They’re all reborn, what’s wrong with being a little more almighty?

Chapter 275: Seconds
In the dormitory, Zhang Wei sat on the edge of the bed, practicing guitar awkwardly.

Lu Yunxiang looked at Zhang Wei curiously and said, "Brother, why don't you buy a guitar yourself!"

"What's the matter? I just used your guitar. Are you feeling sorry for it? You're so stingy!" Zhang Wei said.

"It's not that I'm stingy, I just think it's a waste for someone of your level to use my guitar." Lu Yunxiang replied.

Ye Haotian also chimed in: "Yeah, I also think that with your level, you shouldn't mess with this Martin guitar. It makes me sad just looking at it. How about I accompany you to the second-hand instrument store and pick one for you?"

"Why buy second-hand? I have money. I can buy two new ones and switch the bullets!" Zhang Wei said with a smile.

"You don't understand! Old instruments can be better than new ones. Guitars, basses and amps haven't changed much in more than half a century. Drums, brass and wind instruments have changed even less.

Moreover, the degree of automation in musical instrument manufacturing is relatively low, and there are a large number of manual links in the middle, so the quality will fluctuate with the level of production control.

The older the musical instrument is, the higher the level of manual production. Those that can be passed down must have been of relatively high quality. Only good musical instruments have the meaning of being preserved.

In terms of materials, second-hand guitars are also better. For example, the Martin guitar in your hand used to be made of mahogany and rosewood. Where can you find a guitar made of Bavarian rosewood now? Brazil has stopped exporting that stuff a long time ago.

Another example is the bridge of the guitar. In the past, Martin guitars used to be made of ivory. Now, if you dare to use ivory to make a guitar, you will be forced to step on a sewing machine!" Ye Haotian explained slowly.

"I see. It's like redwood furniture. The more you stock up, the more valuable it is!" Zhang Wei nodded in sudden realization, then asked, "How much do good second-hand guitars usually cost?"

"Let's prepare a budget of 5,000 yuan first!" Ye Haotian said.

"So expensive?" Zhang Wei couldn't help but exclaimed. In his impression, didn't Duoduo's guitars all cost one or two hundred yuan?

"Five thousand yuan is too expensive? It's only because you are a beginner that I quoted you five thousand yuan. If you have some basic skills, you will have to buy one worth tens of thousands. Ask Xiao Lu how much his Martin guitar costs?" Ye Haotian said.

"Xiao Lu, how much did you pay for this guitar?" Zhang Wei asked immediately.

"Mine is made of spruce wood, which is more expensive than the peach wood one. I bought it for 98,600!"

"Your guitar is worth one hundred thousand dollars? Just these two pieces of wood and a few strings, and you sell it for one hundred thousand dollars!" Zhang Wei grinned. This obviously touched upon his blind spot in knowledge.

"That's why they say playing music costs money! Not to mention musical instruments, any equipment related to music, as long as it's professional, is very expensive."

Ye Haotian paused, then continued: "Okay, don't waste time, let's go to the second-hand musical instrument store now, there is still time to pick out a guitar."

"Five thousand yuan, why not buy something to eat? Or I'll just keep using Xiao Lu's guitar! With the remaining money, I'll buy you roujiamo, the kind with meat in it."

"I won't even let you play the guitar. You're a beginner and you haven't even mastered the chords. You're simply wasting my precious guitar!" Lu Yunxiang said as he walked over and was about to take the guitar away.

"Actually, after practicing for a period of time, I have already learned it." Zhang Wei said quickly.

"Learned it? Brother, do you think I'm a fool? With what you just practiced, you still have the nerve to say you've learned it?" Lu Yunxiang curled his lips.

Ye Haotian chimed in, “Based on your current practice, I estimate that you will be able to play Twinkle Twinkle Little Star within a month.”

"You look down on me, don't you? You have to force me to give you a surprise!" Zhang Wei laughed and said, "Xiao Lu, how about making a bet? If I can play Twinkle Twinkle Little Star right now, you can lend me your guitar. How about that?"

“If you can play ‘Twinkle Twinkle Little Star’, I’ll give you this guitar!” Lu Yunxiang said arrogantly.

“A gentleman does not take away what others like! Besides, this guitar is worth one hundred thousand dollars, I dare not take it.” Zhang Wei shook his head and added: “How about this, if I can play Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, in addition to lending me the guitar, you can also lend me your Porsche 911 for a year!

Anyway, you have changed to an Aston Martin now, and the 911 is just sitting there. Cars are broken down. I will drive it for you a few laps and help you take the car for a spin and charge the battery!"

"No problem, but I have to say this first. If you want him to not be able to play Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, go buy a second-hand guitar from Brother Haotian and stop destroying my guitar."

"Okay! No problem. A gentleman's word is as good as a whip!" Zhang Wei nodded.

"Wait a minute, when I say play 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star', you have to play it skillfully, you can't just play it note by note!" Lu Yunxiang added.

"That's for sure, it must be done in one go. Ye Haotian, you testify!" Zhang Wei said, stood up and walked towards the bathroom.

"Brother, what are you doing? Aren't you playing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star? Why did you run away?"

"I have to get ready and wash my hands first." Zhang Wei said.

"A lazy donkey will only produce more shit and piss!" Ye Haotian snorted coldly.

Zhang Wei walked into the bathroom and called upon the devil directly.

"Devil, you said last time that exchanging guitar playing skills would require three months of life span. I've changed it!"

"You should have changed it a long time ago. Three months of life in exchange for guitar playing skills is definitely a great deal. At least if you learn it on your own, you can't reach that level in three months."

The devil happily returned the guitar playing skills to Zhang Wei.

Zhang Wei, who learned to play the guitar instantly, walked out of the bathroom, sat on a chair with his guitar in his arms, and said with a confident expression, "Listen carefully, I'm about to start the performance."

"Okay, go ahead and show me how you play Twinkle Twinkle Little Star."

Zhang Wei took a deep breath and started playing according to the music score of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.

"Do do so so la la so, fa fa mi mi lai la do..."

The song "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" started playing. Although it was composed of the simplest notes, the song was played very coherently without any flaws.

“Wow, Wei Ge, you’re really good. You can really play Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. I think you play it pretty well! You’ve only learned it for a few days, and you’ve already reached this level! Just because you can play Twinkle Twinkle Little Star so well, you can use this guitar!”

"Where's 911? Lend it to me!" Zhang Wei asked.

"The car and the keys are not here. I'll ask the driver to bring the car to you tomorrow!" Lu Yunxiang said generously.

Ye Haotian frowned: "That's not right. With the level you just practiced, how could you play so smoothly?"

"That shows you teach well!" Zhang Wei said with a smile.

"It's because I taught you personally, how could I not know your level?" Ye Haotian snorted coldly.

"Brother Haotian, you still don't understand me. Haven't you discovered that I have a great talent for rainy days?" Zhang Wei still had a smile on his face.

"You have no musical talent at all. I didn't say you are tone-deaf, that's a compliment!" Ye Haotian directly retorted.

"Well, let me show you my musical talent!" Zhang Wei said, his fingers began to shake, and the tones he played became more rhythmic.

"This seems to be the prelude to some song! Wei Ge, you can play the song now?" Lu Yunxiang said. "Not only can I play the song, I can also sing it! Listen carefully!"

Zhang Wei finished speaking, and while playing the guitar, he began to sing: "White snow is floating in the quiet village, pigeons are flying under the gloomy sky, and the white birch tree is engraved with those two names, who swore to love each other for the rest of their lives...

"This is Pu Shu's "Birch Forest"! Wei Ge, you've only learned guitar for a few days! But you can already play and sing "Birch Forest"! This "Birch Tree" is still somewhat difficult to play!" Lu Yunxiang had a shocked expression on his face.

Ye Haotian walked over, first walked around Zhang Wei, then lowered his head to look under Zhang Wei's desk, and reached into Zhang Wei's pocket.

"What are you looking for?"

"Looking for the speakers. Where did you hide them?"

"Can't you tell if this is the sound of a guitar? Even if you can't tell, you can ask Xiao Lu if this is the sound of his guitar?" Zhang Wei said.

"Brother Haotian, it was indeed my guitar that played the sound just now! It's my own guitar, I can tell the difference." Lu Yunxiang nodded.

"This is impossible! You have only learned guitar for a few days? You can play "Birch Forest"? " Ye Haotian said.

"Seeing is believing. You saw it with your own eyes, and you still don't believe it?" Zhang Wei asked with a smile.

Ye Haotian suddenly fell silent. If someone told him that he could play and sing "Birch Forest" after learning guitar for a few days, he would never believe it.

What's more, he is Zhang Wei's teacher. He taught Zhang Wei how to play the guitar step by step. He knows Zhang Wei's usual level very well.

Ye Haotian was already surprised that Zhang Wei could play "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" smoothly just now, and now he can even play and sing "Birch Forest", which is completely beyond Ye Haotian's understanding.

But just as Zhang Wei said, seeing is believing. All this happened before his eyes. No matter how outrageous it was, no matter how unbelievable it was, Ye Haotian had no choice but to accept the reality.

"A few days ago, Zhang Wei didn't even know how to hold the guitar, but now he can play and sing "Birch Forest". He is worthy of being the big devil. He will shine with some sunshine!" Ye Haotian said in his heart.

Thinking that the Great Devil was best at creating machines, Ye Haotian felt much relieved.

Zhang Wei asked, "How's it going? Is my singing and playing okay?"

"You play the piano quite well, but your singing is just average. At best you're not out of tune. To be honest, many KTV singers sing better than you." Ye Haotian commented.

Zhang Wei looked at Lu Yunxiang again: "Xiao Lu, what do you think?"

"Master, I think Second Brother is right!" Lu Yunxiang replied.

"Get out, you are Zhu Bajie!" Ye Haotian slapped Lu Yunxiang on the back.

Zhang Wei smiled indifferently. He had no natural talent for music and had never received any professional vocal training. Being able to sing without going out of tune was already a high-level performance.

……

Entering March, the auditions for "Coming Soon Boys" also kicked off.

In fact, as early as 2003, Mango TV held the first "Super Boy". At that time, the second season of "American Idol", the originator of talent shows, was aired. It was popular all over the United States, and its popularity even exceeded that of the popular American TV series and Hollywood blockbusters at the time.

Mango TV sensed this business opportunity and organized a "Popular Singing Contest, Love Song Prince Selection Contest", which was later renamed "Super Boy".

At that time, this competition only had one competition zone, Changsha, and it was not a key project of Mango TV, so it was not broadcast on satellite TV and therefore did not cause much waves.

In 2004, Mango TV held two more competitions, "Super Boy" and "Super Girl". Although this year's "Super Girl" was not as popular as the one in 05, it also made several singers famous.

Although "Super Boy" has expanded its scale and set up four competition zones, it still has not made much waves.

Then in 2005, Super Girl became popular all over the country. In 2006, Super Girl was held again to continue the brand, but this year's Super Girl was not as strong as the previous one. The contestants fought fiercely among themselves, and the Super Girl brand collapsed.

There has been no Super Boy talent show in the past two years, but because of the collapse of Super Girl in 2006, Mango TV decided to pick up the Super Boy brand again, and thus the 2007 Fast Boy, which was the ceiling of domestic entertainment talent shows, was born.

Zhang Wei, Ye Haotian and Lu Yunxiang came to the audition site of the Beijing competition area together, along with a dozen classmates from Tsinghua University.

Although Tsinghua University does not have a music department, it has no shortage of music lovers, and there are even many who can reach the level of professional singers, otherwise there would not be a group like Shuimu Nianhua. There are also many people who specialize in various musical instruments in Tsinghua University.

But the vast majority of Tsinghua University students disdain to participate in this kind of amateur talent show. Tsinghua University students are very picky, if it is a performance program with an official background, if they send an invitation letter, they may participate, but if they are auditioning with a group of amateurs, they will forget it.

Moreover, the students who are able to enter Tsinghua University are not interested in music. If they really want to pursue music, they might as well apply to a music school. With the talent and ability of these academic masters, it will definitely not be a problem for them to get into the Central Conservatory of Music.

Even if it wasn't Tsinghua University, there weren't many students from other 985 and 211 universities who came to participate in the auditions. In that era, graduates from prestigious universities didn't have to worry about finding jobs. During the annual campus recruitment, private enterprises offered high-paying positions to you, and state-owned enterprises also had plenty of positions for graduates from prestigious universities. Students from 985 and 211 universities had a bright future, so there was no need to pursue a career in music.

Although it does not attract students from prestigious universities, there are still many music lovers who sign up for the competition, and of course there are more grassroots people who want to become famous overnight.

The entire Beijing competition area attracted more than 10,000 people to sign up for the competition.

With so many people, it is inevitable that there will be a mix of good and bad people, and the thing that is most lacking at the audition site is all kinds of weird contestants.

Many people don't know anything at all, and they probably can't even sing the national anthem out of tune. But they dream of becoming a star, so they sign up for the auditions, thinking they can replicate the success of Super Girl two years ago and become a household name like Chrissie Li.

So, except for the contestants selected by dozens of local TV stations, everyone else must first go through two rounds of selection to eliminate all kinds of weirdos, and only the remaining ones can enter the formal auditions.

The first round of selection is very simple. Just go on stage and sing any song as long as you are not out of tune.

In fact, you don’t have to sing the whole song. Just a few lines and the judges can tell whether this person can do it.

With tens of thousands of people signing up, the judges didn't have the time to listen to the contestants sing an entire song.

"Next one! Number 0506622!" As the staff shouted, Zhang Wei subconsciously looked at his number, then walked into the preliminary selection room carrying his guitar.

"Hello, judges. I am No. 0506622. I am going to sing..."

"Start singing!" The judge interrupted Zhang Wei impatiently. Perhaps there were many contestants behind him and they were too lazy to listen to Zhang Wei's chatter.

Zhang Wei smiled helplessly, then began to play the prelude on the guitar, preparing to speak.

"Okay, passed!" the judge said suddenly.

"What?" Zhang Wei was stunned.

"I said you passed, next one!" The judge was still impatient.

"What's going on? I haven't even sung yet! How did I pass?" Zhang Wei looked confused.

(End of this chapter)