Fox in the Penalty Area

When Leeds City returned from London, Hu Lai’s agent, Yong Jun, made a video call to him from China. After that game that can be recorded in Chinese football history, Yong Jun did not follow Hu Lai back to Leeds . He stays busy in China.

Because the Chinese team made it to the World Cup finals in history, the image of the Chinese team players in the eyes of the public soared. Various commercial endorsements that basically had no relationship with Chinese men's football players in the past have also come in.

For these international footballers, this is an irresistible sweet pastry. After all, the Football Association's salary limit order limits the salary given to them by the club, and it can't control the commercial endorsement contracts they signed with major brands outside. Being able to sign commercial endorsement deals and even earn more than they would at the club. Everyone desperately wants to enter the World Cup. Apart from dreams, there are naturally economic considerations.

As the manager of Hu Lai, Zhang Qinghuan, and Wang Guangwei, Yong Jun is of course responsible for securing the best endorsement contracts for them.

Song Jiajia also flew back to China specifically to handle these matters.

"I don't want to accept too many commercial endorsement contracts, Uncle Yong." In the video call, Hu Lai said to Yong Jun.

This surprised Yong Jun: "Wait a minute, blink if you are kidnapped, Hu Lai..."

Hu Lai gave Uncle Yong a blank look: "What! I'm fine!"

"Then why don't you make any money? Aren't you...very money-obsessed?"

"A money fan is a money fan, but if there is so much money that it becomes a number, I'm afraid I will lose interest in making money." Hu Lai said plausibly.

"Hey, what you said..." Yong Jun was a little speechless. At first glance, it seems reasonable, but after careful consideration, I feel that Hu Lai is talking nonsense.

"The most important thing is, instead of accepting any endorsement contract, not picky about fat and thin, and not good at meat and vegetables, it is better to choose two or three high-quality brands to endorse. Talk about the price, and maybe you can earn money from endorsement of three brands." The money is much more than endorsement of seven or eight brands..."

Yong Jun looked at Hu Lai with a bit of surprise: "This is a bit level. Don't worry about Hu Lai, we will not treat you like a cash cow, and let you endorse any brand. That will ruin your image value. The number one football star in China, you can't do anything to cheat the endorsement of the second-hand car platform, and you certainly won't endorse any online class app..."

Hearing the last sentence, Hu Lai quit: "Hey Uncle Yong, what you said... I don't like 'Bomb Cars', but why can't I endorse the online class app? Because I can't study well? Let me tell you, Uncle Yong, if I hadn’t concentrated on playing football, my academic achievements would not have been too low! With my incredible language talent, isn’t it enough to endorse those apps that teach foreign languages? ?”

Yong Jun was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said, "You reminded me that your language skills are really suitable for endorsement of translators or translation apps. Just wait and I will write it down..."

As he said that, he really looked down at the camera and found a notebook to write down the ideas he had just thought of.

"What the hell are translators and translation apps, Uncle Yong! I mean learning apps!"

Yong Jun lowered his head and finished memorizing, as if he hadn't heard Hu Lai's protest at all, he raised his head and said with a smile: "The companies that are interested in you this time are basically domestic. After all, it is a great stimulus for the Chinese team to enter the World Cup. The rise of national sentiment, so many national enterprises also hope that you can speak for them. Don't worry, we will choose the best quality brand..."

"No problem, anyway, Uncle Yong, you and Fatty can figure it out. I believe you are all professional, and you are definitely better than me in this area." Hu Lai trusted the two of them very much.

Yong Jun nodded, showing another complicated expression.

Hu Lai was keenly aware of the change in Uncle Yong's expression, and he asked bluntly, "Is there any question, Uncle Yong?"

"Uh... Actually, it's like this. Most of the people looking for you are commercial endorsements. But you also know that you are now a star... Your popularity is getting more and more popular,

The fame is getting bigger and bigger, and correspondingly, you have to shoulder the matching social responsibilities. So there are still some public welfare endorsements..."

"Public welfare endorsement? No problem, I am enthusiastic about public welfare!" Hu Lai agreed, thinking that this is not a problem.

He also knew that compared with commercial endorsements, the endorsement fees for public welfare endorsements were relatively low. He thought that Uncle Yong was hesitant to speak out because he was worried that he would make less money from acting for public welfare, so he smiled and said, "Don't worry, Uncle Yong, I don't care. Expecting to make money from public welfare endorsements..."

"That's not the problem." Yong Jun shook his head. "Recently, a well-known international charity organization approached us and asked you to be their image ambassador. We are considering this..."

Hu Lai did not expect that an international public welfare organization would find him, he was surprised: "Which organization?"

"'Wildlife Rescue'."

"Protect wild animals? Yes, I have no problem..."

"No, listen to me, Hu Lai. This organization really focused on protecting wild animals at the beginning. Have you seen Lin Wei's advertisement of 'no deal, no killing'?"

"I've seen it, bus stops, airports, train stations...it's everywhere."

As a superstar in Chinese basketball, Lin Wei also shot various endorsement advertisements at that time, and his image appeared in many places. The set of "No Deal, No Killing" public service announcements has been bombarded intensively for a while, and Hu Lai has indeed seen it.

"This advertisement was shot by Lin Wei as the image ambassador of the 'Wildlife Rescue' organization."

"Oh—it's them. Isn't that good? It's quite successful. This word has become a buzzword...'Protect wild animals, no trade, no killing' What a positive energy!"

"That's right. But then they launched a new marketing campaign in China. The theme is to encourage Chinese consumers to be more vegetarian, eat less meat, protect the environment, and reduce global greenhouse gas emissions..."

Hearing this, Hu Lai finally understood why Uncle Yong's attitude was so ambiguous: "Damn it, that stupid marketing campaign was organized by this organization...An organization promoting vegetarianism came to me as an image ambassador? Are they out of their minds? I'm a professional player, I don't eat meat and I kick a fart!"

Although some professional players in European football have become vegetarians, this is still a non-mainstream niche culture. Among most professional players, meat is their main source of protein. It is really unacceptable to prevent them from eating meat .

No wonder Uncle Yong has that subtle expression, so it's because of this...

"But this time they asked you to be their image ambassador, not to promote vegetarianism." Yong Jun explained. "They also know that it is not convincing enough to find athletes to promote vegetarianism..."

Hu Lai shook his head like a rattle, and didn't want to hear what the other party's real purpose was: "No matter what it is for publicity, I refuse to cooperate with this kind of organization whose brain is full of chlorophyll and green light is shining on the top of its head. I think They have problems with their brains, and being tied to them will seriously affect my personal image. Besides...'International non-profit environmental organization', Uncle Yong, listen to it, listen to this name."

"What's wrong with this title?" Yong Jun was at a loss.

"It's simply the best label for an evil organization!"

Yong Jun was taken aback: "Oh, don't say that, Hu Lai. Be careful not to make your body smelly!"

"Don't worry, Uncle Yong. I'm just complaining in front of you. If people really find out, it must be a traitor between the two of us!"

"..." Yong Jun misses Zhang Qinghuan very much at this moment...

After calming down a bit, he asked again: "Are you sure you want to reject them, Hu Lai?"

"I'm sure. Why? Is there any difficulty? I can't do without an endorsement? Looking for an image spokesperson these days has become a forced buy and sell?"

"No... The main reason is that you rejected a public welfare organization and an environmental protection organization. This is a bit troublesome. When it gets out, it will inevitably cause some criticism and have a negative impact on your image."

In fact, Yong Jun was worried about this issue when he hesitated to speak at the beginning - when he and Song Jiajia knew that this organization had approached Hu Lai, they were reluctant to let Hu Lai speak for them. After all, they all know what this organization has done in China, and they have aroused complaints over the years. In particular, the practice of promoting the Chinese people to eat less meat in order to save the earth's environment has caused a lot of criticism in the country.

In the early years, they recruited a large group of acting stars to promote vegetarianism, and they fooled many people. But in recent years, with the rise of national sentiment and the improvement of the overall quality of the people, Western environmental organizations have become less and less popular in China.

So it's a very sensitive thing.

But it happened that this organization took the initiative to come to the door, calling for cooperation with Hu Lai.

It can't be said that they are here to find fault. They do have a tradition of cooperating with Chinese sports stars.

This environmental protection organization established in the United States first opened up in China by cooperating with Lin Wei, a Chinese basketball superstar.

The reason why they didn't approach Hu Lai before was because the overall image of Chinese football is not good. Naturally, they don't need football players to be endorsers. But the situation is different now. The Chinese men's football team has entered the World Cup in history. The national football players who were originally hated by everyone have become popular. Hu Lai, as the most famous top card in the national football team, was approached by this organization It's normal to come...

But this organization is too sensitive. In the eyes of Yong Jun and Song Jiajia, the olive branch they throw out is still covered with yellow mud. If it falls into Hu Lai's crotch, it will be shit or shit...

When Yong Jun told Hu Lai about his and Song Jiajia's worries, Hu Lai laughed.

"Hey, what am I supposed to do... As for what this organization does, I think that if I refuse, it will help improve my image in the hearts of the Chinese public, right?"

"You can't say that, Hu Lai. Although everyone knows what this organization does, but on the surface, they are holding the banner of 'environmental protection'. You really can't do anything about them. After all, 'environmental protection' is the current political correctness. When the news about your refusal to endorse by an environmental protection organization spreads, someone can use it to attack you, saying that you are not environmentally friendly and do not care for the earth. If you put this label on you, your reputation will be bad. Many brands do not Dare to be associated with you again, for fear of being scolded and looking for an 'anti-environmentalist' endorsement..."

Hu Lai waved his hand, still with a nonchalant expression: "It doesn't matter, Uncle Yong. Don't they just want a righteous one? We'll just give it to them."

"How? You have rejected the endorsement request of environmental organizations..."

"This is not the only environmental organization." Hu Lai pouted. "Besides, who stipulated that only environmental protection organizations can engage in environmental protection and can promote it? I didn't expect it at first, but after Uncle Yong said that, I now have an idea. Let's find an environmental protection organization in China that has the endorsement of the government Can't we cooperate? Or directly cooperate with the government department. I also read the news about the eradication of the Umaulu Desert in our country before. Let's find a desert with suitable conditions, and then find a company willing to spend money to gain fame. Let's go find it together. The local government, sign an agreement. The specific content is that every time I score a goal, the local government will organize manpower to plant as many trees in the desert, and all the funds will be provided by the sponsoring company..." (Note 1)

Yong Jun, who was still frowning at first, gradually relaxed his brows when he heard Hu Lai's words, and finally he simply slapped the table to interrupt Hu Lai's words: "Oh, your idea is really solid!"

Hu Lai was dissatisfied: "Uncle Yong, when will I be unreliable?"

Yong Jun chuckled and skipped the question: "I think we can really do it. Tomorrow, Mr. Song and I will do our best to push this matter forward, and try to get it done quickly, without giving them any chance."

"So you see, Uncle Yong, people come up with the solutions. Some people want righteousness, so give them righteousness, not only give righteousness, but also stuff their mouths with righteousness, and stab them directly into their throats. See What else can they say at that time. Does environmental protection have to be divided into international and domestic? International is superior to domestic? Isn’t it nonsense?” Hu Lai curled his lips.

"I don't believe that I plant trees in China, and some people dare to say that I am not environmentally friendly. Isn't it environmental protection to protect China's environment? If people still scold me, I will ask them: the living environment of Chinese people is not the environment, and there is no need to protect it." Is protecting China’s environment considered environmental protection? I’m a Chinese, and it’s reasonable for me to contribute to the environmental protection of my motherland.”

Yong Jun waved his hands again and again: "Don't get excited, don't get excited, Hu Lai. No one has said that yet, and I just said that this might happen. Although the probability of this happening is very low..."

"I know, Uncle Yong. I actually don't want that kind of thing to happen. But if it happens, we don't have to panic. We don't cause trouble, let alone be afraid of trouble." Hu Lai said this very hard, because he believed that What you do is right.

Just like Wang Guangwei commented on him at the beginning, as long as he thinks it is correct, he will continue to do so.

Although there are thousands of people, I will go.

※※ ※

Note 1: The Umaulu Desert is actually the Mu Us Desert, or it should be called the "Mau Us Sand Land" now. Because it is a parallel world, there is no need for real place names.

This idea actually existed when I was writing this book. The idea at that time was the same as that of Hu Lai, that is, Hu Lai can score goals and score a lot, so he simply associated his goals with afforestation .

We Chinese are good at afforestation, and we have been planting trees silently. Using this method to let Hu Lai enter the public welfare endorsement, I think it is more meaningful than directly writing that Hu Lai speaks for an environmental protection organization, poses and shoots an advertisement.

I even thought about whether to make a linkage with Hu Lai in the book, find a place by myself, adopt a forest, and then I wrote that Hu Lai scored a goal, and in reality let the forest farm plant a hundred trees... But because I don't know anything about how to operate in reality, and I can't do anything, so I just think about it...