Chapter 114: An "A"
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Coach Zhuang had an uncle who worked in the Provincial Sport Department as a vice director. Although he may not have had the strongest network, he definitely had a good one. When trying to bully people, one had to watch out for powerful connections. Other coaches who wanted to grab athletes from the long jump team had to evaluate themselves first, and decide whether they were able to offend Xuexi Zhuang without any negative effects.
On an entire team, it was OK if only three to five people transferred to other teams. But thirty was definitely beyond acceptable. Even badminton and tennis had dared to take athletes from this team. It was incredible.
Xuexi Zhuang does not look like a loser. How could he take that? Dai Li thought. He asked, "What did Coach Zhuang do when the others came to take the athletes?"
The long jumper immediately replied, "He did nothing but welcome the coaches. I guess he thought the less people there were, the easier the job would be."
Another athlete interrupted him and said, "Actually, lately Coach Zhuang had not even arranged our training. We all worked on our own."
"Why?" asked Dai Li.
"Because he is going to the shot put team, he did not pay attention to us anymore," said the athlete in a low voice, "I heard him talking to someone else on the phone. He said that because he was going to the shot put team, there was no need to waste his time and effort on the long jump team."
How could he evade responsibility! Dai Li was filled with fury. He had been pissed off by Coach Zhuang several times already in only one day.
To Dai Li, as long as he was in charge, he would perform his duties. Afterwards, he would have to shoulder the responsibility. Dai Li had not asked Xuexi Zhuang to be as considerate as he had been, but he could have at least not left an awful mess for him.
Nevertheless, Xuexi Zhuang did not seem to have done anything right. Once he found out that the shot put team surprisingly defeated Nantan Middle School, he had decided to take the team as his own. He had even let the other teams pick out athletes as they wished, and did not even schedule daily training. Dai Li had inherited an impossible situation.
Luckily we have sixteen people left. I guess since they remain unpicked, their ability must be so-so, Dai Li thought. He detected the whole team.
First one... D+ talent? What the heck is this? How could a D+ be on this team?
Second one… D talent! Even worse than D+. Does it only get worse from here?
Third one, D+! Another D+, what is going on here? Why are there so many untalented athletes on a provincial team? I guess technically D-level talent can be categorized as amateurs, but they have a long way to go to become professionals.
Dai Li was upset. He dared not detect anyone else, worried he would see a worse result.
This team is awful. The previous shot put team had five C-level athletes. Now I have to deal with a group of D-level athletes. Damn Xuexi Zhuang! How dare you grab my team and leave me a mess? Even with my great ability, I can't do anything in this situation. Dai Li swore Xuexi Zhuang in his mind.
It was common to have D-level athletes among Youth Team newcomers. Although Dai Li had had five C-level shot putters, they had been training for more than a year and had not be kicked off the team. These D-level athletes already meant game over. Because Dai Li was leading a group of newbies, it was no wonder he had so many D-level athletes.
While Dai Li was worrying about what he was going to do, three people walked towards him.
The leader was a middle-aged man in his fifties with dark skin and medium figure. He was well-dressed. The other two following him were in their thirtes. The one on the left wore a pair of golden wire frame glasses and had a briefcase in his hand, looking studious; the one on the right was a muscular man in a T-shirt, and was not very tall. He looked like a soldier.
The three gathered a lot of attention. They walked directly towards Li.
"Manager Fang, this is the long jump training field." The studious man pointed in Dai Li's direction.
The middle-aged man nodded, striding forward. Dai Li welcomed him.
"What can I do for you?" asked Dai Li.
"Are you the coach of the long jump?" the middle-aged man asked in reply.
"Yes, I am. I'm the new chief coach of the long jump team," Dai Li nodded.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Haiquan Fang's father. I'm here to take him away." The man introduced himself in a flat voice, but Dai Li could feel a sense of dignity.
"Haiquan Fang?" It was Dai Li's first day here, so he was not familiar with his team. He thought about it carefully, then finally remembered that there was someone named Haiquan Fang. Dai Li immediately opened the name list, and the name was right there.
There is someone named Haiquan Fang, but I do not know which one he is. Dai Li turned around to an athlete behind him and said, "Go tell Haiquan Fang to come here. His father is looking for him."
Dai Li thought it was a parent asking for his child's leave, so he asked, "Could you please tell me the reason Haiquan Fang has to leave? When will he return? I need to know so I can make a record."
"Leave? Who said my son is asking for leave?" Manager Fang stood in a daze, then realized that Dai Li had misunderstood him.
"I'm not asking for leave, I'm here to take him away from here. We will never come back," said Manager Fang.
You mean Haiquan wants to leave the team? Dai Li's thoughts were all over the place.
What a bad day it is! The first day I'm on duty I'm welcomed with a mess, and now someone wants to leave. It must be because Xuexi Zhuang did not train the athletes hard recently, which disappointed the parents.
Thinking about this, Dai Li smiled and said, "I heard that you are 'Manager Fang.' May I refer to you the same way? Manager Fang, allow me to explain. Recently we had an inner transfer. The previous coach, Xuexi Zhuang, went to another team, which is why training was not as effective as before. But please relax. There is no need to worry about this anymore. I'm the new chief coach of the long jump team. I will take good care of the team, and never allow those problems to happen again."
"I don't care about what happened here. I'm here to take my son." Manager Fang looked indifferent.
Haiquan Fang was running towards them.
"Dad, why you are here!" Haiquan Fang looked resistant. "I told you I would never leave this team!"
"No way! You have to go back!" Manager Fang said decisively.
"No! Never!" Haiquan Fang was also stern in his speech.
"How dare you! If you do not come with me, do not expect to get a cent from me!" Manager Fang was angry.
"Who cares! My team takes care of my living and dining costs. Once I join the Sport Team, I will make a living myself. I do not need your money!" Haiquan Fang had adequate reasons for not needing his father's money.
Seeing that the father and son were having an argument, Dai Li immediately interrupted and said, "Please, there is no need to argue. How about we sit down and discuss it?"
Meanwhile, Dai Li detected Haiquan Fang. An "A" showed up in the System!
What! A-level! Fang has A-level talent in thelong jump! He has the potential to become a world-class athlete. If he is lucky enough, he may be able to win a world championship!
Dai Li made a decision: never let Haiquan Fang leave!