November 12, 2007, is a special day.

When people tuned in on time to watch the morning news, today's Channel 1 spent a full 30 seconds reporting a piece of news about a Chinese footballer.

It briefly introduced Chen Zhong's story of joining Real Madrid in 2005 and also edited a few of Chen Zhong's goals and blocks, recounting how Chen Zhong broke multiple domestic, Asian, and world records.

Of course, what impressed people the most was Chen Zhong's salary.

Although Channel 1 just mentioned in passing that Chen Zhong's new contract salary is 2.1 million Euros (about 1 million Euros after tax), that simple mention left a deep impression on the viewers.

The tax rate in Spain is quite high; if your annual salary exceeds 300,000 Euros, the tax rate will reach 52%.

Yet even so, Chen Zhong's salary surpassed the original highest salary in Chinese football held by Sun Jihai. Called the "Chinese Sun," Sun Jihai received an 8.5 million RMB annual salary contract after joining Manchester City.

It's notable that during his eight years at Dalian, Sun Jihai only earned about 300,000 to 400,000 RMB, and Fan Zhiyi, while playing in China, had a monthly salary of merely 2,500 RMB, which was the highest in the Shen Hua team at the time.

If Sun Jihai were to return to play in China now, his treatment would certainly be top-tier in the league, but this salary would probably only be around 3 million RMB, which is why domestic players are willing to play abroad—because they can earn more overseas.

When this report aired, it was like a bomb dropped into deep water. Originally, Chen Zhong was just a name people were familiar with, but once his salary was revealed, he instantly became a household "genius."

"Oh my gosh, 16 years old with a million annual salary! Hundreds of thousands a month?"

"Is football really that profitable? I almost want to let my child play football too."

"I remember the Manchester United Director only earned a few million RMB a year, right? This kid is really something."

"I think the Manchester United Director had a monthly salary of about 20,000 pounds, around 300,000 pounds a year; this Real Madrid Chen is really making money!"

"So promising, this kid is so promising! If my kid had half his talent, I'd laugh myself awake from dreams at night."

Everywhere in the streets, people were discussing Chen Zhong. Football training institutions and interest classes emerged all over the country like mushrooms after rain. Many parents were willing to let their children spend a bit of energy on football—what if they have talent? They could earn millions a year too!

Millions are too much; even a few hundreds of thousands would do!

This wave of enthusiasm even spawned many "industries," such as crudely made T-shirts with "Real Madrid 22" and Chen Zhong's name, plastic bobblehead star toys, and even small cards, etc.

After Channel 1's broadcast, major newspapers and publications were quick to follow. They provided detailed accounts of how Chen Zhong joined Real Madrid in 2004 and his outstanding performances on the field this season.

Any newspaper or publication that included these details attracted great interest among readers.

Of course, the focus of fans and average citizens was not on the same wavelength. Most people were concerned with how they could set their children on Chen Zhong's path and earn a million annual salary.

However, among this, some "experts" spoke up, urging the public not to focus too much on money, to which the public responded with "bullshit," saying, if we're not after money, why let our kids play football?

Football in the country was thriving, and during this time, there were many laughable and tear-inducing events. Some people made a fortune while others were genuine about football's development and put in great effort. Amidst the "national participation" craze, many promising talents were discovered, but how many of these talents could ultimately persevere remains a big question mark.

...

Chen Zhong learned about some happenings in his home country through his parents.

When Chen Zhong received a phone call from his parents, he was a bit dumbfounded. He finally learned that he had been featured in Channel 1's morning news. When Chen Zhong's new contract rose to 2.1 million Euros, his parents were already ecstatic, and when speaking in front of relatives, their voices were a pitch higher.

But now, their son appeared on Channel 1's morning news, further making them feel as if their son had truly made them proud.

A contract, double the happiness, this contract was truly worth signing.

After chatting with his parents for a while, Chen Zhong was planning to head out and start his training for the day. He now had a daily training plan to help improve or maintain the necessary attributes; however, before he could leave,

Chen Zhong received another call from Pimenta. Pimenta is Raiola's assistant, and she mainly helps handle some of Chen Zhong's trivial matters, such as commercial endorsements, contract negotiations, and press interviews.

"Chen!"

"What's happened recently?"

"Today I received calls from the club and brands."

"The endorsements, interviews, and invitations are too many. My goodness, I even suspect I'm dreaming."

Chen Zhong's sudden rise to fame came unexpectedly. Quick-reacting media and brands had already contacted the club and Chen Zhong's agent overnight to begin collaborations.

Upon getting this news, Raiola's first reaction was to pressure the club.

Simply put, he wanted to say, ah, this new contract, I suddenly feel like it's not that perfect, we need to raise the conditions.

For Raiola, face is not very important; his survival in the agent world depends wholly on fighting for the player's interests.

However, Pimenta persuaded Raiola otherwise, because when Chen Zhong signed with Raiola, they had already discussed how to handle similar situations. Raiola had to step back and hand everything over to Pimenta.

Chen Zhong has already shown his "potential," a potential Raiola has only felt before in his player Zlatan Ibrahimovic, and Mendes' player Cristiano Ronaldo. They had already become new idols and the new flag bearers of football in their respective countries.

These are the characters who could, with their own power, become symbols of a nation.

After a brief communication, Chen Zhong and Pimenta accepted some brand advertisements and news interviews. However, to not disrupt his training and daily routine, there weren't many engagements he could take on.

Pimenta understood this, acknowledging that what's most important for Chen Zhong now is to improve himself.

Then, he turned to those people and said, Chen Zhong's time is limited, and he personally doesn't want to spend too much energy on these matters, so... they need to pay more...

The highest bidder wins...

This is reasonable, right?

...

England, Manchester

Manchester United Director appeared somewhat depressed within the club. Earlier this year, he signed a "professional contract" with the club, which means he is now qualified to play in official matches for Manchester United.

He has become the fourth Chinese player to join the Premier League, following Sun Jihai, Li Tie, and Zheng Zhi.

However, last season, he only had one opportunity to play for Manchester United. In the preseason matches of the new season, he started in a game and scored a goal, but the media touted it as a "Ronaldo-style" goal in subsequent reports.

The proud Manchester United Director was finding it increasingly difficult to endure all this. He believed he was just wasting time here, thinking he could go anywhere with his talent.

The only motivation keeping him going now is a burning desire to see if he can squeeze another chance in the limited opportunities provided, such as...

The Champions League group stage...

Manchester United Director recently heard rumors that Ferguson might give him a chance to play in the group stage.

When that time comes, he must use a goal to tell everyone.

He, Manchester United Director, is the "new King."

Cristiano Ronaldo, after finishing training, was heading to the gym for another round of extra training. He glanced at the Chinese man, knowing how highly Ferguson once valued this man.

It's just that...

He was indeed a bit lazy.

C. Ronaldo once considered Manchester United Director a rival and goal. After all, back then, they were both the "rising stars" of the team, starting from essentially the same point, but soon, C. Ronaldo realized he had seemingly chosen the wrong opponent...

He heard many rumors, like Manchester United Director altering his age, the most exaggerated being a change of four years, while the more believable were changes of one or two years. He even said in front of Ferguson, "Body is strong, no need for extra training."

The most crucial point was his indifferent attitude during conversations with Ferguson, which led to his current predicament.

C. Ronaldo retracted his gaze, training while thinking about matters concerning Real Madrid.

It had always been his dream to join Real Madrid, his ultimate "Royal Dream," though he hadn't yet made up his mind to leave. Nonetheless, he kept an eye on news from Real Madrid.

Chen Zhong?

If he joined Real Madrid, maybe Chen Zhong could be a good assistant!

After all, I am the best player in the world!

But this time, would he again choose the wrong opponent?

Nobody knows.

...

On the other side, after finishing training at Sports City, Chen Zhong encountered Nacho, who came looking for him, with disbelief written all over his face. He looked at Chen Zhong and said, "Chen, do you know?"

"That stubborn kid is coming to our youth academy."

That stubborn kid, Alvaro Morata, initially started at Atletico Madrid's youth academy, then transferred to Getafe. Chen Zhong had played against him in the youth teams and could only say that this kid had quite the temper.

"That's normal."

"We are Real Madrid, after all."

Real Madrid's first team wants the best players in the world, and the youth academy wants the most promising talents. This is all normal, but even if Morata were to come over, he would still have to climb up from the youth C.B.A teams, then to Real Madrid C team, then Castilla, before finally getting a chance to come to Real Madrid.

"I got it!"

Now, Nacho, captain of the Castilla team, said seriously, "Don't worry, I'll teach him the rules."

Watching Nacho's determined back, Chen Zhong was a bit confused, suddenly feeling that Nacho seemed more foolish than Carvajal. No, what rules are you teaching? What are you going to do?

Real Madrid's biggest internal "evil force" is forming.

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