Chris Payton met Li Day and also met Halls Forrest.
"This kid is the ball king you call him?" Payton asked with a frown.
"To be precise, he is the future football king." Dai Li replied with a smile.
"Okay, just say so." Peyton looked helpless, thinking that Dai Li was joking, and then he continued: "Are you planning to leave him to me for training?"
"Yes, you have to be responsible for most of his training, but more importantly, you have to be his guardian. This child is from Argentina and he is not yet a minor, so he needs a guardian in the United States." Li Dai said. .
"You want me to be his guardian?" Payton immediately put on a reluctant expression.
Dai Li nodded: "And you are also responsible for taking care of his daily life!"
"Boss, don't be joking. My apartment is very small. It's already very crowded for me to live in, but I can't accommodate a second person." Payton said, shaking his head.
"I will cover all your rent for the next year." Dai Li said without hesitation.
"But I don't know how to cook. I usually rely on ordering takeout..." Payton continued.
"Okay, I'll pay you an additional year's food expenses." Dai Li said helplessly.
"Also, I..." Just as Payton was about to find a reason, Dai Li interrupted Payton.
"I'll lend you the new Porsche 911 I bought for one year. Is that okay?" Li Dai said.
"Deal!" Payton had obviously been coveting Li Dai's new sports car for a long time. When he heard that Li Dai was willing to lend him the car to drive for a year, Payton agreed without hesitation.
"Boss, I have one last question. There are so many coaches in our training center, and many of them are married and have children. They may know how to take care of children better than me, but why did you choose me? To be honest, A single like me has trouble taking care of myself, so how can I know how to take care of my children?" Payton asked.
"Apart from you, does anyone else speak Spanish?" Dai Li asked, and then he continued: "I would like to take care of this little ball king, but I am not an American. It is more troublesome to be someone else's guardian. In the end, The important thing is that I don’t speak Spanish. I don’t understand what he says, and he probably doesn’t understand what I say either. Are we supposed to have to rely on gestures to communicate!”
The Payton family is a famous gang in Los Angeles, and because California is close to Mexico, many gangs in California are involved with Mexicans, and some gang members are even mainly Mexicans. .
A large part of the Payton family's business is dealing with Mexican drug traffickers. There are also many Mexican Americans or illegal Mexican immigrants in the Payton family's gang. Payton grew up in such an environment and naturally learned to speak Spanish. .
Mexico, like Argentina, speaks Spanish, so the communication between Payton and the football genius Howles is smooth. But Li Dai didn't understand Spanish and basically couldn't communicate with Howles. Halls is only thirteen years old this year. He grew up in Argentina, so he can only speak some simple English words and sentences, and is far from being able to communicate in English.
…
After explaining the matter about Halls, Dai Li called the lawyer again and asked the lawyer to draft the contract and bring it to the training center.
The 3% revenue share for the next twenty years can only be regarded as a satisfactory deal for Dai Li.
Judging from the current market price, the top player in football can earn almost 100 million euros a year with all his income added up. A player whose level is slightly lower than that of the top player can still earn 20 million to 30 million euros a year.
If calculated based on an annual income of 50 million, 3% is equivalent to 1.5 million euros. Considering that in the future, this money will be taken for free, it is considered a very considerable income.
But after all, Halls is only thirteen years old. It will take four or five years at the earliest for him to have a chance to step onto the professional football stage. And it will probably take another three or four years for him to become famous. Under normal circumstances, , I am afraid it will be ten years before Halls can start making big money.
Calculated in this way, the time that Halls can make money for Dai Li is only ten years, 1.5 million euros a year and 15 million euros in ten years. This is Dai Li's income. What Li Dai paid may only be one or two athlete patches and a complete training plan. This is obviously a good investment.
…
Forrest Sr. left the United States and returned to Argentina, and Halls quickly adapted to life in the United States.
Now, in addition to training every day, Halls also has to take English classes. After all, Halls has to train in the United States for a long time, so he must learn to speak English.
In the blink of an eye, Howles spent two weeks in the United States.
On the training ground, Howles has been practicing high jump, which helps him grow taller.
Not far away, Dai Li looked at Halls, but frowned. He could see that Halls did not perform very well today, either in terms of physical fitness or concentration in training. It was different from the previous few days. made a big difference.
"What's wrong with this kid today?" Li Dai waved to call one of his coaches and asked, "Has Halls' training been like this in the past few days?"
The coach turned to look at Halls. He didn't seem to notice anything strange about Halls, so he answered: "He has been like this in the past two days. Boss, is there anything wrong? "
"There's something wrong. Go and find Coach Payton for me." Dai Li ordered.
A few minutes later, Chris Payton arrived.
"Boss, are you looking for me?" Payton asked.
"Howles seems to be a little out of shape in training. He is not focused enough and just completes the training program absent-mindedly. Has he behaved in any strange way recently? For example, is he homesick? Or misses his relatives? Or maybe he can't adapt to the living habits of the United States. ?" Li Dai asked.
"No? Howles didn't show homesickness. Obviously life in the United States is much better than in Argentina, and he has been very happy in the past few days." Payton replied without hesitation.
"Very happy?" Dai Li's expression became more and more confused.
"Yeah, he made a new friend." Payton replied.
"With his English proficiency, this is quite difficult." Dai Li said casually.
"His new friends are Mexicans, and they speak Spanish." Payton continued: "To be precise, they are Mexican immigrants. Don't worry, I know that family. They are not the kind of illegal immigrants who smuggled in." , they are all legal immigrants, and they are not involved in gangs. That family has a job, and the male owner of that family is a professional gardener who specializes in helping rich people prune plants in their gardens. Maybe you have patronized him too!"
"What else is there?" Li Dai then asked.
"The kid from that family is called Santiago. He should be about the same age as Halls, or older than Halls. He also likes to play football." Payton seemed to be worried that Dai Li would get the wrong idea, so he added Said: "I'm talking about English football."
"I understand, what next?" Dai Li continued to ask.
"Howles goes to play football with Santiago every day. It is said that there are several other friends, including Mexicans and Colombians, but there are not many Americans... You know, we Americans don't pay much attention. This sport. But Halls is very happy. I can see that he really likes playing football. I think that playing football with his friends every night should be the happiest time of his day. !" Payton said.
"You mean he goes to play football every day? Normally, how long does it take for him to go?" Dai Li asked immediately.
Payton thought for a while and replied: "It's hard to say. It usually takes more than two hours, and sometimes it even takes three or four hours to come back. But don't worry, the community where I live has good security. Yes, and those gang members don’t dare to come to trouble me!”
"It seems that I have found the reason." Dai Li let out a sigh of relief. He couldn't help but think of his experience when he was a child, sneaking to the Internet cafe to play games after school. During that period, he was preoccupied with playing games, was absent-minded in class, and his academic performance also declined.
This is the situation for Halls now, but playing games has turned into playing football, and this has also affected Halls' training during the day.
Li Dai said in a reproachful tone: "Chris, you should be able to notice that he plays football for two or three hours every night, which consumes too much of Halls' physical energy, and it also affects his ability to work during the day." He was obviously a little distracted during training, and I think all he could think about now was how to play football in the evening!"
"I told him that going out to play football every night would affect his training during the day, and he should stop in moderation." Payton shrugged and said innocently: "But he obviously didn't take it to heart."
"Thirteen is just the age to be playful. He can't control himself. You are his guardian. You should ask him to go home early at night and go to bed early." Li Dai said.
"Why?" Payton looked puzzled, and he continued: "I have made it clear to him, and he should also know the consequences, but what to choose and how to make a decision next is up to him. Although I am his guardian in the United States, I should not make choices for him when things happen. As for the consequences, people should bear the consequences of their own choices, right?"
Dai Li was speechless. At the same time, he also realized the differences in children's education between China and the United States.
Compared with "Chinese education", "American education" is more like a free-range model. American parents will not interfere too much with their children. They prefer to cultivate their children's independent abilities so that they can think about problems independently. Make judgments about things. However, domestic parents give their children more "restrictions", such as no play, no watching TV, no playing games, no snacks, no puppy love, various tutoring classes during holidays, etc.
It is precisely because of this difference in educational concepts that Li Dai believes that Payton should clearly prevent Halls from spending time playing football, while Payton feels that he has made it clear to Halls and done what he should. fulfill their responsibilities.
If children grow up in the United States and receive American education since childhood, they may already know how to think and judge, and know that they should not waste too much energy on playing football, but should focus mainly on training during the day. among.
But Howles grew up in Argentina. He obviously did not receive American education and culture, and he did not have the independent thinking and judgment abilities of American children.
Although the education penetration rate in Argentina is very high, the quality of education is not high. Argentina has degenerated from a developed country to a developing country. Every aspect of the country is filled with the "broken window effect", which is basically a situation where everything is broken. This is especially true in terms of education. Although it has the highest enrollment rate in South America, the quality of education is very worrying. Those private schools with expensive fees are better, while public schools are basically like sheep herding.
Therefore, compared with his peers in the United States, apart from being better at football, Halls is much worse in all other aspects. Putting Halls in a relatively free environment like the United States, it would be difficult for Halls to control himself.
This is just like some people who were among the best in academic performance when they were in high school, but often failed in college. In addition to lack of personal effort, one of them is not knowing how to study by themselves. When you study in high school, you receive a spoon-fed education from teachers, while when you study in college, you often need self-study. A person who is used to having food put to his mouth may not know how to use it even if he is given a spoon.
"It seems that I should talk to Halls in person." Dai Li thought of this and called Halls to his side. Of course, he didn't let Payton leave. After all, Dai Li didn't know Spanish, and Halls didn't know Spanish. Si didn't learn a few words in English, so he still needed Payton as a translator.
…
"Howles, I know you go to play football with your friends every night, but I think this will affect your state during training during the day." Li Dai said in a very serious tone.
Payton translated these words to Halls. Halls immediately lowered his head, like a child who made a mistake, and apologized: "I'm sorry, coach."
Although Halls is not old, he also knows who is the "boss" of this training center.
"Howles, you can't play football every night, you have to put more energy into training during the day." Li Dai continued.
After Payton translated, Halls did not answer.
Dai Li then advised: "I don't want to stop you from playing football. I hope you can exercise restraint, such as playing once a week. You have to understand that your first priority now is training, and nothing can affect your current situation." training.”
After listening to Payton's translation, Halls remained silent, but his fists were clenched tightly.
Dai Li observed this and suddenly felt that his words were too harsh. So Li Dai continued: "Howles, you have to understand that you train hard today so that you can play better in the future. If you don't train seriously today, you won't be able to grow taller or become a professional." Player."
Payton translated again, but Halls still didn't answer, but from Halls's eyes, Dai Li could see a kind of unwillingness, which was unwillingness to be scolded by Dai Li.
Dai Li could clearly feel that he had not convinced Howles. His concept of "Chinese education" obviously doesn't work with Halls.
"You are thirteen or fourteen years old. Adolescence is also the rebellious period. It is really troublesome to deal with children of this age!" Dai Li felt a sense of powerlessness in his heart.