"Ding ding ding..."
At nine o'clock in the morning on the 13th, Zhou Quan and Joe Dumas were awakened by the ringing of the phone.
"mine."
He quickly raised his upper body and went to get the mobile phone.
Joe Dumas yawned and looked at his watch. It was only six o'clock in the morning. He felt a strong need to urinate, so he simply got up to drain the water.
"Hello, I'm Zhou Quan."
"Hey, Xiao Quan, is it Xiao Quan? Lao Zhou, it seems to be Xiao Quan's voice. It's speaking in a foreign language. I can't understand it..."
A very familiar voice sounded over there, the voice of his mother Lin Yufen. He suddenly became excited and shouted quickly: "Mom, mom, it's me, Xiaoquan!"
"Hey, it's Xiaoquan, it's Xiaoquan..." Lin Yufen's voice suddenly choked up.
"Xiao Quan, I'm dad!"
"Brother, I am Xiaojun."
"Brother, I'm Xiao Zizi, when will you come back? Mom gave me twenty yuan of pocket money today, hehe!"
Several more voices rang on the phone, including my father and younger siblings.
It turns out that my family received a remittance and installed a telephone. It was installed just today. I couldn't wait to call at 8 o'clock in the evening.
The family chatted for a few minutes. Her mother, Lin Yufen, was reluctant to hang up the phone, but she was also reluctant to pay the expensive overseas phone bill, so she finally urged him to hang up.
"Your home phone number?"
Joe Dumas lay back on the bed, heard the words "mom and dad" in Zhou Quan's words, and asked after guessing.
"Um."
Zhou Quan nodded, put down his mobile phone, and said, "I came to the United States in 1989 and have not been back for more than two years."
"You can move your family to live in Detroit. With your current financial conditions, it's no problem at all." Joe Dumas suggested.
"My agent also suggested it, but China and the United States are very different. My family can't adapt to it, and it will be difficult to live here." He shook his head.
He actually doesn't want his family to come over. The environment here is actually very bad for Chinese people, and racial discrimination against Chinese people is very serious. Especially now that there are more and more black people in Detroit, safety is also a big problem. Now the family has no financial resources. The question is, life in China is not bad. If you have money, you can live well wherever you are. It’s not bad to come and live here occasionally, but it won’t be necessary in the long term.
On the evening of the 13th, the Heat’s home arena.
The Heat only joined the league in 1988. This is their fourth season. They have not entered the playoffs in the first three seasons. Their current record is two wins and two losses, playing two fewer games than the Pistons, who are last in the Eastern Conference.
Although the Heat's strength is not very good, the Pistons' current strength is even worse. Coupled with the back-to-back physical impact, the Pistons finally ushered in their seventh consecutive defeat.
Zhou Quan played 35 minutes, his first back-to-back game, and his performance was average, not as good as the previous game.
He made 4 of 13 shots from the field, a shooting percentage of 30.7%, and 2 of 3 free throws. He scored 10 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal, 3 turnovers and 2 fouls.
The next day, at one o'clock at noon on the 14th, the Pistons returned to Detroit. On the 15th, they will face the Jazz led by Black and White at home.
In order to save the team, McCloskey struck while the iron was hot, and he came forward to invite Smiling Assassin Thomas and Zhou Quan to lunch, and deliberately leaked the news to the media at the airport.
At a quarter past two o'clock, at a very famous high-end restaurant, Zhou Quan once again met the "elegant" Isiah Thomas.
When they met, both parties snorted secretly, but both had angelic and gentle smiles on their faces.
Reconciliation is external. How can real reconciliation be so easy?
"Shake your hand."
McCloskey reminded the two of them in a low voice.
Zhou Quan took the initiative to reach out his hand first, and whispered in his ear: "Isiah, does your face still hurt?"
"Crack, click, click..."
When the two shook hands, the media reporters clicked their shutters one after another to record the scene of reconciliation between the two.
Thomas had just held Zhou Quan's hand when he heard the words and trembled, his teeth trembled, the smile on his face became brighter, and he whispered: "Boy, don't be proud, your injury only lasts a few days."
"Listen up, old bird. When you go back, please be more at ease with me. You are not allowed to bully the newcomers or take Joe Dumars' position. Otherwise, your face will still hurt. I promise."
Zhou Quan's face trembled, he smiled at the media outside, said something in his ear, and then let go of his hand.
McCloskey heard it all and looked left and right. He felt that the two guys were like twins, only with different skin colors.
"Isiah, how do you feel about your luck recently?" a reporter asked.
Thomas's face turned dark instantly. What the hell are you lucky? Didn't you ask knowingly? He hesitated: "I think everything will be fine."
"Have you really reconciled with Iron Fist?" the reporter asked.
"certainly."
Thomas was silent for a moment and then said.
"Isiah, you were not selected for the Olympic men's basketball selection this summer. Some media said it was because of Michael Jordan. You were replaced by Stockton. What do you think?" another reporter asked.
"I don't know, you can ask the Basketball Association."
Hearing this, Thomas' face turned even darker.
This was a thorn in his heart. It was rumored in the media that Jordan told the Basketball Association at that time that he would have to play without him, which eventually led to his replacement by John Stockton.
Now he not only hates Jordan, but also the man who replaced him, John Stockton. Of course, what I hate the most is the rookie in front of me.
"Iron Fist, what makes you willing to reconcile?" a reporter asked.
Zhou Quan carefully explained: “Everything starts from the needs of the team and fans. We are players, and the interests of the team and fans are our first priority. Personal grudges are not important.
After all, Isiah and I just had a small private conflict, and it is over. We are both men and should not take this small problem to our hearts.
We have a saying in China that we don’t know each other without fighting, which means that we understand each other better after some misunderstandings, and we can make friends or even become friends because of this.
This is what happened with him. We had misunderstandings, but after getting to know each other, we would put aside our prejudices and work together for the team because of the same goal. "
An hour later, the news of the reconciliation between Zhou Quan and Isiah Thomas was spread throughout the United States by the media and deliberate publicity by league officials.
Zhou Quan took the opportunity to establish a majestic and dignified image. The accusations against him by Detroit fans disappeared instantly, and the pressure was greatly reduced. This is also an important reason why he chose to reconcile with Thomas. He wanted to become a star, and the fans It is the most important foundation, and the local fans where the team is located are the top priority.
On the afternoon of the 15th, the Pistons came to the Palace of Auburn Hills.
