Football: The immortal legend on the green field

While Dai Zhao rejected his elder sister, he was also grateful for the care from his relatives.

However, his elder sister's words still raised a question for him, which was how he should plan his future.

Before this day, "the future" was just a symbol in his mind. Apart from awe and obedience to it, he felt nothing but confusion.

When he was still in the provincial football team, "future" meant that he would follow in the footsteps of his predecessors - the youth team, the adult team and the job arranged by the government after retirement.

From a realistic point of view, he felt that he had full control over his future and that he should go out and explore the world while he was still young.

This time he won't think about football anymore, nor will he consider or worry about anything. He doesn't need a plan and has no goals. He will just go wherever he wants and whatever happens there will be!

He didn't have to think about anything and just follow his heart to venture out into the world. He couldn't imagine what kind of carefree life that would be like!

He might go hungry, or get beaten up by reality, but what was he afraid of? He was in his prime, strong and healthy, with plenty of strength. He could do odd jobs, carry stones, and lift wood. As long as he was willing to endure hardships, he would not end up with nothing!

At least I still have 8 yuan in the bank, which is much better than most people in this society.

He had to go to a big city to find opportunities! For example, he could be a security guard in a shopping mall in Shenyang. With his strong body, he would be easily noticed by the boss, which was much better than staying in a small county town.

As long as he patiently starts from the bottom and patiently waits for opportunities, he believes that he will never let go of opportunities and will not let them slip away. He will cherish them when he encounters them. After all, he is only 19 years old and has plenty of room for error...

But every time he thought of football, his heart was like a fire that burned brighter and brighter, often preventing him from falling asleep until midnight. He could only sit at the head of the bed for a long time with his clothes on, silently looking up at the starry sky with tears in his eyes, and his hands and feet would spasm uncontrollably.

He clearly realized that if he had to leave, he had to leave now! The sooner he left, the better! He was so grown up, but he was still staying at his eldest sister's house. Once the comfortable life wore away his will, it meant that he no longer had the right to speak to others with his back straight!

Dai Zhao, carrying a baggy and deflated travel bag and a mediocre jar of sauce in a plastic net bag, bought a ticket to the provincial capital at the county's passenger transport center.

It was already late at night when he got off the bus. Dai Zhao walked one stop along the street and found a hotel that looked relatively decent.

The dormitory room here costs 8 yuan per person per night, which is much cheaper than the standard room at 45 yuan, so he decided to get a dormitory room.

He thought that it would be impossible for him to find a job right away, and now was a period of living beyond his means, so he had to spend the money he had frugally.

He was reluctant to go to the bathhouse opposite the hotel and waste money at 5 yuan per person. He took a cold shower in the men's bathroom in the freezing cold of -3 degrees Celsius. The cold water washed away the dust on his body and the fatigue brought by the long journey. More importantly, the cold water calmed his chaotic and manic mood.

Get a good night's sleep, as he still has to meet some people tomorrow morning, and he can't let the two elders see how miserable and embarrassed he is.

Just to save two yuan on bus fare, he spent an hour and a half to walk from Xiaoguanmiao to Xiaodongmen. On the way, he also bought a large net bag of apples. This money could not be saved. He spent more than 20 yuan on fruits. He couldn't just carry a jar of soybean paste and run to visit his old coach, right?

But this journey was not without reward. When he crossed the Dongmen Bridge, he saw a notice outside the gate of the Provincial Talent Exchange Center, which said that the center would hold a talent recruitment event at 9 o'clock tomorrow morning. At that time, more than 100 enterprises and institutions would come to the scene and they could provide thousands of job opportunities...

His heart was immediately gripped by this notice. What he urgently needed now was an opportunity, no matter how low the starting point was.

He must come and have a look tomorrow morning! His requirements are not that the food and accommodation are good or bad, but that he just needs some money. He has no conditions to be picky, and he doesn't have the mind to do that. As long as there is something to do, even if it means carrying stones or heavy bags, he will do it!

He walked into the old dormitory compound of the Provincial Sports Commission with a head full of random thoughts.

It was not until he stood at the door of his old coach Guo Jiangping's house that he gathered his thoughts, took two long breaths and then gently knocked on the door twice.

Immediately, he heard the familiar Jinzhou accent from the other side of the door: "Come on, come on!"

Then he saw his master's wife wearing a floral apron and holding a bowl of porridge in her hand: "I don't know what this crazy girl is thinking about every day. She always loses things! What did she forget this time?" As she said this, she opened her mouth and was stunned.

"Master's wife!" Dai Zhao called out respectfully.

The master's wife stared at him blankly for a long time before she hurriedly pushed him into the house and shouted loudly: "Old man, old man, come and have a look - come and have a look! Look who is here!" Tears flashed in her eyes and her voice was a little choked.

"Who...who...who?" Guo Jiangping, the former Liaoning Province youth training coach, walked out of the bedroom. I haven't seen him for half a year, and the old coach is obviously much older than before.

"Master!" Dai Zhao hurriedly put down what he was holding and took a few steps to support the old man.

The old man's eyes suddenly widened and he stared at him, his hands and feet shaking violently. Dai Zhao hurriedly half-supported and half-carried the old man to sit on the sofa.

While walking towards the sofa, the old man kept staring at Dai Zhao with eyes full of sadness and sorrow. Dai Zhao guessed that his master still couldn't get over his behavior in the match-fixing incident in the past. The old man seemed to have a lot to say to him, but didn't know where to start. "Oh!" The old man sighed.

The master's wife looked at him sadly, sighed deeply and said, "...I was talking about you to the old man a few days ago. How come we went to Nanjing for a game together, but you disappeared when we came back? Not long after that, the team was disbanded. You were in the newspaper some time ago, saying that you fixed a match, but I didn't believe it. You were such a good child! What happened?" She choked with sobs and couldn't continue speaking. She lowered her head and wiped her tears with the back of her hand.

"In the newspaper? My business?" Dai Zhao asked in surprise and confusion.

"It happened a while ago..."

From his master's fragmentary narration, Dai Zhao finally understood how his story was exposed in the newspaper.

In the middle of last month, a member of the Shanxi men's volleyball team died suddenly on the training ground. Because this volleyball player had long been a main player of the national men's volleyball team and enjoyed a high reputation in the domestic volleyball field and even in Asia, his death became hot news in major sports newspapers.

Various sports publications have also focused their coverage on his funeral arrangements.

It was revealed that after the unfortunate team member passed away, the Shanxi Provincial Sports Committee only gave his family a pension of 50,000 yuan in accordance with relevant policy regulations. This caused an uproar in the newspapers.

Is the death of an athlete who has made such a great contribution to the country only worth 50,000 yuan?

Even though the Shanxi Provincial Sports Committee later raised the pension standard to 200,000 yuan, it still could not satisfy the media and readers.

What they are not satisfied with is the attitude of the Shanxi Provincial Sports Commission in handling this matter! The arrogance, ignorance and bureaucracy have made the Shanxi Provincial Sports Commission lose face in front of readers across the country...

For some reason, the media's direction began to change, and the focus of reports shifted to the now-famous Shen Bin. The media reported everything about his serious injury in Tianlun, Liaoning Province. The media continued to dig deeper, and it was revealed that he was kicked out of the Longjiang Sports School because he could not pay the training fees.

Even his refusal to play tacit basketball with Dai Zhao and others did not escape the eyes of the media.

Dai Zhao didn't feel anything. He had already been isolated from football anyway, and what others said had no effect on him. He just felt a little ashamed in front of his mentor who had trained him with great care.

In fact, this was Yan Shiduo's counterattack against Nan Yong and Yang Yimin for privately forming the National Olympic Team without his approval. Dai Zhao suffered an unprovoked disaster.