"You, you, what are you wearing? Did you secretly spend all your breakfast allowance this week to buy this dress?"
"This is the No. 14 jersey of the San Francisco 49ers. Did you see it? This is a Chinese-American player. His name is Lu Ke. He is the first Chinese-American quarterback to start in the history of the league!"
"What? You were wearing a Golden State Warriors jersey before. What happened to that jersey? Why did you buy a new one? Your wardrobe is full of jerseys. Stop spending money!"
"Mom, that's basketball, this is football, it's different. Oh, I won't tell you, it's not easy, there is a starting Chinese player on the football field, shouldn't we support it? Besides, I told You, he has won three consecutive victories, three consecutive victories! Do you know? All the media are reporting on him now, and he has truly brought glory to us Chinese!"
"Really? Why haven't I heard of it? What ball are you talking about? Football? Isn't football more powerful in Europe? How can anyone like football here in the United States?"
"Rugby! Football! The one that is thrown by hand, the oval one! Oh, I like him anyway, I bought a jersey, and I will wear his jersey from now on."
…
The family's short discussion resounded in the small grocery store. Jiang Youning stood nearby and listened quietly. He did not rush to interrupt the conversation between the two mother and son, but the smile at the corner of his mouth rose slightly involuntarily, and the feeling in his chest Full of pride and pride.
The child looked like a middle school student, with an impatient expression on his face. He turned around and left without further education. The proprietress of the grocery store called twice, but in the end she was unable to call her child, so she smiled helplessly. He shook his head, looked away, and showed an apologetic smile to Jiang Youning, "Sorry, children nowadays are like this. They don't like nagging and run away as soon as possible. What do you need?"
"I need a bottle of soy sauce, some Sichuan peppercorns and cumin; and, by the way, a bottle of sesame oil." Jiang Youning said with a smile.
The landlady said "Hey", turned around and started rummaging through the shelves, "Tell me, what's going on with kids these days? Why do they like football? I've never heard of it before."
"That's because we don't know." There was another customer next to her, a middle-aged woman with a friendly smile on her face. She was dressed simply but very cleanly. "Football is the biggest sport here in the United States, and I didn't listen either. I said it before. Yesterday, the family where I worked as a nanny watched the game together. They said what kind of guard it was, a Chinese kid, and then said he did a good job. When I got home, I asked my old man, and the result Both boys in my family know him.”
The middle-aged woman laughed heartily, "I heard that this kid is very powerful now. He has won many victories and set many records. All the big TV stations wanted to interview him, but he was... He didn’t want to, and said he wanted to play well. This kid is so well-behaved, and you can tell from a glance that his family has a good education, so no wonder he can come out.”
"Hey, is this really happening?" The proprietress put the soy sauce and sesame oil on the counter, and couldn't help but pause for a moment, "I thought that boy of mine was fooling me. After spending money randomly, he made nonsense."
"No, no, on the street where my employer lives, everyone was waiting in front of the TV to watch the live broadcast yesterday. It was so lively that there was even a barbecue party." The middle-aged woman replied in the affirmative.
At this time, the owner of the fruit stall next door walked over with his hands behind his back.
Chinatown in San Francisco is a very interesting living community. The streets are typical American neighborhoods, but the stores on both sides of the street are all traditional market stalls, such as seafood stalls, vegetable stalls, fruit stalls, grocery stores, grain stores, etc. , with a strong traditional Chinese flavor, and not the modern one——
As early as the gold rush era, those Chinese immigrants had already settled here, authentically presenting the scene of Chinese life half a century or even a century ago.
It's both modern and retro, but it gives people a strong sense of belonging. Even the housing here has the same honeycomb-like dense floors as in Hong Kong. Coupled with the ubiquitous traditional Chinese characters in sight, it looks like a small Guangdong. Cantonese is fluent.
"Lao Wang, have you heard? So there is a Chinese player in rugby?" the grocery store proprietress asked loudly.
The old man from the fruit stall nodded, "Yeah, why, have you heard about it too?" He strolled into the grocery store, "That kid is really awesome now. He is the best when he is the ace in the team. Well. Didn’t you read Le Monde? It seems that the Overseas Chinese News also reported it. They all said that this kid is so awesome now. All the old beauties are marveling at it. That’s wonderful! I’m still at Fox today. News channel saw his TV interview."
"What? Fox?" the grocery store proprietress exclaimed. For Chinese immigrants, the influence of the four major public broadcasting and television stations is absolutely extraordinary. It is extremely rare for ethnic minorities to appear on the four major television stations - —CBS, ABC, NBC and Fox.
"My two boys also said yesterday that we should buy his jersey to show our support. The entire Chinese community has such a one-man show, and no one else supports it. We must support him, what do you think?" The middle-aged woman who was a professional nanny asked curiously.
Lao Wang looked like he was giving instructions from a leader and nodded repeatedly, "Yes, yes. I am also going to buy a jersey of his this afternoon. In any case, this kid is not easy. Anyway, I have never heard of it before. Which one?" Chinese children have entered the rugby league, and I have never seen it in the news. I am ready to support and support. Yesterday I studied the game and it seemed a bit complicated, but the kid performed really well. Not bad!"
"I'm sorry, did my kid buy the right jersey?" the grocery store proprietress said in surprise, a smile flowing between her brows.
The middle-aged woman repeatedly echoed, "Then I will go back today and tell my two boys to buy the jersey. When is the next game? Let's see another day? To be honest, except for Yao/Ming, there are no players in the United States except Yao Ming. It’s really difficult to see a Chinese face in sports.”
"I heard that people here in San Francisco don't support that Chinese kid very much." Lao Wang grinned and shook his head meaningfully, "This kid is making history now, and we can't let him fight alone. Another day, the neighborhood committee and I will Tell me, let’s see if we can organize it so that everyone can watch the game together and cheer him on. I really don’t know the time of the game. I haven’t seen it before. I’ll check it out and let you know when the time comes.”
The proprietress of the grocery store clapped her hands cheerfully, "No problem!" After saying that, she noticed Jiang Youning, who had been standing silently next to her, "Oh, I'm sorry for wasting your time." The proprietress quickly said again He started rummaging around, "It's really hard to see a Chinese boy making a name for himself. I was a little happy and started chatting."
After quickly rummaging through the items and placing them on the counter, the landlady said with a smile, "You think so?"
Jiang Youning smiled and nodded, "Yes. It's not easy for that child."
There was a faint warmth surging in his chest, making his nose feel slightly sore.
Jiang Youning knew that Lu Ke never fought alone. She and Lu Zhengze were always Lu Ke's strongest supporters, as did the Newman family.
Although Lu Ke never wanted to create history, let alone carry the weight of the entire nation forward, it is too difficult to rely solely on the strength of one person. Lu Ke is not Yao Ming, nor Liu Xiang; but now, The trajectory of history is still heading in an unknown direction, full of thorns and traps, and the prospects are unpredictable. However, at least Lu Ke has more backing, which is a good start.
After leaving the grocery store, Jiang Youning walked towards the intersection, preparing to buy some fresh vegetables.
Standing at the traffic light and waiting, two young people next to him were flipping through newspapers. When he glanced out of the corner of his eye, Jiang Youning saw the front page of "Le Monde", which boldly read, "Every step is making history. Lu Ke is writing a miracle in the NFL!" The picture on the front page showed Lu Ke clenching his fist in his right hand, roaring crazily, full of the harmony of strength and beauty.
Jiang Youning suddenly raised his head and looked around the community quickly. I didn't pay attention just now, but now I realize that I can actually see many details in the corner of my vision:
For example, at the Chinese restaurant on the corner, there is a big poster posted at the door. It is Lu Ke wearing the No. 14 jersey. It says, "Fans are welcome to come and cheer for the game on Sunday."
For another example, a teenager whizzing past on a skateboard, wearing the No. 14 jersey of the San Francisco 49ers, with the name "LU" on the back so clear in his sight.
For example, in a car parked behind the traffic light stop line, a Chinese broadcast was coming from the radio, "...Lu Ke is making history and writing miracles. This week, he continued his magical performance..."
Little by little, Jiang Youning can feel the transformation and influence from the community.
Although it is still weak now, just three weeks, it is still too short after all, and it is not enough to completely change the dilemma of rugby being ignored in the Chinese community; but for real, changes are happening, and Jiang Youning can feel the real support and enthusiasm. , at least, this is a start.
The red light turned into a green light. Jiang Youning stepped forward and crossed the zebra crossing. He straightened his waist slightly and his steps became more and more firm.
In fact, what Jiang Youning doesn't know is that among young Chinese people, second or third generation immigrants, they have gradually integrated into American society and have a broader and deeper understanding of football. Among these groups, Lu Ke The reputation has already spread, gradually spreading from the Internet to real life, especially in middle schools in Chinese communities.
A craze led by Lu Ke is quietly rising; the first manifestation is jersey sales, which is undoubtedly the most direct manifestation of a professional player's popularity.
