Chapter 882 Reunion in Naples
The tickets Song Chaoyuan and his team bought were a package to Argentina, so the second game would be held five days later at the San Paolo Stadium in Naples.
After the opening game, Qin Zhengguo had agreed with the Italian girl he had just met that they would go out for a drink together after Argentina won, but he didn't expect that Argentina actually lost the opening game.
After losing the game, everyone was in a bad mood, so naturally they lost interest in the drink they had agreed to drink. They said hello and went their separate ways after leaving the court. On the way back, Qin Zhengguo kept talking to Song Yuanchao about how they lost the game. He also kept cursing the referee on the spot for his wrong decision. If it weren't for the referee, Argentina would definitely win the game.
After a night's rest, Song Yuanchao and his team left Milan for Naples the next day. Italy is not a big country, and the transportation from Milan to Naples is also very convenient. They set out in the morning and arrived in Naples at noon, and stayed in the hotel they had booked.
Song Yuanchao and Qin Zhengguo had no interest in watching the other group matches live. They could watch the TV broadcast in the hotel or go to an Italian football bar to drink beer and watch TV with some fans.
It's true, the atmosphere was pretty good. Song Yuanchao and Qin Zhengguo found a football bar near the hotel and mingled with the local fans, drinking and watching the game. Italians are more lazy in character and are similar to Chinese in many ways.
Someone once commented on the character of Italians, saying that Italians are Chinese in Europe. In fact, this is true, because the character of Italians is indeed similar to that of Chinese, but they are more enthusiastic and romantic. As they got to know each other for a long time, Song Yuanchao and Qin Zhengguo learned a few words of Italian. Using English and stuttering Italian, plus gestures, they actually got to know several Italian football fans in a football bar.
On this day, they came to the bar together. Today was the match between Costa Rica and Scotland. Song Yuanchao and Qin Zhengguo were not very interested in this match, but since they came to Italy and experienced the World Cup in person, they couldn't miss it.
"Hi! Qin, who do you think will win today?" As soon as they entered the bar, an Italian old man who they had just met greeted them and then asked Qin Zhengguo.
"Scotland, I prefer Scotland." Qin Zhengguo answered without thinking.
"Why not Costa Rica? Don't you think Costa Rica might be the dark horse this time?" the old Italian man asked curiously.
"The reason is very simple." Qin Zhengguo sat down next to the old man and said seriously, "Because Scottish whiskey is good, I changed its taste, and we are in a bar now. Hey! Old George, give me a glass of Scotch whiskey, a double shot!"
When these words came out, the Italian old man was stunned at first, then he slapped the bar and laughed forward and backward. Even the other Italians beside him were all happy. They laughed and said, "Qin Zhengguo is right. Scotland has whiskey. Those who like whiskey naturally support Scotland. As for Costa Rica, what's there? Can't we go fishing?"
Qin Zhengguo was a very outgoing guy, and he had been getting along well with several local football fans in the past two days. After the wine came, he started to brag about everything under the sun. Song Yuanchao was not as shameless as him, so he just sat aside and made a few remarks from time to time, and drank his beer most of the time.
An hour later, the game started and everyone focused their attention on this game. Since it was a game that didn't matter to Qin Zhengguo or the Italians, everyone's enthusiasm was not that high. They discussed the game while watching it and made comments from time to time.
Song Yuanchao had watched this game in his previous life. It was a dull and boring game, and the final score was 1:0, with Costa Rica winning.
After watching for about ten minutes, Song Yuanchao became a little bored. He drank some of the remaining beer in the glass, stood up and whispered something in Qin Zhengguo's ear, then said hello to other fans and left the bar.
Walking out of the bar, the cool breeze outside was much fresher than the turbid air in the bar. Song Yuanchao looked around and randomly chose a direction to walk. He planned to walk around the area and then go back to the bar and go back to the hotel with Qin Zhengguo when the time was almost up.
Naples is the largest city in southern Italy, close to the Mediterranean Sea, and is a famous scenic spot. Naples is also very famous for its history, culture, art and food, and is listed as one of the world's cultural heritage sites.
The hotel where Song Yuanchao and his friends were staying was not far from the coastline. To the south was the Seaside Avenue, and along the avenue to the west were the museum and university town, and further on was the City Hall.
Every summer, many tourists come to Naples, and this year there are even more people because of the World Cup. You can see tourists walking in groups of three or four everywhere, and nearly half of them are football fans.
Song Yuanchao walked for a while and came to the vicinity of the museum. There was an open-air square where many fans gathered and talked loudly. Some fans also organized street performances spontaneously.
Many fans are ordinary people with low incomes and little savings. Coming to Italy to attend the World Cup is a problem with travel expenses, so these fans will take advantage of their free time to perform on the streets to attract tourists and earn some money. The square outside the museum is like this. Song Yuanchao walked over while listening to the music and came to a small band composed of several young people, watching their performance with great interest.
These young people looked to be in their twenties, four men and one woman, all dressed very casually. They were singing rock music, and Song Yuanchao couldn't understand what they were singing specifically, but they had a good sense of rhythm. The crowd around them swayed their bodies to the music, and when the song ended, everyone applauded enthusiastically.
Then, when a man started singing the second song, Song Yuanchao immediately knew what song they were going to sing, because this song was the theme song of this World Cup "Summer in Italy". Although the man's voice was not as charming as Giorgio Moroder's, and the girl singing with him was not as passionate as Gina Nannini, both of them had good singing voices. Coupled with the warm atmosphere around them, this song "Summer in Italy" had a different style in their interpretation.
Following the beat, Song Yuanchao and the others hummed along, immersed in the joyful atmosphere. Soon, the song ended and everyone applauded enthusiastically. While applauding, several people took out change and threw it into the guitar case placed in front of the band as encouragement and praise for their performance.
Song Yuanchao touched his pocket. He didn't bring his wallet when he came out. In fact, after arriving in Italy, Song Chaoyuan and Qin Zhengguo never brought their wallets when they went out. Italian thieves are famous in Europe. In addition, because of the World Cup, thieves from all over Europe have gathered in Italy. If you are not careful when you go out, your valuables may be stolen.
Song Yuanchao didn't even bring his watch, not to mention his wallet. On the first day he arrived, he saw a tourist's watch being snatched from his wrist in the crowd. The thieves in Europe were very powerful, and Song Yuanchao had to be on guard.
Whenever he went out, he would only carry some change and small bills, and the money was not much, so even if a thief stole it, he would not lose much. Song Chaoyuan reached out from his jeans pocket and took out two bills. When he was about to throw the money into the other party's guitar case, he was suddenly stunned because an Asian man had thrown a few bills in first. When he saw him, Song Yuanchao was surprised and happy.
"Brother Yong!" Song Yuanchao called out hurriedly. Zhang Yong, who was bending down and preparing to leave, was stunned. Then he turned his head and looked around with a puzzled look, as if he was trying to determine whether what he had just seen was an illusion or reality.
"Brother Yong!" Song Chaoyuan stepped forward quickly, pushed aside the crowd in front and shouted again. This time Zhang Yong heard it clearly. He looked towards Song Yuanchao in the direction of the voice. When he saw Song Yuanchao walking towards him with a smile, Zhang Yong was stunned and instantly showed an incredible expression.
"Aiding Korea? Why are you here?" Zhang Yong's surprised expression instantly turned into joy. He strode forward and the two hugged each other warmly.
"I'm here to watch the game, why are you here too?" Song Yuanchao didn't expect to meet Zhang Yong in Italy. The world is so big, it's a miracle to meet him here.
"I'm here to watch the game too. What a coincidence! I meet you here!" Zhang Yong patted Song Yuanchao's back enthusiastically. The unexpected encounter made him particularly happy.
Since Zhang Yong went abroad, they have lost contact in the past few years. Song Yuanchao didn't know much about Zhang Yong's specific situation. He only knew that he went to Hong Kong first, and then was arranged to go to South America. After arriving in South America and learning that Zhang Yong was safe, they never had any contact again.
There was nothing that could be done about it. Information was not as developed and communication was not as convenient as in later times. It was not easy to contact friends on the other side of the ocean. Moreover, Song Yuanchao only knew that Zhang Yong went to Bolivia, but he had no idea about his specific address in Bolivia, let alone his contact information.
Moreover, Zhang Yong never took the initiative to contact his friends in China after he left. Even the younger brother who helped him manage the business on Maiyang Road did not know Zhang Yong’s specific contact information. As a result, Song Yuanchao lost contact with Zhang Yong. It has been more than six years since he went to Bolivia in 1984.
The two hugged for a long time before parting. Zhang Yong asked Song Yuanchao how long he had been here. Song Yuanchao told Zhang Yong that he arrived in Milan the day , and arrived in Naples the next day after watching the opening ceremony. He would wait until the match between Argentina and the Soviet Union before going to the next game.
Zhang Yong laughed out loud. He told Song Yuanchao that his schedule was similar, and he also went to watch the opening ceremony. However, there were so many people at the opening ceremony that he and Song Yuanchao didn't notice each other, so they missed each other.
I didn't expect to meet again in Naples. It seems that God had arranged it long ago, otherwise how could it be such a coincidence?
