Chapter 75: The Growth Path of the Burger King (230k words update, seeking monthly votes!)

The post-match interview, which lasted 15 minutes, concluded with Tang Ye having said barely a few words.

It wasn't that he wasn't interviewed; it was just that everything he said was restricted by Ten Hag!

Eindhoven Football Report—Following the KNVB Cup defeat, PSV Eindhoven hopes Cocu can prove himself in the next league match; some executives believe Cocu's tactics are "already outdated."

Utrecht Evening Post—With one win and one draw against the defending champions, Utrecht's executives place great trust in Ten Hag, and the new Dutch manager may receive a substantial transfer budget this summer window.

Dongqiu Di: A deep bond between master and disciple! In the post-match interview, Tang Ye thanked Ten Hag for his dedication to the team and expressed gratitude for Ten Hag's mentorship.

"If not for Ten Hag's appreciation, I might still be sitting on the bench for the reserve team."

……

After scoring the winning goal against Eindhoven, Tang Ye received a goal/assist bonus of 40,000 euros; combined with a 500-euro match-win bonus and a weekly salary of 7,200 euros, Tang Ye will directly receive 47,700 euros when the club pays wages this Sunday!

He's really made a fortune!

Tang Ye shared this good news with his parents, who were still back in China.

However, Tang Tang Zhengxiong and Zhang Zhang Qingqing were not very interested in Tang Ye's weekly salary; instead, they asked him a question.

"When are you coming back for Chinese New Year this year?"

This question from his parents left Tang Ye utterly speechless.

Last year, while still playing for the reserve team, with only ten days left until New Year's Eve, Tang Ye had hurriedly requested leave to return home, staying in China for over twenty days under the pretext that "Spring Festival is extremely important to Chinese people" before returning.

But this year, the situation was slightly different...

February 4th marked the KNVB Cup quarterfinals, February 7th was Eredivisie Round 22 against Eindhoven, and February 13th would see Eredivisie Round 23 against Cambuur.

Looking at Utrecht's dense schedule on his phone, Tang Ye didn't know what to do.

Should he stay in the Netherlands or return home for Chinese New Year?

Tang Ye couldn't find an answer immediately.

On the evening of February 5th, Zhang Zhang Qingqing urged him again; realizing he could wait no longer, Tang Ye approached Ten Hag about the matter the following noon.

"February 8th is Chinese New Year's Eve, followed by the Spring Festival; Mr. Eric, do you know about the Spring Festival? Chinese New Year, it's a very important holiday..."

Tang Ye stood before Ten Hag, who held a bottle of mineral water in his hand, having taken only a few sips.

"And then?"

"What I mean is, I'd like to request leave to return home, um, just like I did when I was in the reserve team."

Tang Ye rubbed his hands, looking somewhat embarrassed.

"No."

Ten Hag placed the mineral water bottle on his desk and directly rejected Tang Ye's request.

"Okay, alright..."

Tang Ye nodded and quickly ran off.

"Hey, Eric, you should agree to this, right? Spring Festival is very important."

Fan Fan Dejiahe, sitting on the sofa nearby, had heard the entire conversation between Tang Ye and Ten Hag and found Ten Hag's cold-blooded approach utterly incomprehensible.

Although they were playing against Eindhoven on February 7th, that was Spring Festival, China's Christmas; out of human consideration, Ten Hag shouldn't have directly rejected Tang Ye's request.

Even if he wouldn't allow Tang Ye to leave before the match on February 7th, he should have granted Tang Ye leave after the game concluded!

"He left immediately after I refused, which shows he was hesitating himself."

Ten Hag sat down in his office chair: "I know this guy; if he really wanted to leave, he might have just run off directly. But he asked me, which means he himself doesn't know whether he should go back for the holiday."

"This..."

Fan Fan Dejiahe didn't know what to say.

Ten Hag's words actually made quite a bit of sense!

Tang Ye was probably also struggling between the match and the holiday, judging by the reaction he had just displayed.

Compared to celebrating the holiday, might he actually prefer to stay and participate in the match?

……

That night at 9 PM, after rushing back to his dormitory from the gym, Tang Ye immediately called Zhang Zhang Qingqing.

Tang Ye had carefully considered this timing, as it was currently afternoon in China.

"Tang Ye, what's the verdict? When are you coming back?"

As soon as the call connected, Zhang Zhang Qingqing's familiar voice came through.

Um...

Tang Ye took a deep breath: "Mom, if, well, um, could I maybe not come back for Chinese New Year this year?"

"Damn it, you've jumped ship, haven't you? I'm going to knife you first!"

Tang Tang Zhengxiong's voice suddenly came through the phone.

From the moment the call connected, this guy had been eavesdropping on the side; upon hearing that Tang Ye didn't want to return, Tang Tang Zhengxiong immediately flew into a rage.

"Wait, Tang Ye, you've only been in the Netherlands for your second year, and now you're directly skipping Chinese New Year? Are you really not afraid I'll fly to Sweden to drag you back?"

"Um, Dad, I'm in the Netherlands..."

"Same thing, same thing! Netherlands or whatever, I'll buy a plane ticket right now and be there in two days!"

Tang Tang Zhengxiong's tone was somewhat agitated.

Just as he said, he was already ready to grab a knife!

An unfilial descendant must be eliminated immediately, otherwise the consequences will be endless!

"Uh, it's not that I don't want to come back, it's just matters on the team side."

"What's wrong with the team? Has your coach controlled you?"

"Something like that."

"Huh?"

"Oh, no, no, it's mainly because we have many important matches in February."

Tang Ye slowly explained to his parents: "I'm practically a key starter now; if I leave, the team will suffer greatly... When I was injured earlier, we only managed two points across two matches."

"Huh?"

Tang Tang Zhengxiong frowned: "You're that good now? Weren't you unable to get playing time over there?"

"That was last season!"

Zhang Zhang Qingqing patted Tang Tang Zhengxiong on the chest: "Tang Ye is a starter now; being a substitute was last season's story. Just before dawn the day before yesterday, he even played against that... what was it... PKS Eindhoven."

"You mean PSV Eindhoven, right? Tang Ye is playing against Eindhoven now?"

Tang Tang Zhengxiong was a football fan, but he followed the Premier League and La Liga; fans of those leagues disdain watching Eredivisie matches.

Tang Tang Zhengxiong was also rather thick-skinned; even though his son was in the Eredivisie, he absolutely refused to watch Eredivisie games.

The reason was simple: the Eredivisie wasn't as entertaining as the Premier League, and Tang Tang Zhengxiong's favorite team, Liwupu, played in the Premier League!

Although he knew little about the Eredivisie, the name Eindhoven was hardly unfamiliar to Tang Tang Zhengxiong; they were regulars in the Champions League!

"Of course; we've already played them twice. In the match before dawn the day before yesterday, I scored one goal and provided two assists!"

Zhang Zhang Qingqing first raised her index finger, then her middle finger.

"Damn."

Tang Tang Zhengxiong took a deep breath, then picked up his phone: "So, Tang Ye, when will you go play in the Premier League? Can you go to Manchester United? Hey, right, whatever you do, don't go to Liwupu; go play for Manchester United and just screw them over."

"That's not the main point right now!"

Zhang Zhang Qingqing reminded him: "So, you're not coming home for Chinese New Year this year?"

"Uh, pretty much."

Tang Ye bit his lower lip, his face flushing slightly red.

This was his first time spending the New Year away from home.

"I think this is great!"

Unexpectedly, Tang Tang Zhengxiong expressed support for Tang Ye: "You're no longer just coasting; so play well."

"Although Utrecht isn't any great team, you must have hope; as long as one lives, one must have goals. Tang Ye, remember, your goal is to find a way to sneak into the Manchester United squad; you must work hard!"

"Uh, I'll do my best."

Tang Ye scratched his head: "Then... about the New Year..."

"That's a trivial matter; if you're not coming back, then you're not coming back. You're almost seventeen; after seventeen comes twenty-seven almost immediately, and after twenty-seven comes thirty-seven almost immediately. Now is the time to strive; otherwise, if you wait until you're thirty-seven to start striving, it'll definitely be too late."

Tang Tang Zhengxiong said slowly: "Just keep playing hard in... the Netherlands; I'll wait for you to reach the Premier League. If you're not coming back, then your mother and I won't stay in the country either."

"Huh? Where would we go?" Zhang Zhang Qingqing was stunned.

"To England, of course!"

Tang Tang Zhengxiong said matter-of-factly: "I haven't watched a Liwupu match live this year yet; with the North West Derby coming up soon, shouldn't we go?"

"Then we could go to the Netherlands!"

Zhang Zhang Qingqing suggested.

"No Netherlands; the Eredivisie level stinks. I'll take you to watch the Premier League, the North West Derby; that's what you call truly Gao Shuiping football!"

"But..."

Tang Tang Zhengxiong and Zhang Zhang Qingqing started arguing for some reason, while Tang Ye silently hung up the phone.

Phew...

He let out a long sigh.

Looking up at the ceiling, Tang Ye felt something was strangely off.

Staying in the Netherlands to continue playing matches didn't seem like a choice he would make.

Right!

Tang Ye thought of something, adjusted his sitting posture, and then opened his personal panel.

Tang Ye (37 years old)

【Ball Control: 72; Passing: 79】

【Shooting: 61; Heading: 39; Set Pieces: 66】

【Speed: 60; Stamina: 64; Physicality: 64】

【Defense: 61; Vision: 93】

Overall Rating: 73

High-intensity first-team training and the fast-paced Eredivisie matches had caused Tang Ye's attributes to rise very quickly.

Except for Heading, he no longer had a single attribute below 60.

This was worth celebrating, but the focus of Tang Ye opening the panel this time wasn't there.

【Account Balance: Counterattack Points * 108】

108 Counterattack Points!

This was the first time in Tang Ye's memory that his Counterattack Points had broken into three digits!

All of this was the result of hard training!

Tang Ye felt somewhat moved; the last time he spent 40 Counterattack Points to unlock a new item in the Item Shop was during the Christmas holiday, and Tang Ye had barely trained since then.

Hazard's Hamburger was priced very high, but Tang Ye had only bought one; this was the reason he had been able to save up Counterattack Points.

Holding a huge sum of 108 units of currency, Tang Ye now had two paths he could take.

First, buy a hamburger every rest day to enhance his ball feel.

Second, spend 80 Counterattack Points to unlock a new item.

These were two completely different development paths, so Tang Ye was extremely cautious; he did not rush to spend his Counterattack Points, but instead sought out Ten Hag after waking up the next morning.

【Account Balance: 111】

"Good morning, Mr. Sitting Like!"

Tang Ye, wearing a knitted beanie pulled low, rubbed his hands as he walked toward Ten Hag.

"Where are your gloves? The ones Nike issued."

Ten Hag pointed to the gloves on his own hands, then pointed at Tang Ye's exposed fingers.

"Uh, during the match against Eindhoven, I left them in the locker room and forgot to bring them back..."

Good lord!

Ten Hag clapped his hands in approval: "That's just like you, but I recall the sponsor issued two pairs."

"Uh..."

Tang Ye touched his nose: "I lost one during training earlier; now I only have one left, but wearing just one looks rather unintelligent, so I'm not wearing them at all."

"Hahaha!"

"You never looked intelligent to begin with; there's nothing to worry about."

Ten Hag was exceptionally skilled at comforting players; this was his talent as the Manager of the Month.

"Mr. Sitting Like, you shouldn't speak to me like that."

"Alright, alright."

Ten Hag patted Tang Ye's shoulder: "Remember to mention the glove situation to those guys in the office. So, Tang, what did you need from me?"

Ten Hag assumed Tang Ye wanted to discuss the "Chinese New Year" matter with him again, but clearly, that was not the case.

"Mr. Sitting Like, if I need to become stronger quickly, do you think improving ball feel is important?"

"Oh?"

Ten Hag narrowed his eyes, sizing Tang Ye up and down: "What are you trying to do?"

"I want to do extra training!"

Tang Ye shouted loudly.

Matters of extra training should be announced loudly!

"Oh, sure."

Ten Hag looked at Tang Ye before him with suspicion: "Ball feel is certainly important; if you want to do extra training, working on ball feel is a very good choice."

"However..."

Ten Hag changed tack: "You just said you want to become stronger quickly; if it's rapid improvement you seek, practicing ball feel actually offers little help."

Tang Ye fell into thought.

"Then, then what is most important?"

"The body, probably."

Ten Hag answered without a moment's hesitation: "To play in a league, you must first possess the physique required for that league; otherwise, you will be in an awkward position."

Ten Hag mimed charging into someone: "A piglet cannot overpower a human, but a wild boar can; you need to become a wild boar, a Montford wild boar!"

The most important thing is the body...

Tang Ye committed this point to memory, then said to Ten Hag: "Mr. Sitting Like, I'll go to the canteen to eat something."

"Go to hell! Training starts in five minutes; are you trying to run off again, damn it?"

Ten Hag grabbed Tang Ye, who hadn't yet made it out the door.

On the training ground, Tang Ye, currently practicing rondo drills with his teammates, was somewhat distracted.

He was pondering what Ten Hag had just said.

If Ten Hag hadn't said that, he personally would have preferred eating hamburgers to improve his ball feel.

Because Tang Ye's goal was to become a midfielder with superhuman ball-control abilities!

The problem was that Ten Hag had said ball feel takes a long time to develop.

As for 【Hazard's Tata Sauce Hamburger】...

Tang Ye had previously spent a huge sum of 20 Counterattack Points to buy one of these things when he was injured.

He felt the effect, but it vanished immediately.

Based on Tang Ye's deduction, consuming this item required perseverance.

In other words, he would need to stuff a hamburger into his mouth every few days.

If he kept developing like that, wouldn't he become Burger King?

That was absolutely unacceptable!

Tang Ye steeled his heart and dispelled the idea of eating hamburgers.

【Spend 80 Counterattack Points to unlock purchasing permissions for new items?】

【...】

【You have obtained Cristiano Ronaldo's Chicken Breast】

【Cristiano Ronaldo's Chicken Breast: For the next 3 hours, you will gain 30% additional cell growth benefits during strength training】

Tang Ye did not see the price of the chicken breast listed below the item description; instead, he saw a sentence highlighted in red.

This thing has side effects!

Tang Ye felt somewhat nervous.

The item was excellent, but what if the side effects were too severe for him to use it?

【Side Effect: After the effect ends, you will become as hungry as a pig!】

Price: Counterattack Points * 10

(End of Chapter)