Chapter 51

Liu Hao was right about half of it.

After returning to work, Pan Zhi indeed called this guy back to represent the unit in a football match.

This was the signal.

Could he ignore the words of his superior? Absolutely not.

However... Liu Hao was truly in a dilemma.

It wasn't that it couldn't be done, but there was a conflict.

The Yinzhou Super League generally takes place on Wednesdays and Saturdays, not much different from a professional league.

As for the China League One, there is definitely a match on Saturdays, and on Wednesdays, it depends on the schedule, such as adjustments due to participation in the FA Cup, or to make way for the national team.

Serving the leadership is no easy task. Occasionally not showing up on weekends might be fine, but not appearing every weekend would definitely draw the leader's disapproval, which Liu Hao knew even with his heels.

If he didn't please the leadership, he might end up offending them even more...

Always not showing up to play football and always taking leave! Liu Hao felt uneasy just thinking about the impression he might give to his leader.

During the office meeting on Monday, Pan Zhi criticized the frequent leave of employees without naming anyone, directly pointing at Liu Hao.

What to do? Playing football is just a 'side job,' while working is the 'main job'! When it comes to real career interests, he was unsure.

It seems that going to play matches in the future will be increasingly difficult.

To play football for a year and give up a lifetime of salary? This risk is simply not worth taking!

Liu Hao weighed the matter for a long time, and the idea of quitting began to take root in his heart.

Although the state has introduced many new policies for civil servants, making the job increasingly difficult, the salary has been rising, hasn't it? As long as he doesn't make any major mistakes, he can still get by until retirement...

He doesn't really aspire to a high position or wealth, just a peaceful and stable life.

Although playing for Qingdao Zhongneng always brings a relatively substantial income, it's only for one year. Once the year is over, where will he get the capital to continue playing? Besides, he will be 31 next year!

He must think not only for himself but also for his family, right?

It's time to make a decision, he can't keep being so playful!

Yesterday, Liu Hao was still shopping like crazy, thinking about how great it was to earn money from playing football, but today he started to completely lose confidence.

After much deliberation, he concluded that cutting the Gordian knot was the best solution.

Lai Yuxin didn't know that Liu Hao had already started to regret so quickly. At this moment, she was on the high-speed train from Qingdao to Shanghai, leisurely holding a laptop and typing away.

"First in History." Using such a bold five-character title, it was unclear what she was going to write.

However, the next subheading made it clear:

"Qingdao Zhongneng Club player Liu Xiaopang to sign an advertising contract with Adidas."

The content was only a short paragraph of over a hundred words: "According to the latest news from Sports Weekly, Adidas China headquarters will soon sign an advertising contract with Qingdao Zhongneng Club player Liu Xiaopang. The contract amount is reportedly between 1 to 2 million US dollars."

After finishing, Lai Yuxin directly posted it online, signing off as "Lai."

Is this real?

Everyone was originally paying attention to the first leg of the 2014 UEFA Champions League quarter-finals, but they were stunned by this unprecedented news.

What about Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, and Chelsea? None of them were as eye-catching as this million-dollar advertisement.

A million-dollar Adidas contract?

What level of star would have such an opportunity? Although it might not be on par with top-tier stars like Messi and Ronaldo, it would at least be among the top twenty in the world...

For example, although Robin van Persie is still in his prime, would Adidas give him a million-dollar advertising fee? Adidas would definitely refuse.

"Damn! 'Lai' must be a new, unscrupulous editor at QQ.com, treating everyone like idiots, making claims without any basis!"

The first to comment was a harsh critic.

"Editor, can you write something reliable? This is Adidas, not Li Ning, not Guirenbird, not TEBU or PUMA... Saying Obama is a eunuch would be more credible. The editor-in-chief of Sports Weekly would be spitting blood, and this is still called 'Sports Weekly news'..."

"Adidas has too much money and no brains, otherwise how could they give Liu Xiaopang a million dollars? The editor is crazy for money."

"Everyone, quickly forward this. If it's forwarded more than 500 times, it's a rumor. The police should lock up the editor."

"Why can't Liu Xiaopang get a million-dollar advertising fee? If he can't, can Zheng Zhi? Can Gao Lin? Or can you? What is Adidas' slogan? 'Nothing is impossible.' Nothing is impossible. Liu Xiaopang's legendary career is exactly the image Adidas needs. If Liu Xiaopang continues to perform brilliantly in the upcoming matches, I bet even Nike will get involved. Compared to other Chinese football players, who is worth their investment? Liu Xiaopang is precisely the kind of player they have been waiting for. I absolutely support Adidas in making this deal."

If Liu Hao saw this comment online, he would be quite surprised. The commenter, 'I Love Football,' was the fan he had 'conversed' with online yesterday.

"Is this news true?" The editor-in-chief of Sports Weekly, Zhang Dunan, naturally wouldn't stand idly by when a message bearing the name of Sports Weekly was posted. He quickly called Lai Yuxin to verify the authenticity of the news.

Seeing the signature 'Lai,' he knew it was Lai Yuxin.

"Tomorrow night, when I review the draft, you'll understand. The next day, look at the newspaper sales, ha ha." Lai Yuxin was deliberately mysterious and didn't immediately give Zhang Dunan an answer.

Going to Shanghai to negotiate the contract was a sure thing, but before she released the first-hand news, she didn't want to reveal specific details.

Of course, those who wanted to know the truth were not just Zhang Dunan.

A reporter from Football Weekly directly called the Adidas Shanghai headquarters to inquire, but the answer was 'impossible.'

A reporter from the Southern Metropolis Daily also called the Adidas headquarters, and the result was the same: a denial.

In their eyes, a Chinese player signing a million-dollar advertising contract with Adidas was simply unbelievable, something that only top-tier stars could achieve.

If this were true, it would be a global sensation.

Just like when Conca joined Guangzhou Evergrande and received a salary that was among the top ten in the world.

The impact of this was too shocking, even more so than Conca's salary at Evergrande.

Conca, after all, earned his salary through his outstanding abilities, having already proven himself in the Brazilian league.

But what does Liu Xiaopang have to offer...

It wasn't until 7:30 PM, when "World Football" started, that Liu Hao saw himself on the news again.

CCTV5 host Duan Xuan introduced it with an exaggerated tone: "We all know that football players, besides their high salaries, also have substantial advertising endorsement income. Top players like Messi and Ronaldo can earn tens of millions in advertising each year, which is not surprising. However, today we saw a news story online saying that a player named Liu Xiaopang from the China League One is about to sign an advertising endorsement with Adidas. Do you believe it? I do..."

Liu Hao was already quite excited to see himself on "World Football," even though the photo on the screen still showed his curly hair.

But to hear that he was endorsing Adidas?

How could he not know about it?

A million-dollar contract!

He was thinking about telling his wife about his recent strange experiences after their evening walk, but this news stunned him.

Is this real?

"Wife, how much is a million dollars in RMB now?" Zhang Yu was washing dishes in the kitchen, and Liu Hao, trying to contain his excitement, turned to ask his wife, who is a math teacher.