Chapter 112: The Boss

Time passed swiftly. In the blink of an eye, Long Bisheng had been promoted to the U-17 squad for over a month. For players in this tier, they were essentially semi-professionals by now, enjoying much better treatment—they now shared two-person dormitories and had formal contracts with the club. This marked the beginning of their professional status.

Long Bisheng shared a dorm with Li Jie. Their relationship had grown quite good due to frequent physical confrontations during training. Though Li Jie appeared rough and tough, he was actually considerate and understanding, making their coexistence pleasant.

A few days ago, Long Bisheng received his first paycheck. Since there were no matches that month, it was just an apprentice wage of 1,200 yuan. He kept 200 for pocket money and sent the remaining 1,000 home. When he transferred the money into a passbook account his father had given him during the Spring Festival at the bank, he felt a sense reminiscent of Sun Shaoping in "Ordinary World," who sent his first hard-earned coal mine wages back home.

Unlike Sun Shaoping, who welled up with tears while filling out the remittance slip, Long Bisheng was less sentimental—he hadn’t endured the same hardships. Yet as he stepped out of the bank, a surge of pride filled his heart: “I’m an adult now! I can support my family with my own earnings!” This pride lingered until ten that night, when he fell asleep. His sleep schedule was as precise as clockwork—bed by ten, naturally waking at six—thanks to military-style discipline ingrained since childhood. During football school, he maintained this routine, and others were long accustomed to his early rising.

One morning in March, at six o’clock, Long Bisheng quietly slipped out of bed, folded his quilt neatly, washed up, dressed, and gently opened and closed the door as he left.

Li Jie turned over in bed, murmured something indistinctly, and fell back asleep.

The air in Yunjia was crisp and fresh. Nestled in the picturesque southern region, Yunjia’s mountains and waters were especially invigorated by a recent spring rain.

Long Bisheng took a deep breath, letting the fresh air swirl in his lungs, and did several chest-expanding stretches before heading toward the training ground.

The club was quiet; no one was around yet. The first-team stars wouldn’t arrive this early—they were past the stage of rigorous training, focusing instead on maintaining their condition. Overtraining could harm their performance in official matches due to fatigue.

Players from other squads also hadn’t risen this early. Training was scheduled for eight in the morning. Yunjia Tianyu’s youth training was tough; no one wasted precious rest time—except perhaps Long Bisheng, the powerhouse with relentless stamina.

His steps quickened along the tree-lined path. His dorm was quite a distance from the training ground. The Yunjia Tianyu club covered a large area, perhaps because Yunjia was only a medium-sized city. In a big city, no club, however wealthy, could occupy such an expanse. But this distance was nothing to Long Bisheng. Rigorous training had forged his robust physique; the walk was just a warm-up.

As he approached the reserve team’s training field, Long Bisheng’s steps slowed. He noticed a middle-aged man standing by the fence, staring up at the training ground in a daze.

Judging by his appearance, he wasn’t a thief—thieves wouldn’t dress so neatly. Besides, if one wanted to steal, it would be from the office building, not the training field. No one was interested in the expensive turf, after all.

“Maybe he’s a fan who sneaked in, hoping to get an autograph from his favorite player?” Long Bisheng thought. Although Yunjia Tianyu’s first-team training was open to the public, autograph limits meant fans from afar often couldn’t get their desired signatures in a short time, so some resorted to sneaking in, usually succeeding.

“Heh, I’ll have to joke with Uncle Ribeiro tomorrow. A few days ago, he bragged he wouldn’t let any outsiders into the club.” Long Bisheng smiled inwardly. Ribeiro guarded the club gates and was a former Yunjia Tianyu star named Adriano’s father. Though his son was now a big star, out of gratitude to the club owner Pei Wei, who had helped their family escape poverty in Brazil, Ribeiro insisted on guarding the gates rather than enjoying life in England by his son’s side. He was a kind uncle with no star attitude, caring deeply for the youth players. Since his son had risen through Yunjia Tianyu’s ranks, Ribeiro was familiar with them. Though Long Bisheng hadn’t been there long, he had grown somewhat acquainted with Ribeiro.

With this in mind, Long Bisheng approached politely and said, “Sir... this is the training ground. Players only—no entry for others.”

The man seemed startled, then slowly turned his head. Long Bisheng saw a very ordinary face, far from handsome, but his gentle smile instantly inspired goodwill.

The middle-aged man’s turn revealed a silhouette against the rising sun, casting him in shadow. He was not tall—about 1.7 meters, similar to Ding Yu.

Seeing the man’s silence and contemplative gaze, Long Bisheng grew uneasy, as if he were the intruder. Though kind in appearance, the man bore the aura of someone long accustomed to authority.

So Long Bisheng repeated firmly, “Sir... this area isn’t open to the public. It only opens to fans in the afternoon.”

The man smiled warmly. “I’m not a fan... Who are you? Security?”

Long Bisheng puffed out his chest proudly. “I’m a player in the Yunjia Tianyu U-17 squad, just graduated from Yunjia Tianyu Football School this year!” He genuinely felt pride in this title; any young footballer would. His achievement was hard earned—without such effort, he would have long been cut from the school.

At this, a flicker of surprise crossed the man’s eyes. He gestured above Long Bisheng’s head. “You’re only seventeen? My goodness, how tall are you?”

Long Bisheng felt a little embarrassed, knowing his height was unusual. “I’m actually fifteen, and I’m 2.01 meters tall, sir.”

Hearing this, the well-dressed man enviously pinched Long Bisheng’s arm. “Wow, what did you eat growing up... Fifteen and over two meters? Why don’t you play basketball? Yao Ming was probably about that height at your age.”

The man’s friendly demeanor greatly endeared him to Long Bisheng. The sensation described in books as “like basking in spring breeze” was probably just like this. Long Bisheng forgot his original intention to ask the stranger to leave and instead found himself chatting with him.

This was the first time someone much older spoke to him as an equal, like an old friend. The man spoke sparingly but every word seemed to reach Long Bisheng’s heart. Under the man’s skillful coaxing, Long Bisheng shared much: about his family, his journey to Yunjia, and his troubles.

The man seemed genuinely interested. When Long Bisheng lamented that besides height and diligence, he had nothing compared to teammates, the man cited an example: a center forward who had nothing but height, yet his coach said, “Nothing but height? Isn’t that great? Stamina and skills can be trained, but I can’t make my players grow taller—even if I were a famous coach. Height is your most precious asset!”

Each word struck Long Bisheng deeply, thrilling him to the core. Though later he learned from the manga "Slam Dunk" that this was a line from Ryonan’s coach to their center, Yuzuki, he remained grateful for the encouragement.

They talked at length until training began. It was then, from U-17 head coach Xia Liquan, that Long Bisheng learned the man’s identity.

“Boss! It’s really you!” Xia Liquan exclaimed in surprise, causing Long Bisheng’s eyes to widen.

Wait, wasn’t their boss Li Qiang? Why did Coach Xia call this man boss?