Chapter 100: The One Hundredth Day of Being a Salted Fish

Goudan left with a portion of the people, and those remaining quickly busied themselves.

The area had just experienced an earthquake. Although everyone had been outdoors at the time, resulting in no casualties, there was still significant property damage.

The houses had all collapsed and needed to be rebuilt.

The reason Lu Yuan could continue slacking off was that his little shop was inherently different. A building constructed from materials salvaged from a Command Ship naturally wouldn’t collapse easily from a mere earthquake.

However, the other houses were made of wood. They were barely enough to keep out the wind and rain to begin with, and they couldn’t withstand the impact of a tremor at all.

Furthermore, new residents would be arriving soon. Their housing needed to be prepared in advance.

Goudan had arranged all these matters before leaving.

Even though Lu Yuan had said he would handle everything, Goudan didn’t intend to rely on him for every little thing. He would do his best to save Lu Yuan the trouble whenever possible.

However…

Lu Yuan lay there hesitating for a long while. His Mental Power followed Goudan into the distance, while also “watching” Old Fourth lead the remaining people to the mountains to fell trees and prepare for construction. Finally, he gave Old Fourth an instruction.

“Don’t build too many houses. At least, not for now. Just prepare enough timber to repair our own homes first. The rest can wait a while.”

“Understood,” Old Fourth replied, concise as always. He never questioned Lu Yuan’s decisions.

Er Ya and several other children were nearby. Hearing him speak suddenly, they asked curiously, “Was Lu Yuan talking to you?”

“Yes.” Old Fourth nodded.

“So, he’s following us with his Mental Power?”

“That’s right,” Lu Yuan chimed in. “Is something the matter?”

“Oh, nothing’s wrong,” the young girl answered cheerfully. “I just realized it’s been a long time since I gave you any new music!”

“So you have new work recently?” Lu Yuan asked, playing along.

“We’ve been researching some new things lately.” As Er Ya spoke, she beckoned her little companions over. The children continued walking with the group, but their attention had clearly shifted to the conversation with Lu Yuan.

Lu Yuan remained lying where he was. Sensing their eager expressions through his Mental Power, his heart stirred with a guess.

“Even though you said before that we were writing songs, we know we weren’t. Songs out there all have lyrics,” Er Ya said. “We didn’t know many words back then, and we didn’t know how to write lyrics. At most, we just composed a few simple tunes.”

She glanced at the other children and smiled. “But we’ve learned a lot of words lately! We’re learning how to fill in lyrics now! We’ve made a few songs; we’ll sing them for you.”

Lu Yuan smiled. Just as he expected, even though these children were too busy to practice their instruments, they hadn’t completely abandoned their musical pursuits.

Playing music required instruments and a venue. Turning a momentary spark of inspiration into a complete piece required long periods of trial and error. If five people wanted to play together, it required even more time and energy to practice and coordinate.

Everyone had been extremely busy lately, so they certainly didn’t have the leisure to run off and compose music.

But singing was different. You could open your mouth and sing anywhere, at any time. It didn’t matter if it sounded good or not; with their talent, they would eventually find the best melody if they sang it enough times.

“I’m all ears,” Lu Yuan said with a smile.

The singing drifted over through his Mental Power, accompanied by the soft humming of many people nearby. It was surprisingly harmonious and pleasant.

It was a song of parting. The melody was familiar – it was the very first piece the children had composed, inspired by the departure of Siming and the others. However, it had undergone significant revisions.

Perhaps it was the difference between singing and instrumental performance.

Additionally, the children had made truly massive progress during this time.

In short, it sounded much better.

Lu Yuan listened for a while, then picked up a tablet from his side and began searching for tutorials on singing techniques.

Previously, the children had preferred instruments, so Lu Yuan hadn’t rushed them into singing. But since they had shifted in this direction on their own, he might as well provide some guidance.

There were techniques to vocalization, just as there were to singing.

The children certainly had an excellent sense of rhythm, and the singing styles they had discovered on their own already suited them well. However, professional training would clearly help them reach the next level.

Er Ya’s voice was neutral, possessing a greater sense of power compared to most females. She might be better suited for something with a rock-and-roll feel. However, that bold style of singing required even more focus on vocal protection techniques; shouting with brute force alone could end up hurting her.

Ying Ying had a sweet voice, while Yan Yan’s was gentle and soft. Both girls had impressive vocal ranges, and their high notes were particularly beautiful and mellow. Perhaps he could find some courses leaning toward bel canto for them… or maybe folk music?

As for Tiechui and Tiezhu…

Lu Yuan listened, pondered, and searched all at once, multitasking with ease.

His knowledge of music was limited, and his understanding of singing even more so. He knew his ideas might not be entirely accurate, but he was just giving himself a general direction for his search. He would figure it out as he went. Lu Yuan was highly confident in his learning ability; he was certain he could find the most suitable study materials for each of them before they finished their break.

However, there was no need to be so narrow-minded.

The thought suddenly struck Lu Yuan.

The others could learn to sing as well. Or rather, getting everyone to sing was actually an excellent way to spread culture.

Nursery rhymes for the children, various types of pop music for the adults… music conveyed emotion more easily than language or writing. It was more infectious and easier to pass on.

Weren’t the people around Er Ya and the others already unconsciously singing along? Usually, getting those same people to learn anything was an uphill battle.

Furthermore…

Songs were much better suited for his “broadcast” across the entire Desolate Planet.

If he wanted to speedrun the unification of the Desolate Planet, he would certainly need to take some shortcuts when it came to unifying their thoughts.

Broadcasting, for example.

Using Mental Power that could cover the entire planet was the most convenient way to do this. He could easily make his voice heard by everyone simultaneously.

But if some unknown entity whispered incomprehensible words in your ear every day… even if he were worshipped as a god or demon due to his mysterious power, few people would likely focus enough to truly listen and obey.

Besides, Lu Yuan only wanted to be a loudspeaker; he had no desire to become a god followed with blind faith.

Songs were different.

Even if the lyrics weren’t understood, a beautiful melody had the power to make people stop and listen.

In the Mother Planet Era, music was often described as the universal language of humanity.

Although the Empire now had a common tongue and people no longer used such phrases to describe music, the way everyone felt it remained the same.

Moreover, compared to the sound of someone speaking, songs were easier to understand and remember.

The group over there finally stopped after singing several songs in a row. Lu Yuan was not stingy with his praise, complimenting each of the children before mentioning that he had prepared advanced tutorials for them.

The children were overjoyed and thanked him one after another.

Only then did Lu Yuan voice his request. “However, I have something I’d like you to help me with next.”

“What is it!” Er Ya’s voice was full of excitement, and the other children were clearly energized as well. This wasn’t just because they had been praised; more importantly, it was because they could help Lu Yuan.

While saying “it is an honor to help Lu Yuan” might be a bit of an exaggeration, at the very least, Lu Yuan asking for their help meant he recognized them and felt close to them. Besides, having received so much help from him, Er Ya and the others had long wanted to repay him.

“Let’s make some songs that are a bit more down-to-earth,” Lu Yuan said after a moment’s thought. “How to grow mushrooms, how to learn to write, what the world outside is like… the knowledge you’ve gained during this time, the things worth passing on for everyone to learn and understand—turn those into songs.

“That way, the people who join us will find it much easier to remember and learn these things.”

“Really?” Er Ya asked, sounding a bit skeptical.

“It should work,” Lu Yuan replied. “At least for some people, songs are easier to learn. Have you noticed the people around you humming along?”

“I have!” Er Ya began to understand. “We didn’t even try to teach them, but so many people have learned the tunes!”

“That’s because you’re always singing.”

“It sounds pretty good, so I secretly learned a few lines, hehe.”

“My little daughter loves listening to it. When I’m watching her and she starts crying, I just hum a bit, and then she smiles at me.”

“…”

Hearing Er Ya’s words, many people nearby chimed in with their own stories.

Er Ya smiled. “I understand. We’ll try to turn the things people find difficult to learn into songs.”

“Keep it up.” Seeing the children full of motivation, Lu Yuan lay back down and continued organizing his singing tutorials.

He hadn’t forgotten other matters, of course—like the fact that he’d only sent Old Fourth and his team to rebuild the original houses, leaving the question of where people from other places would stay…

But there was no rush.

That was perhaps the easiest problem to handle.

If he could find a way to communicate directly with the Desolate Planet itself, that problem could be solved in an instant.

Since the Desolate Planet could undergo its own geological shifts…

He could have the Desolate Planet move itself just a little, and then, with a bit of his own Mental Power, the two of them—one man and one planet—could work together to excavate an underground city.

It would be just like the subterranean levels of the Capital Star.

Lu Yuan had visited the underground city on the Capital Star once before. Although it never saw the sun, it stayed warm in the winter and cool in the summer, making it far more habitable than the surface of this Desolate Planet.