North of Oystermouth Road along the shore of Swansea Bay, south of the main artery of St Helen's Road, east of the Guildhall, and west of the bustling Quadrant Shopping Centre and St David's Centre—inside the area enclosed by those four sides stood Swansea City Football Club.
The area around the club was extrely convenient for transport.
Whether driving south or north, one could quickly get onto the main roads.
Shopping was close by, offices were easily accessible, and in Lynn's eyes, it was pri real estate.
On the morning of June 2, a light rain fell from the sky.
Gusts of sea breeze made the air feel fresh and invigorating.
Lynn and his good friend Mo Yuan stood outside Swansea City's entrance.
Looking at the club crest on the wall, Lynn studied it in a daze.
It looked like the simplest sketch from an artist's hand.
With only four strokes, one line outlined the curve of a swan from head to chest, while the other three ford folded feathers overlapping with the body.
A black swan seed to co vividly to life before his eyes.
Beneath the design was the club's na, arranged in an arc:
SWANSEA CITY AFC
This was Swansea City Football Club.
"Mr. Lynn, do you like the toy your father gave you?"
Lynn ca back to reality from his silent observation. He turned his head and saw a man in his forties standing beside him.
Lynn looked him up and down.
The man was dressed casually and plainly. He wore glasses, giving him a slightly refined look, and had a briefcase slung across his body.
"And you are?" Lynn asked in confusion.
The man reached out a hand and introduced himself.
"David Livingstone. I'm a Swansea supporter. I have been one since the day I beca old enough to understand things, for more than thirty years now. Also, I work for ITV Wales."
Lynn shook his hand and said with a playful tone, "A journalist, then."
Livingstone frowned slightly.
He very much disliked the attitude of this young rich kid in his early twenties.
It was as if Lynn looked down on everything, arrogant beyond belief, especially with that vast family fortune of his, as though money allowed him to toy with the world however he pleased.
Money made the mare go.
The Lin family's wealth in Wales was well known.
It was also no secret that Lin Jiajie had deep connections with all kinds of figures in Swansea's business and political circles.
They could use money to buy many things ordinary people could only dream of.
They could also create a "world" of their own and recklessly build or destroy whatever they wanted.
As a die-hard Swansea supporter, Livingstone could not sit by and watch the team he loved beco the toy of a wealthy man—especially when that wealthy man was not British!
Foreign capital had not yet officially beco a mainstream phenonon in British football, and the earlier foreign investors entered English football, the greater the resistance and hostility they faced.
Livingstone said to Lynn, "I'd like to give you a sincere piece of advice."
Lynn nodded slightly.
"I'm listening."
"Be a happy owner. Leave the running of the club to a professional company. They will hire professional staff to manage the club properly from top to bottom. Then, as the owner, you can simply enjoy everything it brings you."
The corners of Lynn's mouth lifted into a beautiful arc.
"Don't you think that, in that case, my father and I would be seen by everyone as foolish investors? Three million pounds is not a small amount. The follow-up investnt of ten million pounds is not a joke either."
"We made our fortune through investnt, Mr. Livingstone. Have you ever considered sothing? For the past two years, my father has had a favorite saying: the Lin family never does business at a loss. Perhaps after another two generations, that will beco the Lin family motto."
"The preliminary amount we plan to put into Swansea City is thirteen million pounds. We won't let it go down the drain."
"And one more thing. You are only a journalist. Don't use your love for Swansea as a pass to lecture or the Lin family."
"My money. My business. My club. I make the decisions."
"I accept your suggestion. Now you can go to the rubbish bin twenty ters away, pick it back out, and keep it for yourself."
After saying that, Lynn turned and walked into Swansea City.
Mo Yuan glanced at Livingstone with an indescribable smile in his eyes.
"Mr. Lynn, you seem to have a prejudice against journalists!"
Livingstone shouted at Lynn from outside the club entrance.
Without turning back, Lynn said, "Don't speak to in that wronged tone. I once trusted a journalist, and what happened to ? Before yesterday, you would have treated as schizophrenic or delusional too, even though you didn't understand the facts at all. Prejudice? Take your grievance and your injured feelings, and disappear from my sight."
Livingstone stood outside the club entrance.
Security guards nearby were ready to stop him at any mont.
Watching Lynn and Mo Yuan enter the office building, he let out a long sigh, then gritted his teeth and muttered to himself, "I won't let you destroy my club."
....
Mo Yuan was Lynn's closest friend.
Although Lynn had not stayed at Swansea University for long after returning to 1996, he had still beco friends with Mo Yuan, who studied there.
As two of the very few Chinese people at Swansea University, it was only natural that they found it easy to beco close.
On top of that, they were around the sa age.
Lynn was only one year older than Mo Yuan, so they naturally got along even better.
Mo Yuan also ca from a middle-class family.
At university, he specialized in business managent and marketing.
In the future Lynn had experienced, Mo Yuan's achievents had been far from small.
After accumulating his initial capital, opening a bar had rely been a relaxing side venture for him.
His other identity was that of an angel investor.
He held shares in many erging companies and had also used valuation adjustnt agreents to make enormous profits.
He had even seized other people's companies through such thods.
It could be called evil, but it was also a true reflection of the ruthless side of the business world.
He was soone who could adapt to social competition, not soone naive enough to live only inside ideals and fantasies.
This ti, after unexpectedly becoming the owner of Swansea City, Lynn needed help.
The first person he thought of was Mo Yuan.
After Lynn and Mo Yuan entered the office building, the club, which had originally been on holiday, had suddenly called its employees back to work because ownership had changed.
After asking on the first floor where the chairman's office was, Lynn and Mo Yuan took the stairs straight to the fifth floor.
When passing so employees on the fifth floor, Lynn nodded and greeted them kindly.
However, those employees looked sowhat wary and uneasy toward him.
They might lose their jobs.
A survival crisis was right in front of them.
No one knew whether this young rich man would order a sweeping purge inside the club.
Outside the chairman's office stood a man in his thirties, dressed in a suit and leather shoes, waiting for Lynn.
When Lynn and Mo Yuan walked over, he took the initiative to reach out to Lynn and introduce himself.
"Hello, Mr. Lin. I'm Tony Benn. Until yesterday, I served as the club's chief executive. Detailed docunts regarding the club's assets, staff list, and other information have all been placed on the desk. There is also a legal docunt regarding the transfer of ownership that requires your signature. The lawyer is already waiting inside."
Lynn shook his hand and said seriously, "Tony Benn. I'll call you Tony. Tony, here's how things are. I don't know you. Perhaps you did a very good job before, or perhaps you were just average. I won't look at you through tinted glasses, but I need to make an adjustnt to your position."
"First, your salary and benefits will remain the sa as before. However, the CEO position will no longer belong to you. You will be demoted to administrative director. The CEO position will be given to him—Mo Yuan. You will assist him in his work."
"Any problems? If you're dissatisfied, you can say so now. I will compensate you according to your contract, and we can part amicably. If you agree, what I want is a fighter who gives one hundred percent to the job."
Tony Benn had indeed not expected to be demoted the first ti he t Lynn.
If it had been soone else, perhaps they would have been dissatisfied.
But after all, Swansea City were only a very ordinary, unremarkable club.
The CEO position was not that special.
Now, however, the owner had changed.
Swansea City no longer had a board of directors.
Even this office might have to be renad. It would no longer be the chairman's office, but an office belonging to Lynn alone.
The Lin family's financial strength was far greater, which ant he might be able to receive better treatnt.
Titles were secondary.
What mattered most was compensation.
Therefore, Benn said very directly to Lynn, "I hope to and the terms of my contract. I want a fifteen percent salary increase from before, along with so additional clauses."
Lynn liked Benn's reaction very much.
Simple, direct, and straight to the point.
If Benn had obeyed imdiately, he would have seed weak.
If he had stord off, he would have seed emotional and lacking in rationality.
Negotiating conditions—that was the most realistic response.
Wasn't negotiation one of the important thods that pushed world history forward?
Otherwise, how had the contracts that now restrained nations and people co into being?
Lynn smiled and said to him, "A two-month observation period. If your work over the next two months satisfies , I'll give you a twenty percent raise. If I'm not satisfied—"
"I'll leave on my own, and I won't ask for severance."
Tony Benn finished for him.
Lynn's smile grew even wider.
He was starting to like Tony Benn a little.
Mo Yuan stood at the side, watching and listening without interrupting.
He needed to adapt and learn.
Before coming here, he and Lynn had already discussed it.
Before he fully understood the actual situation and adapted to the work, learning and understanding as much as possible were what he needed to do most.
Benn pushed open the office door, and Lynn was the first to walk in.
The lawyer sitting across from the desk imdiately stood up. After the two sides exchanged greetings, Lynn sat behind the desk.
The lawyer placed a docunt in front of him and waited for him to sign.
After roughly reading through it, Lynn signed his na on the docunt.
This lawyer had been arranged by Lynn's father. He had served the Lin family for many years, so Lynn trusted him greatly.
After signing the docunt, Lynn handed it back to the lawyer.
Then, suddenly, he stood frozen in place.
His expression changed in an extrely vivid sequence.
Surprise.
Joy.
Confusion.
Thought.
Seeing his expression shift again and again, Mo Yuan and Benn both stared at him in stunned silence.
Mo Yuan stepped forward and asked with concern, "Lynn, are you all right?"
Lynn raised a hand toward him and said, "I'm fine. You all sit aside for now. Give twenty minutes."
Mo Yuan and Benn were completely confused, but since Lynn had spoken, they sat to the side and waited.
The mont Lynn signed the docunt, Swansea City beca his property.
And his football card system underwent a change he had never expected!
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