Chapter 158 Everyone, on the road

In a blink of an eye, Chen Jian had been in the foreign country of Nottingham for two years. If the year he came from the draft was included, it would be three years. At first, he lived in the home of Mr. John, known as the most hardcore fan of Nottingham Forest. Later, in order to cultivate his ability to live independently, he chose to move out and live alone.

Although he signed an apprenticeship contract with Nottingham Forest, he still went to Nottingham University. He was low-key in school and never revealed his identity besides a student. He has been in the UK for more than three years, and he has basically no problem with language communication. Every time he trains, he is the hottest and hardest person. The team coach always uses him as a role model to call on the whole team to train hard.    The other teammates are always curious: "Do you Chinese always work so hard when doing things?"

He is the only Chinese or even Asian in the team. Logically speaking, he should be very lonely. But Chen Jian put all his thoughts on training, but in fact he didn't care about these trivial things anymore.

He knew that his time was tight, and if he didn't hurry up and train, he would accomplish nothing in his life. He believed in the truth in the stories he heard when he was a child - even geniuses could only achieve success by spending time with coffee.   There will never be a genius in this world who can succeed by relying on talent alone, let alone mediocre talents like him.

If a genius doesn’t work hard, there is still talent. If a mediocre person doesn’t work hard, he will be nothing.

Given his poor foundation, in the first year, he was transferred by the team to the U15-age team to do basic training. Among a group of 14-year-old boys, the nineteen-year-old was particularly eye-catching... or eye-catching. But he didn't seem to feel embarrassed about this. He was very dedicated to doing basic training, no matter what others look at him. Because his age difference is too much, it is difficult to find someone in the team who can practice together, so most of the time he only has one person who is boring and single practice. Moreover, he cannot participate in various competitions in the U15-age group.

China often conceals players' age to bully the small. English football is not common. He actually wants to play. Every time there is a U15 game, he will watch it, and he is fascinated by how others play football. Even if he is five to four years younger than himself, he will not find any advantage except that his body may be better than them.

Even if it is an internal U15 game, he cannot participate. He is too old and this is a good advantage. It is unfair to other young players.

This situation lasted for nearly a year. The next year, he was directly transferred to u18. Although he was almost twenty... he was still trained in the u18 youth team. He was still not qualified to participate in the Youth FA Cup competition, and could only play internal games or some not-so-official warm-up matches. But finally there was a game to play.

In fact, Chen Jian is a very smart person. It can be seen from the fact that he can quickly communicate fluently with British players. When he is unable to play, he always has to watch the game on the spot. Whether it is the youth team, the reserve team or the first team, he will not fall off every game. The advantage of watching the game on the spot is that he will not be limited or misled by the TV broadcast camera and can establish a view of the overall situation. In the youth team, he has always played in the middle of the midfield. That is the position that needs the most overall situation.

When watching the ball in the stands, he would use his brain to think why they had to deal with the ball so much, but not the same, what are the benefits of each method of processing? What are the disadvantages? He pays attention to the performance of famous players on the court and the way they play football. He believes that watching football is also a kind of training, so-called laymen watching the excitement, while experts watching the tricks. People who are willing to use their brains can definitely learn a lot from watching the game. He also has a small book he carries with him, recording every time he sees the things he thinks about, so that he can read them at any time.

Midfielders must be the smartest people on the court, because they must always analyze and judge the situation on the court to make the most correct choice. From this point of view, Chen Jian’s training for himself is just right.

Chen Jian is not just watching and thinking in the stands. He will bring what he is thinking into training and try to complete his ideas in training. The coaching staff of the youth team appreciates his way of playing football. Because in terms of health, after Chen Jian reached u18, he basically has no advantages. There are many people in the professional players who are physically strong. If a yellow man wants to be stronger than them, he is really flawed in his innate conditions. In terms of explosive power, he is not the weakest in the team, but not the best. He is mediocre. If you want to use any other methods to make the gap between himself and others, then you can only use your brain. This is the only point where there is no distinction between innate and acquired.

If your body is not good, your explosive power is insufficient. If you are not fast enough, use your wisdom to make up for it.

A year has passed and he has achieved remarkable results in this regard.

Although he cannot represent U18 in the official Youth FA Cup and Youth League, he performed very well in the internal competition. As a midfielder, he does not often use his own body to fight against his opponents head-on when defending. He always judges the opponent's route in advance, then makes a judgment to block the position, and strangles the opponent's attack in the cradle. The same is true in the offense. He rarely drives the ball over several people and runs dozens of meters, and then passes the football out. After receiving the ball, he will first observe the situation on the court, and then directly pass the football to the place where it should go. The advantage of this is that the offense is simpler and more effective, without dragging the mud, and can seize fleeting opportunities.

Despite his hard-working training and outstanding performance in the youth team, he is still an apprenticeship now - the club has not given him a new professional contract. His salary is very low, just enough to live alone in Nottingham, and even send it home to pay filial piety to his parents, or ask him to go out and spend money to find a woman to meet his physiological needs.

His life is simple and boring. He always teleports back and forth between the training ground and the apartment, and occasionally goes to college. He has been to Nottingham for three years. He has been to the shopping district in the city center five times, and he doesn't even know which side the door is to open in other entertainment venues. He doesn't know how long it will take for such a life. He is not a sermon, and he also longs for a higher quality life, but he needs to get a higher salary. Starting from getting a new contract.

He kept everything Tony Don said to him on the phone in mind.

"...You are just an apprentice. I will not provide you with any guarantee. I will not promise you that you can become a professional player and that you will realize your original dream. You can't even think about this opportunity to play on behalf of the first team! The club cannot promise you anything, salary, benefits, contract guarantee... Nothing is promised. Apart from giving you this opportunity, we will not give you anything. Maybe you can't practice until you are twenty-six years old and can only hang out in the reserve team, or simply be eliminated, and can only live in those semi-professional teams. There are even more miserable things, please imagine yourself..."

Will this scene become a reality?

Chen Jian did not return to China during the one-month holiday because he planned to use this time to continue practicing. For this reason, the mother who felt sorry for her son took a leave of absence and flew to the UK alone to visit him. The father still had to work, so he could not come. After all, Chen Jian's family was not wealthy and could not resign and move to the UK to accompany his son. Chen Jian now barely counted as a job, but it would be great not to ask for money from his family. Both parents had neither high income, so they would have to pay for their own money when they came to the UK.

Chen Jian hopes to obtain a professional contract given by the club as soon as possible. With more income, he can also reduce the burden on his family.

If you want to play football just to like football, it is probably a lie. He just wants to make hobbies a profession - this is the happiest thing in the world.

When my mother came, she brought several large bags of goods, all of which were Sichuan specialties and seasonings. She was worried that her son would not be able to eat the most authentic Sichuan cuisine. It was also to save money. After all, the prices in the UK must be much higher than those in Mianyang, Sichuan. After the result, Chen Jian said to her mother helplessly that the Sichuan bacon, sausages she brought could not be eaten. Because professional athletes cannot eat that kind of food... Although he really wanted to eat, he had to force himself not to eat it. If he couldn't even insist on eating, then don't be a professional player.

Although there is a difference between what he eats and his mother, and mothers cannot understand what kind of dishes like boiled chicken are delicious, overall, the mother and son have been having a happy month. At least Chen Jian will not be so lonely. After training at night, he will take his mother out shopping, and occasionally take his mother who never watches football and does not understand football to watch the first team in the forest. Let her feel the crazy... Of course, the mothers will not go after one or two times, because she said her heart can't stand it, and the environment is too noisy...

As the days of separation were getting closer, Chen Jian was thinking about buying some gifts for his mother and father. For this reason, he planned to accompany his mother to London on weekends.

Oxford Street is a very famous commercial street in London. It is full of stores of almost all high-end brands in the world and attracts a large number of tourists to come and shop every year. Although the products sold here are famous luxury goods, it can attract so many people to come here to shop. It is obviously not enough to rely solely on brand appeal. Another reason why this is so attractive is that the things on Oxford Street are indeed cheaper than those of the same brand in other places.

Despite this, Mother Chen's face changed after looking at the price of the products here a few times, and she pulled her son away. She was very stanced to never come back in this life.

Unfortunately, Chen Jian was determined to give his parents who were filial to him.

He should be like this. When he decided to drop out of the Tianjin Judicial Police School and turn to England to pursue his dream of professional football, his relatives and friends opposed it. They did not think that Chen Jian could play any name with his talent, and even people who did not understand what professional football in England were like to warn Chen Jian with the Chinese football environment: "Jianwoo, you see that your reputation for playing professional football in China is so bad, why do you have to? I tell you, don't care about the school, as long as you graduate and get a certificate, I will ask someone to leave your relationship to send you to the court to work. There is no need for you to play professional football?"

Chen Jian still remembers the grand occasion when all the aunts and aunts came to persuade him, so he remembers more clearly how his parents supported him.

The relatives planned to find Chen Jian's parents and let them show the majesty of their elders, and forbid Chen Jian from pursuing that illusory thing. After all, Chen Jian may not listen to what the relatives say, no matter how good the relationship is. But as parents, how can the son not listen?

Chen Jian's father and mother have a very unified attitude: "Chen Jian wants to go, that's his business, and we parents are not easy to interfere. If he wants to go, let him go."

Because of his parents' attitude and the relatives said nothing was useless, he finally flew from Sichuan to England and started his dream journey.

If it weren't for his parents' enlightenment, then he would have no idea what he was doing now. Maybe he was entrusted by his relatives to go through the back door and stuffed it into the court. Then he owed a huge favor. Maybe after graduation, he worked as a security guard in Tianjin and so on... who knows.

Just for this love, he should do something.

But in order to make his mother feel at ease, he had to make an excuse. So when he was paying for it, he told his mother that just before his mother came, he had just signed a new contract with the club. This time it was not an apprenticeship contract, but a very formal professional contract. He enjoyed the salary of a professional player, which was very different from his previous income.

So this little money is no problem at all!

Of course, the mother was happy for her son. Seeing her mother's smile, Chen Jian felt that even if she lies, it was worth it. As for how to lie in the future, he didn't think so much about it for the time being.

In the end, he used his savings over the past two years to buy his father a suit, a casual suit, a women's bag, and a skirt for his mother.

My mother happily came out of the locker room in a dressing dressing, and stood in front of the mirror and felt a little shy.

"My son is also a big star." She changed the subject. She didn't let her son find that her expression was abnormal. "Your father must be very happy when he heard it."

"Just a professional player, not a star, mom..."

He had to pretend to be relaxed in front of his mother. When he was memorizing the card, he still showed a hint of worry on his face. He didn't feel sorry for the money. He just worried that if the lies were exposed one day, he would not be able to imagine how disappointed his parents would be at that time...

My mother was on a plane on Tuesday afternoon. During Monday's training, Chen Jian found youth team coach Greenwood and asked him for a day off. He went to see his mother off.

But Greenwood did not agree to his leave request immediately, but said to him with a smile: "You are here just now, Chen. South Wilford called me just now and asked me to inform you to go there and find Coach David Chris Lack."

Chen Jian was confused, "Sorry, Coach Greenwood, I didn't hear it clearly. Can you please say it again?"

Greenwood coughed: "First team assistant coach David Chris Lack has something to do with you."

"Look for me?" Chen Jian looked confused.   There is almost no intersection between him and the first team.  What does the first team coach ask him for?

Seeing Chen Jian's idiot look, Greenwood finally couldn't help it. He slapped Chen Jian on the back: "I inform you to sign a new contract! This time it's not an apprentice contract."

If Greenwood hadn't slapped it really hurt, Chen Jian would have thought he was dreaming.

"Did you say you want to give me a...a professional contract?" he asked in disbelief.

"Yes, Chen. I said you Chinese are all mother-in-law and mother-in-law? I have said it many times, but you still don't believe it? If you don't believe it, I will call them and tell them that they don't need to prepare the text of the new contract..." After he said that, Chen Jian bowed and ran out.

When everyone left, the voice came: "Thank you, Coach Greenwood!"

Greenwood laughed: "Thank you for what I do, thank you for yourself, Chen."

The first team training has ended, and Tony Donn and Chris Lack are waiting in the office for them to find landlords.

A burst of rapid footsteps accompanied by heavy breathing came into the ears of the two people from the corridor outside the door. They looked at each other and smiled, and the person they were about to wait for came.

The door was closed, and Chen Jian stopped at the door. He did not rush to knock on the door, but tried to calm down his breathing and mood. He stood at the door with his fists clenched, lowered his head and closed his eyes. He tried to stop his body from slamming. Although he was very excited after hearing this news, it was really embarrassing to do so.

After waiting for a while, he raised his hand and knocked on the door.

"Come in." Chris Lack's voice rang.

"Coach Donn, Coach Chris Lak." Chen Jian, who came in, greeted the two coaches respectfully.

Chris Lack responded to him with a smile on his face, "Hello, Chen." while Tang En just nodded with a calm face.

"Looking at your appearance, you already know why we are looking for you?"

Chen Jian nodded vigorously, for fear that he would change his mind if he lightened his fingers.

"We all see your performance in the past two years. You performed very well in the youth team competition. Tony thinks you are talented. Including the year you came from the draft, you will make rapid progress in three years. So we decided to provide you with a professional contract."

One of the smiles in Chen Jian’s mind was his mother’s smile. His heart was finally let go of his hanging heart now - I didn’t lie, I did get a professional contract!

"You don't have an agent yet, are you?"

Chen Jian nodded.

"Well...but it doesn't matter. It's just the most ordinary professional contract, you can take a look at it yourself." Chris Lark handed the contract text to Chen Jian.

In fact, Chen Jian just glanced up in a hurry. He didn't care what was written on it at all. He only paid attention to the years and weekly salary. This was a four-year contract. A weekly salary of 1,500 pounds. This salary is not much, but it would be very satisfying compared to his apprenticeship salary.

"I've finished reading it, no problem! Can I sign it now?" Chen Jian wanted to turn a pen out of his hand.

Chris Lack wanted to speak, but asked Donn to take the lead.

"Don't be anxious. Boy." The head coach who had not spoken stood up from his seat, "You think clearly, is this your ultimate goal?"

Chen Jian didn't understand what Tang En meant, he looked at Tang En in a little confused.

"Well. Although you were given a professional contract, you may not be able to play for the first team now. Even if you don't have a labor certificate, you can't appear in any first team game. Even if you don't have a labor certificate, you can't play in any of the first team games. You can't even play in the reserve team games."

Chen Jian seemed to be poured with a basin of cold water from his pocket. His mind, which was hot just now, suddenly woke up. Tang En said that even if he signed this contract, he could not be regarded as a member of Nottingham Forest because he could not play for the Forest team.

If you can't play games, then what's the point of being a professional player? Do you go to the training ground all day and get a salary?

I play football to make money, but money is not like this.

Chen Jian shook his head: "If you can't play, why do you still have to give me this contract? I don't understand, Mr. Tang En."

Donn glanced at Chris Lack and then said, "Why do you call me alone? It's because you have a special arrangement for you... You signed this contract. Of course you are a member of Nottingham Forest. We need to be responsible for your career. But because of the well-known labor certificate, you can't play for the team. We won't put a player who has signed a professional player contract on the training ground for four years. That's a waste."

"I am optimistic about your development potential. I think what you need now is a sufficient level of competition training. Instead of training in the youth team all the time. But you know, even if you have enough strength and don't have a labor certificate, you can't play." Chris Lak also said. "This is a very headache, Chen."

Tang En continued: "Let's put aside the issues of your personal ability and potential first, let's talk about the labor certificate. In fact, there are actually many ways to obtain a labor certificate, it depends on whether you are willing to do so. First, marry a British wife."

Chen Jian was shocked. He was only twenty years old and had been devoted to football in recent years. He had never even found a girlfriend, let alone a big life event like getting married.

Seeing his reaction, Tang En laughed: "It seems like this is a dead end. The second way is to apply for British citizenship."

Chen Jian was not scared this time, and he immediately shook his head: "This is impossible, Mr. Tang En, China does not allow dual nationality."

"Then change nationality." Tang En said expressionlessly.
To be continued...