From arriving in New York on July 30 to leaving on August 13, Ethan stayed almost entirely at John David's house for two weeks, doing nothing but digging through his memory.
In his previous life, Ethan had read many rebirth novels online. Without exception, those stories made money by speculating in the stock market. One of the most common setups was the 1997–1998 Asian financial crisis. Whether it was Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index or Japan's Nikkei Index, both were almost wrecked by speculation.
Because so many authors used that arc, Ethan remembered those hyped figures especially well, so he guided John David based on that memory.
In just two weeks, there were wins and losses. The wins were mostly the ones Ethan remembered clearly, so he staked more and earned more. As for the losses, there were quite a few, but the stakes were small, so overall he made a lot.
By the time Ethan was ready to leave New York, his bank balance had grown to more than 100 million dollars, and that was after deducting the 20 million dollars he invested in Apple and the 10 million dollars he later decided to add to Google.
As for the 100 million dollars, Ethan decided to increase his Apple position, then set aside about 20 million dollars as reserve funds for investing in Google, because he remembered Google would soon need to raise more venture capital due to rapid growth.
Of the remaining money, he kept 20 million dollars for himself, and gave the rest to John David to continue trading.
Although Ethan returned to Manchester, as long as he called John before September 2 and asked him to start attacking the Russian ruble, there would be no problem.
Even after becoming a billionaire, Ethan did not splash the cash. He still asked Jim to pick him up at the airport.
When he arrived at the Newton Heath office, he immediately received exciting news.
"What did you say? Walsh, say it again!" Ethan's shocked expression was so fierce it startled Jim, who had followed him in.
Andy Walsh was grabbed by Ethan, and he wriggled free with a pained grunt. "Have you heard of the District Athletic Stadium?"
Ethan nodded. "It's the District Athletic Stadium on Ashton New Road near Bradford. Of course I know it. Every time I go from the city to the Butcher's Arms, I pass it."
"That's right. Do you know why it has been abandoned for so many years?" Walsh asked.
Ethan hesitated and shook his head.
Walsh smiled, as if he had expected this. "Back in 1993, Manchester City Council planned to renovate the District Athletic Stadium in anticipation of the 2000 Olympics. But the city lost the bid to Sydney, so the renovation never started.
"Later, in 1996, the Council intended to use the refurbishment plan to compete with London's Wembley Stadium to become England's national stadium, because it would have secured a large construction budget, but it ultimately failed."
Ethan knew Wembley and had seen photos. It was gorgeous, truly mouth-watering.
But he had not known that the District Athletic Stadium, which looked so old and dilapidated from the outside, had actually been in the running to become the national stadium. Even a blind man would know which to choose.
Then again, before its redevelopment, Wembley was very old too, yet it still looked elegant and grand.
"And then?" Ethan asked, very interested.
"Manchester City Council has been stuck on the stadium issue.
"Without government funding, they did not have the money to rebuild, and the purpose of the reconstruction was also a problem, so the whole project kept getting delayed."
Hearing this, Ethan could not help but think the Manchester government was doing well. They were already considering the use after completion before even breaking ground. That was very different from the government Ethan remembered before.
"But recently, there is some fresh news," Walsh said, playing it mysterious.
Ethan scolded him with a smile and told him to get to the point.
"I heard the Manchester government is considering selling the stadium land." With that, Walsh gave Ethan a meaningful look.
"You mean we can approach the City Council to lease the stadium, then do some light renovations and use it as our home ground?" Ethan immediately understood.
"That is right, but many developers have noticed the land's value. If the stadium were developed into housing, it would be very profitable."
When Ethan heard this, he immediately made a decision. "Let's go. Jim, drive. We are going to see it."
It was a short trip. From Newton Heath, it was only a ten-minute drive to Ashton New Road, where the District Athletic Stadium was located.
The stadium's location counted as suburban, with no bustling commercial area nearby, but the land was very large. There was a small river behind it, Ardentlin Road ran along the left, and an urban rail line lay to the right. The crossings formed a diagonal square.
"The plot is not small," Ethan thought it looked good at first glance, but the stadium itself was a little narrow and old. Compared to the magnificent Old Trafford, it was far inferior.
"It is very big, but if we want to buy it all, it will cost a lot. Even though it is not in the city center and even if we commit to using it as the club's home instead of developing it commercially, it would still cost at least tens of millions," Walsh said. He clearly felt the new Manchester United did not have the resources to swallow such a big piece.
But Ethan had other plans.
He first thought of Real Madrid, the club of the century, which had paid off years of debt in 2001 by selling its training city. Many non-Madridistas criticized it as indirect government support.
Ethan had looked into that before and found several reasons for the high price. Two stood out. First, the sports city was in central Madrid. Second, with the euro being rolled out, investments tilted toward real estate, driving up prices. Of course, Florentino's ability also mattered.
Both the UK and Spain are in the EU. Although the UK still used the pound, it would be affected. Not to mention the imminent bursting of the internet tech bubble and a bleak 3G market, both of which would drive real estate higher.
In other words, if he bought this land now, whether or not the club's home would eventually be here or somewhere else, Ethan could guarantee the land would not depreciate.
Moreover, if the club acquired the stadium and surrounding land in the club's name, the price would be more favorable than for developers, and the government would be more supportive.
"Ethan, what are you thinking?" Walsh snapped him out of his thoughts.
Ethan smiled. "I am thinking, Andy, we should buy this land."
"No, no, no," Walsh said, a little alarmed. "I said lease, not buy. We do not have that kind of money."
"Yes, Andy. I will transfer money to the club now. Then you negotiate with the Manchester City Council. We must acquire this stadium. And the surrounding land too. You know, once we are a wealthy club in the future, all the land around here will turn into gold."
Every time Ethan thought of the operating income Manchester United and Real Madrid later made from the areas around their grounds, he felt he had to buy the surrounding land no matter the price, because that was all money.
Although Ethan's current wealth was enough for a comfortable life, his ambitions were bigger.
Perhaps when the new Manchester United became a wealthy club and had a luxurious home, they could develop the area and turn it into a thriving football commercial district, driving the surroundings and making this a prosperous part of Manchester.
"Wait, Ethan, hang on," Andy Walsh was clearly thrown. "You have money? Do you really have the money to buy this land?"
It sounded ridiculous. Ethan had been saying before that he did not have much money.
"Yes, Andy. While I was in the United States, I learned to trade stocks with John's help and made a lot. I was thinking, if the stadium price is not more than 10 million pounds and we are allowed to pay in installments, I can afford it." Ethan realized he could not flaunt his wealth too obviously, or it would arouse suspicion.
Walsh understood immediately. So it would be installments. He had thought Ethan could put up 10 million pounds in one go. That would have scared him to death.
"I will talk to them again, but Manchester City seem interested too. Those bastards do not have money, so they want to take a long lease and renovate slowly."
Ethan said "oh" and did not pay much attention at first, then suddenly remembered that in his previous life, Manchester City moved to a new stadium in 2003, called the City of Manchester Stadium. Could that be the current District Athletic Stadium?
If so, it would be a huge win.
From memory, in 2003, Manchester City's current home, Maine Road, was to be demolished under City Council plans. If he could take over the District Athletic Stadium first, where would Manchester City move?
Looking across Manchester, there was almost no other space for them to build a new ground.
"I wonder if Manchester City would move out of Manchester. Then the Manchester derby would be Manchester United versus our new Manchester United," Ethan thought with a hint of mischief.
There was no helping it. Under the influence of everything he had seen and heard, Ethan also regarded Manchester City as a sworn enemy.
(To be continued.)
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