Chapter 26: Plucking Feathers from Passing Geese (An Extra Chapter for Little Pineapple’s Generous Reward)

The Olympic torch began its journey on May 8 this year, traveling from Greece to New York, USA, and then crossing approximately fifteen hundred towns before finally reaching Los Angeles.

The entire route spanned about nineteen thousand kilometers, of which ten thousand kilometers involved torch relays. For each kilometer relayed, a fee of three thousand dollars had to be paid to the organizing committee. This ingenious activity alone raised thirty million dollars for the Olympics, which was why Su Mu said they had money.

This Los Angeles Olympics was unlike any previous games; it felt as if they had gone mad for profit, utilizing every imaginable way to make money. For instance, even the privilege to relay the torch had to be bought, a practice never seen before.

Though it seemed a minor idea, it attracted many wealthy individuals who willingly spent three thousand dollars to buy a worthless torch, and happily volunteered to carry the Olympic flame.

Su Mu still remembered, when he was very young, seeing several protests against hosting the Olympics on television. Many considered it a wasteful and wrong decision, a crowd of taxpayers surrounding the Los Angeles City Hall, objecting to their money being spent on a useless Olympics.

Looking at previous Olympic Games, their opposition seemed reasonable. Past Olympics had always lost money: the 1972 Munich Games in Germany cost a billion dollars and lost six hundred million; the 1976 Montreal Games in Canada cost two billion, lost a billion, pushing the city government near bankruptcy and leaving about three million residents burdened with enormous debt that would take twenty years to repay; even the previous 1980 Moscow Olympics cost nine billion dollars with no profit whatsoever.

Time after time, these examples proved hosting the Olympics was a costly affair. Afterwards, no one wanted to take on such a loss-making business, so Los Angeles was the only city to bid for the 1984 Summer Olympics, winning by default. It was said the chairman of the organizing committee breathed a sigh of relief—had no city applied, it would have been truly embarrassing.

Despite the apparent prestige, Los Angeles faced a huge mess. City Hall couldn’t provide much funding, yet hosting the Olympics required significant expenses. Residents didn’t want to become another Montreal, so they angrily opposed the Games, urging the mayor to spend money on things that mattered, not on an Olympics that brought nothing but fame.

Previously, cities hosting the Olympics relied mainly on official funding, lottery sales, and donations. Begging for money was extremely difficult, and many didn’t want to be involved in such trouble, which led to the awkward situation where only Los Angeles applied for the 1984 Summer Games.

Even before Los Angeles applied, the government announced it would not provide any financial support for the Games. To make matters worse, it was illegal to sell lottery tickets in California, which was why Su Mu had traveled all the way to City Hall to place a bet for his boss. The William Hill lottery wasn’t issued in California; what he visited recently was just a betting point.

As for donations, that avenue was even more impossible. The public loudly demanded, “Not a single cent of our taxes can be used!” It would have been strange indeed if City Hall could touch that money. These problems left Los Angeles with no funds. The former mayor was only responsible for securing the bid and had long since retired, while the new mayor was left desperately scrambling. If the Olympics couldn’t be held, it wouldn’t just be an embarrassment for America, but a humiliation in front of the entire world.

In such circumstances, someone brought in an experienced businessman to serve as chairman of the Olympic organizing committee. He opposed building new venues, sold naming rights, drew in giants like Coca-Cola, Fuji, and KFC to spend lavishly on advertising, and even sold broadcasting rights for more than two hundred million dollars!

They didn’t even build an Olympic Village, instead borrowing student dormitories from UCLA to serve that purpose. It was clear to anyone paying attention that the Los Angeles Olympics would not lose money, and might even turn a profit, suddenly rekindling cities’ enthusiasm for hosting the Games…

In short, the long-awaited Olympics were truly about to begin.

In just a few hours, the opening ceremony would start. With the Soviet Union leading a group of countries in a collective boycott, the public warmly welcomed the arrival of the Chinese sports delegation. It was clear that there were no absolute enemies, only absolute interests, and now relations between the two countries were excellent.

Also, thanks to the chairman of the Los Angeles organizing committee who cared only about money, tickets for ordinary events were priced at over four hundred dollars, while the opening ceremony tickets were even higher. California, as one of America’s wealthiest and most populous states, was never short of rich people. A month before, it was announced that all opening ceremony tickets were sold out—certainly a profitable venture.

Unable to afford the opening ceremony—or perhaps unwilling to spend the money—Su Mu went to work as usual on July 28. He finished at three thirty in the afternoon, just in time to catch the live broadcast of the opening ceremony. ABC television spent more than two hundred million dollars to secure broadcasting rights, pouring considerable resources into promotion recently, embodying the classic case of losing money for publicity.

Life remained the same. The two lottery tickets, now worth two hundred and fifty dollars each, were still in Su Mu’s drawer. He hadn’t told his parents about his bets; they didn’t even know he’d gone downtown. Boss Han was fixated on the money he’d wagered, burning incense to the God of Wealth and hoping for a stroke of luck.

It was amusing—the God of Wealth he worshipped was a fat man with a large nose. If not for the festive clothes painted on the statue, it looked like a Buddha with a hat. He muttered constantly, praying for wealth and fortune.

Time passed quickly, and before he knew it, it was time to leave work. Just as Su Mu was about to leave to watch TV at Du Zhong’s house and discuss which private high school to attend, a young girl walked in the door. Kate’s expression froze slightly upon seeing Su Mu; clearly, she remembered him. The incident on the school bus last month had left a deep impression—it would be hard not to remember him.

Unexpectedly encountering the girl of his dreams, he was instantly flustered and at a loss. Wanting to spend a bit more time with her, he decided not to leave in a hurry. Knowing that Kate was just an ordinary girl, the psychological distance lessened considerably, so he asked, “Is there something you want to buy? Maybe I can help you.”

At that moment, Kate wanted nothing more than to bury her head in a hole, because she had come to buy feminine products. She felt inexplicably that fate was conspiring against her meeting Su Mu—why else did she always run into him at awkward moments? Stammering, she said, “Um… I… I want to buy ice cream!”

Su Mu, completely unaware, was secretly delighted. The reason was obvious: the two of them were truly talking, and to him, it felt like a dream…