Chapter 1424: Donate 500 million to sprinkle water

'Mr Xia, long time no see, I'm here to bother you again!'

'Director Liu, you're too formal.'

'Who are these two?'

After shaking hands with Liu Zhihe in a kind manner, Xia Yu looked at the two people who were one body behind him.

One of them, Xia Yu naturally knew, it was Li Zhen, whom he had seen on TV the other day. As for the older one, Xia Yu was unfamiliar with him.

Although he had watched the competition, he had not paid much attention to the opening and closing ceremonies, and was unfamiliar with Wei Min, the head of the delegation.

'Mr Xia, let me introduce you.'

'This is Wei Min, currently deputy director of the State Sports Commission and head of the delegation to the Seoul Asian Games.'

'Hello, Mr Xia, I'm Weimin. I'm honoured to be able to visit you!'

Weimin bent down, keeping his posture low, and greeted Xia Yu.

Xia Yu smiled and extended his hand, which the other man immediately wiped and shook.

'Director Weimin, hello, welcome!'

'Thank you! Thank you!'

Weimin smiled, saying two thanks in a row, and his smile grew even brighter.

At this point, Liu Zhihe once again tried to introduce Li Dang to Xia Yu, but as soon as he raised his hand, Xia Yu waved it away with a faint smile, saying, 'There's no need to introduce this one, I know him.'

'Mr. Li Dang, right? I watched your match at the Seoul Asian Games, where you showed off the might of the Chinese people. It was a very exciting match.'

Li Dan was flattered and hurried over to respectfully greet Xia Yu: 'Mr Xia, I don't deserve such high praise. I just tried my best in the competition and did my job well, not bringing shame on the country.'

'Being able to do your job well is already very rare and valuable,'

Xia Yu's eyes flashed with a touch of appreciation. Li Dan's humility and emotional intelligence made him look up to him.

People who have both ability and emotional intelligence have the important conditions for success. They just need to wait for opportunities and they will naturally rise with the wind.

'Thank you, Mr Xia, for your praise!'

Li Zhen once again thanked him modestly.

Xia Yu smiled and said to the group, 'Come in and sit down.'

After saying this, Xia Yu led the group towards the villa.

This villa was not the one he lived in with his family, but the one he used for entertaining. He would not bring unimportant or not very close friends to his home, not to mention that there were already so many family members, and there was no need to burden them.

As the biggest landlord in Xiangjiang, he did not lack for villas!

Soon, everyone arrived in the living room, where a large tea table was already set with all kinds of fruit, and the servants, who had been waiting, immediately began to make tea.

'Mr Xia, before you came, the leader specifically told me to say hello to you.'

'He also asked me to give you a letter.'

'He also told me to tell you that if you have time, you can visit the mainland more often.'

As soon as he sat down, Liu Zhihe immediately took a letter out of his bag, held it in both hands, and solemnly handed it to Xia Yu.

Xia Yu glanced at it, nodded with a smile, and said, 'Yes, I will read it carefully, thank you for your concern.'

After receiving the letter, Xia Yu got up and went to the closet, where he deliberately put the letter away before returning to the sofa.

Xia Yu once again turned his attention to Weimin and, with a faint smile, talked about the Asian Games: 'Director Weimin, I've watched a lot of this year's Asian Games, and I have to say that the athletes from the mainland have really impressed.'

'I remember that in the last Games, the mainland officially surpassed the island countries in the gold medal standings and became Asia's number one sports power. This year's Asian Games have once again widened the gap with the island countries.'

'Of course, although the gap between South Korea and the mainland is very small, this is a special situation. As the host country, it is a different matter. If the Asian Games were held in the mainland instead, I don't think South Korea could catch up with the mainland.'

As the host country, South Korea has a lot of power over the order of events and the events themselves. It is certain that they will be organised in a way that gives South Korea an advantage, and good results are inevitable!

Wei Min said with a serious expression, 'Mr Xia's comments are very pertinent. Since the reform and opening up, the authorities have attached increasing importance to sports, and we believe that in the future, our position as a strong Asian sports nation will become more and more secure.'

'In particular, the next Asian Games will be held in the capital. In April last year, the National Capital Asian Games Organizing Committee was established, and the authorities are already preparing in full force, striving to achieve the best results to show off our style and demonstrate the spirit of our country.'

Xia Yu nodded with a smile: 'Absolutely.'

Before Liu Zhihe and the others arrived, he had indeed looked into it and found that the Asian Games would be held at the Workers' Stadium in the capital four years later.

This would also be the first time that the mainland had hosted a major international sporting event, and there had been no previous experience of this either. It can be said that the authorities attached great importance to it, and they intended to use the Asian Games as a platform and a window to show the world the results of the mainland's reform and opening up and to rebuild the image of the mainland as a great power internationally.

Xia Yu pondered for a moment, looked at Weimin, and finally looked at Liu Zhihe and said to him, 'I also hope to be able to make a small contribution to the motherland's hosting of such a grand event, and to make some contribution to the motherland's spiritual civilization construction.'

'I don't have any talent, but I can still come up with some money and some resources.'

'If there is anything you need, you can tell me, and I will do my best to help, such as the construction of hardware facilities, the protection of athletes, etc., to provide a better training environment for the athletes.'

'In addition, I happen to own a sports equipment company, and I will have them make a list and provide some training equipment at that time.'

'Here, I would like to state that the total value will not be less than 500 million Hong Kong dollars.'

This was definitely a pleasant surprise, a super pie falling from the sky that landed on the heads of several people.

After Liu Zhihe and Wei Min reacted, they were greatly encouraged and hurriedly thanked Xia Yu, 'Mr Xia, thank you for your generosity, I will convey your intentions to the higher-ups as soon as possible.'

In the face of their gratitude, Xia Yu just smiled lightly.

Five hundred million Hong Kong dollars is nothing to him.

The most important thing about this decision, made on a whim, is that it makes him feel good. Money can't buy him happiness. Anyway, the money he makes in the mainland far exceeds this figure. It's good to take from the people and give back to the people.

Xia Yu did not dwell on this matter for long, and finally set his sights on Li Dan. He deliberately looked at Li Dan's palm, where he could clearly see the marks of the ointment, even though there was no ointment applied.

'Li Dan, I remember that in 1982 and 1984, you achieved excellent results at the Olympics and the World Gymnastics Championships. This time, there are even fewer events at the Seoul Asian Games. Do you have plans to retire?'

Faced with this question, Li Deng didn't know whether to speak from the heart, and subconsciously looked at Weimin.

Weimin joked, 'Li Deng, Mr. Xia cares about you, so just report to Mr. Xia honestly. Don't look at me.'

Li Deng then felt certain inside, and said honestly, 'Mr. Xia, I do have this plan. I will retire after this Asian Games competition.'

'I'm already 23 years old, which is considered quite old in gymnastics. My abilities have already passed their peak, and after all these years of training and competition, I've suffered many injuries, which has caused my competitive level to decline.

'I don't have the confidence to win in the competitions that lie ahead, so I plan to make way for the younger generation.'

After hearing Li Deng say this, Wei Min, although he had long been prepared, couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

He knew that within the Sports Commission, it was hoped that Li Dang would continue to represent the country in competitions.

Four years later, at the Asian Games in the national capital, Li Dang would be 27 years old, which might not be realistic, but two years later, at the Seoul Olympics, the Sports Commission hoped that Li Dang would once again represent the men's gymnastics team.

After all these years, men's gymnastics had indeed suffered a succession gap due to various reasons.

Therefore, Li Dang's application for retirement had not yet been approved within the Sports Commission.

But now that Xia Yu has taken the initiative to ask, and Li Dang has also expressed his wishes, then he must seriously consider Xia Yu's attitude, and this face must definitely be given.

Xia Yu also understands Li Dang's past. In 1988, due to injuries, his competitive level declined, and he made a serious mistake in the competition. The expectations of the people were dashed, and his title of 'Prince of Gymnastics' became 'the dead son of gymnastics', and he was subjected to negative public opinion.

Since he plans to build a national sportswear brand, it would be unreasonable for him not to intervene, knowing the drawbacks of this incident.

This is the reason why he took the initiative to ask Li Dang this question.

'It's good that you understand this. National sports does not depend on one person, but on a system that constantly cultivates talent, focusing on inheritance.'

'There is still time. It is still possible to rediscover and cultivate successors.'

'After all, the motherland has more than one billion people, and there are definitely talented people coming out of the woodwork.'

Xia Yu said with a smile.

While speaking, Xia Yu deliberately glanced at Wei Min.

The latter immediately understood, and busily lied, 'What Mr Xia said is true. We at the Sports Commission also have plans in this regard, and we want to further discover and cultivate talent.'

Xia Yu looked at Li Deng again and asked, 'Li Deng, so after you retire, what are your plans?'

Li Dan hesitated for a moment, shook his head and said, 'I don't have any plans yet, I'm going to think about it again.'

Xia Yu nodded slightly and said with a faint smile, "Regardless of whether you retire or not, as a representative figure in the mainland sports world, you really need to continue to contribute to the country's sports cause.'

'Mr. Xia is right," Li Dan said hurriedly.

'By the way, Director Wei, Li Dan's portrait rights and related rights are all with the Sports Commission, right?'

Xia Yu finally asked this question lightly.

Wei Min immediately said, 'Yes, they are all here.'

This is a system decision. The state has cultivated Li Dan since childhood. He started training at the age of eight and has enjoyed the state's cultivation. In terms of power, it is indeed up to the state to handle.

'In this way, the other day, when I was watching TV, I noticed that the sports delegations on the mainland were all wearing sportswear sponsored by Nike in the United States. The mainland could not come up with decent clothing.'

'I happened to be moved by this, and I plan to fill this gap for the mainland by setting up a specialised sportswear company, but I haven't decided on a name yet.'

'Why don't we just call the company Li Deng? Li Deng's portrait rights and other commercial rights can all be handed over to my side, is that possible?'

'After Li Deng retires, he can simply come and work for my company.'

After Xia Yu had finished speaking, he smiled and looked at Weimin and Li Deng.

The former was very shocked, while the latter had a stunned expression.

But soon, Wei Min reacted, saying hurriedly, 'Mr Xia, there is no problem with this.'

'Mr Xia, I also have no objections. Thank you for your trust in me!'

Li Dan stood up excitedly and bowed deeply to Xia Yu to express his gratitude.

The thought that the sportswear with his name on it would be sold nationwide and possibly worn by athletes in various national competitions in the future made Li Dan all the more overwhelmed.

For him, this was definitely a great honour that he had never dared to imagine.

'Okay, I'll leave the rest to the people below me, and I'll do my best to make this brand a banner for national, and even world, sportswear brands.'

'The moon in foreign countries is never more round!'

The last sentence sent a shock through the hearts of several people.

Liu Zhihe, in particular, subconsciously clenched his fists, and he would definitely convey Xia Yu's words to the higher-ups.

After all, he was well aware of the strange domestic atmosphere of favouring Europe and America, and many people believed that the moon in Europe and America was rounder than on the mainland.

Some people at the top think this way, and even though many bigwigs want to change the trend, they can't.

But considering Xia Yu's lofty status overseas, these words from him, a role model for overseas Chinese, will definitely influence many people if they are reported back to the mainland.

Afterwards, Xia Yu arranged a lunch to entertain everyone, and incidentally also called over the two heads of the Xinhua News Agency's Hong Kong branch and the president of the Bank of China (Hong Kong).

That afternoon, Xia Yu went home to spend time with his family, and naturally, the establishment of the Li Dang Sports Company was left to the Kyushu Industrial Group.

As for the donation, Xia Yu also made arrangements, and naturally, he would honour his word.