Liu Yun fell asleep on the plane. He didn't know how long he slept when he felt someone poke him in the shoulder. Liu Yun opened his eyes and saw Zhang Li's delicate face.

Zhang Li smiled and said, "Lao Liu, London has arrived!" ”

Unlike the warm farewell he received at the Pearl River Airport, there were neither Liu Yun's fans nor any media reporters who met him in London. Only Coventry's scout Edda drove a Rover car to pick up Liu Yun.

"Liu, welcome to the UK." Eda said to Liu Yun.

London is only about 150 kilometres from Coventry, an hour and a half by car. Zhang Li is going to report that the University of the West Midlands is located in Birmingham. Birmingham and Coventry are about 15 minutes' drive away. Because it was a way, Eda showed the demeanor of a British gentleman and took the initiative to pick up Zhang Li, an oriental beauty.

Eda carried Liu Yun and Zhang Li on the road. The road to Coventry is lined with lush forests and patches of meadows. It's early autumn, and the trees are turning golden yellow, which looks especially good against the green grass and blue sky.

Eda chatted with Liu Yun while driving. Liu Yun couldn't understand most of the English, so Zhang Li simply acted as Liu Yun's translator.

"I went to Cape Town and recruited a 21-year-old black South African striker named Manla," Edda said. If nothing else, you'll be his No. 3 replacement. ”

Liu Yun was stunned: "The third substitute? ”

Edda replied: "Yes, our head coach George Sr. has been playing 451 tactics all year round - defensive counterattacks, one-arrow forwards. The team now has two backup strikers, and the black striker named Manrah is a speed player who fits well with the counter-attacking tactics of defense. So he's definitely going to be the main striker. And you, who should be next to the other two substitutes, will be the third substitute striker. ”

Liu Yun thought in his heart, in this way, it would be difficult for him to have a chance to play.

Eda added: "It's very clear in the loan contract that the team will take care of your life in England. We've rented a house for you in downtown Coventry. The landlord was a seventy-year-old man, Mrs. Hudson. At the same time, she will also take care of your daily life. By the way, her husband died last year. ”

Liu Yun interpreted Ada's words as the team had found a nanny for him. This is not the case. In the UK, landlords rent out their homes to tenants and don't have to move out. If the tenant pays a little more, the landlord can also take care of their own food and daily life.

Liu Yun said, "Thank you." ”

Eda smiled bitterly: "Because I recruited you into the team, the head coach George Sr. almost killed me with his Winchester shotgun." You have to do well in the team. ”

Liu Yun smiled: "Don't worry." I'm going to do what a third substitute striker does. ”

Eda first sent Zhang Li to the University of the West Midlands in Birmingham, and then drove Liu Yun to the Coventry Club.

Coventry Club is located at the Ricoh Stadium in downtown Coventry. Coventry City FC is the owner of the Ricoh Stadium. Naturally, Ricoh Stadium is also the home of the Coventry City team.

The Ricoh Stadium has a capacity of about 32,000 people. In China, it is impossible for a fourth-tier team to have a stadium of its own. Not to mention that the stadium can accommodate more than 30,000 people.

Edda took Liu Yun to the office of head coach George Sr.

George Sr. was a white-haired English man in his sixties. He is of medium height, probably less than 1.8 meters. The most striking feature of the face is the large nose. He wore a brown waistcoat and tie, and looked like an old English gentleman.

Eda introduced Old George to Liu Yun.

Old George shook hands with Liu Yun first, and then looked Liu Yun up and down with suspicious eyes.

Liu Yun had the feeling of being interrogated with his gaze.

George Sr. finally spoke: "Liu, to be honest, I'm skeptical about your ability to adapt to the rhythm of League Two. I recruited you to join the team, firstly, because of Edda's strong recommendation. He's a professional scout and I think there's a good reason why he recommends you like that. The second is because I watched some videos of your competition. In one game, you dragged a cramped and injured leg, insisted on taking a free-kick and scored the opponent in the final moments。。。。。 I see in you a spirit that the British, the people of Coventry share – that they never give up, even in the face of disaster. ”

Old George muttered a lot of words, but Liu Yun was confused! He only understood the words "free kick" and "injured".

George Sr. paused and continued: "Loaning a forty-five-year-old player to the team was an adventure for me. But the good thing is that your position in the team doesn't matter, it's just the number three substitute striker. You can't let up though, football isn't just about eleven-man sports. The club's staff and substitutes can also affect the outcome of the game in some cases. You've just arrived in Coventry, so let Edda take you to settle in. Three days later, at the weekend, we host Oxford United in the round of 26 of the league, so you can get a taste of the atmosphere of League Two as a spectator. After the weekend's league match, you're officially in the squad for training. ”

“OK”。 Liu Yun knows that the word OK is a universal panacea all over the world. In Liu Yun's consciousness, what the head coach of the team said was the holy decree, and since it was the holy decree, then as long as the answer was OK.

George Sr. spoke at length about the glorious history of the Coventry team. The British are like that, they like to talk about historical glory. He talked for 20 minutes, but Liu Yun was still confused - he didn't know what people were talking about!

Old George looked at Liu Yun's puzzled eyes, and suddenly found something: "Liu, can you understand English?" ”

Liu Yun understands this sentence: "A little bit". (a little).

Old George shook his head helplessly: "Okay." Then he turned to Edda and said, "Ada, take him to his lodging and settle down." ”

Eda led Liu Yun to his residence. This is a small three-storey building in downtown Coventry. Edda rang the doorbell, and the door opened, revealing a kind old English lady, with white hair, who looked to be sixty or seventy years old, and whose face was wrinkled like dry bark. A pair of friendly and curious eyes looked at Liu Yun, a yellow man from the East.

Liu Yun knew that this should be the Mrs. Hudson that Edda was talking about.

Liu Yun took the initiative to stretch out his hand: "Hello, Mrs. Hudson."

Unexpectedly, Mrs. Hudson directly gave Liu Yun a surprise British hug. At the end of the hug, Mrs. Hudson said, "Welcome, children from the East." Come in. ”

Mrs. Hudson showed Liu Yun and Edda around his room. His room is on the second floor. The room on the first floor belonged to Mrs. Hudson. After some visiting, Eda said goodbye, and he said to Liu Yun, "You have a good rest." Go to Ricoh Stadium for the weekend to watch the team's home game. Wait until Monday to officially report to the team. ”

Liu Yun was stunned for a moment - he could only understand the word "rest" that Edda said.

After Eda left, Liu Yun came to his room and sat down. Mrs. Hudson brought him a cup of coffee: "Drink it, kid." ”

With that, Mrs. Hudson turned and left.

Liu Yun took a sip of coffee - almost threw up. It's so bitter! He didn't know that Mrs. Hudson had put a sugar jar on the side of the coffee cup.

Liu Yun looked around his room, the room was very spacious, he roughly estimated that this room was sixty or seventy square meters. There is a large bookshelf on the west side and a large fireplace on the east side. The room is divided into two by half of the wall, and on one side of the wall is the bedroom, which has a large wooden bed. This wooden bed seems to be some years old, and the wood is shiny. The white sheets and pillows are very clean. It can be seen that Mrs. Hudson is very good at tidying up her home.

Liu Yun sat on the bed and fell into melancholy. Now I am simply dumb and deaf. He doesn't understand what others say, and he can only say a limited number of everyday words. What can I do?

Suddenly, Liu Yun's phone rang, and it was Zhang Li calling: "Hey, Lao Liu, there's a problem at the university." The date of the report email they sent me was problematic, and my official course would start in a month and a half. For a month and a half, I was homeless! I'll have to rent a house in Birmingham for a month and a half. ”

Liu Yun was overjoyed: "In other words, you have nothing to do in the next month and a half?" Team Doctor Zhang, Team Doctor Zhang, you are really my lifesaver! Don't rent a house in Birmingham, come to Coventry and be my translator. I'll help you rent a house! Pay your salary! ”