Chapter 1 Wearing the Logo of the Green Field Inheritors

Chinese teenagers wearing jackets with the Green Field Inheritors logo and sponsor logos walked together through the streets of Dortmund. This was their second day in Dortmund, and today they were going to film some outdoor scenes, one of which was a city crossing project. Without logistical support, each person was only allowed to carry a small amount of cash, and they were divided into two groups to get from point A to point B in Dortmund.

This was a game to test the young players’ independent living skills and language communication skills.

The winning side would have priority in entering the starting lineup against Dortmund u17.

Relying on games to choose the starting lineup was perhaps the biggest difference between the second season of Green Field Inheritors and the first season.

The first season emphasized football professionalism more.

After unexpectedly becoming popular, the number of sponsors increased, and so did the number of people giving orders. Everyone said that simply emphasizing professionalism was too boring, and that the proportion of entertainment should be increased. After all, this was a variety show.

So after the young players arrived at their destination, they would not bury themselves in a week of training before challenging their opponents, but would play a game every three or four days.

In this case, the team's performance was predictable.

Perhaps this was the inevitable result of focusing on entertainment and variety shows…

The young players traveled through the Dortmund city area. They could choose to walk, take public transportation, or even take a taxi, but they had to consider whether their budget was sufficient. After all, they also had to solve a lunch problem in the city of Dortmund. If they didn't have money, they had to find their own way.

Group A of young players chose to take a bus, for which they specifically studied the bus routes, including how to transfer, etc.

Now, they were sitting on the bus, driving towards their destination while curiously looking out the window at this still unfamiliar world.

Suddenly, one of the teenagers pointed out the window and shouted, "Look, Zhou Yi!"

His shout immediately attracted the attention of others, and they all stood up from their seats and looked out following their companion's finger.

As a result, they did not see Zhou Yi himself, but saw a Dortmund fan wearing Zhou Yi's jersey.

Nevertheless, the young players were very excited.

"Zhou Yi is really popular in Dortmund!"

"Yes, yes!"

"It's really enviable... I wish I could be like that someday!"

In fact, this was not the first time the young players had seen something related to Zhou Yi on the streets of Dortmund.

When they checked into the hotel, the hotel waiters saw a group of Chinese people and excitedly shouted "Zhou Yi, Zhou Yi" to them. On the street, when people saw that they were Chinese, the Dortmund citizens next to them would be much more friendly.

These were all benefits that Zhou Yi brought to them.

Because this city had a Chinese genius, all Chinese people seemed to be guests of this city.

"Hey, Yan Min, what are you doing?" A teammate patted Yan Min, who was sitting in his seat and didn't stand up to join in the fun.

Yan Min said without turning his head, "Can't you see? I'm reading the newspaper."

"Of course, we can all see that you're reading the newspaper. But can you understand German newspapers?"

"Why can't I understand? It says that Dortmund won Leverkusen 3:0 at home, and Zhou Yi shone throughout the whole game. Niubi dale (awesome)!" Yan Min pointed to the photo of Zhou Yi in the newspaper and said to his teammates.

"Eh? How do you say 'Niubi dale' in German, Yan Min?" A teammate came over.

"I'm just translating it locally. It actually just means very powerful!"

"I didn't expect you to understand German. That's great. We'll leave it to you to ask for directions when we eat later!"

"No problem, leave it to me!" Yan Min patted his chest and said confidently. "I guarantee we'll get to our destination before the other team!"

※※※

In the evening, after Zhou Yi finished training, he met with his agent and the main负责人 (fù zé rén - person in charge) of the Green Field Inheritors production team in a restaurant, and also saw his mentor, Hao Dong.

"Hmm, not bad! The young man is stronger and taller." After seeing Zhou Yi, Hao Dong took a step back, looked him up and down, and then nodded and smiled.

"Hehe, Mr. Hao, you're right, I'm now one meter seventy-eight!" Zhou Yi said ostentatiously, "Measured without shoes!"

The staff next to them couldn't help but feel a little emotional when they saw Zhou Yi and Hao Dong meet.

Some of them had participated in the filming of the first season, and some were new. Among these people were producers, directors, and designers, lighting, and sound staff. In order to film, they had to come to the restaurant in advance to prepare and set up the equipment.

Zhou Yi arrived a little earlier than scheduled, so when he arrived, Hao Dong hadn't arrived yet. Zhou Yi actually greeted each and every staff member on the scene, still like an ordinary child, without any airs of a star.

And he could even call out the names of those staff members who had participated in the filming of the previous season! This really made the staff feel shocked and... honored.

Looking at his current communication with Hao Dong, it was clear that his previous attitude was very genuine. He didn't deliberately pretend to create a friendly image. He was just that kind of person.

Such a person was able to achieve such great success, and everyone was sincerely happy for him.

Hao Dong laughed happily, then patted Zhou Yi's shoulder hard without saying anything, but his feelings for Zhou Yi were all in this hearty laughter and the strength of the pat on the shoulder.

He really liked Zhou Yi, a child who came from humble beginnings but was able to reach an unprecedented height for Chinese players. In addition to talent, it was inseparable from the child's hard work.

How can you tell how hard Zhou Yi worked?

Just look at his body now. That's why Hao Dong took a look at Zhou Yi's body as soon as he came in.

In order to adapt to European football, Zhou Yi really put in a lot of effort, which can be seen from the gradually emerging muscle contours and the increased height of his body.

Afterwards, everyone ate together while discussing the specific filming arrangements for the day after tomorrow.

Including what time to enter the venue, the specific program flow, and finally, the program team made a request, hoping that Zhou Yi could treat the young players to a meal after the game and impart some experience to them at the dinner table.

"No problem. I can afford a meal for a dozen people." Zhou Yi was very straightforward.

"Uh, not a dozen people, actually only four people..." The on-site director quickly explained to Zhou Yi.

"Ah, only four?" Zhou Yi was very surprised.

"Yes, because eating with you is a reward for the young players. Only those who perform well in the game can get such an opportunity. And you will choose who gets to eat with you," the director explained.

After Zhou Yi heard this, he thought for a moment.

Since this was the arrangement of the program team, it was not good for him to change their minds, so he agreed: "No problem either."

After the work was discussed, it was time to eat and chat.

Zhou Yi exchanged some feelings and experiences of playing football in Germany with Hao Dong, and also talked about the national team.

Hao Dong, as someone who had been there, gave Zhou Yi some advice on the national team.

The atmosphere was very harmonious.

※※※

A day later, Dortmund's training was half a day, there was training in the morning, but not in the afternoon. This afternoon was the filming time agreed upon by Zhou Yi and the program team.

In the locker room of the competition venue, Hao Dong, the head coach of this team, announced the starting lineup. Compared with the first season, the number of young players participating this time reached eighteen, but only eleven could start, and seven would sit on the bench.

But Hao Dong only announced ten names, then stopped.

The young players in the locker room were very surprised, why only ten people?

Everyone cast their doubtful eyes on Hao Dong.

At this time, Hao Dong smiled and said, "The last starter is... Zhou Yi!"

When this name was read out by the head coach, the young players in the locker room were stunned and didn't react for a moment.

Then, the door of the locker room was opened, and a familiar figure walked in.

It was really Zhou Yi! Zhou Yi wearing the inheritors' white jersey!

The people in the locker room were first stunned, then screamed, just like fans reacting when they suddenly saw their idol in front of them.

"Hi, everyone." Zhou Yi smiled and greeted this group of excited young players. When he saw these children, he recalled the scenes when he participated in this program two years ago.

Being with a group of teammates of the same age and fighting for victory was really like these people now.

Although two years had passed, Zhou Yi felt as if time had gone backwards when he saw them.

He was especially happy now that he had agreed to participate in the recording of this program, because he could relive a period of time in the past.

"Okay, there's no need to introduce Zhou Yi." Hao Dong didn't say much, motioned Zhou Yi to sit in his seat, and then began to briefly arrange the tactics for the game later.

After speaking, he also asked Zhou Yi: "Do you want to reveal a little bit about the enemy's situation to us?"

These words made everyone laugh.

Zhou Yi quickly waved his hand: "No, no. I'm not very familiar with this group of Dortmund u17 players. When I entered u17, they seemed to be u15? There's a two-year difference..."

※※※

After briefly arranging the tactics, the inheritors' team came out to warm up, preparing for the game.

When they went out, the Dortmund u17 players were already warming up.

When the Dortmund u17 players found out that Zhou Yi was actually on the side of the inheritors' team, they were also taken aback.

The core of the team, Thomas Eisfeld, directly "reported" to the head coach: "Why is Zhou Yi over there?"

The u17 youth team head coach was also an acquaintance of Zhou Yi's - Sascha Eickel.

Of course, he knew why Zhou Yi was there. The program team had communicated with him in advance.

So he said to Eisfeld: "Warm up properly! This is for the effect of the show!"

Eisfeld secretly curled his lips, but kept staring at Zhou Yi while warming up.

As a midfielder talent one year younger than Götze, Eisfeld was also highly regarded. If he had the opportunity to enter the first team, then Zhou Yi would be his senior.

In the youth team, Zhou Yi and Götze had become role models for the children, and everyone wanted to become the next Zhou Yi and Götze. The ambitious Eisfeld was naturally no exception.