Chapter 48

Lin Sen stepped forward and knocked on the door, while Dina continued to look around. After a moment, with a leisurely pace, the door was opened by a plainly dressed middle-aged woman. She looked at Lin Sen with a puzzled gaze and then glanced at Dina out of the corner of her eye, but soon her focus returned to Lin Sen's face, and a look of pleasant surprise gradually appeared.

"Are you... Mu Tou?"

"It's me, Aunt Fang." Lin Sen's face broke into a smile.

"It really is Mu Tou back!" Aunt Fang's previously somewhat stern face seemed to come alive with genuine joy, which she couldn't hide.

"How did you suddenly come back? The old lady has been talking about you all the time. You should have let us know first so Uncle Dong could come to pick you up. Oh, and this is..." As she led Lin Sen and Dina into the courtyard, Aunt Fang couldn't help but chatter, and then she seemed to remember there was a guest.

"She's Dina, my friend. She came to China with me this time." Lin Sen answered honestly.

"Oh, oh, oh..." Aunt Fang then nodded and smiled at Dina, saying, "Welcome to China." Dina, who always found Chinese as incomprehensible as a foreign language, finally understood the meaning of the words and quickly smiled in response. For some reason, the always regal Dina subconsciously retracted her beautiful feathers in front of Aunt Fang, who was dressed like an ordinary housewife.

"You two sit down for a moment, I'll go tell the old lady..." Aunt Fang led Lin Sen and Dina through the hall and along the left corridor to the flower hall, where she said this.

"Aunt Fang, I'll go with you." Lin Sen said, putting down his luggage.

"There's a guest, I'll go."

"No, she doesn't need to be entertained." Lin Sen explained to Dina in Spanish, and she quickly nodded with a smile. Seeing this, Aunt Fang didn't insist.

The two walked through the house, out the back door, and onto a quiet path. It was clear that the path leading up the mountain and the scenery along it had been carefully maintained. The path was very clean, and the vegetation on both sides was neatly trimmed. After less than ten minutes, a delicate pavilion appeared before them. The pavilion was positioned in a way that it was not obscured by the mountain vegetation, offering a wide view of the entire village from the path.

An elderly lady in loose, casual clothing was slowly practicing Tai Chi, her back to them, facing the broad view below. Lin Sen gestured for Aunt Fang to be quiet, and she nodded with a smile, then quietly left. Lin Sen stood there, quietly waiting for the old lady to finish her Tai Chi. When she finished, Lin Sen approached with a smile and softly called out.

"Grandma, I'm back."

---

The lunch was a joyous affair. The old lady's face lit up with the unexpected pleasure of Lin Sen's return, and even the wrinkles on her face seemed to smooth out, making her look years younger. At the table, the old lady frequently served Lin Sen, while Dina, in contrast, was much more reserved, partly due to the different eating habits and partly due to her status, which made it hard for her to be as relaxed.

Seeing Dina, who looked like a quail, Lin Sen secretly chuckled. In Europe, this was almost unimaginable. As for Dina's identity, Lin Sen only mentioned that she was a former colleague, and the old lady didn't ask further, just giving Dina a gentle look and a smile.

After lunch, Lin Sen chatted with the old lady, while Aunt Fang took Dina to the guest room to adjust to the time difference.

"You've been abroad for three years, I thought you had forgotten about this old lady..." After Dina left, the old lady's expression relaxed, and she said this with a light tone.

"It's my fault, Grandma." Lin Sen, who had always felt guilty about the slight reproach in her tone, said softly.

"Oh? You know it's wrong." The old lady looked at Lin Sen and smiled. She wasn't really reproaching him; any resentment had vanished the moment she saw him. Now, seeing him admit his mistake, she immediately showed a bit of indulgence and sighed, "But it's not entirely your fault."

The old lady had three sons. The eldest, Lin Sen's uncle, had no children, and as the old lady put it, only had two daughters. The second son was more successful, having a son and a daughter. Lin Sen's father, the third son, had only one child, Lin Sen, who was the youngest in the family. When he was young, not only the elders but also his older cousins doted on him. However, Lin Sen had been abroad with his parents for a long time, and as he grew older, the bond weakened. Later, due to conflicts between his parents and the family, Lin Sen rarely returned to China, further straining his relationship with his hometown. While other family members gradually forgot about him over time, the old lady always remembered her youngest grandson.

"Go see your grandfather tonight. The matters of the previous generation have nothing to do with you, and you shouldn't be involved."

Lin Sen nodded. He knew what his grandmother meant. In simple terms, it was a story of a son pursuing his ideals and a father who expected his son to achieve greatness. The relationship between a father and son is one of the most difficult interpersonal relationships to handle. The relationship between his grandfather and father, and between his father and himself, were almost completely different. The relationship between Lin Sen and his grandfather, like the generational gap, was two generations apart.

If it were the old Lin Sen, "seeing the grandfather" would have been just that, perhaps just a brief meeting or even a missed encounter. But now, Lin Sen planned to give his grandfather a "surprise." In Lin Sen's memory, his grandfather, who had almost achieved success, was demoted in a factional struggle three years later and subsequently died of depression. His uncle and second uncle were also affected, and their careers never recovered. Instead, it was his father, who had been abroad for a long time, who carried the family's banner, but he was always alone.

Last time, Lin Sen could only be a spectator. This time, he didn't plan to stand by and do nothing.

---

After leaving his grandmother, Lin Sen called Livermore to start his daily "harassment."

Although he was being "harassed," Livermore sounded in good spirits. His transfer work had its first official result: Alaba was about to go to Malaga for a medical examination, which meant he was almost signed.

Surprisingly, it was five thousand less than the twenty thousand Valencia had initially demanded.

Lin Sen was a bit impressed by Livermore. Five thousand might seem insignificant in today's European transfer market, but for Malaga, which had to stretch every penny, this bit of haggling was necessary. Alaba didn't have much resistance to joining Malaga. While Malaga was certainly not as good as Valencia, it was still a top-tier club, and joining Malaga was better than going to a second-tier league. Alaba, who saw no future at Valencia, felt he would get more playing time at Malaga.

In addition to Alaba, the other two targets of the first batch of transfers, Koke and Isco, were also close to completion, but both deals had small catches. Atletico Madrid agreed to transfer Koke for twenty thousand, but with a buy-back clause of two million five hundred thousand. Isco's transfer was a loan with a buy-out clause of three million.

The two small catches made Lin Sen both relieved and deeply annoyed. But Livermore told him: there was no room for negotiation.

Livermore had done his best.

The original buy-out amount for Isco's transfer from Valencia was five million, but Livermore managed to get it down to three million, though he always felt that the likelihood of the clause being used was low.

The Koke transfer was different. Atletico Madrid's stance was very firm: either accept it or walk away. After receiving Livermore's call, Lin Sen had no choice but to accept the tyrannical clause. Two million five hundred thousand? Two hundred and fifty? The clause and the amount were a perfect match. Livermore thought he had made a good deal: twenty thousand for a buy-back of two million five hundred thousand, which was more than ten times the amount. No matter how you looked at it, it wasn't a bad deal. But Lin Sen knew Livermore would regret it. Two hundred and fifty? When the time came, whoever didn't buy would be the real two hundred and fifty.

The three-year limit seemed short, but unless Koke stayed in the same place for three years, Atletico Madrid would almost certainly exercise the buy-back clause during that period.

Lin Sen had even specially called Koke to try to persuade him.

Thinking about this, Lin Sen sighed repeatedly.

Compared to the first phase of transfers, which was nearing completion, the second phase was still in the exploratory stage. Livermore had already sent formal inquiries to the clubs of the targeted players but had not yet received any responses.

However, there were two exceptions, and both were from Germany. These two young Germans had already left their original clubs and were free agents, so Livermore had to personally go to Germany to meet with them.

---

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