A few days later, Ouyang Bing arrived at Huang Hao's office, her face beaming with joy.
For this Ice Beauty to be in such a good mood, it seemed the club's ticket sales must have achieved excellent results.
"Come on, Ouyang, my beauty, share the good news with us."
At this time, Li Jianqin of Cambridge United also happened to be in Huang Hao's office, and the two were discussing Cambridge United's plan to expand its commercial footprint.
"I won't interrupt your work, I just have one thing."
Seeing that the two were busy, Ouyang Bing made her point concisely.
"It's okay, others might be, but this brother, seeing you here, probably won't be in the mood to talk business anymore."
Huang Hao said, looking playfully at Li Jianqin.
"Yes, yes, yes, don't rush, let's chat together."
Looking at Li Jianqin's honest appearance, Huang Hao gave Ouyang Bing a thumbs up.
"Alright, the club's season ticket sales for this season are basically wrapped up."
After speaking, Ouyang Bing handed over a report.
"How much?!"
Huang Hao and Li Jianqin asked almost in unison.
"11,000 tickets. 4.2016 million pounds."
According to Ouyang Bing's previous proud demeanor, she would have made the two of them read the report themselves.
However, Cambridge United's performance this time was so outstanding that even Ouyang Bing's emotions were affected.
Hearing this number, Huang Hao and Li Jianqin high-fived each other in celebration!
"The stadium was built too small!"
Li Jianqin's face was full of regret.
Indeed, if Cambridge United continued to maintain such results next year, it would mean that tickets for the new stadium would still be hard to come by.
"Don't be regretful, after all, we don't have the final say on the land matter. Besides, given the club's current financial situation, this is already the best plan."
Huang Hao was quite open-minded about this matter. However, the growth rate of Cambridge United fans still exceeded his expectations.
As things stood, they could only take it one step at a time. Once the stadium was completed, Huang Hao was confident he could turn it into a 'devil's home ground' with an amazing atmosphere.
A few days later, the BBC released the ranking of ticket sales for each Premier League team this season. It was then that Huang Hao realized what it meant to be outclassed.
Cambridge United's season ticket revenue of 4.2 million pounds firmly placed them in last place.
Tottenham, ranked at the top, proudly led the pack with 58 million pounds!
Huang Hao looked at Tottenham's revenue, counted the zeros on his fingers several times, and then silently accepted the reality.
However, Huang Hao quickly felt relieved.
It seemed that whether it was in League One, the EFL Championship, or today's Premier League, Cambridge United had always been this stubborn and unyielding presence. This also added a bit of fun to the unchanging England League.
Suddenly, everyone noticed that Cambridge United's official account had released an announcement:
Dear Cambridge Irons (Cambridge United's officially voted fan nickname), to thank our dear members for your support and allow you to experience the charm of the England Premier League up close with us. Cambridge United has selected 10 heavyweight matches for this season. For each match, we will draw 10 lucky individuals from our general membership to provide you with match tickets and round-trip airfare to London.
Every step of Cambridge United's development is inseparable from your continued support. We hope to continue hand in hand in the future.
After this announcement was released, Cambridge United once again made a strong presence in numerous media outlets around the world!
Cambridge United was also called the most down-to-earth Premier League club in history by netizens.
And the Cambridge United members who showed off their tickets made people incredibly envious!
Netizens flocked to the official account to leave comments, hoping Cambridge United would expand its membership. They didn't care about watching the games; they just wanted to experience what it felt like to be a partner of a Premier League club.
English Football Association seemed to be afraid that Cambridge United would not have anything eye-catching this season, so the first match after their promotion to the Premier League was arranged to be a big battle against Tottenham!
A week later, when Chen Kai, a 'cow and horse' from a certain place in Shandong, opened the letter sent from abroad, a ticket slipped out of the envelope, leaving him completely stunned.
After reading Cambridge United's letter, Chen Kai really wanted to travel back four years and give himself a big hug!
His decision back then was simply too wise! At that time, because Cambridge United's owner and Head Coach were both Chinese, and they were selling so poorly, Chen Kai decided to join as a member to support them. He never expected this Cambridge United to actually make it into the Premier League.
After replying to Cambridge United's email as prompted by the letter, dedicated staff quickly contacted Chen Kai to arrange the viewing details.
After everything was settled, Chen Kai wrote boldly on his company's leave request form: "A few years ago, I invested in an England club. Now, this club has successfully been promoted to the England Premier League, and I am invited to London to watch the club's Premier League opening match. Please approve, leader."
Chen Kai's leader was very enlightened, and with a flourish of the pen, wrote: "Enjoy the game!" and approved Chen Kai's leave.
At this moment, Huang Hao and Li Jianqin were sitting in Ron's bar next to the Cambridge United Training Base. For a long time, the two, busy with their own things, hadn't sat down and chatted.
"Huang Hao, I truly can't believe it. In the blink of an eye, we're actually in the Premier League!"
Li Jianqin said thoughtfully, swirling the glass in front of him.
"To be honest, I didn't expect to be this lucky either."
"When I said I'd get you autographs back then, I was just messing with you."
Li Jianqin heard Huang Hao's confession, put on a look of 'I finally see through you,' and then said, "You messed with me before, I won't hold it against you. But now, you're really going to face Tottenham, don't forget to get me autographs!"
"Didn't you already get them last time?"
"Are the players the same as last time?" Li Jianqin looked at Huang Hao as if he were an idiot.
"Ron, when you were young, were you also so obsessed with autographs?"
Huang Hao didn't continue to bother Li Jianqin, turning to ask Ron, the bar owner.
"Hahaha! I only love Cambridge United. Our players, let alone autographs, drinking together is no problem."
Hearing Ron's words, Huang Hao looked at Li Jianqin, then patted his shoulder.
"Did you hear that, brother? That's what you call love!"
"You, a major shareholder of Cambridge United, going to ask for autographs from a cross-city rival, aren't you ashamed?"
Li Jianqin was speechless for a moment, not knowing how to refute Huang Hao.
Helpless, he could only down the beer in his glass.
Finally, Li Jianqin suddenly realized!
"That's not right! When did Tottenham become your Cambridge United's rival!"
"Your rival isn't called, what was it called?!"
"Peterborough United."
Ron added unhurriedly from the side.
"Yes, yes, Peterborough United! Tottenham is no rival at all!"
Hearing the name Peterborough United, Huang Hao felt a moment of trance.
It was as if that opponent was something from the last century.
"Don't you guys feel like being in the same League as Peterborough United was a very long time ago?"
"Exactly, I've already forgotten Cambridge United even had a rival!"
Li Jianqin quickly nodded in agreement.
"We're using Crystal Palace's stadium, so we might as well inherit their rival."
Li Jianqin...
"Are they still in League Two?"
Huang Hao inquired about the opponent's situation from Ron.
"Hahaha, their Head Coach isn't named Huang Hao, so they're still in League Two."
It had to be said, Ron's way of complimenting made Huang Hao feel very comfortable.
"It's truly history. I hope Cambridge United's future opponents are still Tottenham and Arsenal."
Recalling the various challenges in the lower League, although the pressure was greater now, Huang Hao still liked the current Cambridge United.
At least the team no longer had to worry about money.
Cambridge United's first-round away match against Tottenham was directly chosen as the Premier League's opening match for this season.
And Cambridge United, due to this match being included in the broadcast schedule, directly received 600,000 pounds in broadcast revenue sharing.
This was merely the beginning of the Premier League.
"How about it, Huang, meeting Tottenham in the first round, are you ready?"
Huang Hao smiled slightly,
"For Cambridge United, with odds of 1001 to 1 to win the League, losing to last season's eighth-place team isn't unreasonable, is it?"
"I think this matter isn't as much of a headache as chasing Defoe and Keane for autographs after the match!"
After speaking, Huang Hao looked at Li Jianqin, who was full of anticipation on the side.
How could he have been so impulsive back then, agreeing to such a ridiculous condition from Li Jianqin!
Considering Li Jianqin's great contributions to Cambridge United over the years, Huang Hao really intended to be the most bizarre Head Coach in history for him. Hopefully, this scene wouldn't be captured by the media at that time!
After a 12-hour long journey, Chen Kai's flight finally arrived at Heathrow Airport in London.
Even after passing through customs and walking out of the airport, Chen Kai still couldn't quite believe everything that was happening before his eyes.
It was like a dream!
Just a day ago, he was still in Shandong, and now, he had actually come to London!
Although he occasionally traveled abroad during his holidays, this was Chen Kai's first time in London.
Waiting for the Cambridge United staff outside the airport, he soon saw a few compatriots approaching, their faces barely concealing their excitement.
When they all stopped at the same spot, they exchanged knowing smiles.
As expected, these individuals were the lucky ones drawn to watch Cambridge United's Premier League opening match.
Soon, a minibus with the Cambridge United club name and crest printed on its side pulled up in front of them. Li Jianqin poked his head out and a "Hello" sounded just like a local tour guide who had been working abroad for years.
Li Jianqin, who was already very talkative, quickly hit it off with a few guys of similar age. And what made everyone feel particularly close was that the team's Commercial Director had no airs at all, just like the club itself, very down-to-earth.
Li Jianqin thoughtfully had the driver choose a route that went from downtown London back to the Cambridge United Training Base, perfectly fulfilling his role as a tour guide along the way, vividly explaining England's local customs and practices to Cambridge United's small shareholders.
After more than two hours of sightseeing, Chen Kai and his group finally arrived at the Cambridge United Training Base.
Just as he had seen in pictures, the Cambridge United Training Base looked so ordinary. But for some reason, everything Chen Kai saw here felt extraordinarily familiar. This was when Li Jianqin handed them an itinerary written in Chinese.
It detailed the schedule for the Cambridge United members over the next two days.
This included meeting the club's Head Coach and players, a tour of the Cambridge United Training Base, and the most important part of the trip: watching the North London Derby, among other things.
What Chen Kai was most looking forward to, besides watching the match at Tottenham's stadium, was meeting the legendary Huang Hao.
He really wanted to see this young man, who was about his age, up close and understand how he became a legend of Cambridge United.
