The Golden Age of Basketball.

Chapter 8 Persuasion
A paid 3v3 match quickly came to an end.

There were no spectators, no cheers, and the beginning and end were both silent.

Hundreds of such competitive matches are played every day on courts of all sizes throughout San Francisco.

Some street fighters can make a living through these paid matches, earning hundreds of dollars a day in prize money.

There are also some higher-level amateur competitions, such as the San Francisco Bay Area Pro-AM (San Francisco-Bay Area Professional/Amateur Basketball League). These are high-level competitions in which top amateur players and semi-professional players team up, and the level is even higher than that of professional leagues in some countries.

In today's ordinary youth competition, each person bet $10, and Gan Guoyang and his two companions won a total of $30.

Chen Xing and Gan Guohui gave their winnings to Gan Guoyang.

After this game, they realized that Gan Guoyang was someone who had the potential to make a name for himself in the basketball field and was the only hope for the entire village.

For the next week, the three of them began playing paid matches at various mid-level stadiums and street courts in San Francisco to raise registration fees for Gan Guoyang.

In fact, with Chen Xing's family's wealth and Gan Guohui's pocket money, they could easily scrape together $150.

But for these three teenagers, using the money from winning the competition to enroll in a training camp is clearly a more meaningful approach.

At first, only Gan Guoyang wanted to sign up for the training camp, but after playing two games, Gan Guohui said he would also participate in the training.

Even if he doesn't achieve anything significant in basketball in the future, losing weight would be a good thing.

The need for funds has increased to $300.

Chen Xing carefully selected all of his opponents in the competition.

He certainly wouldn't compete against those famous teams of experts, nor would he go to venues frequented by adults or to areas with poor security.

They went to the Sunset Rock Dome, the Portrero Mountain Recreation Center, the Panhand Field and Oak Street Field in Golden Gate Park, and so on.

These places have beautiful environments, attract many tourists, and have good public security. Most of the people playing ball here are teenagers aged 13-18, just like them.

They only play 3v3, 10 or 15 balls, short and fast, and the winner can be decided in a very short time.

Gan Guohui's physical fitness is a weakness; he can't handle playing the entire game or for too long.

Chen Xing likes to pick out guys who seem to be mediocre but have a high opinion of themselves.

If these people saw that Gan Guoyang was a black man over 2 meters tall, they would most likely not dare to accept such a paid competition.

Unfortunately, Gan Guoyang was a tall, thin man with yellow skin, plus a skinny guy who wore glasses and a chubby guy who didn't seem to exercise much.

The appearance of three Chinese faces on the basketball court was like the appearance of a large, fat pig on the grassland. Although it was large, it was still a delicious meal in the eyes of hyenas and wild dogs.

They just didn't expect that the leader wasn't a fat pig, but a lion.

Gan Guoyang's defensive impact in the half-court 3v3 game exceeded the expectations of these amateur youth players.

The less skilled players have no way to score on the court except by relying on long-range jump shots.

Gan Guoyang displayed a cunning beyond his years in defense, skillfully using his blocks, strength, and words to break down the opponent's psychological defenses.

Of course, he wouldn't chatter like those black people; his English vocabulary is generally limited. But he always manages to hit his opponents precisely, gaining the upper hand in the psychological and skillful battle.

He has a very strong learning ability. In just one week, he was able to master most of the street tricks and perform almost all kinds of technical moves even in low-stakes situations.

On the court, he never flaunts or shouts. He is reserved but not low-key. Instead, he gathers his emotions and energy to deliver a fatal blow to his opponent.

After playing more than a dozen games, they were undefeated and quickly saved enough money to enroll in Frank Alok's "Excel in Basketball" summer camp.

Actually, there are many excellent basketball training camps in San Francisco, or even in the entire Northern California region, so you don't have to go all the way to Oakland.

The reason for choosing this one is not only because Chen Xing had participated in and recommended it, but also because it is a new training camp created by Coach Alok this year, with long training time, many programs, reasonable prices and discounts.

However, even though he had saved enough money, Gan Guoyang still needed to persuade Gan Youwei to allow him to go to the training camp for training.

The restaurant's business is as bad as ever, and it's on the verge of bankruptcy. If it loses two more child laborers who don't pay wages, the restaurant's situation will be even worse.

After dinner, the restaurant closed for the night. Gan Guoyang helped take out the trash and mop the floor in the kitchen, while Gan Youwei took care of the stove.

After arriving in this time and space, Gan Guoyang did not dislike working in the restaurant. On the contrary, he became even more diligent than before because his physical strength was exceptionally good.

Gan Youwei, Gan Guoyang's father, and his cousin's family all cared for Gan Guoyang very much.

Although the restaurant was not doing well and the atmosphere at home was somewhat dull, the adults never vented their work frustrations on the children.

He had some reservations about them frequently going out to play basketball, but he never stopped them.

Every evening, Gan Youwei would cook some nutritious soup for his son to improve his physical condition.

In daily life, besides showing concern for Gan Guoyang's well-being, Gan Youwei also took great care of him, making numerous trips to the immigration bureau and education department.

This warmth of family was especially precious to Gan Guoyang, something he had never experienced before.

Although the aunties at the welfare home are very kind and there are many kind-hearted people who help us, it is ultimately not a real home.

Now he lives in the United States, but in a traditional Chinese family, where his body and soul find peace.

The more this happened, the more guilty Gan Guoyang felt towards Gan Youwei.

He knew clearly that Gan Youwei's plan and expectations for his son were to inherit his culinary skills and the ancestral Gan family cuisine.

If he can promote and popularize Gan family cuisine in foreign lands, his wish will be fulfilled.

But Gan Guoyang's talent and passion lie in basketball, not cooking.

He can learn to cook a couple of dishes, but he can't spend his whole life banging and clanging in the kitchen.

Gan Guoyang was very troubled about how to get Gan Youwei to accept that his son had suddenly developed basketball talent and wanted to pursue a career in basketball.

As he mopped the floor, he rehearsed his words in his mind, trying to figure out how to get Gan Youwei's consent and understanding.
The kitchen wasn't big, but Gan Guoyang had mopped the floor three times over, making every corner spotless and all the water dried.

Gan Youwei finished tidying up the stove and said to Gan Guoyang, "Guoyang, that's enough. Take a rest and don't overwork yourself."

Gan Guoyang put down the mop, scratched his face, and said, "Dad... I... I want to discuss something with you."

"what?"

"I...I've recently saved up some money and I'm thinking of going to a basketball summer camp for professional basketball training."

"Oh, really."

Gan Youwei's reaction was unexpectedly calm.

He rubbed his hands together and said, "Then go ahead. I heard from Guohui that you're pretty good at basketball."

Gan Guoyang was surprised that Gan Youwei agreed so readily, and didn't know what to say.

At this moment, Gan Youwei went into the room, took out a cardboard box, and handed it to Gan Guoyang.

"What...what is this?"

"open to take a look."

Gan Guoyang opened the box, and inside lay a brand new pair of basketball shoes.

"Dad bought this for you. Guohui said you need it for playing basketball. I don't know anything about brands, so just wear it as is."

Gan Youwei handed the shoebox to Gan Guoyang without explaining anything further.

"dad…"

"Go to bed early tonight. It's hard work working and playing ball."

After saying that, Gan Youwei gently patted his son, turned around and left.

Gan Guoyang looked at the shoes in the box, his eyes stung, and two hot tears fell uncontrollably, dripping onto the cold floor tiles.

(End of this chapter)