340: Chapter 340 Returning to Sanjiang County

Lin Dafei placed the football on the penalty spot, stepped back a certain distance, started his run-up, and struck the ball. The angle of the football was tricky, shooting directly toward the top right corner of the goal.

"This ball is going in!"

Lin Dafei was one hundred percent confident, a cold sneer even appearing at the corner of his mouth. However, his smile quickly froze. Qin Chuan steadily gathered the ball into his arms, holding it with both hands, as steady as could be.

"This..."

Lin Dafei refused to believe it and immediately started the second kick, but it was all in vain; it was saved again. The third and fourth were the same.

By the fifth ball, honestly, his mentality had collapsed, and he kicked the ball directly into the goalpost.

"Good!"

"Good, good!"

Many of the surrounding staff couldn't help but applaud and cheer, and then a large portion of the coaches and players also applauded.

If one hadn't seen it with their own eyes, who would believe it!

Qin Chuan pointed at this group of players and said loudly, "Who else? Keep coming up!"

But no one dared to come up again. Coming up again would just be purely embarrassing; even Lin Dafei hadn't scored a single goal, so they would be even worse.

Seeing that no one was coming up, Qin Chuan stepped forward, stood in front of this group of people, and lectured them loudly.

"Are you convinced now?"

"I'm saying that every single one of you has an annual income of over ten million, with some earning tens of millions. You enjoy the best conditions and superior resources, yet you turn in results like this. I feel embarrassed for you..."

After scolding them severely, at the very end, Qin Chuan even used reverse psychology, aiming to ignite the fighting spirit in their hearts. However, he didn't know how effective it would be; everything would only be reflected in actual matches.

Time quickly arrived at noon.

Wang Hong said enthusiastically, "Director Qin, we've arrived at the restaurant. Let's eat before you leave."

Qin Chuan hesitated slightly. Generally speaking, he rarely accepted invitations to banquets from others.

Seeing this hesitation, Chairman Liu said, "It's just a simple meal. No private room, no alcohol. We'll all go eat in the main canteen."

Eating in the main canteen—that was acceptable.

Qin Chuan said, "Alright, let's just eat something casual."

Walking into the Mens National Football Team's canteen, Qin Chuan was a little surprised. The environment and conditions were better than many star-rated hotels.

The variety of dishes was frighteningly rich; they had everything, even sea cucumber.

Qin Chuan said, "Chairman Liu, let's not eat sea cucumber anymore." Chairman Liu nodded and said, "Alright, we won't eat sea cucumber from now on."

Several officials from the Football Association, including Chairman Liu, accompanied Qin Chuan for the meal.

Qin Chuan could always feel many gazes from around him—some curious, but mostly filled with admiration. His goalkeeping just now had already won over many people.

While eating, Chairman Liu even jokingly said that it was a pity Director Qin didn't come to be a goalkeeper.

Another Football Association official even added that if Director Qin were the goalkeeper, not to mention the small Asian Cup, even entering the World Cup wouldn't be a problem.

Qin Chuan just smiled and didn't respond. Even if he were confident in keeping a clean sheet, he had no intention of playing personally. Playing football was the business of the Mens National Football Team players.

Not continuing on this topic, Qin Chuan chatted with them about some future plans and visions for the Mens National Football Team.

It was just a canteen meal with no alcohol, but the meal lasted for over an hour. It was mainly Qin Chuan talking, while the several Football Association officials listened attentively.

Combining this with some situations he had seen in his previous life, Qin Chuan spoke a lot, hoping it would be of some help to the Mens National Football Team.

...

Time entered December, and in two more days, it would be New Year's Day.

Zhu Qingxi suggested that her father's birthday was coming up soon, and she wanted to go back to Handong Province to visit.

Qin Chuan agreed immediately. He knew his wife had basically been staying at home to nurture the baby during these days and was feeling a bit bored, so she wanted to go out for a walk.

He also knew she missed her parents a little. Her mother had come to take care of her for a period before and had returned to Handong Province for some time. As for her father, he was very busy and rarely came specifically to visit; at most, he would come to the capital for meetings and find time to drop by to see her.

The due date was still three or four months away, so going out for a walk appropriately was not a problem.

The two of them were ready to go and arrived in Handong Province that same evening. Considering his wife was pregnant, Qin Chuan made a rare purchase of two first-class flight tickets.

In the evening, the family had dinner together. After the meal, in the study, the father-in-law and son-in-law drank tea and chatted for over an hour.

Besides chatting about some life issues, most of it was about work-related matters.

The next morning, Qin Chuan accompanied Zhu Qingxi to walk around, and they even went shopping nearby and bought some things.

The news spread like wildfire, and by noon, Qin Chuan had received his first phone call.

Friends and subordinates working in Handong Province knew Qin Chuan was back, and one after another, they called, very happy and enthusiastic.

In the evening, everyone sat together and had a few drinks. The atmosphere was lively, and even Director Huang from Jianning City had come.

Several people in Dongzhou City also wanted to come, but Qin Chuan said it wasn't necessary; it was too far and inconvenient, and he would go to Dongzhou City when he had time.

During the few days of New Year's, Qin Chuan was very relaxed.

At most, there were occasional social engagements, going out to have a few drinks with old friends and subordinates, but most of the time he was with Zhu Qingxi.

For Vice Governor Zhu Shihua's birthday, some relatives came to the Zhu family, but to be mindful of appearances, they controlled the number of people, totaling only three or four tables. Not a single colleague from within the system was invited.

After staying in the provincial capital for a few days, he really couldn't resist the enthusiasm of his friends in Dongzhou City, especially the comrades from Dahe Township. Qin Chuan decided to go to Dongzhou City and Sanjiang County to walk around and have a small gathering with everyone.

Zhu Qingxi was carrying a big belly, so it was certainly inconvenient for her to accompany him. Qin Chuan drove by himself; in any case, it was all highway, and he would arrive at Sanjiang County in over three hours.

Before leaving, Qin Chuan called Ma Zhengnan, who was now a member of the County Party Standing Committee and Executive Vice County Magistrate of Sanjiang County.

"Comrade Zhengnan, I've set off. I'll arrive in Sanjiang County around twelve o'clock at noon."

"That's great! I'll bring the comrades to the highway exit to pick you up."

"No need, no need," Qin Chuan said. "There's no need to make such a big fuss. It's better to be low-key. You wait for me in the office, and I'll come directly."

He knew Qin Chuan's personality and knew the leader didn't want to make a big scene. "That's fine. I'll wait for you at the County Party Committee and County Government. In the evening, we'll have a few drinks."

Hanging up the phone, Qin Chuan drove off. In a white SUV with ordinary license plates, he set off from the provincial capital, got on the highway, and drove toward Sanjiang County.