Xidan Shopping Mall is one of the most densely populated shopping malls in Beijing. From morning till night, it's always full of hustle and bustle.

Beijing is not only the political and economic center of China, but also the cultural center, which is embodied here, which is the street culture that can be seen everywhere. Here, under the subway culvert, there are wandering singers holding guitars and singing; Under the big trees in the park, there are violin performers; There are music lovers playing various instruments live on the flyover. Don't think of them as mere beggars, they have a common literary name - "North Drift". Moreover, most of the people who can "float" here are people with dreams and stunts, and all of them are not simple. Maybe they return to their hometowns, all of them are elites in their respective industries, but they are willing to stay here, doing their dream of drifting north, fantasizing that one day they can stay here and become a real Beijinger, instead of continuing to drift.

What is North Drift? People who may not have drifted will never understand. And those who have drifted will tell you that there are too many stories in the word North Drift. And too many Beipiao have really found their success here, purely from the literary circle, such as Na Ying, Han Hong, Yuquan and many other famous singers are former "North Drifters". They slept in basements, ate bowls of instant noodles for three yuan, sang in bars, and suffered almost anything, but in the end, with their persistence and strength, they stayed and finally realized their dreams. And now, more people are continuing to dream the same as them, which is "North Drift".

As the most densely populated Xidan shopping mall in Beijing, it has always been loved by Beipiao. Whether it's on the flyover outside or inside the mall, you can see all kinds of small improvisational performances everywhere.

Early in the morning, Xidan Shopping Mall opened its doors. Tens of thousands of customers began to be greeted. It's not the most upscale mall, but it's definitely the liveliest. Inside clothing shoes and socks. Hardware and household appliances, clothing, food, housing and transportation are almost readily available, and there are various grades, which is definitely the most suitable place for mass consumption and entertainment.

The most central patio of the West Single Building. There is a circular stage of about twenty square meters. On weekdays, although every inch of land is at a premium. But there has never been a stall on this stage. This is a separate venue specially prepared for various small performances in the mall. This is also a sign that distinguishes Xidan shopping mall from other shopping malls. Looking at the whole country, there are many shopping malls that are larger than here. But when it comes to culture. I can't really pick out a few thicker ones than here. This is also the most famous scenery in Xidan shopping mall.

It was supposed to be a temporary idea for the mall manager, but he soon found out that it was a brilliant idea, and since the establishment of this stage, the mall has become much more popular. Each time it attracts hundreds of onlookers. It has brought a great increase in the traffic of the mall. Overjoyed, he even set up a separate department. Specialized in the management of this stage, including regular undertaking and so on.

Of course, after it became a certain scale here, it naturally entered the attention of the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Culture. The Cultural Affairs Bureau of Beijing generally does not take care of small individual performances with irregular venues, but seeing that the influence of this place is getting bigger and bigger day by day, it is not so easy to perform here now. The Cultural Affairs Bureau stipulates that performances here must be registered and recorded, and can only be carried out after approval, and a certain fee must be paid.

Still, that doesn't stop the North Drifters and smaller companies from liking it here. Because compared to the huge advertising fee of promoting outside, you only need to pay a few thousand yuan in rent here to apply for a performance, and the impact it creates cannot be brought by spending two to three times the advertising fee. No, early this morning, a group of staff began to set up this small stage again.

The little manager who manages this place is surnamed Meng, who is not tall and has a shrewd face. After checking the identity with the other party, he stood aside and signaled that they could work.

"Times Records, a small company, I haven't heard much about it before." Looking at the name of the company on the application form in his hand, Manager Xiao Meng muttered. Although he is just a small manager, his vision is very high, he has been working here for a few years, and he doesn't know how many celebrities he has seen, and now he will not be surprised that Zhao Benshan or Yan Weiwen are standing in front of him.

"Hehe, boss, don't look at the small company today, but they have a singer, it's not simple." A female employee under his hand saw that Manager Meng seemed to be a little unimpressed with the records of this era, and said with a smile next to her.

"Yo, Xiao Li, you can tell me, why is it not an easy way, which way is it an immortal?" Manager Xiao Meng said humorously.

"Hehe, I can't talk about immortals, but I can be regarded as famous." Xiao Li put his hands behind his back and said a little mischievously. Seeing the manager's inquiring look, he couldn't help but say proudly: "Manager, do you like to listen to piano music?" ”

"Piano music? Isn't it in our mall every day? I don't know much about that kind of play, I know a song "Alice" or something, why, this person who came today is a piano player? It's new. When you come to us, they usually sing, and it's really rare to play the piano. Manager Xiao Meng said with a smile.

"I really let you say, I'm here today, it's a piano player, you don't know, a new song recently came out, it's a particularly popular one, called "He's a Pirate", he plays, but it's good, a few girls in our dormitory, they all like him very much. Lili also spent more than 30 yuan to buy a genuine CD, we all watched it, but it was handsome! Xiao Li said, with little stars in his eyes.

"Hehe, you young people, you just like to chase stars. Isn't it just playing the piano? What's the big deal? No matter how good he is, what kind of Richard can he be better than? Often mixed here, Manager Xiao Meng's "cultural literacy" has also risen, and even the name of "Piano Prince" can be named, which is not simple.

"That's not, who is Richard, that's the prince of piano, the best person in the world to play the piano, this Liu Yufan, it's still a little worse than him. But this song is really super good, you will know when he comes in a moment, and it will definitely not disappoint you. Xiao Li said with some expectation.

Fortunately, there is no professional piano person on the side, otherwise after listening to the conversation between the two people, I am afraid that I will be very depressed. A person who plays the pop piano will be touted as "the best person who plays the piano in the world", which makes people laugh out of their teeth.

Richard. It is true that Clayderman is famous all over the world, but it is nonsense to say that he is the best player on the piano. It doesn't matter how high his performance level is, but the pieces he plays, in terms of playing skills, are really not difficult. As long as the person who has studied the piano systematically, after passing the sixth grade, he will basically be able to play most of his works fluently and freely. Of course, as far as he is concerned, he also studied in the formal music academy system, and later switched to pop piano, and he still has the skills. But it's definitely not that powerful, and it's good at best.

A person who plays the popular piano will have such a high reputation in the world, which also shows the difficulty of popularizing piano art from one side. For those truly classic works, there is often the embarrassment of "high and low", which is difficult for ordinary people to appreciate except for professionals. On the contrary, it is simple and beautiful like him that is easier to be remembered. From this point of view, the popularity of Liu Yufan's song "He is a Pirate" has also played a powerful role in promoting the popularization and promotion of the piano. Of course, it is difficult to say whether he himself will be aware of this.

Under the busyness of the staff, a background wall more than two meters high was quickly completed, and the poster printed with Liu Yufan's huge head immediately attracted many people.

This is an image from the MV brochure. On the right side of the picture is a close-up of Liu Yufan playing the quaint piano, while behind him, the background is a sea of huge waves and heavy rain, and the huge "Black Pearl". Captain Jack's heroic fighting posture above is also particularly attractive.

Such an impactful poster attracted many people to stop and watch.

Among the people who come to visit Xidan, there are mostly young people, and among the young people, there are many music lovers, who are always at the forefront of pop music and know some trends in the entertainment industry. Seeing such a poster at this moment, many people immediately recognized Liu Yufan.

"Ah, look! Pirate! ”

"It's Liu Yufan, I like his "He's a Pirate" so much, oh my God, is he coming here today?"

"Ah, look, it's Stanway, Big Stanway, hey, he's so handsome, I really want to go up and play it!"

……

There were more and more onlookers, and everyone was talking around the small stage that had been set up. Posters and pianos became the focus of their conversation.

Tuning lawyer Wu Di is a full-time tuning lawyer of Xinghai Music Company, and today he received a tuning task from the piano store, asking him to come here to tune a piano that is ready to participate in publicity activities, and when he came, he couldn't help but be shocked!

The piano tuned is actually the Steinway Triangle. Wu Digan has been tuning for more than ten years, but he really hasn't tuned such a high-level piano a few times.

"I don't know which big name wants to do publicity, and he actually uses such a good piano. This is a treasure worth more than two million, and they are not afraid of breaking it when they move it around. Wu Di muttered as he cautiously began to adjust.