The Golden Age of Basketball

()1981年6月28号，bei jing时间上午11点，美国太平洋时间6月27号下午7点，正是美国人吃晚餐的时候。

The flight from Shanghai to San Francisco landed at San Francisco International Airport.

Gan Guoyang had a good night's sleep on the plane. A large airliner like Boeing 747 flies in the stable stratosphere, and the passengers feel that the plane is stationary.

The flight attendant on the plane has begun to remind passengers that they are about to arrive at their destination, and everyone else is waking up.

"Hey, Dad, wake up, we're here!" Gan Guoyang looked at Gan Youwei beside him, who was still sleeping soundly.

"It must be because of drinking some wine."

Gan Guoyang did not expect that in the 80s, a Chinese international flight would come with a free tasting of Moutai!

Gan Youwei has a poor capacity for alcohol, but he ordered a drink with the mentality of not drinking for nothing. After all, this is wine for the state banquet.

After drinking, he became dizzy and fell asleep. When he arrived in San Francisco, the flight attendant did not wake him up.

"Dad!" Gan Guoyang shouted into Gan Youwei's ear.

"Ah!" Gan Youwei woke up suddenly, "What's wrong?"

"Dad, we're in America."

"Are you there?" Gan Youwei woke up, took off the clothes covering his body, straightened his body and looked out the window.

"It's really here." Because Gan Youwei had already seen the iconic building in San Francisco, the Golden Gate Bridge.

In the evening sunset, the bridge looks extraordinarily magnificent and majestic.On the east coast of the Pacific Ocean, San Francisco has already begun to be brightly lit, in stark contrast to the Shanghai when Gan Guoyang left.

"Is this the United States?" Gan Guoyang also looked at the light outside the window, thinking that in another 20 or 30 years, China would become the same as here.

The plane began to land, Gan Guoyang sat on the seat, fastened his seat belt, and felt his heart sinking continuously.But his mood flew up.

San Francisco, this is the home of the NBA team Golden State Warriors!

This means that in 1981, before the NBA entered China, I was able to go to the scene to enjoy the world's highest level of basketball games.In the 21st century, he can't do it.

The plane finally landed slowly on the runway of San Francisco International Airport. After a trip of more than ten hours, people crossed the vast Pacific Ocean and reached the other shore.

Gan Youwei also felt that he had reached the other side of his life. For him, he finally took his son away from the land that made him sad, and started the life of father and son here again.

After getting off the plane, Gan Youwei took his son with the I-94 form and customs declaration form, went to San Francisco International Airport to go through immigration procedures, and accepted the entry inspection by immigration officers and customs officers.

During the immigration inspection, the immigration officials would ask some simple questions, but Gan Youwei had only learned Russian as a foreign language since he was a child, and he had almost forgotten it, so he couldn't understand it.

Although the immigration officer saw this situation a lot, he would not embarrass him.

Gan Guoyang, on the other hand, was able to understand the immigration officer's questions and answer a few sentences in simple English, which really surprised Gan Youwei.

Although Dang Lei's English level is not very good, it is more than enough to answer a few questions such as "what's your name", "how old is", and "where do you come from".Therefore, Gan Guoyang naturally surprised and surprised his father.

"My dear son, your English is not bad? Why didn't you do so well in the English test?"

"Hey, the test is different from the actual application."

In this way, the two passed the security check smoothly, and walked towards the exit together with their relevant visas.

Gan Youwei applied for a labor visa. He went to work at a Chinese restaurant owned by his cousin in San Francisco, and it took him a lot of effort to get this visa.

Gan Guoyang, on the other hand, is on a student visa. He came to the United States to finish his last year of high school and strive to apply for American universities.

After leaving the airport, the two of them had to think about finding their cousin in this unfamiliar foreign country.

Gan Youwei looked at this strange city and the strange foreign faces around him. The feeling of newness on the plane was gone, replaced by a feeling of fear and loneliness.

"Dad, where is the visit to my cousin's house? Let's take a taxi there." Gan Guoyang was very calm and made a suggestion.

Thinking that he still had a son, Gan Youwei's heart immediately calmed down. He took out a notebook from his bag, and then took out a note from the notebook with the address of his cousin's restaurant on it.Because it is the busiest time of the restaurant, so I can't come to pick them up.

"Gan's Restaurant, No. 235, Stockton Avenue, Chinatown, San Francisco." Gan Youwei looked at the address on the note, followed by an English address and the restaurant's phone number.

"Come on, Dad, let's take a taxi."

In the parking lot outside the airport, yellow taxis were lined up like locusts.Unlike China at that time, taxis were hard to come by.

After finding a car to get on, Gan Guoyang showed the note to the taxi driver, expressing that he was going to this place.

The driver was an Indian with a turban. You can see all kinds of people everywhere in the United States. He should have driven a lot of Chinese people, so without further ado, he started the car and drove towards downtown San Francisco.

San Francisco International Airport is located in the south of downtown San Francisco, about [-] kilometers away from Chinatown in the city center.

The taxi was driving north on Highway 101 in the San Francisco Bay.

In the night wind, Gan Guoyang looked at the bright San Francisco city that was getting closer and closer in the distance, and he still had a feeling of dreaming.The changes he experienced in the past two days were really astonishing. He felt that maybe it was because of the shocking changes that he was surprisingly calm. He accepted this fact very quickly, as if he wanted to protect his nerves and not make himself want to go crazy.

But when he calmed down, he still couldn't help thinking about it, couldn't help "recalling things in the future."

It is a great paradox to remember the future.

At this moment, Gan Guoyang is eager to find something, something that can fill his life, so that he will not let himself fall into unpredictable confusion because of thinking about those things.

"Dad, I want to buy a basketball."

"Basketball? Well, of course there is no problem. I just wonder if American basketball will be more expensive."

"Haha, everything in the United States is bought in dollars, of course it is more expensive."

"Dad, I will work hard to earn money! You kid should study hard in the United States!"

For Gan Guoyang, he felt that the biggest gain in coming to the past time and space this time is to have a father who loves him.

…………

After driving for about half an hour, the car finally arrived in Chinatown.

As soon as they arrived in Chinatown, the car passed through a green archway, which immediately made the father and son feel a kindness.

The entire Chinatown has a strong cultural atmosphere of southern China, and many people with yellow skin and black hair on the street make people feel that they have returned to China.

Finally, after seven turns and eight turns, the taxi stopped and the destination arrived.

Gan Youwei took out a fifty-dollar bill and gave it to the driver, and signaled him not to change it. Gan Youwei also knew that the United States has the habit of tipping.

When the father and son got out of the car, they saw a large wooden signboard with black characters on a red background: "Gan's Restaurant."

At this time, the restaurant was very busy and full of seats.The two of them pushed the door open and walked in, carrying big bags and small bags.

"Welcome, how many people?" It was the welcome waiter at the door, a Chinese girl, who came up and asked cordially.

"Oh... no, I want to find your boss." As soon as Gan Youwei spoke Chinese, he felt at ease.

"Looking for our boss?"

"Yes, I'm your boss's cousin, who just came from China."

As soon as Gan Youwei finished speaking, a tall, burly fat man wearing a white chef uniform came out from the door of the kitchen.As soon as he saw Gan Youwei and his son at the door, he immediately greeted them.

"Oh, oh, isn't this a promising cousin! Come here, come here, thank you, I came here from China. Unfortunately, the time is not right, the hotel is busy, so I can't pick you up, sorry, sorry. Hurry up Quick, put the things in the counter. I'll call my dad later, he's cooking a special roast duck inside."

This enthusiastic fat man is Gan Youwei's cousin, Gan Youtang.Although his "watch" is a bit far away, more than 1 miles per watch.

"Oh no, let my cousin be busy first. Come on, I met my cousin, your cousin, call him cousin." Gan Youwei pulled his son over and asked Gan Guoyang to say hello to his cousin.

"Hi cousin, I'm Guoyang."

"Hey, this kid is so tall? Really, he's taller than my Guohui? Cousin, it seems that life in China is good, why come to the United States." Gan Youtang joked.

"Oh, life is just getting better, but I still yearn for a better capitalist life!" Gan Youwei also teased a few words.

At this time, another old man in a chef's uniform came out from the kitchen, wiping his hands with a towel as he came out.

"Youwei, are you here? Oh, look, I'm so busy here that I don't have time to pick you up."

The old man is naturally Gan Youwei's cousin, Gan Guoyang's cousin, and Gan Bingguang, the owner of Gan's Restaurant.

"You have worked hard, old man. I have to entrust you to take care of me when I come to the United States. This is my son, Gan Guoyang. When you come to Guoyang, I will call you cousin."

"Hello, Uncle Cousin." Gan Guoyang greeted Uncle Cousin obediently again.

In fact, Gan Youwei and Gan Youtang are already distant cousins. After all, when Gan Youwei's father was born, there were many children in the family.

What's more, his cousin took his family to the United States before the founding of the People's Republic of China, and Gan Youwei has not seen this cousin for more than 30 years, let alone Gan Guoyang, who has the memory of two generations, has never seen this cousin and cousin.

"Youtang, take Wei and Guoyang to go upstairs, the guest room has been arranged, let them settle down."

"okay."

Gan Youtang took Gan Youwei and his son upstairs, and put their luggage in a small room.

"Yuwei, I have wronged you two for the time being. The space here is relatively small. We have a family of six and live in another apartment, which is not well-off. I will let you live in the store for the time being, and when we have a house, I will rent a house for you."

"I don't have a hall, but I'm satisfied if I can live. Now that I'm in a foreign country, I don't have a job or income. It's good to have a place to shelter from the wind and rain."

Gan Youwei thought very openly, but Gan Guoyang suffered more in his "previous life", so he naturally had no opinion at all.

The father and son lived in this way, and tidied up the small room.

In the evening, the restaurant was closed and the employees had all gone home, so they went upstairs to let the two of them come down, saying that my cousin had cooked some dishes and wanted to clean up the dust for the two of them.

Gan Guoyang is a person with memories of two lifetimes. In the 21st century, he has no money or power, but he is also well-informed, although it is all seen from the Internet.However, he was a little surprised to see a table full of dishes, because he didn't know most of these dishes.

"Cousin, you are too polite...why do you do this...let's just eat whatever we want."

"Hey, you've come from afar, and you're cousins. It's already rude not to pick you up. How can you make good food on the table again? Come, don't be too polite, let's eat."

The father and son couldn't say anything more, so they moved their chopsticks.Several people chatted while eating.

"You promise, I let you come to the United States this time, and I hope that the Gan family will be more prosperous. After all, my elder brother passed away, and my younger brother also died in Hainan. You are the only seedling in your family, and your parents are also dead. It’s early. A family, the old dies, the young ones are weak, but they still have to be separated by thousands of miles, I really can’t bear it.”

The members of the Gan family are not prosperous, and their luck is not good. Now there are only two branches left: Youwei and Youtang.

"I know my cousin, and I just want to leave the mainland and venture into a new world. The past life was too useless." Gan Youwei thought of betraying his wife again.

"Okay, let's not talk about the past, now we are considered a family reunion! Come on, drink this glass of wine!"

Gan Bingguang raised his wine glass, and Gan Guoyang, who had been eating vegetables, poured himself a glass of wine when he saw this, and drank it up after clinking the glasses.

"Haha, my nephew is so proud! Youwei, compared to your son, you are not as good as you are."

Gan Youwei's capacity for alcohol was quite poor, his face turned red after drinking a cup, and he became a little dizzy.But Gan Guoyang is fine.

"Green comes from blue and is better than blue. In the future, Guoyang and Guohui can be like brothers!" Youtang also said beside him.

These four men became more and more enthusiastic about eating and chatting more and more speculatively. After all, they are a family, and blood is thicker than water. Even if they haven't seen each other for more than [-] years, they still have a strong family relationship.

"Cousin, I can't live and eat for nothing when I come here. I have to have a job to support myself and to support Guoyang's study." When the meal was almost finished, Gan Youwei suggested Here comes the real question.

"Hehehe, Youwei, work is not a problem, don't forget, what did the ancestors of the Gan family do." Gan Bingguang said.

What did the ancestors of the Gan family do?The ancestors of the Gan family opened a restaurant, and it was a big restaurant with famous dishes handed down from their ancestors.

Gan Youwei also immediately thought of it, because in the Gan family, his father inherited the name of Gan's restaurant and acquired the skills of famous dishes passed down from his ancestors.It's a pity that it was destroyed in the turmoil.

And Gan Youwei is the orthodox heir of Gan's family cuisine. He cooks good dishes. Unfortunately, he has no use in the mainland. He can only cook and wash dishes at home, and finally let his wife run away.

"Okay, I understand, then I will be the chef of Gan's restaurant!"

Gan Youwei knew that it was impossible for his cousin to let the father and son come here purely to reunite the family. If he didn't know how to cook, if he didn't have the skills passed down from his ancestors, wouldn't he come to the United States just to cause trouble for his cousin?

"Haha, that's right, you are promising. The Gan family's cuisine will depend on your generation to carry forward! Come on, let's have another drink."

Just like that, the four drank again.With Gan Youwei's drinking capacity, he has long been confused.But Gan Guoyang is fine.

In the end, both cousin and uncle returned home, and Gan Guoyang also carried his father to the upstairs room, threw him on the small bed, helped him take off his clothes, and put him to sleep.Gan Youwei also fell asleep as soon as he got to bed.

At this moment, Gan Guoyang could finally calm down, sitting alone in front of the window, looking at the still bustling Chinatown outside the window.

In this way, he came to the United States, and came to this country that he never even dared to think about. Now, in 1981, he will start his new life here.And, what he didn't expect, a basketball legend.

"Hello, America."