SportCover had reached the stage of making its move on Auxerre, while Zhang Kuang was making his moves on fine food and women. Along the way, he called his coach, Wu Guohua, to tell him how things were going.
When Wu Guohua heard that SportCover had taken Zhang Kuang on and was working on his behalf, he was delighted. Especially when Zhang Kuang told him that his test score was close to 80 and that he had the ability to join a team competing for UEFA Champions League qualification, Wu Guohua was even more astonished. He could hardly believe Zhang Kuang was that good.
He had trained Zhang Kuang himself and knew his level better than anyone. Saying he could scrape by as a Chinese Super League starter was one thing, but now he was talking about becoming a starting striker for a team competing for UEFA Champions League qualification?
That was a little... it really did leave him doubtful, but he could hardly say anything. It was a professional assessment conducted in France, so what could he say? All he could do was offer Zhang Kuang a few words of encouragement.
Over the following days, Zhang Kuang enjoyed a life more blissful than anything he had experienced in either of his two lifetimes, cooking delicious food and fooling around with beautiful women every day. Unfortunately, some details could not be revealed at length, or all the readers would get hard with envy.
Auxerre, which SportCover had set its sights on, was not having such a good time. In the rescheduled league match on December 16, Auxerre versus Valenciennes had ended 0-0. Auxerre's impotence up front had shown itself again: just two shots on target throughout the match, and zero goals.
The form of the team's leading scorer, Ireneusz Jelen, was a mystery: he scored in one match, then went quiet for two. Their other starting striker, Dennis Oliech, was even more woeful, having scored only twice in half a season.
Auxerre's head coach, Jean Fernandez, was helpless, and the fans felt helpless too, but they could all accept it. After all, Auxerre was a small club without money to buy players, and with the financial crisis, the whole of Ligue 1 was short of money.
It was already acceptable that Auxerre could remain unbeaten. That showed just how outstanding the head coach's ability to mold a team was.
At least they were sitting fourth after 17 rounds, which was already damn impressive. With results like that from a squad like this, what more could anyone ask for?
Although everyone could accept it, head coach Fernandez was still somewhat unwilling to settle. After all, he had started coaching in 1985, and even now he had never won a title in the five major leagues, only a single Ligue 2 title. What head coach did not want to win a championship?
Fernandez asked his assistant coach, Stéphane Eric, "Has Hervé Déniaud brought the team any good news?"
Stéphane shrugged. "Our chief scout has brought us plenty of news, but none of it good. The player reports he's supplied are all good, but you know how it is. Our chairman, Alain, is a regular Grandet. There's no budget."
Fernandez was rather dissatisfied. "Aren't there any players who are both free and useful?"
Stéphane rolled his eyes at Fernandez. "Would something that good ever fall to us?"
"Ah, do you think Grandet... pah, I mean, the chairman might give us a little budget for the winter window? Even a million euros would do.
"No, eight hundred thousand would be acceptable too. We could go prospecting for treasure in South America. With five hundred thousand, we could only go hunting in Asia or Africa, but that's fine too. As long as we solve the striker problem, I'm confident we can challenge for a title."
"Jean, you'll have to talk to Grandet about that. Preferably try to stir up his dream of winning a championship. But clearly, our Grandet here has no championship dream."
Hearing that, Fernandez heaved a long sigh. He really was at his wits' end.
Sometimes he really wanted to resign and go to a team genuinely capable of winning a title, but those teams would not give him a chance.
When they hired coaches, ability was not all they looked at. They wanted a reputation, an aura.
An aura meant having all sorts of awards to your name, or fresh ideas that made people sit up and take notice, or being part of the young coaching generation, exceptionally good at unearthing young players and then delivering hot-blooded football.
He, Jean Fernandez, had no aura.
Just after the team finished packing up and boarded the bus, Fernandez's phone rang. It was the club's chief scout, Hervé Déniaud.
Fernandez's heart immediately stirred. Could there be good news?
"Hey, Hervé, you'd better have some good news I want to hear, or I'll slap your backside raw when I get back."
"Mr. Head Coach, are you interested in a backside as old as mine?"
"Get lost. I'm not interested in a man's chrysanthemum, but I'm very interested in spanking one. If it's nothing important, I'm hanging up."
"It is, it is, it is! There really is good news this time. Here's the thing: we've found that cheap, useful striker you wanted."
At that, Fernandez immediately sat up straight, a little excited but also somewhat cautious. Could there really be such a good deal? Was it a scam?
"Tell me more. Why would a meat pie fall from the sky onto our heads?"
Hervé's voice came through the phone. "This one really is a meat pie from the sky. He's a Chinese player SportCover has just signed, only eighteen, but his overall striker rating is 79. And I've watched his assessment video. The data is very genuine.
"SportCover wants to put him in a team competing for UEFA Champions League qualification or already playing in the UEFA Champions League. Preferably a team where he'll have opportunities to play, and plenty of them.
"Of course, they'd also prefer a club willing to sign a short-term contract, with a low threshold for buying out his contract and leaving later. We happen to fit their criteria best.
"Jean, do you want to catch this meat pie? There's no transfer fee, you know, and we wouldn't have to offer a very high salary either. I believe the chairman would find it acceptable."
Fernandez sucked in a breath, growing excited. He had never expected a meat pie like this really to fall from the sky.
"Are you sure he has that kind of ability?"
"Why not have him come for a trial and find out? Do we have any better options right now?"
"Mm, that's true. All right, then... tomorrow. No, the day after tomorrow. Arrange for him to come for a trial at nine the morning after tomorrow."
"Good. Jean, if he really is as good as he looks in the video, we may have stumbled onto a treasure. Your championship dream might have a chance."
"Heh, he'd better be. If he's a fraud, I'll spank that Chinese boy's backside raw."
"Hahaha..."
When Zhang Kuang received the call about the trial, he was cultivating his dual cultivation technique.
"Hello, Mr. Jonalin."
"Zhang, we have good news. We've found you a club for a trial. Nine in the morning, the day after tomorrow. You'll be going to Auxerre."
"Really? That's great. All right, thank you."
"Mm, prepare well. Try to get it done in one go."
"Haha, don't worry. I'll definitely nail it in one shot. Send me the relevant information on the club so I can tailor my preparations."
"All right, I'll email it to you later."