Almighty Coach

In the human resources meeting room, Director Zhao looked at Dai Li with a smile.

"Li, you are still an assisting section-level cadre, right? Do you plan to be promoted to the section level?" Director Zhao asked with a smile.

Dai Li was surprised immediately. He thought he wouldn’t meet a good end this time, but he was not prepared for a mention of promotion.

Director Zhao’s smile widened and he said, "A good opportunity is in your hand. The Table Tennis Association thinks highly of your work performance and trusts your competence, so we plan to transfer you to act as the Vice Committee Director of the Committee for the Application of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Tai Chi. In this position, you could enjoy the treatment of a county-level cadre."

"The Committee for the Application of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Tai Chi?" Dai Li was surprised again, for he had never heard about this organization.

Director Zhao nodded seriously. "Right. We are planning to transfer you to the Committee for the Application of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Tai Chi, which may be new to you. Let me give you a brief introduction. This organization is mainly responsible for the application of the intangible cultural heritage of Tai Chi. You should know something about the intangible cultural heritage, right?"

Dai Li nodded in confusion. He was still trying to figure out the meaning of Director Zhao’s words.

Then Director Zhao started the introduction volubly, "As the national essence of China’s traditional martial arts, Tai Chi has a lot of genres, and is quite popular with the public. Now Tai Chi has spread to over 150 countries and regions in the world. Tai Chi has been listed in the directory of the first batch of China’s intangible cultural heritages. The global applications of the intangible cultural heritage of Tai Chi will be the key work to do next."

"Director Zhao, I am a sport coach. I know nothing about martial arts," Dai Li said.

"Martial arts are one part of sports," Director Zhao said, smiling. "Tai Chi is an important cultural name card of China; so the application work for Tai Chi is very important. The application will not be easy. Although China is the birthplace of Tai Chi, countries like South Korea are trying to claim Tai Chi. In addition, in previous years, the Taekkyeon of South Korea and Yoga of India have been included in the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists. Our application for Tai Chi is far behind the other countries."

Then Director Zhao continued to talk about this issue with informative and instructive content. According to his description, the application of the intangible cultural heritage for Tai Chi was almost as important as the research of nuclear weapons.

Dai Li pondered it a bit, then said, "Director Zhao, could you leave me some time to think about it?"

"It’s not necessary. Your transfer has been determined by the management level. For you, it is also an opportunity to be promoted to the section-level. Li, the decision of your transfer has been made after careful consideration. Please work hard in your new position." Director Zhao’s words meant Dai Li’s transfer was nonnegotiable.

At this moment, Dai Li realized that the so-called Vice Committee Director of the Committee for the Application of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Tai Chi and the treatment of the section-level cadre were actually an Irish promotion for him.

What Zhizhong Gu got was also a demotion. He was promoted as a Vice Chairman of the Table Tennis Association. Although this position was leisure work, he was still in the system of Table Tennis. The demotion for Dai Li directly kicked him out of the competitive sport system.

The Vice Committee Director of the Committee for the Application of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Tai Chi sounded pretty good, but it was actually leisure work.

The application of cultural heritages, especially the intangible cultural heritages, was almost the same as attempting to win a Nobel Prize. Even if a Noble Prize level research achievement had been worked out, winning the Nobel Prize still required good timing, geographical convenience, and good human relations together with years or even decades of waiting. The application of cultural heritages was similar; it needed good timing, geographical convenience, and good human relations together with accumulation of time.

Therefore, for Dai Li, the Vice Committee Director of the Committee for the Application of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Tai Chi was a cage which could lock him away for a lifetime. If the application of Tai Chi was not rejected for 20 or 30 years, Dai Li might have to act as the Vice Director for 20 or 30 years, and then retire placidly as a section-level cadre.

As Dai Li thought of this possibility, a chill and desolation rose in his heart. He was in his early 20s, which was a perfect age to start a business; but now he was offered leisure work he had to do till his retirement.

But Dai Li could not find a place to reason that out. He was offered a promotion from the assisting section-level to the section-level, which should be for his own good.

At this moment, the idea of resignation flashed in Dai Li’s heart again. He wanted to get out of this system.

In those years, when Dai Li’s place was taken by Xuexi Zhuang, he thought about resigning. Later, when his opportunity of learning abroad was taken by others, he thought about resigning again.

At that time, Dai Li just thought about resigning, but he was not brave enough to put it into action.

A job in the public institution, which could ensure gains no matter what happened, was irresistible for a young man.

Now, Dai Li had grown a lot, and he had to plan for his future.

When Dai Li stepped out of the gate of the Table Tennis Association, he couldn’t help thinking of Zhizhong Gu.

Dai Li remembered, when he had just joined the National Table Tennis Team, the delightful expression of Zhizhong Gu as he introduced the national system of the table tennis event.

Dai Li could also remember Zhizhong Gu’s proud expression when he pointed at Chinese sponsors during Dai Li’s first overseas match experience in Sweden.

Dai Li knew Zhizhong Gu really loved the National Table Tennis Team, but now what had he gotten...?

Dai Li’s heart was filled with courage suddenly. Although he hadn’t made a plan for his future, he knew it was the time for him to leave.

To get out of this system!

...

After submitting the resignation application, Dai Li got a relaxed feeling suddenly.

I am free again! Dai Li smiled with self-mockery. He got a presentiment that he had chosen a difficult path.

Inside the country, a coach, especially a high-level coach, had almost nothing he could do outside of the system. And the reason was that almost all high-level athletes were included in the system. Therefore, if a coach wanted to achieve anything, the system was essential.

I have saved some money these years. Maybe I could go back to my hometown in Yuzhou to open a gym. With my reputation of the former coach of the national team, I guess it wouldn’t be difficult for me to reach the subsistence level.

Dai Li had indeed saved some money in the years he’d been working. He had lived in the dormitory and eaten in the canteen of his working unit. He spent very little on clothing and food; and he didn’t buy any expensive commodities, let alone a car or an apartment. He didn’t even have a girlfriend. As a bachelor, he saved a lot of money in his salary.

The treatment in the National Table Tennis Team had also been satisfactory. The sponsors were really supportive. After the matches, if an athlete won a championship, the coach would also be rewarded. Especially for the Olympic Games not long ago, Dai Li had received a bonus of many hundreds of thousands of Yuan during the commendation meeting.

Dai Li estimated his savings would be enough to open a gym in Yuzhou, which was a third-tier city in China. Of course, his money was far from enough to open a high-end gym with a swimming pool, sauna, and massage room, but should be more than enough to open a small one.

If the gym is not profitable, I could go back to my old business by opening a training class. I guess I could easily make two to three hundred thousand Yuan a year, Dai Li figured.

Now Dai Li was no longer the nameless university graduate. His experience in the national team could absolutely make him the number one coach in Yuzhou. If he wanted to open a training class, he could easily enroll trainees with a standard charge which was two or three times the average.

...

After packing up his luggage, Dai Li left Jingcheng and returned to Yuzhou, which was his hometown.

Prior to his departure, Dai Li bade farewell to Zhizhong Gu and Li Xue, who didn’t try to persuade Dai Li to stay after being informed of Dai Li’s transfer to the Committee for the Application of the Intangible Cultural Heritages of Tai Chi.

In fact, if Dai Li wanted, he could go back to the track and field team. The gold content of a physical trainer in the National Table Tennis Team was quite high. With the support of Li Xue, Dai Li could absolutely start anew in the track and field team.

It would also be no problem for Dai Li to go back to the provincial team. No provincial team could say no to a coach who used to work in the national team. If Dai Li wanted, he could get a position in a provincial team at any time. Some training teams would even offer him an extra sum as a settling-in allowance.

However, after all this time, Dai Li didn’t want to stay in the system anymore.

Upon Dai Li’s return, the happiest people would be Dai Li’s parents, who were about to retire and naturally hoped to keep their son company.

In addition, Dai Li was old enough to have his own family. After his return, his parents started to look for a girlfriend for him and arrange blind dates.

Dai Li was busy finding a venue. He still planned to open his gym, which could at least earn enough money to support his life instead of burning through his cash reserves; otherwise, if a girl asked about his career during the blind date, Dai Li’s reply of joblessness would be too embarrassing.

...

"With several residential areas nearby, this place is pretty good. But the rental is too high. Could you ask the landlord to lower the rental a bit?" Dai Li said to a real estate agent.

"Actually, the price for this location is really not high. You should know the average price of apartments nearby has exceeded RMB 10,000 per square meter. Also, the landlord told me someone who was introduced by another agent is also interested in this place," the real estate agent said seriously.

Dai Li sighed helplessly. The average price of apartments in Yuzhou, which was barely able to be regarded as a third-tier city, had exceeded RMB 10,000 per square meter, and the price kept rising. Whenever a new residential area was launched, hundreds of people would line up to snap up apartments. Dai Li couldn’t understand why so many wealthy people were without apartments.

"I am going to rent this place for a long time. According to the current price, I have to pay a lot more for the rental. Never mind, let me have a look at other places." Dai Li turned around and was ready to go.

"How about I discuss this with the landlord and see if the price could be further lowered?" Seeing that Dai Li had lost interest in that place, the agent immediately changed his tone. Obviously, renting this venue would not be as difficult as the agent made it seem.

Just at this moment, Dai Li’s mobile phone rang. A strange number appeared on the screen of his mobile phone.

Is it a number from the area of Qingcheng? Is someone in the provincial team calling me? Dai Li hesitated for two seconds, then he picked up the phone.

"Hello?" Dai Li said.

"Coach Li, this is Dalu Fang speaking," the voice on the phone said.

"Chairman Fang?" Dai Li was a little bit surprised, for he didn’t expect the caller to be Dalu Fang, who was the Chairman of Dalu Group and also the father of Haiquan Fang.

"Coach Li, Haiquan told me you have resigned from the national team, right?" Dalu Fang asked.

"Yes, I have resigned." Dai Li didn’t conceal the issue.

"Then have you already found a new job?" Dalu Fang continued to ask.

"Not yet. I am planning to open a gym," Dai Li answered.

"I see!" Dalu Fang paused a bit, then he said, "I have a job vacancy here. I don’t know whether you would be interested or not."