Chapter 21: Personnel Adjustment

Lin Feng acted on his thoughts, especially since the 2000 UEFA European Championship had already kicked off. There were only a few upsets that could make money. Lin Feng remembered there were only two major upsets: one was Turkey's shocking victory over Belgium, and the other was Romania's elimination of England to advance to the quarter-finals. The rest, in Lin Feng's memory, seemed to have no major upsets.

Of course, it wasn't that he could only bet on upsets. As long as you knew the results of each match, you could bet and definitely make money. However, Lin Feng's memory was not very clear about the matches except for France's last-minute goal in extra time against Italy. Moreover, if he hit every match, it might attract unnecessary trouble.

In 2000, getting a visa in Chushi City was not an easy task, often taking half a month. If he followed the normal procedure, the European Championship would probably be over by the time Lin Feng arrived in the Netherlands-Belgium.

Fortunately, the "public security management fee" he had paid to the Lante District police station finally proved useful. With the guidance and coordination of Officer Zhang, Lin Feng managed to complete the visa process in just five days. It was undeniable that having connections in the government made things easier.

Of course, Lin Feng couldn't just leave everything behind. "Chufeng Net City" was his only business, and if he left for half a month without proper arrangements, it might turn into a mess when he returned.

After some thought, Lin Feng decided not to ask Chu Zhixuan to manage the net city for the next half month. First, the contract stipulated that Chu Zhixuan should not interfere with the net city's affairs. Second, Lin Feng was afraid that if this became a precedent, Chu Zhixuan might take over the net city in the future, which would be disastrous.

One could say that Lin Feng didn't trust Chu Zhixuan, and indeed, he didn't. Lin Feng had finally started his business, and he couldn't afford any mistakes. The only people he could trust now were his parents.

After much consideration, Lin Feng handed over the financial authority for the next half month to his mother, even though she had not been involved in the daily operations of "Chufeng Net City."

For Lin Feng's request, Liu Yishan only hesitated slightly before nodding in agreement. He was now sitting at home, receiving a monthly dividend of 6,400 yuan, which he found satisfactory. However, as a middle-aged man, sitting at home all day was too boring. He had already planned to find something to do, and Lin Feng's request to manage the net city's daily affairs was a welcome opportunity. He even offered to do it for free.

Lin Feng was relatively at ease with Liu Yishan. A typical middle-aged Chinese man, he sought stability and peace, lacking ambition but capable of maintaining the status quo.

"Brother, I'll be away for half a month. If anything happens, please bear with me," Lin Feng said, using the appropriate formalities.

"Don't worry, brother. With your mother handling the finances and Mr. Liu managing the net city, how could there be any trouble?" Chu Zhixuan's tone was somewhat sour. After all, he was the largest partner in "Chufeng Net City" after Lin Feng. Lin Feng's decision to entrust the affairs to others while he was away left Chu Zhixuan feeling uneasy.

Lin Feng's decision to entrust his mother with financial authority was understandable to Chu Zhixuan, but asking Liu Yishan to manage the net city's daily affairs made him uncomfortable. However, the contract stipulated that he could not interfere with the net city's daily operations, so he had to keep his feelings to himself.

Lin Feng knew that Chu Zhixuan might have some resentment, but as the largest shareholder of "Chufeng Net City," he could hire whomever he wanted. When he was away, he could only trust those he trusted. While he didn't distrust Chu Zhixuan, he was the actual owner of the net city's property. Lin Feng was afraid that if he entrusted everything to Chu Zhixuan, he might take over "Chufeng Net City."

After settling everything, Lin Feng borrowed over 100,000 yuan from "Chufeng Net City" and boarded a flight to Belgium.

Whether in his previous life or this one, this was Lin Feng's first time traveling abroad. Fortunately, Lin Feng had studied English in his previous life, so he had no significant language barrier.

On the plane, Lin Feng learned that England had defeated Germany 1-0 in Group A. He now had to rush to Brussels to wait for the Belgium vs. Turkey match on June 19, which was the biggest upset of this European Championship. Despite all the advantages, Belgium, needing only a draw to advance, was unexpectedly defeated 2-0 by Turkey.

Hakan Sukur of Turkey unexpectedly scored two goals, helping Turkey defeat Belgium.

This was the only time in the history of the European Championship that the host nation failed to advance from the group stage, making it the biggest upset of the tournament.

When Lin Feng arrived in Brussels, known as one of the most beautiful cities in Europe, it was already the afternoon of June 19. At 8:45 PM, the match between the host nation Belgium and Turkey would kick off at the King Baudouin Stadium. However, Lin Feng clearly couldn't get a ticket now. Fortunately, he was there to make money, not to watch the game.

Lin Feng squeezed into a betting shop and scanned the bets. Almost everyone was betting on Belgium to win or draw, with almost no one betting on Turkey to win. After all, it was the host nation, and no one would underestimate the advantage of playing at home.

Lin Feng had 414,765 Belgian francs in cash (1 RMB = 4.1476 Belgian francs). He initially wanted to bet all his money on Turkey's victory. The current odds were: Belgium win 1.85, draw 2.56, and lose 3.52. If Lin Feng bet all his money on Turkey's victory, he would have 1,459,972 Belgian francs the next day, a 3.52-fold increase. There was no such easy money in the world.

However, Lin Feng unexpectedly found that the betting company also offered odds for the top scorer and the champion team. He carefully examined the odds: France to win was 9 to 2, and Italy was 6 to 1. The top scorer odds were: Mijatović and Kluivert were both 25 to 1.

Lin Feng initially wanted to make a profit today and bet again tomorrow, but the deadline was 5 PM tonight. After much consideration, Lin Feng decided to bet 100,000 Belgian francs on France to win, 150,000 Belgian francs each on Mijatović and Kluivert to be the top scorers. This was to hedge his bets in case anything happened to them. The remaining 17,000 Belgian francs he bet on Turkey's victory.

"17,000 Belgian francs on Turkey to win?" The betting shop staff confirmed multiple times. Although it wasn't a large bet, betting on the underdog Turkey was indeed surprising.

"That's right, on Turkey," Lin Feng nodded.

"Here, this is your ticket. If you win, you can claim your prize tomorrow," the betting shop staff shook his head, thinking another fool had appeared tonight.

Lin Feng naturally didn't say much. In his previous life, he had also been confident that Belgium would advance. Who could have predicted Turkey's upset?

Damn! Lin Feng had just left the betting shop when he realized he had done something very foolish. He had spent all his money on the tickets. Fortunately, he could claim his prize the next day. Lin Feng just needed to get through the night.