The Godfather of Football - Chapter 111 The Gate God Passing By
With the increasing prosperity of the southeastern new city in the past two years, the entire highway network of Amsterdam has also been laid out.
The highway where De Tokmost is located is called A2, and the highway further east along the shore of Lake Hoy is called A1. Both of these are important transportation hubs connecting Amsterdam to several southern towns. For example, A2 goes south to Breukelen, Maarsen and Utrecht, while A1 connects Vesp, Naarden, Laren, and Hilversum, which is very popular with Ajax players and where many people live.
Sitting in an Audi car driving fast on the A1 highway, Ye Qiu and Huang Chu, who were sitting in the back seat, felt that the scenery in the suburbs of Amsterdam was the natural countryside. The iconic green grass of the Netherlands and the pastures where dairy cows were raised could be seen everywhere.
“Naarden has also been popular with some people in recent years. The housing prices here are not very high now, but the environment is really good!” Eliza was driving in front. For this trip to Hilversum, she specially used the Audi A4 of the driving company to drive Ye Qiu.
This damn guy hasn’t got his driver’s license yet, because he said he didn’t have time to learn to drive.
But the problem is, he rushed over to buy a Ferrari now, what the hell!
“I heard that many players used to live in Hilversum!” Ye Qiu heard about it when he rented a house before.
Eliza nodded, “Hilversum does have a lot of people living there, the house prices there are not expensive, but the environment is quite good. To be honest, the Amstelveen district is too close to the city, it’s a bit complicated, and many people don’t like it there.”
This is also a very different place between Europeans and Chinese. Chinese people like to be lively, eating, working, and living must be lively and prosperous, that’s what it’s like, but Europeans are more self-centered, so they like quietness, many people live in the suburbs, and then drive to the city to work every day.
Therefore, relatively speaking, places like Naarden and Hilversum are very popular.
There are two highway exits in Hilversum, one is located in the east of the town, which is the A1 highway, but the other is located on the A27 highway, which requires turning west after passing Hilversum and entering the A27.
Ferrari currently has only one authorized dealer in the Netherlands, and the 4S store is in Hilversum, and coincidentally, it is right next to Hilversum’s home stadium, very close.
Unlike some domestic luxury car 4S stores that Ye Qiu had seen in his previous life, which like to be built on the side of the main road, the road where Ferrari is located is very narrow, with two-way lanes, but can only accommodate two cars in parallel, and it is surrounded by residential areas, not commercial areas.
When Ye Qiu arrived at this 4S store, he was surprised to find that this place was really amazing.
“Oh my god, Jaguar, Maserati, Ferrari…” Ye Qiu was a little amused. Several big brands are actually represented by this dealer, which is amazing.
The 4S store is in the shape of a square. The side adjacent to the highway is open. There is a parking lot in the middle, Jaguar on the left, a maintenance service station opposite, and Ferrari and Maserati on the right. All of them are double-story buildings.
“Hello!” As soon as the car stopped, a middle-aged man in a suit came out.
One thing that is different from China is that it is not popular to invite some beautiful girls to greet customers here in Europe.
“Mr. Ye?” The sales manager was immediately surprised when he saw Ye Qiu.
Ye Qiu smiled, “Hello!”
“Come in, come in!” The sales manager immediately politely invited Ye Qiu into the sales hall.
The hall is simply decorated, but the venue is very wide. There is a lot of space between several booths. Several Ferrari and Maserati sports cars are displayed, and there is a vertical sign in front of each car, which introduces the various models and some data of the car.
“Welcome, Mr. Ye!”
When Ye Qiu walked into the sales hall, a middle-aged Dutch man who seemed to be of a higher level came out immediately. He looked a little excited and stretched out his hand to Ye Qiu from a distance. He was very enthusiastic.
After the introduction, Ye Qiu knew that he was the general manager of this 4S store.
Several people walked around several cars. The sales manager patiently introduced the performance and data of each car. Of course, there was also the price. From his words, it can be seen that he has a very professional understanding of these sports cars.
Maserati’s sports car is very good, but the shape is not very pleasing to Ye Qiu. Moreover, they only have two Maseratis here, and the styles are relatively ordinary. Especially for Ye Qiu, a car fan who is used to seeing all kinds of super sports cars in his previous life, Maserati’s models can be said to be old-fashioned.
On the contrary, Ye Qiu had already selected Ferrari from the Internet. He wanted the hardtop Ferrari 550.
Buying a car in the Netherlands is relatively expensive compared to other European countries, because in addition to paying 19% value-added tax, you also have to pay additional motor vehicle tax, which makes the price of cars in the Netherlands higher than in other countries. German cars, which have always been known for their cost-effectiveness, have always been the sales champion in the Dutch car market.
Moreover, in the Netherlands, most people buy cars as a tool, and there are very few people who pursue luxury cars, especially Ferrari.
But there is a saying that everyone has a Ferrari in their heart, and Ye Qiu is no exception.
I have seen many pictures online, but it is the first time for me to touch the car body on the assembly line in real life. This makes Ye Qiu very excited. It happens that the general manager of this store has a Ferrari 360, so he suggested that Ye Qiu try it.
“He hasn’t got a driver’s license yet!” Eliza laughed so hard over there. She couldn’t wait to see Ye Qiu embarrassed.
Ye Qiu raised his eyebrows. Yes, I don’t have one, but my wife does. So he took the key and stuffed it into Huang Chu’s hand, “A Chu, you drive, take me out for some fresh air!”
It’s depressing to say that they took the driver’s license test at the same time, but Huang Chu got it a long time ago, but Ye Qiu didn’t even take the theory test.
“Me?” Huang Chu was shocked. She got a driver’s license, but she had never driven a car.
“What are you afraid of? There is insurance!” Ye Qiu’s words almost made the general manager fall headfirst. That was his sweetheart.
Arriving at the parking lot, they found the red Ferrari 360 convertible. Ye Qiu walked around the car, while the owner was carefully introducing the various functions of the car to Huang Chu, sweating coldly, and was very careful and detailed, fearing that Huang Chu would accidentally touch his precious bump.
“Are you really letting me drive?” Huang Chu looked at Ye Qiu pitifully, she was unsure.
“Don’t be afraid, get in the car!” After saying that, Ye Qiu had already drooled and sat in.
After Huang Chu got in, he started the engine, and suddenly there was a huge roar coming from behind him. The whole person felt as if he was in the F1 racing field, as if something in his body was ignited.
This time Huang Chu was not polite, and directly turned on the automatic mode, gently stepped on the gas, and the car moved forward.
“Wow, it’s so sensitive!” Huang Chu quickly retracted the accelerator, and the car shook suddenly.
The poor Dutch general manager outside the car probably jumped in his heart, and his heart was about to die.
After gently giving the gas, the car moved forward slowly. This time it was unusually smooth. After leaving the door, it turned directly to the highway.
According to Ye Qiu, a Ferrari is not a Ferrari if it does not drive on the highway.
Huang Chu felt more and more excited as he drove. He kept saying that the car was easy to drive, the steering was sensitive, and it would go wherever he pointed. The throttle was also very responsive. With a little gas, it could pick up the speed very quickly, especially after getting on the A1 highway where there were not many vehicles. The speed directly soared to nearly 200, and the whole car was still very stable.
Ye Qiu had read a lot of car buying experience in his previous life, and now he really felt that one of the words was very right.
The value of a truly good car does not lie in its configuration, but in its degree of control at high speed.
Although Huang Chu was driving, Ye Qiu had a feeling that he seemed to be sitting on a galloping thousand-mile horse. Wherever you want to go, the horse will take you there, and how fast you want it to go, it can go as fast as you want. That feeling was something that even Eliza’s Audi TT could not give.
Moreover, this Ferrari 360 is only Ferrari’s entry-level sports car. I believe the 550 will be more comfortable and exciting.
After a detour on the highway, Huang Chu returned to the 4S store. As soon as she got out of the car, she was very excited. Anyone could see that she liked this car very much. On the contrary, the general manager of the 4S store kept wiping his sweat and looking around at the car body, as if he was afraid of missing the slightest detail.
“Mr. Ye, if you decide to order a Ferrari 550 now, you will get the car at least two months later. This is the fastest speed!”
“Two months is two months. Anyway, I haven’t got my driver’s license yet!” Ye Qiu said with a smile.
Everyone couldn’t help but smile. A person who wants to buy a Ferrari doesn’t have a driver’s license. How can this be explained?
I don’t know if all European car purchases are like this. Anyway, when Ye Qiu bought this Ferrari, the 4S store said that he could add and cancel configurations by himself, especially some interior decorations, which could be done according to Ye Qiu’s own requirements.
For example, Ye Qiu hoped to add some comfort, and there was a nameplate next to the front driver’s seat. According to the 4S store, many people would put their own names or other unique logos on the nameplate as a mark, and Ye Qiu simply put his and Huang Chu’s signatures on it.
The two signed their names to the 4S store, both in Chinese, which looked quite unique.
Ye Qiu had just received a 300,000 championship bonus from Ajax, plus a generous new contract signing fee. He was now like a wealthy local tycoon, and he would add anything he and Huang Chu liked.
This was not to say that he liked to show off his wealth, but because he felt that it was hard to buy what he liked, and if he liked it and was not restricted by money, then of course he would buy whatever he liked, right? Could it be that he would regret it after buying it in the future?
In the end, after adding the purchase price, VAT, motor vehicle tax and insurance, Ye Qiu’s Ferrari 550 cost him nearly 200,000 euros, and it was a hardtop. If it was a convertible, it would definitely cost 250,000.
As for hardtop and convertible, Ye Qiu thinks it depends on the car. For the Ferrari 550, the hardtop is more in line with the assembly line design of the whole car and more in line with his aesthetics. As for the convertible, it is not necessarily better, especially when it is windy, rainy or sunny. Is it really fun to drive a convertible?
On the way back to Amsterdam from Hilversum, Ye Qiu and Huang Chu kept talking about cars.
Huang Chu’s family is very rich, but her father Huang Jinsong only has one Mercedes-Benz, and she herself has no car, so now, she is more like treating Ye Qiu’s Ferrari 550 as her first car in her life, and she is very excited.
Eliza is not envious, because she likes her Audi TT more.
Isn’t there a saying?
Everyone has their own preferences!
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After ordering a car, Ye Qiu returned to Amsterdam and began his arduous journey to get a driver’s license.
This time, thanks to Eliza, because the player service company itself has a fixed private coach, Eliza specially introduced the most experienced coach to Ye Qiu to coach him.
This incident also led to an interesting incident. After the coach knew that his student was Ye Qiu, he changed his online signature to “Hello friends, I am the head coach of the head coach of Ajax!”
No one paid attention to him at first, but he was discovered soon because he uploaded a photo of Ye Qiu learning to drive the next day and commented in his diary that Ye Qiu was very talented in learning to drive and learned very quickly, but also criticized Ye Qiu because he was wearing flip-flops today.
Soon, reporters in Amsterdam found the coach, but he had been cooperating with the player service company for a long time and was a fan of Ajax and Ye Qiu. He uploaded the photo with Ye Qiu’s consent, and without Ye Qiu’s consent, he would not accept interviews from reporters or reveal the route of learning to drive.
But obviously, the whole of Amsterdam knew that their head coach was learning to drive, so much so that the host of the famous Amsterdam City Voice radio station laughed and called out on the show for several consecutive days, “Dear driver friends, our head coach is learning to drive, please drive carefully on the road, don’t rush over like you usually do when you see him, it’s best to stay away!”
Since they were all in this city, it was inevitable that they would encounter some people who recognized Ye Qiu. Finally, he could see his driving lessons and the scenes of Ye Qiu learning to drive from the perspective of an observer in the Amsterdam Evening Post newspaper almost every day.
The good thing is that he obviously felt that his driving skills were getting better and better, and the bad thing was that he had to endure the fans’ loving ridicule of him, and as Ye Qiu’s agent and image consultant, Eliza was obviously very happy to see Ye Qiu being treated like this.
Ye Qiu learned to drive for 5 days, 4 hours a day, and then went directly to take the test.
After all, he is a young man with quick eyes and hands. He is born to be an F1 driver. He passed the test on the first try and got his driver’s license. The good news was immediately leaked out, and the fans and newspapers in Amsterdam began to be happy for Ye Qiu again.
“Our head coach has finally graduated!”
The official website of Ajax followed the public opinion and followed the excitement. After Ye Qiu passed the test, it was announced on the official website as soon as possible.
After Ye Qiu got his driver’s license, he and Eliza accompanied Huang Chu to Cambridge in the north of London, England.
After this summer, Huang Chu will start to continue her studies in Cambridge, so Ye Qiu and Eliza accompanied her to Cambridge to find a house. She didn’t want to live in the school apartment. She wanted to rent a house outside so that Ye Qiu could come to see her often.
Originally, someone was very insidious and cunning and wanted to get Huang Chu pregnant first, and then slowly negotiate with Huang Jinsong, but now that Huang Chu has entered the medical school of Cambridge University for further studies, he temporarily put down his plan and continued to wait for the right opportunity.
After staying in Cambridge for a few days, Ye Qiu and Eliza accompanied Huang Chu to London and some tourist attractions around. Naturally, they had to visit the home stadiums of several clubs in London, especially Arsenal’s Highbury Stadium, Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge, and Wimbledon, which is currently in the English League One.
In Ye Qiu’s previous life as a fan, a large part of his memories were of the strong Premier League teams, so he was more familiar with the Premier League.
Of course, he was also familiar with La Liga, Serie A and Bundesliga, but only limited to those big-name teams.
Just as Ye Qiu, Eliza and Huang Chu ended their journey in the UK and returned to Amsterdam, the Ajax scout department also sent him the latest news that the news he sent to the Czech Republic to find Petr Cech had been replied.
“We found the player, but unfortunately, he has already signed a contract with the Czech team Sparta Prague, which paid 600,000 euros for the player. Sorry, we are a step late!”
“Peter Cech was also very sorry after hearing the news that you were interested in him, and asked us to convey his apologies to you. He hopes to have the opportunity to join Ajax in the future, but for the time being he hopes to stay in the Czech Republic!”
Ye Qiu was in his office, and after hearing the scout’s report, he could not hide his disappointment, because he actually missed the Czech goalkeeper, which was really sad, and this was the first time Ye Qiu encountered a setback after operating in the transfer market for so long.
Looking at the scout report in front of him, there was information about the two Spanish goalkeepers.
One is Diego Lopez from Real Madrid’s youth training camp, but Ajax’s scouts don’t think highly of this player. He has a quick reaction ability, but some other aspects need to continue to improve. They think that instead of introducing this goalkeeper, it is better to promote the young Stekelenburg.
The same is true for Reina from Barcelona.
This is also what Ye Qiu has been hesitating about. Except for Peter Cech, who he is most optimistic about, who is ready to fight, the other players are very young. Instead of introducing them, it is better to promote Stekelenburg.
Ye Qiu also inspected the Brazilian goalkeeper Cesar, but the goalkeeper’s current performance is still not stable enough and needs more training and tempering.
Just when Ye Qiu was hesitant, a top goalkeeper called to recommend himself.