The Nation in a Fervor, Milan's Chinese Number 10

"Well done, kid. By the way, your Italian is very standard."

Ancelotti pulled Huang Kaiwen toward the player tunnel, not forgetting to instruct his assistant coach to seek help.

Because there were commercial contracts to sign during this China tour, the club's legal team was accompanying them. Now, he needed to draft a professional contract as quickly as possible to sign Huang Kaiwen.

Before the contract was signed, he absolutely could not let this kid out of his sight.

The organizers were unhappy to see Ancelotti leave, as there were still important photo sessions to follow.

Since the head coach was absent, the remaining Milan players had to bear the brunt of it.

Maldini was in a great mood today. The result of a friendly match didn't matter; although the last-minute winner was satisfying, it was ultimately insignificant.

Even if they had been beaten by double digits by Shenhua today, he wouldn't have cared, other than perhaps feeling a bit embarrassed.

He was mainly happy because of Huang Kaiwen's sudden appearance.

At 36, with his career nearing its end, being able to see the team sign a super talent at such a time was truly wonderful.

He even felt this was a gift from God to him and to Milan.

"That kid is really good."

"Yes, I felt the immense potential in him."

"How old is he? Is he a professional player in China? The boss seems to want to sign him; he'll be our teammate in the future."

"That would be fantastic. We have Kaka and Shevchenko, and if we sign that kid, we'll definitely achieve something when the new season starts. Maybe we can even win another Champions League trophy."

"I didn't expect such a harvest from this trip to China."

The Milan players, who hadn't been very happy about the photo session earlier, were now beaming and cooperating fully with the organizers' requests.

Inside the locker room, Ancelotti chatted with Huang Kaiwen.

"Carlo, are you ready to give me the contract?"

"Yes, we will sign you. Don't worry, Milan will certainly provide you with reasonable terms."

At this time, Milan had not yet declined, so they certainly had the confidence to say such things.

People often say Milan signed Donnarumma for the sake of "Dollarumma," but in reality, back then, to keep Kaka, Milan had already signed his brother, Digao, with a salary of 1 million euros—the same as "Big Don." More than a decade early, Digao had secured that salary at Milan thanks to his brother, which was even higher than the salaries of starters at some other Serie A clubs.

Huang Kaiwen had thought about finding a lawyer.

However, in 2004, domestic lawyers were simply not equipped to handle sports contracts. Even when the Chinese Super League entered its "golden era," many CSL teams were burned by foreign players due to unprofessional contracts.

So, he couldn't be bothered.

He was just a freeloader anyway; it didn't matter if the contract was tricky. He could understand simple clauses, and he wouldn't agree to complex ones. Even if he got cheated, it was no big deal.

In the face of life, a little time or money was completely unimportant.

Wasn't there a popular saying on the forums: "I'd better eat ten more pounds, otherwise I won't feel secure holding this money"? A life, plus becoming a professional player, and potentially a generous salary—this level of reward made Huang Kaiwen feel somewhat uneasy.

After about an hour, once the event and the post-match press conference had been over for a while, the assistant coach finally brought the contract.

The Milan players gathered around to join in the excitement.

"My god, 2.5 million euros after tax?"

"Is this for real? I read in the papers that Kaka was on 2.5 million after tax before his renewal."

Huang Kaiwen's eyes lit up. With the current exchange rate of 1:10.3, that was nearly 26 million a year after tax. It was simply fantastic.

He really hadn't expected Milan to be so sincere.

Seeing him hesitate to sign, Ancelotti asked with some unease, "Do you have any questions?"

"No, I'm just looking at the specific clauses."

"If there's anything you're dissatisfied with, you can bring it up. By the way, what number jersey do you like?" Ancelotti asked cautiously.

"Number 7 or 10, I suppose."

As soon as Huang Kaiwen spoke, the Milan locker room fell silent.

The Milan number 7 jersey belonged to the team's "President," Shevchenko. Even if you were a genius, you couldn't possibly take Shevchenko's jersey.

And the owner of the number 10 jersey was also world-famous: the Portuguese star Rui Costa.

Three years ago, Rui Costa had joined AC Milan for a record 42 million euros, the largest transfer expenditure in AC Milan's history.

Ancelotti's smile froze on his face; he regretted his loose tongue.

Seeing this, Maldini spoke up directly: "Don't worry about signing. I'll help you call them and ask. We'll make sure you're satisfied. If not, I'll give you my number 3."

Huang Kaiwen was stunned.

Was Maldini trying to get him killed?

What right did he have to take Maldini's jersey? One had to know that after Maldini retired, the number 3 jersey would be retired along with him.

This number was the most significant in Milan; the only ones who could inherit the number 3 in the future were members of the Maldini family.

After Huang Kaiwen signed the contract, the system issued a notification.

[Task completed: Sign with a G14 giant. All physical ailments cleared, health restored. The system is about to update to the official version; the update is expected to take 72 hours.]

However, Huang Kaiwen felt nothing.

Because he had liver cancer, he hadn't felt anything to begin with. Only in the late stages would there be liver pain and rapid death. He was young, so there hadn't been any symptoms; if not for the physical exam, it would have been impossible to discover.

Finally free from the threat to his life, he happily joined the Milan players for dinner.

To accommodate him, Ancelotti had wanted to switch to Chinese food, but Huang Kaiwen refused.

He had just joined the team and already received a sky-high salary; if he were given all sorts of special privileges, wouldn't that make him a target for everyone?

A newcomer, no matter how talented, shouldn't try to stand out too much.

There were too many old proverbs about the tallest tree in the forest being the first to be broken by the wind; this was the wisdom of his ancestors.

Besides, once his experience card expired and he became a "salary thief," the more privileges he enjoyed early on, the harsher the exclusion he would face later.

So, not only did he not need privileges, but he also had to learn from that Carlos Kaiser and become the most popular person on the team.

Wasn't it just about taking his teammates out to pick up girls? He could do that too.

During dinner that night, Huang Kaiwen was ingratiating, and the Milan players' impression of him improved significantly.

When he went home to pack and met them again the next day, Maldini brought him good news: "Rui Costa has agreed to switch to the number 14 jersey."

That same day, Ancelotti and AC Milan couldn't wait; before boarding their flight, they held a press conference in Shanghai.

The entire venue was packed with reporters, and the entrance was crowded with people.

Huang Kaiwen and Ancelotti signed the prepared contract, went through the motions, and then the two of them held up the red and black striped number 10 jersey with Huang Kaiwen's name on it.