The Grandmother in the Siheyuan

Chapter 516 Men’s Football
Having obtained this information, the researchers finally breathed a sigh of relief. Although they had gained a lot of inspiration from helping their seniors with experiments, they still hadn't grasped the key points in their research on hydrogen-oxygen engines.

With the information provided by their boss, they finally found a research direction. No wonder their senior colleagues had been looking gloating when they were anxious these past few days.

It turns out they already had a plan in mind. The boss is indeed a boss; after all, he's an academician. How could he possibly think that a group of recent graduates could launch a rocket into space? There must have been technical guidance involved.

The laboratory is under construction, and the researchers are conducting preliminary research. Since receiving technical guidance from Liu Hua, they have gradually found joy in research.

Recently, there have been two sporting events in our country. One is that our country won the right to host the 2008 Olympic Games last year.

Another thing is that this year, South Korea and Japan co-hosted the World Cup. As the host country, we saved two spots, which benefited our country and allowed us to qualify for the World Cup.

You know, qualifying for the Olympics is easy, but qualifying for the World Cup is an absolutely incredible feat for us. Fans across the country are going crazy. No matter what, at least we've qualified for the World Cup.

With the tournament approaching, many people with spare cash flew to Japan and South Korea to watch the World Cup.

Rosamund Kwan once asked Lau Wah, "Brother-in-law, are you going to Japan and South Korea to watch the World Cup? I have some connections in South Korea and can get you tickets."

Liu Feifei complained, "Don't mention this. Because of the nature of your brother-in-law's work, he will basically never be able to go abroad in his life unless something special happens. Even my trip to Hong Kong will be restricted."

Rosamund Kwan, unaware of these circumstances, asked in bewilderment, "Why? Are you afraid you won't come back after you leave?"

Liu Hua shook his head: "It's not that I'm afraid I won't come back, it's that I'm afraid I won't be able to come back."

That's why the culture of planting flowers is so profound; the same few words, when rearranged, have different meanings.

Rosamund Kwan didn't understand and asked curiously, "Isn't it the same thing?"

"Of course, it's not the same thing." Liu Hua smiled. "According to you, it's that I didn't want to come back; according to me, there were unavoidable factors that prevented me from coming back."

Seeing that Rosamund Kwan was still confused, Liu Hua revealed the cruel truth to her.

"The world is not as peaceful as you imagine. Scientists like us, if we don't have a good impression of them, can really be killed. My safety can be guaranteed in China, but it's not certain once I go abroad."

"That can't be right, you're a famous scientist, after all."

"The more famous you are, the more likely you are to be on the list." Liu Hua smiled and said, "Back then, Qian Lao's journey back to China was not smooth sailing. His whole family was prepared to make sacrifices and wanted to protect him to the death. This world is actually very cruel, you just don't know it."

These celebrities, living in their own little world of happiness, have no idea how treacherous the world can be. They think that the various rules in the entertainment industry are the greatest evils in the world, and that it's nothing more than being blacklisted. Little do they know that the truth of the world is a thousand times more cruel than what they see.

The World Cup has officially started, and there are many fans in the research institute. As the world's number one sport, it has a lot of fans.

The Korea-Japan World Cup was full of upsets, with France being defeated by an unknown Senegal, and South Korea sending itself into the finals through various shameless tactics.

In comparison, our men's football team's performance was much worse, suffering several defeats and then slinking home in disgrace.

Liu Hua has been visiting various labs these past few days, giving lectures to researchers whenever he has a spare moment, and also hearing their complaints. "Teacher, have you watched the World Cup?"

Liu Hua nodded: "I watched it, but it wasn't very interesting. All I saw was South Korea's shameless behavior. They have no sportsmanship at all."

"Leaving aside South Korea, which is utterly shameless, let's look at our own team. Who would have thought they would be this bad? It's a disgrace."

Liu Hua laughed and said, "Don't be so absolute. You think this national football team is particularly bad, but maybe future national football teams will be even worse."

"How is that possible? It's already this bad, is there any room for it to fall any further?"

Liu Hua shook his head: "It's not easy to learn well, but it's just a matter of a few steps to learn badly. We can at least rank fifth in Asia, but there are more than forty teams in Asia, so there is a lot of room for us to fall."

One student, a football fan, pleaded almost desperately, "Teacher, please don't say such discouraging things anymore. We fans are suffering. If we lose to South Asian teams like those monkeys again, how are we supposed to survive?"

Liu Hua smiled gloatingly. "If you keep watching the national football team, your heart will probably be riddled with holes by the time you're forty, because not every team can be called a team that's particularly good at losing."

Seeing the teacher's pitying look, the student wailed, "When will our country's football finally improve?"

Liu Hua shook his head: "It's difficult. Ever since Gao Qiu fell, our national football team has not been able to stand up for more than a thousand years."

"Then we have no hope?"

Liu Hua smiled and said, "If you think about it from a different perspective, you might feel much better."

"Look at it from any angle. How can you feel good if you don't score or win?"

Liu Hua said with a smile, "Life is full of disappointments. Our country is developing rapidly and striving to be number one in everything, but the reality is that it is impossible to be number one in everything. So we have to exchange things. We have exchanged the luck of football."

"Exchange of luck?"

Liu Hua nodded: "Haven't you seen it on TV? In ancient times, when people prayed to gods and Buddhas, they would say that devout men and women were willing to exchange their lifespan for the good health of so-and-so. We are devout men and women, exchanging the luck of the national football team for the striving of other industries in our country."

The student fans were immediately invigorated. After all, they were scientists. Although they loved football, they hoped even more that their scientific research could reach new heights.

"Oh, teacher, I feel much better after hearing what you said."

Another student said unwillingly, "It's better to accept it, but I'm still not reconciled. Out of a population of over a billion, we can't find eleven people who can play football. That doesn't make sense in terms of probability."

Liu Hua joked, "Then you can think about it from another angle. Football is just a way for Western capital to confuse us. Smart people like you saw through their temptations and went to study science. If you hadn't seen through their deception and had all gone to play football, our football might have already reached the top of the world."

(End of this chapter)