Chapter 91

In the meeting room of Yiming Consulting, only Zhang Guan, He Yiming, and Zhuge Wenbo were present.

He Yiming pointed to the directive from the Sports Administration Center and said, "The association is still concerned about the management team, so they set three rules. The premise for participating in commercial activities is that it must not affect normal training, must not impact competition results, and must not cause negative effects. Otherwise, they will require us to dissolve the champion team."

"Hmph, concerns? I think they are deliberately leaving a loophole," Zhuge Wenbo, the returned overseas student, spoke bluntly.

"He Yiming smiled and said, "The three rules—'affecting normal training,' 'affecting competition results,' and 'causing negative effects'—lack clear definitions. The association might think this leaves them a loophole, but for us, it also leaves a loophole. We can just drag it out if necessary." He then continued, "However, according to the rules set by the General Administration, the split ratio is quite significant. Athletes must first hand over 40% of their competition bonuses, and the remaining 60% must be shared with their coaches. For advertising and endorsement income, 50% must be handed over, leaving the athletes with only half."

Zhuge Wenbo added, "I think when the time is right, we can hire a dedicated coaching team. This way, we can save on the coach's share of the income."

"That's for the future. For now, we don't need to consider it," He Yiming said to Zhang Guan. "The song you sang at the concert received a very good response. A record company wants to produce an album for you, but Zhuge has turned them down."

Zhuge Wenbo immediately said, "I also wanted to hear your thoughts. If you want to develop in singing, I can help you find a major record company. You don't need to worry about the songs; we can find a composer for that."

Zhang Guan shook his head immediately, "I don't have any musical talent. I'll stick to being an athlete."

"In that case, don't waste the song you sang. We can record a single and make an MV. Xu Xiuji's advertising company can handle it. The MV doesn't need to be too complex; we can use footage from your Olympic performance and pair it with the song. It should be very fitting. We can also produce some DVDs, package them nicely, and use them as your exclusive souvenirs. They can be gifts for fan meetings in the future," Zhuge Wenbo suggested.

"Alright, Zhuge, you can arrange it for me," Zhang Guan said.

"Call me Wenbo. 'Pig Brother' sounds awkward," Zhuge Wenbo joked, then continued, "Regarding the Olympic gold medal rewards, the state gives 200,000 yuan, the Athletics Association gives 1,000,000 yuan for breaking the world record, and your provincial Athletics Association has also decided to give you 1,000,000 yuan. Additionally, your city has provided 1,000,000 yuan, but they hope you will return to shoot a tourism promotional video to promote the tourism industry."

"No problem. It's a contribution to my hometown, and I'm going home anyway, so the timing is right," Zhang Guan replied.

"Next, endorsements," Zhuge Wenbo handed Zhang Guan a form and said, "I'll start with sports brands. Currently, Nike and Adidas are offering relatively higher prices, and I think we can negotiate further. Puma's offer is also good, but the brand's recognition in China is not as high as Nike and Adidas. As for Reebok and Converse, their offers are not sincere, so there's no need to negotiate."

Zhang Guan thought of Manager Wang from Nike, with whom he had met twice. The second meeting, where Manager Wang had an innocent expression, made Zhang Guan feel somewhat sympathetic. He said, "Let's go with Nike. They have a sponsorship contract with the track and field team, so choosing them won't cause any conflicts."

"What about the duration? These endorsement contracts usually prefer long-term agreements," Zhuge Wenbo asked.

"Let's go for a shorter term, one or two years, and no more than four years," Zhang Guan said. He knew he had an incredible system, and with enough skill points, he could achieve success in multiple sports, so his commercial value would be higher in the future.

"I understand. If we want to extend the contract to the next Olympics, we'll need to negotiate for more money," Zhuge Wenbo said. As a manager, he knew that the peak of Zhang Guan's commercial value would be during the Olympics in the capital, so if advertisers wanted to continue using Zhang Guan, they would have to pay more.

"These are the other two endorsements, for a courier service and a cola brand. The prices are not low, and both have significant business volumes in China and strong brand values. I think we can sign these," Zhuge Wenbo said.

"Alright. Any more?" Zhang Guan looked at the remaining forms in Zhuge Wenbo's hand.

"No more endorsements for now, but there are many advertisements," Zhuge Wenbo handed over a third form and said, "We should screen them. If we accept all of them, we won't be able to complete them in the short term."

"White Medicine Aerosol, for bruises, muscle pain, and swelling... This is good. It's a traditional Chinese medicine, so we can accept it. Milk, 'a glass a day, strong Chinese,' and it's the top brand in China, so we can do it. Blue Bottle Calcium, as long as it's a legitimate drug approved by the drug administration, we can also accept it." Zhang Guan continued, "We can accept drug advertisements, but we should avoid health supplements. They often make false claims under the guise of drugs, which can harm our reputation."

"Understood," Zhuge Wenbo immediately agreed.

"Throat Lozenges!" Zhang Guan couldn't help but think of a certain international football superstar holding a medicine box and smiling foolishly. The product was effective, but the advertisement was silly.

"Let's put this on hold. It might affect our image," Zhang Guan continued, looking at the next few, which didn't appeal to him.

"Hey, why is the last one crossed out?" Zhang Guan pointed to the last item.

"I just crossed it out when I came in. It was originally a liquor advertisement with a high offer, but the General Administration has a rule that athletes cannot endorse tobacco or alcohol. So I crossed it out," Zhuge Wenbo explained.

"I support the General Administration on this. Smoking is harmful to health, and it's already regulated in other countries. Our country will likely implement similar regulations in the future. As for alcohol..."

Zhang Guan's mind flashed back to the incident in Athens where he got drunk at a party hosted by a Dubai prince and thought of her. He sighed, like a child who had done something wrong, "Alcohol is best avoided..."

...

After returning home, Zhang Guan didn't get much rest. Besides the advertisements, various welcome celebrations organized by the city and province took up a lot of his time. He attended the unveiling ceremony of a new sports field, gave speeches at schools, shot a tourism promotional video, toured the city in a car, and even visited retired athletes.

After the Olympic delegation disbanded, the coaches and athletes of various national teams returned to their respective units, which were either professional clubs or provincial sports centers. However, some athletes, like Zhang Guan, were not subject to this restriction. Athletes of Liu Xiang's level might see a decline if they trained at provincial centers, so even after the Olympic delegation disbanded, they had to report to the national training center.

The short holiday was about to end, but Zhang Guan managed to squeeze out two days. He boarded a flight to the Land of Abundance to find Old Chen. He didn't tell anyone and quietly arrived at the residential complex where Old Chen lived.

"Knock, knock, knock..." The knocking sound echoed.

"Coming!" The response mixed with footsteps approached, and the door opened to reveal a lady in her sixties.

"Who are you?" The lady clearly didn't recognize Zhang Guan.

Zhang Guan took off his glasses and mask and removed his hat.

"Oh my God, Zhang Guan! Zhang Guan! Old Chen! Come out quickly! Zhang Guan is here!" The lady shouted.

Then, Old Chen walked out, wearing gray shorts and a large tank top, holding a fan. He looked at Zhang Guan in surprise.

At that moment, Zhang Guan couldn't help but shed tears. He had seen his mentor again.

"Old Chen, I'm here..." Zhang Guan stepped forward, approached Old Chen, and took out his Olympic gold medal from his pocket, hanging it around Old Chen's neck.

"This... this is... this is the Olympic gold medal! The Olympic gold medal! It's really the Olympic gold medal!" Old Chen's voice trembled. The Olympic gold medal was his lifelong dream, and although he couldn't achieve it himself, his disciple had done it for him.

Old Chen's hands trembled as he carefully held the gold medal, gently touching every detail. Tears slowly rolled down his cheeks and fell onto the medal.

Old Chen had seen Olympic gold medals before, but this one was different. The gold medal belonged to his disciple, his most accomplished disciple! This was not just a passing of the torch between teacher and student but a continuation of his athletic career and his life!

It was an ordinary day, but for Old Chen, it was the most extraordinary day. On this day, the nearly seventy-year-old man finally realized his lifelong dream! He was happy, satisfied, and without regrets!

On this day, many people began their dreams!

But the world is full of people who are still striving for their dreams, passing through ordinary days on the path to their dreams, moving forward bravely, step by step...

In fact, every day on the path to one's dreams is extraordinary...

...

That night, Old Chen got drunk. Given his medical history, he shouldn't have drunk so much, but today was special. He wanted to get drunk. The next morning, when Zhang Guan left, Old Chen was still in bed, still in a state of intoxication.

The Olympic gold medal remained around Old Chen's neck. Zhang Guan didn't take it back; he decided to leave it with Old Chen.

This was Zhang Guan's first Olympic gold medal, with unparalleled significance.

But giving it to Old Chen, Zhang Guan didn't hesitate and had no regrets. The gold medal also belonged to Old Chen. For Old Chen, it marked the end of his athletic career.

But for Zhang Guan, the competition was just beginning...

(End of Volume 2)

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Regarding the rule that athletes cannot endorse alcohol, I found that there is such a rule, but Liu Xiang later endorsed a beer brand, and I don't understand why.

I'll only post one chapter today. Starting tomorrow, I'll begin the third volume. I just got off a night shift and have been working for two days straight. My brain is a mess, and I can't proofread the manuscript. I need to get some sleep now. Thank you to the following for your support: Moon's Madness, _修书暴徒_, Zhang Erdan, Xin Weixue, Quan18, Book Friend 140526001256810, Freehire, djctv, Zhu Luoyan, Da1 Cheng, Fashion Wind, Xingxue Rou, Super Big Dumpling, gigiliu5277. Thank you.

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