Almighty Coach

BOT was the abbreviated version of "BUILD, OPERATE, and TRANSFER," which referred to the transferring method of civilian construction after operation. The government had appointed a civilian company to build and operate construction for a while, but later took back the construction responsibilities and ran it by themselves.

The major focus of BOT were infrastructure constructions. The government did not have enough money to operate, so it transferred its rights to civilian companies. Those companies constructed buildings. The companies had a period of time to run the construction before they had to give it back to the government. Through this method, the companies could make up for the constructions fees, as well as benefit from the builds.

The Channel Tunnel was a famous BOT case. The entire project had cost twelve billion dollars, but the UK and France had not agreed on the cost. During the period when the two countries had decided to build the tunnel, Margaret Thatcher was in control of the UK, while President Mitterrand was in control of France. Neither of them were willing to pay the cost of construction, so they chose to adopt the BOT method.

The Provincial Youth Games were being held in the Civilian Sports Center, which had been built through BOT. According to the contract, the first several years of management rights belonged to the Continental Corporation. Because of this, having a competition in that particular building was undoubtedly stepping on Continental’s territory.

Coach Zhuang was really hoping someone could ask what BOT was for him so he could satisfy his curiosity while keeping his reputation intact. However, when he looked around, the other coaches all had the same knowledgeable look on their faces. It seemed like everyone except for Coach Zhuang knew what BOT was.

"Seriously? Am I the only one who does not know?" Coach Zhuang was upset. In fact, most of the coaches had no idea what BOT was, but because nobody wanted to risk embarrassing themselves, nobody asked.

Chief Coach Lu said, "Coach Li is considerate. We cannot offend the Continental Corporation. What if they take their funding away? Moreover, we are going to compete in their territory."

"But what if that Haiquan Fang is unwilling to attend? As a rich kid, he must not have sufficient skills. If he was to come in last place, it would be a shame! Perhaps his family would complain about our decision!" Coach Zhuang acted as a critic, nitpicking the decision.

Dai Li immediately argued back, "Whether Haiquan Fang likes it or not, I think we should give him a chance. One, because it shows our attention to Haiquan Fang, and two, because we are doing them a favor. If Haiquan Fang does not want to go, he can ask for an abstention. But it would be a completely different thing if we did not give him a chance at all."

"I agree. It is just a number anyway. It does not make much of a difference to us, but it is a good way to show our attitudes. It is like sending a gift: regardless of if the receiver likes it or not, we still sent them something! That’s out of our consideration. All in all, I say we need to give Haiquan Fang a chance, and I think the leaders will support us," Coach Lu said, making the final decision.

Coach Zhuang looked like he had been humiliated. He always tried to give Dai Li trouble, but always ended up with trouble in return. He was still wondering what BOT was, so he was concerned about letting his tongue slip. It was such a terrible feeling!

Dai Li, you must do this on purpose! Wait here and see, once I get good achievements in the games, the day I’m promoted will be the day you die! Coach Zhuang thought ferociously.

Dai Li took a deep breath. Haiquan Fang’s competence was good enough to attend adult competitions, let alone the youth games. But instead of revealing the secret, he had used Haiquan Fang’s rich father as a shield.

Dai Li already knew the principle: in competitions like this, where the numbers of participants were limited, it was hard to get a chance purely through ability; it was much easier to have some type of network. Continental Corporation’s fame was the best excuse!

It had proved to be a good idea. Coach Lu had approved of letting Haiquan Fang go, and no one had disagreed.

...

As the game approached, Li increased Haiquan Fang’s workload again.

Monday afternoon, after they had eaten lunch, Dai Li was on his way back to his dorm. He took out his phone to search for a shared bike. A black Maybach halted in front of Li.

The door opened, and a man stepped out. Li took a closer look and recognized that the man was Manager Fang’s assistant.

"Coach Li, Manager Fang is waiting in the car. He wants to talk to you about Haiquan Fang," said the assistant.

"No problem," Dai Li nodded. He bent over to get into the car. The assistant gently closed the door. The driver got out and stood outside.

"A Maybach, what a nice car," Dai Li sighed. He subconsciously touched the black dermal seat; it was really nice. Then he turned to Manager Fang and said, "Good afternoon, Manager Fang. What can I do for you?"

Manager Fang nodded his head gently and said, "I am having a dinner party soon, so I will make it short. I want you to persuade Haiquan Fang to give up long jumping and study in the UK."

Dai Li was in a daze. He had never expected Fang to make such a request. He asked confusingly, "Why me?"

"Because I have never seen a person that Haiquan Fang admires so much. You are important to him, so I think you would be the best one to persuade him," said Manager Fang.

Dai Li was even more confused. He did not understand what was going on.

Fang explained, "Recently, when Haiquan Fang went back home for the weekend, he said a lot about you. He said that you are the best and most skillful coach he has ever met. Before you, we had employed several coaches for him, but none of them had ever received such good compliments. He must trust and listen to you. So I am hoping that you can tell him that he is not suitable for the long jump, and to stop doing the wrong thing."

Dai Li had enjoyed the first part of what Manager Fang had said because it was praise. But the latter was nowhere near as enjoyable. Dai Li immediately shook his head to express his attitude.

"Haiquan Fang is gifted in the long jump. Even the national team does not have a talented long jumper like him. He was born to do this," said Dai Li.

Dai Li was not exaggerating. Previously, when he had been in the Beikou Training Center, he had detected a lot of athletes there. The fact was that even on the national team, there were only a few A-level talent athletes; most of them were only B-level. There was no A-level long jumper on the national team, so even if Haiquan Fang went to the national team, he would still be the most talented person there.

However, Mananger Fang seemed to misunderstand Dai Li. He took out a check and gave it to him.

"What is this for, Manager Fang?" He did not understand.

"Take a look first," Fang said emotionlessly.

"Oh my! How many zeros are there behind two? One, two, three, four... it’s a 200,000 yuan check!" Dai Li’s hand quivered. He had never held such a large amount of money in his hand.

"If you can help persuade my son, this check is yours!" Manager Fang said crisply.