"Stop it, Abba, quickly put down the gun!" Seeing the car pull over, Melo was instantly terrified out of his wits.
"Mom, it's Mr. Melo!" The young man beside the Ghanaian woman immediately grabbed his mother's hand when he saw Melo.
The Ghanaian woman named Abba was still hesitating, but Melo had already stepped in front of Ethan and Alberto.
"Abba, these are club owners from England. He is here to visit you. Put down the gun!" Melo said anxiously.
These homemade muskets often misfired. If one accidentally went off and killed Ethan, this money bag, then everything would truly be over. Not only would the £250,000 be lost, but the club would probably also face trouble.
As soon as she heard Melo say this, Abba immediately put down the gun in her hand and complained, "If it's a visit, you should call out first. I thought you were thieves trying to steal things from my house!"
Ethan and Alberto exchanged a look, both feeling indignant. Did they look like thieves?
Alberto was in a standard Western suit, so there was no need to mention him. Although Ethan was wearing sportswear, he certainly did not look so down-and-out that he resembled a thief.
However, when they saw the musket in Abba's hand, they immediately swallowed back everything they wanted to say. After all, they did not know whether this dangerous Ghanaian woman's gun might suddenly misfire.
"Come in!" Abba opened the door and invited Ethan and the others inside.
This simple house did not have much furniture. Even the place for guests to sit was just a bench nailed together from wooden planks, covered with a piece of cloth on top, and it was as hard as a rock to sit on.
After inviting Ethan and the others to sit down, Abba went to boil water for the guests.
"Michael, hasn't your mother found a job yet?" Melo called Essien over and asked with concern.
"Mhm. She did some odd jobs for a few days before, but recently she hasn't been able to find anything to do," Essien said with a maturity beyond his years.
This was the first time Ethan had observed Essien up close.
"I'm sorry, we don't have anything to entertain you with here, only plain boiled water!" Abba said apologetically, bringing over a few cups of boiled water on a tray.
"Right, Melo, you said they are from England?" Abba noticed Ethan constantly staring at Essien and seemed to have sensed something.
"Yes, Abba. This gentleman is the owner of New Manchester United from England. He has taken a liking to Michael and Sulley Muntari and wants to take them to England to play for his team."
Abba was surprised at first when she heard this, but she quickly calmed down, as if she had accepted the fact. Only the look in her eyes as she gazed at her son revealed her deep reluctance to part with him.
"I knew this day would come. It's fine, Michael, you go. When you get there, work hard, do you understand?" Abba said, patting Essien's shoulder with heartache.
Essien kept nodding, tears welling in his eyes, but he forcibly held them back.
"When you earn money, bring your mother and siblings to England!" Melo comforted him.
"Sir, when should I leave then?" Essien looked toward Ethan.
Ethan thought for a moment. "I heard you are going to attend the Ghana U-17 youth team training camp. Then you can leave after the camp is over. By the way, Abba, what do you do for a living?"
Abba shook her head with a bitter smile. "I used to run a wholesale bakery, but the economy has been getting worse and worse. Business wasn't good, the rent was high, and I really couldn't keep it going, so I had to close it. After that, I just picked up odd jobs here and there. I don't have any formal work."
Melo shook his head upon hearing this. "Abba has five children in total. When Essien was still young, his father left the family. Since then, Abba has raised all five children by herself. Life has been extremely difficult."
Ethan's family situation had not been good in his previous life either, so he felt deep sympathy for families like Essien's and wanted to help them.
"Are you willing to come to Manchester to work?" Ethan asked.
Abba was stunned. "Is there work over there?"
"Our club does not have any, but we can help you contact factories in the surrounding areas, or shops that need employees. Our club will put in a word to help you find work. Once things are arranged, you can move to Manchester to live, and you can also live with Michael and take care of him more easily!"
Ethan had clearly been moved by Alberto's earlier words, so he wanted to provide Essien with the best possible living environment, especially since his family was indeed facing difficulties.
"Really? Thank you so much, Sir!" Essien was overjoyed upon hearing this. He stood up and bowed to Ethan.
"It's nothing, Michael. We are a football club. We have an obligation to help our players sort out the things that worry them. How about this, Abba, write down your experience and skills into a CV. Melo will help me fax it to Manchester, and then our club staff will help you look for a few suitable jobs. After that, you can slowly choose the one you like best. How does that sound?" Ethan said with a smile.
Although New Manchester United had only been established for a year, it already had considerable influence in the Newton Heath area. Ethan could not guarantee how good the jobs would be, but they would at least be better and more comfortable than what Abba could find here in Ghana.
"As for housing, I will have someone arrange it. You can move in as soon as you arrive."
"Thank you so very much, Mr. Yu!" Abba's nose felt sore, and she appeared deeply moved.
Ethan smiled and shook his head. "It's just a small effort!"
After settling the matter of Abba's job, there were no more obstacles to Essien's transfer to New Manchester United. Even when Ethan was about to leave, Abba's entire family rushed out to see them off and kept urging them to stay.
Leaving Essien's house, they walked past two streets and arrived at Muntari's house.
Since both Essien and Muntari played for Liberty Professionals and lived close by, their families had a good relationship.
When Muntari's parents heard that their son had been noticed by an English club, they were extremely happy. Upon hearing that Essien's family was preparing to move to Manchester, they immediately had no worries about their son going to England.
...
Night fell, and Melo drove, bumping along the road back to Liberty Professionals.
There were no streetlights on these roads. They could only rely on the vehicle's own lights, the faint moonlight, and the weak light cast from the surrounding residents' homes to make out the road.
In such conditions, even an experienced driver like Melo had to be extremely careful.
"Frankly, Mr. Yu, your actions surprise me!" Melo kept looking ahead.
"Why?" Ethan asked with a smile.
"I studied abroad in England. I know that although the football clubs there are formal, they never care about the players' family lives. But you are different. You care deeply about the players' lives."
"Do you think that's not good?" Ethan asked again.
"No, no, no. I also think a club should show more warmth toward its contracted players. You know, this is something rarely seen in professional clubs."
"And in Ghana?"
Melo smiled bitterly. "We have the will, but not the means!"
Indeed, when their own operations were already in trouble, which club had the spare energy to care about the players' families?
"You probably didn't just come to Ghana to find a football club to cooperate with, did you, Mr. Yu?" Melo suddenly asked.
"What do you mean?" Ethan was becoming more and more interested in Melo.
"Intuition!"
Ethan chuckled. Alberto, beside him, also did not know Ethan's plan, so he was very curious about their conversation.
"Have you heard of Ajax?"
Both nodded. Anyone who liked football but had not heard of Ajax deserved contempt, just like a European football fan not knowing Wembley.
"They acquired two clubs in Cape Town, South Africa, and merged them to establish Cape Town Ajax. Although Ajax only held a 50 percent stake in that club, in reality, this was part of their global plan to scout football geniuses."
Later, Pienaar, who would stand alongside Sneijder, Van der Vaart, and Ibrahimović in Ajax's first-team lineup, was scouted from this club and taken back to the Netherlands.
"Are you trying to emulate Ajax?"
"Of course. Our club must have its own ability to produce talent continuously. This model is just one part of it."
In later generations, the reason Arsenal could spread its scouting network globally was because they established football schools or clubs in many places around the world. Chelsea was the same.
"So, when the time is right, you will acquire Liberty Professionals?" Melo asked again.
"Why not?" Ethan countered. "After acquiring Liberty Professionals, I will inject capital and manage this club into the best football club in all of Africa, attracting football geniuses from across the continent to gather here. At that time, this place will become a superpower of African football, supplying a continuous stream of excellent stars to European teams."
Melo was dumbfounded by Ethan's grand vision. If it were truly realized, Liberty Professionals would inevitably become a springboard for African players to reach European leagues, thereby obtaining high transfer fees to ensure the club's healthy operation.
"Of course, Melo, the time isn't right yet. Whether it is African football or New Manchester United, there is still a long way to go before reaching that stage. But I can see that you are not someone content with mediocrity, right?"
Melo burst into laughter upon hearing Ethan's words, but he did not reply.
However, some things were best understood without being said.
Returning to Liberty Professionals, the first negotiation between Magbu and Cassel had concluded. Both sides had reached an intention to cooperate, as both had shown considerable sincerity in this collaboration.
Thus, after negotiations the following morning, both parties officially signed the cooperation agreement and the transfer contracts for Essien and the others. Essien and Muntari also signed their contracts with New Manchester United.
For European clubs, the salaries in these contracts were similar to youth-team wages, but they had already doubled the wages for both players.
(To be continued.)
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◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)