Middle age: leisurely life in the entertainment industry

Yu Dongqing sighed softly.

"Brother, I will give you your 8,000 yuan rent as soon as possible after you are discharged from the hospital." Guo Xin said again.

"Don't worry, take good care of your health first." Yu Dongqing comforted her and couldn't help asking: "Aren't you a resident singer? Why do you drink so much wine if you're not a bartender?"

A trace of bitterness appeared on Guo Xin's face. She turned her head and looked at the blooming roses again, and said quietly: Brother, there is a story here. Are you willing to listen? "

Yu Dongqing had no choice but to nod and sit on the bench next to her.

"You know I'm from Chongqing. My dream is to be a singer and come to Yanjing after graduating from university."

"I remember that the first time I stood on the bar stage, I was extremely frightened. I was so nervous that I was sweating all over my body and even trembling slightly."

Guo Xin couldn't help but smile when she recalled her first days as a bar singer, as if she wanted to use her current ease to appease her timid self in the past.

"It's normal. It was like this when I first took the stage." Yu Dongqing interjected.

Guo Xin glanced at Yu Dongqing in surprise and continued. "I only get paid 100 yuan a day, which is only about 3,000 yuan a month. I have to eat, wear clothes, phone bills, water and electricity bills, and necessary cosmetics, so I often use them all in a month. I have no choice but to default on your rent. "

At this point Guo Xin smiled apologetically.

Yu Dongqing listened quietly without saying anything.

"We often play the game of oiran in our bar." Guo Xin added.

"Oiran?"

"When enjoying a singer's performance in a bar, the audience can send flowers to the singer. Each flower represents 100 yuan. Of the 100 yuan, the bar takes 20 yuan of operating expenses, and the remaining 80 yuan goes to the singer. The oiran is the one who collects the money. The singer with the most flowers is the most popular bar singer."

"Were you the oiran last night?" Yu Dongqing asked.

"Well, I'm very happy. It's the first time I've been singing as an oiran in such a long time. When I was about to finish, a drunk guest tried to drag her to drink with me."

"Does the bar owner not care?" Yu Dongqing asked with a frown.

"The boss doesn't care. He quickly stopped the guest and said with a smile: "I'm sorry, the singer in our bar does not accompany the drink. "

Unexpectedly, the guest laughed and said, "You don't want to drink with me? Haha. I'll pay the head office, right?"

"In order to scare him away, the boss directly quoted 1,000 yuan for a cup! Unexpectedly, as soon as the boss finished speaking, the customer suddenly opened the zipper of his handbag and took out a thick wad of bills.

"Keep your word and drink it for me!"

"You just drank it?" Yu Dongqing asked.

"What can I do if I don't drink? Besides, I really need money." Guo Xin whispered.

"I drank XO from a big cup. I drank four cups in one go. I usually don't drink alcohol, but now I drank so much. I couldn't stand it anymore, so I ran into the bathroom and vomited. It felt like my stomach was full. Quickly spit it out, I really wanted to run away at that time."

"Don't you dare?" Yu Dongqing said lightly.

"Well, I really didn't dare. I was afraid that I would be beaten. If I didn't drink when I opened this mouth, it would be like making fun of the guests, so I had to go back and drink again."

"Why do guests come to the bar to have fun? It's not just for fun. And many of them come for social purposes. Face is very important to them. If you offend them and make them lose face, you will definitely anger the guests. . Under such circumstances, they can do anything with the help of alcohol."

"Normal." Yu Dongqing replied.

I have been in the entertainment industry for almost twenty years, what kind of dirty things have I not seen?

"I made good calculations. A girl I met before worked as a singer in the same bar as me for a while. Originally, she could only earn 300 yuan a day. Suddenly one day she told me that she had no money this month. How can I earn 150,000 yuan just by working?"

Guo Xin paused for a moment and looked at Yu Dongqing: "As for how she earned this money, brother. I think you understand."

Yu Dongqing nodded.

"Actually, looking back, it's good to be like this now. I'm just a person who loves to sing. If I don't become a bar singer, my whole life will have nothing to do with singing. I don't want that. Although I'm just an extremely ordinary person. As a grassroots singer, as long as I keep persisting, although I can't see a very bright future at the moment, I believe this is just the darkness before dawn and everything will be fine in the future."

Hearing the girl's words, Yu Dongqing couldn't help but feel a little moved.

"You will definitely succeed!"

"Thank you." A sweet smile appeared on the girl's still pale face.

"I will take you back when you are discharged from the hospital tomorrow." Yu Dongqing said.

"No, no. Anyway, it's not far away. I'll go back by myself." Guo Xin quickly declined: "It's just the rent. I guess I will still owe you for a while."

"The rent is not urgent. Let's recover first. If your body is gone, everything will be gone." Yu Dongqing stood up after saying that.

"Well I'll never drink again."

After chatting for a while, Yu Dongqing asked if there was anything else he needed help with. The girl smiled and refused, saying that you had already helped me too much and that was enough.

Yu Dongqing didn't insist. She said to take care of herself and left the garden. After leaving the hospital gate, she drove towards home.

The New Year is coming soon, and the streets are filled with a festive atmosphere.

He remembered what Guo Xin said just now.

With the entire record industry in decline, being a bar singer has become a practical way out for many young people to pursue their music dreams.

As night falls, bar singers like Guo Xin will appear on time in Houhai, Sanlitun and other places in the imperial capital, performing hard for the audience on a stage of a few square meters in the bar. They use their singing voices, which may be hoarse, sweet, vicissitudes of life or energetic, to protect their musical dream that they have never given up.

Yes, dreams.

Didn’t you hold on to your dream back then?

Yu Dongqing no longer thinks about Guo Xin.

No matter how hard and tiring you are, you must continue on the path you choose.

Two days later, Yu Dongqing got up from her nap in the afternoon and drove to the supermarket to do some shopping. She also had to prepare some New Year's goods for the upcoming New Year. The car had just driven into an overpass near the North Second Ring Road when she suddenly saw a girl on the sidewalk under the bridge. Selling and singing.

It's Guo Xin!

Wearing a down jacket, the girl's face was a little green in the cold wind. She had a microphone in front of her and was playing and singing with a guitar.

Yu Dongqing quickly slowed down and pulled over, listening quietly.

This is the first time I heard Guo Xin sing, and I didn't expect that the girl has a rare smoky voice.

But pedestrians were in a hurry, and people passing by occasionally glanced at it, but no one stopped to appreciate it at all.

The girl still sang.

Yu Dongqing sat in the car and listened quietly for twenty minutes, then opened the door and walked towards Guo Xin.

Guo Xin was a little surprised when she saw Yu Dongqing coming over, thinking he was here to collect the rent again, and hurriedly said: "Brother, I will pay the rent in a few days."

"Do you have a pen and paper?" Yu Dongqing interrupted her.

"Yes, yes." Guo Xin didn't quite understand what he meant, but still took out a small notebook from her bag.

Yu Dong took it, squatted down and put it on his knees to write. Guo Xin looked at it curiously.

It's a song!

It didn't take long for Yu Dongqing to write it and hand it to her.

"You try singing this. There is also this address. If you are willing to come to Jingyuan during the Chinese New Year to find a woman named Luo Yun." After saying this, Yu Dongqing turned and left.

Guo Xin took a small notebook and read it carefully, played the guitar and hummed, and tears flowed down unknowingly:

Dust off the dust quickly

Don't dirty your eyes

maybe

You have long been forgotten in the conversation and laughter

And I'm in trouble

Already full of vicissitudes of life

Missing you takes time

Take care of yourself slowly

"The lingering fragrance"

Thanks to Chi Yufei and others for their monthly votes.

PS, today my wife and I are going to Jiangsu and Zhejiang for a few days, so I am posting the manuscript to see if I can hold on until I get back from the trip. I will try my best. I wish you all a happy life.