A Sand Sculpture in the Red Dust - Chapter 11 PT2

Chapter 11 PT2 – The Li Family’s Reactions

　　After Mr. Li came back, the mansion became a little noisy.

　　But it may not be so friendly to Li Xiangfu.

　　”Shasha said you went out to look for a job.”

　　When Li Xiangfu first heard the old man call the system that, he was a little uncomfortable, but he nodded and acknowledged that it was true.

　　Mr. Li glanced at him and asked, “Did you find it?”

　　Li Xiangfu: “Just barely.”

　　Just when he was about to tell him that society is cruel and young people should not be too ambitious, his throat moved and he swallowed the truth again: “What job?”

　　”Performing arts.”

　　“…”

　　The word “nonsense” was on the tip of his tongue, but he didn’t scold him in the end.

　　The experience that Mr. Li has gained from raising his children over the years is to remain patient. The more you talk, the easier it is to arouse rebellious psychology. It is more effective to watch them make a fuss and then give them advice at the appropriate time.

　　After making sure that the other party had nothing further to say, Li Xiangfu entered his room and immediately began to re-choreograph the dance steps. Today’s performance made him discover many loopholes.

　　Li Shasha, who was spinning a Rubik’s Cube nearby, saw him spinning and jumping with his eyes closed and gave a fair comment: “A dances without a soul, lacking a backbone.”

　　He refers to the backbone as the content the dance wants to convey.

　　”I know.” Li Xiangfu had thought about this a long time ago. Most people who want to organize similar talent shows face a difficulty. They cannot achieve perfection in both aspects.

　　When dancing and painting at the same time, the dance has to be broken down to match the painting movements, resulting in fragmentation. The finished painting is also unlikely to reach a medium to high standard. The only attraction of performance-type projects is the novelty, which cannot withstand aftertaste.

　　If he didn’t need to accumulate popularity in a short period of time, he wouldn’t do such a thankless task.

　　Li Shasha stood on tiptoe and leaned on the table, tilting his head and asked, “Even if you perform, the popularity will only last for half a day after the applause. You still have to wait to participate in the folk song collection activities. Even if you wear a mask on the show, your identity will be exposed.”

　　Li Xiangfu was very calm and said that he had already thought about how to deal with it.

　　After a pause, he continued, “As for the problem of poor choreography, we can make up for it with skills.”

　　He drew a few sketches to show what he was going to rearrange: “From the first paint jar to the third paint jar, I plan to use a powerful rotation and a cross kick in the air, and then a difficult move of my own creation after landing, focusing on showing the rough beauty. When moving left and right, I will use a single-leg upright turn, followed by a single-leg squat turn of 360°…”

　　“…”

　　After describing for five minutes and using dozens of professional terms, Li Shasha’s expression gradually went out of control and then numb.

　　If you do one difficult move, the audience will applaud and cheer. If you do ten, it will be a heart-pounding experience.

　　But for Li Xiangfu, this is nothing. A country where women are respected requires men to be proficient in music, chess, calligraphy, painting, dance, and embroidery. If everyone is proficient, you have to be different if you want to stand out. In those days, under systematic training, he danced on the eaves in summer, played figure skating on ice in winter, and sang on special drums in spring and autumn…

　　Once you get the certification title, the skill is ingrained in your bones, and there is no possibility of failure unless it is intentional.

　　•=√=•

　　Today, Li Huaichen and Li Xichun both finished work early, which was rare.

　　They couldn’t remember how long it had been since the last time the family sat together for a meal.

　　In the evening, Aunt Zhang specially prepared a sumptuous meal. At the dinner table, Mr. Li complained that his second son had not contacted him for half a month and did not come back to have a meal with his elders.

　　Li Xichun was unmoved by this: “It’s not the first day. You know An Qing’s character.”

　　The TV was on, and Aunt Zhang sat there watching TV after finishing her work. She was a big fan of “Masters Come from Ordinary People” and she never missed even the replay.

　　The guests on the stage were performing a skit, and Aunt Zhang couldn’t help laughing out loud several times.

　　Li Xiangfu looked over and suddenly said, “I was also selected to participate in this program.”

　　Aunt Zhang’s laughter stopped abruptly.

　　Li Huaichen put down his chopsticks, Li Xichun almost choked on a fish bone, Mr. Li’s eyes widened, and then these people looked up at him at the same time.

　　Li Xichun spat out the fish bone and said, “Next time, don’t joke while eating.”

　　Everyone started eating again.

　　”It’s true.” Li Shasha said, “Dad has signed a contract with the program team. He will go to record the program tomorrow. You can see him on TV on Wednesday.”

　　“…”

　　”What talent?” Li Xichun’s expression changed slightly: “Playing the guqin?”

　　Li Xiangfu: “Extreme drawing.” Then he asked her opinion: “What do you think?”

　　Li Xichun: “Let’s perform face-changing.”

　　Li Xiangfu was confused.

　　Li Xichun: “At least it can cover the face.”

　　Li Xiangfu frowned, but still said: “I have prepared the mask for the stage.”

　　”Then there’s no problem.” Mr. Li, who had been silent all this time, suddenly spoke up and made the final decision, then he ate his meal in peace.

　　Everyone’s expressions gradually returned to normal.

　　While walking in the courtyard after dinner, Li Shasha said to Li Xiangfu: “Dad, you will surprise everyone, I promise.”

　　“…”

　　That doesn’t sound like a compliment.

　　•=|=•

　　Li Xiangfu went to record the show on time on Sunday, and on the night of the show’s broadcast on Wednesday, he was asked out by the assistant director for a meeting.

　　The format of “Masters Come from Ordinary People” is that each guest has only one chance to perform on stage. In each episode, a master is selected, and then at the end of the month these people are put together and the audience votes to select the king of masters.

　　The assistant director has a keen eye and knows that Li Xiangfu may become a ratings bomb, so he intends to make him the mystery guest next week to perform as a warm-up.

　　Li Xiangfu is not sure whether the show can achieve the expected effect, so he will wait until the hot search comes out tomorrow before making a decision. If the response is not good, he can add another show. If the popularity is enough, he will strike while the iron is hot and directly upload his resume for participating in the competition.

　　Li family.

　　Although there were many ridicules and pessimism, except for Li Anqing who was always elusive, everyone else including Aunt Zhang sat in front of the TV to watch the show on time that day.

　　Li Xiangfu was the second to last to play.

　　The bronze fang mask and specially tailored red dress look weird and mysterious.

　　Strictly speaking, this is not actually a skirt, but just a flowing piece of red cloth tied around the waist. Li Xiangfu has a thin waist, so it doesn’t look weird wrapped around him.

　　The music was edited again, and the tempo became much faster. Li Xiangfu started with a difficult move without any buffer at all.

　　As the two sides of the side flip and the splits connected, two brightly colored lines instantly appeared on the canvas under his feet.

　　But this is just the beginning.

　　The dance that followed was just like the pre-performance movements that he had described to Li Shasha in the room that day.

　　”Oh!” The camera accurately captured the scene of the audience covering their mouths and exclaiming.

　　”Oh my God!” Aunt Zhang also screamed when she saw the long legs almost getting tangled in the rotation.

　　When the dance music reached its most exciting climax, Li Xiangfu spun on one leg as fast as a whipped top, and the composition of the pistil under his toes was completed.

　　The audience on TV exclaimed, and outside the TV, the Li family members gasped. Just then, the scene of Li Xiangfu floating in the air with his head raised and doing splits was played. He stretched his toes, stretched his arms into a graceful pose, and easily completed the leap of faith from one paint jar to another.

　　Sitting on the carpet, Li Shasha accepted the mental torture from three directions at the same time. With a blank expression, he clapped his hands and chanted: “The monkeys on both sides of the river are crying incessantly, and the light boat has passed through thousands of mountains.”

　　The author has something to say:

　　Li Xiangfu: I hold my head high, jump, and leap… I want to show my skills gracefully.

　　Li family: Quick, give me quick-acting heart-saving pills.

　　Li Shasha: Visual pollution, spiritual pollution, mental pollution…Remember my childhood that will take half my lifetime to heal.