"Eh, Tiantian’s mom, where’s your Tiantian?"
The courtyard of He Family Village was usually where villagers threshed and sunned wheat stalks, but now it was filled with people.
And at the very front of the courtyard, there stood a square television set.
The principal of the village primary school had helped, following the instructions to assemble and set up the antenna. Finally, he got the TV to display human figures.
Over a hundred people stared at that small window, utterly astonished.
After the novelty wore off, they finally remembered the main event—watching the Asian Games.
In the crowd, the women who were on good terms with Liu Xiuzhi started shouting.
"Don’t worry, don’t worry, Tiantian’s competition isn’t until this afternoon!"
Liu Xiuzhi, the real mother herself, was even more eager than the villagers to see her own daughter on TV.
She was sitting right in the middle of the front row, staring intently at the brand new color television.
After an unknown length of waiting, Liu Xiuzhi finally spotted a familiar figure among a group of athletes dressed in various colored uniforms.
"Look, look quick, our Tiantian is on!"
Her heart throbbed with excitement, her hands shaking, Liu Xiuzhi shouted at the top of her voice.
Everyone’s eyes focused on the tiny screen, following Liu Xiuzhi’s trembling fingers and looking closely.
At last, they caught a fleeting glimpse of a familiar figure in the swift pass of the camera.
Although it was just a brief moment, everyone was thrilled—
"Oh my, it really is Tiantian!"
"Good Lord, our village’s Tiantian is really on TV!"
"...Old He’s family ancestors must be blowing smoke from their graves, having produced such a promising child like Tiantian!"
"Hey, hey, why are there so many people, wasn’t it supposed to be our Tiantian’s competition?"
Everyone was a mix of excitement, astonishment, and confusion, chattering away.
Having personally received a call from her daughter and been thoroughly briefed, Liu Xiuzhi was probably the "most knowledgeable" person among this group.
Her excitement hadn’t faded, but she didn’t forget her mission, quickly raising her voice to introduce to her neighbors—
"Tiantian said, this is the ranking round, which is also the elimination round, selecting 32 players for the next round of competition!"
Therefore, the field would still be lined with rows of players, each shooting arrows at their own targets.
Mixed in with so many people, it was not easy for He Tiantian, a rookie with no world ranking, to even have a fleeting moment on screen.
"Hss, so this is the archery competition, look, look—" not intense at all.
Not as inspiring as the women’s volleyball team nor as thrilling as table tennis, just standing there, shooting arrow after arrow, it all seemed very simple, very casual.
"What’s all the racket, this is the Asian Games! And there’s our village girl in it!"
The village chief scolded before Liu Xiuzhi had to raise her eyes to yell at anyone.
"Exactly, even though we don’t quite understand it, it’s still watching TV, after all!"
The other villagers echoed in agreement.
The archery ranking round might not be as spectacular as expected, but it was a TV show after all.
Many of the villagers of He Family Village were watching TV for the first time.
Just being able to see lively images from that small box, it didn’t matter if it was a somewhat dull competition, or even watching commercials, or the static TV station identification (a specific image displayed every Tuesday or after TV programs finished), it was enough to captivate the villagers.
Suddenly, the calm screen erupted with the commentator’s excited voice—
"10 points! Another 10 points!"
"...Our country’s young athlete, He Tiantian, consistently scores 10s!"
"No line crossing, no disputes, all on target!"
"Incredible, simply unbelievable, audience friends, she’s set a record, our country’s eighteen-year-old archery athlete He Tiantian has broken the world record in the ranking round!"
"720 points! 720 points, a Full Ring score, Full Ring!"
The broadcasters of that era were still very restrained, reserved, and understated, not yet filled with the passion and flamboyance of "he’s not fighting alone".
But even the most restrained person couldn’t help cheering in the face of such a nearly miraculous achievement: "Young athlete He Tiantian, she has broken the world record, she has become the first to create a Full Ring record in the women’s individual archery event!"
"No, not just the women, but no man has the Full Ring record either!"
"72 arrows, each and every one a 10, all 10s. She’s outperformed an Olympic champion, Kim Seonmi of Cosmic Country!"