Please, come home and practice the piano

Chapter 1010 270. A few words at the Li family dinner table

Hungry?
I'm definitely not hungry.

Who doesn’t have some food in their stomach during the Chinese New Year?

The days around the Chinese New Year are the days when you feel least hungry throughout the year.

However, considering that it was Old Li's concern, Li An still said against his will that he was a little hungry.

Lao Li then said, "Let's eat when we get home."

At this moment, Yan Zi called out "Fourth Brother" and pulled Li An into the topic, and Old Li didn't say a word along the way.
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All the way back to Xinnan Community, Li An took great effort to find a parking space behind the cadre building.

This was considered home, and the group gathered upstairs.

At home, Mother An and Second Aunt had already prepared the meal and were just waiting for someone to come back.

Li Fu was the first to enter the house, holding two boxes of wine, "Third Aunt!"

"You're back." Mother An had heard the noise downstairs a long time ago, and kept poking her head out as she spoke.

In a blink of an eye, the entrance was filled with people, and Mother An finally saw her son and Xiao Chen whom she had been thinking about day and night.

"Mom, Second Aunt!"

"Happy New Year, Auntie! Happy New Year, Second Auntie!"

"Come in quickly and warm up!" The second aunt grinned when she saw Chen Xuan's little appearance. She was really pretty. "It's cold here."

"It's not cold, not cold!" Chen Xuan followed Li An into the living room. When she came back here, she found that the house had changed a lot.

The large dining table in the living room was already filled with plates of all sizes, colorful dishes and steam coming out of the pots, creating an atmosphere of joy and peace.

The locals in Yucheng pay attention to inviting the host to dinner on the second day of the Chinese New Year. Today’s host is naturally the Li family.

As soon as he got home, Lao Li asked everyone to sit down.

Second Aunt: "No one is allowed to smoke at the dinner table today."

Chen Xuan was about to speak when Li An gently pulled her back, "Yanzi and Li Zheng, you two should hurry up and sit inside."

Aunt Wu hurriedly stopped him. This was against the rules. The seat inside must be reserved for Chen Xuan. "Xiao Chen, please sit inside."

Chen Xuan was a little embarrassed. The elders hadn't even sat down yet, and then she heard Li An say, "Listen to Aunt Wu. Teacher Chen, you sit inside. Yan Zi, you sit with your sister-in-law. Li Zheng sits next to Yan Zi, and I sit next to Li Zheng. The rest can just sit in a circle."

Li Xuebin: "Yes, just sit according to Anzi's arrangement. Xuefeng, why don't you sit down? How can we sit down if you don't?"

Old Li looked around and muttered seriously, wondering what was missing.

"Third father, please sit down. Everything is in good condition!" Following Chen Fengxia's words, Old Li sat down amid the laughter of everyone.

After everyone sat down, Li Xuebin spoke a few words on behalf of Lao Li.

The theme was naturally to welcome Chen Xuan's arrival, and a few New Year's greetings were also mentioned.

Everyone raised their glasses and the second day of the New Year dinner officially began.

The atmosphere at the dinner party felt somewhat relaxed from the very beginning.

It was completely different from what Chen Xuan had imagined.

The topic did not always revolve around her, although she would add a few words from time to time.

But they are all issues related to family matters or regional customs.

With Li Xuebin and Li Fu setting the pace and Chen Fengxia helping to round things out, Chen Xuan became more and more relaxed and gradually began to say something on her own initiative.

"Fourth sister-in-law!" Xiaoyan picked up the drink again.

Chen Xuan raised her cup and clinked it with Xiaoyan, "Yanzi, you guys can take a few days off for the New Year."

Xiaoyan: "I started making up lessons on the eighth day of the Lunar New Year."

When it comes to studying, Lao Li praised Yan Zi highly, "Yan Zi ranked third in their school again this year."

Li An: "Why are you ranked third again? No progress at all?"

Yan Zi: "Brother, did you rank third in the exam?"

Li Anle: "I got first place in my major."

Chen Xuan curled her lips, "We are talking about studying, why are you dropping out of your major!"

Yan Zi: “That’s it!”

Everyone laughs.

Chen Xuan: "Yanzi, do you want to go to university?"

As Chen Xuan finished speaking, the dinner table gradually became quiet. Everyone looked at Yan Zi. As for whether the entire Li family could produce another college student, it all depended on Yan Zi.

And unlike Li Ang, Yan Zi does not follow the path of a gifted student.

Fifth Aunt: "Speak up, your sister-in-law is asking you a question."

Chen Xuan: "It's okay, don't worry, she's thinking."

Yan Zi was scratching her head. The college entrance examination was in three months. It was not like she had not thought about this question before, but if you really asked her which school she wanted to apply to, she had no idea.

"I don't know either," Yan Zi said after a while, "I'll just take whatever score I get."

Li An: "Is there a major you want to study, or something you are interested in?"

Yan Zi: “Can you tell me?”

Ang Lee: "If there is anything you can't say, just say it."

Yan Zi glanced at Aunt Wu timidly, and Aunt Wu smiled: "Why are you looking at me? If you have anything that interests you, just tell your fourth brother and his wife. If you tell us, we won't understand."

Yan Zi: "I like putting on makeup."

When she heard the word "beauty and makeup", Aunt Wu's brows immediately frowned. What kind of major is this?
Li An smoothed things over for Yan Zi, "Sure, this major is very popular now, so it's no problem if you want to study it."

Yan Zi didn't expect to get the support of the fourth brother, and immediately became bolder: "Really? Fourth brother!"

"Really?" Li An said, looking at Aunt Wu with a soothing look, signaling Aunt Wu not to worry, and then continued: "When we perform, the makeup team is indispensable backstage. There is still a huge job gap in this industry."

Chen Xuan: “Indeed.”

Yan Zi: "Brother, do you know any schools that offer this major? Do they require high scores?"

Li An: "If you just want to study makeup, you don't even need to take the college entrance examination."

Yan Zi: “Ah?”

Li An: "First of all, this is a vocational skill. Most technical schools offer this major. You can just choose a school and apply for it."

Yan Zi: "No, Fourth Brother, I don't want to go to a technical school. What I want to ask is whether there is a key university that has this major. At least it has to be an undergraduate program!"

Li An: "Yes, but according to your current situation, you won't be able to get in no matter how many points you get."

Yan Zi was puzzled: "Why?"

Chen Xuan took over the conversation: "Yanzi, this is the case. I roughly understand what you are thinking. The colleges and universities that I know of that have regular makeup majors are all art colleges and universities."

"The Department of Stage Art at Huaguo Drama Academy has a major in makeup design, which requires an art exam." Yan Zi was dumbfounded: "To learn makeup, I have to take an art exam."

Chen Xuan: "Yes, learning makeup in a professional college is not just about makeup. The related supporting courses also include stage modeling design, stage costume design, and related humanities subjects. It is also a comprehensive major. It is not just about learning how to put on makeup as you think."

Everyone nodded in agreement. It turned out that this major really existed. However, after hearing Chen Xuan talk about this major, it seemed like a good major.

Yan Zi sighed softly: "Okay. Thank you, Fourth Sister-in-law, I understand."

Chen Xuan smiled: "Don't be discouraged. If you really like it, you can take the postgraduate entrance examination. Choose a related major in undergraduate studies, and you can start preparing after entering university. It is not impossible to achieve it in the future."

After a moment, Yan Zi nodded and said, "Fourth sister-in-law, I will seriously consider it."

Everyone was amused by Xiaoyan's serious expression. Xiaoyan pouted and laughed angrily: "What's wrong?"

Li An: "Nothing, just think about it seriously. There are still four months left. Just study hard. The higher your score, the more options you will have. In the meantime, you may have other ideas, right? What's important now?"

Yan Zi: “We can’t let down our guard.”

Li An: "That's right, no matter whether it's a point or a confidence, just study hard. Our family will help you with the application. But don't worry, we will support you in choosing any major."

With Li An's words, Fifth Aunt felt more at ease, "Did you hear what your fourth brother said? Just continue to study hard."

Yan Zi: “I heard it!”

Li An: "If you have any questions or ideas during this period, if you feel it is inconvenient to talk to your parents, just call me."

Yan Zi: "Humph! You're definitely going to tell on me!"

Chen Xuan: "Then tell me."

Yan Zi: "Yes! I want to tell my fourth sister-in-law!"

Li An: "Your fourth sister-in-law will definitely tell me."

Yan Zi: "Fourth sister-in-law wouldn't do that!"

The adults started laughing again, and the brother and sister started fighting again.

Li Xuebin: "Yanzi, just work hard. We will get into whatever exam we pass. Don't put too much pressure on yourself."

Yan Zi: "Well, thank you, Second Father. I know what to do."

Old Li, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly spoke up, "Yanzi is smart, and she can't find anything she learns."

Yan Zi: "Hehe, thank you, Third Dad!"

Then Li An raised a glass and said, "This glass is for Xiaoyan's best wishes for the college entrance examination!"

"cheers!"

After talking about Xiaoyan's question, Li Xuebin took over the question of education.

During the Chinese New Year last year, he asked Ang Lee about the issue of starting a wind band in the school.

This year, more than half of the primary schools in Lanzhou have set up campus wind bands. Although Yucheng is just a small summer place, Li Xuebin still wants to give it a try.

However, there is no primary school in Yucheng yet. The nearby Mine No. 1 Primary School tried to set up one this year, but it failed and was disbanded.

It just so happened that Chen Xuan came back. Chen Xuan is a professional, so Li Xuebin wanted to take this opportunity to ask her for advice.

After briefly explaining the situation, Li Xuebin then asked, "Xiao Chen, how do you think we should start in a situation like this?"

This question really stumped Chen Xuan. Although she majored in wind instruments, she had no specific experience in forming a children's wind orchestra from scratch.

"Second father, you have to ask Li An about this. If it's a specific professional question, I can still talk about it. But Li An is much more professional than me in the issue of organization."

After a pause, Chen Xuan continued, "Li Ang reorganized a school wind band this year and has brought it to the city for performances. He will soon be collaborating further with a regular symphony orchestra."

When everyone heard this, they thought that Anzi Li An was really amazing. Everyone had always thought that Li An was only engaged in piano performances and education in Chengdu, and now he is even in the school's wind orchestra.

"Anzi, what's going on with you guys?" Li Xuebin asked Li An directly.

Li An did not keep the topic secret: "Second father, can you first tell me how your school's current extension service works? Are there any courses like musical instruments?"

Li Xuebin: "We have bamboo flute and Hulusi, but we haven't played any western instruments."

Li An: “Why not open it?”

Li Xuebin: "First, there are no suitable cooperative institutions. Second, the price of Western musical instruments is a bit high. I also have to consider the family situation of the students. You know our situation."

Li An: "Don't the agencies here actively seek cooperation with you?"

Li Xuebin: "Yucheng is different from you. There are few schools and even fewer institutions. Moreover, it is not popular to do this. An institution contacted me and offered to provide teachers and instruments, but the negotiation failed because of the price of the instruments. The price they set was too high. If I didn't buy instruments from them, they would not provide teachers."

"To put it bluntly, there is a shortage of teachers, and the average family conditions of students are not up to par. This is the current situation."

Li An nodded and understood: "Well, when I come back, I will draft a proposal for you. The school wants to set up a wind band. School will start right after the Chinese New Year. You can ask the head teachers of each class to distribute this proposal in advance to get a feel for the situation. Parents are worried about the high cost of musical instruments. I will do this for you."

Li Xuebin's eyes lit up: "How do you say that?"

Ang Lee: "You know Dawei Musical Instruments, right?"

Li Xuebin: "Yes, I know. It's on Wenhua Street. I pass by it every time I go there. It should be the largest piano shop in Yucheng now. Have you ever met the boss?"

Li An: "This boss is a friend of Mr. Qi. He runs a musical instrument factory and wanted to sell musical instruments through Mr. Qi. That's how we met."

"I came back last year just for this purpose and ordered a batch of musical instruments from him."

"It's for a school in Chengdu. The quality of the instruments here is pretty good, and the price is also reasonable. How should I put it."

Li An smiled and said, "Musical instruments are very pricey. High-end musical instruments are fine, but the OEM musical instruments made by these small shops can be priced whatever they want. This is what our family members said. For example, a flute sold in his music shop for 3,000 yuan may actually cost less than one-third of that."

Chen Xuan frowned slightly.

Everyone fell silent when they heard this. Doesn't this mean that they can earn two thousand by selling a flute?

Li Fu: "That's right. Teacher Chen helped Zhengzi buy this saxophone. It's this model. The price their original teacher told us was 20,000 more expensive."

This, Ang Lee really didn't expect this. He already thought he was dark enough, but after all this time, there is something darker.

Alas, I can only say that the more remote the place, the less transparent the prices are.

"Selling a three thousand dollar instrument for one thousand dollars, parents should be able to accept that, Second Father, the specific price is up to you to decide. Anyway, I will make him give it to you at the factory price, and I will not take care of the savings."

Li Xuebin could understand what Li An meant. "Let's not talk about this for now. Do you have any solution for the teacher?"

Li An: "I'll let them take care of the teaching. I have the courses ready. When the time comes, just let their teachers follow my courses. You don't have to worry about the tuition fees. But you have to help me with this, Second Dad."

Li Xuebin thought to himself, what can't be discussed? "An Zi, just say it."

Li An: "From now on, all the art extension services of your school will have to be handed over to them. In addition, the price will be given to you in the first year. When the courses are gradually stabilized, the price of musical instruments will slowly return to the market price. They sell musical instruments, not provide training."

"Once or twice is no big deal, you can't keep forcing people to pay you back."

"I understand!" Li Xuebin raised his glass and grinned, "Teacher Li has helped me a lot!"

Li An curled his lips: "It's boring, Ang Erdie."

Everyone laughed and raised their glasses together.

Ang Lee is indeed a promising person, and everyone has once again deeply realized this.

The stage is too far away, but life is right next to us.