Huayu97: Starting with Wu Song Fighting the Tiger

Han Lei put down the microphone, patted Liu Xiang on the shoulder, his eyes full of appreciation, and said sincerely, "Young man, you sang very well! Very powerful and emotional! If you want to pursue a career in music, feel free to come to me anytime. I have high hopes for you!"

Liu Xiang put down the microphone and quickly thanked him, "Thank you, Teacher Han Lei! I am so honored today!" Han Lei specially wrote his pager number on a piece of paper and handed it to Liu Xiang, saying, "Let's keep in touch and discuss music together when we have time."

The applause from the audience continued. Standing in the crowd, Wang Bo felt extremely uncomfortable. He knew he had lost, utterly and completely. He gritted his teeth, forced himself to walk off the stage, bowed to Liu Xiang, and whispered, "I...I take back what I just said. I'm sorry!"

After saying that, he rushed out of the banquet hall without looking back, not even his entourage could follow. Those around him, seeing his disheveled figure, couldn't help but burst into laughter.

Liu Xiang watched Wang Bo's disappearing figure and couldn't help but smile. He touched the note in his pocket, which had Han Lei's pager number written on it. He secretly set a new goal in his mind: to not only be a good actor, but also a good singer, becoming a triple-threat star in film, television, and music, and to carve out his own niche in this dreamlike era!

The banquet continued, filled with laughter and cheerful conversation. Director Zhang squeezed in, patting Liu Xiang on the shoulder, grinning from ear to ear: "Liu Xiang, Liu Xiang, you're truly multi-talented! Now, our 'Water Margin' crew's fame is probably going to spread all over the country!"

The surrounding guests also came over to toast Liu Xiang, praising his singing. Liu Xiang's cheeks flushed, but he still clinked glasses with everyone.

As the banquet ended, Liu Xiang, clutching the pager number Han Lei had given her, had just reached the parking lot when she was stopped by a middle-aged man wearing a custom-made double-breasted suit and with his hair neatly combed.

The man handed over a gold-embossed business card that read "Wuxi Yangshan Equestrian Club, General Manager Zhao Dequan." The gold lettering gleamed under the streetlights, and the card felt thick and substantial to the touch—clearly a high-end item of this era.

His face was beaming with enthusiasm as he said to Liu Xiang, "Mr. Liu, I've long admired your name! I am Zhao Dequan. Just now, I heard you sing 'Borrowing Five Hundred Years from Heaven' on stage. That heroic spirit of yours was exactly the same as your feat of taming a horse and capturing a thief!"

Liu Xiang took the business card, his fingertips tracing the gold foil pattern. Businessmen love this kind of ostentation. He smiled and replied, "Mr. Zhao, you're too kind. It's just a few lines of singing, nothing special."

"Mr. Liu, you're too modest!" Zhao Dequan continued. "My club has over two hundred thoroughbreds, including six Hanoverian horses that were airlifted from Germany this spring. These are all horses used for equestrian competitions! I've heard you're an expert horse trainer, so I've been waiting for you today. I'd like to invite you to my club tomorrow so we can have a good chat about the ins and outs of equestrian performance, and maybe you can even train some for me!"

These words struck a chord with Liu Xiang, who also wanted to go and see for herself.

He didn't stand on ceremony: "Since Mr. Zhao has extended such a warm invitation, I certainly can't refuse!"

The next day, Zhao Dequan sent someone to the film crew to pick up Liu Xiang.

Zhao Dequan's car was a black Santana, a luxury car even rarer than an Audi 100 in Wuxi in the 1990s. The windows were covered with dark tinted film, and the door handles were so shiny you could see your reflection in them. The driver was a young man wearing white gloves. When Liu Xiang got into the car, he quickly and respectfully greeted him, "Hello, Mr. Liu."

As the car drove towards Yangshan, a slogan reading "Family planning is good" was written on the wall at the entrance of the village.

Yangshan Equestrian Club is nestled on a gentle slope at the foot of Yangshan Mountain. From a distance, the villa-style buildings with white walls and red tiles are hidden among the trees. Two stone lions, each about half a person's height, stand at the entrance, each holding a stone ball in its mouth, looking quite imposing.

The gate was made of wrought iron, with lotus patterns welded on it. Two young men in security uniforms stood in the guard booth next to it, their backs ramrod straight, even more spirited than the police officers at the police station.

As the car drove through the gate, Liu Xiang finally understood what top-tier luxury truly meant. Under her feet was imported Manila grass, soft and supple, a hundred times more comfortable than the straw mats in the film crew's work shed. Neatly trimmed holly trees lined both sides of the road, with European-style stone benches beneath them, inscribed with unreadable foreign characters.

In the distance, on the training field, several riders dressed in white equestrian outfits were riding horses. The horses galloped with their hooves flying, and the riders stood tall and straight, looking like nobles from a movie.

Zhao Dequan led Liu Xiang inside, introducing the club along the way: "Mr. Liu, our club is the first equestrian club in Wuxi. The membership fee is eight thousand yuan a year. Only the boss or the leader can get in. You see that villa over there? It's prepared for VIP members. It's fully equipped with a color TV, refrigerator, and video recorder, and there are also dedicated servants to take care of them."

Liu Xiang clicked her tongue in amazement. The membership fee of eight thousand yuan could buy half a bungalow in Wuxi in the 1990s. This was no club; it was practically a rich man's backyard.

The club's stables completely overturned Liu Xiang's understanding of "stables." The film crew's stables were made of wooden planks, leaking wind and rain, lined with hay, and piled with horse manure everywhere; but here, each horse had its own private compartment with a solid wood door engraved with the horse's name.

The floor was covered with clean sawdust, which absorbed moisture and deodorized. On the wall hung the horse's pedigree certificate, which listed the horse's ancestors for three generations, even clearly stating the year the great-grandfather won the equestrian championship. The feeding trough was made of stainless steel and contained imported alfalfa and oats. The water in the trough was crystal clear, and calcium supplements for the horses were placed next to it.

A stable boy in a uniform is brushing the horse's coat with a soft brush, his movements so gentle it's as if he's serving an ancestor, even polishing the horse's hooves until they shine.

"Mr. Liu, look at this one." Zhao Dequan led Liu Xiang to the innermost row of stables, pointed to a large chestnut horse with a glossy coat, and proudly patted the horse's neck. "A genuine German Hanoverian Warmblood, it just arrived last month. The air freight alone cost me 100,000 yuan."

He continued, "Unfortunately, he's very stubborn. Even the horse trainer I hired from Hong Kong was helpless. That kid has been struggling for half a month and still can't figure it out. Could you take a look?"

Liu Xiang stepped forward, not in a hurry to reach out. He knew that this kind of thoroughbred horse was proud and that he had to build trust with it first. He leaned close to the horse's ear and whispered a few words that only he could hear. His voice seemed to have a magical power. The warmblood horse, which had been pawing at its hooves in agitation, slowly calmed down, its ears drooping, and its head nuzzling against Liu Xiang's hand.

Liu Xiang reached out and gently stroked the horse's mane, feeling the warmth on her fingertips. The horse's muscles were firm, and its coat was as smooth as silk.

Just then, the system in his mind suddenly beeped: [Congratulations, host! You have successfully tamed the 200th horse. Your horse taming skill has been fully mastered! New skill unlocked!]