Carrying a Jurassic on me
Chapter 1378 - 670 Start Dragon Dance Oolong_2

Chapter 1378: Chapter 670 Start Dragon Dance Oolong_2

Yan Fei left a message with his people and followed the newcomer.

As soon as the city leaders arrived, the event officially began. Not only had the leaders come, but a line of cars followed, likely the invited guests. Some were business owners who had come over on short notice, others were out-of-towners with local investments. In any case, anyone who could be invited and was willing to come had arrived.

For businesspeople, if they weren’t too busy, attending an event could raise their profile and they might even uncover a business opportunity there. It was a good thing, not a bad one.

Now, Yan Fei couldn’t stay with his people. After welcoming the leaders with Chairman Dong, he took a seat beside the stage to wait.

With a big bunch of firecrackers going off, nearby people began flocking to the scene. After the final two thunderous blasts of the firecrackers, the outside of the venue was packed.

As everyone eagerly awaited the next act, a drumbeat almost as loud as the firecracker noise began. A large wooden cart pulled by several men slowly made its way into the venue. In the center was a drum at least two meters in diameter, and four muscular men, bare-chested, stood beside it. Each wielded a drumstick in both hands, striking the large drum in a wonderfully coordinated rhythm.

The drumbeats grew faster and more urgent. Soon, smaller drums around the area joined in. Despite their dispersal and variety, the smaller drums followed the large drum’s lead with impeccable timing.

Some might not consider the large drum a musical instrument, but one had to admit that the synchronized drumming had an incomparable power to move the heart.

The drumming was as loud as thunder, the beats as frequent as rain, when suddenly a suona joined in—the tune was "When We Are All Together," familiar to many. Accompanying the suona, amid the expectant gazes of thousands, the dragon and lion dance teams, which had been waiting outside the venue, rushed into the scene to cheers.

The overwhelming drumming, the soaring suona, and the exuberant dragon and lion dancers instantly heightened the atmosphere to a climax.

Yan Fei gave Chairman Dong a thumbs-up, "This act is great, it could make it to the Spring Festival Gala. So impressive!"

Chairman Dong was a bit dazed, "We never had a collective rehearsal on the site; it was just a discussion on how to coordinate on the day. I thought, with experienced drummers and the rhythm of the big drum, there would be no issues. As for the lion and dragon dancers, with plenty of space, they could certainly fit..."

Chairman Dong suddenly paused, and with wholehearted admiration, Yan Fei interjected again, "Impressive! To achieve such coordination without a rehearsal, Chairman Dong, you truly have hidden depths!"

While the suona players and drummers were all seasoned professionals, the fact they could achieve this effect with only prior organization and explanation, without a collective rehearsal, was truly remarkable. It was even more stirring than some acts that had been rehearsed hundreds of times!

Unexpectedly, Chairman Dong seemed not to hear Yan Fei’s praise; his expression was uneasy.

Yan Fei was puzzled, "What’s wrong, Chairman Dong? Isn’t this very good? Better than you expected; is there something you’re dissatisfied with?"

"That’s exactly the problem!" Chairman Dong whispered. "To be honest, I just aimed for a lively start to attract the crowd. I didn’t expect them to synchronize so well. It was supposed to be chaotic—just creating a buzz was enough. Now, with the act being so successful... the leader still has to give a speech later!"

Yan Fei thought for a moment and couldn’t help but chuckle inwardly.

He realized Chairman Dong was worried initially that the audience would scatter around and not gather, so he planned an act to attract them—like at some evening parties where, before the host even appears, an act kicks off to get everyone in the mood.

But this act, or at least what Chairman Dong had planned, was supposed to be just a raucous spectacle—as long as it was lively enough to draw the crowd, that was sufficient.

But now, it had unexpectedly turned into an excellent act, so good in fact that when the leader’s speech came up, would the audience still be immersed in the excitement of the performance, unable to focus on the speech?

To put it more bluntly, Chairman Dong feared that while the leader’s speech was supposed to be the highlight, the unexpectedly rousing act might overshadow it.

Yan Fei didn’t have much to say, only offering a quiet consolation, "It’s fine, everyone seems really happy!"

Indeed, they were jubilant. The venue was just a vast, cleared section of wilderness by the roadside. And with those big drums and suonas in such an open space, their sounds resonated through heaven and earth, especially uplifting.

Even the cameras brought by the journalists from the city were carried around, swirling through the entire venue, determined not to stop until the festivities were captured in their entirety.

The happier the surrounding crowd became, the more they cheered on the spectacle, which in turn fueled the excitement of the SUONA players, the drummers, and those running around with embroidered balls during the dragon and lion dances.

Such grand scenes were rare, and to be part of this moment, how could one not be thrilled?

As they glanced at the several cameras around them and thought that this scene might be broadcast on television, with the possibility of their faces being shown, everyone’s performance became even more enthusiastic.

The more earnest they played, the louder the suona and drums echoed, particularly the four bare-chested men in the center, who glistened with sweat, showing their extreme exertion.

The dragon and lion dancers were not to be outdone. Usually, these performers would compare their skills during performances, but now with four dragons and dozens of lions in the field, competing with each other, the spectacle became ever more exciting, with continuous cheers and even whistles sounding in approval.

The better the performance, the paler Chairman Dong’s face became. People around him continuously congratulated him on the success of the organized events, but he responded with a strained smile, clearly at a loss for words. At that moment, he had grievances he couldn’t voice to others and could only mutter quietly to Yan Fei beside him, "The plan was for a five-minute performance, why is there another round when the time’s already up?"

Yan Fei once again consoled him, "It’s okay, look at those drummers. At most, after this round, they’ll have to take a break. Hang in there; it’s almost over."

Chairman Dong grimaced, "If they go for another round, I’m going to have to jump into the river."

Yan Fei looked around. "There’s someone over there looking like a frostbitten eggplant. Do you know him?"

"I know him. He’s the one designated by the city to be in charge of the Yellow Cattle Festival. I guess he’s kind of influential. When he arrived, he was all bossy but didn’t care about the important stuff, just a bunch of trivial things. He’s a real busybody—be careful with him," Chairman Dong explained in a low voice after a brief glance.

"Haha!" Yan Fei laughed. "Do you think he’ll still be a busybody later? You’re only semi-official, but he is..."

"Right!" Chairman Dong’s eyes lit up. "I was just following his orders in doing this. If the event goes well, the credit is mine, but if any mismanagement occurs, it can’t be blamed on me!"

"Don’t celebrate too early; you’ll still have to take some blame," Yan Fei reminded him timely. "If this Yellow Cattle Festival turns out well, you might receive some commendation. But if it’s managed poorly, and he’s finished, you’ll also have to endure some inconvenience."

"As long as I’m not the only one blamed, it’s fine," Chairman Dong said through clenched teeth. "Anyway, I’m still the host, and in the future, if anyone tries to trip me up, I’ll just lean towards the other side..."

With those words, Chairman Dong had touched on certain sensitive issues, revealing a hint of significant depth despite the shallow relationship. Fortunately, Yan Fei was not sensitive to such things and uninterested, so he chose to ignore it.

In truth, if the event went well, commendations were sure to follow. But with such matters, the fear was always the ’what if’. What if one of the leaders in attendance was petty? They might praise you to your face but behind your back, that was another story.

Was there not a saying about ’setting someone up to fail’?

The unfolding events matched what most had predicted—for Chairman Dong, unfortunately, it was the negative side that came true.

When the host took the stage, beginning to announce the start of the official ceremony and preparing to introduce the leaders’ speeches, the crowd was still immersed in the excitement of the performances, noisy and uproarious, with the loudspeakers unable to drown out the clamor.

Luckily, the host was flexible enough to stay on stage for a bit longer, spouting greetings and well-wishes in succession. Only when the scripted blessings ran out and started to repeat, did the crowd finally quiet down, allowing him the chance to quickly introduce who was next to speak.

Chairman Dong led the applause, clapping so vigorously that Yan Fei could see his palms turning red after just a couple of slaps...