Wonderful Sound Phonograph Store

Green Water City, the lights are just coming on.

Having been in Pro State for over three months, this was Li Banfeng's first time visiting a city.

As Ma Wu once said, Pro State's cities may not be as good as those in Outer State, but Green Water City's nights are just as bright.

Li Banfeng saw the light and lit the lights, a grand ceremony that takes place every day in Green Water City.

Because electricity cannot be transmitted over long distances, gas lamps became the main feature of the night.

The police officers, carrying torches and footstools, lit up the streetlights on both sides of the street one by one.

Each shop sent out its employees to light up the lightboxes with their signs one by one.

The gas lamp was very bright, no less so than some electric lights.

What surprised Li Banfeng even more was that the gas lamp could flicker.

On the gas outlet pipe, there is a steam-driven valve. Relying on the heat of the gas lamp itself, the valve opens and closes according to a certain pattern to control the flow of gas.

With the valve fully open, the gas flow is abundant, and the light box is extremely bright.

If the valve is half-open, the gas flow is low, and the light box will dim again.

Some valves also contain special powder that causes the light box to change color continuously.

Ma Wu is right, Green Water City is a city, a big city.

Perhaps the buildings aren't as tall as those in Yuezhou the streets aren't as wide, but this is a real city, and Li Banfeng can smell the unique scent of a city.

The tallest building is called the Peace Mansion. It's a business owned by the Lu Family. It has a shopping mall, restaurants, and supposedly a cinema.

The largest building is called the Bai Le Men, which is also owned by the Lu Family. There is an endless supply of wine, endless dancing, and countless high-slit cheongsams.

Ma Wu said the most promising place is called Carefree Dock, where there are dance queens, Song Queen, and more than a hundred rising stars who are being honed.

Carefree Dock used to be Ma Wu's property. Li Banfeng had promised Ma Wu that he would definitely go and see it in the future, but now was not the time.

Li Banfeng now only wants to find Wonderful Sound Phonograph Store. Ma Wu asked them to burn records for him, as their record players are of very high quality.

After several twists and turns, Li Banfeng finally found the record store. The store Face Not Big, and when Li Banfeng pushed the door open, the store was only about five or six square meters. Inside, there was a counter that was a little over a meter long, with two hand-cranked record players on the counter.

Did we come to the wrong place?

Li Banfeng stepped back to the doorway and took a look.

You came to the right place, the Wonderful Sound Phonograph Store.

A man sat behind the counter, wearing a black top hat, a black tailcoat, a white shirt, and a black bow tie. He had no mustache on his lower lip and a mustache on his upper lip.

At first, the man seemed to be dozing off. Li Banfeng stepped back to the door to look at the sign again, which startled the man awake.

The man with the mustache stood up, smiled, and said to Li Banfeng, "Hello sir, welcome. I'm Ling Miaosheng from Wonderful Sound Phonograph Store. Which record player have you taken a fancy to?"

Li Banfeng looked at the two flimsy hand-cranked record players on the counter, shook his head and said, "Anyway, it's not these two."

Ling Miaosheng was taken aback, and looked at Li Banfeng in astonishment, saying, "Sir, you don't like either of these record players?"

"Yes!" Li Banfeng didn't think there was anything special about these two record players.

Ling Miaosheng said seriously, "Then it seems what you want is not simple. Please tell me, what kind of record player do you want?"

What kind of record player?

What kind of record players could this little shop possibly have?

Li Banfeng said, "Let me see your best record player."

"Yes, sir." Ling Miaosheng stepped out from behind the counter, and with a wave of her hand, a curtain suddenly lifted up from the wall.

The curtain is the same color as the wall.

Not only are they identical, but they fit together perfectly, leaving no trace.

Behind the curtain was a wooden door.

Squeak~

Ling Miaosheng pushed open the wooden door and extended a hand inside. "Sir, please come in."

Li Banfeng followed Ling Miaosheng through the wooden door. Behind the door was a corridor. Because the light was very dim, Li Banfeng could not see the end of the corridor with his eyesight.

This store is quite large.

It's just that the structure is a bit unusual.

Ling Miaosheng led Li Banfeng to a door, gently pushed it open and went inside, and gestured for Li Banfeng to be quiet.

Why be so cautious?

Is someone sleeping here?

Ling Miaosheng went to the center of the room and quietly lit a candle.

The room was quite large; by the candlelight, Li Banfeng could barely see the four walls.

In the center of the room, an object about the size of a bedside table was covered with a cloth.

This must be the most expensive record player in this store, right?

Li Banfeng was somewhat looking forward to it.

Ling Miaosheng first grabbed a handful of golden-yellow granules and placed them under the covering.

Li Banfeng felt a surge of excitement.

Is this fuel?

Could it also be a steam record player?

As Ling Miaosheng slowly lifted the veil, the answer was revealed.

This record player has a very white body, a very red head, and two very bright headpieces.

The "fuel" that Ling Miaosheng scattered was actually corn.

The record player stuck its head out, ate the corn, and cleared its throat with a gurgling sound.

Ling Miaosheng gave the order, "Sing a song called 'Autumn Water Beauty'."

The record player stretched its neck and started playing:

Hehehe~

Longing for him until his eyes were dry

Her beautiful figure was nowhere to be seen.

The night is almost over,

A lone goose cries two or three times.

Li Banfeng looked at Ling Miaosheng and asked, "Is this a... singing chicken?"

Ling Miaosheng nodded and said, "This is the best record player in our store. It can play more than thirty songs. As long as the owner raises it patiently, it can learn many more songs."

Li Banfeng didn't know why this rooster with its bright red comb and snow-white feathers could sing, but it was clearly not the rooster he wanted.

"Mr. Ling, I'd like a decent record player, like one made in Amikan Country. Do you have any?"

Ling Miaosheng nodded and said, "Yes, sir, this way please."

Li Banfeng followed Ling Miaosheng into another room, which was more spacious and contained more than a dozen record players, all made in Amikan Country.

Ling Miaosheng explained, "The phonographs made in Amikan Country are not as durable as those Che Man Country, nor as exquisite as those made in Ingrid, but their products have a unique charm."

It's hard to pinpoint the unique charm, but I always felt that their work was particularly bold and unrestrained.

As she spoke, Ling Miaosheng lifted the curtain and revealed the first phonograph.

"This is a wind-up record player. You wind it up once for each song, and it produces a clear, bright sound. The chassis is lightweight and doesn't take up much space."

Ling Miaosheng played a song on the record player, Li Banfeng shook his head slightly.

The sound quality of this record player is far different from that of my Wife, and the record player is too small, so I guess I won't need any accessories.

Ling Miaosheng turned on another record player. This one was very large, nearly two meters long and wide. The tray on top of the record player was somewhat similar to Wife's, and a huge lever was attached to the top of the machine.

Ling Miaosheng pulled the lever, and the record player made a whooshing sound.

It turned out to be a lever bellows.

With the sound of the wind, the windmill inside the casing began to turn.

Ling Miaosheng explained, "The windmill is equipped with a speed regulator, so it can rotate at a constant speed no matter how strong the wind is."

You can listen to music while operating the bellows, but the downside is that it's a bit noisy.

You can also wind up the spring by pulling the bellows, and then listen to music. The spring can be wound up for up to two hours.

After winding up the clockwork, Ling Miaosheng wiped the sweat from her brow, flipped the switch, and the record player started playing.

To be honest, the sound of this bellows phonograph is somewhat similar to that of my Wife.

After finishing one song, Ling Miaosheng showcased the third record player.

This record player is also very special because it is electric.

In Pro State, electricity cannot be transmitted over long distances, but it is not impossible to store it.

Ling Miaosheng took a battery about the size of a tea box, placed it in the back of the record player, turned on the switch, and the record player started to run.

"The record player runs smoothly and is easy to use, but charging it is a hassle. During the day, you have to put the record player in the sun to dry."

Li Banfeng then noticed that there were photovoltaic panels on the surface of the record player.

Ling Miaosheng laughed and said, "If it's a sunny day, I can listen for eight hours after charging for a day. If it's a cloudy day, it's hard to say."

If there's electricity, can I charge my phone?

Why charge it? What's the point of a phone? Are you just waiting to get it hooked up for repairs?

The layout and construction of this record player were too different from what Li Banfeng Wife, so he wasn't interested.

Open the fourth curtain; underneath is a sewing machine.

Ling Miaosheng threaded the needle, held the gearshift, stepped on the pedal, and clicked away as the sewing machine started moving. While sewing the clothes on the machine, she sang "Roses Bloom Everywhere".

"Roses Bloom Everywhere, youth is everywhere, the spring breeze cannot be stopped..."

The cuffs were sewn shut, the sewing machine stopped, and the music stopped as well.

Ling Miaosheng turned around and said, "The beauty of this record player is that it can relieve the fatigue of sewing work. Of course, if you don't want to listen to music while sewing, you can wind it up and enjoy the beauty of music after you finish sewing."

Although this record player is peculiar, its accessories are quite similar to Wife's.

Ling Miaosheng turned on the fifth record player, which was also the largest. "This is also a wind-powered record player, but it's different from a bellows record player. This record player is driven by an external windmill."

In other words, you need to hang a windmill with a diameter of 28 centimeters outside your window.

When the windmill starts spinning, you can listen to music. If you don't want to listen, you can wind it up to power it.

"When fully wound up, it can play for up to twenty-two hours. As long as the wind outside doesn't stop, the music in your home won't be interrupted..."

Ling Miaosheng introduced more than a dozen record players to Li Banfeng in one go. Li Banfeng was interested in each one, but not entirely satisfied with any of them.

Ling Miaosheng looked at Li Banfeng, remained silent for a moment, and then suddenly asked, "Sir, are you looking to buy a phonograph machine?"

Li Banfeng was startled; "How did you know?"

Ling Miaosheng suddenly smiled, "I heard the sound of steam billowing out, in your heart."

P. S.: Salad heard the voices of all you readers. Salad am your favorite author, and no one else will ever come to mind.