Pick Westbrook

Chapter 126 The Slums of Milwaukee
The establishment of factories is in full swing.

The engineer told Li Lai that if the factory is fully built, but only the steel structure is not included in the civil works and road greening, it will only take 2-3 months to complete the project, and the later civil works and road greening will probably be completed. It will take another 3 months to complete.

However, the subsequent projects will not affect the production of the factory, so the factory can be started 2-3 months after the establishment of the factory, which happens to be the start of the new season.

What Li Lai has to consider now is to recruit a group of workers in advance and conduct training in advance. After all, the demand for Westbrook boots from American fans has reached a frenzy, so even if the production volume is 75000 per month, I am afraid. Still will be in short supply.

Holloway suggested, "You just plan to recruit workers, why don't you go around Milwaukee?"

Li Lai recalled the last time he and Holloway walked on Lake Michigan, the mood seemed good at that time, so he nodded and said, "Okay."

Hammond came out of nowhere and said, "Aren't you going to meet the Tango pretender, and you have time at this time?"

Holloway pouted and frowned tiredly, the little girl was extremely dissatisfied.

Li Lai once again saw the Tango who ran desperately on the court and waved the Bucks flag high.

"I really want to see him."

Lake Michigan.

In Milwaukee, this is an extremely polarized lake, heading south towards Chicago, this lake area is the most beautiful scenery in Milwaukee, with parks, yachts, beaches, travelers.
But if you go north, the lake surface is much dirtier and filthy, with floating blue bottles, black foam, one or two wild ducks covered in oil, and a few small fish floating on the shore that have been dead for an unknown amount of time.

Li Lai, Holloway, and Hammond headed north toward the shore of Lake Michigan in this way. There were many temporary gray cloth tents around them, but the stains left on them obviously existed for a long time. Fart Boy ran past the three of them in a dirty body, picking up some mud from the ground.

"This is the slums of Milwaukee," Hammond said.

Li Lai looked at the mud that had covered Holloway's feet. Although he had heard of the slums in the United States more than once in his previous life, he was still a little shocked after seeing it with his own eyes.

The living conditions are indeed difficult.

It's hard to imagine those stars who became famous in the NBA living in a place like this environment when they were young, or worse than this environment.

Holloway seemed to be very familiar with this place, so she prepared some bread early and distributed it to the homeless nearby. Of course, she was also very experienced, she just put the bread next to the tent, and did not take the initiative to ask those people if they needed it.

The three of them quickly continued heading north. The further north they went, the worse the living environment became.

Sewage lakes, dilapidated lighthouses, and rusty bicycles lying on the ground.

A skinny bar-headed goose was pecking at the muddy soil, and an old man in tattered clothes was lying on a lame wooden chair. The Milwaukee sunshine in July was shining on him like this, and he didn't know if he was dead.

A young man came out from the nearby tent, stabbed the old man with a short wooden stick and said, "Old man, there are some bagels and cereal left for you on the table, don't worry about dying, remember to wait for me to come back." .”

The old man didn't get up or look back, his eyes were still closed, but the voice came out of his mouth immediately.

"You little bastard, I dragged you up all by myself, and now you are so disgusted by you when you are old?"

The young man scolded: "You can pull it down, let me live with you in this slum for the rest of my life, thank you!"

"So why do you insist on being a mascot that doesn't make any money? And you've been doing it for more than ten years."

"Don't think I don't know you're just for that free ticket."

The old man was quiet for a while when he heard this place, and he didn't speak, he seemed a little guilty.

The young man was also very satisfied with the other party's sudden awakening. In his opinion, if the old man could have known how to regret it, he would have come to the point where he is today.

But soon, the old man continued to scold: "I want you to take care of my work? Get off, go to work on your assembly line, and I haven't seen you earn some money back."

The young man got angry and said in his mouth, you are a stubborn old man who will never change in his life, and then he left cursing.

After walking a few steps, he stopped again, took out half a blanket from the room, and covered the old man.

"The night in Lake Michigan is cool, take it easy."

The old man grinned, showing his few old yellow teeth, and smiled happily.

"It's still my son who loves me dearly."

When the young man was covering the old man with a blanket, he turned his head and found three strangers standing in front of him at some point.

Hammond said: "This is Mr. Johnson, the pretender of the tango."

Li looked at the young man. He was probably in his 30s and was very energetic, but he was dressed in tatters.

He stretched out his hand and said, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Johnson, and thank you for your dedication to the Bucks over the past ten years."

The old man Johnson stood up excitedly from the chair, and pushed his son away with an elbow. He said excitedly with the few remaining old yellow teeth: "Coach Li!"

"I've seen you so many times on the court, and I've never been this close to you."

"You, I watched you grow up. When I was a kid, I was not much younger than my kid, but now, you are much better than my kid."

Johnson II glanced at his father unhappily, and muttered, "Looking at your spirit, you can probably live for 20 years."

Li Lai was stunned, and found out that he had made an own goal after a while. He really didn't expect that the tango who was waving the Bucks flag on the court was pretending to be such an old man, and the opponent was bony and skeletal. It also seems to have a slightly curved appearance, which makes people feel distressed.

Hammond nodded to Li Lai, indicating that the other party was indeed a tango pretender.

Li looked at the tent with several holes on the side, and walked over curiously to take a look.

There was a blackened bagel and a glass of oatmeal milk that looked like poison on the table, and there were not many valuables in the tent. It was a mess, but the clean jerseys hanging on the side caught Li Lai's attention.

“1号球衣奥斯卡罗伯特森、14号球衣琼·麦克洛克林、16号球衣鲍勃·兰尼尔、32号球衣布莱恩温特斯、33号卡里姆·阿布杜尔-贾巴尔，以及0号球衣威斯特布鲁克。”

The first few jerseys are quite old.

Li Lai looked at it with gusto, so he casually picked up the black bread on the table and took a bite, but the taste was not very good.

Johnson II said: "These jerseys are his treasures, and he has to look at them every night to fall asleep."

The old man Johnson showed his yellow teeth and smiled triumphantly.

Johnson II said unhappily on the sidelines: "I didn't praise you!"

The old man pointed to the bread in Li Lai's hand and said, "Coach, that's my lunch."

"Uh, sorry."

Li Lai put the remaining half of the bread back on the table. At this moment, the old head remembered something and rushed into the house. After rummaging through the boxes, he found a yellowed poster.

It reads, 1970-71 NBA Championship, Milwaukee Bucks.

That was the only time in the history of the Bucks to win a championship. At that time, the head coach of the team was Larry Costello, and the core of the team was Skyhook Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Big O Robertson.

The old man pointed to the poster and said: "I was 30 years old that year, and it was the first time I went to watch an NBA game live. I saw Kareem Abdul-Jabbar lift the championship trophy with my own eyes. I was so happy that day and shouted at the court. , Bucks championship."

Speaking of this, Johnson's eyes were a little lost. Since that day, he has been waiting for the Bucks to win the championship trophy for the second time, for which he has been waiting for 38 years.

Hammond breathed a sigh of relief. Although Milwaukee is located in a remote area, this place has never lacked the most loyal fans. Johnson is the best example.

The old man Johnson looked up at Li Lai and said, "Coach, when do you think the Bucks will win another championship trophy?"

Li Lai didn't speak, because the yellow-toothed old man with the gap in front of him had sincere eyes.

Winning the championship has never been an easy task, and no one can guarantee that he will win the championship. Li Lai didn't want to make any promises, but gave the old man a dream and hope. Smash that is the greatest villain.

Li Lai did not answer, but took out a check for 5 US dollars from his pocket, and placed it on the table in front of him.

Hammond reached out to stop it too late.

The old man Johnson frowned, and his son Johnson II hurriedly put the check back into Li Lai's hands.

"Although we are poor, we will never take things that don't belong to us, and we don't need pity from others. We earn money with our own hands and live a happier life than anyone else."

The old man nodded aside, and stroked the back of his son's head, thinking: My son is promising.

Li took a look at the blackened bread on the table, and said, "The general manager Hammond brought me to you today just to give you the money."

"The team has a new employee benefit, as long as you have worked for more than 10 years, you can get this bonus when you retire, so this is what you deserve, and please be sure to accept it."

The old man frowned first, then looked at Hammond in shock, "Really?"

"Ah~"

Hammond froze for a moment, then quickly nodded and said, "That's true."

After finishing speaking, Hammond quickly wiped off his sweat. In his life, he had found a young lady for Li Lai, consecrated him, and studied the Great Sun Tathagata Sutra, the Jade Heart Sutra, and the Combination of Two Swords. That night Li Lai was killed by ten It was he who sent Li Lai to the hospital when seven or eight people squeezed them dry.

In short, he had done all the bad things before, and now he was suddenly asked to tell a white lie, and Hammond was still extremely uncomfortable.

The two father and son in front of them happily accepted the check, and they argued endlessly when discussing whose arms to put it in.

Li Lai continued to look at the young man in front of him and said, "Are you working on an assembly line?"

Johnson II lowered his head and said helplessly: "I only make some leather materials and process work in the assembly line. Unfortunately, I am not a regular employee. I only receive some work occasionally when the factory is too busy."

Li took a look at Johnson II. Although the other party looked a little sloppy, he could tell he was a person with a clean heart. Li Lai was willing to trust him for such a person, and the other party had the experience of working on an assembly line. This also allows him to adapt to Li Ning's assembly line work as soon as possible.

So Li Lai said directly: "How much like you? If you believe me, I can bring two to three hundred people here, and I can introduce you to a new job. The salary should be higher than that of the regular employees in your current factory."

Johnson II nodded dully. There are no less than a hundred young people doing the same job as him in the slums alone. If you call on the friends he knows, two to three hundred people will be easy.

Li Lai reminded: "But I hope those people are people who are willing to work hard."

Johnson II nodded and said: "Don't worry, if there is such a job, they will definitely rush to do it, and with me around, they will definitely not make any trouble."

After talking for a while, Li Lai, Hammond, and Holloway left the place. The sky was getting dark, and the surrounding tents also welcomed their family back, and the lights were a little noisy.

Li Lai turned his head and shook his hand at the old man looking up, "I will do my best!"

The old man grinned, and the cold wind from the lake poured into his toothless mouth. He knew what Li was talking about.

"Last year, it was the first time I saw the Bucks have that mentality."

"Where did this feeling go back? Well, 1970-71!"

"At that time, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and the Bucks led by Big O also had the same mentality!"

The old man walked into the house with his hands behind his back. He seemed to be a few years older.

"The Bucks are the championship."

(End of this chapter)