The French themselves never expected that such a significant day would emerge from their mundane lives.
The French Football Federation issued a public announcement stating that the Chinese Football Association had submitted an application requesting that a team composed of Chinese youth players be allowed to participate in France's professional league, with the ultimate goal of qualifying for Ligue 1.
Of course, the French Football Federation also indicated in their announcement that this team would have to advance step by step through France's youth league system and would not be granted direct entry into the professional league.
Furthermore, this team would not occupy a professional league spot nor receive any league prize money. They would participate in the league as a friendly team solely for training purposes.
In return, China would contribute 50 million Euros annually to French football and another 50 million Euros to French environmental initiatives, as well as 50 million Euros to French child protection efforts.
However, the French Football Federation did not specify whether the latter two contributions were one-time payments or annual donations.
Faced with this application from the Chinese Football Association, the French Football Federation found themselves unable to make a decision. While they wished to assist developing football nations, they were unsure if this would go against the will of the entire French populace.
Therefore, they decided to hold a national referendum.
This was not a referendum with political implications, but rather a measure to ensure an absolutely fair outcome. The French Football Federation would cooperate with the Ministry of the Interior, providing initial funding to establish polling stations across France. Any French citizen interested in voting could cast their ballot at these stations.
The announcement specifically pointed out that the costs for this vote would also be borne by the Chinese Football Association, thus assuring everyone that not a single cent of French taxpayer money would be wasted.
As soon as this announcement was released, the entirety of France became abuzz. After all, there had been too many troubling matters recently, and this was the first time they had encountered something so entertaining.
Discussions about this vote immediately flooded the internet, with everyone debating whether or not Chinese teams should be allowed to participate in France's professional league.
Opponents argued, "Since it's the French professional league, why should a group of Chinese people participate? Isn't that ridiculous?"
However, supporters countered, "Firstly, they won't take the spots of French teams or any prize money. Moreover, they've explicitly stated they are here for training. Isn't helping others a fine French virtue?"
"And most importantly," they continued, "watching Chinese people play in France's professional league, isn't that a rare spectacle, a grand amusement that happens once in a century? If we miss out on this fun, we might not see anything similar for another hundred years."
"Finally, do you really believe the Chinese can win the Ligue 1 championship?"
Such debates raged online, with the fervor escalating, completely overshadowing many major French domestic news stories. It was incredibly entertaining.
Soon, it was the day of the national vote. Most French people assumed that not many would be bored enough to participate.
To their surprise, when voting actually began, the lines outside the polling stations were immense, with some queues stretching for hundreds of meters, all for the sake of casting a single vote.
When the voting finally concluded, preliminary estimates indicated that the Football Federation had received a total of 24 million ballots. With France's total population of 67.5 million, the turnout reached an impressive 35%.
The announcement of this figure stunned the entire French media.
What did this data signify?
To put it simply, in the recently concluded French presidential election, the voter turnout was only 25.8%.
This meant that the Football Federation's vote had drawn 10% more French citizens than the presidential election, a fact that was truly astonishing to all French media.
Even more shocking was the announcement of the vote count. Under the scrutiny of professional counting teams and notary agencies, a staggering 86.7% of French citizens voted in favor of the Chinese team's participation in the French professional league. The reason cited was as mentioned earlier: they felt that if they opposed it this time, they would never witness such an event again in their lifetime.
Was this the terrifying power of those who seek amusement?
In any case, with the backing of the national referendum, the French Football Federation promptly approved the three demands. Since the French populace had approved it through a vote with an overwhelming 86.7% support rate, no one could ever accuse the French Football Federation of defying public opinion. This essentially served as an invincible shield.
Such an intriguing piece of news naturally spread throughout Europe and indeed, across almost all countries worldwide.
Then, when Britain, Spain, Germany, and Italy learned that there would be a Chinese team in their respective leagues, they were not pleased.
However, their displeasure wasn't about the presence of Chinese teams but rather about their own football associations not holding national referendums, preventing them from engaging in the same kind of fun as the French. They too wanted to witness the amusing spectacle of Chinese teams playing in their own professional leagues!
Seeing the public sentiment, the Jiangnan Group seized the opportunity to lobby. Through various substantial financial incentives, the football associations of the other four countries also announced that they had heard the public's opinion and decided to conduct national referendums similar to France's. The procedures and rules were largely the same: if the public agreed, the Chinese teams could directly participate in their domestic professional leagues.
Within a month, the other four major European leagues held their national referendums, and the results were astonishingly consistent, with all of them showing a majority of "yes" votes. Italy's affirmative vote reached an astonishing 93.2%, the highest among all countries.
After all, Italy is globally renowned for its love of amusement and its tendency to contribute to the fun of other nations.
Germany had the lowest approval rate, as the Germans' rigid nature clearly disfavored such unconventional matters. However, the final support rate still reached 71.2%, just surpassing the 70% benchmark, thus settling the matter.
Ultimately, the five Chinese youth training teams, each heading to one of the five major leagues, all directly entered their respective national youth leagues. The condition for advancing to the next stage was almost exclusively winning the youth league championship, setting a long journey of "monster-leveling" for the five teams.
That's enough about the teams for now. However, this news garnered significant global attention, leading many to overlook the gradual changes occurring within the Jiangnan Group.
Disputes and quality issues related to the Jiangnan Group began to surface in various countries around the world, followed by various compensation claims.
By the end of 2020, someone tallied the lawsuits filed by the Jiangnan Group globally and was astonished to discover that in a single year, the Jiangnan Group had been involved in over 13,000 legal disputes in 32 different regions worldwide. The total compensation awarded amounted to an astonishing 89 billion US dollars for the year.
While the Jiangnan Group's annual profit remains unknown, it's highly probable that these 89 billion US dollars in compensation would completely consume their entire year's profit.
In response to this situation, the Jiangnan Group's strategy was withdrawal.
After paying the fines, the Jiangnan Group swiftly began the process of exiting markets. Jiangnan Group's various products were delisted from markets and product catalogs at the fastest possible pace. Within just three months, the Jiangnan Group had withdrawn from over 45% of its international markets.
Naturally, employees in these markets were also laid off. Huang He, with unimaginable resolve, completed Jiangnan Group's massive withdrawal.
According to incomplete statistics, this withdrawal by the Jiangnan Group resulted in the loss of markets worth at least 400 billion US dollars, and an annual market profit exceeding 20 billion US dollars. Many media outlets considered this a rash decision by Huang He, who had completely abandoned markets painstakingly built by the Jiangnan Group over more than a decade.
But was that truly the case?
Soon, these individuals discovered that although the Jiangnan Group had withdrawn, its influence remained ubiquitous.
Firstly, many of Jiangnan Group's products possessed unique qualities. For instance, the blind boxes produced by Jiangnan Group, along with various IP products under its umbrella, were examples. Although these products exited the market, consumer demand for them did not disappear.
Take Genshin Impact, currently Jiangnan Group's best-selling IP. Although it was a new IP launched by Jiangnan Group in 2016, its predecessor, "Seven Saints Summon," had been around since 2011, nearly a decade ago. The IP itself was already very robust.
Secondly, the mobile game Genshin Impact, released in 2016, had completely stunned the world. No one could have imagined that a game could be launched simultaneously on PC, mobile devices, and consoles, while also maintaining fully interconnected in-game data and supporting real-time cross-platform multiplayer gaming. This aspect alone was exceptionally impressive.
Furthermore, the in-game graphics, character designs, and other aspects surpassed the level of almost an entire era in world gaming, completely overshadowing other terminal games. Consequently, the Genshin Impact IP quickly became Jiangnan Group's best-selling IP, with various IP collaborations driving sales incessantly.
Among these, Genshin Impact's card sales were astounding, generating over 10 billion US dollars in sales annually from card sales alone.
Moreover, in-game gacha mechanics and in-app purchases further enriched the Jiangnan Group, leading to significant profits. Jia Yapeng, the head of the entire project, successfully entered the group's board of directors and was internally indicated as the next successor, with reports suggesting he would take over the full operation of the Jiangnan Group after Huang Lao Ban's retirement.