Dai Li was used to people's content look after they received a massage from him. Right now, coach Ding looked the same.
"Nice, I like it. Knead harder," Coach Ding murmured with comfort. " I have been suffering from waist intervertebral disc protrusion for dozens of years. Those masseuses with little strength can't even make me feel their kneading. I'm really jealous of you young people, you have so much strength, and your kneading is working..."
"Coach Ding, did you say that you have waist intervertebral disc protrusion?" Li asked casually.
"You know I'm an old man. Of course I have some problems. We coaches exercise everyday, we may not have the 'three high diseases (Hypertension, Hyperglycemia and Hyperlipidemia),' but we easily get cervical spondylopathy, scapulohumeral periarthritis, and arthritis." Coach Ding was beginning to chat with Dai Li.
I'm using muscle relaxation right now. If I use rehabilitative massage, it might work on coach Ding's disability! Li recalled the related theory about waist intervertebral disc protrusion.
Usually waist intervertebral disc protrusion is formed by a degenerative disease and lumbar injury. To cure this disease, in addition to surgery, there are some other treatments such as traction, physiotherapy, and massage. For patients with slight symptoms, surgery is not necessary. Some patients may only need to lie in bed for a few days to recover. If lying in bed is also a method for self-recovery, then my rehabilitative massage would probably be effective for coach Ding.
Thinking about this, Li changed his method. He shifted from muscle relaxation to rehabilitative massage.
"Why did you change techniques?" Coach Ding felt the difference right away. Li's method had changed.
"This one is not as effective as the last one. I can't feel the relaxation," coach Ding pondered. Suddenly a sharp pain shot along his spine.
"Ow!" coach Ding shouted out. The pain came from his lumbar. He felt like he was hit by a heavy hammer. Even though it had only lasted a split second, coach Ding was sweating a lot. But once the pain was gone, he felt carefree. The coziness was indescribable.
"Awesome!" Coach Ding sighed with astonishment.
Li noticed that his empirical value increased as the system presented it. This meant that his rehabilitative massage indeed worked on waist intervertebral disc protrusion. Although it could not cure the disease, it could release coach Ding's pain.
After a while, coach Ding stood up and twisted his waist. He even tried a set of rapid squats. But, to his surprise, he didn't feel any lumbar pain.
"Hey, your massage is pretty cool! Previously I had to stoop slowly, but now even if I stoop hard I'm still OK!" said coach Ding.
"I suggest you not stoop too hard. You have to take care of your lumbar daily. If you stoop one more time, my effort could have been spent in vain," Li said as he was about to wash his hands.
"Li!" Coach Ding suddenly stopped Li. "Would you like to join the national team? I mean, get a formal job here?"
"Work for the national team?" Li was surprised. He never expected coach Ding to bring this up all of a sudden, let alone offer this great opportunity to him.
To any domestic coach, working for the national team was the dream. Being a coach for the national team meant standing at the top of pyramid. Moreover, being recruited to the national team was also proof of a coach's ability.
However, not everybody could join the national team. Take coach Yuejin Chen, who had brought Dai Li to the Sports University. He only worked for the national team on occasion, and it was an old story. Considering coach Chen's current ability, the national team wouldn't even give him a chance for interview. But even despite this cruel fact, coach Chen still prospered among Hanbei coaches because of his experience with the national team.
To people who were as good as coach Zhongyi Xu, it was obviously pretty easy for them to find a place on the national team. But coach Xu was already the head of the provincial swimming team, and he would have a chance to work in the Provincial Sport Department to be an official, which was a brighter future compared to working on the national team. Therefore, coach Xu was not very interested in joining the national team.
But to a young coach like Dai Li, if he had a chance to coach for the national team, it would be a great rise in life. After ten years of working for the team, then working for a local team, Li would easily get a job as a chief coach.
Li's eyes suddenly shined with excitement. He was eager to join the national team.
But coach Ding continued. "We have a high-intensity training load, but we lack skillful masseuses like you. If you are interested in this job, I can help you work here."
"Coach Ding, do you mean that you want me to be your masseuse?" Li asked. He suddenly felt upset.
Coach Ding nodded. "To be honest, you are way better than the masseuses on our team. I know some famous masseuses in big hospitals that may not be as good as you. To tell you the truth, I never felt as comfortable as I did with you after they gave me massages. Li, I appreciate your skills. I really hope that you can join us. Furthermore, you have been working with our team for months. You have seen our resources, which must be better than your Hanbei Provincial Team."
Li didn't give it a second thought, and shook his head without hesitation. "Thank you, but no. I don't want to work as a masseuse. I'm a coach!"
Being a coach was different from being a masseuse. This didn't mean that a masseuse had a lower social status than that of a coach. On the contrary, a good masseuse was harder to find than a good coach. Almost every athlete could turn into a coach after they retired and probably be a decent one. But it was unheard of for an athlete to turn into a good masseuse.
But Li did not want to be a masseuse. Ever since Aiguo Jiang's competition, he had decided that he wanted to be a coach. These days, as he joined in Feixiang Lin's training, he was moved by Lin's willpower. It inspired him to be an outstanding coach in the future!
However, coach Ding didn't give up on trying to persuade Li. "Li, don't look down upon masseuses. A masseuse for the national team is a good job. You can give rich people massages in your spare time. With your fame, you can earn thousands of yuan in just an hour. A coach can never earn money that quick. In addition, Donggang is the financial center of this country. A lot of rich people live here. You will have plenty of opportunities to earn money. You may even earn enough money to buy a house here within two or three years."
In some nice areas, it was common for a house to cost 80,000 yuan per square meter. In golden areas, plus school district, the housing price skyrocketed above 100,000 yuan per square meter. It was not an exaggeration to say that a person who owned a house in Donggang City was a multimillionaire.
Donggang had the highest housing price in the country. The housing rate in Donggang City was no less than five million yuan. Most people couldn't afford a house even if they saved money their entire life. If Li could afford a house within two or three years, he would earn at least two million yuan per year.
But Li wasn't motivated by this temptation. It didn't mean that he didn't love money. To a young person in their twenties, achieving his dream was more important!
"Thank you, coach Ding," Li rejected again. "I'm a coach."
Coach Ding could tell Li's determination from his words. In that moment he saw a younger version of himself in Li, proud with a sense of stubbornness.
"It must be so good to be young!" Coach Ding sighed. He patted Li's shoulder. "I believe you will be a great coach. But my words are always effective. Whenever you change your mind, you are always welcome!"