When Sophia opened the door, she was surprised to find that the person who rang the doorbell was Manager Tony Twain.
"A gift for you." Tang En put the gift into the woman's arms, and then entered without an invitation.
"Mr. Manager..."
"Tony, call me Tony."
Sophia looked at the visibly excited Twain, not knowing what had happened. "Mr. Tony..."
"Sophia, I'm recently fascinated by the mysterious eastern culture—the Chinese culture! Do you know what day it is today?"
Sophia shook her head blankly.
"Spring Festival!" Tang En raised his volume and climbed up the stairs as if he were the owner of the house. "Last year has passed, the New Year has arrived, no matter how many unhappy things have happened, they should be cast aside in our minds. It's a day of happy celebration! So, I brought you some gifts."
Sophia opened the gift box, and a violet dress lay softly within. She gasped lightly.
"I hope you like it. I'm not very good at picking out ladies' clothing." Tang En looked up upstairs. "Where's your son?"
The youth team had a match yesterday, and today was supposed to be a day off, but Tang En had not seen Wood since he had come in.
"George went out."
Tang En looked back at Sophia, who was still standing downstairs. "Madam, do you mind if I have my lunch here?"
Sophia laughed. "Of course not. Do you like mutton curry, sir? That's a delicious dish from my hometown."
"That's fantastic! I like good food." In reality, Tang En was not a foodie, otherwise he would have starved to death from being transmigrated to England. "Do you have any pasta here?"
Sophia nodded.
"To express my thanks for your warm hospitality, I've decided to make you a new Chinese dish that I've just learned. Come on, what are we waiting for?" He waved to Sophia.
At lunchtime, when George Wood came home, he found his manager sitting at the table with his mother, chatting and laughing.
"Why are you here?" Wood's eyes were not very friendly.
Tang En looked back at the kid, his face was a little dirty and his clothes were torn.
"Why? Can't I be here?"
"George, what happened to your face? Go wash and get ready for lunch." Sophia stood up to ease the tension. "Mr. Tony specially came to see your mother and also brought a gift." She went into the bedroom to bring out the dress, held it in front of her and asked her son, "Is it nice-looking?"
George glanced at it, and then obediently went to wash up. "You bought it at the Cattle Market?"
Tang En shrugged and did not explain. This dress cost him £50, and there would almost certainly not be a £50 dress in the Cattle Market.
The Cattle Market was once a market for Nottingham farmers to buy and sell cattle and livestock. Of course, there were also other side trades for other things. It was like a big market place, very lively. But now that there was no longer the sale of livestock at the Cattle Market, it had become a second-hand goods market, where one could totally buy everything from second-hand television sets to old books and CDs. Many people in Nottingham would head there to save on the goods they wanted.
Sophia did not mind where the dress was bought. She seemed like she was often in and out of the Cattle Market. "As long as it looks nice." She happily returned to the room to hang her dress and came out to wait to eat with her son.
Originally, it was just a regular lunch. But the dining table was set with Sophia's exquisitely-cooked mutton curry and sweet corn porridge, as well as Tang En's delicious Chinese noodle dish with sauce 'Zhajiangmian', using the pasta noodles and the meat sauce that was directly made from the leftover mutton. Together with fruits, potatoes, and other vegetables, the meal became somewhat festive. The three of them sat around the dining table and enjoyed it at their own relaxing pace.
When Tang En asked Wood about his situation on the youth team, Wood did not say much. Just said it was fine. To what extent, Tang En could not know. He had been very busy lately and did not have a moment to spare to check on the youth team. He could only wait for this busy period to be over before he could go.
After lunch, Tang En smiled when he saw that Wood wanted to go out but did not feel at ease to do so. How could he not know what the boy was thinking? So, he tactfully took the initiative to say goodbye first.
Sophia was a little disappointed. She had wanted Twain to stay for afternoon tea. Tang En gave an excuse of an afternoon appointment and took his leave.
Looking at Wood's look of relief, Tang En secretly laughed. This mommy's boy was still a child...
In the afternoon, Tang En was drinking at the Forest Bar while chatting with Michael and the others. After that victory, the two men seemed to have resolved their misunderstanding. Tang En learned that Michael's name was Michael Bernard, who was the leader of the Forest fans in the vicinity and highly regarded among the fans. Even a lot of Forest players knew him.
No wonder he was able to urge so many people outside the field to mock him.
Knowing Michael's background, Tang En felt the need even more to have a good relationship with this man. However, it was still a little hard for the two of them to put aside their egos and figure a way out of the awkward situation. So, the best way to improve their relationship was by winning. As long as the team kept winning matches, this relationship would naturally become warmer.
Tang En was well aware of this. There was not just one Michael, but other people who were still hostile toward and distrustful of him so far. He said nothing in front of those people. Any threats or begging would be to no avail. The only way to get these people to change their attitudes and become his supporters was to win matches and keep winning.
After a day's rest, Tang En poured himself into training again.
If during the training before the match with Wimbledon, the players had still had some doubts about Twain's proposed style of playing, then they had now fully accepted and believed that he could lead them to victory. And from one victory to another.