Chapter 44: Staggering Jersey Sales That Shock the Eyes

November 4th marked the Charlotte Hornets' new season media day.

There were no changes to the team roster. Lorenzo Williams had performed poorly in the preseason and failed to secure a guaranteed contract; instead, he was signed to a ten-day short contract and could be shown the door at any moment.

Tang Bei arrived at the headquarters and first collected his November salary, which came to nearly $230,000.

He had already made plans for this money: he intended to keep $130,000 and wire the remaining $100,000 back home to build a house.

"Tang, Kendall told me you've boxed before?" Larry Johnson asked suddenly just as they were getting ready for the photoshoot.

"Not much. Larry, I heard you're still boxing?" Tang Bei asked.

Larry Johnson replied, "I've been boxing in the Police Athletic League for the past few years. It's a non-profit organization with branches all over the United States, but it's not professional boxing."

Tang Bei had the urge to laugh. Within a single basketball team, there were actually three players who had boxed, and one of them was still competing in amateur bouts. Was this a basketball team or a boxing club, for crying out loud?

"You two are of a similar build. You should have a match," Kendall Gill chimed in abruptly.

The room instantly fell silent. The other players looked at Gill, wondering what kind of vision he had. Were Larry Johnson and Tang of a similar build?

Surprisingly, Larry Johnson looked rather interested, eager to try. "Tang, want to give it a shot?"

He had absolute confidence in his own strength; height and weight didn't mean everything, and Iron Mike was the ultimate proof of that.

"What's your weight?" Tang Bei asked.

"250 pounds," Larry Johnson said.

"Barely 114 kilograms..."

Tang Bei calculated in his mind. That was more than twenty kilograms lighter than himself. To disregard such a massive weight difference—did Larry Johnson's boxing skills rank that high?

Even so, Larry Johnson was undeniably strong. He possessed the height of a guard combined with the weight of an interior player, his body carved out of solid muscle with explosive power. Otherwise, a power forward of his height could never have become the number one draft pick.

"What, are you scared?"

Seeing that Tang Bei didn't reply, Larry Johnson asked impatiently.

"No, I'm afraid I might kill you."

Being a newcomer, Tang Bei didn't want to stir up trouble, but he found Larry Johnson's arrogant demeanor quite annoying, so he answered with complete honesty.

"Ha-ha..."

The room fell silent once more before several players burst out laughing uncontrollably.

"Shit!"

Larry Johnson didn't think Tang Bei was joking. Rage flushed his face, and he snapped furiously, "Damn rookie, don't think you have a height advantage and you're guaranteed to win. Just you wait, I'll fight you sooner or later."

"Larry, I once beat a three-hundred-pound pig to death with a few punches. I refuse to believe you're tougher than a pig," Tang Bei said with sincere earnestness.

"Hmph!"

Hearing this rookie compare him unfavorably to a pig, Larry Johnson snorted in pure indignation, his face swelling a size larger with anger.

Tang Bei said with an earnest expression, "Larry, I really don't want to kill you. If you insist on fighting, I'll let you use one hand."

"You bastard!"

Larry Johnson was so angry he felt like vomiting blood.

Half an hour later, the media entered the press hall for photographs.

The management arranged for Larry Johnson to stand right in the middle, holding a basketball, with Kendall Gill to his left and Tang Bei to his right.

From this arrangement, it was clear that Larry Johnson was the core player the franchise was cultivating, and the Hornets had invested the most in him—a hundred-million-dollar contract spoke volumes.

"Click, click..."

Following the photoshoot came the open interview session.

Larry Johnson commanded the highest popularity and attracted the largest number of journalists, who crowded thickly around him.

Tang Bei and Kendall Gill were roughly on par, each drawing three or four reporters.

Zhang Haoli was the first to ask, "Tang Bei, do you have any goals for your upcoming rookie season?"

Tang Bei thought for a moment and said, "Everyone tells me it's hard for rookies to adapt to the NBA. That Nike company didn't even think much of Shaquille, and nobody thinks much of me either. Some media outlets call me a bust, hehe!"

At this point, he paused to gather his thoughts before continuing, "My goal for the rookie season is very simple: I am going to prove I am not a bust, and use my performance to shut the mouths of those people and media who look down on me."

Zhang Haoli was somewhat surprised by Tang Bei's response, as people from the motherland generally did not express their true inner thoughts so bluntly.

A local media reporter followed up with, "Tang, judging by your performances in the preseason and official training camp, your fundamentals and skills have improved. Your turnovers, fouls, and violations are decreasing, and your shooting range is expanding. This shows your hard work—some people even spotted you training at four in the morning at the hotel. Is that true?"

Tang Bei replied, "Basically, I get to see what Charlotte looks like at four in the morning every single day. My morning workouts last for three hours."

"Whoa!"

This remark drew an exclamation of astonishment from the surrounding reporters.

"Tang: I get to see what Charlotte looks like at four in the morning every day."

The next day, this quote by Tang Bei made the front page of the sports sections in numerous media outlets.

It was also on this day that Tang Bei's number 88 jersey was officially released.

The Hornets' home jerseys were predominantly purple, accented with gold and black, featuring vertical pinstripes.

The away jerseys were primarily black, paired with white hornet logos and numbers.

However, Charlotte was undisputed territory for the NCAA; NBA stars held little sway here. Despite carrying the mantle of the second overall pick, he had virtually zero influence in Charlotte, and his jersey sales figures were eye-poppingly dismal.

On the first day, only six jerseys were sold, five of which were bought by people from his own camp. On the second day, sales plummeted by 83.3%, averaging one jersey sold per day. His jersey could be described as entirely neglected, leaving him deeply disappointed.

On the other hand, Larry Johnson truly lived up to the Hornets' high expectations. With massive commercial potential and widespread fame from his college days, he entered the NBA as the top draft pick and enjoyed explosive jersey sales—the entire team's jersey sales combined couldn't match his alone.

Tang Bei wired $100,000 back home. This time, instead of using the post and telecommunications bureau—which was far too slow—he followed John Liu's recommendation and chose Western Union.

This was a professional international money transfer company with agency points all over the globe, requiring only a few minutes for funds to arrive, making it extremely convenient.

Western Union's agency point in Tianjing was the Agricultural Bank of China, and he had already instructed his father to open an account there.

After making the transfer, he called home and gave his family the tracking number. With their identity cards and this tracking number, his family could withdraw the money directly at the Agricultural Bank.

It was a little past nine in the morning in the United States, which made it ten o'clock at night back home.

Under normal circumstances, the Tang family would have already gone to sleep, but having just spent around a thousand yuan to buy a 14-inch color television, they were currently engrossed in the variety show segment, watching Feng Gong and Niu Qun's crosstalk performance with great relish.

"The phone's ringing! It must be Big Brother."

Hearing the telephone ring, an excited Tang Ning darted forward in a flash.

"You were born in the year of the pig, how come you run faster than a dog?" Tang Yu asked grumpily, lagging behind.

Tang Ning snatched up the receiver, pressed it to her ear, and shouted, "Hello, hello! Is that Big Brother? I'm Number Four, let me tell you..."

"Number Four, why aren't you asleep yet?"

Tang Bei hastily interrupted the fourth sibling. If he didn't, the little girl could keep talking indefinitely.

Ignoring Tang Bei completely, Tang Ning chattered on of her own accord, "Big Brother, the family just bought a TV, a big color TV! It looks so pretty, hee-hee..."

"What size?" Tang Bei asked happily.

"Big Brother, it's 14 inches," the third sister, Tang Yu, chimed in, leaning close to the mouthpiece to answer.

"Why didn't you buy a bigger one? Don't they have 21-inch ones in China now?" Tang Bei asked.

"Oldest, a domestic 21-inch costs over three thousand; it's too expensive."

Lin Lan took over the receiver and said, "A 14-inch is fine. Your dad even said we should just get a black-and-white one, but I made the executive decision to buy a color one."

Tang Bei didn't press the matter further; he could just buy a big one himself when he came home next year.

He said, "Mom, I just wired $100,000 home. It should have arrived by now. Have Dad take his ID card to the Tianjing Agricultural Bank to withdraw the money."

"How much?" Lin Lan asked hurriedly, thinking she had misheard.

"One hundred thousand US dollars. Converted to RMB, it's around 570,000 yuan," Tang Bei said.

"Over 570,000?"

Lin Lan's mind went blank. With that much money, they could indeed build ten two-story Western-style villas.

"Over 570,000?"

The rest of the Tang family were equally dumbfounded.

"Mom, use this money to build a house. We have a big family, so ask the village for more foundation land plots," Tang Bei said.

"Even so, it wouldn't take over 50,000, would it? Building a two-story house only takes a few tens of thousands," Lin Lan said anxiously.

"Mom, just have the family apply for the land plots with the village first. I'll build the house when I come back next year," Tang Bei said.

"All right then, we'll talk when you get back," Lin Lan rushed to reply.

Tang Bei continued, "Mom, improve the family's living conditions. Eat a bit better, and buy things like a washing machine and a refrigerator so you can take it a bit easier too."

"Alright, alright, alright."

This was an expression of filial piety from her eldest son. Although she was frugal by nature, now that her son was making big money, Lin Lan certainly wouldn't refuse anymore.

"Grandpa and Grandma are getting on in years, don't let them do farm work anymore. You and Dad should cut back on it too—just grow enough for the family to eat and leave it at that."

"Your grandpa and grandma definitely won't be let into the fields anymore, but your dad and I are only in our early forties. What would it look like if we just cooped ourselves up at home every day?"

"Can you just work a little less?"

"Fine, fine."

Lin Lan was so deeply gratified that tears welled up in her eyes, while Grandpa and Grandma beside her wiped away their own tears.

"Alright then, Mom, let me chat with Number Two and Number Three."

"Okay, good. Number Two, Number Three, have a good chat with your big brother."

"Mm."

Tang Yu hurriedly took the receiver, and Tang Bin also leaned his head in close.

Tang Ning wouldn't stand for being left out and shrieked, "Big Brother, what about me?"

"Stop making a fuss, your big brother must have serious matters to discuss with your second brother and third sister."

Lin Lan forcefully pulled Tang Ning away, leaving the little girl with a pout big enough to hang an oil jug on.

"Number Two?"

"Yeah, I'm here, Bro."

"Take some money from Mom and go learn how to drive; it'll count as a useful skill. I plan to buy a small car for the family, and when I come home next year, you can drive to Beijing to pick me up."

"Drive?"

Tang Bin was immediately galvanized with excitement, his face flushing red.

"Number Three?"

"Big Brother, I'm here."

Tang Bei asked, "Do you have any plans?"

Tang Yu bit her lip and said, "Big Brother, the family won't be farming so much land anymore. I'm thinking of going out to find a job."

"Find a job?"

Tang Bei didn't have any concrete ideas either.

Both Number Two and Number Three had mediocre academic results, so sending them back to school was out of the question. Perhaps he could arrange for them to run a small business in the future?

He said, "How about this, Number Three? Discuss it with Number Two, go to Tianjing or Beijing to run a small business or open a shop, and I'll fund your startup capital."

"Run a business?"

Tang Yu's mind was a bit muddled; all she knew was how to till the soil—what did she know about running a business?

"If you want to learn to drive, learn along with Number Two," Tang Bei added.

"Big Brother, can I learn too?" Tang Yu was taken aback.

"Why wouldn't you? If worse comes to worst, you can drive a taxi in the future, and I'll buy the car for you," Tang Bei said.

"Oh, oh."