia Fan's performance.

With the consent of the princess and the approval of professionals, the next step is Chi.

……

"So, you want me to present a song of blessing to the people of Jinxia at the end of the ceremony?" Chi raised his chin slightly, looked around at the women with their own merits in the lobby, and then turned his gaze back to Xia Fan, "Cooperate with the amplifying talisman , I can let the whole city hear my voice, but this appearance is not as eye-catching as the soaring dragon."

"It's not just singing." Xia Fan took a cushion and placed it in front of the two of them, "You treat it as a square where you are on stage, surrounded by crowds of people. When the atmosphere is at its peak, you fly from the sky But—" he shook his arm, and then patted the center of the cushion, "finally, amidst the colorful fireworks, it landed straight down and became the focus of everyone's attention."

"Besides, I know what you're thinking about," Xia Fan cleared his throat, "but in fact the real dragon form is too intimidating to people. Everyone has half the fear and respect for you, and it's not suitable for further promoting your reputation. On the contrary. Getting closer to the crowd as an ordinary person will make your image more complete."

"Hmm...it sounds reasonable," Chi pondered for a moment, "If that's the case, then I promise you."

At the same time, Yu Shuangxue and Xin Tao were also quietly looking at the rumored auspicious beast.

"She looks about my age..." Xintao muttered softly, "It's just that the aura is really extraordinary. I think Master Chi's sense of oppression is much stronger than Miss Ao's."

"But she is actually much older than you, so don't be rude later."

"I don't know." The little girl clicked her tongue, "but she is cuter than the portraits in the newspapers, she is just like a fairy walking out of the paintings."

Yu Shuangxue did not deny this point.Although she didn't know what an immortal should look like, she could say that the woman in front of her was an immortal, and no one could raise any objections.The smooth skin is white and rosy, the lips are like cherries, the small bridge of the nose and the eyebrows like willow leaves... the whole face seems to have never experienced the turbidity of the world, and the traces of time are nothing to her effect.And the pair of furry prongs on the top of her head are even more eye-catching, widening the gap between her and ordinary people.

Such a lovely girl with such a cold voice, I don't know what it would be like to sing.

I'm afraid it will be extremely pleasing to the ear.

"Everyone, do you have any good suggestions about the songs for the ceremony?" Xia Fan turned to everyone and asked.

"Lord Xia, how about "Sunshine Snow"?" Xintao raised her hand first to speak—her action startled Yu Shuangxue, and she was relieved after hearing the title of the song.Fortunately...it is a very normal pipa song, the tune is lively and brisk, and it also expresses the scene of winter passing and spring coming, and the earth recovering. It is quite suitable for use in celebrations.At the same time, because it is very famous, there are many excellent lyrics, and there are many choices.

"this is not bad."

"It's just that the rhythm is more changeable, and you need to pay more attention when playing."

"As for this, I think the sisters should not be troubled."

The other women agreed.

Seeing this, Xia Fan quickly made a decision—let Chi try it on the spot.Anyway, musical instruments and other things can be found in the villa.

And everyone is good in this field, after playing a few times each, they reached a conclusion, they unanimously selected Liu Ruyan and Yu Shuangxue to accompany, and Xin Tao was responsible for leading the singing.

After the little girl sang the complete first verse, it was Chi's turn.

The moment the pipa sounded from the beginning, she opened her mouth decisively.

The timing was perfect!

"Ding—" Liu Ruyan's fingers trembled, and she played the wrong string.

This should have been a mistake that shouldn't have been made, but no one at the scene noticed it.

Everyone froze in place.

Xia Fan was also dumbfounded.

It's not because Chi sings so well, but because her singing voice is so bad.Out-of-tune, wrong beat, incomplete tone, white voice - all possible problems, almost all appear in Chi's voice.Mingming was cold and thorough when he spoke, but after singing, he completely changed.

More importantly, Chi didn't know anything about it.

Judging from her expression, she seemed quite satisfied with her ability to memorize the melody, and sang it to the end in one breath.

"How is it?" After singing, Chi let out a long breath and asked with unsatisfactory meaning.

Kong Xuanzi who accompanied her couldn't help covering his face.

Chapter 387 An Idol Never Says Die

"This..." Xia Fan coughed twice, "Is there an easier song?"

"Then try "Bailigui·Pingdiao"." Yu Shuangxue suggested.

The piano sounded again.

But the result is the same as the first one.

Compared with these women in front of her, Miss Long's singing talent is terribly low.

In order to confirm that it wasn't the reason for the melody itself, Xia Fan even tried to sing it himself, and the feedback he got was not bad, even Chi nodded slightly and said, "I didn't expect you to sing well, it's not too bad compared to me." too much."

The scene fell into silence for a moment.

Xia Fan had no choice but to call Kong Xuanzi aside, "Are dragons not naturally suitable for singing?"

"This... I don't know." The latter whispered, "Whether it was in Penglai or on the way of traveling in the six countries, I have never heard Master Chi sing any songs. At that time, she shouldered a heavy burden, and she was always smiling. Show less, and it will only change after coming to Jinxia City. But..."

"But what?"

"It is recorded in the history books that there were ancestors who sang loudly when it rained. The voice seemed to reach people's hearts like magic, and attracted the whole city to sing together. As for whether it sounds good or not, I don't know. After all, I am just an ordinary person , the only dragon I've ever seen is Master Chi."

Xia Fan patted him on the shoulder and stopped asking.

The conclusion is already obvious.

Insufficiency is Chi's personal problem.

In the graceful and changeable ancient songs, this shortcoming will be infinitely magnified. It’s okay to sing for self-entertainment on weekdays, but as long as you go on stage, you will definitely become the laughing stock of everyone.

Looking at the embarrassing expressions on everyone's faces, Chi finally sensed that something was wrong with the atmosphere.

Her eyes narrowed slightly, and a terrifying light seemed to shine from her bottomless vertical pupils.However, Miss Long quickly reacted and covered her eyes with her hands—even if she used her aura to suppress everyone's doubts in her heart, it would not change any facts.She approached Xia Fan with small steps, and asked with a little guilt, "Is this plan... not too good?"

"There are only alternatives."

"……what is that?"

"A piece of music for the listener, which suits your style." Xia Fan mused.It is definitely not his way to give up halfway. Since ancient songs are not good, then use simpler popular songs.Relying on the mixing of multiple instruments to cover up the lack of singing skills, the repeated cycle of the main and chorus is undoubtedly easier to learn, and he really thought of a piece of music, even if it is out of tune, it has a unique flavor.

As for whether the masses would accept it, Xia Fan wasn't too worried.

Only literati who control the discourse power in the field of quyi will care about tradition.

People don't care much about tradition.

History has proved countless times that as long as something has advantages, or is simple and friendly to the people, it will be a matter of time before it becomes popular.

……

The turmoil continued until the evening before the process of the celebration was roughly determined.

Xia Fan walked into the princess' bedroom and handed over the proposal to Ning Wanjun.

The latter flipped through it briefly, "Hmm...do I even want to speak on stage?"

"I went to Shangyuan City this time and saw the Lantern Festival. I have to say that the original intention of this festival is quite good." Xia Fan put his hands by the fire and rubbed them together, "The people in power summed up the past in front of the people. , Explaining the future will also allow the people under the rule to know more clearly the direction of future policies and life. Of course, the link of lighting up lights is not necessary, after all, this is Jinxia City, and it should have its own unique way of celebrating. "

"You want to turn it into a new tradition?" Ning Wanjun quickly realized the key to this move.

"Exactly." Xia Fan smiled, "The so-called sense of belonging is essentially brought about by differences in customs. As long as the city changes fast enough, migrants can easily integrate into the local area—for these two groups of people anyway. For them, what they accept is new, and the gap between their cognitions cannot be widened."

If a place remains the same, the migrants will spontaneously gather together, making it difficult for them to truly become part of the new city even after many years have passed.Therefore, for Jinxia City, which has absorbed a large number of refugees, it is obviously beneficial and harmless to use new traditions to bridge this gap.

Ning Wanjun nodded thoughtfully, and then pushed a book to the side of the table, "By the way, the tree species manual was also sent by the Silver Star Tree Boat. Their new elder seems to want to sign a covenant with Jinxia as soon as possible." , open up trade, as we did with Noah the Elf."

Xia Fan took the book, "What do you think, Your Highness?"

"In principle, there is no problem, just sign another copy according to the template on the other side." Ning Wanjun seems to have considered this issue, "But Noah returns to Noah, Silver Star returns to Silver Star, the two covenants can be similar, But not completely consistent."

"Why?" he asked intentionally.

"The combined number of elves on the two tree boats has exceeded [-]. If a few more ships come, wouldn't they overtake Jinxia City? Signing the covenant separately can at least maintain the difference between the tree boats. If there is any problem in the future, It’s not enough to overturn a boat of people with one shot.” ​​The princess pondered, “Of course, there should be no obvious difference in treatment, otherwise Jinxia will be suspected of provoking internal disputes. Didn’t you say that the Bureau is preparing to make portable guides— —”

"That's called an ID card."

"In short, it may be possible to make a fuss about this, such as marking which tree boat the holder is from on the certificate issued to the elves, so that it will not be offensive and maintain a certain distinction."

Xia Fan raised the corner of his mouth. Being able to consider such details shows that Princess Guangping has taken another step forward in governance.

"I have no opinion."

He opened the book, read it and asked, "Isn't Silver Star's spiritual tree seed exactly the same as Noah's?"

"According to the elves, there are two or three differences." Ning Wanjun replied, "If the tree boats are farther apart, the difference in seeds will be greater. They also said that the environments at the southern and northern ends of World Island can be different." It’s so different that it’s like two worlds, so the tree boats in each area will also have a division of labor in production.”

Could it be that the spirit tree is exploring different evolutionary directions... Xia Fan couldn't help thinking to himself, it sounds incredible that a single plant can evolve into an evolutionary tree diagram that can only be displayed by thousands of species.It would be great if I could go to World Island to take a look in the future.

Turning to the last page of the book, a special spherical fruit caught his attention.

The elves call it "bug fruit".

The size of this fruit looks similar to that of a coconut, and the shell is covered with fluff, which can secrete a very viscous colloidal liquid to stick to the bugs, and then absorbed by the fluff.The islanders will break open the fruit when it is ripe, and take out the colloid inside to glue bows and arrows, armor, and even furniture and other utensils. It is also one of the special products of Silver Star.

Xia Fan picked up the pen and ticked it lightly, and included it in the next batch of transaction lists.

Chapter 388 Extra Remuneration

……

"Pang pong."

There was a knock on the door outside the wooden house, "Is Miss Ao there?"

Olina opened the door and found a clerk from the Bureau standing outside.Seeing Longnu, he took a heavy package from behind and put it at the door of the room, then took out a small book and handed it to her, "This is the newly approved extra reward, please press your fingerprint here to show that you have paid received a reward."

finally come!

Olina quickly pressed her fingerprints and took the package into the room.