Second Piano Concerto

In the next three years, Tan Shuo did not write anything.

He travels around, finds a temporary job every time he goes to a place, and plays while working. After playing enough, he goes on the road again and heads to the next destination.

"Finally I came here in Longjin. At that time, this place was not yet developed for tourism, there were very few people, and the scenery was good. I planned to stay here for a while, and then I went to the town to find a job. It happened that Longge's restaurant was short of a temporary worker. I worked there for half a year. Later, he had no shortage of manpower, and I was very worried. He told me that the ancient town will start tourism soon. Instead of continuing to work, it is better to do some business. He helped me contact a small store, At the east end of the town, I asked Xiao Hei to teach me how to make rice noodles. Sure enough, there were more and more tourists in the town, and everyone’s business improved. Then I moved to the present place. At that time, Zhu Zhu's inn hasn't opened yet."

Speaking of the past few years in Longjin Town, Tan Shuo's tone gradually calmed down, and his complexion improved a lot.He tossed the crumpled cigarette pack into the wastebasket, adjusted his posture, and relaxed in the swivel chair, seemingly beginning to regain his usual composure and serenity.

He frowned, and the worrying atmosphere in the room suddenly eased a lot.Qin Haiou asked, "Then what happened later, when did you resume creating?"

Tan Shuo said: "The rice noodle shop didn't do very well at the beginning and lost some money. I borrowed money from Brother Long to pay it off, but it was difficult to pay back in a short time with the income from opening the shop alone. So I contacted Qiangzi and asked him Find me something to do."

By work he meant, of course, to make money writing music.Qin Haiou was silent again.A person who loves to create so much, it turns out that he started to write again to pay off his debts.Obviously like to do something but can't bear to do it, not only that, but also forced to do it for livelihood, how bitter it feels, I am afraid only the person involved knows.

However, Tan Shuo didn't seem to think how bitter it was.When he mentioned this incident, his eyes brightened again: "After I started writing, I realized that this thing is not something you can quit if you want to. It's like quitting smoking. Once you relapse, it's very difficult. Stop again. But I don’t want to go back into that circle, so I write my own.”

After he finished speaking, he raised his hand to wipe his face, stood up and poured water to drink.When Qin Haiou saw that his mood had improved, he felt very complicated in his heart. On the one hand, his tense nerves were relieved, but on the other hand, his mood became more and more heavy.He remembered what Tan Shuo said when he told Tan Shuo about his plight.At that time, Tan Shuo said: "Aren't you still able to play it? Didn't you play it yourself just now?" ——At that time, Qin Haiou didn't know whether Tan Shuo said this intentionally or not, but now he finally understood why Tan Shuo could easily relieve his pressure with one sentence.

Because they are the same.

A performer who cannot be on stage is the same as an unknown creator.

Qin Haiou once thought that he could no longer play the piano.When he found that he could at least play to himself, the feeling of regaining brought him great comfort and satisfaction, and made him see hope again.It took him several months to figure it out, but for Tan Shuo, this state had lasted for many years.

Tan Shuo went through the same process a long time ago, and although he resumed his creation later, he never published any works.He does not do it for anyone, does not seek any feedback or return, but does it because of his love. This has become the normal state of his life, and it is enough to satisfy him.Therefore, in his eyes, Qin Haiou's predicament was not a desperate situation at all.In his opinion, as long as his love for the piano does not disappear, Qin Haiou has enough reasons to persevere.

they are the same.They are people who really love music.As long as they can still play and create, even if they have no audience, no fame and fortune, and even have to endure loneliness from now on, they will continue on this road.

Now Qin Haiou finally understands that it is precisely because Tan Shuo has experienced the same or even deeper pain that he can explain himself in one sentence.And the torment I have suffered in just a few months is nothing compared to Tan Shuo's ten years.

He was immersed in his own thoughts, and the room was quiet for a moment, only the sound of Tan Shuo drinking water was left.Tan Shuo downed a large glass of water in one breath, touched his stomach and said, "I'm starving to death, I'll cook a bowl of noodles!"

Qin Haiou was stunned, and the topic changed too quickly, but after hearing what he said, he couldn't help but feel that he was also very hungry, so he said, "I want to eat too."

"You didn't eat tonight?" Tan Shuo was surprised.

"I ate..." But he didn't have much appetite at the time, so he didn't eat much, and such a conversation was actually quite exhausting, "I'm hungry again."

Tan Shuo laughed: "Let's go, go downstairs and eat!"

When the two came downstairs, they realized that it was already very late, the store was closed, and Amao had already closed the store and went home.Tan Shuo seemed to be really hungry, and as soon as he entered the store, he quickly cooked the rice noodles.At this time, he had returned to his normal appearance, as if he had forgotten the conversation just now, and it seemed that all the previous unpleasantness had never happened.But Qin Haiou knew that was not the case.

On the surface, Tan Shuo seems to be living a very comfortable life. Perhaps he himself really thinks this kind of life is very good, but in fact, he has been in a self-enclosed state for so many years. Even if he resumes writing, he has never written again. Any piano work, this is enough to show that there is still a huge knot in Tan Shuo's heart.

How to untie this knot, Qin Haiou doesn't know.If the fact of plagiarism cannot be clarified, is there any way to get Tan Shuo out of the shadow of this matter?In the past, Qin Haiou always wanted to do something for Tan Shuo. He thought that helping Tan Shuo chop vegetables, wipe the table and serve rice noodles, or find someone to help Tan Shuo record an emergency would be considered as doing his part for Tan Shuo, but now he understands After all, these are actually not important.Compared with the core problem buried deep in Tan Shuo's heart, all these are just minor details. No matter how well he does, it is impossible to really help Tan Shuo.Although he didn't think of a good solution for a while, at least he finally knew what Tan Shuo really needed, and he finally had a correct direction.

Tan Shuo fished out the rice noodles and filled two big bowls, and the two of them sat down to eat.

Qin Haiou remembered that when they met for the first time, they were sitting in an empty shop eating rice noodles like this.At that time, Tan Shuo was just a kind-hearted rice noodle shop owner in his eyes. If someone told him that this person was the real author of "Song of the Long Night", he would not believe it.

He had regretted it many times before, regretting finding out the manuscript, regretting buying it back, regretting having a dispute with Tan Shuo... But now, this feeling has disappeared.Qin Haiou just felt lucky, and even the fact that he came to Longjin Town had a special meaning.If all this hadn't happened, he wouldn't have known Tan Shuo, and he wouldn't have known the truth about what happened ten years ago.Although the truth is painful, Qin Haiou does not intend to escape this time, because he is sure that if Tan Shuo did not tell the truth today, this person will continue to hide this secret in his heart for a lifetime.Thinking of this, Qin Haiou felt that as long as Tan Shuo could tell the truth, no matter how much trouble it took, it would be worth it.He doesn't regret being a sharer of this secret at all. On the contrary, he thinks this is the only thing to be thankful and happy in a series of bad consequences caused by his withdrawal from the music scene.

The two of them buried their heads in eating the rice noodles in their respective bowls until they put the food into their mouths, only to realize that the hunger was unbearable. For a while, neither of them cared about talking, and the only sound in the quiet shop was the sound of Xilihulu sucking the rice noodles.