War Photographer's Notebook

Chapter 179 The Knot in the Music of the Piano ([-]-in-[-] Update)

After waiting at the school gate for about 10 minutes, Sui Sui rushed out of the school gate on a battery car with a wooden piano box tied to the back seat, while that Chen Luoxiang kept shouting distressedly from behind, " Slow down, don't break the piano!"

"Suisui, where is it?" Wei Ran opened the car door and greeted.

Seeing this, Sui Sui immediately locked the car and ran over, handed the piano case to Wei Ran and got into the car.

After his classmate Chen Luoxiang also got into the co-pilot and fastened his seat belt, Chen Guangling, who was in charge of the car, shifted gears and refueled without haste, and drove the car away from the school gate.

Through the small talk along the way, Wei Ran also had a general understanding of the Chen family father and son. According to that Chen Guangling, Qin Hua, the maker of the bed guqin Youquan, was barely half of his Chen family ancestor's master. However, Chen Jiazu's skill in playing the qin is really not as good as his master Qin Hua.Therefore, when it was passed down to Chen Guangling's generation, the skill of playing the qin was lost long ago, but the skill of playing the qin is still preserved.

Now their family not only opened a musical instrument store specializing in traditional Chinese musical instruments, but Chen Guangling also set up an interest class, which took in many students who liked guqin.

While Wei Ran knew about the father and son, the other party also inquired about the origin of the Guqin Youquan lying on Wei Ran and Suisui's legs.

Wei Ran is not stupid, naturally he would not say that the violin was bought illegally in an underground auction, let alone that it was stolen from England before that, but he insisted that it was bought from Russia for [-] US dollars of.

When the topic came to this point, the car also stopped at the intersection of a pedestrian street full of tourists. Wei Ran and Sui Sui, led by Chen Luoxiang, walked into a musical instrument store next to the street, while Chen Guangling drove away without a trace.

"My dad went to park the car." Chen Luoxiang, who was quite introverted, explained, "Sit down first, and I'll make tea for you."

Wei Ran nodded, and looked curiously at the store which was less than [-] square meters in total. Except for the wooden shelves facing the gate, which were filled with various trophies, certificates and awards, the walls on both sides were next to each other. It is full of various musical instruments.

After Chen Luoxiang brought the brewed jasmine tea and lit a small stick of incense in a small incense burner beside the table, his father Chen Guangling also hurried into the musical instrument store.

After another courteous exchange between the two parties, Chen Guangling couldn't wait to ask, "Mr. Wei, is it convenient for me to have a look at your piano?"

"Convenient, of course."

Wei Ran waited for Chen Luoxiang to take away the tea tray, and after wiping off the water stains on the table with a clean white dry towel, he bent down and picked up the piano case at his feet, put it on the table and opened it.

While he was busy, the Chen family's father and son had already picked up the white gloves at the corner of the table and put them on in no particular order, but their eyes were always fixed on the guqin on the table and the box in which it was placed.

"Mr. Wei, can I do it?" Chen Guangling asked with burning eyes.

"Please go ahead," Wei Ran said cheerfully.

"Thank you!"

After Chen Guangling finished speaking, he didn't touch the guqin, but picked up the wooden box to look at it, and said in admiration, "This box alone is not simple!"

"Mr. Chen, why don't you explain it in detail?" Wei Ran said frankly, "I also got this piano not long ago, and I haven't learned how to play it yet."

"Let's talk about this piano case first!"

Chen Guangling looked at the piano box over and over again, and explained unhurriedly, "The huanghuali used in this piano box is made of solid wood on all six sides. The material alone is luxurious enough, and looking at this The solid workmanship and the carvings on it show that the person who used this piano case was probably not an ordinary person.”

"Where's the piano?" Sui Sui asked curiously.

Chen Guangling gently put down the qin case, turned over the qin on the table, and then asked Wei Ran, "Mr. Wei, do you know the origin of this qin?"

"A friend of mine once told me briefly." Wei Ran thought for a while and added, "It seems to be in a book called "Zangqin Records", which has detailed records about this qin."

Chen Guangling nodded, "Then I will pick up the ones that are not in the "Zangqin Records". Let me talk about the name of this piano first. The word Youquan can be interpreted as a spring in a claustrophobic mountain, but it can also be interpreted as a dark place." Hell.

According to the records in "Zangqin Records", the qin in Youquan is made of ancient materials, but according to the statement handed down by my ancestors, when Qin Hua cut this qin, the material used was actually a hanging qin somewhere in the south. The lid of the coffin, at the foot of the mountain where the hanging coffin is located, happens to have a spring, which is also the origin of the name of this qin. "

"The coffin lid?" Wei Ran raised his eyebrows, this is a bit unlucky.

"Don't be surprised, this is not a special case in the piano business"

Chen Guangling smiled and continued to explain, "Only what you know is recorded in the Tibetan Qin Records. In addition to this bed of secluded springs, there are other seven beds of guqin that are clearly recorded as being made of coffin boards. As for the Tibetan Qin Records If there is no record in it, naturally there must be more and more."

Having said that, Chen Guangling gently put down the guqin in his hand, pointed to the various parts on it and explained one by one, "Except for the main material being made of coffin boards, the mutton jade used for the Qin emblem of this bed, Yueshan and The red sandalwood used by Zhenzi is also made from the funerary objects found in the hanging coffin."

"Why are you so familiar with this piano?" Wei Ran asked belatedly.

"At that time, the family ancestor followed Qin Hua to learn the qin. He had witnessed the birth of many famous qin from Qin Hua's hands, and he also recorded a lot of inside information by the way."

Having said that, Chen Guangling turned to his son and said, "Luo Xiang, go and bring the qin I use."

Hearing this, Chen Luoxiang immediately got up and walked into the inner room. After a while, he brought a guqin and placed it in front of Wei Ran under his father's signal.

Chen Guangling cupped his hands and said, "Feel the weight of the piano I use."

Seeing this, Wei Ran wiped his hands on his clothes, and carefully picked up the guqin on the table, but to his surprise, the one in his hand was much heavier than the one he was using.

After he put down the guqin in his hand, Chen Guangling said, "According to the saying in "Qin Talk" written by Mr. Yang Zongji, a master of Qin studies of a generation, the so-called good Qin, regardless of the difference in shape and style, its weight is often not the same. Extremely light is extremely heavy. This quiet spring bed belongs to the former."

Speaking of this, Chen Guangling changed the topic again, "Mr. Wei, I wonder if you can give me this bed of secluded spring? I am willing to pay 80 to buy it."

"This... I'm sorry, Mr. Chen, I have no idea of ​​selling it yet."

After hesitating for a moment, Wei Ran shook his head decisively. Firstly, he was not short of money. Secondly, he had been with Professor Alexei for so long. Transactions remain the same.

As for the piano, it's not that he, a music idiot, can't sell it, it's just that he doesn't want to make himself suffer before he doesn't understand the market.

It's just that he didn't expect that Chen Guangling, who was sitting opposite him, was more straightforward than him. After learning that Wei Ran would not sell, he decided to give up. He just said with a regretful face, "Actually, I guessed that you wouldn't sell it." Yes, guqin is something that can’t be met, it’s every luthier’s chance. If I can get this guqin, I’m not willing to sell it.”

"Forehead"

Wei Ran grinned secretly, at this time it was because he couldn't bring up the matter of selling pianos anymore.

Chen Guangling obviously misunderstood the embarrassment on Wei Ran's face, and after apologizing, he said cautiously, "I don't know if I can play a piece with it?"

"Yes, of course." Wei Ran was extremely happy this time. He could tell that the Chen family father and son really liked Qin, and that Chen Luoxiang was Sui Sui's classmate anyway, so he still had to save face given.

"It's a pity that this guqin uses steel strings," Chen Guangling muttered to himself, stood up, went to the counter next to the wall, opened a small drawer, took out a cotton bag and came back.

After getting Wei Ran's approval again, Chen Guangling replaced the Guqin with silk strings, and then actually put the Guqin into the box.

Seeing Wei Ran and Suisui's surprised faces, Chen Guangling said with a smile, "Let's go upstairs, the environment upstairs is better."

Led by Chen Guangling and his son, Wei Ran and Sui Sui stepped on the wooden stairs to the second floor of the musical instrument store.

Compared with the crowded one on the first floor, the rooms on the second floor are indeed much more spacious. Apart from a few piano tables and soft futons, the only decoration in Nuo Da’s room is a very simple-looking incense burner in the shape of a crane. And some calligraphy and paintings hanging on the wall.

Following the example of Chen's father and son, they took off their shoes and put disposable shoe covers on their feet. After the four of them entered the room, Chen Guangling placed the Guqin on a piano table, burned incense himself, and went into the room again. After washing his hands carefully, he changed into a pair of dusty double-breasted exercise clothes.

Everything was ready, Chen Guangling took advantage of his son's time to make tea again, and finished the preparations for tuning the guqin with traditional silk strings on the bed.

When everything was ready, Chen Guangling raised his hand and gently plucked the strings.In the quiet room, the distant and simple sound of the piano and the familiar melody echoed repeatedly for a long time, and everyone's mood could not help but follow the ups and downs of the melody of the piano sound.

It wasn't until the end of the song that the last lingering sound completely dissipated, and Chen Guangling sighed reluctantly, "Youquan really deserves its reputation."

"Mr. Chen just talked about Guangling San?"

Wei Ran asked, this piece was played by the girl in the wheelchair with the same piano when she was in Volgograd, but I don't know if it was because of the different strings that the two played the same piano. The first song gave Wei Ran a completely different feeling.

Chen Guangling nodded, and sighed with nostalgia, "The name my father gave me comes from this song Guangling San. In my whole life, I have played the best song Guangling San."

"It makes me want to learn the piano," Sui Sui couldn't help but exclaimed.

"Don't talk about you, I want to learn from Mr. Chen." Wei Ran agreed, and his words were true. Ever since Teacher Dalia bought and sold this guqin in exchange for two After more than [-] US dollars, he has been relying on self-study.

"Whether it's classmate Zhou or Mr. Wei, if you want to learn piano, you can come to me at any time." Chen Guangling said and looked at Wei Ran, "Mr. Wei, why don't you come and talk about a song?"

"I?"

Wei Ran couldn't help laughing, "Should I stop messing with others? Now I have only learned more than half of the only thing I know, "Xian Weng Cao."

Chen Guangling invited again, "Come and have a try, the Guqin is pleasing to the heart, you don't have to be too rigid about the rhythm, as long as you bring your own feelings into it, it doesn't matter if you play it wrong."

"Go, go!" Sui Sui, who watched the excitement and didn't think it was a big deal, booed from the side.

As soon as the words came to this point, Wei Ran couldn't shirk his excuses, so he simply got up happily, changed to the position that Chen Guangling had just taken, let out a long breath, and then gently plucked the strings.

As the sound of the piano sounded again, in line with the surrounding environment and the scent of sandalwood wafting into his nostrils from time to time, Wei Ran could not help calming down, and played most of the pieces he knew without distraction.

However, compared to Wei Ran who was playing the piano, Chen Guangling who was sitting on the side gradually frowned, and looked at Wei Ran with an increasingly puzzled expression.

When the song ended, Wei Ran raised his head and immediately noticed the strange look in the other party's eyes when he looked at him.

But before he could speak, Sui Sui ran over, "I want to try too!"

Naturally, Wei Ran would not refuse, and happily gave up the position to Sui Sui. Unfortunately, although this little thing has a higher heart than the sky, but the technique of playing cotton is even more amateurish than Wei Ran, except when the strings are strummed randomly. Apart from a series of pleasant melodies, they were just playing the piano randomly.

But this intensifies Sui Sui's urge to learn guqin, what's wrong?Shouldn't it be enough to go to school?Sui Sui, who made a decision in less than ten seconds, turned to look at Wei Ran, "How about buying me Zhang Qin as a New Year's gift? I want to learn the piano!"

"Do you really want to learn?" Wei Ran asked suspiciously. Seeing Sui Sui nodded, Wei Ran, who wanted to deepen his relationship with Chen Guangling, immediately turned his head and said, "Mr. Chen, do you have Guqin for sale here?"

"Yes, of course there is."

Chen Guangling said with a smile, "Luo Xiang, take classmate Zhou downstairs to choose a piano."

Chen Luoxiang reluctantly glanced at the guqin that was still on the piano table, and after saying yes, he got up and left the classroom on the second floor with Sui Sui.

"Mr. Wei"

Chen Guangling stopped Wei Ran who was about to get up, hesitated for a moment and then said hesitantly, "I don't know if I should say something or not."

"Mr. Chen just say it." Wei Ran sat down again, thinking that the other party probably wanted to increase the price to buy Guqin.

However, what surprised him was that after Chen Guangling opened his mouth, he asked, "Has Mr. Wei experienced some ups and downs recently?"

"Big ups and downs?" Wei Ran looked at Chen Guangling suspiciously.

"As the old saying goes, Guzheng pleases others, and Guqin pleases oneself."

Chen Guangling said, "Although I don't fully agree with this statement, the guqin is indeed played for myself, and it is also one of the instruments that can best express the player's emotions. A lot of things are wrong, but you can still feel it, you seem to"

"Mr. Chen just say it"

Chen Guangling hesitated for a long time, and then said bluntly, "I suggest you see a psychiatrist."

Wei Ran frowned when he heard this, the war in Teng County still lingered in his mind, and even in the past two days he started to have nightmares again.In those same nightmares, the battlefields of the three cities of Teng County, Stalingrad, and Berlin were all intertwined, which made him wake up again and again in the middle of the night, and put away the metal notebook again and again in cold sweat in the pistol.

But can these really be heard from a piece of music that I play?Wei Ran looked suspiciously at Chen Guangling, who had pure eyes. He was no longer sure whether the other party was fooling him.

Chen Guangling, who was almost 50 years old, could naturally see the suspicion hidden in Wei Ran's expression, and said apologetically, "I am the one who kept my words light and deep, Mr. Wei, don't worry about it."

"It's okay." Wei Ran picked up the teacup absently, wondering if he really had a psychological problem.

"If you have time, you can come to my place often."

Chen Guangling refilled Wei Ran with a cup of tea, and said gently, "Although I'm not a psychiatrist, I can at least teach you how to play the piano. Guqin is pleasing to the heart, and it can also relieve depression. Maybe it can help."

"Then thank you, Mr. Chen." Wei Ran held up his teacup and signaled, "When I have time in the next year, I will definitely come and learn art."

"It's not about learning art, we use the qin to make friends." Chen Guangling raised his finger and pointed to the guqin next to the two of them, "But remember to bring the qin over when the time comes, otherwise I won't open the door."

"A word is settled!"

Just as Wei Ran finished speaking, Sui Sui also ran up holding a guqin.Different from Wei Ran's guqin, the one she fancy is quite a bit smaller, not to mention that it is also extraordinarily round overall.

"Sui Sui, did you choose a children's model?"

Wei Ran's doubts made the Chen family father and son couldn't help laughing. Chen Guangling patiently explained, "This is the knee qin. In today's terms, it is a portable version of the Guqin. It was created by ancient literati for the convenience of traveling. The knee piano chosen by Zhou is a chaotic style, which is very suitable for girls."

"Uh..." Wei Ran looked embarrassed, "It does seem a lot more convenient."

"Children's money? Huh!" Sui Sui looked at Wei Ran mockingly, "Pay!"

Seeing Wei Ran looking at him, Chen Guangling took the Guqin from Suisui's hand and turned it over to look at it, hesitantly said, "This piano is a bit expensive, and it's a waste for beginners to use it, why don't Zhou students change it?" One?"

"No, it's rare that she likes it. This is it."

Wei Ran didn't wait for Sui Sui to open his mouth and said, maybe he would really come here to learn the piano in the next year, and in his opinion, it is not a loss to spend a little money in advance to build a good relationship.

"In this case."

Chen Guangling thought for a while and said, "The price of this violin in the store is 8000. Let Mr. Wei count it as [-] and give it to a friend."

"Then thank you very much." Wei Ran added the other party's WeChat, and happily transferred the money over.

"Brother Wei Wei"

Chen Luoxiang waited for the two parties to complete the transaction, and then he leaned over. While looking at the Guqin that was still on the piano table, he asked eagerly, "That...can I also."

"Go!" Wei Ran nodded very simply, he could tell that the Chen family father and son really liked Qin.

This time, although they were forced by their father and son to meet up, they paid an extra 8000 yuan to buy a piano.But Wei Ran didn't feel at a loss.Among other things, the mere reminder from Chen Guangling made me realize that there might be a psychological problem and I already earned back the ticket price, not to mention there will be a place where I can learn piano for free in the future.

And Chen Guangling is also a smart person. After Suisui came in, he didn't mention a word about the content of the chat just now. Instead, he thoughtfully prepared various gifts for Suisui while his son was learning Wei Ran's guqin. And a whole set of video tutorials that he recorded himself.

When Chen Luoxiang finished playing a particularly nice piece of music.After Chen Guangling inquired about Wei Ran, he replaced his Guqin with steel strings, and then helped Sui Sui, who joined in the fun, to adjust the newly acquired Qin.

After everything was done, the Chen family father and son invited Wei Ran and Suisui to dinner again, and then drove them back to the school gate.

Watching Chen Guangling's car disappear out of sight, Wei Ran looked at Sui Sui who was standing at the school gate with a piano bag on her back and took a selfie, "Where shall we go next?"

"Go home!" Sui Sui put away the phone as a matter of course, "My grandma has urged me several times, if I hadn't waited for you, I would have gone back a long time ago."

"I can't tell you, hurry up and get your luggage." Wei Ran urged the other party to take the piano bag from his shoulder.

"Wait!" Sui Sui hadn't finished her sentence, and had already run into the school gate, riding the battery car and disappeared.

After running back and forth four times and taking out all four huge and heavy suitcases, the two immediately took a taxi to the high-speed rail station.

After putting Sui Sui on the train bound for Baiyangdian, Wei Ran himself boarded the high-speed train bound for Cangzhou with heavy luggage.After a tiring journey, Sui Sui was still on the way when he walked into the house with big and small luggage.

Speaking of which, although their grandparents' homes are in the same village in Baiyangdian, and they are even neighbors next to each other, Wei Ran's home is in Cangzhou, which is known as the hometown of martial arts, and the one run by his parents The small travel agency is in Jinmen.

Therefore, early in the morning, the two of them had to take the 20-minute intercity high-speed train to Jinmen first, and then take the afternoon intercity high-speed train back after a busy day's work.

Although it seems that you have to run hundreds of kilometers a day, in fact, except that the transportation cost is a bit high, it is actually earlier than some employees of the travel agency go home.

But it is also for this reason that Sui Sui's report card can only be destroyed with Wei Ran's help, otherwise, once she comes here by herself, Wei Ran's mother will definitely give her a vacation and eat and drink at home with her.

Pushing open the door and walking into the home that he hasn't been back for a year, Wei Ran picked up the silly dog ​​at home and ravaged it, then he opened the refrigerator and found a bottle of drink familiarly, and walked towards his bedroom.

It's just that as the bedroom door was pushed open, Wei Ran was dumbfounded. It's fine to change the sheets and quilts, but there was a bear doll that was bigger than a person beside the bed, and even the things hanging in the closet were all Sui Sui's. Clothes, and the writing desk used from elementary school to high school was also replaced with a set of dressing tables, which were filled with various shapes of plastic figures and bottles of cosmetics.

Closing the door in disbelief and reopening it, Wei Ran finally made sure that he read it correctly, and after searching again, he found that all his things were packed into broken cardboard boxes and stuffed under the bed!
"Is this really my house?" Wei Ran looked down at the dog spinning around at his feet, and suddenly felt that his psychological problems seemed to be getting worse.

(End of this chapter)