More than half an hour later, Tang Xiaobao finally saw the stadium.

This is a natural flat area, about several acres wide.

At this time, many people had come to the open space, and it could be described as a huge crowd.

There were banners everywhere.

It is estimated that more than half of the villagers from several nearby villages have come.

Several people got off the bus.

Immediately a group of people came forward to greet them.

Li Zhicheng was indeed highly respected, and the group was welcomed to the podium.

Some village officials have arrived there and will serve as judges for the competition.

However, the main judges' seat was still empty, so Li Zhicheng sat there without hesitation.

Tang Xiaobao, Sanmei and others stood behind him.

Several village cadres were trying to get close to Li Zhicheng. Tang Xiaobao overheard and found that they were all recommending young people from their village to Li Zhicheng.

He was not very interested in listening to these things. He came here to broaden his horizons, so he looked around.

Villagers from all directions were rushing to the scene.

There were more than a hundred young men participating in the competition.

They gathered into several groups, each with a waist drum tied around their waist, a red silk ribbon tied around their waist, and a sheep-horn scarf tied on their head. Although it was winter, they were all bare-chested and it didn't look like they were cold at all. Everyone was energetic and very excited, and from time to time they looked towards Li Zhicheng. Their eyes were like mortals seeing a god, and they were just about to bow down to him.

He is worthy of being called the King of Drums.

Tang Xiaobao sighed in his heart.

He now has a deeper understanding of Li Zhicheng's prestige.

Thinking that he had been instructed by the King of Drums last night, he felt very honored.

"The competition will be divided into two stages. First, the waist drum, then the power drum. Each group will have thirty people. With more people, we can compare with each other. We can tell who is better and who is worse at a glance..."

Li Sanmei is explaining the competition system to Tang Xiaobao.

"If Dad likes the final winner, he can take him in as his apprentice and officially become a candidate for the Drum King. Dad has only accepted three apprentices so far, but unfortunately, they're all performing in big cities and doing quite well..."

The third sister whispered to Tang Xiaobao, "You can also go and join us later."

"I'll forget it. I've never played the waist drum before, and I can't embarrass myself." Tang Xiaobao said quickly.

The third sister thought about it and agreed, so she stopped trying to persuade him.

After a while, he said to Tang Xiaobao, "Look, the band is coming."

Looking in the direction of her finger, Tang Xiaobao saw it clearly.

A van stopped not far away, and a group of people got out, holding suona or gong in their hands, and walked towards the rostrum together.

"This is the band. They'll be providing accompaniment during the competition." The third sister pointed to an old man holding a suona and said, "Look, that's the suona king from our area. He plays it really well. The one next to him is his apprentice. Oh, his name is Li Hong, and his apprentice is also his son, Li Jun..."

Tang Xiaobao took a look and whispered, "The Suona King had a stomachache last night."

"What did you say?"

The third sister didn't hear clearly.

Tang Xiaobao smiled and said, "Nothing."

Tang Xiaobao has learned to play the suona, but he has never had the opportunity to perform it. However, his level is definitely not low.

At this moment, he was itching to show off his skills, but thinking about the occasion today, he restrained himself.

He is the king of suona, much better than me, so now it’s enough for me to appreciate and learn from him.

Li Hong and his son and two other gong beaters came over and chatted with Li Zhicheng.

We all know each other well and have a good relationship, so we had a great chat.

As they chatted, Li Zhicheng pulled Tang Xiaobao over and introduced him to Li Hong, "This is Xiao Tang. He's a singer who came from a big city to travel and collect folk songs. He's a great singer. I wanted to show you today. You guys mustn't embarrass yourself later."

"Oh, young man, are you from a big city?" Li Hong asked.

Tang Xiaobao said modestly, "Yes, Uncle Li."

"Do you know me?" Li Hong was stunned.

Tang Xiaobao quickly pointed at the third sister and said, "She introduced you to me. She said you are the king of suona in the surrounding area. I also learned for a few days. Today I have the opportunity to learn from Uncle Li. This is a blessing for the younger generation."

"Okay, then just listen carefully for a while. If you don't understand anything, just ask me and I will definitely give you some guidance." Li Hong said with a smile.

They are not proud, they are just down-to-earth people.

If you think Tang Xiaobao is pleasing to the eye, then what you say is the truth.

After a few polite words, Tang Xiaobao stepped aside.

At nine o'clock in the morning, the competition officially began.

The competition was hosted by a cadre from a certain village, who spoke very poor Mandarin. Tang Xiaobao had to listen carefully to understand him.

As soon as he announced the start of the game, the people from Lijia Village came on stage first.

There were thirty people in a group, all young people from Lijia Village. Li Qi was standing in the middle of the first row.

Li Qi had changed his clothes and looked very cool, energetic, and confident. He glanced at Li Zhicheng, but when he saw Tang Xiaobao, he frowned again.

The reason was simple. The third sister was whispering in Tang Xiaobao's ear and seemed very intimate, so Li Qi became jealous.

With the game approaching, he did not do anything extreme.

His expression gradually became serious.

It's like brewing emotions.

The sound of suona rang out and the gong started beating.

An expert can tell whether it is good or not with just one look.

When Tang Xiaobao heard the suona music, he praised loudly: "Good!"

"What's good?" asked the third sister.

Tang Xiaobao smiled and said, "You play the suona very well."

"Can you really do that?"

"A little bit."

The drums begin to beat.

The group started dancing to the drums.

Thirty strong men stepped on the loess and jumped high.

The drum beats are uniform, the movements are graceful and free, like flowing water, which is very beautiful to watch.

As expected of a drum village, the level of these people is indeed very high.

Especially Li Qi's level is even higher than the others.

He stands out like a crane among chickens, very dazzling.

Hundreds of onlookers cheered for him in unison.

"Li Qi, well done!"

"Come on, Qiwa!"

"Qiwa's drumming skills are obviously much better than theirs."

"I think Chen Qi will definitely win the championship this year."

"Yeah, there's no suspense."

…

Tang Xiaobao also nodded frequently.

Apart from anything else, he really admired Li Qi's drumming skills.

However, his memory was so good that he memorized all their movements after watching it only once. When he watched it a second time, he completely lost his previous interest.

He was naturally shocked, but now his attention was completely attracted by Li Hong and his son.

The King of Suona is indeed worthy of his reputation.

Since Tang Xiaobao understood this, he was of course watching intently.

Soon, the sounds of gongs and suonas stopped, and the drums also stopped.

A group of men left the stage, wiping their sweat, with excitement on everyone's face.

The group drums can indeed easily inspire people, and whether they win the championship or not, they are satisfied and happy in their hearts.