The Nameless Tavern and Ghibli T-shirt collaboration is finalized. The first batch of T-shirts was sold to Ghibli for 7,500 yen, or about 450 Chinese dollars, and the T-shirts sold in Huaxia paid Ghibli 250 yuan for each t-shirt.

The price had exceeded Channing's expectations, and she was both happy and amazed.

Yuan Yuan and Toshio Suzuki talked and laughed. For the first time, Qian Ning felt that this girl was taller than herself.

But...... It's still Channing who does the work. She had to work with Ghibli's legal department to get a contract in Chinese, Japanese, and English, and then hand it over to Uncle Qin Yun's company lawyer for review. Next is the selection of T-shirt patterns, production, customs clearance, transportation, ...... It's more complicated.

Domestic brand promotion should be handed over to Xiaomu to do.

Toshio Suzuki is also happy with the results. T-shirts can not only bring a steady stream of cash income, but also open up the Chinese market with Fang Yan. After chatting about business, he looked at Fang Yan with a smile: "Sing a few songs, you have a guitar, don't waste it." ”

"Good. ”

The door of the conference room opened, and Hayao Miyazaki poked his head in with a large pile of manuscript paper, greeted Suzuki with a smile, and greeted Fang Yan and the others.

"Huh?"

Fang Yan was surprised, just after a day of not seeing him, Miyazaki seemed to be several years younger, his whole body was shrouded in a vibrant magic aura, he was almost rejuvenated.

Hayao Miyazaki's routine is very regular, but in the past two days, he has been inspired and has begun to stay up late to create. Indulging in work is a very happy thing, and it is actually good for his health.

"You're done talking, oh, Fang Jun, thank you for the rain you've given me. He said solemnly in Japanese.

Rain.

Fang Yan thought, Old Man Miyazaki has some tricks that are not distinguished, and the "rain" in that sentence has become true.

The guitar was tuned, the pick made an arc, and the rough chords exploded in an instant, followed by a neat and violent strumming. After a few notes, the conference room seemed to be transformed into an ancient wilderness world.

The quality of this Yamaha acoustic guitar is average, much worse than the limited edition Martin tuned by Lu Dacheng, but it is still better than Yang Zhenyu's original electric box piano. The sound of guitars collided and reverberated between the walls of the conference room.

As soon as the music appeared, the space immediately changed.

On the other side of the table, the young staff members such as Renta Ota shook their hearts when they heard this, but they were a little dazed. But both Miyazaki and Toshio Suzuki smiled. It's a song from their youth.

All Along the Watchtower.

Fang Yan sang:

"There must be some way to get out of here," the clown said to the thief. "I can't figure out anything, I can't get down to earth at all. The merchant drinks my wine, and the peasant ploughs my land......"

"All the Way Down the Watchtower" takes place in a strange world, where the wind is blowing in the wilderness, and the clown and thief ride their horses to the bottom of a watchtower. The clown complains, but the thief advises him not to be so unhappy.

The song was a song from Bob Dylan's 1967 album John Wesley Harding, but it became truly famous because of a 1968 cover by a black singer named Jimi Hendrix.

In the history of rock 'n' roll, Jimmy's status is particularly high. He single-handedly expanded the field of electric guitar and created a new way of playing. He is also the idol of almost all the later guitar masters.

Even after half a century, rock 'n' roll has gone through ups and downs, guitar equipment, playing techniques have continued to improve, and Jimi Hendrix is still recognized as one of the greatest guitarists. Of course, this is mainly because of his pioneering role in history.

The tour of the famous G3 (3 guitar masters) that began in the 1990s, Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Eric Johnson, Yngwie Malmsteen, John Petrucci, ...... These rock gods have chosen to play Jimmy's music as a tribute to him.

In Europe and the United States, many musicians like Jimmy's music, so they began to learn guitar, form bands, and create rock myths step by step.

Before Jimmy, electric guitars were just plugged in actopy, louder and a bit noisier. But Jimmy tells humans that the timbre of an electroacoustic instrument can be messy. Overdrives, howls, fuzz (the sound of an electric current wrapping around), and weird wah-wah-sound pedals, there's nothing wrong with that.

He was a left-hander, but he used a right-handed Fender guitar with the strings reversed.

In the 1960s, when the civil rights movement was in full swing, Jimmy's music audience was almost always white, although he was black.

Jimmy's technique is very well-rounded, blues-oriented, but creative, and his playing is extremely relaxed. In those days, his guitar was highly recognizable.

He is best known for his 1969 performance at the Woodstock festival (a film made by Chinese director Ang Lee), in which he played the American national anthem "The Star-Spangled Banner" on guitar Solo.

In 1969, the United States was mired in the Vietnam War, and domestic anti-war and anger were at their peak. Jimmy's anthem is completely off-flavor, comically vitriol, and contradicts the government.

Sadly, Jimmy died in 1970 at the age of 27 due to substance abuse.

There is an eccentric 27Club in the history of Western culture. Nirvana's Kurt Cobain, The Doors' Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin...... All the great singers died at the age of 27, like a curse.

"All the Way Down the Watchtower" is a very delicate song, its structure is very special, and the scene at the end is actually its beginning. The song is supposed to be inspired by chapter 21 of the Book of Isaiah, the Old Testament of the Bible. Later, it became Bob Dylan's most performed song when he performed live.

Bob Dylan says it's a tribute to Jimi Hendrix.

Jimmy's arrangement of "All the Way Down the Watchtower" is crisp and clean, with a black accent, but the best thing is the guitar Solo with a long section of more than 1 minute in the middle. It's divided into 4 parts, it's quite violent, and it's played all the techniques that can be played, especially the last part of the "Click" strumming Solo, which is simply an explosion.

Jimmy's version of the song was ranked No. 47 on Rolling Stone magazine's "500 Greatest Songs of All Time." It has appeared in many movies: Forrest Gump, Watchmen, "The Bronx Story", etc., and it is also featured in the national animation "The Simpsons".

The second stanza of this song is the thief's answer to the clown. He is much more optimistic: "We are both from the past, this is not our fate, so let's not be blind BB, it's not early!"

Jimmy's electric guitar Solo uses effects, and the handle is also extremely high, and Fang Yan's thin acoustic guitar can't play at all, so he has to try his best to simulate the effect of the explosion.

What is the story of "All the Way Down the Watchtower"? It's so vague that it's not clear at all. Clowns and thieves are small people who are outside society, they are ghosts hidden in the crowd.

Like many of Bob Dylan's songs, it has an eerie horror to it.

At the end of the song, the camera zooms out: "In the distance of winter, a wild cat is howling, two horses are galloping, and the cold wind is beginning to howl!"

A vast space opened, and Fang Yan strummed the strings hard, staccato notes like dense bullets that curved and flew in the air. The strums are all focused on the bass, and the strings vibrate violently, rumbling in the air.

There were only a few dozen employees who came to work at Ghibli, and many men, women and children crowded at the door of the conference room when they heard the music, looking in excitedly. For many, it's a thrilling experience.

Yuan Yuan and the others were all accustomed to seeing Fang Yan playing the piano, and they all sat firmly and listened, but Miyazaki and Suzuki Toshio were shocked by the huge sound at close range, and at the end of the song, their hearts were still beating with the notes.

"Hoo ......"

Hayao Miyazaki and Toshio Suzuki, two gray-haired old men, looked at each other and nodded thoughtfully.

……

Back in Shinjuku, Tokyo, it was already 9 p.m. Saying goodbye to Hirata Shota who drove them, Fang Yan and the four of them walked around the street. The major shopping malls are still closed, all kinds of neon lights are flashing, and the streets are full of laughter and laughter of passers-by.

It was a big deal, and everyone was very happy. Fang Yan thought, the biggest credit is Qian Ning.

"Let's go to the hot springs!" Yuan said.

Qian Ning said disdainfully: "I want to soak you." I've been working in a hotel for the past few days. Also going to Ghibli. ”

"Stop working, let's go to the hot springs together. ”

“……”

"How much money can we make?" Fang Yan asked.

Qian Ning pondered for a while and said, "I don't know, it depends on the sales." In fact, Ghibli opened an authorized brick-and-mortar store in Huaxia last year, but business was not very good. ”

"It's going to make a lot of money,......," Ms. Yuan said.

Several people walked onto the overpass.

There are many homeless people living on the overpasses in Shinjuku. In the summer, all kinds of people gather on the flyover, some spread newspapers on the ground and go straight to sleep, and some people are better and sleep in cardboard boxes. The homeless people were silent, and a few were silently smoking.

In the culture, "don't cause trouble to others" is a basic rule of life, even for wanderers.

"It's kind of pathetic. Channing sighed.

"Actually......" Feng Lu hesitated for a moment and said. "Actually, "Spirited Away" is about this. ”

Fang Yan was very strange and asked, "What do you mean?"

Feng Lu's voice was very soft: "In Yueben, there are many people who become homeless because of the bursting of the real estate bubble, debts and bankruptcy. You remember Xiaoqian's parents in "Spirited Away", they kept eating delicious food, and finally turned into pigs. ”

"I remember. ”

"Actually, Spirited Away is about that era. At the peak of the bubble economy, it became a magical place, there was money everywhere, and there could be no economic crisis, so people became very greedy......"

“……”

It's so non-rock. Fang Yan thought.

Walking past a homeless man, he unconsciously glanced at it, only to find that the homeless man was also looking at him.

The homeless man had a thin stature, dirty long hair, and a face that was very clear under the street lamp. Somewhat familiar...... Fang Yan leaned closer to look at him carefully.

"Brother Zhao?"

This person is a bit like Lao Zhao, the owner of the black and white piano shop on Tamsui Street. Fang Yan went to buy a guitar for the first time, and Yang Zhenyu took him to a black and white piano shop. Although he only met once, he was very impressed with the boss. Lao Zhao is very decadent, half dead after falling out of love, and he has no heart to do business.

Later, I went to Tamsui Street several times, and the black and white piano store was always closed.

The homeless man shook his head dumbfoundedly, as if he couldn't understand Fang Yan's words. Is it Lao Zhao? His age and appearance are highly consistent.

"Do you still know me, Old Zhao?" Fang Yan asked.

Shake one’s head.

"Do you know how to play the guitar?"

The homeless man slowly pulled out a large stainless steel cup from behind him, in which was a toothbrush and toothpaste. He took the toothbrush and toothpaste away and held up the empty cup towards Fang Yan.

His hands were very dirty, he held them in mid-air, and he didn't speak, just looked at Fang Yan fixedly, looking harmless to humans and animals.

This style ...... It shouldn't be Lao Zhao.

"Give me some money. Fang Yan said to Feng Lu. He put four or five 1,000 yuan bills into the cup.

The homeless man nodded calmly, smiled, and withdrew the cup. After a few seconds, his eyes were glazed again, and he entered a state of daze.

"Help me see, is this person Lao Zhao of the black and white piano shop?" Fang Yan asked Yuan Yuan. Last time she was there.

"Who?"

"It was the time I went to the pawn shop to buy a Martin guitar, and remember, there was a little broken piano shop, and the boss was like he was dying. ”

"Lovelorn?"

"Yes, yes. ”

"I'll take a look. Yuan Yuan squatted down, looked at the beggar comrade carefully, and looked at it carefully for a few seconds. "I think it's a bit like, with the charm of Lao Zhao. ”

"Is he mentally ill?"

"Seems to be normal......

Walking to the end of the overpass, Fang Yan glanced back again, the homeless man was already lying on his back, his hands on his chest. He took out his mobile phone and called Yang Zhenyu.

"I haven't been there for a long time. Damn, I'll check it out tomorrow...... I don't think so. Not really. What do you think, Lao Zhao is not a crazy person, why did he go all the way to Tokyo to ask for food?" Yang Zhenyu said.