My Lord, you need to stand up!

Chapter 902 Life Choices Must Be Made by Yourself

We certainly can't just ask to contact everyone with the surname Xiao, so Wei Dong has to pretend it's a chance encounter.

Fortunately, the two Cherokees were powerful enough.

Despite the Sports Commission's urging, the basketball department cooperated by bringing out retired players from the past decade, and only then did they "occasionally" find two or three players with the surname Xiao.

Those under 1.8 meters tall should not be considered.

One of the men, who was just over two meters tall, had actually been assigned to customs after retiring a few years ago!

Wei Dong was already quite certain of what was going on, but he still pointed to the marked destination with disbelief and asked, "What can such a big guy do at customs?"

The basketball team member peeked at the name before remembering and laughing: "It seems he was supposed to be in charge of inspecting ships for smuggled goods. While others had to use ladders, he just needed to peek, so he's leaving..."

Wei Dong almost burst out laughing inside.

Alright, he also quietly asked the basketball department to gather several tall retired players, including this guy, as well as children under ten years old from sports schools for a Spring Festival meet-and-greet.

Once you're out, go ask the customs officials.

Since Zhong Zhenhua's time, Wei Dong has frequently dealt with the Shanghai Customs.

Others who get close to customs may have ulterior motives.

The purpose here at Weidong is simply for everyone to get to know each other and familiarize themselves with the bonded zone of the new ocean-going terminal, and to ensure that the work is handled smoothly.

He was once the chairman of the first large-scale port in China and communicated with Shanghai Customs. Now he is the investor of the largest port in Shanghai.

Therefore, Wei Dong arranged for one of the first ten Dodge vehicles to be sent to customs, which was meant to emphasize the importance of the relationship.

Asking about this now is a piece of cake.

Knowing that he liked playing basketball, the customs officers immediately responded that they knew this tall man.

That's too conspicuous: "How about I transfer my work assignment to your side?"

Wei Dong had to suppress a laugh and say yes, indeed, with a height of over two meters, he only needed to tiptoe to inspect the containers.

But this height is indeed a burden in daily life.

So when Lao Xiao received the transfer order, he inexplicably reported to the Shanghai Deepwater Port (under construction) headquarters that afternoon, not even knowing what he was qualified to do.

Is he going to work as a doorman or security guard?
This is also a common job that athletes often take on after retirement.

Even so, he remained calmly seated in the shipbuilding company's office lobby on the second floor of Building 5, responding with a smile as if he were used to being curiously scrutinized by various eyes.

Rang Weidong, who had been found at the construction site of the luxury hotel next door, ran upstairs and immediately saw this man's imposing figure.

It's as if we can see where Xiao Ming's unique temperament came from later on.

He smiled and reached out his hand: "My surname is Rang. I am in charge of the Deepwater Port Corporation and also the basketball park project in the Automobile Industrial Park. I hope your whole family will participate in this basketball park."

Old Xiao's calm surprise: "Related to basketball? My family?"

Wei Dong took him directly to the rooftop, and well, even that old iron-railed elevator made him bow his head.

Stepping onto the tea restaurant's terrace, Wei Dong pointed directly to the X Building across the street, which had an advertising billboard: "That's the building we built. The future headquarters of the Deepwater Port Corporation will be located in that building."

Then he pointed to the mouth of Lujiazui: "The straight-line distance is about 500 meters. The city has approved our plan to build the largest modern basketball stadium in the country there. In the future, Shanghai will be the birthplace of professional basketball."

Old Xiao remained unhurried: "Professional basketball?"

Let Wei Dong explain with gestures: "Now, including the basketball you retired from, it's called professional basketball. It's a state-run unit under the State Sports Commission. The athletes are all government employees. But just like all industries are changing now, basketball will also become a professional sport like the NBA. I heard that your son is tall and talented, and you and your wife also have basketball experience. So I hope the three of you can become the leaders of this reform. Are you interested?"

Old Xiao seemed to be extracting a key word: "Reform?"

He wasn't in a hurry to express himself immediately, but was quite used to this slow and deliberate process of refinement, though you could tell from his eyes that he was thinking.

Rang Weidong had no intention of tricking anyone into joining; instead, he openly invited them to work together: "We made money through economic reforms using products like X-brand sanitary napkins, cameras, O'Nia cosmetics, shampoo, and more. We also received support from the Shanghai municipal government to build skyscrapers and hotels, but what I truly love is basketball." He then gestured self-deprecatingly to the top of his head, revealing his 1.7-meter-tall, muscular physique—a respectable height in eastern Sichuan—making him look like Kapibara next to Lao Xiao.

"So throughout last year we tried to promote basketball reform in Hong Kong, completely deviating from the previous path. We recruited personnel and coaches from the NBA, and unexpectedly won the Asian Championship at the end of October last year, helping Hong Kong obtain the right to participate in this year's Olympic Games."

Old Xiao's expression finally changed: "Well... I think I heard that the national team failed to qualify for the Olympics because they were ambushed by the HK team."

That's why neither Wei Dong nor the Shanghai Sports Commission dared to say that he was the president of the HK Basketball Association.

Those in the industry must know some information.

He's scratching his head now: "I was in a meeting in Pyeonggyeong at the time, and everyone thought the Asian Championships had two Olympic spots. But they didn't realize that the Olympics were being held in Namryo this year, and the host country automatically got the right to participate, which took up one of the Asian spots. So we only found out that we lost the runner-up spot after we won the championship."

Old Xiao slowly shook his head: "Impossible, we would never represent HK to play. This is a very serious matter, and we would never do such a thing."

After the incident, Wei Dong went to the military base to find Ma Jian and the other three.

Even with the military's obedience to orders, none of them, including Lu Bin, possessed Lao Xiao's sense of right and wrong.

This is very rare among athletes.

Everyone focused all their attention on training and matches, leaving everything else to the coaches and leaders.

This situation might only occur in Shanghai.

Wei Dong nodded: "Yes, your children, including you, will not be transferred to Hong Kong. You must strive to become national team players and win glory for the country. However, I hope to break away from the sports team model and fully accept the advanced international training system. I will not sign contracts to make money off you. I guarantee that you will always have the freedom to take on more challenges and improve, and you will not have to worry about the cost of training and development. I hope that this will bring back a whole set of advanced training and development experience, drive an entire generation of basketball players, and change the current sports team model."

Old Xiao would then retort, "What's wrong with the sports team model?"

Let Wei Dong organize his words: "If it's always the sports team model, with the state and local governments supporting you, being able to retire smoothly and get a job in a unit is the luckiest thing, like you. But the vast majority of athletes can't get a job like the Shanghai athletes, and even most Shanghai athletes can't get a job like yours, right?"

After thinking about it seriously, Lao Xiao admitted, "That's right. I've won the National Games championship, and my wife is the captain of the national team, so our treatment is already better than that of most athletes."

Wei Dong felt that this was what communication should be: "The whole society outside of sports is undergoing reform, so sports will eventually have to change to professionalization. As a result, the old sports commission ownership system will conflict with the market professionalization, and athletes will become the little wife caught in the middle. I want to try to cultivate a new type of athlete who will not be bound by various ownership systems at this time."

Old Xiao slowly replied, "Is it possible? With just one word from the Sports Commission, we can't participate in any competitions."

Let Wei Dong know that later, Pingjing had such an unusual, purely private basketball club, where all the players were no longer professional players owned by the basketball department.

This team lived a very turbulent and nomadic life.

It has produced stars and had NBA coaches, but it has always been excluded from the mainstream and eventually had to compromise and disappear.

The old basketball division was too large and unshakeable; even Xiao Ming himself eventually failed and left the game.

Wei Dong really didn't want to get involved in this mess, but it was precisely Qin Zhiming's words that made him realize the point of fighting chickens and ducks all day long if you're not going to fight giant beasts.
This inexplicably sparked Wei Dong's thoughts; he had only been half-heartedly thinking about the child.

Why not simply participate in the change now? "As the president of the Hong Kong Basketball Association, even without changing my nationality, I can help the children at least have a basketball team to play in Hong Kong, to dominate the Asian professional basketball scene, and to send them to the NBA and NCAA to learn and improve. When they are famous all over the world, it will not be something that some people can do by desperately resisting change and blocking the voice of the masses."

Having spent over a decade in the basketball system and reaped its benefits, Lao Xiao possesses a level of critical thinking rarely seen among athletes of this era.

Moreover, he didn't speak, but just looked at the busy river surface and the few buildings under construction on the opposite bank that stood out from the crowd, just like him.

Let Wei Dong lean on the railing and look into the distance: "You know better than I do the pros and cons of the sports team training. The gatekeeper at my factory in Beijing is an injured athlete who retired from the national women's basketball team. Since the 1984 Olympics, we have received more than 200 athletes from various sports. They have top-notch physical talents that are beyond ordinary people, but most of them are plagued by injuries, have no education and no social work ability. It is also very difficult for us to train them."

So the former disabled security guard had a bitter smile on his face: "This kind of life, where one is a dragon among men when they shine and radiate brilliance, but after their fame fades, they can't even take care of themselves, is a kind of life for many people who were once incredibly proud..."

The ship inspector took a deep breath: "So, what exactly do you want to do?"

Wei Dong shook his head: "It's up to you three to decide what to do, and I support you. If you have time during the Spring Festival, you can come with us to Shenzhen and Hong Kong to see the youth team that is sweeping the Asian basketball scene. You can decide for yourselves what to do. The most mature result is to satisfy everyone, for Shanghai, for the country, and for more young people."

Despite being more than ten years older, Lao Xiao had to look down at this young "successful entrepreneur" and finally frowned: "I belong to your unit now, but Xiao Ming's mother is still at the Sports Research Institute. She can't go through the procedures to transfer her organizational affiliation to Hong Kong, right?"

Wei Dong smiled and said, "No problem, I have connections."

But Lao Xiao didn't laugh; instead, he spoke with a dry sense of humor: "I have a problem... what should I do if Xiao Ming doesn't like playing ball?"

what?
(End of this chapter)