143 The Future Of Three Million Six Hundred Thousand Part 1 (2/2)
”Don't thank me, Tony. You're right. Players need to feel like it's worthwhile to be on the team. If they're working for the club, then the club has an obligation to take care of them and help them resolve their problems. I also have another piece of good news to tell you.”
”Yes?”
”We got that young lad that you wanted.” Evan clenched his fists and continued, ”Allan gave his family one hundred thousand pounds, and they agreed to convince their son to cooperate with us. Now, we can officially make an offer to Watford. But.. Tony, do you think this kid is worth that price?”
Tang En thought about Ashley Young's value in the future and smiled. ”Evan, rest assured. In a few years time, you will be very happy that we bought him. Freddy Eastwood, George Wood, Kris Commons, Wes Morgan, and Ashley Young; those kids are the future of Nottingham Forest. If we get promoted to the English Premier League, I will continue to find more young people… when that time comes, I will shock all of England!
”That's awesome!” Evan clapped his hands and continued. ”If you require any assistance from the club, contact me immediately. I believe in your foresight, Tony.”
Tang En laughed. You should, he thought. My foresight goes three and a half years into the future!
※※※
After the morning's training ended, Tang En called Wood into his office, where there was a stack of papers on the desk. Tang En stuffed a fountain pen into Wood's hand and pointed at the stack of papers. ”George,” he said, ”this is your new contract. Want to take a look?”
Wood approached the desk and picked up the contract. He saw that they were all legal provisions that he did not understand. ”Where's the salary portion?” he asked.
As expected, simply hearing about the new contract was not enough to excite Wood. He only cared about his weekly salary. That was Wood's style.
Tang En approached him and flipped two pages before pointing to a line in the middle of the page and saying, ”Here, you want me to read it to you?”
Wood nodded and passed the contract back to Tang En.
”Your weekly salary from now on will be two thousand five hundred pounds.” After reading to that point, Tang En looked up at Wood. He saw that the expression on his face had changed slightly. Tang En continued, ”But this is only your salary, and only the first year's. In the future, your weekly salary will increase by fifteen percent every year….”
”How much is that?”
”Umm…” Tang En grabbed a calculator from one of the desk's drawers. After tapping furiously on it for a while, he raised his head and told Wood, ”For the first year, your weekly salary will be two thousand five hundred. Second year, two thousand, eight hundred and seventy-five. Third year, three thousand, three hundred. Fourth year, three thousand, eight hundred…. and so on and so forth.”
Wood did not object. Right now, earning three thousand eight hundred pounds a week was like a dream to him.
”And that's not all,” Tang En added. ”For the first two years of the contract, there's an additional reward every season when you play twenty matches. Sounds pretty good, right?”
Wood nodded his head. It did sound much better than that contract he had signed for the youth team.
”There's still more.” Tang En removed a credit card from the drawer and passed to Wood. ”The club made this for you. There's already ten thousand pounds on it. That's your signing fee. In the future, your monthly salary will be transferred to this account at the right time.”
Wood received the card from Tang En, and started to grip it tightly. His thumbs slid up and down the card as he felt its texture. His name and card number were on it. This tiny little card contained ten thousand pounds. This was not a dream; the card was really in his hands.
Seeing that Wood was interested, Tang En smiled and said, ”George, now your credit is also guaranteed by the bank.”
Hearing those familiar words, Wood raised his head and looked at Tang En.
Tang En patted his shoulders and said, ”There's still another piece of good news for you. The club has decided to fund your mother's treatment and find new lodging for you two. The club will pay for half of the monthly rent. Soon, the two of you can move out of that slum.”
Wood stared at Tang En with his eyes wide, as though he dared not believe what he was hearing. Tang En nodded his head and said, ”Are you intending to stay nearer to the training grounds, or further away from it?”
George Wood was agitated, and stuttered when he spoke. ”I…. I don't know.”
Tang En passed the fountain pen over to him and said, ”Sign your name here, then go home and discuss with your mother where you want to stay. Tell me tomorrow when you come for training.”
Wood grasped the pen tightly in his hands, and the tip of the pen stopped on the contract. The last time he had signed his name like this was at the side of the training field. He had done it in order to satisfy the request of a child he hadn't known, named Gavin Bernard. Later, the boy died, while Wood became a professional football player.
He hesitated for a few moments, then signed his name.
From that moment onward, he was an official member of Nottingham Forest's first team.