"Move it here, roughly this spot!" Yang Yi directed the workers, shifting the black lacquered piano to the side of the bar counter in the shop. This area had been cleared out a few days earlier for Xixi's birthday party, and now it was perfect—Yang Yi had directly bought a piano to fill the gap.
At the birthday party, Yang Yi had shown off a little, and Murphy's reaction hadn't been too intense, which made him even more confident in his plan.
Now, Yang Yi could finally buy a piano for the shop and secretly indulge himself!
After all, a guitar was nothing; the piano and violin were his true loves!
The pianos in this world were the same as those in Yang Yi's previous life, just with different brand names, and he couldn't figure out which was better. So, he used the dumbest but most straightforward method: buy the expensive one!
A Theodore grand piano from the banks of the Rhine, priced at 860,000, was the best small grand piano Yang Yi could buy off the shelf at a piano store in Jiangcheng—concert-level ones were too big and wouldn't fit.
Of course, there were pricier ones, like a Swiss grand piano for over a million, but after trying it out, Yang Yi felt the tone wasn't as good as the Theodore!
But spending that 860,000 nearly drained Yang Yi's savings. It was only thanks to Chen Yijie's new album hitting platinum sales that Yang Yi made a big profit; otherwise, with last month's royalties, after paying for the investment in Sahara Online Bookstore, he had no spare cash.
Of course, Tianxiang didn't regret the betting agreement they'd signed with Yang Yi back then. With the song "Long Time No See," Chen Yijie's new album sold many copies in the mainland, not only meeting the platinum standard for Cantonese albums but far exceeding it!
An 860,000 piano in a coffee shop was indeed a bit pricey, but you can't put a price on what you love, right?
Xixi was very curious about this massive object. While the workers were installing and tuning it, she kept walking around her dad and couldn't help tugging his hand to make him lean down, whispering in his ear, "Daddy, I know what this is!"
"What is it?" Yang Yi asked with a smile.
"It's a qin! I've seen one at Mommy's workplace! But Mommy's isn't this big." Xixi tried to gesture with her little hands, "It's this long, this big, and Mommy can play it! Mommy is so amazing!"
Yang Yi looked at his daughter's description and roughly understood what she meant. He laughed, "No, what your mom has is called an electronic keyboard, and what Daddy bought today is called a piano!"
Xixi looked at her dad with a puzzled expression, not understanding the difference.
"Why is Mommy's called a 'shop qin'? What's a 'shop qin'?" Xixi started her "ten thousand whys" mode again.
"Uh, it's an electronic keyboard." Yang Yi corrected her pronunciation. "It needs electricity to make sound, so it's called an electronic keyboard!"
Xixi knew about electricity because her dad had repeatedly warned her not to touch sockets, since electricity was scary and would "eat" Xixi!
"Xixi understands!" the little girl said innocently. "So is a piano called that because it uses steel to make sound?"
Steel had become a power source like electricity?
Uh, Yang Yi was stumped by his daughter's imaginative leap and didn't know how to answer. He really had no idea why a piano was called a piano! After all, while it used steel as a material, most of it was still wood!
Yang Yi had a flash of inspiration and explained, "No, it's because the piano is made of wood and steel, but since there's already a wooden xylophone, it got called 'piano'." (Note 1)
"Oh!" Xixi nodded, half-understanding, then asked, "So is Mommy's qin better?"
Yang Yi couldn't figure out Xixi's train of thought if he tried. She thought electronic keyboards used electricity, and anything electric was amazing and powerful—like a TV—so the electronic keyboard must be really good too!
Yang Yi's standards were different, of course. He corrected her, "No, the sound quality of an electronic keyboard can't compare to a piano, because the piano is the most authentic keyboard instrument sound!"
Just then, the tuner sent by the piano shop finished tuning. He sat on the leather stool and tried playing a scale, using his ears to judge the pitch.
Xixi watched intently, captivated by the clear, soft piano sound. Yang Yi even glanced at his daughter, wondering if she could appreciate it, but judging by her absorbed expression, she really liked it!
When the piece ended, Xixi snapped back to reality and agreed with her dad, "Alright, Daddy's piano is better!"
...
After the piano was placed and tuned, Yang Yi saw the piano shop staff out. At that moment, Uncle Lu from the bicycle repair shop next door called out in his loud voice, "Yang Yi, what big thing did you buy again?"
"Just added a piano to the shop." Yang Yi smiled.
A piano? A tall, thin young man with shoulder-length hair waiting for his bike to be fixed at Uncle Lu's looked up in surprise, staring thoughtfully at Yang Yi.
"Hey, I see your shop doesn't have many customers. Why spend so much on something so expensive?" Uncle Lu rambled, worried for Yang Yi.
These neighbors were ordinary locals, a bit gossipy and fond of chatting about household matters, but every one of them was kind-hearted. Whenever help was needed, a shout would bring no refusals.
After chatting with Uncle Lu for a bit, Yang Yi returned to the shop to clean up the footprints and dust left from moving the piano.
Meanwhile, Xixi, bursting with curiosity, climbed onto the leather stool herself. She first examined the black-and-white keys, then reached out a little hand and pressed them.
"Dong dong dong... do do do..."
Each key produced a different sound!
Xixi felt like she'd discovered a brand-new toy and happily started exploring.
Just then, a figure appeared at the door, poking his head in and softly calling, "Hello, boss!"
Yang Yi came over from the back with a mop and said from a distance, "Sorry, we're setting things up today and not open. See, the sign isn't even out yet!"
But as he got closer, Yang Yi recognized the long-haired young man from Uncle Lu's repair shop.
"Boss, sorry, I'm not here for coffee. Could I trouble you for a few minutes?" The young man looked a bit nervous facing Yang Yi, who stood like a black tower, but he gathered his courage and said, "My name is Lin Mu'an, I'm a freelance musician..."
Lin Mu'an—the Mandarin pronunciation sounded ordinary, and Yang Yi guessed he was from Guangdong Province. Not Hong Kong, though; young people from Hong Kong wouldn't come to the mainland to make a living.
Yang Yi sized up Lin Mu'an. His somewhat flustered demeanor didn't scream "star." Musicians came in many types: the high-end ones who became stars, the down-on-their-luck ones playing in bars, the ones singing under bridges—anyone who loved music and lived for it could be called a musician!
Lin Mu'an seemed to be the third type. In his subsequent introduction, he mentioned he was currently a resident singer at a bar.
"What do you want?" Yang Yi asked, puzzled.
"Sorry, I wanted to ask if you need a pianist here? Someone to play tunes for the customers. Coffee shops usually have that to create a better atmosphere. I can play the piano and sing too..." Lin Mu'an tried hard to sell himself.
But Yang Yi had no intention of hiring a pianist. He bought the piano more for his own enjoyment.
So, he smiled apologetically and said, "You heard the bike repair shop owner just now—my coffee shop barely gets any customers in a day. There's no need to hire a pianist."
"Well, alright then..." Lin Mu'an looked disappointed but still bowed politely to Yang Yi, saying, "Sorry to bother you."
Watching Lin Mu'an leave, Yang Yi stood there, lost in thought.
Seemed like he'd forgotten something?
Oh, right, he'd forgotten to say: "Tell me your story..."
Okay, just kidding. Yang Yi really had no intention of hiring a pianist for the shop.
(Note 1: Regarding the origin of the name "piano," Xiaohan looked it up. There are two theories: one is what Yang Yi said, and another is that during the Republic of China era, the piano was originally called a "foreign qin," but the education department wanted to standardize the name. They considered naming it after the material, but "wooden qin" sounded too rustic, so they went with "steel qin.")