Chapter 30 – Well Done, Yang Cheng!

Chapter 30 – Well Done, Yang Cheng!

Jobs in investment banking pay well—but the pressure is immense.

Every second counts, and sometimes Xia Qing couldn't help but wonder if she should just go back to China.

But that thought never lasted long.

Back when she graduated from university, her family had been against her studying abroad.

Then, after earning her master's degree, they secured her a great job back home—but she chose to stay.

Not because she resented her family.

She just didn't like having her life planned for her.

Taking a quick coffee break to breathe, she noticed Yang Cheng's documents again. After a moment of thought, she stood up and walked to the research department on the same floor.

"Hello, Peter."

"Hi, gorgeous Xia. Don't tell me you're here to ask me out to dinner?" Peter, one of the researchers, looked stunned.

Xia Qing smiled sweetly and shook her head. "Next time. My treat."

Peter shrugged dramatically. "You always say that. There's never a next time."

"Peter, didn't you do a financial report on English football clubs a while back?"

Peter perked up immediately.

"Yeah, the original idea was to offer financial advisory services to these clubs. But we quickly realized these dinosaurs had no interest in professional opinions."

Intrigued, Xia Qing listened as Peter ranted passionately, tearing into the financial messes of English clubs.

Debt mismanagement, reckless transfers, bloated wages—nothing new.

"And things have only gotten worse," Peter added. "Ever since that Russian billionaire arrived at Chelsea, their wage bill has skyrocketed—and it's spilling over to other Premier League clubs."

Chelsea's sky-high wages had triggered an inflationary domino effect across the league.

"These club owners have crap for brains. All they care about is the transfer fee. They don't even grasp what wages mean until they realize they've fallen into a bottomless pit."

Xia Qing found it amusing.

None of this was surprising.

Many Premier League clubs listed on the market had financial statements that, to professionals like them, screamed red flags.

Debt, debt, and more debt.

Which is why, in contrast, Yang Cheng's financial planning stood out to her.

He was clearly different from the typical club owner.

Sound wage control, a balanced salary structure—these were key for sustainable growth.

"Can I borrow that report? And the related documents?"

"Of course. Are you researching this now?"

"Just a personal interest," Xia Qing replied, not wanting to go into detail.

"Sure. Help yourself."

…

What Yang Cheng didn't know was that Xia Qing had started helping him that very day.

Even though it was their first time seeing each other since his reincarnation, for some reason, he just felt that Xia Qing could be trusted.

And he acted on that instinct.

That same weekend—March 12—Bayswater Chinese FC hosted Swindon Town in League Two Round 36.

After a week of rest, the team looked fully recharged.

Right from kickoff, Bayswater showed aggression and sharpness.

In the 11th minute, Ribéry made a dazzling run down the left, cut inside, and Rowlands set up Dave Kitson to open the scoring.

Left foot.

Just eight minutes later, Jenkins whipped in a cross from the right, and Kitson outjumped Swindon's Heywood to score again.

Two goals. Two different styles.

With the EFL Trophy final just a week away and a midweek league match coming up, Yang Cheng eased off after going up 2–0.

But Swindon weren't pushovers.

They were fifth in the league—above Brighton—and determined to push for promotion.

Right after halftime, they came out swinging, forcing several saves from Joe Hart.

Then, in the 61st minute, Ribéry received a pass from Capaldi, danced past two defenders, cut inside, and rifled the ball into the far corner.

3–0. Game over.

Even so, Plymouth, Bristol, and QPR all won their matches that round too.

…

Three days later, Bayswater stayed at home for Round 37 against Peterborough.

Peterborough, desperate to avoid relegation, came in guns blazing, expecting Yang Cheng to rotate his squad ahead of the final.

They were right.

Yang Cheng rotated heavily, and the first half was lackluster.

It wasn't until the 56th minute that Andy Holdsworth opened the scoring.

Then, in the 79th, Devaney, coming off the bench, added a second.

2–0. Another win.

That match was extra special—Yang Cheng's parents had just arrived from China, and they watched from the stands.

…

"Well done, Ah Cheng!"

After the match, Yang Jianguo couldn't contain his joy. He rushed forward and gave his son a massive bear hug, laughing heartily.

Caught off guard, Yang Cheng was a bit embarrassed.

Especially since, despite his 23-year-old body, his soul was much older. Being hugged and praised like a kid was… awkward.

"Take it easy, Dad," he muttered, pushing him off.

That drew laughter from his mom Li Hongying, Lin Zhongqiu, and others nearby.

"What? I can't hug my own son now?" his dad retorted, indignant.

Yang Cheng had no comeback for that.

Thankfully, his dad didn't push it. Instead, he sighed emotionally.

"I never imagined you had this kind of talent, kid."

"I just watched the match—your team plays way better than all those expensive coaches I hired before."

Heh.

Yang Cheng had always believed in his coaching ability.

"That's why," he said smugly, "as your son, I expect a fair salary. No under-the-table discounts."

Yang Jianguo froze, finger pointing at his cheeky son, then turned to look at his wife—and burst out laughing.

Clearly, he was absolutely delighted.

It wasn't just about Bayswater Chinese FC's success—it was about Yang Cheng.

His parents walked with him, one on each side, leaving the stadium and heading toward the quiet training ground.

"Anyway, I'm staying out of it. I already told Old Lin that the club's everything is in your hands," his dad said with a shrug. "So however much salary you want to give yourself, that's up to you. Don't ask me."

Hearing that confirmed once again, Yang Cheng's mood brightened.

This cheapskate of a father really did treat him well in his own way.

"And another thing—Old Lin keeps nagging me about the training base."

Yang Cheng nodded. "He keeps nagging me too."

"Haha, that's just how he is. But you're different. You're young. If you want to do something, just go for it. If you've got the guts to borrow money, then do it. Nothing to be afraid of."

Yang Cheng chuckled inwardly.

That was exactly his dad's style.

"You know," his father continued, "after you told me last year that real estate was promising, I looked into it seriously—and turns out, you were right. This year we grabbed three plots in Quancheng. One in the new district—500 mu. One up near the Ziyun Mountain scenic area—basically a whole mountainside. And we've got an urban renewal project in the old town too."

"Plus, we grabbed one in the neighboring provincial capital and another in Lucheng. We're getting ready to go big."

Yang Cheng's heart skipped a beat. That sounded… massive.

"Isn't that a bit aggressive?"

"Aggressive?" Yang Jianguo burst out laughing. "We're just getting started!"

"Besides, I'm not stupid. All the land is prime real estate. High-end residential zones. They're hot right now."

"And I'm planning to poach some top talent from firms like Vanke and Zhonghai. It's time for Yang Real Estate to make a name for itself!"

He laughed heartily, slapping Yang Cheng on the shoulder with pride.

"Ah Cheng, you just do your thing here in London. And if it doesn't work out—come back and inherit the family business!"

Yang Cheng gave a reluctant smirk.

This old man of his really wasn't all that reliable—always setting him up.

"There's something else. I want your opinion."

It was rare to see his dad so serious, and Yang Cheng immediately perked up. "Go ahead."

"You told me to sign Liu Xiang. I did. Are you sure he'll medal at the Olympics this year?"

"Yeah," Yang Cheng nodded confidently.

Why? He couldn't say.

"We're also considering acquiring a foreign brand to move into the high-end market. After much deliberation, we're looking at a partnership with Umbro. What do you think?"

"Umbro?"

"They've been doing terribly in the Chinese market. Their local partner's a low-end OEM in Guangdong—the quality control is terrible. But as you know, we have our own factories."

"My idea is to partner with Umbro, take over their China operations, manufacture for them, and bring in foreign production standards and QC processes to upgrade our own R&D and quality control."

Yang Cheng was honestly impressed.

That was exactly how industrial upgrading should work.

"I think it's viable," he said, "but Umbro's core is football. In China, you can't go all-in on that. You need to diversify the product line, move into athleisure, and position it as a premium lifestyle brand."

"Of course."

"And Dad, our main brand follows a wholesale model. If we sign Umbro, then go with a direct-to-consumer model."

"Open our own stores? That would cost a fortune."

"Not open every store ourselves—but control the retail experience."

Yang Cheng figured it was time to shift his dad's thinking, or he'd end up getting trapped post-2008, and Yang Cheng would suffer for it again.

The traditional wholesale model still dominated in China.

Manufacturers would produce the goods, sell them to regional distributors, who would then pass them to local dealers before finally reaching consumers.

That system relied heavily on preseason ordering fairs.

The upside was it allowed manufacturers to expand rapidly without capital, leveraging distributors' money and channels to cover every corner of the country—even remote counties.

The manufacturer only needed to manage production and branding.

But it came with fatal flaws:

There was zero visibility into what consumers actually wanted.Feedback loops were extremely slow.Control over distribution and pricing was almost nonexistent.Some dealers would mix real and fake goods, damaging the brand.

The direct-to-consumer model didn't mean the brand opened every store itself—but rather that it managed retail operations centrally.

That meant:

Stronger brand imageFaster response to the marketDirect understanding of consumer demandAgile pricing and product updates

The downside?

Much slower expansion than wholesale.

For now, most brands would be lucky to cover first- and second-tier cities.

In a fast-growing market, wholesale was still king—it allowed massive early gains.

But post-2008, with the financial crisis and overproduction, the weaknesses of wholesale would be exposed—and many Chinese sports brands would collapse.

So Yang Cheng's plan was this:

Before 2008, use the main brand to ride the wholesale wave and rake in cash.

At the same time, use Umbro to develop a high-end, direct-to-consumer model, gain experience, train talent, and be ready to switch tracks at any moment.

After hearing Yang Cheng's strategy, Yang Jianguo's eyes lit up.

He instantly saw the value of direct-to-consumer for a premium brand.

And the slow pace of opening stores? That was actually a good thing.

"If we're going to talk to Umbro, we'd better do it soon. They're in worse shape by the year. After losing Manchester United to Nike, their only major assets are the England national team, Ajax, and Chelsea."

If Yang remembered right, Chelsea would also ditch Umbro within a year or two and sign with Adidas.

That meant Yang Jianguo needed to move fast and capitalize on Chelsea's exposure while it lasted.

Call it Abramovich's way of paying him interest in advance.

"That's actually why I came to the UK this time," Yang Jianguo said seriously.

"And also—include our club in the negotiations. We still don't have a kit sponsor."

Right now, Bayswater Chinese FC's kits just had a big Yang Group logo on the front—for free, of course.

But if Dad was serious about giving him full control, then even the shirt sponsor needed to pay.

There's no reason a son should be working for free for his dad, right?

Besides, Yang Cheng was almost flat broke already.

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