Daily Life in the Countryside After Being Reborn
Chapter 199 - 20: The Little Food Stall on the Commercial Street

Chapter 199: Chapter 20: The Little Food Stall on the Commercial Street

"Thank you, vice-captain," Wang Ke listened as Xiao Xian deliberately raised her pitch on the word "vice," and the annoyance in her eyes became even more apparent. If it weren’t for Bai Xue, she would have been the captain of the basketball team long ago, and she would definitely have been able to attend this year’s Harbin International Youth Basketball Exchange. Now, even a rookie team member is mocking her.

The basketball team’s warm-up mainly focused on the strength of the wrists, ankles, and waist, as well as the stretching of fingers. This was to prevent unnecessary joint injuries during the shooting process of basketball.

"I really don’t know how you were recruited. Your posture is all over the place, clearly untrained in sports." Since Wang Ke had been watching Xiao Xian and Zhang Yiyi, she had been observing them from the start. Zhang Yiyi, coming from a formal sports school, did not show any flaws, but Xiao Xian’s posture was noticeably improper.

Wang Ke deliberately showed off without asking other members to step aside, instead, asking Xiao Xian to squat on her right side, demonstrating the movements. Previously, Wang Ke was in a half-squat with her upper body slightly leaning forward, arms positioned behind her body ready to command: "When I jump, you jump, stretch your legs backward forcefully, thoroughly stretch the muscles of your hips, knee joints, and ankles, propel your body forward and upward, both feet landing together. Jump 5 to 7 times in sets of five."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Yiyi became even more nervous. Frog jumps were an intense warm-up exercise. Zhang Ke being an experienced team member surely had excellent physical stamina. Xiao Xian, having entered through "backdoor" without specialized training from a sports school, could she still get up for class the next morning after five sets?

"Get ready, begin, follow my rhythm." Wang Ke gathered her strength in her legs and waist, her arms tightly clenched, and effortlessly executed five or six frog jumps. Just as she turned to check on Xiao Xian, she saw a figure beside her suddenly leap ahead of her. The height and continuity were far superior to Wang Ke’s.

"Wow, she jumps so fast," exclaimed the substitute members. Wang Ke saw the newcomer in the basketball uniform had already turned around, leaping back. Busy adjusting her posture, Wang Ke hurriedly jumped a few times, squatting side by side with Xiao Xian.

Damn, jumping like a real frog, higher with each jump. Wang Ke cursed inwardly; she originally intended to make Xiao Xian a laughing stock, but now she was forced to keep up, not wanting to fall behind as the opponent jumped higher.

Everybody else still talks about frogs, she’s more like a toad. Xiao Xian has the Cloud Ascension Technique within her, so she isn’t afraid of frog jumps. Initially, she wanted to mock Wang Ke, deliberately jumping very high, making it excruciating for Wang Ke to follow.

However, after completing three sets of movements, Xiao Xian made an unexpected discovery. By exhaling deeply, the height of her Cloud Ascension Technique also reduced slightly (more oxygen, less carbon dioxide in the body means lower Spiritual Energy Value). If she could control the height of her technique using her breathing frequency, it would be beneficial for her future control of dunking heights and consumption of Spiritual Energy. Due to Xiao Xian’s deliberate control, the speed and height of her last two sets of frog jumps slowed down, allowing Wang Ke to breathe a sigh of relief.

Thank God, my legs are about to break. Wang Ke’s basketball suit was drenched in sweat. Several veteran team members came to help her, but she pushed them away. Her knees involuntarily knocked together as she stood up, unsure if she could get out of bed tomorrow.

"What are you looking at? Warm-up is over, go practice dribbling and layups," Wang Ke even lost some intensity in her scolding due to exhaustion. Most annoyingly, that Zhu Xiaoxian was still nonchalantly drinking water, hardly appearing as if she had undergone intense exercise.

An hour and a half of basketball training concluded, with Wang Ke’s challenge ending with her trembling legs and calf cramps as the price. However, the intensive training for Xiao Xian and Zhang Yiyi had not ended. Towards the end of the training, Wang Ke finally set aside personal grievances and let them dribble and shoot to check their basics; Xiao Xian’s dribbling slipped up directly. Not to mention that she skimped on the two-pointers and three-pointers afterward.

"I will report your situation to Coach Ni accurately. Your retention will be up to him." Wang Ke smugly reprimanded Xiao Xian in front of twenty-some people, and after the training, the five hundred practice shots were changed to practicing dribbling and basic layups.

Xiao Xian considered the suggestion from the substitute player and decided not to showcase her dunking skill yet. Practicing dribbling and layups as basics wasn’t bad either. Keeping a low profile, she would wait until Coach Ni returned. Meanwhile, Zhang Yiyi was visibly anxious, continuously teaching Xiao Xian the little tricks she learned during basic training at the sports school.