Chapter 35

"Enthusiastically welcome the 'First Flying Man of Asia' back home!"

At the station platform, a red banner was hung. Chen Lao, Coach Zhou, Zhang Guan's parents, and the athletes who were familiar with Zhang Guan all came to the station to welcome him. The provincial sports bureau gave Zhang Guan a very high reception standard. Several leaders personally attended the commendation meeting, and the top leader of the provincial bureau personally handed the key to the reward house to Zhang Guan.

The chairman of the provincial athletics association was beaming with joy throughout the process. For a provincial sports association, the achievement of the "First Flying Man of Asia" was not just a result or a historic breakthrough; more importantly, it could help the unit apply for more funding and financial subsidies in the next few years, which was a tangible benefit.

Since Zhang Guan's hometown was the provincial capital, it saved a lot of time. The next day, the municipal government also held a special commendation meeting for Zhang Guan. The vice mayor in charge of publicity personally invited Zhang Guan to serve as the city's image ambassador, and Zhang Guan agreed on the spot. This city image ambassador role mainly used Zhang Guan's name, and he did not need to actually participate in anything, nor did it come with any compensation.

Zhang Guan's schedule for the third day was to return to school. After being selected by Chen Lao to join the provincial athletics team a few months ago, Zhang Guan had left the school. Now, after several months, he returned, and almost all the teachers and students were there to welcome him.

In the meeting room, the principal personally handed a thick stack of A4 paper to Zhang Guan and said, "The school has contacted all the major universities across the country, including Tsinghua, Peking, Fudan, Zhejiang, Nankai, and Tongji. They are all willing to interview and accept you for admission. The detailed information is here. You can take a look, and if you have any other requirements, you can let the school know, and we will try our best to meet them."

"Thank you, Principal!" Zhang Guan took the papers and quickly scanned through them.

The conditions offered by the universities were similar. These universities did not expect Zhang Guan to study there; they needed Zhang Guan's "First Flying Man of Asia" fame, so he only needed to be a nominal student.

"Fudan University is good. I want to go to Fudan," Zhang Guan said.

"Fudan?" The principal was slightly surprised. He thought Zhang Guan would choose Tsinghua or Peking, but did not expect him to choose Fudan.

"You can take your time to consider it. There's no rush, and you still have half a year," the principal said.

"I chose Fudan mainly because the Xinzhuang Training Base is there, and the training conditions are better. Also, I think the air quality is better," Zhang Guan explained.

"Ah, I see. The Xinzhuang Training Base is indeed a top-notch athletics training facility in the country," the principal said, pretending to understand, but he did not pay much attention to the air quality issue.

As a person from the future, Zhang Guan naturally knew how severe the smog in North China would become. Although it was still several years before the smog outbreak, the industrial development in North China was already in a high-speed growth phase. Although the air quality in the Yangtze River Delta region was not excellent, it was much better than the heavily polluted areas in North China. Sports require a lot of outdoor training, and Zhang Guan did not want to breathe smog every day, so he chose the Yangtze River Delta region, where the air quality was relatively better. Once the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed rail was operational, traveling to the capital would also be very convenient.

In the following days, Zhang Guan's schedule was packed, and he did not have a single day off during his short holiday.

After the busy holiday, Zhang Guan returned to the training field. Chen Lao originally planned to continue technical training, but after Zhang Guan told him about the soreness in his legs after the Asian Games, Chen Lao immediately realized it was a physical issue and changed the training plan, adding strength training to improve Zhang Guan's physical strength.

With only two months until New Year's Day, the domestic competition schedule was not as dense. The only major event next month was the National Athletics Championship, which was a series of events. Athletes earned points by participating in multiple stations, and those who met the point requirements could participate in the year-end grand prix to compete for the annual championship. However, Zhang Guan did not participate in the previous stations, so he did not have any points and would not be participating.

Zhang Guan's next competition would be after the Spring Festival, when he would participate in the National Indoor Athletics Championship.

...

By November, the provincial capital was already chilly. Although the temperature was still above zero, a thin layer of white frost had appeared on the branches and plants in the early morning. Most trees had already shed their leaves, and the grass had turned yellow, with only pine trees and evergreens still maintaining their green color.

On such a cold morning, it would be very pleasant to lie in bed and sleep in until the sun rose, then get up leisurely and doze off in bed. However, athletes did not have the luxury of such comfort. They got up before dawn to start their morning run.

For Zhang Guan, getting up early in winter was a painful experience, but after going through it many times, he gradually got used to it. At least his efforts were paying off, and he could feel his body getting stronger every day.

After the morning run, Zhang Guan went to the cafeteria for breakfast. The athlete's cafeteria offered a wide variety of breakfast options. Soy milk, milk, and eggs were essential for athletes every morning. Other options included noodles, steamed buns, baozi, and fried dough sticks. The side dishes included several types of pickles, ham, and tofu. The millet porridge was much thicker than what was sold at street stalls.

However, the nutritionist had already designed a special meal plan for Zhang Guan. He was not allowed to eat fried dough sticks, as ham contained too much starch, and red bean baozi were too sweet. He could not eat rice, but he could drink some millet porridge. He was encouraged to eat as much milk and eggs as possible. Additionally, he was given beef jerky as a special supply, which he could eat as a snack or a side dish. In short, Zhang Guan's meals were low in oil, salt, and sugar but high in protein.

As the "First Flying Man of Asia," Zhang Guan was entitled to some special treatment, especially since the following year was an Olympic year. It would be a loss if后勤保障 issues affected Zhang Guan's Olympic performance.

Lunch and dinner were similar, with a specially designed menu by the nutritionist and a dedicated kitchen. The quality and taste were much better than the regular meals.

In terms of accommodation, Zhang Guan also enjoyed a private dormitory with a separate bathroom and shower, all equipped to the standards of the coaches.

Regarding commercial development, the athletics management center had not contacted Zhang Guan until recently, when Coach Yu called to inform him that the world's most famous sports brand, Nike, hoped to sign him as an endorser and had already contacted the athletics association.

A week later, someone finally came from the center.

...

The center sent a director surnamed Sun, and Nike sent two people: a business manager surnamed Wang and a lawyer surnamed Zhu.

Director Sun directly handed Zhang Guan several A4 papers and asked him to sign, clearly not giving him any choice. Zhang Guan took a quick look. It was a commercial development authorization contract with no specified term. If Zhang Guan signed, he would have to fully authorize his future commercial development to the center.

Zhang Guan did not read every word carefully, but he could see that the contract was very rough. Many parts were not clearly marked, leaving room for loopholes, and several clauses were clearly unfair, which would not be protected by contract law.

Zhang Guan thought about it. As a management department, it was not surprising that they would present such a contract. When they drafted the contract, they did not treat the athletes as equals but assumed that athletes must accept their management and requirements without considering fairness. This situation only improved years later as the sports authority continuously issued various regulations to standardize the process.

Zhang Guan then picked up the Nike endorsement contract. Compared to the previous one, the Nike contract was much more professional. A thick stack of papers detailed every aspect, with a large amount of explanatory text that could confuse an ordinary person. Zhang Guan estimated that it would take at least an hour to read the contract thoroughly.

"A professional contract is different," Zhang Guan thought. Compared to the center's contract, it was like a well-prepared menu.

With Zhang Guan's experience, he did not need to read the complex contract in detail. Checking for loopholes in the explanatory text should be the job of a professional lawyer. As a layman, even if he tried to find faults, the lawyer, Mr. Zhu, would not be a pushover. A few words and a bunch of legal jargon would easily confuse him. Therefore, Zhang Guan focused on the sentences with numbers, which contained the most important information, such as the endorsement period and fees.

Finally, Zhang Guan found the content he wanted on the third-to-last page.

Nike offered an endorsement fee of 300,000 yuan in cash and 200,000 yuan in sports equipment sponsorship per year, the same as the deal Liu Fei signed this year, but the contract was for five years.

Sports brands often signed long-term contracts, such as NBA stars signing 10-year deals or even lifetime endorsements. However, this price was unsatisfactory to Zhang Guan. He felt that with his potential, 300,000 yuan was clearly a low offer.

Moreover, the five-year term showed Nike's shrewdness. The Beijing Olympics would be held in five years. If the endorsement contract took effect immediately, Zhang Guan would represent Nike at the Beijing Olympics. If Zhang Guan performed well, Nike would not hesitate to offer a higher renewal. If he did not perform well, Nike would likely not continue to spend money. However, as a home athlete, as long as Zhang Guan participated in the Olympics, the endorsement brand would surely profit.

After a moment of thought, Zhang Guan put down the contract and said, "I'm afraid I cannot sign this contract."

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Chapter 2 delivered. Thank you to the readers who supported with donations: Ku Aa Kan, Wu Ru Shu Cong, Gigiliu5277, Xin Wei Xue, Feng Xue Piao Lin. I continue to seek more collections and recommendations. Thank you for your support!