Journey 1995:Non-Stop

Chapter 118 Lao Guo's Current Situation
People are often very interested in things they are good at or might be good at.

If you're better than many people on your first playthrough of a game, you're very likely to like it.

The coach was delighted with teaching Yan Hui and told him that if Yan Hui was willing to pay for another hour of coaching, he could coach him for another two hours. Yan Hui thought about it and agreed.

And so, Yan Hui practiced bowling for a full three hours that night. Most people's arms would have been ruined long ago, but Yan Hui was still full of enthusiasm.

"Were you an athlete before?" the coach asked, somewhat puzzled; he was exhausted.

"No, no, it's just some manual labor," Yan Hui quickly waved his hand.

“People who do manual labor are often stronger than those in the gym,” Coach Wang sighed. “If you come back in the future and I’m free, you can train with me. I’ll only charge you 10 yuan an hour. Once your skill level improves, I won’t charge you anymore. Then I’ll take you to competitions.”

"There's a competition for this?" Yan Hui was taken aback. "Is there prize money?"

"Of course." Coach Wang nodded. "But your current level is still far from good enough. Only when you can consistently score above 210 points, or even occasionally score 260 points, can you start thinking about competitions."

"260 points!" Yan Hui, who had a basic understanding of the rules of bowling, was taken aback by this score.

Simply put, there are 10 rounds of balls in total, with two chances to throw in each round. If you make both shots, you immediately start the next round.

If the first shot is made in the tenth round, there are two additional rebound opportunities, which makes it a "twelfth round".

The maximum score is 300 points, and to get 300 points, you need to make all 12 shots with a perfect score, which is incredibly difficult.

"Coach, is it really possible for someone to get 300 points?" Yan Hui was somewhat skeptical.

A perfect score on the first try is possible for a beginner; it just takes luck. But 12 perfect scores in a row is something Yan Hui can't comprehend.

“You have talent, take your time. Bowling looks simple, some people can score over 100 points on their first try, but there’s a lot of advanced knowledge involved. Look,” Coach Wang pulled Yan Hui down to squat, “can you see the oil film on the lane?”

"Hmm, it looks a bit oily."

"Of course, that reduces friction, but the oil isn't constant; it has its own path, and you have to be able to read it. Besides that, point selection, technique, and footwork are all fundamental. The ball itself is a whole lot of knowledge, even the friction of your shoes and the dryness of your hands are all things to consider. When your average score reaches 180 points, you've entered the beginner level; 220 points is considered high-level here. If you can reach an average score of 240, playing in matches will just be a matter of luck." Coach Wang had high hopes for Yan Hui.

"Coach Wang, what average score can you achieve?" Yan Hui asked.

"My best was over 230, now it's around 210."

"That's already amazing!" Yan Hui had been playing for three hours and already knew what that meant.

"As your coach, I'll be honest with you. You have some talent. Your arms are very stable, and your strength and stamina are good. As long as your skills improve a bit, you can reach a level of over 180 points within a week."

"Didn't you say that 180 points is considered the entry level?" Yan Hui asked, somewhat puzzled.

"Most of the people here are still far from being beginners," Coach Wang bluntly stated.

"Then I'll come more often in the future." Yan Hui said this, his heart bleeding. Although he looked calm on the surface, he was still reluctant to part with her.

He came to practice today, but I doubt he'll come back to bowling much more often except when he's with friends. According to the coach, to truly master bowling, you need your own bowl, not a shared one.

Besides his cousin, Yan Hui only has Su Jin as a friend at Jianye, so he naturally values ​​her highly. Before leaving, after Yan Hui paid the bill, the owner took out a Mickey Mouse doll and gave it to him: "You scored over 150 points today, so there's a newcomer bonus."

"Huh?" Yan Hui was surprised to receive a gift and happily accepted it.

Taking the doll home, Yan Hui found it increasingly beautiful and decided to send it to his younger sister. He planned to buy her some clothes in a few days and send them back together.

After reading for a while, Yan Hui prepared to rest, as he needed to go to the bookstore again tomorrow. The books Su Jin had chosen for Yan Hui all had interconnected stories; after finishing these three, he had no regrets whatsoever—it was clear she had carefully selected them. Only someone who frequently reads *Story Collection* and diligently finished these three books could truly appreciate such thoughtfulness.

As soon as Yan Hui got into bed, he saw several letters on the bedside table, which his cousin must have brought to him. The replies weren't from a single day; his cousin must have just happened to pick them up today.

After flipping through the letters, Yan Hui first looked at the letters from home.

Grandpa and Grandma were very happy to hear that Yan Hui was doing well here. Grandpa also praised his cousin. Yan Hui plans to show this letter to his cousin tomorrow; his cousin will definitely want to see it.

In her letter, Qinglan mentioned her studies for the first time. She was about to enter her final year of junior high and was feeling pressured in both math and physics, hoping Yan Hui could send her some study guides.

Upon seeing this, Yan Hui wished he could get up right now and buy the book. It's so easy!

There are no study guides in his hometown town, but Jianye has plenty; he's seen them all in bookstores.

Qinglan is such a good child.

Next came the letter from the fourth brother. He and his family were still doing bamboo business in Gansu Province, living their lives as usual, with nothing changing. Yan Hui had previously asked when the fourth brother would be back for the New Year, and this time the fourth brother finally answered: he would be back this year.

Of the five brothers, Yan Hui and the fourth brother had the best relationship. Although the fourth brother's surname was Xiao, if Yan Hui was in trouble, the fourth brother would take a knife and fight the Xiao family.

The eldest and second eldest sons are both in Beijing now, nothing has changed.

Guo is no longer in Fengtian. Yan Hui's reply was not written by Guo, but by Guo's father.

In the letter, Uncle Guo gave Yan Hui a new address. It was a hotel located in Yichun, Heilongjiang Province, which was the place that Uncle Guo had told Yan Hui about before.

Not only that, Uncle Guo also wrote down a phone number for him, a mobile phone number!

Yan Hui was both surprised and delighted that Lao Guo had a phone number. He would call Lao Guo tomorrow when he had time!

Yichun is truly very remote. Yan Hui learned this last year when he talked to Lao Guo. It's located in a border region, even further north than Fengtian, and the temperature can drop to minus forty degrees Celsius in winter. At this time of year, Yichun is still snowbound.

The remote location corresponds to sufficiently low timber costs. If Lao Guo can do business here, Yan Hui certainly can too.

If Yan Hui finds a suitable buyer here, such as Boss Teng, he plans to go to Lao Guo.

The next morning, around 8 a.m., Yan Hui found a store with a telephone and called Lao Guo.

It cost one yuan for three minutes, but the price kept increasing. Yan Hui and Lao Guo managed to compress the time to three minutes and discuss quite a lot of things.

(Chapter 2 will be released tonight)
(End of this chapter)