I, Yan Jiefang, will live to 2025 in this courtyard house.

If Yan Jiefang is removed, the Beijing men's basketball team is actually quite strong, or even very strong.

They should at least rank in the top three in this National Games. (The champion this time was the Beijing team, with a record of 9 wins and 2 losses.)

During the basketball group stage match that evening, Yan Jiefang sat on the bench for several hours at the Workers' Stadium.

The head coach's exact words were,

"Tonight's opponent is just the average Heilongjiang team, so there's absolutely no need for you, their secret weapon, to appear."

In addition, you have a 4x100 relay race tomorrow, so you need to conserve your energy.

"We'll see how things go later, and then we'll give you a chance to play."

The reasoning is sound and completely irrefutable.

And in the evening's match, the Beijing team did indeed win.

Yan Jiefang simply nodded, without saying a single word.

The reality is clear to anyone with eyes to see.

Putting everything else aside, you're letting other substitutes go up to practice their skills, so you're just preventing me from playing, right?

I'm not made of clay.

Moreover, many of the supporters from Factory 774 who specifically bought tickets to watch Yan Jiefang play were very disappointed when they didn't see him on the court.

As a result, the head coach died that night from a cerebral hemorrhage despite attempts to save him.

All I can say is that you have to walk your own path, and how it turns out depends on how well you conduct yourself.

In the relay race on the second day, Yan Jiefang ran the last leg. He tried his best but was only one body length ahead of the second-place team (Guangdong).

They were the original world champions of this National Games and broke the record!

Their overall strength is undeniable.

Even Yan Jiefang had to give a thumbs up.

Fortunately, he did not disappoint the 774 Factory cheerleading team, turning the tide at the last moment and winning the game.

Although the Guangdong team was very disappointed, several players came over to shake hands with Yan Jiefang in a friendly manner.

"Wow, you're really sharp, handsome!"

Yan Jiefang was a little embarrassed by the "handsome guy" he called out, but it still sounded quite warm.

After all, "handsome guy" is quite popular in later generations, and it's everywhere online.

Today's group stage match is against the formidable Liaoning team.

The scores of the two teams kept fluctuating, and the gap between them was not widening at all.

In the final ten minutes, the new head coach sent Yan Jiefang onto the field, who delivered the decisive blow, leaving the opposing team stunned.

During the breaks in the competition, Yan Jiefang did not stay at the stadium the whole time.

Most of the time, he stayed at Factory 774, but occasionally he would return to Mianhua Hutong.

However, he would still go to the Workers' Stadium or its annex every afternoon or evening when the basketball games were played.

As time went on, his teammates' confidence in him began to grow.

With him there to oversee things, even if he's just sitting on the bench, the Beijing team will perform even better.

They can execute various excellent teamwork and techniques against any strong team.

Therefore, most of the time, Yan Jiefang would only go up and perform for a few minutes at the request of Factory 774 and other audience members.

Even so, the stadium was always packed whenever the Beijing team played.

But no one cared about the result of the game; they just wanted to see Yan Jiefang perform all sorts of cool basketball skills.

Even photographers from various newspapers would occasionally sneak into the stadium with their cameras, just to take more photos when he appeared.

When they sent the photos back to the newspaper, it caused quite a stir.

Many employees at the newspaper begged the editor-in-chief to print more copies of the photos, saying they were willing to pay for them.

After seeing his skills, basketball players from various teams tried to imitate him, hoping to learn even a trick or two.

Because of Yan Jiefang, the entire basketball game seemed to have lost its flavor.

Some veteran athletes and rather conservative coaches stood up and spoke out loudly:

"Basketball should be played like basketball. All this fancy stuff is ruining the sport!"

"Everyone needs to stay rational and let basketball return to its original roots!"

...

But most of the audience didn't listen to them at all. Every day, many audience members would wait for Yan Jiefang to ask for his autograph or a photo.

Even Yan Jiefang couldn't help but sigh:

"As long as you have the talent, you can become famous no matter what era you're in." (Asking for autographs and photos is very common these days; this isn't just something the author made up.)

The news that Yan Jiefang participated in the National Games and won a gold medal somehow reached the courtyard house at No. 95.

While he was back to get a change of clothes, Yan Jiedi begged to go to the stadium to watch the game.

Unable to resist her persistent pestering, Yan Jiefang went to the factory leadership and asked for two tickets (for the factory cheerleading team).

And he arranged a complete itinerary for her and Yan Jiekuang.

These two country bumpkins from Beijing participated in the National Games for the first time and got a good feel for the excitement of the competition.

Back at the courtyard house, Yan Jiedi boasted to everyone she met about the National Games.

My second brother is so amazing, the game is so exciting, and there are so many people...

It left all the unsophisticated people in the courtyard completely dumbfounded.

Some people say she's bragging, saying there's no such place.

Yan Jiedi immediately produced her ticket as proof and pulled Yan Jiekuang out to explain.

Yan Jiekuang was also driven to despair by her.

After hearing the story of Yan Jiedi and her brother, a new world slowly unfolded before these country bumpkins in courtyard number 95.

This broadened their horizons considerably, and they no longer confined themselves to a small courtyard, fussing over trivial matters.

After hearing Yan Jiedi's description of the scene, Bang Geng couldn't help but beg Qin Huairu to take him to the National Games venue to watch the competition.

How could Qin Huairu, an ordinary, innocent woman, possibly possess such abilities?

So the next day she dribbled the ball and bumped into Director Li.

Let him do it properly.

Li Huaide kept his word and gave Qin Huairu two tickets to the Workers' Stadium the next day.

He also told her to go watch the competition with the union team from Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill.

She told Banggeng about it that night, and the boy jumped up excitedly on the spot.

Another child has appeared in the backyard, boasting about the National Games.

Liu Guangfu also wanted to broaden his horizons, but he thought that since his second brother got married, their lives had not been very comfortable, so he suppressed the idea in the end.

Sha Zhu, on the other hand, took his son, daughter, wife, and sister He Yushui to the Workers' Stadium over the weekend.

I truly experienced the sheer excitement of the National Games.

At the same time, I also felt a bit of admiration for Yan Jiefang, who not only had good grades and a good job, but was also able to get into the competition.

Even Xu Fugui, after hearing about this, brought his wife and children and spent a high price to buy tickets for the Beijing team's basketball game.

He witnessed firsthand how popular Yan Jiefang was.

I felt a deep sense of emotion: This is how it should be to have a child!

Suddenly, an idea popped into his head and became unstoppable.

After returning home that day, he talked with his wife and daughter, Xu Fengling, for a long time.

Finally, they made a unanimous decision.