Chapter 29 Boys in Chinatown
The Usera District of Madrid can be regarded as a shanty town, slum area, and a well-known immigration area. It gathers a large number of immigrants from all over the world, among which South America has the most immigrants.
But if any Chinese tourists come to Nicholas Sanchez Street in Usera, they will definitely suspect that they have a "fake country", because looking around, the street is almost full of Chinese signs and various symbols with Chinese characteristics, such as dragons, lions, and big red lanterns...
Various Chinese restaurants, Chinese supermarkets and shopping malls decorate this not-so-spacious street like in China.
It makes people think that they have come to China in a trance.
But this is indeed a real Spanish territory, and it is an area under the jurisdiction of Madrid.
This is the famous Chinatown in China.
In Usera, Chinese have become the third largest group of immigrants. The original Spanish and shops on this street moved away, and all those who moved in were Chinese immigrants, thus turning the streets of Madrid into Chinatown.
Nearly 10,000 Chinese and overseas Chinese live here. Some of them are from their ancestors whose ancestors came to Spain within three generations, some of them came to Spain decades ago, and some of them have traveled here from China in the past ten or twenty years to discover business opportunities.
Some people have long become naturalized in Spain and Spanish-speaking immigrants, while others just work here to make money, hoping to return home to their roots in glory.
But no matter what identity or nationality, they all speak Chinese, eat Chinese cuisine, and have the same cultural origins. These made them gather in a three-kilometer area centered on the intersection of Nicholas Sanchez Street and Dolores Balanco Street. They built a Chinese city in a foreign country little by little by little by little in the way of ants moving bricks.
Dong Jin, wearing Atletico Madrid jersey, carried his schoolbag and football on the bustling sidewalk of Nicholas Sanchez Street. The football seemed to be stuck at his feet. He did not slow down and the football did not lose control. He crossed one pedestrian after another. When he passed by them, the pedestrians were shocked.
He just took the terrain smoothly, and then ran from the street outside like wind into the small restaurant at home. When he was about to hit someone, he stopped suddenly and turned around, barely avoided from the side.
Just when he was about to rush upstairs in one breath, his mother grabbed the collar: "A Jin! You almost bumped into grandpa!"
"Grandpa, I'm sorry..." Dong Jin apologized to his grandfather very perfunctorily.
Grandpa smiled and said, "Be careful of falling, it hurts if you fall."
"Dad, do you care if it hurts if he falls..." The daughter said to her father helplessly. At the same time, she felt that the son in her hand broke free and wanted to run away, so she tightened her clench.
"What are you holding in your hand?" she asked.
"It's a newspaper, newspaper." Dong Jin raised the newspaper in his hand.
"Take it and see it." Mom grabbed it and saw the photo of Gao Zheng in the newspaper. She was stunned for a moment.
"Mom, you say that Chinese people are not good at playing football, and they have no future in playing football? Gao Zheng is the pride of us Chinese!" Dong Jin said proudly next to him. "You see, there is still a future in playing football, right?"
When the mother was angry, she patted the newspaper back to the palm of her son's hand: "What football? Study hard! Why do I work so hard to make money? Is it for you to play football? You have to study hard, do you want to open a restaurant for the rest of your life?"
"There is nothing bad to open a restaurant," said Grandpa. "The best thing for us Chinese is to open a restaurant and see wherever we go. No matter what, as long as there are Chinese places, we need to eat Chinese food. If Ajin doesn't like learning, he will come to cook with Grandpa. When he grows up, he will have a skill. It's not difficult to support himself..."
"Dad!" The daughter interrupted her father's "nonsense".
"A Jin, are you hungry? Grandpa gives you food..." Grandpa asked Dong Jin with a smile.
Dong Jin shook his head quickly: "I'm not hungry, I'm going upstairs!"
After saying that, he grabbed the newspaper and rushed upstairs.
"This brat!" The mother was helpless. "The grades were so poor and she still had the heart to play football!"
Grandpa advised her: "Okay, okay, don't be too strict with Ajin, let it go..."
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Dong Jin ran to the attic on the third floor in one breath. This was his only space and his bedroom was located. After closing the door, he threw his schoolbag on the floor and couldn't wait to lie on the bed and open the newspaper and read it.
He wanted to see how the local media in Madrid evaluated Gao Zheng's performance.
The first thing that caught my eye was a big title: "He silenced the Bernabeu!"
"It's cool!" Dong Jin whistled excitedly.
He continued to read the main text.
"...We can't say that in just one game, Gao conquered the picky Atletico Madrid fans, because in the Champions League quarterfinal last season, Gao conquered Atletico Madrid fans with his hat-trick at Calderon. It is said that the reason Atletico Madrid's so determined introduction to Gao is directly related to Gao's outstanding performance in that game. It was after that game that Atletico Madrid and Simeone thought they should sign Gao at all costs, and the goal at the Bernabeu yesterday showed that Atletico Madrid's decision was extremely correct..."
Dong Jin looked at the report over and over again many times, and finally his eyes fell on the large photo on the cover. Gao Zheng in the photo raised his head, opened his arms, and stood straight, as if he wanted to embrace the whole world. This was his celebration after scoring the goal.
"So handsome!" Dong Jin turned over, lay on the bed, raised the newspaper with both hands, and looked at Gao Zheng so seriously.
As he looked at him, he was a little dazed. The person wearing Atletico Madrid jersey and posing in such a posture seemed to have been replaced by him. Then the figure got closer and closer to him, and finally slapped him on the face...
"ah……"
Dong Jin rubbed his face and turned over from the bed, then took out a pair of scissors in the drawer, carefully cut Gao Zheng's photo from the newspaper, and then applied transparent tape to the wall at the head of the bed.
After doing all this, he took two steps back and enjoyed this homemade "star poster" with satisfaction.
As a football-loving boy born on Nicholas Sanchez Street in the south of Madrid, being able to play for Atletico Madrid is simply a natural dream.
Chapter completed!