Chapter 10 Too Dark

"Congratulations on Mid-Autumn Festival." Xia Song offered his congratulations.

"Brother Xia, thank you so much!" He Zhongqiu said sincerely.

Without Xia Song, it would be difficult to break into the basketball circle in China, let alone the NBA. It can be said that Xia Song is his benefactor, and he is grateful from the bottom of his heart.

"Train well here in the future. Your foundation is too poor, so you must train hard. Don't be afraid of hardship or fatigue, okay?" Xia Song reminded.

"Sure, I won't waste the opportunity."

He Zhongqiu never felt that playing basketball was hard or tiring. Compared to the hardship and fatigue of Iron Shirt and Eagle Claw Kung Fu, basketball was simply too easy.

"Congratulations, and welcome to the New York Knicks." Layden also offered his congratulations and welcome.

"Three grams of oil, Mr. Redden."

After Xia Song translated, He Zhongqiu said happily.

Layden added: "He, I hope you can improve your basic skills and inside technique as soon as possible, which is very important for you and the team.

In addition, there are many things you need to learn as quickly as possible, such as NBA rules, the team's offensive and defensive tactics, etc.

He, I hope you can adapt to the style of the league and the style of the Knicks as soon as possible and make contributions to it. "

"I will."

After hearing Xia Song's translation, He Zhongqiu said solemnly.

Leiden added: "I have high expectations for you. The team will hire a full-time translator for you, and the team will pay for the expenses."

The Knicks will play the Heat away tomorrow, and will face the Celtics at home the day after tomorrow. The team is ready to leave, but Layden did not let He Zhongqiu join the team. Instead, he asked him to deal with accommodation and personal issues today and tomorrow, and officially join the team the day after tomorrow, which is the 14th.

After leaving Leiden's office, He Zhongqiu asked impatiently, "Brother Xia, how much money do I get in a year?"

"Hans, how much money does He get for this contract per season?" Xia Song asked.

Lewis said: "48% federal and state taxes, your 3% or 4% cut, $ a year in pension.

By the way, another 10% will be deducted as third-party escrow, which will be returned in full at the beginning of the next season.

He will have about $40 in cash left over from his first season, with a monthly salary of $ to $.

In addition, NBA teams have some bonuses, such as appearance bonuses, which are based on playing time and number of appearances, as well as away game subsidies. As long as you enter the important rotation lineup, you can make a lot of money in a season."

After Xia Song relayed the news, He Zhongqiu's eyes widened, and even showed murderous intent. He angrily asked, "How much? Wasn't it 110 million? How come there are only 40 left in the blink of an eye?"

Xia Song laughed and explained, "Taxes in the United States are very high, and almost half of your salary is taxed.

In the United States, you must not evade taxes or you will go to jail. You must declare your personal income tax in April every year, otherwise the tax officials will block your door with machine guns.

In addition, 50% of the salary held in escrow will be returned to you at the beginning of the next season, so you can actually get just over $45, not counting bonuses, about %.

Also, the NBA pays salaries twice a month, on the 1st and 15th. Your annual salary is paid to you in 12 installments, and it is paid out within six months."

He Zhongqiu was silent for a few seconds before he said bitterly, "Half of my salary has to be taxed. America is so fucking shady!"

The three of them came out of the training base, and Lewis asked: “Xia, now we need to find a house for He, should he live in town or go back to downtown New York?
I recommend living in town, living in New York, the distance is too far and the commute is too painful.”

After Xia Song asked He Zhongqiu, he said to Lewis, "He said he lives in town. Hans, you know the place better than me, can you help me find a house? I'll treat you to lunch."

Lewis said: "A two-story, two-bedroom, two-bathroom townhouse in Tullytown, about 100 square meters, rents for about $800. If it's a little bigger, a three-bedroom, three-bathroom townhouse, about 130 square meters, it's about $1,000."

"Zhongqiu, a two-bedroom small apartment is eight hundred dollars a month, and a three-bedroom apartment is one thousand dollars. Do you want to rent a bigger or smaller one?" Xia Song asked.

"Then let's rent a smaller one. It's too expensive. A smaller one costs 7,000 to 8,000 yuan a month." He Zhongqiu said with concern.

He didn't care about money before. He made some money during those years when he was in society, but he either spent it on practicing martial arts, or on eating and drinking with a bunch of young gangsters. He even lost a lot of money gambling. It was only after he was released from the juvenile detention center that he started to save money.

“You earn dollars and you spend dollars.”

Xia Song said with a smile, and then advised: "Zhongqiu, I advise you to rent a three-bedroom apartment. Don't you practice martial arts every day? Wouldn't it be good to have a dedicated practice room? The rooms here are very small, and it's not convenient for you to practice martial arts in the bedroom."

He Zhongqiu thought about it and agreed, thinking that the bedroom was indeed too small.

The three of them then found a small restaurant for lunch, and with the help of Lewis, they found a real estate agent in town and quickly rented a three-bedroom townhouse.

The building area is 1080 square meters, the house is years old, there is a -square-meter lawn in front, and there are two parking spaces in front of the lawn. The monthly cost is US$.

It's a two-story, very compact space with three bedrooms, three bathrooms and a kitchen. There are no problems with water and electricity. There are a few old appliances that need to be replaced, and the bed is too small, so a new bed and mattress need to be customized.

The location of the house is also good. It is only about 300 meters away from the training base. It is very close and convenient. It only takes a few minutes to walk.

"This can also be considered as my home, hehe." He Zhongqiu walked up and down several times, even went into the three toilets to take a look, and liked it very much. This was the first time he lived in such a big house and the first time he had his own toilet.

He chose the master bedroom and the third bedroom next to it. The third bedroom can be used as a practice room, which is very convenient.

After helping to fix the house, Lewis said goodbye.

At this time, some well-informed reporters in New York had already received news about He Zhongqiu from within the Knicks.

"According to inside information from the Knicks, they have just signed an amateur player from China. This player is said to be an undrafted player in this year's NBA draft. His name is He Zhongqiu, and he is a center with a height of... He smashed the backboard on his first attack during the team's training match..."

Soon, CBS TV's 2 p.m. news reported the news, even including details of He Zhongqiu's physical test data and some training match situations.

In Houston, in the Mosaic training hall, Yao Ming is training.

At this time, his full-time translator Colin trotted over and said in English: "Yao, I have news to tell you. The Knicks just signed a center from China. CBS reported it."

"what?"

Dayao’s English is not very good now, so I didn’t understand.

Colin then explained in Chinese: "A center named He Zhongqiu, whose agent is Xia Song, the agent you know, was signed by the Knicks."

Dayao was surprised and said, "He Zhongqiu, I haven't heard of it? Wait, where's my cell phone? Let me call Brother Xia and ask him what's going on."

"The report said that his maximum bench press reached 200 kilograms, and he also smashed a backboard during an intra-team training match," Colin added.

"So powerful?" Dayao was stunned.

"Dayao, this is what happened..."

After the call was connected, Xia Song told Dayao about He Zhongqiu's situation.

Dayao enviously said: "This guy is so lucky. Dazhi and I went through so many twists and turns to get here, but he went straight into the NBA before he even officially came into contact with basketball. There's really no comparison between this guy and others."

"Mid-Autumn Festival is indeed a good time for luck."

Xia Song laughed and said, "It just so happens that the Knicks are short of a center. Although their Kurt Thomas is good at low-post defense, he lacks the ability to attack in the basket and low-post. He can only shoot mid-range shots, which is more suitable for power forwards. The other centers are useless.

Hans Lewis just happened to contact me again. This guy Zhongqiu just happened to sign with my company, and he just happened to impress Mr. Layden, the chairman of the Knicks. "

"How strong is he? I heard he smashed the backboard and bench pressed 200 kilograms?" Yao Ming asked.

"Well, yes, his strength, explosiveness and jumping ability are all top-notch in the NBA," said Xia Song.

"Beast level." Dayao couldn't help but say with envy.

Xia Song laughed and continued, "But technically, he is an amateur player. His basic skills and techniques are very poor. He made a lot of mistakes during the team's training matches."

Yao Ming was surprised and said, "He is so poor in skills, but he was chosen by the Knicks. His contract is not small. His physical condition and quality are really good."

Xia Song said: "My health is really good, indeed, better than any of you three."

"I'm envious." Dayao said happily.

"You don't have to envy him. He has his strengths, and you have yours."

Xia Song said this and sighed: "The reason why his physical fitness is strong is because of martial arts training, but his touch is too poor, which is also due to martial arts training."

"He practices martial arts? Traditional martial arts?" Dayao said in surprise.

"Correct."

Xia Song said: "In addition, he started his last growth spurt at the end of last year, from 190 cm to 210 cm, which actually caused his strength to decline a lot."

Yao Ming said: "I grew up too fast, my body couldn't adapt, and my previous skills must have changed. In addition, my position has also changed. I used to play outside, but now I play inside. Before I can practice inside skills, my strength will definitely decline.

But he has such good physical talent that even if he plays based on his talent, his performance won’t be too bad if he is given the opportunity.”

Xia Song said: "Yes, many NBA players play based on their talent, their skills are still poor, but they still make millions a year.

However, once such a person gets injured, his strength will drop drastically, so Zhongqiu still needs to practice his skills. He has a strong learning ability and is smart, so I believe he can practice it. "

After chatting with Dayao for a while, he simply called Daba and told him about He Zhongqiu.

As for Dazhi, he was abducted and can't be contacted at all now.

Because the news had already been leaked by the media, the Knicks officials quickly announced the signing news on their official website, including the contract amount and term, instead of originally planning to announce it tomorrow.

(End of this chapter)