Chapter 4 - 000 The whole country is boiling, China’s number 10 in Milan
"Well done, kid, and by the way, your Italian is very standard."
Ancelotti walked Huang Kaiwen toward the players' tunnel, not forgetting to instruct the assistant coach to seek help.
This trip to China involved some commercial cooperation contracts that needed to be signed, with the club's legal department following along. Now he needed to draft a professional contract as quickly as possible and then sign Huang Kaiwen.
Before signing the contract, he absolutely couldn't let this kid out of his sight.
The organizers were unhappy to see Ancelotti leave, especially since there was an important photo session afterwards.
Since the coach was away, it was tough on the remaining Milan players.
Maldini was in a very good mood today. The score of the friendly match wasn't important, although the last-minute victory was thrilling, it was actually insignificant.
Even if they had been beaten by Shenhua into double digits, he wouldn't have cared, at most it would have been a bit embarrassing.
What really made him happy was Huang Kaiwen's unexpected participation.
At 36, with his career approaching its end, seeing the team sign a super talent at this time was truly wonderful.
He even felt that this was a gift from God to him and Milan.
"That kid is really good."
"Yes, I feel a huge potential in him."
"How old is he, is he a professional player from China? It seems the head wants to sign him, then he will be our teammate."
"That would be great, we have Kaka, Shevchenko, and if we sign that kid, we will definitely achieve something at the start of the new season, maybe we could even win another UEFA Champions League Trophy."
"I didn't expect to gain such a reward from this trip to China."
The Milan players, previously not very happy with the photo session, were now very animated and cooperative with the organizers' demands.
Meanwhile, in the locker room, Ancelotti was chatting intermittently with Huang Kaiwen.
"Carroll, you're preparing to give me a contract, right?"
"Yes, we will sign you, don't worry, Milan will definitely offer you a fair treatment."
Milan was not yet in decline, indeed they had the confidence to say this.
They say it was for "Qian Duoduo" that they even signed Donnarumma, but actually Milan had stabilized Kaka by signing his younger brother Digan earlier, and his salary was the same 1 million Euros as "Donnarumma," more than a decade before Digan earned this salary in Milan, thanks to his brother, even higher than some Serie A teams' main players.
Huang Kaiwen thought about finding a lawyer.
However, in 2004, domestic lawyers handling sports contracts were not suitable. Even in the golden era of the Chinese Super League, due to unprofessional contracts, many clubs were tricked by foreign players.
So, he was too lazy to bother.
After all, he was just a freeloader, it didn't matter whether the contract was a trap or not, he could understand the simple clauses, and he wouldn't agree to complex ones. Even if he got tricked, it wasn't a big deal.
In the face of life, a little time or money is not important at all.
The forums are popular with a phrase, "Should I eat ten more pounds, otherwise I won't feel easy about this money," a life, incidentally becoming a professional player, might even come with a handsome salary.
This level of reward somewhat unsettled Huang Kaiwen.
About an hour later, when the event and the post-match press conference had been over for half a day, the assistant coach finally brought the contract.
The Milan players also gathered around the excitement.
"My God, 2.5 million Euros after tax?"
"Really? I read in the newspaper that it was 2.5 million Euros after tax just before Kaka renewed his contract."
Huang Kaiwen's eyes also lit up. The exchange rate was 1:10.3. Nearly 26 million a year after taxes was simply too exhilarating.
He had not expected Milan to be so sincere.
Ancelotti, seeing him not moving his pen, asked somewhat anxiously, "Is there something uncertain?"
"No, I'm just looking at the specifics of the contract."
"If there's anything you're unhappy with, you can bring it up. By the way, which jersey number do you like?" Ancelotti asked cautiously.
"Either 7 or 10."
As soon as Huang Kaiwen spoke, the Milan locker room fell silent.
The number 7 jersey in Milan belonged to the club president Andre Shevchenko. Even if you were a genius, you couldn't take Shevchenko's jersey.
The owner of the number 10 jersey was also well-known, the Portuguese star Rui Costa.
Three years ago, Rui Costa joined AC Milan for a record-breaking 42 million Euros, the biggest transfer fee in AC Milan's history.
Ancelotti's smile froze at the corner of his mouth, regretting his careless question.
Maldini, seeing the situation, said directly, "You go ahead and sign the contract. I'll give them a call to see what can be done, and make sure you're satisfied. If not, I'll give you the number 3."
Huang Kaiwen was shocked.
Was Maldini trying to harm him?
What did he do to deserve Maldini's jersey? It was known that Maldini's number 3 jersey would retire with him.
This number was the most meaningful in Milan, with only members of the Maldini family qualifying to wear the number 3 in the future.
After Huang Kaiwen signed the contract, a system notification appeared.
[Task completed: Sign with a G14 top club. All illnesses are cleared and health is recovered. The system will now update to the official version, estimated update time is 72 hours.]
However, Huang Kaiwen felt nothing unusual.
Because originally he had liver cancer, which did not manifest any symptoms. Only in the late stages would there be pain in the liver area, leading to rapid demise. Since he was relatively young, there wasn't even a single sign. If it weren't for a medical exam, it would have been impossible to detect.
Finally free from the threat to his life, he happily joined the Milan players for dinner.
Ancelotti had thought about changing to Chinese food to accommodate him, but Huang Kaiwen had refused.
Having just joined the team and already receiving a sky-high salary, extending him various privileges would only make him a target in everyone's eyes.
A newcomer, no matter how outstanding, should not try to stand out.
Too many old sayings like "The tree that stands out in the forest will be destroyed by the wind" encapsulate wisdom from the ancestors.
Besides, once his experience card expired and he became a salary thief, the more privileges he enjoyed initially, the more severe the exclusion he would face later.
Therefore, he did not only need no privileges but also needed to learn from Carlos Kaiser and become the most popular person on the team.
Isn't it just frequently taking teammates out to mingle? He could do that too.
At dinner that night, Huang Kaiwen made a concerted effort to please, and the Milan players were gradually warming up to him.
Packing his bags at home, Maldini brought him good news the next day when they met, "Rui Costa has agreed to switch to the number 14 jersey."
That very day, Ancelotti and AC Milan, unable to wait any longer, rushed to hold a press conference in Shanghai before getting on the plane.
The entire press conference venue was packed with journalists, with even the entrance crowded with people.
Huang Kaiwen and Ancelotti signed the prepared contract as a formality, and then together lifted the red and black striped shirt imprinted with Huang Kaiwen's name and the number 10.