Chapter 337: Chapter 284: For So Little Money, What Are You Fighting For?

Just then, Kuang Lubin, the men’s basketball team manager, seemed to notice the situation and walked over.

Liu Yudong, who was already tense, became even more so in an instant.

"Hello, Dr. Chen." Kuang Lubin, in stilted English, was the first to shake Chen Yu’s hand.

Chen Yu didn’t recognize him. He shook the offered hand, then asked curiously how Kuang Lubin knew who he was.

Kuang Lubin smiled and explained, "Dr. Chen, with a reputation like yours, how could I not know who you are? Besides, Vice President Yao has mentioned you on several occasions. He said you offered many constructive suggestions during your last trip to Shanghai, and he learned a great deal. We’ve held several internal meetings to discuss your ideas and found them incredibly beneficial."

In the Basketball Association’s new leadership team, elected this past April, he was the deputy secretary-general, while Yao Songping was one of the vice presidents.

During meetings about the development of basketball, Yao Songping had mentioned Chen Yu more than once, remarking on the advanced basketball philosophies in the United States.

The mention of Yao Songping cleared things up for Chen Yu. He nodded, but his gaze returned to Liu Yudong.

If Baggio’s injury was severe enough to be considered a disability, then the man standing before him was, for all intents and purposes, already disabled.

His knees looked as if they had been hit by a car. That he could still maintain stability, continue to walk, and even play in games was simply a medical miracle.

The collateral ligament in his left knee had clearly been torn at some point, and his meniscus was in shambles. This resulted in his femur and tibia grinding directly against each other, and the cartilage was just as badly worn down.

And then there was the Achilles tendon. His left one showed clear signs of inflammation.

His right knee was in no better shape.

Its collateral ligament had also been torn. There was bursitis, damage to the joint capsule, and severe cartilage abrasion. A quick glance revealed the entire joint was a complete mess, filled with fluid and purulent blood.

There were also loose bodies.

These loose bodies were actually small fragments produced after knee joint injury, from torn cartilage and meniscus. Nourished by the joint fluid, they gradually calcified and ossified. If not treated, they would continue to float around in the joint.

When the joint moves, it’s like having pebbles between the bones, constantly grinding and causing even more damage.

If you’re unlucky, they get stuck in the joint space, which can also cause joint locking.

’And in this man’s right knee,’ Chen Yu noted, ’loose bodies are everywhere. Pushed around by the purulent blood and effusion, some have even clustered together to form cysts.’

’He should be in a wheelchair,’ Chen Yu thought. ’In his condition, every step must feel like a knife stabbing into his knees.’ 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

’Yet not only is he walking around, he’s playing in high-intensity games. This is just courting disaster.’

"How old are you?" Chen Yu asked aloud in Chinese.

Liu Yudong seemed not to expect Chen Yu to know Chinese. He was stunned for a moment, then hurriedly replied, "Thirty-two, I think."

Chen Yu nodded, pointed to his knees, and asked, "Your knees, what was the team doctor’s diagnosis?"

For a professional athlete with knee injuries this severe, Chen Yu found it hard to believe the team doctor hadn’t made a diagnosis and attempted some form of treatment.

Liu Yudong gave a bitter smile. It was an old injury. The team doctor had been taking care of him, but with so many games, there was never enough time for surgery. The doctor had also told him that even surgery wasn’t a guaranteed fix; the underlying problems would likely remain.

He, on the other hand, felt he could keep going. His wife was a doctor, which gave him some confidence. Plus, he was a soldier, and he lived by the creed that you don’t leave the front line for minor injuries. He always felt he could still play—just get an IV drip, grit his teeth, and get back on the court. He’d been putting it off and putting it off, and had somehow managed to muddle through to this point.

In fact, he felt he could still keep going.

So Liu Yudong didn’t know how to describe his knee injury. He sighed and said, "It’s pretty serious, but there’s never been a good way to deal with it."

Chen Yu understood. The last time he went to China, he had sensed that the team doctors in the professional league lacked experience and their treatments weren’t professional enough. Even the teams, and the players themselves, didn’t take injuries seriously enough.

Many players even felt that injuries were unavoidable, and all they had to do was endure them.

Chen Yu couldn’t quite wrap his head around the reasons for this attitude, but he felt a genuine sense of respect for the man standing before him.

So Chen Yu said with a serious face, "If I were you, for the sake of the rest of your career, I would choose to rest. A long, long rest. Your condition really needs six months, maybe even a year, of treatment and recovery to get back to full health."

Chen Yu’s serious tone startled Liu Yudong.

It wasn’t the severity of the injury that shocked him, but the proposed recovery time of six months to a year.

’How am I supposed to play then?’

’I’m the main breadwinner for my family.’

’And what about my team? What about the National Team?’

He opened his mouth to argue, but Chen Yu turned to Kuang Lubin and said, "Mr. Kuang, his injury is very serious. He is in no condition to compete. You really shouldn’t let him play anymore. He can seek treatment from me; I will find a way to cure him."

Kuang Lubin was stunned for a moment. He knew Liu Yudong’s injury was serious, but from Chen Yu’s tone, it sounded so severe that he was unfit to play at all.

’But he’s already here,’ Kuang Lubin thought. ’We can’t just have him sit on the bench for the whole competition.’

’And this suggestion is coming from an outsider.’

This put Kuang Lubin in a difficult position, and for a moment he didn’t know how to respond. After thinking quickly, he decided to play along. "Dr. Chen, what would the treatment involve, exactly? And... what would the cost be?"

’Getting treatment in the United States, especially from a famous doctor like Chen Yu, must cost a fortune.’

Chen Yu said, "Surgery is a must, on both knees. Then, like I said, a six-month to one-year recovery period to fully regain his health."

’Bilateral ligament repair, microfracture surgery for the cartilage... As for the menisci, there’s not much point in trying to repair them. We should go straight to a transplant. Then there are the loose bodies in the joint capsules. Those have to be removed. Of course, compared to the other procedures, that’s a minor issue. This whole series of procedures would require at least four to five months of bed rest, followed by a planned rehabilitation program. That adds up to six months to a year, just as I said.’

"As for the cost," Chen Yu made a quick estimate. "It would probably be over a million US dollars."

"How much?"

Before Kuang Lubin could react, Liu Yudong gasped in shock.

’I knew medical care was expensive in the United States, but over a million US dollars for surgery? That’s seven or eight million RMB! That’s terrifying.’

’I couldn’t afford that even if I sold myself!’

Kuang Lubin was also silent. With a helpless expression, he said, "Dr. Chen, that cost is too high."

Chen Yu frowned.

’Too high? A procedure of this complexity... you could search all over the United States and you’d be lucky to find a hospital willing to do it for a million US dollars in surgical fees alone. Not to mention the long-term rehabilitation. My daily fee for managing an athlete’s recovery is significant. Charging just over a million is already a huge discount, given that he’s from China.’

Jackson, who was standing nearby, must have seen their strong reactions and asked in a low voice what was going on.

"It’s about the cost," Chen Yu explained briefly.

Jackson was taken aback. "He must be one of China’s best basketball players, right? Can’t he afford that much?"

To be able to lead his team to the finals and play on par with Yao Ming, he had to be among the best basketball players in China.

Even if basketball salaries in China are relatively low, between his team salary and commercial endorsements, a million-plus US dollars shouldn’t be out of reach, right? For the sake of his own career, he should be willing to part with that kind of money.

’That’s a good point,’ Chen Yu thought. ’He made it to the National Team, so his income can’t be that low.’

After a moment’s thought, Chen Yu said, "Is it the cost? You don’t have health insurance in the United States, so paying out of pocket is a bit high, but my fees are very reasonable. Besides, you’re a professional athlete. Your income shouldn’t be low, right?"

’Take Yao Ming, for example. When Brian was preparing to sign him, he did his homework. A player like Yao Ming on the Eastern Team has a contract salary of 700,000 a year. That’s just the base pay, not including various bonuses. All in, he probably makes a million a year. And Liu Yudong is one of China’s top players, so he must have endorsements, right? Assuming he makes over a million a year, at 32 years old with a career spanning a decade, he should have earned a decent amount. Over a million US dollars is a lot, but it’s negotiable. I can just reduce it a bit.’

When asked about his income, Liu Yudong just shook his head. "My income is okay, about two or three hundred thousand a year, but my family expenses are also high, so I really can’t save much. Your price of over a million US dollars... I really can’t afford it."

He looked deeply troubled. To him, over a million US dollars was an astronomical figure.

Chen Yu thought for a moment and said, "How about this. My clinic has some aid funds. I can help you waive half the treatment cost, so let’s say five hundred thousand US dollars. You make two to three hundred thousand US dollars a year, so you should be able to accept that, right?"

’Even though it’s a private clinic, I need to do some charity work for the sake of public reputation and tax deductions. It’s not a huge amount, just a five-hundred-thousand-dollar quota each year. But seeing as he’s Chinese, and admiring his spirit for playing through such a severe injury, I’ll waive half the fee for him. Besides, it’s my own clinic. If I really wanted to do it for free, no one could say a thing. But this is our first meeting. Waiving half the fee is already extremely generous.’

Liu Yudong was stunned. He quickly shook his head. "No, I don’t make two or three hundred thousand US dollars a year. I make two or three hundred thousand RMB a year."

"How much?"

Chen Yu was utterly shocked.

’Is he kidding me? A player on the same level as Yao Ming only makes two to three hundred thousand RMB a year? At the current exchange rate, that’s only thirty or forty thousand US dollars.’

’That can’t be right.’

"What about commercial endorsements?"

Liu Yudong shook his head again. "My situation is special. I’m not allowed to take commercial endorsements, so I don’t have that kind of income."

Chen Yu was completely dumbfounded.

Such a top-tier player, and a National Team member, earns only thirty to forty thousand US dollars a year. That was outrageous.

Looking Liu Yudong over again, Chen Yu fell silent.

’Sure, there’s more to sports than what happens on the court—things like national honor and personal ambition. But this is still a professional league. Since it’s a profession, shouldn’t the compensation be proportional to the sacrifice?’

Chen Yu wanted to ask him point-blank: ’You’re enduring this much agonizing pain... for so little money? What in the world are you fighting for?’