My Lord, you need to stand up!

Chapter 858: Getting there first
The journey from the Hebei basketball training base back to Beijing took several hours.

This became the perfect opportunity for Wei Dong to do ideological work: "...I've already talked about the cases of architecture students studying abroad. Please remember, you are not ordinary people. You may become heroes in Hong Kong with us, and have a glorious life that will be remembered and praised by Chinese people all over the world. Wealth and honor are just a basic bottom line. In the future, you can travel at home and abroad at any time as coaches, team leaders, lecturers, and commentators, and enjoy life. The premise is that you follow me closely and don't fall behind. Don't be foolish enough to follow along with the slightest temptation in front of foreigners."

He even casually assigned: "Brother Lu, as the coach, you can help take care of him, but you don't need to take any responsibility. The key is for you to learn more and improve your professional skills. You'll become the most advanced coach in the country. Who knows, you might even have to fight with us for our own purposes in the future."

Lu Bin, tall and imposing, sat in the last row and began to ask questions.

Wei Dong was able to answer all of these questions: who he learned from as a coach, who he played against, and who he trained with.

By the time we finally arrived in Pyeonggyeong, it was already night. The Baimao Business Hotel had already purchased eight plane tickets to Gyeongju, and we boarded the plane that very night.

The young players who didn't even have a chance to be selected for the national team or even the national youth team certainly weren't yet the high-flying, high-flying players they would become later professional players.

It's something new and intriguing.

In the middle of the night, the five guys were transferred from Guangzhou to Pengzhen by two Mitsubishi SUVs and a BMW. They had completely lost their sense of direction.

He was taken anywhere like a piglet being sold, and then he began to drift off into a deep, unsteady sleep.

Shi Tou finally complained to his third sister, saying that she could have waited for her brother to come back in Pengzhen, but instead she had to rush back and forth by car all day long!

Actually, the simplest way is to fly directly from Beijing to Hong Kong.

However, apart from Lu Bin, who is a recently retired national athlete, he does not have a Hong Kong and Macao travel permit even though he has his own passport.

Those four guys had nothing.

After all this trouble, we arrived in Pengzhen close to dawn, just to get the diplomatic passport and visa issued here and cross the border.

Once they are on Hong Kong soil, they will be introduced as "special talents".

I was already sitting on the street in Yau Ma Tei eating Chaozhou beef offal noodles for breakfast.

Five burly men, still half-asleep, including Ma Jian who was two meters tall, two who were over 1.9 meters tall, and two who were around 1.8 meters tall, sat in the crowded shop, attracting everyone's attention.

Then came a series of pleasant surprises: "Bo Zai Dong! Is this a new army?!"

"Dongzai, you've brought another expert with you?"

"Wow, Bo-Zai-Dong, these guys look really tough!"

"Looks like a member of the Hong Kong Legion!"

They even gave us extra beef offal, so we still have to pay.

Wei Dong tried his best to bite his tongue and respond with a "Hey, Black Duck!"

Seeing his expression, the burly men forced smiles and timidly looked around at their new surroundings.

They all entered sports schools and teams at a very young age, and had never experienced such a free life before.

After you finish eating, walk over here. Yau Ma Tei is full of early, densely packed residential buildings. In the 1980s, there wasn't enough time to rebuild and construct high-rise buildings.

The densely packed old buildings on both sides are typical of Hong Kong's Temple Street, but when you walk to the end, suddenly a wide-open sky reveals the pier!
Wei Dong stood at the street corner and gestured: "I want to spend 100 million US dollars here to build the most beautiful and magnificent basketball arena in Asia, and then drive the entire area to be transformed into commercial buildings!"

Four basketball players who were part of the military team under the planned economy system yesterday are now applauding under Lu Bin's leadership.

But then Wei Dong pointed to the old buildings and the empty, unbuilt "new buildings" to choose from: "So, would you prefer to live a free and independent life in this kind of urban life, or live in a high-rise apartment building, or somewhere further away for peace and quiet?"

All five of them were dumbfounded.

Doesn't everything have to be arranged by the organization and decided by the leaders?

Wei Dong led them into the dock area: "Let's get used to it first. To learn the professional level of European and American players, the first rule is to strictly adhere to the principle of not eating what you shouldn't eat. You need to have meticulous control over your daily diet, maintain a high degree of self-discipline, and know what nutrients you should consume. The coaching staff and nutritionists will provide you with the most scientific dietary plan. At the very least, you can't smoke or drink alcohol."

At this time, most domestic athletes have a smoking habit, drinking is commonplace, not to mention any dietary habits.

Upon hearing this, everyone's faces tightened; quitting smoking is such a difficult thing.

Yet everything before my eyes felt so new and exciting.

A row of large warehouses with colorful graffiti were already bustling with people doing morning exercises early in the morning.

There were quite a few enthusiasts playing basketball on the outdoor courts. There was a subway station nearby, and you could rent a locker for HK$100 a month, which would allow you to play basketball, take a shower, and go to work.

It's very convenient.

One of the warehouses was even converted into a LOFT-style sports apartment. The group of four black and one white guys who came with Kemp, along with a bunch of young people who were passionate about basketball, lived in the dozens of single rooms partitioned off here. They practiced and played basketball during the day and had parties at night. They had a blast!

Wei Dong was troubled to see that there were still quite a few young, attractive women around.

Especially the youngest one I brought, who is only fifteen years old and was just promoted to the Bayi team. Don't let this chaotic situation confuse you!
I couldn't help but be a little stern: "Look, this is the depravity of capitalism. Why don't you... stay at my place for now?"

These people probably imagined that several generations of families in Shanghai and Ningbo lived together in one room, and they felt a sense of warmth and familiarity. They all nodded and said, "Okay, okay."

Just looking at their height, Fred has already brought the kids who are going to morning training over here to spar. Are they going to have a fight?

There were also Hong Kong locals who came to translate.

Wei Dong shook his head: "I rushed over overnight and barely slept yesterday. Let me rest and we'll talk about it tomorrow..."

As a result, Lu Bin took the lead and got itchy: "Let's play, let's play! We often take the train overnight to play matches. This is nothing. I remember you said that you need to train with strong opponents to be effective. These guys look really strong."

Four young men, aged fifteen, seventeen or eighteen, and twenty, were also full of enthusiasm and volunteered for the mission.

Having just eaten at the employer's house, I have to put in some effort! Let Wei Dong take advantage of the fact that he doesn't understand Chinese: "This is the level of an undrafted NBA player, but a core player who can beat the national team in the Asian Championships is definitely at the level of an NBA starter. That guy isn't here, try it out first, and go find your favorite sneakers over there."

At this point, they still hadn't had a chance to discuss payment with these guys.

But just a pair of sneakers was enough to completely win over the Four Little Tigers!
It's not that China is so poor that it doesn't even have professional basketball shoes of this level.

Instead, there was no choice; only a few types of imported shoes were distributed according to size.

Just a few years ago, they were still all canvas sneakers.

Unlike now, there are a dozen or so brands, hundreds of different sneakers, which are eagerly offered by sales clerks when the counters are opened.

Choose from a variety of colors and styles?
They immediately tried them on with delight, then skillfully strung the shoelaces together.

He showed Wei Dong two old military shoes that were still in use, and put on a capitalist expression with a cold face: "From now on, we need to pay attention to the level of our team. When we're out, we need to dress neatly and nicely. First, give each of you two pairs of basketball shoes and two pairs of your usual athletic shoes. Then come and have your sportswear measured. We'll buy suit jackets after training."

Even though the kids in the sports team are already more worldly than their peers, they still couldn't help but scream.

Wei Dong gestured to Lu Bin to join in choosing shoes: "Do you expect me to play? Don't you think this level of excitement is more beneficial for training?"

The veteran, in his early thirties, immediately became very excited.

Actually, including him, there are two point guards and two shooting guards on this side, with Ma Jian playing forward.

There was no question of tactical coordination; they relied purely on experience to fight skirmishes.

Lu Bin, who had just retired and become a coach this year, gave a few simple instructions and led his team onto the court to start the game.

That means going to the basketball court.

The court was fitted with assembled wooden flooring, painted with colored paint, and the Chinese and English characters for "Dongsheng Basketball" were highlighted on the sidelines and in the three-second zone. There was also a striking cartoon logo in the center circle, and finally, a special backboard wax was applied.

These kinds of Citibank-specific supplies are indeed very convenient in Hong Kong.

Every day, someone is responsible for waxing and maintaining the floor to ensure comfort and a good feel.

Therefore, once the lights are turned on, the entire stadium immediately presents a very professional and vibrant color scheme.

This created a stark contrast with the surrounding "dim" stands.

Early in the morning, all the fans and gym-goers skillfully surged onto the stands.
There are still several hundred people.

Lu Bin and his teammates changed into their jerseys and then skillfully did some warm-up exercises together.

Seeing those black guys over there already flying and leaping through the air, I realized that playing basketball isn't easy.

While instructing the sales manager who was staying overnight to take out the camera and set it up for filming, Wei Dong complained, "Those young people and delinquents over there are so reckless. How can we restrain them? I think we should do something."

The sales manager, who used to cross the border to Hong Kong every day, was already quite worldly-wise: "Aren't all kids in capitalist societies like this?"

Wei Dong didn't care about surnames: "Since we're taking it back, it belongs to our family, so we should guide it in a positive direction..."

The sales manager immediately nodded respectfully.

During the conversation, Fred had already blown his whistle and acted as referee.

Eighteen-year-old Ma Jian grabbed the ball thanks to his two-meter height and weight. He actually has similar characteristics to Kemp, possessing a dunking ability that is rare among domestic players nowadays.

Having grown accustomed to Kemp's top-tier dunking ability, Hong Kong fans now understand: "This is Kemp's backup, right? He's definitely better than those national team forwards!"

"We need to practice more so we can help Kanzai a bit more. If both of us go, we can even have a double knock on the door!"

But after only a few words, he couldn't help but exclaim in surprise!

Look at that fifteen-year-old boy who is only two centimeters shorter than Ma Jian. He is not weak at all like his rather thin and slender figure. When he gets the ball, he is quite fierce and hard-hitting the inside to lay up!

At such a young age, he's already like a long sword!

That's Zhang Jinsong!

Known as the most ruthless and hard-working player in the history of the national team!

He's 1.98 meters tall and he's a shooting guard.

Push him out slightly, then raise your hand to shoot a three-pointer!
Then there was that point guard wearing sports glasses, who was less than 1.8 meters tall, and he also used the same tactics, firing three-pointers at the drop of a hat.

He made the most of his short stature.

Lu Bin was originally good at mid-range shots and layups, but now he's mainly doing playmaking, shouting and directing his four younger teammates while playing.

So the Uyghur point guard ended up feeling very uncomfortable.

Shouldn't he be the one directing the whole thing?

This guy, who later became known as "Loach," served as the captain of the national team for several years in the 1990s.

The guys Wei Dong poached were only able to get ahead because they were young and hadn't yet risen to positions of power.

He got there first.

(End of this chapter)