Chapter 156: Quanjude

June, Germany.

In the summer of 2006, Germany meant only one thing: the eighteenth FIFA World Cup.

As the World Cup drew near, major German cities were already packed to capacity. Having evolved into a massive goldmine, any city fortunate enough to host World Cup matches immediately saw its hotel business boom exponentially. Germany's operational model for hosting the tournament was a masterclass in efficiency: all the new stadiums built for the event were jointly funded by regional authorities and local clubs. State investment was minimal, yet the results were spectacular.

The World Cup was still a week away, but if you only just thought about looking for a hotel now, you would find yourself with no choice but to sleep on the streets. Hotels in all the German host cities and their surrounding towns had been fully booked half a month in advance. The World Cup was a festival for football fans worldwide, and even a large nation like Germany found it remarkably difficult to accommodate all the fans from around the globe who had the means to watch the matches live.

Consequently, fans who acted a bit late had to set their sights on more remote regions of Germany. After all, the German road infrastructure was quite smooth; as long as one had tickets, the only real inconvenience would be a bit more travel fatigue.

Hoffenheim—a small village in the city of Sinsheim, located between Mannheim and Heidelberg. With a total population of just over three thousand, it possessed a railway station, though the trains passing through were only old, rustic regional lines, along with a single small village inn. However, fans had not yet sunk to the point of searching for accommodation in such a tiny hamlet, so this inn's business remained just as it usually was: neither good nor bad.

To the innkeeper's delight, however, a young defender playing for the local team, Hoffenheim 1899, had booked six rooms in one fell swoop a few days prior. This instantly boosted the inn's occupancy rate from ten percent to seventy percent, and he paid for a whole month in advance. Overjoyed, the owner simply handed management of the inn over to this young man who had been staying there for a year, took the deposit, and went off to vacation at a relative's house, leaving only a single apprentice behind to look after guests.

One day.

A tall figure appeared before the inn's entrance, instantly casting the doorway in shadow. A faint, primordial aura of desolation gradually emanated, enveloping the entire vicinity of the inn.

The young apprentice hiding in his room suddenly shivered, casting a puzzled glance around. That's right, it was summer; why would he suddenly feel a chill? Could he be coming down with a cold?

Just as the young apprentice was wondering, that tall figure reached out and knocked firmly three times on the inn's closed door. His hand was very steady, and the intervals between the three knocks were practically identical.

"Who is it?" an inquiry came from inside the inn.

The tall figure replied in a muffled voice, "It's me."

"The heavenly king suppresses the tiger!"

The tall figure sighed. "The pagoda subdues the river sprite."

The door creaked open, revealing a young and handsome face completely devoid of expression. He glanced outward, and said indifferently, "You've arrived?"

"I'm here," the tall fellow said with mild annoyance, at which point he finally looked youthful and energetic. He then stepped inside, rambling as he walked: "What on earth is Li Jie playing at? Not only did he arrange for us to meet in such a remote place, but he also insisted on a secret password. I was genuinely afraid someone might arrest me as a spy just now... Zhou Wei, where are the others?"

Zhou Wei gave an approving nod. "That son of a bitch deserves what's coming to him... That's why we're punishing him by making him cook for us these few days. He's out buying groceries right now. Da Guangming decreed that if the daily food budget comes to less than a thousand euros, he needn't bother coming back to see us."

Long Bisheng stopped in his tracks, then turned his head in astonishment to look at Zhou Wei. "You guys are trying to bankrupt him with food?"

"Don't worry, I'm just joking," Zhou Wei laughed. "We're still eating according to our regular nutritional diet; a thousand euros is enough to feed us for a month... But Li Jie isn't stupid either; he'd tell you a catty of chicken cost five hundred euros."

Long Bisheng paused for a moment, then burst out laughing. He felt as though he had been away from this bunch for too long, almost forgetting that none of them were ever willing to suffer a loss.

I'm still a bit too soft-hearted, damn it, Long Bisheng sighed inwardly.

Stepping into the inn's lobby, four figures were hollering and playing cards, with a pile of cash stacked in front of each of them. Upon closer inspection, however, the piles consisted entirely of one- and two-yuan small notes.

Dai Guangming, Hu Gandang, Wu Bufan, and Zhang Yi. Aside from Li Jie, who had been dispatched to buy groceries, all seven roommates of Dormitory 505 had gathered together again after a year apart.

"A-Long is here!"

Dai Guangming, who had the most cash piled in front of him, spotted Long Bisheng walking over at a glance. He tossed his cards onto the table, declaring, "No more playing, no more playing. The brothers are all together again, let's have a good chat about what everyone's been up to this past year and more."

As he spoke, Dai Guangming swiftly gathered the banknotes in front of him and stuffed them into his pocket. He moved so quickly that it wasn't until he finished stuffing them away that Hu Gandang snapped out of his daze and shouted, "Damn Hubei native! You treacherous bastard deserving of death! You won the most money, and now you're saying you won't play?"

Zhang Yi flipped through the cards Dai Guangming had discarded, then immediately nodded in agreement with Hu Gandang's assessment. "This fellow really is increasingly deserving of a beating... Look at these rotten cards, and he ditched them so fast. Nine-headed birds in the sky, Hubei natives on the ground."

"A-Long, didn't you say last time that you were going to bring your parents here to watch the World Cup?" Dai Guangming asked Long Bisheng with a beaming smile, completely ignoring Hu Gandang and Zhang Yi's angry curses and sarcasm. "How come only you came today?"

"Don't even mention it... Military secret, neither my mom nor dad could get leave," Long Bisheng sighed. "My dad hasn't been promoted in nearly ten years. If his superiors didn't like him so much and keep delaying his retirement, he would have been demobilized long ago. Word is that this time is a good chance; if he performs well, he might make full colonel, so they couldn't come to the World Cup."

"That's true, it's terribly difficult for a lieutenant colonel to make colonel in the military nowadays. Your dad's in his early forties, right? If he doesn't get promoted now, he's pretty much reached his ceiling," Hu Gandang nodded and said.

"It's not easy, the seven of us can finally be together again—A-Long, you'll be able to play in Serie B next season, right? I really envy you." Though Zhou Wei spoke of envy, a hint of smugness flashed in his eyes.

No one picked up his thread; everyone knew why Zhou Wei suddenly brought up this topic. This kid had played in the Champions League alongside Rapid Wien last season with fairly decent performances, and now he was showing off in front of his brothers who were still toiling away in the second and third tiers.

Mid-conversation, Li Jie walked in carrying two large baskets of groceries. He let out an excited shout upon seeing Long Bisheng. During their time at the football academy, the two of them had spent the most time going head-to-head in training, and their bond ran the deepest. Moreover, he seemed to share a sort of sympathetic camaraderie with Long Bisheng: the team he played for, Hoffenheim, was in the German Regionalliga Süd, which was on the same level as Napoli's Serie C1. However, Li Jie had it even worse than Long Bisheng—while Long Bisheng would already be playing in Serie B next season, Hoffenheim still had to play in the Regionalliga Süd.

Li Jie was just about to say something to Long Bisheng when Hu Gandang kicked his backside and told him to go cook. Due to his failure in securing accommodation, Li Jie had suffered the tragic fate of becoming babysitter and head chef; until the meal was prepared, he had no right to enjoy anything.

Yet the meal to be made was simple: noodles, rice, vegetable salad, and chunks of chicken—monotonous and repetitive food. No one was particularly thrilled to eat such things, but for seven teenagers who had already ventured out into Europe, eating like this had become second nature.

After the meal, they chatted about everyone's experiences over the past year. The most glorious among them was Zhou Wei, who not only participated in the Champions League last season, but his team, Rapid Wien, also successfully defended their Austrian Bundesliga title. Next came Zhang Yi, Wu Bufan, and Long Bisheng. Zhang Yi's team, Metz, was promoted to Ligue 1; Wu Bufan's team, Antwerp, also successfully charged into the Belgian First Division, where he and Chinese national team forward Dong Yuzhuo formed the twin pillars guaranteeing Antwerp's offense and defense; and Long Bisheng's situation went without saying—though not yet a regular starter, his performances had been quite commendable.

The unluckier ones were Dai Guangming, Hu Gandang, and Li Jie. Although the three of them had become regular starters for their respective teams, all three teams had failed to gain promotion without exception. Among them, Dai Guangming's Sporting Gijón was the most unfortunate; finishing fourth in Segunda División, they missed out by a mere single point compared to Recreativo just above them. A gap of a single point, and a year of hard work turned to naught.

Yet for these seven teenagers, the achievements of this past year were hardly what mattered most. The most important thing was that they had begun to experience European professional football, learning to adapt to the European pace and style of the game. Even though the teams they played for were not yet household names—while sports media in China focused overwhelmingly on Nie Fei at Newcastle, Messi, Adriano at Arsenal, Sun Chenghai, Deco at Chelsea, and Li Fang at Fiorentina...

Still, they were young after all, weren't they?

"Thanks to the blessing of the World Cup, the lot of us were able to gather together in Germany... You guys think this counts as a grand reunion feast?" Zhou Wei suddenly remarked, causing the others nearby to spray their mouthfuls of beer across the room in a fine mist.