I'm teammates with Kobe

Chapter 106 Houston Chinatown
On the morning of December 12, a sapphire blue Maserati sports car appeared at the entrance of the hotel. Lin Shuhao, who had a Chinese face, opened the door and looked around. After a while, he saw a Chinese man who was taller and stronger than himself. People came out of the hall.

"Hi, Chu Xiao!" Lin Shuhao took the initiative to say hello.

"Hi!" Chu Xiao responded with a smile, then walked around the car and said, "Tsk tsk tsk, this car is not bad."

"It takes only 3.5 seconds to accelerate from 15 kilometers to 3 kilometers, and it costs 300 U.S. dollars. It is already my best car." Lin Shuhao walked to the cab and said, "I have a total of [-] cars, except for this Maserati, a It’s a Mercedes-Benz E[-], which is a bit of a business car, and another one is a Volvo, which was prostituted for nothing during the endorsement. So, I drove the best one to pick you up, isn’t it interesting?”

"Haha, that's enough! Thank you, thank you!" Chu Xiao said and got into the co-pilot.

"However, you are too low-key. Although this car is good, it is relatively ordinary compared with some other stars." Chu Xiao laughed twice after finishing speaking.

"I'm poor!" Lin Shuhao cried bitterly. "I just signed a three-year contract worth 3 million US dollars with the team this summer. After deducting tax deductions and the money to buy a house, it's really not much money after I get it."

"Where did you buy the house?" Chu Xiao asked curiously.

"Suburbs, suburbs." Lin Shuhao waved his hands, "Not far from Yao Ming's real estate, it is a two-story Western-style building. When I bought it, it was a hardcover room. I only replaced the sofa, coffee table and other decorations. "

"Is that expensive? How much did it cost?"

"Not expensive, a total of 13 US dollars."

"I'll go, it's so cheap, it's almost as much as my rent."

"The houses here are not expensive. Who told you to go to the Lakers? Not everyone can afford a house in Los Angeles."

The two drove away from the hotel while talking.

Lin Shuhao is indeed a very inspiring Chinese player. Before he was famous, he used to live on the sofa of a friend's house. Later, he finally gained a foothold in the NBA with his own efforts, and thus won a good contract with the Rockets. .

Once he was rich, he was very low-key and simple. He just bought a second-tier house in Houston. At that time, US$13 was equivalent to more than 80 yuan. It is estimated that in second-tier cities in China, he could only buy a small house.

Not far from it is Yao Ming Mansion, an Arabian-style villa worth 50 US dollars. It is located west of downtown Houston, with an area of ​​1099.79 square meters. The interior has marble floors, 6 bedrooms, 7 bathrooms, 2 3 bathrooms, 5 garages, 50 fireplaces, a swimming pool and basketball court, with so many rooms and amenities in a three-story building, $[-] was really worth it at the time!
There are not too many tourist attractions in Houston, the most famous ones are Houston Space Center, Hermann Park, Miller Amphitheater, Rice University, San Jacinto Ancient Battlefield, China Town and so on.

Since Houston, known as the "Energy Capital of the World", is also known as the "Space City", Lin Shuhao naturally took Chu Xiao to visit the Space City that morning.

Space City, also known as the US Johnson Space Center, is located on the shore of Clear Lake, 35 kilometers southeast of Houston. It was built in 1962 and covers an area of ​​656 hectares. It is named after the late President Lyndon Johnson. Just like paying, it has also made important contributions to the aerospace industry of the United States.

After the two parked their cars, they strolled slowly. They thought it was Monday and there were not many people there, but they were recognized by the staff and tourists after a short walk, surrounded them and asked for a group photo and autograph.There are also many tourists from China, who have been calling Chu Xiao's name.

"Hey, it's our cub from Chongqing, dragging Xixi, you're amazing!" During the group photo session, a handsome young man said excitedly to his companions in Chongqing dialect.

"Are you also in Chongqing? Where is Chongqing?" Chu Xiao was also pleasantly surprised to meet an old acquaintance in a foreign land.

"My name is He Bo, SPB Tianxing Bridge, and I currently open a Youshang Hairdressing Barber Shop there. This time I am traveling with a group, and I didn't expect to meet you." He Bo said a little excitedly, " I really like watching you play, Ba Shi is very good! Next time you come back, you can ask me for a haircut, it’s free!"

"Haha, so good!" Chu Xiao replied with a smile, and took a group photo very cooperatively.

After finally breaking away from the fans, the two of them didn't want to continue shopping.

"It's noon soon, why don't we take you to Chinatown for dinner?" Lin Shuhao suggested.

"Okay, I'm really hungry."

There are two Chinatowns in Houston, the old one is in the city center, and the new one is on Bailey Avenue in the southwest. It is also the largest Chinatown in the United States.

Lin Shuhao drove directly to Baili Avenue. In addition to the large area, there is also a famous restaurant——Yao Restaurant.

After entering Bailey Avenue, drive north along Chinatown. After 15 minutes, you can clearly see a yellow-brown building on the side of the road. The signboard is a big "Yao".

This was opened by Yao Ming's parents and friends. There are two in Houston. One is in the city center, which is now closed, and the other is in Chinatown.

Lin Shuhao parked the car on the side of the road, and walked over with Chu Xiao.When they passed the sidewalk, they made a detour, because the workers were repairing the road. They dug a pothole under the road, leveled it, then put steel bars, buried geogrids, and finally poured concrete. It is said that this way of repairing The road is very strong, not afraid of heavy trucks, even if it rains, it will not bulge or collapse.

"Hi, Lin Shuhao is here!" The waiter shouted immediately after seeing them at the door. It seemed that Lin Shuhao was a regular customer here. He greeted a group of waiters, walked through the hall with ease, and found a private room. Down.

"Is your boss not here?" Lin Shuhao said to the waiter who brought the menu.

"Not here, they are returning to China, and the restaurant is temporarily handed over to Manager Wang." The waiter is also Chinese and speaks fluent English. She looked at Chu Xiao in disbelief and said, "Here, it can't be The Lakers..."

"Probably." Lin Shuhao smiled.

"Let's order first." He stretched out his hand to push the menu to Chu Xiao, and then said proudly, "It's full of Chinese dishes, and there's also the most authentic BJ's roast duck in the United States. You can order whatever you want!"

"BJ Roast Duck?" Chu Xiao flipped through the menu unexpectedly and saw that there were indeed roast duck set meals for four, six and eight.

"Why don't you just order a roast duck set meal for four? BJ roast duck with American ginseng stewed chicken soup, walnut prawns, three cups of chicken and garlic fried seasonal vegetables, I think it's enough for the two of us." Chu Xiao suggested.

"Okay, just order these." After Lin Shuhao handed the menu to the waiter, he turned to Chu Xiao and said, "I won't drink at noon, and I will take you to find a place to drink in the evening."

"Do you want to continue shopping at night?" Chu Xiao was still thinking about the team's training.

"Play, come here, play more." Lin Shuhao said, "Didn't you ask for a day off, what are you afraid of!"

"Ok……"

While waiting for the food to be served, Lin Shuhao also told a few anecdotes, "When Yao Ming first came to Houston to play, he liked to come to Chinatown to eat roast duck. Later, that roast duck restaurant closed, so he simply put a roast duck chef in the store Please go to your own restaurant, and then there is a roast duck set meal.”

"And when it first opened, the media reported it very enthusiastically. When Yao Ming's teammates talked to him in the restaurant, they were worried that there would be snake meat on the table, or some animal meat that foreigners would not eat, especially dog ​​meat. Because dogs are people's friends and family in the United States, they would not eat dog meat if they were killed."

"After the restaurant opened, Yao Ming often invites his teammates to come here for dinner. He has invited Uncle Mu and others here. By the way, former US President Bush Sr. and his wife come here once a month. There are also many local celebrities, Hollywood stars, etc. Most of the patronage here is for his fame."

Speaking of this, Lin Shuhao changed the subject, "Your fame is no less than that of Yao Ming back then, especially after you opened Twitter, many celebrities and bigwigs have followed you, and your popularity has skyrocketed. In fact, you can consider Do the whole side job."

"No, no, there is still a big gap between my reputation and his, even if I can't compare with you, your "Linsanity" is popular all over the world, and you don't have any side jobs, so naturally I don't do either. "Chu Xiao said modestly, "And I just want to play well now, let's finish the game first."

"It's good for you to think so." Lin Shuhao agreed, "It's not easy for Chinese to get a foothold in the NBA. Among NBA players, Asian players only account for 7%, and Chinese Americans account for even more. It is pitiful. Although they have put in considerable efforts, the results they have achieved are not satisfactory. As the only hall-level player Yao Ming, he has been selected to the All-Star team for 19.1 consecutive years in his short career. 9.3 points, 1.6 rebounds, 1.9 assists, and [-] blocks. Such data make it difficult for all Asian players to catch up, but its historical ranking can only be ranked outside the [-]th. Except for Dayao, the only one who can It’s you and me who are on the field, and although our stats are still good, they are still far from hall-level.”

"It's hard for people who haven't played in the NBA to understand. The racial advantage of black people is something we can't imagine. First of all, the wingspan plays a big role in basketball. The wingspan of black players generally exceeds their height. Duncan's arms The wingspan of Yao Ming, the "little giant", is 20 cm higher than his own height. Moreover, his own muscle fibers are also fundamentally different. In layman's terms, black people grow muscles when they drink water, while basketball It is precisely a sport full of physical confrontation, and blacks really have too many advantages in this respect, even if we work hard, we may not be able to surpass them, and if we do not work hard, we will not be able to gain a foothold at all.”

"On the other hand, our physical fitness can easily lead to a short career and a short peak period. We often see people retiring in their early 30s. The short career of Dayao is far away, and Yi Jianlian is close because of injuries. The problem of illness has not developed better in the NBA. After I experienced a serious injury in February this year, it is difficult to become crazy now. Therefore, we must cherish every opportunity to play, not to be distracted too much, let alone Give up effort easily."

(End of this chapter)