**Future Beast Waist**
"Stop it, Abba, put down your gun!" Merlot halted abruptly, suddenly gripped by fear.
"Mom, it's Mr. Merlot!" The young man next to the Ghanaian woman immediately grabbed Merlot's hand upon recognizing him.
The Ghanaian woman named Abba hesitated, but Merlot stepped in front of Levi.
"Abba, this is the club owner from England. He's here to visit you. Put down the gun!" Merlot said anxiously.
This kind of homemade firearm often misfired. If it accidentally went off and hit Levi, the club owner, everything would be over. The £250,000 deal would be off the table, and the club could face significant trouble.
Upon hearing Merlot's words, Abba immediately lowered her gun and complained, "Since it's a visit, you should have called first. I thought it was a thief trying to break into my house!"
Levi and Old De Rossi looked at each other, feeling a bit indignant. Did they really look like thieves?
Old De Rossi was in a standard suit, and while Levi was in sportswear, how could they possibly look like thieves?
However, upon seeing the gun in Abba's hand, they swallowed their indignation. After all, they didn't know if the dangerous Ghanaian woman might suddenly fire the gun.
"Come in!" Abba opened the door and invited Levi and the others inside.
There wasn't much decoration in the humble house. Even the place where the guests were invited to sit was a bench made of wooden nails, covered with cloth, and very hard.
After Levi and the others sat down, Abba went to boil water to greet the guests.
"Michael, hasn't your mother found a job yet?" Merlot called over Essien and asked.
"She worked for a few days before, but hasn't found anything recently," Essien said maturely.
This was the first time Levi had looked at Essien up close and found that he wasn't particularly handsome. In fact, he could be considered a bit ugly. However, due to his appreciation of his football talent, Levi found him particularly pleasing to the eye.
"Sorry, we have nothing to offer but plain water," Abba said apologetically, bringing over a few glasses of boiling water on a plate.
"By the way, Merlot, you said they came from England?" Abba noticed Levi staring at Essien and seemed to understand something.
"Yes, Abba. This is the owner of the New Manchester United club in England. He likes Michael and Sulley Muntari and wants to take them to England to play for his team."
Abba was surprised at first but quickly calmed down, seemingly accepting the fact. Her gaze at her son revealed a strong resolve.
"I knew this day would come. It's okay, Michael. You go, do your best over there, understand?" Abba said, patting Essien's shoulder with a mix of sadness and encouragement.
Essien nodded, tears in his eyes, but held them back.
"Make money and bring your mother and siblings to England," Merlot comforted him.
"Sir, when should I go?" Essien looked at Levi.
Levi thought for a moment, "I heard you're going to participate in the G17 U17 youth team training. Go after this training. By the way, Abba, what do you do for work?"
Abba shook her head with a bitter smile. "I used to run a bread wholesale store, but the economy is bad, business isn't good, and rent is expensive. I couldn't keep the business and had to shut it down. Since then, I've been doing odd jobs."
Merlot was listening and shaking his head. "Abba has five children in total. When Essien was still young, his father left. Since then, she's raised five children by herself. It's not easy."
Levi's family situation in his previous life wasn't great, so he had deep sympathy for families like Essien's and wanted to help them.
"Would you like to work in Manchester?" Levi asked.
Abba froze. "Is there a job there?"
"Our club isn't there, but we can help you contact factories in the surrounding area or shops looking to hire someone. Our club will help you find a job. Once we make the arrangements, you can move to Manchester and live with Michael to take care of him."
Levi was clearly touched by De Rossi's words earlier and wanted to provide Essien with the best possible living environment. Their family was indeed facing difficulties.
"Really? Thank you so much, sir!" Essien was overjoyed and stood up to bow to Levi.
"It's okay, Michael. We're a football club, and we have an obligation to help our players with their concerns. So, Abba, write a resume with your expertise. Merlot will help me fax it to Manchester, and our club staff will help you find a few suitable jobs. Then you can slowly pick your favorite. How does that sound?" Levi said with a smile.
Although New Manchester United was established just a year ago, it had a lot of influence in Newton Heath. Levi couldn't guarantee a perfect job, but it would definitely be better than what Abba could find in Ghana.
"As for where to live, I'll get in touch and you can move in as soon as you arrive."
"Thank you so much, Mr. Levi!" Abba was so touched and looked very moved.
Levi smiled and shook his head. "It's just a small favor."
After finalizing Abba's work, Essien moved to New Manchester United without any obstacles. Even when Levi was about to bid farewell, Abba's family chased them out, continually expressing their gratitude.
After leaving Essien's house, they walked through two more streets and alleys before arriving at Muntari's house.
Since Essien and Muntari both played for the freelance club and lived close to each other, they had a good relationship.
Muntari's parents were very happy to hear that their son was favored by an English club. When they heard that the Essiens were moving to Manchester, they had no worries about their son going to England.
As night fell, Merlot drove them back to the freelance club, carefully navigating the bumpy roads.
There were no street lights, and the roads could only be identified by the vehicle's headlights, faint moonlight, and dim lights from the surrounding homes.
In such an environment, even a veteran like Merlot had to drive cautiously.
"Frankly, Mr. Levi, I was surprised by your approach!" Merlot said, still focused on the road.
"Why?" Levi asked with a smile.
"I used to study in England. I know that while football clubs there are formal, they never care about the family life of the players. But you're different. You care about the players' lives."
"Do you think this is bad?" Levi asked again.
"No, no, no. I actually think a club should be more humane when signing players. You know, it's hard to see this in professional clubs."
"What about Ghana?"
Merlot smiled bitterly. "We don't have the ability to do that."
Yes, even their own business was a problem. Which club could afford to care about players' families?
"Surely, you didn't come to Ghana just to find a football club. Did you, Mr. Levi?" Merlot asked suddenly.
"What makes you say that?" Levi became more interested in Merlot.
"Just a hunch."
Levi laughed, and Old De Rossi, who was unaware of Levi's plan, was curious about their conversation.
"Have you heard of Ajax?"
Both nodded. People who love football must know about Ajax.
"They acquired two clubs in Cape Town, South Africa, and merged them to form Cape Town Ajax. Although Ajax only holds a 50% stake in this club, it's part of their global football talent plan."
Later, Pienaar, who was as famous as Sneijder, Van der Vaart, and Ibrahimović, was selected by Ajax from this club and brought back to the Netherlands.
"Do you want to emulate Ajax too?"
"Of course. Our club must have its own ability to nurture talent, and this model is only part of it."
Why could Arsenal later spread their scout network across the world? Because they opened football schools or clubs in many parts of the world. Chelsea did the same.
"So, will you eventually buy freelancers?" Merlot asked.
"Why not?" Levi replied. "After acquiring freelancers, I'll inject funds to turn this club into the best football club in Africa, attracting talent from all over the continent. At that point, it will become a powerhouse in African football, providing a steady stream of outstanding players for European teams."
Merlot was stunned by Levi's ambitious goal. If achieved, freelancers would become the springboard for African players to enter the European League, generating high transfer fees to ensure the club's healthy operations.
"Of course, Merlot, it's not the time yet. Both African football and New Manchester United have a long way to go to reach that point. But I can see that you're not an ordinary fan, right?"
Merlot listened to Levi's words, laughed but did not answer. Some things were better left unsaid.
Back at the freelance club, the initial negotiation between Magbu and Kassel had ended, and both parties had reached a cooperation agreement. After another morning of negotiations, they signed the contract for cooperation and the transfer of Essien and others. Essien and Muntari also signed contracts with New Manchester United.
For the European team, this contract paid about the same as the youth team, but for Essien and Muntari, their salaries had doubled.