Lu Zhixian woke up naturally at eight o'clock. After lying in bed for five minutes, he climbed out, washed up, and headed straight out the door.

The breakfast shop downstairs still served the same old three items: soy milk, fried dough sticks, and egg-filled pancakes. He finished eating by the roadside, wiped his hands, and hailed a taxi straight to the recording studio.

It was the same recording studio where he had recorded "Xian" last time.

When he pushed the door open, Zhou Bin was hunkered down in front of the mixing console, tinkering with something. Hearing the noise, he looked up.

“Yo, Teacher Lu is here again.”

“Brother Zhou, don't call me teacher. Just call me Old Lu.”

Zhou Bin stood up and patted the dust off his trouser legs. “Alright, Old Lu. What big project are you cooking up this time? Your assistant was being all vague with me yesterday, just saying you wanted to record a new song.”

“It's a single, a lighthearted style, quite different from the last one.”

“Different is good! I was afraid you'd stick to the same routine every time you came; that would be boring for me.”

Zhou Bin was in his early fifties and had been in the industry for over twenty years; there wasn't a style of song he hadn't seen. When they recorded "Xian" last time, the two of them had collaborated smoothly and left a good impression on each other.

Lu Zhixian placed his backpack on the sofa in the lounge area, pulled out a stack of printed materials, and spread them out next to the mixing console.

“This is the arrangement framework and the general layout for the tracks. Take a look first.”

Zhou Bin took them, flipped through a couple of pages, and pushed up the reading glasses on the bridge of his nose.

“Guitar, bass, drums, harmonica... this configuration of yours is interesting. You want a harmonica too?”

“Yes, this song needs that specific vibe.”

“Alright, I'll adjust the equipment first. What time are your musicians arriving?”

“They said two in the afternoon.”

Zhou Bin glanced at the clock on the wall. “Then it's still early. Why don't you go through the vocal parts first? I'll tune the microphone while I'm at it.”

“Sure.”

Lu Zhixian stepped into the recording booth and put on the headphones.

Zhou Bin adjusted the levels outside and gave him a thumbs up.

The accompaniment was a rough version Lu Zhixian had made at home last night using software. The drum beats were from a synthesizer and the guitar was a MIDI tone; it sounded dry, but the basic framework was there.

He cleared his throat first and started singing from the beginning.

“If you have too many complaints about this world, and you're afraid to keep moving forward after falling down...”

The first run-through was very relaxed, mainly to find the feeling.

When he reached the chorus, he deliberately held back some power. This song didn't need high notes or flashy techniques; the more natural, the better.

“Still remember you saying home is the only castle, keep running along with the fragrance of rice and the river...”

Once the run-through was finished, Zhou Bin pressed the intercom outside.

“Old Lu, I caught a snippet of your lyrics just now. What's the theme you're writing about?”

“It's just... telling people not to overthink things, and to look back at the simplest things.”

Zhou Bin was silent for two seconds. “That's nice. There aren't many songs like this nowadays.”

Lu Zhixian went through it two more times, smoothing out the breathing and emotional flow of every segment.

During a break in the middle, he sat in the recording booth scrolling through his phone.

Old Zhao sent a message: “What's the name of the new song? I need to make the teaser poster.”

Lu Zhixian replied with two words: “fragrance of rice.”

Old Zhao: “? Just called fragrance of rice?”

Lu Zhixian: “Yes.”

Old Zhao: “Alright then, you're the boss. What about the copy? Do you want to write a couple of lines?”

Lu Zhixian thought for a moment and typed out a line.

“Some songs aren't meant to be heard; they are meant for going home.”

Old Zhao didn't reply for a long time. It took a minute for a sentence to pop up: “I won't judge for now; I'll wait until the song comes out. I'll post the poster this afternoon.”

Lu Zhixian pocketed his phone and continued practicing.

At 1:40 PM, there was movement at the door.

Zhou Yang was the first to arrive. When he pushed the door open, he was carrying a drumstick case, and there was sweat on his buzz cut.

“Old Lu, I took a taxi here, and that driver took me around three extra blocks.”

Lu Zhixian came out of the recording booth and bumped fists with him. “Thanks for the hard work, Brother Zhou.”

“It's not hard work. Mostly, I'm just curious about what this song of yours is actually like. That sentence you said last night about wanting to call home after hearing it—I've been mulling it over all night.”

“You'll know in a bit.”

Another ten minutes passed, and the bassist Old Fang and guitarist Lao Duan arrived one after the other.

Old Fang still had that unhurried manner. He entered, found a place to set his bass down, and then went to pour a glass of water.

Lao Duan was carrying his guitar bag. He scanned the recording studio as soon as he entered. “Brother Zhou, did you upgrade this place? You didn't have this mixing console last time we were here, right?”

Zhou Bin added from behind, “Changed it three months ago. The last time you guys were here was back when we were recording ‘Xian’.”

The last one to arrive was the harmonica player.

He was a man in his early thirties wearing round-framed glasses, looking quite scholarly. Zhou Yang introduced him as Xiao Qin, saying he was quite active in the livehouse scene.

Xiao Qin was a bit stiff after entering. When he shook hands with Lu Zhixian, his grip was noticeably tight.

“Hello, Teacher Lu. I've admired you for a long time.”

“Don't call me teacher, just Old Lu is fine. Did you bring your harmonica?”

“I did, I did.” Xiao Qin pulled a leather case from his bag and opened it, revealing three harmonicas in different keys lying inside.

“Professional.” Lu Zhixian nodded.

Everyone had arrived.

Lu Zhixian handed out a copy of the printed arrangement framework to everyone. Standing in front of the mixing console, he gave a general explanation of the song's structure.

“The overall tone of this song is just one word: warm. It doesn't need overly complex techniques. The simpler, the better.”

Zhou Yang flipped through the score and tapped his knee with a drumstick. “I've looked at the drum part. It's indeed not difficult, but this rhythmic pattern is quite interesting. It has a bit of a country feel to it.”

“Exactly, that's the vibe I want.”

Lao Duan had already plugged in his guitar and tried playing the broken chords of the intro.

The moment the sound came out, Lu Zhixian frowned slightly.

“Wait a second.”

Lao Duan's hand stopped.

Lu Zhixian walked over and gestured for him to play it again.

Lao Duan played it again, more completely this time, from the intro all the way to the transition into the first line of the verse.

Technically, there was no problem. The broken chords were played cleanly and the rhythm was steady. But it was just...

“Lao Duan, you're playing it too ‘straight’.”

“Too straight?”

“Yes, every note is exactly on the beat, without the slightest deviation. But this song doesn't need that kind of precision.”

Lao Duan was a bit dazed.

Since when was playing accurately a problem?

Lu Zhixian didn't explain much and just reached out. “Lend me your guitar for a second.”

Lao Duan handed the guitar over.

Lu Zhixian slung the guitar over his shoulder, rested his right hand on the strings, and began playing the same intro.

Same chords, same arpeggios.

But the feeling that came out was completely different.

When he played, certain notes would intentionally be just a tiny bit ahead of the beat, while others would drag slightly. It wasn't a mistake; it was a deliberate sense of relaxation.

After the intro was finished, the recording studio was silent for two seconds.

Zhou Yang was the first to speak: “I get it. You can't be too formal; it needs a bit of a human touch.”

“Exactly.” Lu Zhixian handed the guitar back to Lao Duan.

“For this song, just imagine yourself sitting on the steps of your old home, playing casually for fun. Don't think about the metronome or techniques; just play freely.”

Lao Duan took the guitar and played it again.

It was much more relaxed this time, and the rhythm in several places indeed took on that lazy feeling.

“Yes, just like that.”

Lu Zhixian then turned to Xiao Qin. “For the harmonica part, the first four bars of the intro—you try it once.”

Xiao Qin picked up the harmonica and blew through it according to the score.

The intonation was fine, and the tone was right. But it felt like something was missing.

Lu Zhixian thought for a moment after listening. “Xiao Qin, your breath is too even when you blow.”

“Huh?”

Xiao Qin pushed up his glasses, pondered for a while, and blew again.

This time was much better. The breath was intentionally a bit breathier in some places, and the handling of the tail notes was more casual.

“Beautiful.” Lu Zhixian clapped his hands.

Zhou Yang spun around on his drum stool. “Old Lu, what about my drums? Anything to watch out for?”

“You don't need to change. You're already relaxed enough.”

“? Should I be happy about that or not?”

“Be happy. It saves you some trouble.”

Old Fang silently adjusted his bass tone nearby, not saying a word the whole time.

That was just how he was—few words, but great work.

After each section had gone through individually, Lu Zhixian had everyone come together for a full run-through.

“We won't record the first take. Treat it as a rehearsal.”

Zhou Bin raised a hand outside to indicate he understood.

The harmonica intro began.

The guitar followed.

The drums and bass entered right on time at the first line of the verse.

They went through the entire song from start to finish. There were two or three places where the transitions weren't very smooth, but the overall feeling was already there.

After listening, Lu Zhixian made marks on several spots that needed adjustment and spoke to everyone individually.

“Alright, let's do it again. This time, we record.”

Zhou Bin started the recording equipment.

The red light turned on.

Xiao Qin took a deep breath, and the sound of the harmonica wafted out from the quiet recording booth.

Lu Zhixian stood in front of the monitor speakers with his eyes closed, his finger lightly tapping the tabletop to the beat.

This take was much better than the previous one.

Everyone's state had relaxed. They were no longer staring intently at the score, but were following their feelings instead.

Zhou Bin adjusted the levels of each track behind the mixing console, occasionally pushing a fader.

Having recorded for so many years, he could feel the weight of this song.

Once the take was finished, Lu Zhixian took off his headphones and checked the time.

It was four o'clock.

He picked up his phone and found several messages from Old Zhao, along with a preview image of a poster.

The poster was simple: a silhouette of a rice field against a light green background. Two words in the center.

fragrance of rice.

A line of small text at the bottom: “Lu Zhixian's new single, coming soon.”

Old Zhao: “The poster has been posted to your Weibo. Do you want to repost it?”

Lu Zhixian opened Weibo to take a look. The poster had only been out for half an hour, and there were already hundreds of comments.

“Ahhh, a new song!”

“What style is fragrance of rice? So looking forward to it!”

“Old Lu is at it again! I still haven't heard enough of the last album.”

He casually reposted it with one word: “Wait.”

The comment section exploded again instantly.

Lu Zhixian locked his screen and looked up at the few people in the recording booth who were stretching their wrists.

“Five-minute break, then we'll do it two more times. Let's try to get all the accompaniment finished today.”

Five minutes later, the red light turned on again.

Outside the recording studio, on Old Zhao's phone, the number of reposts was still climbing.