Chapter 8 of 10

Chapter 8

14 min read3,529 words

"Mr. Harris, you sure know how to hide!" Yang Huan looked at the small, plump Englishman with a playful smile.

"Tell me, what's the name of your team?"

"Southampton!" Cash Harris smiled somewhat awkwardly, "Actually, this team, strictly speaking, hasn't been officially authorized for a transaction. However, I understand that the consortium behind it is indeed interested in selling."

After a pause, Cash Harris stared at Yang Huan and said with a smile, "Speaking of which, the consortium behind Southampton has a deep connection with China." He felt that this Chinese rich second-generation seemed to have a strong sense of Chinese superiority, so he catered to his preferences.

"Oh?" Yang Huan was indeed interested, "Tell me more."

Cash Harris immediately delivered the prepared speech.

"The consortium behind Southampton is the Liebherr family from Switzerland. It was this Liebherr family that invested in China and co-founded the now famous Haier Group in China."

Yang Huan smiled after hearing this. This was a roundabout way to establish a connection with the Chinese, but he liked it.

"Last summer, Southampton fell into a financial crisis. With the help of Swiss banker Nicolas Coster, Marcus Liebherr eventually spent £13 million to buy Southampton, which had been relegated to the English Football League One, the third tier of English football. However, Southampton was deducted 10 league points due to financial issues."

"Without those 10 points, Southampton would now be in the promotion playoff zone, with a chance to advance to the Championship."

Yang Huan didn't comment on this, thinking to himself that being deducted 10 points and not being able to upgrade was no excuse. If you were told at the beginning of the season that you would be deducted 10 points and still couldn't upgrade, it just means the team management and coaching staff were incompetent.

Speaking of the current League One, it was quite lively. Leeds United and Millwall had been promoted, and teams like Milton, Leyton Orient, and Charlton, located around London, were still in the league. Milton was in one of the regions with the highest per capita income in the UK.

However, compared to these teams, Southampton was a high-quality asset.

If Yang Huan hadn't forgotten, players like Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Luke Shaw, Calum Chambers, Adam Lallana, Rickie Lambert, and Morgan Schneiderlin, who would be targeted by top clubs and bought for large sums in the coming years, were currently on this team.

Moreover, Southampton had one advantage: they were allowed to select young players from Wales, which was why Gareth Bale joined Southampton.

Seeing Yang Huan silent, Cash Harris knew he was seriously considering it, so he quickly continued to sell.

"Marcus Liebherr had a heart condition and passed away not long ago. His daughter, Katharina Liebherr, inherited his £3 billion fortune and the Southampton team, which she had no interest in."

At this point, Cash Harris changed his tone, "There have always been rumors that Marcus Liebherr preferred the current chairman, Nicolas Coster, to control the team, which Katharina could not accept. Therefore, she is considering selling the team to get a sum of cash, as she has no interest in investing in football."

Yang Huan listened attentively, finding it quite normal. If he couldn't control it, it was better to sell it.

It seemed that Katharina had the typical mindset of a rich second-generation.

"How much are they asking for?" Yang Huan asked casually, not wanting to show any interest.

Even though he did feel that buying Southampton now was a good deal.

An extremely cost-effective deal.

"Still not clear," Cash Harris shook his head, "But it shouldn't be less than the purchase price from a year ago."

A year ago, Southampton was bought by the Liebherr family for £13 million, which was a great deal. Normally, Southampton's value would be over £20 million.

Not to mention, the reputation of the youth training system of the century-old Saints was worth that much!

"Mr. Harris, a year ago, they were relegated from the Championship to League One. Everyone thought they would return to the Championship after a year, but a year has passed, and they are still in League One. From an investment perspective, they have depreciated!" Zhang Ning, who had been silent, spoke up, bluntly contradicting Cash Harris.

Promotion is a matter of momentum. When a team is newly relegated, they have the most drive and resources to promote. But once they sink into a lower league for too long, their financial situation worsens, and the players' skills decline, making the chances of promotion increasingly slim.

Just like Charlton, a traditional English strong team, which is now in League One.

Yang Huan and Zhang Ning had already agreed on the plane that one would play the good cop and the other the bad cop. Zhang Ning naturally played the bad cop, while Yang Huan played the good cop.

For Zhang Ning's blunt contradiction, Cash Harris could only smile bitterly, unable to refute it.

It was a fact.

"Cash, we are friends, but I like to do business clearly," Yang Huan stepped in to ease the tension.

"Here's the deal. I authorize you to represent me in negotiations with Katharina Liebherr. If you can get the price below £20 million, I'll give you £1 million as a consulting fee. If you can get it to £15 million, I'll add another £1 million, and I will only authorize one company."

Cash Harris was shocked. A £15 million purchase price and a £2 million consulting fee was a very high ratio.

After all, when Abramovich bought Chelsea, he only paid £1 million in consulting fees, and the total cost was £140 million.

£2 million was a significant income for Seymour Pierce Investment Bank, especially since they weren't a major bank, and the economy was in crisis. This was a good deal.

Moreover, after acquiring a team, there would be player transfers and other business opportunities.

Of course, they weren't agents but were involved in financial transactions and investment areas.

Cash Harris was indeed shocked by Yang Huan's offer but was also convinced.

"Alright, Master Yang Huan, I will do my best to facilitate this transaction."

"Great!" Yang Huan was satisfied with his attitude. He wasn't afraid that Harris would be greedy; on the contrary, he hoped Harris would be greedy, the greedier the better.

As long as he was greedy, he would do his best to make it happen.

"However, Cash, I hope to get an answer by July 20th, which is three days from now."

...

After seeing off Cash Harris, Yang Huan asked Zhang Ning and Sun Yue to investigate Southampton further. He then returned to his room, took a luxurious bath, and walked out wrapped in a towel.

When he came out, he found Zhang Ning sitting on one of the beds in the double room, a laptop on her long legs. Seeing Yang Huan come out, her face turned red, and she looked incredibly charming.

Yang Huan was moved by her beauty. Every time he saw her, he noticed something new and captivating.

Walking to the bed, he reached out to take the laptop. He could clearly feel Zhang Ning's body tremble, and her biting her lower lip made her look even more pitiable. He couldn't resist reaching out to gently smooth her black hair.

His fingers lightly traced down her forehead to her smooth, jade-like cheek. Seeing Zhang Ning slightly raise her head, her eyes slightly red and full of panic, yet trying to hold it in, she looked breathtakingly beautiful at that moment.

"Can I borrow your legs for a moment?" Yang Huan lay down on the bed, using Zhang Ning's legs as a pillow, his head facing her, looking at her.

Zhang Ning didn't dare to look at him, pretending to look elsewhere.

After a while, Yang Huan suddenly asked, "Have you ever had someone you liked?"

"Ah?" Zhang Ning was taken aback.

"It doesn't matter, whether you have or not, it's not important!" Yang Huan laughed, "What matters is that I like you, and from now on, you can only like me."

"Vain!" Zhang Ning said angrily.

Yang Huan laughed heartily. He enjoyed bantering with Zhang Ning.

"Vain? Don't you think you've changed a lot in the past few days?"

Without waiting for Zhang Ning to answer, Yang Huan continued, "That night, you seemed like a frightened little bird, beautiful but too delicate. I didn't like it. I prefer the current you, who is much more confident."

Zhang Ning couldn't help but ask herself, have I really become more confident?

If so, where does my confidence come from?

Could it be from him?

"Don't worry, I said I'm a flirt but not a pervert. I like you, so I will use every method and means to make you like me. I don't believe that after spending 24 hours a day together, even eating and sleeping, you can still like someone else!"

This should be considered Yang Huan's unique technique for pursuing girls, the ultimate persistent approach.

Zhang Ning looked helpless. She hadn't expected things to develop this way.

She didn't particularly like or dislike Yang Huan, but the more she interacted with him, the more she found him a mystery, a mystery that she couldn't help but want to uncover.

"Oh, by the way, I want to invest in something. Help me buy as much of a thing called Bitcoin as possible."

"Bitcoin?" Zhang Ning had never heard of it, "What is it?"

"A type of electronic currency. It's already quite popular in the US. Buy as much as you can, but don't make too much noise."

Zhang Ning was puzzled. Electronic currency? Is there such a thing? What's the use of buying this currency?

But just as she was full of doubts, she asked Yang Huan, only to find that the young master, who was using her legs as a pillow, had fallen asleep. It didn't matter that he was sleeping; his right hand was pressed against her inner thigh, warm and burning.

Although it wasn't in a sensitive area and there was still a layer of pants, it still made her feel something.

At that moment, she had the urge to pull him up and kick him hard.

But it turned out that no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't wake up someone who was pretending to sleep, especially a pervert who was taking advantage of the situation.

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