The Sweetness of the Seventies-Chapter 1229 - 1197: Retiring?

Previous athletes always spent money; when would they ever earn money for the team? But He Tiantian’s excellence did just that, pioneering a new direction for sports development.

"Uh-huh, this time besides attending the celebration, I actually want to talk to the team about something—I’m thinking of retiring," said He Tiantian. "After all, I’m not young anymore, and always being on top, it’s unfair to the younger athletes."

He Tiantian was aware that she had certain advantages, but the other athletes all worked hard genuinely.

He Tiantian had achieved fame and success, and her private club was already built; she didn’t need to use the national team’s training facilities. Although she would miss the thrilling, heart-racing experience of competing, He Tiantian didn’t want to stand in anyone else’s way.

Director Li was startled and exclaimed, "Retire?"

Director Li looked at He Tiantian, then turned to Coach Wu.

Coach Wu nodded, "Teacher He mentioned it before."

"Ah, retiring?" Director Li said. "But you are now a national treasure-level athlete for Country H! Although we should respect your decision, and while you are not young, you are in good shape and fully capable of competing in major events."

Director Li had taken over from Director Jiao temporarily, so his position wasn’t very secure, making him keen for He Tiantian to continue competing, adding to his achievements.

"The most important thing is, I think there are a lot of promising newcomers on our team; they should be given the chance," said He Tiantian. "The legend of an individual is not as good as the legend of a team. Also, for events where I’ve already won gold, I no longer have the passion to participate."

Director Li regretfully said, "Although your intentions are good, it’s such a pity for you to retire. If you don’t want to block others’ paths and have no interest in the events you’ve won, we can certainly enroll you in some events that other athletes are not good at and that you haven’t participated in before, wouldn’t that solve the problem?"

In any case, Director Li simply didn’t want He Tiantian to retire.

Not to mention the performance, if she retired just as he took office, what would people outside think of him?

Maybe those busybodies will say that He Tiantian is unsatisfied with his leadership—that’s why she’s retiring?

He Tiantian was surprised; it seemed the leader might not approve her retirement.

"Uh, I’ll think about it," He Tiantian said, wanting to drop the subject.

Just then someone came to announce the meeting was about to start.

He Tiantian followed the senior leaders to the meeting.

As an outstanding athlete, after the leaders’ speeches, He Tiantian also went up as a representative to speak.

She didn’t say much, just encouraged everyone to work hard and achieve good results next time.

Then came the awards ceremony.

Two thousand for a gold medal and one bicycle.

One thousand for a silver medal and one bicycle. ƒгeewёbnovel.com

Five hundred for a bronze medal and one bicycle.

This time, He Tiantian received sixteen thousand in bonus and eight bicycles.

The money was put directly into a bag, but what about the bicycles?

Eventually, Wei Yuanyuan sent someone with a small truck to transport the bicycles to the warehouse, to be distributed as employee benefits during the New Year.

That night, He Tiantian discussed with Huo Yingjie whether to retire or not.

Huo Yingjie put down the newspaper, thought for a moment, and said, "If you don’t want to swim anymore, then retire. If you do, maybe keep two or three events, not too many, it’s too hard."

"Uh, you always let me have my way," He Tiantian sighed, knowing she wouldn’t get a negative answer from Huo Yingjie.

"Hehe, as long as you’re happy," Huo Yingjie chuckled. He used to influence her decisions with a man’s perspective, but now he didn’t.

He Tiantian was his wife, but also an independent individual with her own thoughts, capable of planning her own future.

Whatever decision she made, Huo Yingjie would support it.

As long as she was happy, that was what mattered.

Tang Qian was having a meeting, and He Tiantian took time to go there; it was rare for the other shareholders to be present too.

They were there to watch a newly released movie.

The movie was about an ancient female knight, with a decent plot and attractive, stylish characters; it should do well at the box office.

After watching the movie, He Tiantian took the lead in applauding.

"The movie’s not bad this year," said He Tiantian. "Congratulations in advance."

Tang Qian smiled, "We shouldn’t celebrate too early; everything depends on the box office revenue."

"By the way, since everyone is here, help me think about something. If I retire now, the impact on everyone won’t be too significant, right?" He Tiantian asked. If it had been earlier, she would have just retired, but now she’d shot numerous advertisements; retiring could affect their effectiveness, right?

"Big! A huge impact!" Tang Qian said. "You are currently the best athlete, but once you retire, your current achievements become past, and exposure as well as endorsement effects will diminish."

Qi Zhengmin nodded, "Yeah, Sister Tiantian, our ads aren’t filmed yet. You can’t retire. Don’t you really like swimming?"

"I like it, but I feel at my age, it’s time to make way for the younger ones," He Tiantian said, not wanting to hinder the youngsters with the golden finger she had obtained.

Jiang Wenwen swayed He Tiantian’s arm and said, "Sister-in-law, did you know? I recently put our ads and photos on the TV stations and to the dealers below, and today I received fifty new wholesale orders. Do you know what that means?"

"What does it mean?" asked He Tiantian. "Is the celebrity effect that powerful?"

"Yes, it’s that powerful!" said Jiang Wenwen. "If we maintain this kind of popularity, our output this year is estimated to be double that of last year. At the same time, more places are calling to ask for franchise opportunities. By next year, we could be the top domestic sports brand."

"Ah?" He Tiantian was astonished. "I didn’t realize my influence was this big!"

"That’s how big it is," Jiang Wenwen said. "Sister-in-law, you can pick two or three events, or even just one or two, but please don’t retire. Endorse for us for a few more years."

"Hehe, Sister Tiantian, if Jingli knew you were thinking of retiring, she would probably run over to Yanjing now," Qi Xiaoyan laughed. "Since you don’t dislike it and merely don’t want to block others, why not challenge more difficult events!"

After listening, He Tiantian indeed liked swimming and enjoyed the atmosphere of competition. So she decided to postpone her retirement for a couple more years, but she planned to practice difficult individual medleys, 200 meters, 800 meters – apparently, no one on the national team was qualified for the Olympics in these events, which indicated a weak spot.

"Okay, I won’t retire then, I’ll practice medleys," said He Tiantian. "It seems our national team is quite poor in this area."

"No matter what you practice, as long as you don’t retire, it’s all good," Tang Qian said. "You just scared me to death. I got a call yesterday about a program, our CCTV’s sports channel wants to do a special interview with you. If you’re free, go record an episode."