The Greatest Showman

Chapter 35:

Overnight, the whole of New York was covered in a layer of green, and the emerald green of the streets and alleys gave the whole city a festive atmosphere, giving the illusion that the footsteps of spring had come closer, but in fact, it was only a St. Patrick's Day.

This holiday, which originated in Ireland, is now a national holiday in Ireland and, thanks to the presence of Irish descendants all over the world, has gradually become a holiday in many countries, and has been celebrated in the United States since the early eighteenth century. Every year on March 17, the traditional colors of Ireland will cover the entire city, people will dress up, wearing green leprechaun costumes, green tall hats, waving Irish flags, driving in green decorated floats, and have taken to the streets to join the St. Patrick's Day celebration parade.

This year's New York is no exception, as early as a month ago, people have begun to prepare, Fifth Avenue is the place for this year's parade, rumors say that the number of participants this year will set a new high, the first time ever exceeding 100,000 people, it is bound to be a lively atmosphere.

Renly was looking forward to this day for a long time already, he even came back from Australia early so that he can catch the festival, after getting up in the morning, he couldn't wait to change into his festival costume, although he put his green hat far away from him, he still put on a dark green suit, carrying a tricolor Irish backpack. Looking at his own slightly funny outfit in the mirror, Renly smiled contentedly.

Such an outfit in China was absolutely impossible to see, except for the Comic-Con, people always had prejudice against cosplay, and always felt that it was a crowd pleaser, even if many young people want to try it, but that also requires a great courage.

The atmosphere, however, was very intense in both London and New York, and Renly has always been actively involved, truly partaking in the festive frenzy - not just by having a big meal, or giving gifts or getting drunk, but by diving deeply into the atmosphere, feeling the meaning of the holiday, understanding the culture, and participating in its activities. This is the right way to celebrate holidays. Otherwise, Valentine's Day or Christmas will be nothing more than another abacus used by businesses to empty consumers' pockets. -----

The main color of St. Patrick's Day is green, and the sky also overflowed with green. By the time Renly arrived on Fifth Avenue, the whole world had turned green, with the beating drums of the marching band and the boisterous crowd of onlookers, effortlessly putting the whole of Manhattan into a party mood.

After looking around, Renly saw a group of college-like young people not far away, wearing green cloaks, green shorts with bright yellow T-shirts, and waving furry green hats in their hands, following the parade. Renly did not hesitate to join them quickly, raising his voice and shouting, "Where is your Shamrock?"

Shamrocks, green dwarves and leprechauns, these are the three indispensable elements of St. Patrick's Day.

Hearing Renly's words, they did not speak, but instead turned around in unison, lifting their cloaks, and Renly burst out laughing - as he saw that each of their buttocks are marked with a large clover shape, although it has a light-yellow color, however, if you do not look too closely, it will look like it is completely flesh-colored, that optical illusion really makes a person laugh.

The young people briskly turned around with smiles full of satisfaction, obviously more than pleased with the surprise they created, "What about yours?"

Renly also did not say anything, bringing the backpack behind him to the front, the mere sight of his Irish tricolor backpack, made them cheer, with their eyes showing the surprise. However, Renly did not stop his movements, he opened the backpack and took out a large group of green color like algae from it, and then ...... then he put it on his chin, and he looked like he had a green goatee, the effect was amazing, it was not only lush, it almost completely covered the lower half of Renly's face, and it was also very long, nearly reaching his belly button. As a result of this, Renly has been able to create a strong visual impact with the imbalance of the proportions making it look like a fairy tale.

Renly's choice was the green dwarf.

Without further ado, the youngsters raised their right hands in the air, lining up to high five Renly, giving him full marks for his costume. Then, Renly joined the parade and partied!

The parade was lively throughout the morning, and it was after noon that Renly left the small group of friends he had just made and arrived at the Pioneer Village, but not for work. Today, the Pioneer Village will also be holding a party to celebrate St. Patrick's Day, and they will be gathering for lunch, and then will spend the afternoon together to decorate the bar and prepare for the evening's revelry.

When he entered the bar, he could see four tables were pieced together into one long table with eight freshly baked pizzas on it, the aroma of which was overwhelming, next to the matching supplies of cheese powder, beer, tomato sauce, mayonnaise, etc. At the end of the table there were two large pots of salad, obviously in consideration of the choices of the female staff.

Neil was dressed as an elf, and the tentacle headband he had was swaying fiercely because of his silly dance steps, which looked like a lot of fun, next to him, other people there were talking and laughing in twos and threes, the atmosphere was relaxed and easy to follow.

Renly greeted a few of his friends, and then walked towards Stanley, who was sitting on the side, "How was the parade today? Neil was telling the funny stories of the parade, and I heard that there was a fruit man running wild in the streets today?" Stanley smilingly questioned.

Renly lightly laughed, "is that all he saw? So, if he sees two sexy pixies in the street he is probably going to faint?" This banter made Stanley laugh out loud.

Renly brought his backpack that he had with him to the table, and Stanley exclaimed, "Beautiful! Did you make this yourself?"

"Of course not, Nia in room 201 made it for me." Nia is a middle-aged black woman who lives in Renly's building, an enthusiastic and honest person, " Whereas this is a gift for you, Happy St. Patrick's Day!" Renly took out a beautiful green card from his backpack and handed it to Stanley.

"Are you Irish? Why do I remember that you are English?" Stanley took the card and showed a surprised expression. Generally speaking, there is no custom of giving gifts on St. Patrick's Day, so Stanley was making a joke about Ireland.

Renly shrugged and said wryly, "I don't think it's a Valentine's Day gift, but if you say it's a Christmas gift, I'll take it."

Stanley couldn't help but chuckle, then he opened the card, which held a Polaroid picture of the entrance to the Pioneer Village, which Stanley recognized right away, "Oh, thanks!" Taking a closer look, "You've captured this doorway beautifully, wait, are you sure it was taken here?"

Renly knew that Stanley mistook the photo for a gift, and he gestured to it, "Are you sure it's all the same inside?"

Stanley couldn't help but freeze, then took out his reading glasses from his pocket, and after putting them on, took a closer look. This bar was built by Stanley himself, and he was more than familiar with every detail. He quickly noticed the anomaly in the window, but he didn't quite understand it, so he took off his reading glasses and looked at Renly again, "What does this all mean?"

Renly showed a helpless smile, "Do you want me to reveal the mystery? Then there will be no surprise. I thought that the meaning of the gift lies in the process of discovering the unknown."

Stanley did not immediately speak, but seriously thought about it, and a light bulb flashed in his head, and his eyes suddenly lit up, "So, you ...... are saying that you uploaded the song 'Cleopatra'? " Not even waiting for Renly's confirmation, the corners of his mouth could not help but start to rise up, showing his crazy and genuine love for music.

"Yes." Renly replied affirmatively, "It took some time, but it's now available in all the major online music stores."

After waking up that day, Renly went to the U.S. National Library to register the copyright, and the song was confirmed as original by SongCast, and it took another three days for the song to be available on iTunes, Spotify, Amazon, and other major online music download sites for 99 cents.

The whole process was indeed very convenient and almost without any hassle, and it was successfully completed in less than a week. Renly did not have to pay any fees to the SongCast, as the SongCast will be paid a percentage directly from the proceeds of the single in accordance with industry rules to realize the revenue.

More importantly, if Renly signs with a major label as an independent musician, his earnings are bound to be even cheaper, not only because he doesn't have a big-name producer behind him, but also because he doesn't have a strong enough agent to fight for him. Simply put, it tends to be below the industry average.

But through the SongCast, Renly signed a deal that was straight up industry average for new singers, which is not a lot, but it's still not too bad. There was no need to negotiate, no need to settle, a step in the right direction.

Stanley's eyes were shining with excitement, but he didn't know what to say. He couldn't help but lower his head and carefully stroke the Polaroid photo with his fingertips, as if he was examining his most precious treasure.

For Renly, it was just a gift, nothing extraordinary; yet he could feel that it meant a lot to Stanley, which made Renly smile, and he knew that he had given him the right gift.

"I hope you don't mind that I used the bar's entrance for the cover, and it's best that you don't start thinking about collecting my royalties." Renly's teasing broke the brief silence as Stanley burst into a big laugh, a hearty laugh that seemed perfectly timed.