2003: Starting with Foreign Trade

Chapter 76 Springtime Delight (Please continue reading)
Around 4 p.m., Tan Jincheng and Zhang Xupeng arrived at their rented apartment complex.

As soon as the room door was opened, a pungent smell hit the door. The doors and windows hadn't been opened for half a month, so the smell was really unpleasant.

"Damn it, I knew I shouldn't have listened to you and left the window open. This smell is awful!" Zhang Xupeng yelled as soon as the door opened.

"Are you stupid? If you leave the windows open, what if the wind blows them open and it rains? Will the room still be habitable? Open the doors and windows to let the smell dissipate."

"Should we spray some air freshener? I remember we have a bottle at home."

"No, that smell mixed with mold is awful; just bear with it, open all the doors and windows, it'll be fine in a bit, let's tidy up first."

In winter, Ningbo is often shrouded in continuous rain, with light rain falling for most of the month. Combined with the wind blowing in from the sea, the weather is cold and damp. Even if there is no smell, it is still quite dangerous to leave the windows of an uninhabited room open for a long time.

The two quickly packed their luggage and tidied up their respective rooms. After about half an hour, the smell in the rooms had become much fainter than before, but there was still a faint odor.

"Why don't we go eat? It's almost five o'clock anyway," Zhang Xupeng suggested.

“Okay, there’s nothing to do at home anyway, let’s eat first.” Tan Jincheng nodded.

What he was really thinking was that after dinner he could buy a few football lottery tickets. It was said that the odds for football lottery were lower, but he didn't know if it was true or not. Tan Jincheng didn't know much about this stuff, but it was a legitimate thing, so a lower odds were better than nothing.

It's only the eighth day of the Lunar New Year, and Ningbo Vocational College across the street hasn't started school yet. There aren't many restaurants open nearby, so we just grabbed a quick bite at one. After leaving the restaurant, Tan Jincheng said to Zhang Xupeng, "I'm going to buy a lottery ticket. Do you want to come?"

"Didn't you say you didn't believe in this stuff? Why are you thinking of buying it?" Zhang Xupeng asked in surprise.

"Who would buy that stuff? The Champions League knockout stage is about to start, and now that I have money, I'll support my favorite team. Is there anything wrong with that?"

“No problem, let’s go then, I’ll support my team too.” Zhang Xupeng nodded.

"Stop supporting your team, support mine instead; your team is doomed to lose, don't you even look at my team's lineup?"

"Bullshit, we'll send your team home this round. My Red Devils twin stars plus a few veterans are worse than your team!" Zhang Xupeng retorted sharply.

In the summer of 2004, Rooney was in high spirits. He made his first appearance for Manchester United in the Champions League, scoring a hat-trick on September 28, the day after Tan Jincheng and Zhang Xupeng returned home.

In terms of starting point, Rooney is much better than Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi.

"With Beckham gone, who's going to pass the ball to them?"

"Giggs isn't good enough? Scholes isn't good enough?" Zhang Xupeng exclaimed, his eyes wide. Beckham's departure was a painful memory for Manchester United fans.

One of them is a Manchester United fan, and the other is an AC Milan fan; they just happened to run into each other in the knockout stage.

"Words are useless. I'll send you home, Champions League 16ers," Tan Jincheng said contemptuously.

Wait a minute, this title seems to belong to Real Madrid; whatever, that's how it is this year anyway, let's lend it to Manchester United for now.

"cut."

The two bickered as they walked toward the football betting shop.

As soon as Zhang Xupeng entered the store, he shouted to the owner, "Boss, give me a lottery ticket for Manchester United winning the championship and a ticket for Manchester United beating AC Milan, 10 yuan each!"

After saying that, he turned around, raised an eyebrow, and looked at Tan Jincheng.

How childish! Tan Jincheng thought with amusement as he slowly walked towards the research area.

"Why aren't you betting?" Zhang Xupeng asked Tan Jincheng after paying. "What's the rush? I'll study it. What's the point of betting on the outcome? If I'm going to bet, I'll bet on the score," Tan Jincheng replied casually.

Meanwhile, I was thinking that AC Milan's score against Manchester United was 1-0, I think. But if I'm betting on Liverpool's championship, I might as well bet on Liverpool's score as well.

I can't remember the score of Liverpool vs. Leverkusen, and I don't know if they won the first game, but they definitely advanced. Judging from their lack of attacking prowess and their stumbling performance in the group stage, I'll bet on a 1-0 victory.

Meanwhile, Tan Jincheng noted that Liverpool's odds of winning the title remained unchanged at 35 to 1, but their ranking had risen above Porto. Porto's odds of winning the title had further declined to 38 to 1 in this round's match against Inter Milan.

A-Milan is 7 to 1, while Manchester United is 20 to 1, so it seems that more people are optimistic about A-Milan.

"Are you crazy? Betting on scores? You're just throwing money away!" Zhang Xupeng looked at Tan Jincheng as if he were an idiot.

"It's just for fun; if Ami wins, I'll treat you to dinner to console you."

"No need, I'll treat you then. The Red Devils will definitely win."

Tan Jincheng ignored him and quickly wrote down the scores of the two matches at 1-0 on the paper, as well as the champion choices for AC Milan and Liverpool.

"Boss, bet 10 yuan on each of the two 1-0 wins, and 100 yuan on each of the championships."

Today is just a trial run. I'll buy 100 yuan worth of lottery tickets first, and then drive around in a few days, avoiding Zhang Xupeng. I'll buy 1000 yuan worth of tickets from several other lottery shops.

Zhang Xupeng, who was following closely behind, noticed Tan Jincheng's choice with some curiosity: "Didn't you buy Amazon? Why did you buy that?"

"His odds are high, so I'll throw in 100 yuan to see what happens and try my luck."

"Aren't the odds for Werder Bremen and Porto even higher? Why didn't you bet on both?"

"Those two won't work. One is facing Inter Milan, and the other is facing the French league leaders. That would be a complete waste of time. At least Liverpool still has some spirit."

These days, the top team in Ligue 1 isn't Paris Saint-Germain under the influence of big-money football, but Lyon. As for Porto beating Inter Milan, forget about it; last year's miracle can't be replicated. The team has been almost completely emptied out, from the head coach to the players.

"I think you're just burning money. Leverkusen dominated the group stage, beating Real Madrid 3-0, and you actually bet on Liverpool to win? You're crazy."

"Hey, just playing around. It's my first time buying to test the waters. As long as A wins, it's fine. It's only about 110 yuan. Do you want to pick one and gamble on the low probability?"

"I don't gamble, and I don't plan to make money. I just want to support my favorite team. I'd be happier than making money if they could eliminate you."

"Dream on, that's impossible."

Zhang Xupeng pursed his lips and didn't say anything; in terms of strength, it would indeed be difficult for Manchester United to eliminate AC Milan, as AC Milan's lineup was simply too strong. However, no matter what, they couldn't lose in terms of momentum, plus the Premier League's intimidating home ground, Old Trafford, was no joke.

The odds of advancing should be at least 50/50.

In the following days, taking advantage of the New Year to visit clients, Tan Jincheng visited more than 30 lottery shops of all sizes in Beicang District, spending a total of 30,000 yuan on Liverpool's championship betting.

The 2 yuan was an advance payment of his February salary. Tan Jincheng used the excuse of home renovation to advance this month's salary. He wouldn't dare to buy anything more than that.

As he walked out of the last lottery shop, Tan Jincheng looked at the lush trees lining the roadside, the spring atmosphere growing stronger, and couldn't help but light a cigarette.

"Damn it, the idea in novels that you can get rich by buying lottery tickets after being reborn is utter bullshit. People will look at you like you're a complete idiot if you buy a 1000 yuan ticket."

More than 30 looks at that idiot, more than 30 eye rolls, who could stand that?
(End of this chapter)