The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 23 Clepsydra
Gan Guoyang launched a surprise attack on Chen Yaoming. He vividly remembered Chen Yaoming's face in the shop the day he transmigrated.

In front of Huang Shaohua, Chen Yaoming couldn't refuse, so he could only grit his teeth and give Gan Family Restaurant a 30% discount on the rent.

It's clear that Chen Yaoming really likes basketball, otherwise he wouldn't have sent Chen Xing to a basketball summer camp.

According to Mr. Huang, a banquet was held at Gan Family Restaurant the next day to entertain guests, and the restaurant's business got back on track.

Surprisingly, the one who stole the show at the banquet was not Gan Guoyang, but the head chef Gan Youwei.

Mr. Huang hosted a grand banquet, finally giving him the opportunity to showcase his skills. The main dishes, such as Eight Treasure Gourd Duck, Pagoda Pork, Wensi Tofu, and Yellow Croaker in Soup, were all top-notch. His first dish impressed a group of Chinese Americans and a few Americans who hadn't seen authentic Chinese cuisine in a long time.

It turns out that Chinese cuisine is not just about sweet and sour pork, cheap Yangzhou fried rice, and various stir-fried offal; when prepared properly, it is truly profound and complex.

After this battle, Gan Youwei and Gan Family Restaurant gained a good reputation, and they won't have to worry about business in the future.

On August 17th, California high schools began their new school year, and Gan Guoyang continued his high school career at North China High School in San Francisco.

Beiqiao Middle School, located on Sacramento Street in Chinatown, is an overseas Chinese school founded in 1921. It has primary, junior high and senior high sections and is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year.

The school's architecture is distinctly Chinese. Upon entering the main gate, one is greeted by a two-story ancient-style pavilion with white walls, green tiles, and red pillars. The five characters "Huabu Fuyintang" are inscribed on the wall, while a plaque reading "Beiqiao School" hangs above the main entrance.

On the first day of school, Gan Guoyang became a star figure in the whole school. With his height, it was hard not to attract attention.

Although Beiqiao Middle School is an overseas Chinese school, it also has students of other ethnicities, including some Asian students such as Vietnamese, Mongolian, and Japanese, as well as a small number of black students. There are no white students at all.

When Gan Guoyang arrived at the class, he didn't need to introduce himself. His classmates and teachers all knew him. It was the first time he had experienced what it was like to be a celebrity.

The school's curriculum is bilingual in Chinese and English. Chinese is a compulsory subject from primary school to high school, and the textbooks used are overseas Chinese teaching materials compiled by Jinan University.

Gan Guoyang is, after all, a student from a 985 university. Apart from being somewhat unfamiliar with the courses in the American senior year of high school and having some language barriers, the courses were generally quite easy for him.

From teachers to the principal, everyone was friendly to him. During breaks, students from other classes would often come over to try and find out more about him, just like in some romantic dramas where girls would go to other classes to see the school heartthrob.

When school was over, Gan Guoyang opened his locker and found several letters, one of which was sealed with a lip print...

After the women's liberation movement of the 60s and 70s, by the 80s girls were quite proactive and open-minded, and it was not uncommon for women to pursue men, including Chinese girls.

However, Gan Guoyang had no interest in these young girls. He put the letter in his schoolbag and took it with him, but never opened it.

He was only thinking about today's basketball team practice.

Because land in Chinatown is extremely valuable, Beiqiao School only occupied a limited area to build its school buildings, and there was no space left to build a gymnasium. Therefore, the basketball team's training and games were held at the YMCA Sports Centre in Chinatown, which was four blocks away.

The YMCA has a deep connection with basketball. Dr. Naismith invented basketball while working at the YMCA in Springfield, and many early basketball games were organized by the YMCA.

This YMCA sports center in Chinatown has a long history. Although the facilities are a bit old, it is comprehensive, with courts, swimming pools, gyms, and a martial arts dojo.

The Zhi Rou Boxing Society, founded by Chen Weiming, a disciple of Sun Lutang, a martial arts master of the Republic of China, once had a branch in San Francisco. It is said that in the 60s they were involved in a private fight between Bruce Lee and Wong Jack Man, and the outcome of this mysterious fight is still controversial.

These were things Chen Xing told Gan Guoyang on the way to the sports center. Gan Guoyang just thought they were some strange tales. He was more concerned about who his teammates were and who his coach was.

By the way, Gan Guoyang already knows his two teammates, Chen Xing and Gan Guohui.

Thinking about having these two as teammates, Gan Guoyang couldn't help but worry about the team's future and performance. As for who the coach was, Chen Xing said he didn't know either; it might be the school's physical education teacher or the director of physical education.

When we arrived at the sports center, the basketball court was already surrounded by a large crowd, all of whom were students from Beiqiao School who came to watch Gan Guoyang play basketball.

They all wanted to see just how good this Chinese basketball star from San Francisco really was.

Gan Guoyang wasn't intimidated at all. It was a good opportunity to warm up. After changing into his training clothes and going on the court, he started with a light dunk, which drew screams from both men and women on the sidelines.

In this era, live television broadcasts and recordings were not widespread, and the internet was practically nonexistent. Many people could only watch the games live in person.

For a high school basketball team like this, having someone who can dunk is truly a one-in-a-hundred star.

Gan Guoyang's dunking form is naturally graceful and elegant, and his strength makes his dunks look both effortless and powerful, with a calm and unhurried beauty.

Unlike some players who can jump high but have stiff dunking style, can only use two hands and not one, have a monotonous posture, and often have to pull on the rim to maintain balance.

He dunked several times in a row, captivating not only the students and spectators on the sidelines, but even his teammates stopped warming up and cleared the court for Gan Guoyang to perform.

Just as Gan Guoyang completed a self-throw and dunk, bringing the scene to a small climax, a sharp whistle broke the enthusiastic atmosphere.

"Everyone who has nothing to do with the basketball team, get out of here! Right now, immediately, cover your backsides and leave without looking back! Get out!"

With a shout of "Get out!", the students scattered like birds, leaving only the eleven members of the basketball team in the gym in an instant.

Gan Guoyang noticed that the person blowing the whistle to drive people away was none other than Bobby Bellman.

"Coach Berman, what are you doing here?"

"Do you believe me that I'm here to learn cooking from you?"

"Then you should go to my dad; he's good at this."

"Fuck you, my specialty is basketball. From today onwards, I'm the Chinatown North Overseas Chinese... Fuck, what's your basketball team's name again? Can anyone tell me?"

One player shouted, "Clepsydra!"

"What? Clepsydra? What the hell does that mean?"

"Water Clock" is a traditional Chinese timekeeping tool that symbolizes precision and punctuality. Water also represents flexibility and wisdom.

Behrman, hands on his hips, muttered, "Why not call it Dragon, Panda, or Tom Yum Goong or something? Call it Water Bell, Clepsydra! God, what kind of word is that…?"

Gan Guoyang said, "Mr. Bellman, Tom Yum is a Thai dish, not a Chinese dish."

"Okay, I understand. Stop bringing up Chinese elements with me. Water Clock, that's a good name! Precision and punctuality are qualities I also uphold. Ladies, I guess it's time for training now."

"You have 10 seconds to line up in front of me!"

(End of this chapter)