The Book of All Things: Born for Joy

Gu Quan listened to the song until he was so quiet he could only breathe. Based on his many years of experience, he was sure that this soothing song, "Sheng Sheng Man," would be a huge hit. After making an appointment with Li Zichun to meet with Fan Liwen the next day to discuss the follow-up matters, he returned to the hotel he had booked.

Li Zichun bid farewell to Zhao Qianfan's family and returned to the small house with Qitong. Seeing that it was still early, he decided to recall some things and stock up on some dry goods. He turned on his computer to prepare to write a new book or script, but after thinking about it, he didn't know what to write.

Memories are a jumbled mess; recalling past lives with this body feels like seeing a completely different person.

The primary reason Li Zichun became a billionaire in his original world was his extensive knowledge and skills, which gave him many more opportunities than others. Coupled with his wife's support and assistance, he rose from a lowly employee to general manager, eventually owning his own company and business, becoming a powerful figure. Looking back now, having lived this life again, it truly feels like a past life.

Li Zichun repeatedly oscillated between the exquisite memories in his mind, and finally decided to write a few TV drama scripts first, which he named "The Torrent of Time".

The general plan is to first complete the following scripts, ranging from "The Qin Empire: The Great Rift", "Emperor Wu of Han", "Romance of the Sui and Tang Dynasties", "Palace of Desire", "The Great Song Dynasty Judge" to "Genghis Khan", "Ming Dynasty 1566", and "Kangxi Dynasty", covering various classics in the history of emperors.

As for those phenomenal dramas with huge influence, such as "Romance of the Three Kingdoms," "Nirvana in Fire," "Empresses in the Palace," and "Awakening Era," Li Zichun decided to keep them for later review. He didn't want to ruin classics because of issues like funding, casting, costumes, and props.

So for a long time afterward, he didn't mind having nothing to do during his free time. He recalled that even if he wrote these scripts at his fastest speed, it would still take him more than half a year to finish them. By then, it would be time for the singing competition, and he would be heading towards the top of the world.

So that night, Li Zichun wrote until late into the night, and finally, at the break of dawn the next day, he couldn't stay awake any longer and fell asleep. Qi Tong lay on the balcony, continuing to gaze at the moon, his silver fur becoming even brighter and whiter.

Li Zichun was startled when he woke up from his nap at noon by Zhao Qianfan and Gu Quan standing in front of the window, and almost screamed.

Zhao Qianfan pressed him down: "It's okay, it's us. Gu Quan kept calling you but no one answered, so he asked me to bring him directly to you. Your cat opened the door for us and didn't wake you up since you were asleep."

Qi Tong stared blankly at Li Zichun, who went from shock to resentment and wanted to pick a fight. He licked his paws, wiggled his little bottom, and turned to lie down on the sofa in the living room.

Li Zichun rubbed his messy hair and looked at Gu Quan and Zhao Qianfan with a depressed expression, saying, "I need to change my clothes. Go outside and wait."

Looking at his bewildered and annoyed expression, Zhao Qianfan suddenly found him rather endearing. He no longer seemed as aloof and unapproachable as he had been on the scene. This sudden change in mood made him exude a vibrant and down-to-earth aura. Zhao Qianfan couldn't help but tease him, "Why don't you wash up first? Are you hungry? I'll go cook you a bowl of noodles."

Li Zichun rubbed his face and slapped it twice: "Okay, I want two eggs."

Zhao Qianfan and Gu Quan smiled and nodded as they went out to cook. When Li Zichun appeared in front of him after getting ready, he was once again serious and stern, as if he were giving orders.

Li Zichun ate his noodles expressionlessly, listening to Gu Quan's request, and almost blurted out in his heart, "Is that all?"

Li Zichun didn't answer, but looked at Zhao Qianfan and said, "What do you think of what he said?"

Zhao Qianfan was also a little confused. He had only come to sit with them and hadn't prepared before saying, "I think it's great, but it just feels a bit like a fixed pattern. After all, we already used this format at our last new song concert, so doing it again would just be copying and imitating, without any innovation whatsoever."

Gu Quan understood his meaning to some extent, but still said unwillingly, "In recent years, the popularity of traditional Chinese music has declined. It is already quite good to have one or two works that have become popular. It is not easy to survive in the tide of the times and in the public eye."

Zhao Qianfan didn't say much, after all, he wasn't an expert and was just casually sharing his opinion. But when he saw Li Zichun's approving expression, he continued, "It is precisely because of its decline that innovation and change are necessary. A tree dies when transplanted, but a person thrives. Traditional Chinese style is just a style; if it cannot keep up with the times, then no amount of progress can save it."

Gu Quan persisted, "Of course I know that, but if it's changed, it won't taste the same."

Li Zichun yawned and looked at Gu Quan with a pout: "Brother Gu, what did you think of last night's 'Sheng Sheng Man'?"

Although Gu Quan was somewhat displeased, he still nodded affirmatively: "Very good, better than the works that have appeared in recent years."

Li Zichun couldn't help but burp: "Then leave the arrangements for this concert to me. All you need to do is follow orders and promote it as much as you can. If you agree, don't go back on your word. If you don't agree, then there's nothing more to discuss."

Gu Quan paused for a few seconds, then continued firmly, "Okay, but this event cannot be held under the banner of the Ministry of Culture of the Great Zhou Kingdom. I can only help you make the arrangements in my personal capacity; otherwise, I won't be able to explain it to the other people in the Ministry of Culture."

Li Zichun said nonchalantly, "Then let's put together a new song concert under the name of Huating Entertainment. Brother Gu, you'll be the producer, Sister Fan will be the executive producer, Brother Xu will be the chief planner, and I'll be the director. Hmm, that's good. It's decided then."

Gu Quan was provoked by his confident attitude: "Do you even understand what you're doing? The effect has to be at least as good as the last new song concert, otherwise I can't afford to lose face."

Li Zichun chuckled and said, "Just watch this. Just do as I say, and I'll give you a real Chinese-style show."

Gu Quan was also infected by his confidence, and said with a mixture of anticipation and threat, "Then I'll wait and see. If you mess this up, you'll have no chance to get anywhere in the arts and culture circle."

Gu Quan's agreement to these seemingly unreasonable demands was, of course, based on his own comprehensive considerations. From the photos of him petting cats at the Sichuan Opera theater, it's clear he still loves traditional culture. Then there's the piano piece that's still generating heated discussions on campus, with requests for the original song being uploaded and downloaded. He's a rising star in the music scene who dared to livestream his new song online and broke records. And then there's the pipa piece that even amazed him. Every appearance of his seems to break the mold and take an unconventional path. The music scene does indeed need such fresh blood to refresh it. Perhaps traditional Chinese music needs to break out of its niche to have any chance of survival.

Zhao Qianfan watched quietly from the side, sighing inwardly: "You're stunned, aren't you? You're the real deal. This is the essence of a talented person. This was one of the reasons I was initially attracted to you. You're truly wonderful."

Next was a video conference with Fan Liwen. After a few steps and discussing the details, they started calling in more people.

Gu Quan contacted the personnel he needed, Fan Liwen directly asked Xu Songlin to arrange the venue and personnel, Li Zichun only needed to compose lyrics and music and select singers, and Uncle Qi, Liu Xueqi and Li Jiawei, who were performing commercially outside, also canceled their subsequent work. Everyone gathered at the company three days later.

Li Zichun prepared all the lyrics and music over these three days and made a detailed schedule.

Three days later, with everything prepared and everyone in place, formal rehearsals began. In the first few days of training, Li Zichun personally oversaw everything, and once they were on track, he didn't offer much further instruction, only making minor adjustments. Everyone was amazed by his talent. The older masters, who had initially been somewhat dismissive, assuming the previous piece, "Ambush from Ten Sides," eventually cooperated wholeheartedly after witnessing his live pipa playing, giving their all in every rehearsal.

Gu Quan found Jin Dili to be in charge of the costume design. As a noblewoman from a prestigious family who also studied fashion design at an international school, her skills were naturally top-notch.

Li Zichun verbally described the style, materials, patterns, accessories, etc. he wanted, and she was responsible for procuring them for everyone. He had to admire the professionalism and execution ability cultivated by her large family. The next day, she produced a draft based on the design, and after confirmation, she started contacting people to make the production on the third day.

Although the makers were all elderly women and grandmothers she found in the streets and alleys who had nothing better to do than sew shoe soles and cloth shoes, when he saw the stunning finished garments, he was impressed by the woman's social skills and discerning eye. Indeed, capable people can live comfortably anywhere. You might think others live the same life as you, but they simply choose to live that way.

After the arrangements were made, Li Zichun was on call 24 hours a day for the first few days. Later, he would come over to check on things one last time each day, starting from once every three days, but eventually once a week.

When Gu Quan heard this, he almost rolled his eyes to the sky, but he managed to hold back. He could only secretly complain to Fan Liwen and ask her to pay more attention.

From the day the new song concert was confirmed, Huating Entertainment launched a massive online and local promotional campaign and began selling tickets, priced from twenty to one hundred yuan, which was quite cheap. This was also at Li Zichun's request; all proceeds would be equally divided among the professional performers hired by Gu Quan, and the sales figures were transparent online, so no one objected.

After all, in the music industry these days, everyone says that being able to sing songs written by Li Zichun is a huge win. He could live comfortably for years through variety shows and commercial performances, and might even be able to sing for the rest of his life. Who would risk being replaced and court death? Moreover, the artists Gu Quan invites are all masters of traditional Chinese music, the youngest being at least fifty years old. They might only have a few concerts a year, and those are for foreign guests. Being able to perform with these living fossils of national intangible cultural heritage is an honor; they already pay so much in royalties, how could they possibly accept more money?

Gu Quan also promoted the performance on his personal account, which sparked heated discussions. This was the first time he had promoted a local performance that wasn't produced by the Ministry of Culture or the State Administration of Culture, leading many to believe he no longer worked for the Ministry of Culture. Ultimately, under pressure from the internet and the Ministry of Culture, he had to issue a statement clarifying that it was merely a personal act between friends, simply enjoying the performance of a new entertainment powerhouse, and had nothing to do with the Ministry of Culture of the Great Zhou Kingdom.

After nearly two weeks of rehearsals, the live performance and online broadcast finally took place on the last night of the National Day holiday, October 7th. Lü Fang also came with Professor James and his two students. They had only heard the solo version online before, and as professional musicians, they naturally wanted to come and experience the live performance.

Lu Fang had heard the pipa piece online. Since no one showed their face and only a cat's tail was swaying around, she couldn't be sure if it was actually played by Li Zichun. Although she was amazed by his talent, such extraordinary traditional Chinese music was not something that ordinary people could handle, so she couldn't help but have some doubts.

There were also many people at the scene who were skeptical and critical of the musicians. Some even had prepared scripts, ready to release them immediately if the musicians had a bad day, and the traffic would come in like crazy.

Li Zichun chose the Rongcheng Grand Theatre, which can accommodate 5,000 people, as the venue for this new song concert. The group was backstage getting ready and told everyone to perform well, and to treat it as a trip to relax.

Gu Quan listened nervously from the side, his lips twitching, and he almost recited the Three Character Classic in his mind.

As the lights dimmed, the musicians took to the stage. The opening piece was a traditional Chinese music ensemble piece titled "The Elephant King's Journey," composed by Guan Dazhou and arranged by Guan Dazhou and Lin Yihang.

The resounding drumbeats echoed amidst the chanting of the Dharma horn, symbolizing the roar of the elephant king in Buddhism, representing Gouchen and Tengshe. The pipa, erhu, flute, and guzheng were arranged in four directions, representing the four symbols of the Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise. The clear and melodious sounds from each direction played one after another, each finishing a note before merging into one, echoing and intertwining like celestial music descending upon the world, uplifting and inspiring the heart.