Fox in the Penalty Area

Matt Dawn, who was sitting in the car, turned his head and looked curiously at the street scene of Jincheng outside the window.

This was his first time in China, but unexpectedly, he felt a sense of intimacy.

Maybe it's because the city outside the car is raining lightly, reminding him of England, whether it's Portsmouth or Leeds, which he once brought, it's always like this in winter.

The same winter, the same overcast skies and constant rain, and the same clammy chill that seeps into your skin.

He said to Nevin Ball, the sports director who came with him: "This is really a great discovery, Mr. Ball! The climate here in Jincheng is very similar to Leeds. Maybe this will help Hu adapt to his life in Leeds." Life……"

Seeing that Matt was so happy, Nevin couldn't help but frowned. He frowned and said, "You're thinking too far, Matt. To be honest, I don't think we can go to the other club and talk to each other's clubs to succeed. Hu was snatched from giants like the King of Madrid and Catalan United. Any player, as long as he has a normal mind, would not choose a relegation team like us when facing the favor of the King of Madrid and Catalan United.”

Thanks to the King of Madrid and the Catalan United, at least now Nevin Ball will not think that Hou Lai is an insignificant young man. Otherwise, how could it be so easy for Tony to persuade him to introduce Hou Lai? But at the same time, he also has to worry about how to snatch people from the two giants.

"Mr. Ball, have some confidence in yourself. At least the Flash Star Club agreed to our interview request. I think this is a huge improvement. Otherwise, why would they call us from England, thousands of miles away?"

Hearing what Matt said, Nevin Ball asked, "Have you packed everything?"

"Don't worry, Mr. Bauer. It's all in my bag. I made a PPT for them. And in case they don't understand English, I also asked someone to translate it. Make sure they can fully feel our sincerity. "

After Matt finished speaking, he continued to turn his head and look at the strange and mysterious eastern city outside the car window.

He felt novelty and interest in everything that appeared in his eyes.

The first thing that impressed him was "big".

The city is really big. They set off from the hotel to the training base of the Shining Star Club. The car had already been driving for half an hour. There were tall buildings and bustling street scenes along the way, but they hadn't reached their destination yet.

At this point in Leeds, he's walked almost the entire city - on foot.

The second thing that impressed him deeply was "many".

There are many people and many vehicles.

The bike lane was almost filled with bicycles of all colors and "motorcycles"—he didn't know if they were motorcycles, because they didn't look like they had exhaust pipes. The motorway is also full of cars. Looking forward, there is a patch of red brake lights, which is quite spectacular in the rain and fog. There is also an overcrowded bus station. Although there are several buses lined up to board passengers beside the platform, the number of passengers on the station does not seem to have decreased at all...

Leeds, where Matt Dawn is located, is the third largest city in the UK, but Matt feels that if it were placed in China, it might not even rank among the top 300.

The third point that attracts Matt is the exotic style, which is mainly reflected in the signs and advertisements on the shops and buildings along the street.

It was filled with words he didn't know. Although he didn't know what those words meant, he thought it was cool.

Ah, this is the mysterious oriental culture...

He took out his mobile phone and took pictures of some impressive signs.

Next to Nevin Bauer's words, he saw Matt looking like he was on a sightseeing tour, and couldn't help but hold his forehead—it didn't look like he could successfully persuade the Shining Star Club...

※※※

Matt Dawn and Nevin Bauer were sitting in the meeting room of the Shining Star Club. The staff of the Shining Star Club who had just brought them in had already left, and now only the two of them and The translator they asked for here.

Matt didn't just sit in a chair and wait, but ran to the window, looked forward through the window, and saw the training ground of the Shining Star Club.

Because the Chinese Super League season has ended, there are no teams training on the training ground, but many staff are busy maintaining the turf.

Judging from the number of training grounds and the quality of the turf, this club is still very formal... the scale is small, but it has all the necessary facilities, and the turf is maintained very seriously. Perhaps it is precisely because of this level of management that players like Hu Lai can be cultivated...

Matt Dawn made his own evaluation in his heart.

At the same time, he is also full of anticipation for the next conversation.

After all, if everything in this club is very formal, paying attention to the management level means that the other party is professional, and then the things you have prepared can come in handy.

Convincing the other party professionally is what he is good at.

If you run into a club that doesn't understand anything but knows how to charge a lot of money, it's over. No matter how much I say, it can't be worth a question: "How much do you plan to pay?"

If it is simply to compare the asking price, Leeds City is definitely not comparable to those rich and powerful clubs.

But when it comes to his understanding of Hu Lai... Matt is not boasting, no one in Europe can match him!

Just as Matt was reveling in his familiarity with Hu Lai, the door of the meeting room behind him was pushed open.

He turned around quickly, and at the same time, Nevin Ball, who was originally sitting, also got up to greet him.

A fat man with a heavy tonnage came in at the door. After he squeezed in, he revealed the person behind him. .

Matt froze.

Holly!

Originally, Matt Dawn thought that it was not easy for the Flash Star Club to give him the opportunity to interview with their general manager.

But he never thought that he would have the opportunity to face Hu Lai face to face!

Looking at the very familiar figure in front of him but seeing him for the first time, Matt suddenly wanted to laugh, so he laughed out loud.

It startled everyone present.

Both Dong Wen and Hu Lai looked at the freckled British man with puzzled eyes, not understanding what was going on here.

Nevin Ball was very embarrassed. He glanced back at Matt and said in a low voice: "Damn, Matt, can you be a little more serious! You will make our negotiation over before it even starts!"

Matt ignored him, but suddenly rushed up and held Hu Lai's hand, his excited voice stammered: "Hu... Hu... my God, I really... I didn't expect you to come... …They didn’t tell me, uh…”

It wasn't until this moment that Matt suddenly realized what he had done. He let go of his hands in a hurry, and was nervous and at a loss. He didn't know where to put his hands: "Sorry, Hu, sorry... I'm so excited. Because I In fact, I have known you for a long time, but this is the first time I have met you face to face. So please forgive me..."

He didn't care if Hu Lai could understand or not, he just babbled on there.

The translator stood beside him in embarrassment, trying to translate Matt's confusing words, but he couldn't speak.

But it was obvious that Hu Lai didn't need a translator. He widened his eyes and asked in a fluent English accent, "Sir, have you known me for a long time?"

"Yes yes, of course... I've known you for twenty-five years..."

Nevin Ball covered his face, he had foreseen that he, Matt, and the translator would be kicked out of the club by the Chinese—the big fat man seemed to be ready to call security.

"How is it possible? Sir, I have only played football for five years..."

"Ah, sorry, I'm talking about the game, I'm in the game... Hey, can you understand me?" Matt Dawn finally came to his senses, but quickly fell into confusion again. "No, I can understand what you say?"

Dong Wen, who was standing next to him, couldn't bear it any longer. He spread his hands and asked in English, "Okay, gentlemen, who can tell me what's going on?"

※※※

The translator hired by the Leeds City Club with a lot of money was sitting on the side, looking boredly at the other four people in the room - it was inconvenient for him to just lower his head and play with his mobile phone, which would make him look very unprofessional.

Although the current occasion actually doesn't require him to show any profession at all.

Including him, all five people present could speak English, and Hu Lai, who was supposed to be the least able to speak English, spoke the most fluently.

So the four of them threw the translator aside and started communicating.

There is no middleman to make the difference, and there is no need to worry about not conveying the meaning properly.

So this may be the easiest money I have ever earned in the translation industry. I didn't do anything, and I can get 8,000 yuan a day into my account.

The translator put aside those messy thoughts and began to listen to what they were talking about—anyway, they are idle, so it’s not bad to just sit and listen to gossip. Although nothing he heard could be revealed.

"So you got to know me through the game "Godfather of Champions"?" Hu Lai was still in disbelief after hearing the long story told by Matt Dawn just now, and asked him for confirmation.

"Yes, Hu!" Matt Dawn gave him a firm answer. "That's why I say I've known you for twenty-five years—you've been playing for twenty-five years in all my game files."

"So how am I doing in the game?"

"Excellent, perfect, great, unparalleled." Matt gave several adjectives in a row.

Hu Lai scratched his head: "It doesn't sound like I'm talking about me...that's just me in the game."

"But "The Godfather of Champions" is highly sought after for its realistic simulation, Hu. In fact, I also coached you many times in the game, so I came up with the idea of ​​signing you..."

Hu Lai smiled: "The live-action version of "The Godfather of Champions"?"

"It's completely understandable, ha! But I don't just know you in the game, I also know you very well in reality, including your club games and Olympic games... as long as I can find videos from the Internet , I collected them all."

After speaking, Matt Dawn opened the laptop he took out from his bag, plugged in his own mobile hard drive, and showed it to Hu Lai and Dong Wen present.

Indeed, as he said, it was full of games about Hu Lai.

Moreover, it is placed in different folders according to the time and event category, which is clear at a glance, and you can quickly find which game you want to watch in which time period.

"Wow, it's really amazing..." Hu Lai couldn't help but exclaimed when he saw this scene.

It was the first time he met someone with a team who came to show these things to himself.

But Matt's "talent show" was not over yet, he opened the prepared PPT again, and began to directly tell Hu Lai and Dong Wen on his laptop their understanding of how Leeds City should use Hu Lai as a striker.

The four big men leaned head to head in front of the small screen of the laptop. Both Dong Wen and Hu Lai would occasionally ask some questions, and Matt Dawn would answer them all.

No matter what was asked, Matt had the right answer.

Even Hu Lai's performance in the Super League after returning from the Olympics, Matt knows.

When Matt finally finished speaking on the PPT, the conference room that was originally full of voices suddenly fell silent.

Nevin Ball has completely lost the rhythm and went to the side early. After Matt finished speaking, he looked at Holly.

Hu Lai and Dong Wen looked at each other.

In the end, it was Dong Wen who broke the silence in the meeting room: "Mr. Dawn, and Mr. Ball, how long are you going to stay here?"

"We'll be back tomorrow," Nevin Ball said. In fact, they came this time to have a face-to-face conversation with the people from the Flash Star Club. Now that we have talked about everything that needs to be discussed, there is no need to stay here any longer. Anyway, if the negotiation is really successful, the follow-up matters can be handled by email and fax, and there is no need for people to stay here.

"Then we need to think about it. After we have considered the result, we will inform you as soon as possible."

"Of course, it should."

※※※

Matt Dawn and Nevin Ball took a taxi back to their hotel.

The rain had stopped, but the ground was wet, and there was a moist air that smelled like they couldn't say, but it was delicious.

"Mr. Ball, do you think I've successfully persuaded Hu and Dong?" Matt Dawn, who was looking at the street scene outside in the car, asked suddenly.

"I don't know, Matt. While you were explaining to them, I kept observing the two of them. Hu seemed very interested in what you said, but Dong was very calm the whole time. I couldn't see what he was doing. What to think. And to be honest, Matt, what you have prepared is indeed more attractive to the players themselves, but the general manager of the club thinks things from a different angle than the players, and they still care more about the economic aspect factor."

"Then how much money can our club spend?"

"We don't only have one Hu to buy, so for him alone, at most...8 million. If that Dong thinks it's low, we can't help it. After all, Leeds has no Middle Eastern gold masters."

"Eight million..." Matt thought for a while, this is indeed the highest price Leeds City can offer now. But in front of giants like the King of Madrid and Catalan United, it is simply a drop in the bucket, and the opponent's casual squeeze is enough to crush Leeds City.

At that time, what will Leeds City use to compete with the giants for Hu Lai?

After thinking about it, he can only hope that the young man can say no to the world's top giants.