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 some intimacy with it.
Perhaps it was because the city with drizzle outside the car reminded him of the UK. Whether it was Portsmouth or Leeds, which he once took, it was always like this in winter.
It's the same winter, with the same gloomy sky and non-stop rain, and the same damp and cold feeling that penetrates my hair and skin.
He said to the sports director Nevin Ball who came with him: "This is really a great discovery, Mr. Ball! The climate here in Jincheng is very similar to Leeds. Perhaps this will help Hu adapt to his time in Leeds."
Life……"
Seeing Matt so happy, Naven couldn't laugh. He frowned and said: "You are thinking too far, Matt. To be honest, I don't think we can successfully get out of the situation if we go and chat with the other club.
Hu was snatched away from giant clubs like Madrid Kings and Catalonia United. No player in his right mind would choose a relegation team like ours when faced with the favor of Madrid Kings and Catalonia United."
Thanks to the Kings of Madrid and Catalonia, at least now Nevin Ball will not think that Julay is an insignificant young man. Otherwise, how could Tony convince him to introduce Julay so easily? But at the same time, he also
We have to worry about how to steal people from the two giants.
"Mr. Ball, you have some confidence in yourself. At least the Flash Star Club agreed to our request for an interview. I think this is a huge progress. Otherwise, why would they call us here from England, thousands of miles away?"
Hearing what Matt said, Nevin Ball asked: "Have you brought everything?"
"Don't worry, Mr. Ball. It's all in my bag. I made a PPT for them. And in case they can't understand English, I also asked someone to translate it to ensure that they can fully feel our sincerity.
"
After Matt finished speaking, he continued to turn his head and look at this strange and mysterious Eastern city outside the car window.
Everything he saw was new and interesting to him.
The first thing that impressed him was "big".
This city is really big. They set out from the hotel to the training base of Flash Star Club. The car had been driving for half an hour. There were high-rise buildings and bustling street scenes along the way, but they had not yet reached their destination.
During this time in Leeds, he had almost walked through the entire city.
The second thing that impressed him deeply was "many".
There are many people and many cars.
The non-motorized lanes were almost filled with bicycles and "motorcycles" of various colors - he didn't know if they were motorcycles, because they didn't seem to have exhaust pipes -. The motorized lanes were also full of cars.
Looking ahead is a field 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 queuing up to pick up passengers at the platform, the passengers on the station seem to have not changed at all.
One less thing...
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 be ranked in the top 300.
The third thing 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 recognize. Although he didn't know what those words meant, he thought it was cool.
Ah, this is the mysterious Eastern culture...
He took out his mobile phone and took pictures of some signboards that impressed him.
Next to Nevin Ball's name, he saw Matt looking like he was here for sightseeing, and couldn't help but raise his forehead - he didn't look like he could successfully convince the Flash Star Club...
※※※
Matt Dawn and Nevin Ball were sitting in the conference room of the Flash Star Club. The staff of the Flash Star Club who had just brought them in had left, and now they were the only two people left in the huge conference room.
They hired a translator here.
Matt did not just sit in the chair and wait, but ran to the window, looked longingly through the window, and saw the training ground of the Flash 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... It is not large in scale, but it has all the necessary facilities, and the turf is maintained very seriously. Maybe it is because of this level of management.
Only then can we train players like Hu Lai...
Matt Dawn made his own evaluation in his heart.
At the same time, he was also full of expectations for the next conversation.
After all, if everything in this club is formal and the management level is emphasized, which means that the other party is professional, then the things you have prepared will come in handy.
Persuading the other party with professionalism is what he is good at.
If you encounter a club that doesn't know anything but asks for a high price, you're doomed. No matter how much you say, it won't be worth a question: "How much do you plan to pay?"
If we simply compare the asking prices, Leeds City will definitely not be able to compete with those wealthy and wealthy clubs.
But when it comes to understanding Hu Lai... Matt is not boasting, there should be no one in Europe who can compare with him!
Just as Matt was intoxicated with his familiarity with Hu Lai, the conference room door behind him was pushed open.
He turned around quickly, and at the same time, Nevin Ball, who was originally sitting, stood up to greet him.
A fat man who looked very heavy came in at the door. After he squeezed in, the person behind him was revealed.
Matt was stunned.
Hu Lai!
Originally, Matt Dawn thought that it would be very difficult for Flash Star Club to give him the opportunity to interview their general manager.
But he never thought that he would have the opportunity to face Hu Lai!
Looking at the figure in front of him who was very familiar to him but was actually meeting him for the first time, Matt suddenly wanted to laugh, so he laughed.
It shocked everyone present.
Dong Wen and Hu Lai both looked at the freckle-faced British man with doubtful eyes, not understanding what was going on here.
Nevin Ball was very embarrassed. He glanced back at Matt and lowered his voice and said: "Damn it, Matt, can you be a little more serious! You will end our negotiation before it even starts!"
Matt ignored him, but suddenly rushed up and held Hu Lai's hand, his voice stuttered with excitement: "Hu... Hu... My God, I really... I didn't expect you to come...
…They didn’t tell me, uh…”
It was only then that Matt suddenly realized what he had done. He hurriedly let go of his hands, and was so nervous that he didn't know where to put his hands: "Sorry, Hu, sorry... I'm too excited. Because I
In fact, I have known you for a long time, but this is the first time I see you face to face. So please forgive me..."
He didn't care whether Hu Lai could understand or not, he just kept talking.
The translator stood awkwardly nearby, trying to translate Matt's confusing words, but was unable to speak.
But it was obvious that Hu Lai didn't need an interpreter. He widened his eyes and asked in authentic and fluent English: "Sir, have you known me for a long time?"
"Yes, of course...I have 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 next - the big fat man seemed to be ready to call security.
"How is that possible? Sir, I have only been playing 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 back to his senses, but quickly fell into confusion. "No, I can actually
Do you understand what you are saying?"
Dong Wen, who was standing next to him, finally couldn't bear it anymore. He spread his hands and asked in English: "Okay, gentlemen, who can tell me what is going on?"
※※※
The translator hired by Leeds City Club for a large sum of money was sitting on the side, looking at the other four people in the room boredly - it was not convenient for him to just lower his head and play with his mobile phone, which would appear to be very unprofessional.
Although the current situation does not actually require him to embody any profession at all.
Counting him, all five people present could speak English, and Hu Lai, who was originally thought to be the least likely to speak English, spoke it the most fluently.
So the four of them put aside the translator and started communicating.
There is no middleman to make a profit, and there is no need to worry about the message not being conveyed properly.
So this may be the easiest money I have ever made as a translator. I can earn 8,000 yuan a day without doing anything.
The translator put aside those messy thoughts and began to listen to what they were talking about - anyway, it was idle, so it was good to just sit and listen to the gossip. Although nothing he heard could be revealed.
"So you know me through the game "The Godfather of Champions"?" Hu Lai was still a little incredulous after listening to the long story Matt Dawn just told, and asked him for confirmation.
"Yes, Hu!" Matt Dawn gave him a decisive answer. "That's why I said that I have known you for twenty-five years - you have played in all the save files in my game.
Twenty-five years."
"Then how do I perform in the game?"
"Excellent, perfect, great, unparalleled." Matt gave several adjectives in succession.
Hu Lai scratched his head: "It doesn't sound like you're talking about me... That's just me in the game."
"But "The Godfather of Champions" is highly sought after for its realistic enough simulation of reality, Hu. In fact, it was because I coached you many times in the game that I came up with the idea of signing you..."
Hu Lai smiled: "A 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 on the Internet
, I collected them all.”
After speaking, Matt Dawn opened the laptop he took out of his bag, plugged in his mobile hard drive, and showed it to Hu Lai and Dong Wen who were present.
Indeed, as he said, it is full of videos about Hu Lai's matches.
It is also placed in different folders according to time and event category, making it clear at a glance. If you want to watch which game at which time period, you can quickly find it.
"Wow, it's really amazing..." Hu Lai couldn't help but exclaimed when he saw this scene.
This was the first time that someone from the team came to show him these things.
But Matt's "talent show" was not over yet. He opened the prepared PPT and began to tell Hu Lai and Dong Wen directly on the laptop about their Leeds City understanding of how Hu Lai, a forward, should be used.
The four grown men were sitting head to head in front of the small screen of the laptop. Whether it was Dong Wen or Hu Lai, they would occasionally ask some questions, and Matt Dawn would answer them all one by one.
No matter what was asked, Matt could always answer it clearly.
Even Hu Lai's performance in the Chinese Super League after returning from the Olympics is understood by Matt.
When Matt finally finished speaking on the PPT, the conference room that had been buzzing suddenly became quiet.
Nevin Ball could no longer keep up with the rhythm and went to the side early. After Matt finished speaking, he looked at Hu Lai.
Hu Lai and Dong Wen looked at each other.
Finally, it was Dong Wen who broke the silence in the conference room: "Mr. Dawn, and Mr. Power, how long will you stay here?"
"We will go back tomorrow." Nevin Ball said. The reason they came this time was actually to have face-to-face talks with the people from the Flash Star Club. Now that they have talked about everything that should be talked about, there is no need to stay here. Anyway.
If the negotiation can be concluded, all subsequent matters can be handled by email and fax, and no one is required to stay here.
"Then we need to think about it, and we will notify you as soon as possible after we come up with the results."
"Of course, it should be."
※※※
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 humid air that they couldn't tell what it smelled like, but it was indeed very fragrant.
"Mr. Ball, do you think I succeeded in convincing Hu and Dong?" Matt Dawn suddenly asked while looking at the street scene outside in the car.
"I don't know, Matt. When you were explaining to them, I kept observing the two of them. Hu seemed to be very interested in what you were talking about, but Dong was calm the whole time. I couldn't tell what he was doing.
What are you thinking? And to be honest, Matt, what you have prepared is indeed more attractive to the players themselves, but the club's general manager thinks about things from a different perspective than the players. They will still care more about the economic aspect.
factor."
"Then how much money can our club spend?"
"We don't just have one Hu to buy, so for him alone, the most we can offer is... eight million. If the director thinks it's low, there's nothing we can do. After all, Leeds City doesn't have a Middle Eastern investor."
"Eight million..." Matt thought for a while. This is indeed the highest price that Leeds City can offer now. But in front of giants like Madrid Kings and Catalan United, it is simply a drop in the bucket. The other party can just squeeze it out.
It's enough to crush Leeds City.
What will Leeds City do to compete with the giants for Hu Lai?
After much deliberation, he could only hope that the young man could say no to the world's top giants.