Chapter 25 – She Can Play the Accordion

The next morning, just as Zhao Yu had gotten up to wash, there came a loud bang bang bang on the door.

“Who is it?” Zhao Yu quickly rinsed the foam from her mouth, grabbed her towel, and opened the door while wiping her face.

“It’s me.” Standing at the door was Li Wen, the head of the Second Cultural Troupe.

“Captain Li, please come in.” Zhao Yu hurriedly stepped aside and welcomed him in.

After Li Wen came in and found a stool to sit down, he went straight to the point: “Your captain mentioned to me before—you can play the accordion?”

“Me? A little.” Zhao Yu hadn’t expected He Fang to even tell Li Wen that.

After all, in her past life, she had only performed with the accordion during the troupe’s entrance evaluation.

After that, she hardly even touched one again.

It seemed that the relationship between these two troupe captains wasn’t as hostile as Ning Songyun had described.

“Good.” Li Wen stood up and patted Zhao Yu’s shoulder. “Originally, these past couple of days our troupe was resting, and I didn’t plan on bothering you.

But the cultural troupe from the Harbin Military District has been asked to perform at a rural production brigade. The comrade who was supposed to play accordion broke his arm last night.

Their captain came to me asking if we had anyone who could help out.

If you’re willing to go, it’ll count as a work trip. When you return, I’ll apply for a ten-yuan subsidy for you.”

Although Zhao Yu had money from the tickets her family had sent a few days ago, the idea of earning ten yuan just for playing the accordion once—how could she turn that down?

“I can do it, Captain Li.”

“Good. Then at noon I’ll take you to their troupe. Talk with that comrade about the repertoire, practice a bit, and then go with them the day after tomorrow.”

After saying this, Li Wen stood up and left. As he was going out, he happened to run into Ning Songyun, who was hurrying back with breakfast.

“Captain Li came here?”

Zhao Yu repeated what Li Wen had just told her.

Ning Songyun’s eyes instantly lit up. “So after you return, does that mean we’ll be heading to Qi City?”

Zhao Yu took the breakfast from her hands, set it out on the little table, and thought for a moment.

“Looks like it… eh, no time to go sightseeing.”

“It’s not like this is the only time in our lives we’ll come here.”

Ning Songyun didn’t feel it was a loss at all.

After all, they could come again in the future. What really mattered was that if Zhao Yu lingered too long in Harbin, who knew whether Lu Chen might show up looking for her.

And what if, during these very days, he went and stole her brother’s home!

“You’re right.”

Zhao Yu thought about it—two or three decades from now, with high-speed trains and airplanes everywhere, coming to Harbin would be as easy as snapping her fingers. Her little pang of regret vanished.

After breakfast, Li Wen brought Zhao Yu to the Harbin cultural troupe at noon.

She met with the injured comrade, discussed the pieces with him, and under his suggestion, picked up the accordion placed to the side.

At first, Zhao Yu was a little nervous—after all, it had been so, so long since she last played.

And indeed, her first few attempts were hesitant and stumbling.

But gradually, her hands remembered.

The mellow sound of the accordion slowly filled the room. The comrades who had been chatting in small groups naturally stopped talking.

A few of the young women even started to dance along to the music.

Lu Chen had come by to deliver something to Jiang Huanyan. Passing the practice room, he heard the music and instinctively glanced inside.

The bright midday sun filtered through the leaves outside the window, scattering light and shadow across the practice room.

A breeze stirred, making the leaves rustle, and a few drifted down.

Zhao Yu held the accordion, smiling brightly as her steps moved lightly with the melody.

Jiang Huanyan walked out of her office just then and caught sight of Lu Chen’s rapt expression.

“Ahem.” She coughed lightly.

“Mom, here’s the document you wanted.” Lu Chen handed it over, preparing to leave.

“This time when the troupe goes to the production brigade, you take a unit and escort them.” Jiang Huanyan ordered directly.

It was an old tradition.

The troupe members, young men and women, lacked real training. When going to places like production brigades, for safety, they were always accompanied by soldiers.

In the past, Lu Chen had never gone himself.

But this time, he only stayed silent.

As much as a son knows his mother, a mother also knows her son.

From his expression, Jiang Huanyan understood—he had agreed.

“Good. Since you’ve agreed, then hurry and make your preparations. Don’t just stand here.”

She nudged him to leave.

After all, this was the women’s troupe—if word got out that he was hanging around, people would gossip.

“Comrade Zhao, your accordion playing is so much better than mine!”

As soon as Zhao Yu finished a song, she was surrounded by the troupe members.

The injured comrade in particular clung to her hand.

“Good thing you’re not from our Heilongjiang province, otherwise my one specialty would be gone.”

“You know it too!”

Another comrade, clearly close to her, pinched her cheek teasingly. “Then why don’t you hurry and learn from Comrade Zhao and practice twice as hard?”

“Exactly, otherwise we’ll only ever remember her music from now on.”

“You’re bullying her now.” Jiang Huanyan pushed open the door.

The girls immediately dispersed and stood properly.

“Captain Jiang.” Zhao Yu set down the accordion and saluted.

“Alright, it’s noon—go eat.” Jiang Huanyan had always maintained a kind, approachable style.

“Yes, Captain!”

The girls playfully saluted her back, then helped their “injured comrade” out while laughing.

Once most of them had gone, Jiang Huanyan sat down beside Zhao Yu. “Yesterday you were still calling me Auntie Jiang with Songyun. Why so distant now?”

“Well, we’re in the troupe now…” Zhao Yu, speaking to Jiang Huanyan alone for the first time, was a little unsure of herself.

Jiang Huanyan noticed, but for her son’s sake, she kept the conversation flowing.

Zhao Yu, unused to such warmth from an elder in her previous life, unconsciously let slip details about herself and her family until Jiang Huanyan had pieced together nearly everything.

When Ning Songyun came to fetch Zhao Yu for lunch and saw this scene, she felt Zhao Yu was like a little lamb caught in Jiang Huanyan’s hands.

“Songyun’s here—then go on, eat.”

“Alright, Auntie Jiang, we’ll be off.”

Ning Songyun quickly dragged Zhao Yu away as if chased by dogs.

Jiang Huanyan, satisfied with what she had learned, returned to her office, ready to go home and discuss everything with Old Lu.