Chapter 159: The Loan Agreement for Next Season

Long Bisheng’s sudden visit made Ning Xi very happy. Ning Xi’s parents also took a great liking to the young man who had taken such painstaking care of Ning Xi for over a week a few years ago. Although the boy was perhaps a bit too tall, Ning Xi was not short herself, and at over one hundred and seventy centimeters tall, the height difference wasn't all that jarring. Besides, the two were essentially in the same profession. Father Ning and Mother Ning harbored thoughts similar to those of Long Yuyun and Yin Xiuping: since the two kids got along so well and interacted frequently, letting things develop naturally seemed like a rather good idea, didn't it?

During the following period, Ning Xi became a competent tour guide, taking Long Bisheng to explore Beijing's major attractions day in and day out. They visited the Forbidden City, the Great Wall, the Ming Tombs, the Temple of the Sun, the Temple of the Moon, Fragrant Hills, Zhongshan Park, and the Summer Palace. They wandered through the traditional hutongs and hung out in bars, living an enviable life of romance and leisure like a pair of celestial lovers.

In Ning Xi’s words, what Long Yuyun had said was spot on: being a professional footballer was a high-stress profession, and taking a good, solid rest for a period of time yielded effects no worse than training every day. Furthermore, even during this break, Long Bisheng still woke up every morning to run three thousand meters, keeping his physical condition in top-notch shape.

After spending half a month having fun in Beijing, Long Bisheng and Ning Xi traveled together to Yunjia, where Ding Yu had called Long Bisheng to say he had something for him.

Upon meeting, Ding Yu handed him about a dozen discs. "Inside here are performances of some tall center-forwards on the pitch—Tony, Koller, Crouch, Žigić. Their traits are all about height, much like yours. Perhaps their specific styles aren't entirely suited for you, but you need to learn certain things from them. Learn how they battle opponents on the field and how they make up for the shortcomings in agility brought about by their height. A center-forward who is top-heavy can no longer adapt to modern football; only a center-forward with excellence in both head and feet can survive in European leagues. I have taught you pretty much everything I can. From now on, it all depends on you."

Holding that stack of discs, Long Bisheng was overwhelmed with emotion. Ding Yu was no longer his coach; successfully nurturing him into a player capable of establishing a foothold in Europe had already fulfilled all his responsibilities. Knowing Ding Yu's style, Long Bisheng was certain these discs wouldn't simply be highlight reels of goals. Instead, every center-forward's goals would be accompanied by detailed descriptions of movement, positioning, and anticipation. Every single one of those dozen discs embodied Ding Yu's painstaking efforts.

Mentoring young players was exhausting work. It wasn't just about watching them train; one had to assess each player's strengths and characteristics, and provide ample care both in training and in daily life. To squeeze time out of a busy schedule to compile these ten-odd discs for Long Bisheng, Ding Yu must have sacrificed an immense amount of rest.

"Don't say anything touching; it gives me goosebumps," Ding Yu stopped him before he could speak. "I'm a coach, and you're a player I brought up. It's only right for me to be responsible for you... Long Bisheng, of all the students I've coached, you're the one who worries me the most. That's because your potential is beyond my ability to judge, and I have no idea how far you can go. Once Dai Guangming and the others graduated from under my guidance, I could let them go without worry because as long as they kept walking steadily down their paths, they were bound to achieve something in their careers. But you are different. Your foundation is less solid than theirs, and if no one guides you, I don't know when your foundation might crumble. Your performances have constantly exceeded my imagination, but precisely because of that, I can't predict when you'll hit a bottleneck, or whether you'll be able to break through it."

"I... have always given you so much to worry about," Long Bisheng said with his head lowered.

Ding Yu laughed. "Don't get all sappy, you sound like a pickled Northeast Chinese cabbage... I hate hearing things like that. Long Bisheng, let me tell you, this isn't your fault, because compared to Dai Guangming and the others, you lost five years taking the scenic route. Although you've managed to make up for those five years of technical loss through your own hard work, other aspects aren't so easily recovered. Dai Guangming and the others already had sufficient psychological preparation to handle all sorts of difficulties, whereas you had five years less time to make that mental preparation than they did. Breaking into Europe at seventeen is an honor, but it's also a greater pressure. I have zero doubt about your desire for success and your courage in the face of adversity, but sometimes certain things cannot be solved by mere desire and courage alone."

"Coach Ding, I don't quite understand what you're saying," Ning Xi said, looking troubled.

"To be honest, I don't really understand either... I don't get it at all," Long Bisheng admitted honestly.

"It can be sensed, but not described," Ding Yu sighed. "My mouth is still a bit clumsy; I don't know how to explain it to you two... Alright, that's enough. Ning Xi, take Long Bisheng to see General Manager Jiang. There are still some details to discuss regarding his loan contract for next season. Also, Long Bisheng, make time to go back to Qingdao. Cai Sheng has been mentioning you countless times, and everyone there misses you."

Ning Xi clearly already knew about this; she nodded and pulled Long Bisheng along as she walked out.

"Wasn't next season's loan contract settled long ago? What else is there to discuss?" Long Bisheng asked, being dragged along helplessly, before turning his head to shout back at Ding Yu, "Coach, goodbye! I will definitely visit Qingdao!"

Ding Yu waved at him with a smile, watching the smaller figure dragging the larger one away, a warm smile lingering at the corners of his mouth.

"These little rascals... young and unruly... Sigh, and here I am, still haven't managed to find a wife..."

Wondering why this season's loan contract still needed discussion, Long Bisheng arrived at Jiang Hao's office only to find out it was simply the Yunjia Tianyu Club striving for better terms and treatment on his behalf.

"Napoli has been promoted, and all players confirmed to stay will receive a substantial increase in their compensation... You are in Reja's plans for next season, and your performance last season was quite good. An annual salary of fifty thousand euros is a bit too little for a Serie B substitute forward." Jiang Hao waved his hand to cut off what Long Bisheng was about to say. "I know what you want to say. You can play in football in Italy, so personal compensation doesn't matter, right? How naive! Don't forget, you are playing professional football! For a professional player, the amount of income determines your status within the club! You need to understand how Europeans view their income; it's a symbol, understand? Since you're a primary substitute, you must have the treatment befitting a primary substitute! Sosa's contract at Napoli is five hundred thousand euros a year—are you really supposed to make only one-tenth of that?"

"But I only played for half a season... to demand better treatment just like that, what will the club think?" Long Bisheng said somewhat uneasily.

Jiang Hao smiled. "What are agents for? That's what they do! Don't worry, European clubs are very mature; they won't look down on you just because you ask for a higher salary. Everything will be handled by your agent. Besides, you are still a member of Yunjia Tianyu right now, and if we don't help you handle these things, who will? To be honest, based on your performance in the latter half of last season, Napoli should have bought you out permanently—it's just a pity they reserved their only non-EU player transfer slot for Chu Ran this year."

"Big Brother Chu Ran is the starting goalkeeper after all," Long Bisheng said with a slight, indifferent smile.

Jiang Hao glanced at him and nodded. "That's settled then... Ning Xi, you will handle the negotiations with Napoli."

"Of course, he's my player," Ning Xi said with a smile. "An increase in his income means an increase in my income too."

Jiang Hao laughed. "Well said. The interests of players and agents are closely intertwined. We'll have another agent training seminar in October, so make sure not to be late. Both you and Liu Lin are talents we hold high hopes for, so keep working hard. Chinese football needs to gradually align with the international standards not only regarding players, but agents as well."

"General Manager Jiang has helped both Liu Lin and me immensely."

Emerging from Jiang Hao's office, Ning Xi said to Long Bisheng with a measure of gratitude, "Last year, both Liu Lin and I obtained our agent certificates issued by the Chinese Football Association. Getting this certificate wasn't easy; aside from passing the exams, we also had to pay a security deposit of 350,000 yuan to the FA. Where would I have gotten that kind of money? The club advanced it for us. Furthermore, with us being so young, if General Manager Jiang hadn't introduced a few players to us, we wouldn't even have been able to pay back that deposit by now. Being an agent is tough work."

"Why didn't you tell me earlier?" Long Bisheng asked anxiously. "I have the money now. Use it to pay back the club first."

"It was paid off long ago!" Ning Xi said proudly. "Last year, I helped seven or eight young players find new clubs, and the commissions earned from that have already paid it off. But just like you players, we agents might have a very difficult start, things get much better once you're on the right track. Right now, I represent seven or eight players, and the commissions are quite substantial. The biggest share among them comes from you... The commissions I've gotten from you alone amount to tens of thousands."

"Oh, that's good then," Long Bisheng said, feeling reassured. He didn't fully understand how an agent's income worked. In reality, although Ning Xi had already obtained her professional agent certificate from the Chinese Football Association, she was not yet qualified to act as an agent in Europe. The commissions from the incomes of players like him and Dai Guangming were first deposited into the accounts of the Yunjia Tianyu Club before being transferred to Liu Lin and Ning Xi. Therefore, Liu Lin and Ning Xi were currently working hard both to learn and to make money—to obtain the agent license issued by FIFA, aside from passing an interview, one also had to pay a security deposit of 200,000 Swiss Francs (roughly equivalent to 1.3 million RMB), which was no small sum.

"Alright, leave the rest to this young lady!" Ning Xi declared spiritedly. "I'll make sure to boost your compensation by at least fifty percent!"