Chapter 107: Advancement and Attention (Part One)

In Jinling, the Women's Volleyball League had gradually settled into a steady rhythm following some early-season volatility.

The Yangtze River Women’s Volleyball team’s greatest rival from the previous season, the Beihai Women’s Volleyball team, had been poached by major professional clubs from the south during the pre-season transfer window. At the start of the season, the team struggled even to field a fifteen-player roster, eventually relying on two students who suspended their studies at Beihai University to meet the registration requirements.

Although the Beihai Rural Commercial Bank was a large-scale financial institution in the Beihai Special Zone, it remained a joint-stock bank with limitations on the capital it could invest in the team. These funds were clearly no match for the exorbitant buyout fees offered by the major southern professional clubs. As a result, the vast majority of the Beihai team’s core players were poached, along with several youth and reserve team members.

It must be said that athletes of Russian, Eastern European, and mixed descent possess significant physical advantages in volleyball. The meteoric rise of the Beihai Rural Commercial Bank team in recent years, which allowed them to challenge the dominance of the Yangtze River Women’s Volleyball team, was built entirely upon these immigrant athletes. With their physical edge, combined with rigorous training and discipline, these players truly demonstrated the caliber of top-tier stars. Naturally, with such talent available, major professional clubs were not about to miss out on such immediate assets; their decision to raid the Beihai team was, from their perspective, logical.

However, the Beihai Rural Commercial Bank team filed a formal complaint with the National Sports General Administration, as this gang-style poaching was indeed disrupting the league’s operations. While the Administration did not halt this year’s transfers, insiders suggested that the transfer system would undergo significant adjustments in the near future.

In truth, the Beihai team had largely brought this upon themselves. As a club within the Republic, their entire coaching staff and management lacked a single Han Chinese member. Rumors had even circulated last season regarding the coaching staff discriminating against Han players on the team. Regardless of whether those reports were true or mere smears by rivals, the internal management of the Beihai team was undeniably problematic. Had the internal climate been healthy, the players might not have been so eager to leave; after all, a buyout fee is merely a clause—if the players had been unwilling, they would not have been forced to depart.

With their biggest rival dismantled, the Yangtze River Women’s Volleyball team still faced its own set of challenges. Since the previous season, a wave of capital from the south, Southeast Asia, Japan, and Korea had flooded the domestic professional sports market, leading to the rise of emerging teams and putting immense pressure on traditional powerhouses.

Yangtze River was no exception and faced its own share of poaching attempts. One southern team even offered Ma Dongmei an annual salary of 50 million, yet she refused. She was not driven by greed; while 50 million was a substantial sum, it could not buy happiness. For now, she felt fulfilled at Yangtze River. Though her boyfriend was not by her side, the rigorous training and their frequent reunions left her quite content.

Ma Dongmei’s loyalty deeply moved the Yangtze River club. After all, the team’s captain, Lin Na—who had been developed by the club for years—had already been poached by another team, yet Ma Dongmei, who had only been with the club for three years, chose to stay. Following a deliberation, the club not only raised her salary by nearly half but also officially appointed her as the team captain.

Although Ma Dongmei went through a period of adjustment after taking on the captaincy—given that she was one of the younger members of the squad—she eventually won over the majority of the team through her formidable skill and personal charisma.

Fu Sansheng now held Ma Dongmei in high regard. The young woman, having just turned twenty, was already demonstrating the potential of a world-class volleyball star. What surprised Fu even more was that he noticed Ma Dongmei beginning to make adjustments to her own game. Previously, Fu felt she relied primarily on her exceptional physical gifts—her explosive power and control allowed for violent, forceful spikes. Gradually, however, he observed her experimenting with tactical shots, moving away from pure aggression in favor of finding the optimal trajectory and landing spots.

Fu was delighted to see this evolution. Typically, young athletes rely on their physical prowess; few learn to play a "smart game" until they reach a certain age or suffer injuries and learn to mitigate physical wear and tear. That Ma Dongmei had developed this awareness before turning twenty-one truly astonished him.

In reality, these changes were influenced by Wang Lei. Every time they met, Wang Lei would offer her insights—some regarding her physical condition, others concerning sporting philosophy. His guidance helped Ma Dongmei recognize and rectify her own shortcomings.

Bolstered by Ma Dongmei’s dominant performance throughout the first half of the season, the Yangtze River team, while not yet holding the top spot in the standings, remained firmly in the top three. Ma Dongmei, meanwhile, had rapidly become the new face of Republic women’s volleyball in the eyes of fans.

Free from injury and navigating her path with success, Ma Dongmei was happy, and thousands of miles away, Wang Lei was faring quite well himself.

It was midsummer, and the Frontier Youth Team had caused a sensation in the Northern Division of the National Games Youth Basketball Qualifiers. Stringing together victory after victory, they secured the top spot in the division with an undefeated record. Due to these stellar results, the Frontier Sports Management Center began increasing its investment in the youth team. Wang Lei was, of course, the first person they sought to secure. No one dared to eye his position anymore; everyone had enough self-awareness to realize that no one could guarantee achieving the same results in his seat.

Beyond Wang Lei, the individual players also saw an increase in income. While a monthly subsidy of a few thousand yuan might seem modest, it was the largest amount the Frontier Youth Team players had received in years.

Turgun received special treatment, as the young man was now incredibly popular. He had gained a massive following not only within the Frontier Province but across the entire country. His online streaming follower count had exceeded 200,000, cementing his status as a budding sports star. Turgun’s older sister had also become a formal employee at the training base, receiving a significant salary increase and a transfer to the logistics management office. In just over half a year, the lives of the two siblings had been transformed for the better.