GBP Chapter 385: A New Song Has Been Released
Chapter 385: A New Song Has Been Released
Upon hearing Lu Ran's words, Shen Yuege smirked and said, "The way you're talking makes it sound like you're his boss."
"I'm not his boss, but I'm his benefactor. If you don't treat a benefactor well, you're just narrowing your own path. He's clearly not that kind of person."
Lu Ran is right. These two big stars are willing to take the initiative to promote this place. If we seize this opportunity, it might just be a chance to develop the local tourism industry.
Xiao Zhang walked over. He was of medium build, wore black-rimmed glasses, and looked very refined.
He introduced himself as working in the office of the Culture and Tourism Bureau, where he was mainly responsible for external liaison and writing promotional materials.
"Mr. Lu, Ms. Yuege, have you had breakfast?" Xiao Zhang asked.
"Not yet," Shen Yuege said.
"Let's go have breakfast first. There's a mutton rice noodle shop near the entrance of the scenic area; it's quite delicious and a local specialty. We'll set off after you've eaten."
The three of them went to the mutton rice noodle shop at the entrance of the scenic area. The shop was small, with seven or eight tables. A menu written on red paper was pasted on the wall, offering mutton rice noodles, mutton offal rice noodles, extra meat, and extra noodles. The prices were so cheap that Lu Ran felt it was unreal.
A bowl of mutton rice noodles costs twelve yuan. Adding meat costs five yuan, and adding noodles costs two yuan. In Shanghai, the same bowl of noodles would cost at least thirty yuan.
Shen Yuege ordered a bowl of mutton rice noodles and added an extra portion of meat.
Lu Ran also ordered a bowl, without meat.
Shen Yuege glanced at him and put a few slices of mutton from her bowl into his bowl.
"Didn't you say you wanted to eat more meat? Why didn't you add any?"
"I ate too much last night, I'm not hungry."
"Come on, don't be ridiculous. Are you trying to lose weight?"
Lu Ran blushed when she was right, and lowered her head to eat her noodles without saying a word.
During this period, he did feel that he had gained a lot of weight, especially in his stomach, where he even developed abs.
Xiao Zhang watched this scene from the side and couldn't help but laugh, but he laughed very restrainedly. He was trained not to laugh easily unless he couldn't help it.
Lamb rice noodles are indeed delicious.
The soup base is made from lamb bones, and it's milky white with a layer of red oil floating on top. One sip is both fresh and spicy, and it warms you up from head to toe.
The noodles are thick and chewy, unlike the noodles in some other places that break easily when picked up.
The lamb was sliced thinly, very tender, and had no gamey smell.
Every place does indeed have its own unique local cuisine.
Lu Ran ate until he was sweating profusely, finishing the entire bowl of noodles, soup and all. Shen Yuege had also almost finished eating, leaving only a little soup.
"Mr. Lu, Ms. Shen, are you full? I'd like to order some more if you're not full," Xiao Zhang asked.
"I'm full." Shen Yuege wiped her mouth, then glanced at Lu Ran. "He's had enough too."
"Let's set off. First, let's go to Baili Rhododendron."
The three got into the car. Xiao Zhang led the way in the bureau's commercial vehicle, while Lu Ran followed behind in his RV.
It takes about an hour to drive from the scenic area to Baili Rhododendron. The road is not wide, but the road conditions are good. There are mountains on both sides, one after another, stretching endlessly.
The Baili Rhododendron Scenic Area is located deep in the Wumeng Mountains. It is a huge primeval rhododendron forest belt, which is one to five kilometers wide from east to west and more than fifty kilometers long from north to south, covering a total area of more than one hundred square kilometers.
The azaleas haven't bloomed yet this season, and the entire scenic area looks dark green, but you can imagine the overwhelming red when they bloom in spring.
Xiao Zhang parked the car in the parking lot at the foot of the mountain and led the two people up the trail.
The path is paved with stone slabs, and there are azalea trees on both sides. The trunks are as thick as a bowl, and they are obviously old trees that have been growing for more than ten years.
"There are more than forty varieties of azaleas here, including Rhododendron simsii, Rhododendron dewdrop, Rhododendron rustyis, and Rhododendron simsii, in all sorts of colors. The flowering season is from the end of March to the beginning of May every year. At that time, the mountains and fields are covered with flowers, red, pink, white, and purple, which is very beautiful," Xiao Zhang introduced as they walked.
"If we come now, will we be unable to see anything?" Shen Yuege asked.
"You can see the trees. Trees are part of the scenery too," Xiao Zhang said with a smile. "And during the flowering season, there are so many people, it's so crowded, it's hard to take a picture without anyone in it. Now there are fewer people, it's quiet and peaceful, you can walk slowly and take your time to look around, it's a different feeling."
Shen Yuege thought he made sense.
It's really comfortable to visit less crowded scenic spots. You don't have to queue, you don't have to squeeze, and you don't have to look at the scenery from behind other people's heads.
The three of them walked for half an hour in the rhododendron forest and reached a viewing platform at the top of the mountain.
Standing on the viewing platform and looking down, the entire azalea forest stretches out before you, with its dark green canopies layered upon layered on the hillside like a giant green carpet.
The distant mountains are faintly visible in the mist, like a traditional Chinese ink painting.
Pointing into the distance, Xiao Zhang said, "That's Jiucaiping, the highest point in Guizhou Province, over 2,900 meters above sea level. In summer, the mountaintop is covered with wild chive blossoms, a deep purple-red, in patches, it's very beautiful."
"Wild chive blossoms? Are they edible?" Lu Ran asked.
Xiao Zhang paused for a moment, then laughed: "You can eat it. But nobody would bear to eat it. It's such a waste to pick such a beautiful flower."
Lu Ran nodded, agreeing that it made sense.
After leaving Baili Dujuan, Xiao Zhang took them to Beipanjiang Grand Canyon.
The Grand Canyon is on the other side of the Wumeng Mountains, a two-hour drive away.
The road was difficult to travel, with many bends and steep slopes. Lu Ran drove very carefully, afraid that the rear of the RV would hit the stones on the side of the road.
When Lu Ran arrived at the Grand Canyon, he realized what "spectacular" truly meant.
The canyon is so deep that your legs will go weak when you stand on top and look down.
At the bottom of the canyon flows a clear green river, which makes several sharp turns within the canyon, like a green ribbon weaving through the mountains.
The canyon is flanked by steep cliffs covered with trees whose roots are embedded in the cracks in the rocks, stretching out towards the sunlight and growing vigorously.
Xiao Zhang pointed to the other side of the canyon and said, "That's southwestern Guizhou. This canyon is the boundary between Guizhou and Yunnan provinces. Once you cross the river, you're in Yunnan province."
"This river doesn't look that wide, I should be able to swim across, right?" Lu Ran asked.
"You can't swim across. The current is too strong; you'll be swept away as soon as you go in. Besides, there are water snakes in the river."
Lu Ran shrank his neck.
He's been afraid of those spicy snacks since he was a child.
The three of them spent more than an hour in the Grand Canyon and took a lot of photos.
Shen Yuege asked Xiao Zhang to take a photo of her and Lu Ran together. The two stood on the edge of the canyon, with a bottomless abyss and emerald green river behind them.
Shen Yuege looked at the photo several times and said that she wanted to print this one out and hang it in the living room.
Lu Ran said that there are already photos of you in the living room, and if you hang one more, it will be full.
Shen Yuege thought about it and realized that it was indeed the case. She then said that when she went back this time, she would hang the photo of the two of them in her room.
It was almost dark when we returned from the Grand Canyon.
Xiao Zhang drove them to the parking lot, and when they got out of the car, he took out a lot of bags from the trunk.
"These are some local specialties that Director Liu asked me to prepare. They're just a small token of my appreciation. There's ham from Weining, cured meat from Qianxi, bamboo fungus from Zhijin, dried tofu from Bijie, and some prickly pear wine that we brewed ourselves. Please take them back and try them."
Looking at the pile of things, Lu Ran felt it was a bit too much: "Isn't this too much? We can't fit it all in the car."
"No problem, no problem. The RV is so big, how could it not fit?" Xiao Zhang said as he moved his things into the RV, his movements as nimble as if he were moving things at home.
Lu Ran couldn't stop him, so he had no choice but to let him move it.
Shen Yuege stood to the side watching, a smile playing on her lips, as if to say, "Look how popular you are."
Lu Ran immediately returned a look, implying that this was mainly because of you.
After moving everything, Xiao Zhang wiped his sweat, took out a business card from his pocket, and handed it to Lu Ran: "Mr. Lu, this is my business card. If you need any help in the future, just give me a call. Director Liu said that next time you come to Wumeng Mountain, all your food, lodging, and transportation will be covered, you won't have to spend a penny."
Lu Ran took the business card and smiled, "Then next time I come, I'll make sure to come during the flowering season and eat your food for half a month."
"We can eat for a month straight. We don't have much else here, but we have plenty of food."
After Xiao Zhang left, Lu Ran and Shen Yuege had dinner in the RV.
Shen Yuege stir-fried a dish with the ham that Director Liu had given her. The ham was sliced thinly and stir-fried until it was shiny and oily. It tasted especially good with rice.
After finishing his meal, Lu Ran took out his laptop, opened the document of "Lady Shexiang", and read it from beginning to end.
The lyrics are fine, the sheet music is fine, everything you need is there.
"Shall we record now?" Shen Yuege asked.
"Record now. Strike while the iron is hot." Lu Ran pulled out the recording equipment from the locker.
The equipment is simple: a condenser microphone, a sound card, a pair of monitoring headphones, and recording software on a computer, and you have a mobile recording studio.
He connected the equipment, adjusted the parameters, and took the guitar down from the wall.
The broken guitar that Chen Xiaoming gave him hadn't been repaired yet, but the one he had now was his own, and it sounded much better.
"You go first," he said. "First verse."
Shen Yuege put on her headphones, stood in front of the microphone, and cleared her throat.
Lu Ran strummed a guitar string, played a few chords to find the key, nodded after finding it, and began to play the intro.
Shen Yuege spoke.
The moment her voice came out, Lu Ran felt a chill run down his spine.
The diva's voice is truly exceptional; every word is sung clearly, her breath control is as steady as a mountain, and her emotions are as clear as water.
The high notes are not harsh, and the low notes are not muffled; every note is just right.
After she finished singing the first verse, Lu Ran took over and sang the second verse.
His voice isn't as delicate as Shen Yuege's, but it's distinctive, with a rich and full mid-to-low range, making it perfect for singing songs with a touch of ethnic style.
The two of them recorded segment by segment, listened to the recording after each segment, and re-recorded any parts they felt were not good.
It took about an hour and a half to record, and all the vocal parts were done.
Lu Ran spent another hour re-recording the guitar accompaniment. The previous version had some unstable rhythms, so he wanted to record a cleaner version.
After recording everything, he aligned the two audio tracks in the software, adjusted the volume balance, added some reverb and compression, and exported it as an MP3 file.
"Okay." He leaned back in his chair and pressed play.
Music started playing, and the two people's voices echoed in the RV.
Shen Yuege's verses are as steady as a rock, every word is pronounced precisely, and the emotions are rich but not excessive.
Lu Ran's part has a powerful feel, which contrasts well with Shen Yuege's voice.
The two sang in perfect harmony, one high and one low, one gentle and one strong, their voices blending seamlessly together.
After listening, Shen Yuege was silent for five seconds, then said, "This song is definitely going to be a hit. If it were released now, it would be unbeatable."
Lu Ran: "Next chapter: Enemy from the Sky."
Shen Yuege glared at him: "I mean, this song is definitely going to be a hit."
"Of course. Every song I write becomes a hit."
"Can't you be a little more humble?"
"This song is not my achievement, but the achievement of Wumeng Mountain. Beautiful mountains and beautiful waters make for a beautiful song. If the mountains were barren and the waters were polluted, no matter how I wrote, I could never produce anything good."
Shen Yuege thought his words made sense and didn't refute them.
Lu Ran opened the TUTU backend, uploaded the audio file, and wrote a title: "Lu Ran and Shen Yuege sing a new song 'Lady Shexiang', dedicated to our beloved Wumeng Mountain."
The accompanying text reads: "A few days ago, I took a road trip in the Wumeng Mountains and was deeply moved by the scenery and people here. The people are simple and kind, and the scenery is breathtaking. But many people don't know about this place, so Yuege and I wrote this song in the hope that more people will learn about and visit the Wumeng Mountains. The story of Lady Shexiang deserves to be known by more people."
He clicked the publish button.
The page was refreshed, and the post appeared on his personal homepage.
Ten seconds later, the first comment appeared: "Holy crap! CEO Lu released a new song!"
A few seconds later, the second comment appeared: "Wait, Shen Yuege? A duet? What an amazing combination!"
A few minutes later, the third comment read: "I listened to it, and I declare this song the most catchy tune of the year. I've listened to the chorus five times, and now all I can think of is 'The Wumeng Mountains connect to the mountains beyond mountains.'"
Three minutes later, the number of views exceeded 100,000.
Five minutes later, the number of comments exceeded one thousand.
Ten minutes later, TUTU's homepage editor pinned the song to the top with a bold red title: "Lu Ran and Shen Yuege's duet, 'Lady Shexiang,' released to great acclaim!"
Lu Ran refreshed the page, and the number of views had jumped from 100,000 to 500,000.
The comments section shifted from initial exclamations of "Holy crap!" to various lengthy analyses.
"The chorus of this song is so catchy. I listened to it twice and started humming along. Once I finished humming, I couldn't stop."
"Is anyone else like me, who didn't know where Wumeng Mountain was before listening to this song, but immediately searched for travel guides for Wumeng Mountain after listening to it?"
"Lu Ran's ability to write songs with a folk style is simply amazing. The melody is simple yet catchy, and the lyrics are straightforward yet vivid. That's talent."
"Shen Yuege's voice is so beautiful. It has a clean and clear quality, like it's been washed by mountain spring water. Lu Ran's voice is also very distinctive, and the two of their voices blend together so harmoniously. Please, please, collaborate on more songs like this."
"I'm from Guizhou Province and I work in Shanghai. I cried when I heard this song. Because when I heard the line 'The Wumeng Mountains connect to mountains beyond mountains,' I felt homesick."
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