in2ebook Chapter 17 Meeting
Chapter 17 Meeting
At 2 a.m., Silas was woken up by his phone.
His usual mobile phone is turned off.
This is a work number, known only to a few people, and you must answer it when it rings.
Not daring to delay for even a moment, Silas immediately picked up the phone, and upon seeing the number, he became even more alert.
"Hello, boss." Silas answered the phone immediately.
"I'm sorry to disturb your rest, but I'm about to take off and won't be able to contact you again." Fertitta seemed to be explaining, but her tone was anything but apologetic.
"I'm currently discussing cooperation with some Chinese friends, and they asked me to inquire about how the children in their country are doing lately."
Silas immediately understood the meaning of the phone call.
“The king has been performing very well lately, and I’m thinking of giving him more time. I’m waiting for Stone’s opinion.” Silas was far from being as harmless as he seemed, and immediately brought Stone in.
"That's great." Fertitta was very satisfied. "You should get some rest. I look forward to the Rockets soaring to new heights under your leadership."
After hanging up the phone, Fertitta turned her gaze from the night view outside the private jet to her youngest son, who was dozing off beside her.
“Patrick, you should join the team this time you come back. Stone is tearing my team apart.”
How could someone who has become a billionaire not understand such profound words?
Besides, Wang Xiucheng's free throw line dunk was ranked number one in the top five plays, and it's currently being played on the TV on his private jet.
Silas clearly wanted to give Wang Xiucheng more time, but Stone hadn't agreed yet; his words just now implied a complaint.
This Stone has poor business skills and a novice resume, but he's obedient and never complains about standing in front of the camera to take the bullet.
Beside Fertitta stood his youngest son, Patrick Fertitta.
“Okay.” Patrick was a little reluctant, but he dared not disobey his father.
Patrick simply pinned the blame on Stone.
Stone used to be the head of the company's legal department, so he knows too much about his family's affairs, both legal and illegal. Most of these matters were handled by Stone himself.
If we don't want him to disappear from the earth, we can only keep him by our side.
As for the position of team manager, Stone took the initiative to apply for it, probably because it is a position that requires him to be in the public eye, and he is not afraid that he might suddenly disappear.
……
The Lakers-Rockets game is over, but the impact of Wang Xiucheng's free-throw line dunk continues.
In just one night, Wang Xiucheng topped the trending searches, and many imitations appeared online.
Many of them are currently active NBA players.
Ja Morant, known for his springy legs, posted a video of himself trying to dunk while standing on the free-throw line.
He tried a few times, but in the end he could only shake his head in front of his phone.
LaVine did it, he even did a 360-degree turn.
But LaVine's height of 196cm and wingspan of 206cm are not as impressive as Wang Xiucheng's.
Not only in the United States, but also in China, Wang Xiucheng's name topped the trending searches, surpassing a young idol who was about to release a new song.
In the US, at least it's nighttime and nothing much happens, but in China, it's daytime, the busiest time for public relations departments of celebrities.
Wang Xiucheng's sudden appearance on the trending topics left the celebrities who had spent a lot of money to buy trending topics somewhat bewildered.
What's going on? Is there a bug? Who is Wang Xiucheng?
With Wang Xiucheng's first public appearance, from that moment on, more people learned about this Chinese player who was fighting hard in the United States.
The calls for Wang Xiucheng to be recruited into the national team are growing louder.
……
Yan Jing, Basketball Management Center of the General Administration of Sport.
In an office, seven people are having a meeting.
Yao Ming, who is noticeably taller than others even when seated, is speaking at this moment.
"Distinguished leaders, next year is a big year for basketball competitions, with the Asian Cup and the World Cup qualifiers, the latter of which will begin later this month."
Yao Ming looked up at the group and said, "I suggest that Wang Xiucheng be recruited into the national team so that he can integrate with the team as soon as possible. Our goal is the 23 World Cup, and we should try to get a ticket to the Paris Olympics directly."
A bespectacled man sitting in the front row put down the documents in his hand, took off his glasses, and said in a calm tone, "We still need to be careful about this matter. This Wang you mentioned... Wang is not even 19 years old yet, he's still a child. If we let him into the national team so early, what will the other players who haven't been to the national team think?"
“Yes,” another person chimed in. “Besides, this guy isn’t even in the talent pool. It’s hard to convince people if he’s directly put into the national team.”
A man in a white shirt sitting at the end picked up his teacup, blew on it, and then suddenly said, "Chairman Yao, let's not rush things. Since everyone's opinions are still not aligned, let's wait a bit longer. Even an NBA player isn't necessarily better than a player we develop ourselves, is he?"
"You said he's a two-way player, so if we bring him back now, won't it affect his future with the Rockets?"
"That's all for today." The director, who was sitting at the front, stood up. "We can talk about anything else next time."
The group of people walked out chatting and laughing, carrying blank notebooks and still-warm teacups.
The sounds of people discussing whether the cafeteria would serve braised pork or stir-fried pork slices for lunch drifted in through the crack in the door.
Yao Ming sighed and sat alone in his office for a long time.
……
November 3rd, 10:30 AM.
Lakers vs. Rockets Game 2, live on Tencent Video.
Perhaps due to the favorable timing of the match, more than 500 million fans flooded into the live stream even before the match started.
The host has changed today. Perhaps it's a shame not to sell some products with such high viewership. Today's host is Wang Meng, also known as "Brother Tao".
Behind him on the big screen was a picture of someone wearing a red jersey, pointing his thumb to the number "12" on his back.
Today in the Penguin Live room, besides Wang Meng and female anchor Xiao Nan, there are two guest commentators: Yang Yi and the more professional Wang Shipeng.
"Brother Peng, have you paid attention to Wang Xiucheng, the new player who has emerged on the Rockets?" Wang Meng asked, starting a conversation since the game hadn't started yet.
Time was up, but Americans have never had a good sense of time, and each game would be delayed by ten or more minutes before starting.
"Of course I've been paying attention. If I didn't know it was so popular, I wouldn't be worthy of being involved in basketball."
Do you think he has the ability to join the national team right now?
Yang Yi didn't beat around the bush and asked directly.
Wang Shipeng chuckled and said, "Judging from what I saw in the last game, I think I could play as a ball-handling substitute in the national team."
This question is actually a bit offensive, but with so many fans in the live broadcast room, Wang Shipeng couldn't very well not answer it.
Unexpectedly, Yang Yi was not satisfied and pressed on, asking, "What aspects of him are still lacking? Compared to the current national team starters?"
Wang Shipeng seemed to think for a moment and carefully considered his words: "Wang Xiucheng's scoring ability has not been fully demonstrated yet, and his physical strength is also very weak. FIBA is different from the NBA, with a lot of physical contact. Wang Xiucheng has never played as a starter, so his physical condition is still unknown."
Yang Yi really wanted to chuckle at Wang Shipeng's words. Did those guys on the national team have scoring ability? Were they strong in physical confrontation? Did they have good stamina?
Just as I was about to ask another question, the camera suddenly showed the scene in front of me; the match was about to begin.