Chapter 1883: Wishful Thinking

The next day, when Tian Ye and He Jiaming led a group of staff from the Football Association to the Future Group headquarters, they were greeted by Zheng Yao and a few assistants.

“Is Chairman Zhao of your company not here?”

He Jiaming frowned and said bluntly.

They had originally thought that with the leaders of the Football Association visiting, Chairman Zhao Fusheng of Future Group would certainly come out to greet them. But to their disappointment, Zhao Fusheng didn’t show up at all.

“Chairman Zhao has other matters, so I’ll be handling the talks with you today.” Zheng Yao didn’t beat around the bush either, saying directly.

As she spoke, a relaxed smile lingered on her face.

She didn’t care about these leaders at all.

After all, although their administrative ranks were not low, the Football Association was really not a department that Future Group needed to pay special attention to.

To put it bluntly, Future Group had no need to care about the Football Association’s reactions.

If it weren’t for Zhao Fusheng wanting to sponsor football, Zheng Yao felt she could simply ignore this kind of department.

A bunch of people who hold positions without doing any work—what right did they have to put on airs in front of her?

“Well, all right then.”

He Jiaming and Tian Ye exchanged glances and finally nodded.

Their treatment wasn’t low either—the CEO personally received them, which was enough to give face to the leaders of the Football Association. But not seeing the boss made everyone feel a bit uncomfortable.

Comparatively, they would have preferred to meet Zhao Fusheng, the boss, because his words carried more weight.

The group walked into the Future Group conference room.

“President Zheng, I believe our purpose for coming should be very clear to your company,” He Jiaming took the lead, saying to Zheng Yao. “We are very grateful for Future Group’s attention to Chinese football. Our Football Association has always been committed to the promotion and development of Chinese football. Over the years…”

The guy rambled on with a bunch of high-sounding words, making even Tian Ye and Zhu Qiang, who were sitting nearby, frown.

None of them were fools. Did this guy think they were some company begging for sponsorship from the Football Association?

What was Future Group’s status? It was a legitimate large enterprise that didn’t need to rely on football to boost its reputation, and it was sponsoring women’s football at that. Under these circumstances, was it meaningful to spout such high-sounding nonsense?

Couldn’t he see that Zheng Yao across from him already had an extremely unpleasant expression?

Zheng Yao hadn’t expected that this He Jiaming, who called himself deputy director of the Football Association, would start off by giving her a whole bunch of high-sounding clichés.

What did he mean by that?

“Ahem, what Director He said is correct. We have always placed great importance on women’s football work,” Tian Ye timely interrupted He Jiaming and said to Zheng Yao with a smile. “President Zheng, may I ask how much your company plans to sponsor this time?”

That was the crux of the matter!

All that talk was just nonsense and clichés; only this question was the real key.

Zheng Yao smiled faintly and said calmly, “According to our boss’s intention, this time we plan to sponsor no less than thirty million yuan!”

Thirty million!

He Jiaming gasped, his expression instantly changing.

This sponsorship had to be secured no matter what.

Then, according to his and Xie Long’s plan, they could at least skim a portion off the top.

He didn’t notice that Tian Ye and Zhu Qiang exchanged a glance.

Thirty million!

The women’s football team didn’t even have that much funding for a whole year, and now Zhao Fusheng was saying he would sponsor them thirty million.

Thinking of this, Tian Ye took a deep breath. He knew he needed to make a choice.

“We are very grateful for your company’s support of Chinese football. On behalf of…”

He Jiaming quickly spoke up, starting to praise again.

People are always very polite and respectful to those who give them money.

But unfortunately, his opponent today was Zheng Yao.

What kind of person was Zheng Yao?

A former college counselor turned businesswoman, after nearly ten years of struggle, she had become a seasoned veteran skilled at reading people and discerning their thoughts.

From the moment He Jiaming entered, Zheng Yao had sensed something was off.

Since they were going to sponsor the Football Association, she naturally had to look into the background of her counterparts. According to the information, the deputy director in charge of women’s football should be Tian Ye, who sat there hardly speaking. This He Jiaming should be a leader in charge of other work.

But why, in this negotiation, was He Jiaming taking the lead while Tian Ye barely said a word?

There was a lot to ponder here!

This doubt flashed through Zheng Yao’s mind. She narrowed her eyes at the opposite side, then broke into a smile and suddenly asked, “Director He, may I ask if you know how this sponsorship will be used?”

“Ah?”

He Jiaming was startled, then laughed: “Of course. We will invite the best coaches for the women’s team, improve their treatment, and also find a suitable training base for them domestically…”

Listening to him, Zheng Yao frowned slightly but did not speak.

Something was wrong!

In that instant, Zheng Yao quickly sorted out the logic in her mind.

She wasn't stupid. He Jiaming had completely avoided mentioning sending the women's football team abroad for training, instead rambling on about all sorts of irrelevant things—clearly he had other plans.

With that thought, Zheng Yao's smile faded, and she looked seriously at He Jiaming: "Director He, I think you misunderstand. Our sponsorship money is not for hiring coaches for the women's team. We have no intention of interfering with the Football Association's decision on who coaches the team. We simply hope to send the players abroad for training, practice matches, and the best possible instruction."

"Heh, well, President Zheng, you probably don't understand the situation with the women's team. Our side at the Football Association has a better grasp of the circumstances. Sending them abroad for training would be of little significance to this team. We should..." He Jiaming was prepared, rattling off a string of jargon to fob Zheng Yao off.

This was the plan he and Xie Long had agreed upon earlier: no matter what demands Future Group made, they would refuse on the grounds of professionalism.

After all, if they actually let the women's team train abroad, how could they get their hands on the sponsorship money and skim off the top?

If there was no profit to be made, what was the point of the sponsorship?

Zheng Yao stared dumbfounded as He Jiaming held forth; she was stunned.

Yes!

At that moment, Zheng Yao wasn't confused because He Jiaming's words were too obscure. What truly left her speechless was the thought: was this guy—or rather, the entire top brass of the Football Association—all idiots?

Did these people have even a shred of a sense of responsibility?

Who was she?

What kind of company was Future Group?

They really had no idea.

At this point, Zheng Yao didn't know whether to laugh or to complain.

To be honest, when Zhao Fusheng had said the Football Association leaders had issues with their brains, she had thought he was exaggerating, probably because as a fan he held a grudge against the FA.

But now it seemed it wasn't that Zhao Fusheng's resentment was too great—it was that these people were simply beyond words.

Any other organization would probably never make such a bizarre choice, yet the FA leaders had gone ahead and done it!

They actually wanted to intercept the money!

Exactly!

By now, Zheng Yao understood.

The FA's intention was clearly to get their hands on this sponsorship.

Though she didn't know where they got the confidence to have such thoughts, Zheng Yao felt she needed to express her stance.

"Ahem..."

Zheng Yao coughed first, then slowly spoke, looking at He Jiaming: "Director He, regarding how the sponsorship funds are to be used, I think I should consult our chairman. How about we leave it at that for today?"

"Ah?"

He Jiaming was taken aback, somewhat surprised, then nodded: "Alright, let's leave it at that."

He also knew that the other side would need to discuss this; they couldn't make a decision lightly.

Zheng Yao nodded, taking a long look at Zhu Qiang and Tian Ye, who had remained silent throughout—especially Tian Ye. She felt that this deputy director, who was actually in charge of women's football, was not as simple as he appeared.

Of course, that was just a woman's intuition. Zheng Yao couldn't say why, but she simply felt that someone who genuinely wanted the women's team to develop couldn't behave like this.

He Jiaming and the others left Future Group. In the car, He Jiaming said to Tian Ye: "Old Tian, why didn't you say anything today? If you had pushed a bit more, they might have agreed outright."

Tian Ye chuckled: "It's not that simple. You saw that President Zheng kept saying she needed to consult the boss—that means she doesn't have the final say."

"So, what do you mean?" He Jiaming frowned, puzzled.

"I mean, we still need to meet with Chairman Zhao Fusheng in person."

Tian Ye didn't mince words, stating his thoughts directly.

"Then we'll wait."

He Jiaming knew this couldn't be forced, and finally nodded.

Back at the Football Association, He Jiaming hurried to report the day's negotiations to Xie Long, while Zhu Qiang followed Tian Ye to his office.

"Old leader, something's off about today's business."

As soon as they entered, Zhu Qiang said to Tian Ye.

He had dealt with Zheng Yao before and had also met Zhao Fusheng. Back then, their attitude had been different.

There must be something wrong!

"That's obvious!"

Tian Ye smiled, shot a glance at Zhu Qiang, and said casually: "Do you think President Zheng came to negotiate today?"

"No?"

Zhu Qiang was startled, somewhat surprised: "Then what do you mean..."

"Heh, just wait and see. This matter won't be as easy as Director He thinks. There's definitely more to come." Tian Ye said calmly.