Chapter 73: Talent

Chapter 73: Talent

"They're here, they're here. They're coming over," Xiao Tang retreated from the door and went behind the counter.

In no time, several female soldiers entered the Supply and Marketing Cooperatives.

"Do you have any red cloth?" The one who spoke was Ye Shulan.

"Yes!" Xiao Tang was particularly eager, quickly taking down the red cloth from the shelf. "How much do you need?"

Ye Shulan reached out and touched it, her brows slightly furrowing as she said to the female soldier next to her, "This fabric is too thick."

The other female soldiers also reached out and touched it. "It really is too thick, not soft and flowing enough."

They asked Xiao Tang, "Do you have any lighter silk fabric?"

Xiao Tang nodded, "Yes, it's stock from the summer, we still have some left in the warehouse."

Su Zhaozhao said, "I'll go get it."

She turned and went to the warehouse, where the warehouse keeper retrieved the cloth.

The keeper asked, "Is anyone still buying thin fabric? Is it for a wedding? It's getting cold, clothes should be made from the pure wool gabardine we received a few days ago, that's better for making clothes."

The bright red fabric was usually bought for wedding clothes, rarely for daily wear.

There wasn't much red silk left in the warehouse, only about one and a half bolts. The keeper took out half a bolt. Su Zhaozhao touched it, it was very light, and said, "Bring the rest to the front, they'll probably need a lot."

The keeper was surprised, "Why do they need so much?"

"For the art troupe."

The keeper wasn't surprised anymore, "It's for dance costumes, next month is National Day. The grand theater in the city has performances every National Day. The unit has established an art troupe, they'll definitely perform, right?"

The last sentence was more of a monologue than a question to Su Zhaozhao.

But Su Zhaozhao knew, there was indeed a performance. It was mentioned in the book that the art troupe received enthusiastic applause during their first appearance in the unit.

The female lead's dance with red silk was stunning!

It also stunned the male lead, and they got married not long after.

Thinking about this, Su Zhaozhao felt a pang of sourness in her heart.

Su Zhaozhao and the keeper brought the fabric to the front of the store.

Seeing the fabric, Ye Shulan's eyes lit up as she touched it, "This is perfect."

A female soldier next to her said, "This should be enough, so we don't have to go to the city."

Ye Shulan nodded, "Definitely enough."

They took all the red fabric, more than one bolt.

Su Zhaozhao and Xiao Tang measured the fabric together. While measuring, Xiao Tang asked, "Is it for dance costumes? I saw you came from the tailor shop."

Ye Shulan smiled, "No, it's for dancing." After saying that, she glanced at Su Zhaozhao.

"What dance?" Why would they need so much fabric for a dance?

Another female soldier said, "You'll know when they perform during National Day. It's a secret."

Xiao Tang sighed, "I don't know if we'll get to see it. Sister Su, you definitely will, you're a military family."

Hearing Xiao Tang call Su Zhaozhao a military family, the female soldiers glanced at her, but only for a moment. There were plenty of military families in the resettlement area.

After buying the fabric, the female soldiers bought some personal items at the Supply and Marketing Cooperatives before leaving.

As she reached the door, Ye Shulan looked back at Su Zhaozhao.

This time, Su Zhaozhao met her gaze directly.

Ye Shulan smiled, nodded at her, and left with the fabric.

They went back to the tailor shop.

From the moment they entered the store until they left, Su Zhaozhao could feel Ye Shulan's gaze on her. It seemed like she was curious about her, but there was no malice.

No malice was best. She didn't want to engage in some kind of rivalry with the original female lead like in those era novels she read.

She hoped Yu Huixin would learn from the female lead and not cause trouble for no reason.

On her way home after work, Su Zhaozhao ran into Yan Guang near her doorstep.

"Captain Yan."

"Don't be so polite, just call me Lao Yan. Captain Yan is here to pass a message to Gu Heng, 'He went to the city last night and left early this morning... He went to Beijing with the commander for a meeting, probably won't be back for a week. If there's anything you need help with at home, come find me...'"

After delivering the message, Yan Guang left. Su Zhaozhao went back home and sat in the rocking chair, feeling a sense of emptiness.

He won't be back for a whole week.

So long!

When Gu Xiang and Gu Nian came back from school, Su Zhaozhao shared the news with them.

Both siblings were feeling quite down, as they wouldn't be able to see Dad for a whole week.

"That's a long time!"

Su Zhaozhao rose from the rocking chair. "Go do your homework, and I'll make dinner. How about eggs pancakes for tonight?"

Of course, the siblings agreed. The egg pancakes were tender and especially delicious.

There wasn't much homework today, and it was finished in no time. The siblings headed to the kitchen to help out.

Gu Nian chattered, "Mom, we had a music class today. The teacher taught us to sing and played the accordion. Should I sing for you?"

Su Zhaozhao brushed some oil into the pan and poured a ladle of egg and flour batter into it. "Sure, go ahead and sing."

"Let's sing together, brother."

Gu Xiang kept his mouth tightly shut, not really wanting to join in. He felt he hadn't learned it well enough yet.

Gu Nian had already started singing, "Our fields, beautiful fields, green rivers flowing through endless rice fields..."

When the song finished, Su Zhaozhao clapped her hands, a bit surprised. Gu Nian's vocal quality was as good as what she had heard on TV.

Xiao Nian has a talent for singing!

She also noticed something, "You remembered all the lyrics to the song from today?"

Is her memory too good?

Gu Nian nodded happily, "I memorized it after a few tries. The teacher said I sang well, didn't go off-key. Many of my classmates did."

Gu Xiang also nodded, "Yes, she sang the best in the class."

Su Zhaozhao asked Gu Nian, "Do you like singing?"

"Yes, I do!" Her eyes couldn't leave the teacher when she played the accordion. It was the first time she had seen one at her age.

"Mom, the teacher just played the accordion, and her fingers plucked the keys. Music came out. It was amazing!"

"You'll understand how it works when you learn it in the future," Su Zhaozhao smiled.

Gu Nian's eyes widened, "Can I learn it?"

"Of course, let me find out first."

Music and vocals go hand in hand. If a child has talent in this area, they should be well-cultivated.

Gu Nian was so happy that she grabbed her brother's hand and jumped a few times in place, "Brother, did you hear that? I can learn the accordion!"

Gu Xiang was feeling dizzy from her shaking, "I know, I know."

"Do you want to learn too, brother?"

"I don't want to." Gu Xiang wasn't interested. He was going to join the army in the future!

That's right. Gu Xiang already had plans for his future. He wanted to be a captain like his father!

Protect the country and earn a good salary!

After her excitement, Gu Nian realized, "Mom, isn't learning the accordion very expensive? You need money to buy one, and lessons cost money too, right?"

Her little face wrinkled up at the mention of money.

Su Zhaozhao said, "Don't worry. Dad's salary is high, and I have a job now, earning a salary every month. We can afford whatever you want to learn."

Gu Xiang already had a good understanding of their family's financial situation. "Don't worry, we don't lack money now."

Even if they weren't short of money, they should still be frugal!

Gu Nian nodded, "I will study hard!"

Seeing how eager her child was to learn, Su Zhaozhao naturally supported her. The next day during her lunch break, she went to the school.

"Teacher Zheng."

Seeing her, Teacher Zheng's eyes lit up. "Gu Nian's mom, you came at the right time. I was just about to talk to you about something."

What a coincidence?

"What is it? Please tell me."

Teacher Zheng asked her to sit and even poured her a glass of water.

"National Day is coming up soon, and the school is planning to rehearse a program to celebrate it. We will also be performing with the art troupe at a unit. Gu Nian sings very well, and the school is planning to form a choir with her as the lead singer. We wanted to know if you, as parents, would support this?"

Su Zhaozhao certainly thought it was a good idea. "Yes, I fully support it!"

"That's great, but there's the matter of the costumes... The school's budget is quite limited." This was why Teacher Zheng wanted to talk to the parents. When it came to spending money, many parents would hesitate.

"Whatever the school arranges. We can prepare it ourselves, or if the school buys it uniformly, we'll cover the costs."

Teacher Zheng breathed a sigh of relief, "Thank you very much for your support!"

After Teacher Zheng finished, Su Zhaozhao also mentioned her own reason for coming.

"You want to learn the accordion? Sure, you don't need to visit a vocal music teacher. I teach vocal music."

Su Zhaozhao raised an eyebrow, "Teacher Zheng, aren't you a Chinese language teacher?"

Teacher Zheng smiled and said, "I also teach vocal music. There aren't many vocal music classes, and since I studied this major before, I took on the additional role."

"If Gu Nian wants to learn, she can study with me. When it's time to take the college entrance examination, it's possible for her to develop in the direction of vocal music. We have a music college right here in Sea City."

Gu Nian was doing well academically, and her family conditions were good. Her parents clearly were the type of parents who emphasized their child's education. With such a background, Teacher Zheng had no doubt that she would go on to college.

The college entrance examination was a long way off. Su Zhaozhao calculated that by the time Gu Xiang and Gu Nian were ready for the college entrance examination, it would be 1965. However, in 1966, the college entrance examination would be canceled, and instead, workers, farmers, and soldiers would be recommended for admission. Their class would just be hanging on the tail end of that.

It wasn't clear what the exact situation would be at that time. Of course, getting into college would be ideal, but if not, they would have to wait another ten years.

But could you really learn anything in college at that time?

Su Zhaozhao shook her head. It was too early to think about that; there were still ten years to go.

When learning from a teacher, you couldn't show up empty-handed expecting to be taught. Su Zhaozhao proactively offered to pay tuition.

Teacher Zheng repeatedly declined, saying, "No, no, I'm already her teacher. It's my duty to teach her. How can I charge extra tuition?"

Su Zhaozhao replied, "If it were just one or two classes, I wouldn't mention it. But learning vocal music is a long-term commitment and will take up a lot of your time. This is outside of the regular school curriculum. We can't just take advantage of you for free. If you don't accept some compensation, I'll feel bad about letting Gu Nian study with you."

After some thought, Teacher Zheng agreed. Money was never unwelcome.

They settled on the tuition fee: two classes a week, totaling eight classes a month, with a monthly fee of three yuan.

The lessons could be held either at the school or at home.

To Su Zhaozhao, this fee seemed really low, but Teacher Zheng still thought it was high, considering that a semester of elementary school tuition was only six yuan.

Teacher Zheng was concerned that charging too much might lead to gossip and reflect poorly on her, so she set the price at three yuan.

"Accordions require a ticket, and it's impossible to get one anytime soon. But there's no need to rush; she hasn't even started learning yet. For the first two months, she can use mine. I'll also ask around to see if anyone has a ticket."

Su Zhaozhao was naturally grateful.

On her way out of Teacher Zheng's office, Su Zhaozhao glanced into the classroom. Some children were napping with their heads on the desks, while others were reading books. Her two children were among those reading.

More than half of the classroom was empty, probably because the other children had gone out to play.

Su Zhaozhao didn't disturb them and went home.

In the afternoon, when she went to work at the Supply and Marketing Cooperatives, Su Zhaozhao asked Section Chief Xie about the accordion ticket.

"Why do you need an accordion ticket?"

"My child wants to learn."

Section Chief Xie clicked his tongue twice. It was no surprise that a captain's family could afford to buy an accordion, which cost several months' worth of wages.

"Do you have industrial coupons?"

Su Zhaozhao nodded. "Yes, I do."

See, what a straightforward answer. The captain's benefits were high; they were incomparable.

Section Chief Xie was envious. "Then you can just use the industrial coupons to buy it. Why bother with an accordion ticket?"

Su Zhaozhao raised her eyebrows. "I can buy it with industrial coupons?"

"Of course, the purchasing range of industrial coupons is quite broad. The variety of goods at our cooperative is limited, so it's normal that you don't know. These ticket requirements change every year, and the items that require tickets increase bit by bit."

This was something Su Zhaozhao wasn't clear about. There were still many things to learn and keep up with current events. But being able to use industrial coupons was even better.

"If you need it urgently, you can ask Xiao Yang or Xiao Lu to help bring it back. They're the procurers and often have to go to the city." Section Chief Xie lowered his voice. "We can get it at the cooperative's procurement price, which would be a bit cheaper. It's like an internal benefit."

"Alright, I'll ask them for help later. Thank you, Section Chief!" It would be even better if the price could be a little cheaper. She didn't plan to go to the city anytime soon. This Sunday, she had to work and didn't have time to go.

Section Chief Xie waved his hand and walked away slowly with his teacup.

Xiao Tang came over and asked, "Sister Su, are you planning to have your daughter join the art troupe in the future?"

Su Zhaozhao smiled. "It's too early to talk about that. She's still young."

"Is she eight or nine, or maybe ten years old? Actually, she's not that young anymore. When she's fourteen or fifteen, you can just have Captain Gu arrange for her to join the art troupe. It's only a few years away."

Have her daughter join the art troupe at fourteen or fifteen? Why would she want her daughter to join so early?

"There's an age requirement for military enlistment. Fourteen or fifteen is still underage."

"What's the big deal? With Captain Gu's rank, you could just arrange a special recruitment!"

Su Zhaozhao shook her head. "That won't do. We have to follow the rules. We don't engage in special privileges."

Comrade Xiao Tang, your thinking is quite dangerous. How can you always think about using connections?