Basketball Terminal

Chapter 34 A Useless Piece of Rice
Li Yue felt insulted by his brother. "You only provide food and lodging? Do I need you to provide that? We clearly eat and live together, and you eat much more than me. I'm easier to feed than you."

But Li Yue knew in his heart that the older brother now was not the same as before; he had changed. He had truly become a professional player, and a very stylish one at that, incredibly cool, calm and decisive, and a man of his word.

On the way back with Liu Suxian, she kept saying, "Your brother is so cool, especially when he gives you money." Sure enough, men are most handsome when they pay, right?
However, Li Yue didn't use the $10 to call a taxi for Liu Suxian. Instead, he took her to the bus stop, put her on the bus, and tossed in a coin. After all, her home wasn't far from there.

Enraged, Liu Suxian opened the window and yelled at Li Yue, "I'll never let you fuck me in my life!" Li Yue shrugged, thinking, "Fine, I'll fuck you then," and stuffed $10 into his pocket, enough for a McDonald's meal.

When Li Yue got home, he regretted it a little. What if Liu Suxian really wouldn't let him have sex with her? Although she wasn't particularly pretty, she had a great figure, straight legs, no excess fat, and smooth skin.

Going back to flirt with someone else? That's too much trouble. I'm not exactly handsome, and I'm obsessed with sneakers. It's not easy to pick up a girl. In New York, Chinese girls tend to prefer white men, though some like black men. Chinese guys, on the other hand, are in the lower-middle tier of the mating food chain, only slightly better than Indians or Pakistanis.

In fact, among other ethnic groups, such as various white ethnicities, Swedish, German, and British girls, Asian men don't have a bad image, and many date, fall in love, or even marry Asian men. However, within the same ethnic group, Chinese women generally look down on Chinese men and prefer to date or marry men from other ethnicities.

In Flushing, it's incredibly difficult to find a white woman with a good figure and looks to date. The average white woman is often out of shape, resembling a spittoon, and if she has any other odor, she's even more of a slut. Li Yue's aesthetic sense is similar to his brother's; he prefers graceful Asian women, like Kim Mi-won—tall, long-legged, and alluringly sexy older women—who practically make him drool.

Moreover, Kim Mi-won always takes the initiative to visit Li Wei, so it seems that her older brother must have some extraordinary abilities.

Li Yue could have easily gotten Liu Suxian, a lower-tier version of her, even if he had just held back, but damn it, he couldn't resist. Between $10 and her, Li Yue still felt that $10 was a better deal.

I kept thinking about this, feeling both regret and no regret, both pity and indifference, it was just a trivial matter.

Upon hearing Li Wei's suggestion, Li Yue was initially dismissive, but then he thought it might really be an opportunity. His older brother was a professional player; he might actually make it to the NBA someday. Once he followed in his footsteps and made it big, even someone like Liu Suxian fawning over him wouldn't be pleasing to the eye.

Furthermore, Li Yue is confused about his future career. He can't get into a good university, and he'll probably end up like his brother, going to a community college to learn some skills and get a diploma. After graduating, he won't be able to find a job and will go back to the shop to inherit the laundry business.

My brother is at least 2 meters tall and has a great physique. His talent has really come out and he's made a name for himself. Even if he doesn't play professionally in the future, he can still become a basketball influencer and earn a lot of money.

In Li Yue's case, the genes fully demonstrated their diversity: he was only 1.7 meters tall, short and thin, and looked just like his father, Li Manshun. He didn't inherit his mother Chen Lihua's tall and imposing figure from Northeast China; all of that went to Li Wei.

Li Wei's personality used to be more like Li Manshun's, while Li Yue was more easygoing, like their mother. Now, Li Yue's personality advantage is gone too.

While still hesitating, Li Wei took out his phone, opened the NetsDaily website, and showed Li Yue the game report of today's Long Island Nets vs. Westchester Knicks.

"...In the end, the Long Island Nets defeated the Westchester Knicks by 6 points. Nets player, number 26 Victor Lee, scored 20 points, 13 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks, and was the biggest...biggest contributor to the team's preseason victory!" Lee read through the key parts of the news and could hardly believe his eyes.

"Brother, you didn't set up a fake website to fool me, did you?" Li Yue was suspicious, so he took out his phone and searched online. There really was such a game, and the game result was exactly the same as the game report. Moreover, the news cover was a close-up photo of Li Wei wearing the number 26 jersey blocking the opponent.

"Wow, big brother, you've become so strong now? Do you think I deserve some credit for this?"

"What credit did you get?"

"My AJ35!"

"You're absolutely right. I wear out my shoes a lot during matches, so I'll take another pair from you and give you another credit. Do you have any larger sizes?"

"Hey! No, no! It's gone, it's gone!"

Li Yue didn't receive a penny of salary and also lost a pair of sneakers.

With the hope of being able to rely on his brother in the future, the threat that his sneakers might be taken if he didn't agree, and the temptation of Li Wei giving him another $100 in pocket money, Li Yue agreed to become Li Wei's assistant under the combined influence of these three factors.

Anyway, the schoolwork was easy, he got out of school early every day, and weekends were free time, so he had plenty of energy to be his older brother's little follower.

The next morning, Saturday, the team had a day off. Li Wei went out to walk the dog and took Li Yue with him to the park to get the medicine from Luo Ping. Although this stuff wasn't a drug, trading it privately was still risky; getting caught would be a lot of trouble.

In New York, most Black people on the streets like Luo Ping have some gang background, otherwise they wouldn't be able to get cheap and effective medicine. If the police start watching him and also target Li Wei, it will be very troublesome.

Li Wei informed Li Yue of the risks beforehand, saying, "If you see someone on the street who isn't paying attention and is staring at you, they might be a cop. Don't do business where there are police around, and never go to predominantly Black neighborhoods. Only go to Flushing or the vicinity of Hong Le. If you get into trouble and get arrested, just give me away. Don't try to be a hero; I'll figure out how to handle it." Li Yue nodded to indicate that he understood.

In Luo Ping's car, Li Wei introduced his younger brother to Luo Ping and said that all future transactions between the two of them would be conducted through Li Yue, and they would contact each other privately.

Li Yue immediately recognized that Luo Ping was wearing AJ23s. These sneakers, with their elaborate design and intricate embroidery, are said to have a high collectible value due to the scarcity of counterfeits. Seeing such fine sneakers, Li Yue was full of praise and started chatting with Luo Ping about them. Luo Ping, also a serious sneaker enthusiast, found common ground and quickly got into a lively conversation.

Hearing that the shoes were quite valuable and brand new, Li Wei asked Luo Ping where the money came from. Luo Ping replied, "Are you crazy, brother? Of course, it's from you! Buying medicine, plus contract commissions—you're my sugar daddy, my good brother."

It seems Luo Ping had barely earned any money from Li Wei before spending it all. Savings? Forget about it. Most Black men believe that money should be spent immediately to maintain the motivation to earn more.

Li Wei told Luo Ping to stay in touch with McCallien and continue to promote himself to him, trying to secure a short-term contract with the Nets. After much thought, he felt that the McCallien route was the most feasible. If someone has appreciated you before, they are likely to continue to appreciate you; people have a tendency to be consistent.

"If I get a short-term contract, the old rule applies: I'll give you 10% commission."

How much money could it be?

"This season's salary should be around $40,000, and I'll pay it before tax."

“I will definitely keep this in mind, brother. I’m counting on you now, my dear Viktor.”

"If anything happens in the future, please contact my brother first. I'm going to Florida soon, so please take care of him. Thank you, buddy."

Li Wei is about to leave for a competition in Florida, and besides his assistant's affairs, he has another important matter to attend to: getting his driver's license.

After sending Ah Zhong and Li Yue back to Hong Le, they explained to Li Yue the details of feeding and walking the dog, and told him to take good care of the house, not to cause trouble, and to call if there were any problems.

Li Wei didn't know how long he would be gone this time. If it was quick, he might be released after playing one game. If it was slow, it would take a month to finish the season. Unless there was an urgent matter, he couldn't leave during that time, so Li Wei had to make detailed arrangements.

Li Yue listened attentively and suddenly said, "Brother, if only you had always been like this."

Li Wei didn't speak, but gently patted Li Yue's head. Li Yue lowered his head to pat Ah Zhong's head, and almost got bitten.

"You damned dog! I'll stew you as soon as my brother's gone!"
-
Li Wei called Jin Meiyuan and asked her to drive to Hongle to pick him up and take him to his road test. Jin Meiyuan sounded unhappy on the phone, saying, "I have to drive to see you again. When are you ever going to see me?"

"When you owe our store money, come on, we've bought you a gift."

With a little coaxing, Kim Mi-won drove up to Hong Le, since there wasn't much business at the store that morning. Li Wei got in the car and gave Kim Mi-won a bouquet of white daisies. The flowers weren't very vibrant; they were clearly the first batch to bloom in February.

But Kim Mi-won was still very happy and asked Lee Wei where the flower came from. Lee Wei told the truth: "I picked it in the park this morning while walking the dog."

"You little brat, you're going to drive me crazy every day. Ugh, fine, I'll take you to your driving test. From now on, you can drive to me."

Li Wei previously took the written driving test at the New York DMV, which took only half an hour to complete. After submitting the test, he waited for notification to take the road test.

The road test was scheduled for today. You'll need to bring your own car, and the examiner will get in and instruct you on how to complete a series of driving requirements. If you pass the test, you can get your driver's license after a while. It's that simple.

Upon arriving at the testing site and queuing, when it was Li Wei's turn, Jin Meiyuan got out of the car to wait. Li Wei got into the driver's seat, and the instructor, wearing a mask and a reflective vest, got into the car. He first asked Li Wei a few technical terms, then started the engine and instructed him to complete a series of driving commands.

The interviewer was a talkative Black man. Seeing Li Wei's height, he casually asked if he liked playing basketball. Li Wei said he was a player for the Long Island Nets, which surprised the interviewer. After checking his information and confirming it was correct, the interviewer quickly started chatting with Li Wei.

As a result, the entire test consisted of Li Wei driving around, while the examiner gave instructions and chatted with Li Wei. In the end, he secretly told Li Wei that he had passed, "No basketball player can't drive."

Back at the waiting point, Li Wei rolled down the car window and said to Jin Meiyuan, who had been waiting impatiently, "Hey, it's all good now. Let's have lunch and celebrate."

"How will we celebrate?"

Li Wei flicked the fox tail hanging on the rearview mirror and said, "Let's do it both ways."

Kim Mi-won blushed, cursing him as a pervert, but her legs went weak involuntarily, and she obediently got into the car.

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(End of this chapter)