The Young Lion

In the days that followed, in addition to going to school, Aldrich and his two brothers went to the bar to watch football games at night. Although he was disgusted with the chaos of the East London community, since he became a member here, he naturally went with the flow.

With the progress of the World Cup in Mexico, Aldridge seemed absent-minded. Big brother was smiling every day when he came home after watching the game. The teams he bet on were all in good condition. Arthur and Amelia saw the situation of the children and knew that they were gambling with the World Cup craze. The two parents did not criticize them, but warned them not to indulge in it or dream of getting rich overnight.

The Hall family is actually a working class, with no high-level self-discipline and connotation. The neighbors in the community have all kinds of religions, betting, drinking, and occasionally fighting. These are all normal things, as long as they don’t participate in gangs. , Not involved in illegal business, adults will not teach children.

When the group match ended, Barnett returned home a little helplessly and gave Andrew one hundred and forty pounds, which Andrew won after counting the principal.

Andrew took the money and said to his eldest brother with a smile, Don't be discouraged, who would have thought that Portugal came home?

Barnett shrugged and said indifferently: It's just a pity, I only won less than two hundred pounds.

The only thing Barnett did wrong was Group F. He felt that Portugal and England had no problem qualifying. In fact, Portugal won the first match against England, and the prospect of qualifying was very bright. Who would have thought that they would lose two games in a row and return to their hometown in the end?

Andrew was much luckier. He only picked one England to advance to the knockout stage. Portugal won England. He didn't sleep well all night, which made Aldridge, who was in the same room with him, dumbfounded, and in turn comforted him. one night.

After winning money, he wanted to win more. Andrew ran into the bedroom and smiled at Aldrich, who was sitting at the desk in a daze: Next, guess the top eight.

Aldridge came back to his senses and said helplessly: The most certain are the three teams, Argentina, England, and West Germany. Don't guess the other teams.

He only remembers the championship and the runner-up, and Argentina did not meet England in the quarter-finals, which means that England must have advanced.

After thinking about it, Andrew nodded and said, Well, listen to you, I'll tell the big brother.

Aldrich looked at the back of his second brother who ran out of the bedroom like a wind, and said to himself, What am I going to do in the future?

In his previous life, he was just an ordinary person whose only interest was football. Although Aldridge was only ten years old now, he was very resistant to going to school step by step.

Barnett and Andrew were overjoyed when the quarter-finals came to a close, apparently winning again.

When they excitedly appeared in front of Aldridge to discuss the teams in the semi-finals, Aldridge could only say helplessly: West Germany and Argentina, only these two teams are sure.

Barnett appeared reluctant, saying: Argentina won't necessarily win England.

Andrew looked at the more than 200 pounds in his hand. After deducting the principal, he had already earned more than 100 pounds. For a thirteen-year-old him, it was a great achievement, and he did not want to make hasty choices.

Aldridge didn't say much, opened the drawer of the desk, held a lottery ticket in his hand and raised it, saying, At this time, don't I support myself?

It has been more than half a month since Barnett and Andrew remembered the champion and runner-up lottery tickets that Aldridge bet on. Looking at it now, isn't it the Argentine champion and the West German runner-up?

The two older brothers are loyal,

Now that this is the case, the three brothers united the front, and they also went to buy Argentina and West Germany to advance.

On the day of the Great Britain-Afghanistan war, Aldridge watched the fans in the bar berating Maradona for being shameless, and was shocked by the miracle of Maradona's singled-out England player in the half-time. England was finally eliminated 1:2 regrettably.

In the bar, Aldridge, like his two brothers and fans, returned home, but was comforted in disappointment.

Andrew and Barnett won't be happy despite winning, and there's nothing more disappointing than the loss of the team they support.

Now that this is the case, the teams that advance to the final don't have to think too much, and continue to support West Germany and Argentina.

When the day of the final came, Barnett had more than 1,300 pounds, and Andrew had close to 400 pounds.

But they were helpless to find that, before the World Cup, the lottery bet by Aldrich, if hit, would be 65 times the return. In other words, if Argentina won the cup, Aldridge would have £6,500.

Compared with the ease with which Aldridge watched the final in the bar, Andrew and Barnett were so nervous, they kept drinking and cheering for Argentina. And others, who let Argentina cheat England out.

In the end, Argentina 3:2 West Germany won the Hercules Cup, Maradona ascended the altar and crowned the king, Andrew and Barnett couldn't hold back their excitement and shouted out. Quickly escape from the bar.

On a midsummer night in the eastern suburbs of London, the three Hall brothers sat on the grass and talked about the fruitful results of the World Cup in Mexico.

When the wine was thick, Barnett suddenly put away his smile, lay on the grass looking at the vast starry sky, and sighed slightly.

Andrew counted the pounds in his hand over and over again. Before the World Cup, they only had the eldest brother who had accumulated £500 for two years. Now the three brothers have £10,000. .

Aldridge noticed the strangeness of the elder brother's silence, and he stepped forward and asked, Is there something on your mind?

Barnett covered his forehead with the back of his hand, and said quietly, I don't want to continue to be a renovation worker.

In the past two years, he has helped Arthur, and his specific work business is to install glass for customers. No matter how he looks at this job, there is no bright future.

Combined with the pound he had earned over two years of his savings, it made sense that Barnett would no longer be an obscure worker.

Aldridge asked rhetorically, Then what do you want to do?

Barnett looked at west London thoughtfully, and said with a longing tone: Do you know who lives in west London?

Rich man.

Andrew didn't know how many times he counted the banknotes, so he cut in without raising his head.

Aldridge pondered, West London is indeed rich, but in terms of occupation, in addition to the rich, a large proportion of the people are in a very popular occupation nowadays: stockbrokers.

Thinking of this, Aldrich suddenly realized: Before the stock market crash next year, the current stage is the time when the stock market is full of power.

Aldridge smiled at his elder brother: Do it if you want, your parents should support you.

Although the family is a working class, if there is a chance, who would not want to get rid of the blue-collar and advance to the white-collar?

Barnett stared blankly at Aldridge. It seemed that the verbal support of his younger brother had greatly boosted his confidence. He planned to explain his wishes to Arthur after returning home.

Aldridge was not stingy. He gave all the 6,500 pounds to his eldest brother, and Andrew followed suit. The eldest brother was going to start a business, and his brothers naturally gave their full support.

Before returning home, Barnett was carrying more than 10,000 pounds, at least he had a lot of confidence.

Aldridge did not go home, but came to the door of the video store in the community. The store was closed. He knocked on the door lightly, and after a while, the voice of the black Sander came from the store.

Who? If you want to rent a video, please come tomorrow.

It seems that Sander is still a little scared, for fear that a bad person will come to the door.

There are indeed a few scattered gangs in the nearby community. Even if there are no large gangs like drug trafficking and smuggling, there are still some who can squeeze immigrants to collect protection fees.

Aldridge said calmly outside the door: It's Sander, right? I'm Aldridge. I broke your window at night a month ago, and I came here to apologize.

Sander saw through the window in the store that there was only Aldridge outside the door, so he carefully opened the door and invited Aldridge into the store.

Aldridge looked at the video store and was used to seeing the dazzling array of future generations, so the video store was lackluster.

There was always a hint of vigilance in Sander's eyes, but Aldridge reiterated that he was here to apologize, and bowed sincerely, Sander accepted it calmly.

Aldridge originally planned to leave after apologizing, but he inadvertently found a row of videotapes on the shelves and walked over. The name of the team.

Obviously, these are game tapes.

Aldridge flipped through the tapes one by one and casually chatted with Sand about football.

When Sander asked: Are you a Millwall fan?

Aldridge was silent for half a minute. Finally, he shook his head candidly and said, No, but my parents and my two brothers are.

In this age of lack of entertainment, Aldridge is full of energy at night. He can't sleep, but there is no VCR at home. He thinks for a moment and asks Sander, Are you here for someone?

Sander was stunned for a moment, then shook his head and said, I can't afford it.

Aldridge continued: You close early at night, probably because you're afraid of an accident? I have a proposal, I'll come and work for you at night, and you won't be paid a cent, as long as you let me watch the video in the store for free.

East London is mixed with dragons and snakes. Sand closed early in the evening because he was afraid of an accident. Although Aldridge was still a child, he was a local in the nearby community. Although Arthur was only a glass seller, he knew Hall in the surrounding area. The family, with Aldrich helping in the store, naturally added a layer of insurance to the store.

After confirming with Aldridge repeatedly, Sander agreed to his proposal.

Since then, Aldridge went to school during the day, worked at Sander at night, and watched game tapes in his spare time. He vaguely had an idea of ​​what kind of career he would pursue in the future.