After all of us are reborn, who plays Go?

"Welcome, welcome, Zhan Lang Jiudan. It is a great honor for you to visit my humble abode."

"Editor-in-Chief Hao, please come out and greet me in person. I'm sorry, it's me who should be blamed."

"No, no, last time I specifically said I wanted to interview you. I was worried that you wouldn't have time due to training every day, but it turned out that I had no time due to being busy with various meetings. It has been delayed for a long time.

It has come to this point that I have to ask you to come all the way here for an interview. I am sorry, it is me who should be blamed.

Come on, the weather in the capital is getting colder now, come in quickly, the room is heated and it’s a little warmer.”

Hao Qiang took Zhan Lang's hand and walked towards the office, and said to the secretary standing beside him: "Xiao Wu, go and get my tea, the best one, which I brought back last time and asked you to keep.

When I went there before, I tricked my former leader into giving me two taels of tea. I want to share it with you.

I really like to interview people while drinking, because people speak the truth after drinking. After two glasses of wine, everyone will always speak out their true feelings.

But I heard that you don't like drinking, so let's drink tea, and just treat it as a conversation about heroes over tea."

"Thank you."

Zhan Lang nodded when he heard this. The tea that could be called good tea by someone of Hao Qiang's level, and was cheated from him, was probably the kind that could not be found on the market.

Hao Qiang's office is very simple and plain. There are no bookshelves filled with books. There is only a desk and a chair, with books and pens on the desk.

There were two seats on each side of the desk with a coffee table in the middle. Hao Qiang pulled Zhan Lang to sit on one side and started chatting: "Is your father in good health?"

Hearing this, Zhan Lang was a little embarrassed: "Do you know my dad?"

No way? I can meet someone I know here?

I remember that my father's network of contacts is not that wide, right? He has offended quite a few people.

Hao Qiang shook his head when he heard this: “I don’t know him, but I have heard of his name, but that was decades ago.

But another friend of mine did an exclusive interview with your father. He specializes in military newspapers.

In 1953, your father was a combat hero. He did an exclusive interview with your father at that time. You probably weren't even there at that time.

But we were just nodding acquaintances, your father probably doesn’t even remember us.”

"Yes."

Not only am I not included, I don’t even recognize my parents, neither of them are married yet, and there’s no sign of the first five, let alone me, the sixth child.

This shot was indeed a bit too far.

Hao Qiang took out a cigarette and sniffed it: "Like father, like son. Your father won glory for the country on the battlefield, and you are winning glory for the country on a different battlefield."

"Why don't you smoke one? I don't mind that much."

Zhan Lang thought that Hao Qiang was worried that not smoking would affect him, so he said this in a generous manner.

Seeing that Zhan Lang seemed a little embarrassed, Hao Qiang smiled and said, "Hahaha, it's not because of you. It's because I'm going to retire in a few years and my body doesn't allow me to smoke or drink now. My family members are very strict with me.

So when I feel hungry, I just smell the scent of wine and cigarettes and fill my stomach with something to satisfy my hunger.

Speaking of which, I really wanted to interview your father back then. It was truly a turning point at that time. Everyone who emerged was a hero. No one didn't want to interview them. An exclusive interview with a combat hero was even more difficult.

Unfortunately, my application was unsuccessful because my major was not suitable. At that time, the organization insisted that I publish a sports magazine.

Before liberation, I was the editor-in-chief of an underground university publication. Because of my experience, I was assigned to this job. At first, I was reluctant.

How could I be noticed since I had never studied sports? And at that time, many people thought that people who played sports were "simple-minded and strong-limbed."

I was unhappy and I was upset. I made suggestions and said I didn’t understand sports, but the organization arranged for me to come. ”

Hao Qiang's tone was very calm, but his eyes were a little blurry, as if he was recalling something. It seemed to be a distant memory to him, as it was more than 30 years ago. "The conditions were very poor at that time. There were no sports in China. In 1932, when China first participated in the Olympics, it couldn't even organize a team, and couldn't even raise the round-trip fare, not to mention China after many years of war.

At that time, there were almost no professional athletes, few sports activities, and even fewer competition venues. Everyone was worried about having enough food. Who would think about sports? Health? It was just a joke.

We almost lost all our hair when we published the first edition of the magazine. In addition to translating some foreign materials, we could only ask physical education teachers from junior high and high schools to write articles to introduce sports and criticize the old sports.

Don’t think that we can still win medals or even gold medals in international competitions now. At that time, there was nothing about sports. When it came to the Olympics, we got zero points and sometimes we couldn’t even participate. What’s the point?
But over the years, with the efforts of generations of sports people and with the development of Chinese sports over the years, I gradually fell in love with the magazine "New Sports" and the sports industry.

I began to understand that sports are also indispensable to a country. In this era when no one dares to move, it is also a part of demonstrating our country's strength.

I personally prefer niche sports. Many people think that winning gold medals in niche sports is meaningless, and that only winning the championship in the three major ball sports is meaningful. In fact, this is not the case.

Some African countries can also win gold medals. They have impressive physical fitness and put all of this into track and field competitions, but other than these, they have no way to participate in other competitions.

Don’t you like it? Don’t you like synchronized swimming? Don’t you like figure skating? Don’t you like diving and gymnastics?
They have no choice at all. Their country's environment makes it impossible for them to learn any sports, let alone some niche sports. They can only run forward desperately and gamble everything they have.

Of course, this does not mean that some popular sports should not be taken seriously. I just think it is better to let a hundred flowers bloom. Everyone can choose what they like and make achievements in their hobbies. This is the most worthwhile thing.

Just like you, I graduated from school and entered the sport of Go because I loved it. "

Zhan Lang felt a little embarrassed when listening to him. After all, his original purpose was not just passion, but to covet the bonus from the system.

Hao Qiang seemed to notice the change in Zhan Lang's expression, and said with a smile: "There is no such thing as liking something at the beginning. If you can fall in love with this sport imperceptibly, you have chosen the right career.

Speaking of which, I almost forgot. Congratulations on entering the finals of the Chinese Go Tianyuan Tournament. You and Fang Yuan will soon win China's first Go title.

In a sense, this should also be a historic moment for Chinese Go. As someone who is experiencing this history, what do you think?

Or, have you felt any changes since you won your first championship title a few months ago, either in life or in Go?
I think there should be some changes, right? After all, your position has changed, from the future No. 1 in China to a strong competitor for the No. 1 in China. "

Hearing this, Zhan Lang leaned back in his chair and thought for a while: "How should I put it? Before, I felt relieved without a championship, but after winning the championship, I felt that the pressure began to shift to me, and I received significantly more attention.

More and more people are starting to place their hopes on me, or in other words, they are starting to expect me to cash in, and the requirements for me are becoming more and more stringent. The pressure is indeed much greater than before. "

There is no way. People have different requirements for the emperor and the crown prince.

For the crown prince and grandson, everyone is making a long-term investment and seeing their potential; for the emperor, everyone is anxious to cash out.

Just like Lao Ke is already an abandoned emperor, he was eliminated in the round of 16 and had to be rushed. What kind of good result is the semi-finals? Is there any shame? What is the point of being able to participate in the world championships stably in China? Isn't this the most basic thing?

When Prince Ding often failed to make it to the top 8 in the past and his eldest grandson couldn't even make it to the main tournament many times, no one cared about it.

When Zhan Lang actually sat in this position, he understood what it meant to be lonely at the top. Being the number one will have the pressure of being the number one. Unless you leave this position completely, you will be the first to be rushed into anything.

Once there is a failure, basically everyone will blame all the responsibility on the first person.

Chang Ritian was so upset when he failed to win the championship that year, and was ridiculed in various ways.

Gu Dali seemed to have tied with Xiao Li in the championship after his career, but at that time he was still a rookie! Is this all you can do? How much worse are you than the other champion?
Now Dali is being used to drag down Lao Ke's domestic championship. At that time, he was ridiculed as an expert in domestic wars but a novice in foreign wars, and he could only bully his own people.

As long as the number one person fails to meet everyone's expectations, no one will be stingy with their attacks.

The only thing that makes Zhan Lang feel relaxed right now is that everyone still has relatively low expectations of themselves.

Being able to defeat the top players is considered a win, but few people even put themselves in a position to dominate the world chess world and become the world's number one.

Thinking of this, Zhan Lang nodded: "So it's not bad. I feel that Chinese chess fans have relatively low expectations, and their wishes are simple and easy to achieve. So apart from the fact that I am a little uncomfortable with the increased attention, the pressure is not that great."

Compared to the later 8u and Yifux comment sections, today's chess fans are already very kind.

(End of this chapter)