Chapter 409 Pleasant Castle Life

In bad times, the castle was used to resist the invasion of enemies and was a place where nobles and knights lived.

The main tower of Tourwell Castle is 50 meters high and has a total of six floors with a total of 57 rooms with various purposes.

Chen Chuan and Marion looked at the scenery once each on the third and fourth floors. Later, they climbed to the top floor and looked at the scenery of the entire left bank of Bordeaux. Looking around, they saw rows of large and small castles and villages, hidden in the forest. , well-proportioned and beautiful. This was the first time Chen Chuan saw this kind of French pastoral scenery, which was considered an achievement.

For Marion, she also achieved three achievements in a consecutive period of time. She was located on the top floor of such a high castle, looking at the scenery outside the door, blowing the Atlantic sea breeze, and passing through the shelter of the seaside hills. The wind was sometimes harsh and sometimes gentle. , she felt very comfortable.

"C'est génial." She leaned on the city wall on the top floor and sighed sincerely.

Translated from French, this sentence means so happy.

She took out a lady's cigarette from her bag and asked Chen Chuan with her eyes. When Chen Chuan nodded, she lit it, held the cigarette between her fingers, took a gentle puff, exhaled slowly, and looked at the vast Bordeaux plain. scenery.

She said the four words "Piao" in Mandarin, which she was not very proficient in. It could be seen that in order to welcome Chen Chuan's arrival, she also put a lot of effort into her words, learned some daily expressions, and even knew idioms. . Moreover, this idiom even gave her an opportunity to use it, so it was considered correct.

"The castle over there seems to be abandoned. It's full of trees?" Chen Chuan asked, pointing to the light-colored castle in the distance.

Marion followed Chen Chuan's arm and looked over, and said, "Mr. Chen, can you see so far? I can't see clearly, but I know that there is an old castle over there called Elsen, which was built in the 15th century. It was the domain of the duke, and later the castle suffered a fire and was abandoned.”

"Fire? Grudge between wealthy families or attack by foreign enemies?" Chen Chuan asked.

"It's the former. Rich families have deep grievances. This must be the case in any country in the world, and it is also the case in Game of Thrones." Marion's chestnut-colored hair was hanging down, leaning lazily on the city wall, holding a cigarette in her left hand, her eyes a little Fascinated, she continued, "No one has taken over that kind of abandoned castle. The price is not expensive, but you have to pay a maintenance fee before you get the money."

"Maintenance fees?"

"Well, this is stipulated by the government. A large castle like Elson has to pay at least 30 million euros in maintenance fees. Therefore, even if the price is 1 euro, it will be difficult to sell." Marion said, "So , Mr. Chen, you want to buy Chateau Tuwell,

It's very cost-effective. We have brought 70 hectares of vineyards, this large castle, and a wine cellar. There are 2 new vintages of wine in the wine cellar, and they will be packaged and sold to you. "

Chen Chuan learned that the castle maintenance fee for the winery given to him by the system was very low, because the castle was a complimentary asset of the winery, and it was included in the fee of 10 million euros. This is indeed quite transferable.

The value of a winery does not depend on the size of the vineyard area. For example, the famous Domaine de la Romanée-Conti has a vineyard of only 3.5 hectares, Chateau Lafite has a vineyard of less than 10 hectares, and the five first-class chateaus have even less area. It is large, but the price of the wine sold is dozens of times that of the mid-level wineries. When converted to domestic prices, it is at least 5,000 yuan a bottle.

"The wines in Tuvel are pretty good. They can be sold in supermarkets here for 20 euros a bottle. The main market is the UK. In ordinary cheap supermarkets, many red wines are around 10 euros. The wine you can buy for 5 euros tastes just like that." It’s very good, but no matter how low it is, it won’t be good, for example, for 2 euros of wine, we only use it for stew meat,” Marion said.

Marion briefly introduced some knowledge to Chen Chuan. This woman was very proficient in all aspects, both in terms of the knowledge she mastered and herself. As expected, they are among the top 5% of highly educated people in France.

She lived quite well in her childhood. She received 3,750 euros from the accounting firm every month, and 2,380 euros from her part-time financial consultant. Now that she has joined Chen Chuan, her salary has been increased to 3,000 euros. After tax, she gets almost 5,500 euros. Calculated, it’s about 43,000 yuan, which is considered a high-income group even in China.

But she still doesn't have a house. She lives with her parents at home with her one brother and one sister. She is an ambitious person and yearns for a big city like Paris.

When asked about housing prices in Paris, she gave an example. For 2 million yuan, which is 250,000 euros, you can only buy a small room of 15 square meters in the first district of Paris.

Chen Chuan smiled, no wonder she was so enthusiastic. According to her salary, she earned 50,000 euros a year. After working for five years, she could save 250,000 euros without eating or drinking. She could only buy a small room of 15 square meters in Paris. Obviously not what she wanted.

In pursuit of a higher-level life, people all over the world have the same needs. Marion is the same, and Chen Chuan is no exception.

Standing on the tower, overlooking the Bordeaux region, Chen Chuan could not help but want more ideas, more wealth, more manors, more land...

There is a more magnificent castle not far away. Marion said that over there is the famous Rose Manor, worth about 200 million euros.

Chen Chuan's Tuwell Manor is incomparable to Rose Manor.

Buzz!

While the two were chatting, a video call came in. Chen Chuan saw that it was Wang Facai. The Singaporean girl who came with him.

After Chen Chuan took it, Marion on the side tidied up her appearance and clothes.

Although she didn't know if she would leave the country, she didn't want others to see her disheveled appearance just in case.

"Hi, Chen Chuan, where are you? We are in St. Julian's Village, where are you? There is a restaurant in the village here. Do you want to come and have dinner with us?" Wang Facai said.

"Kunichiwa, Sichuan Sang." The big cherry blossom next to Wang Facai also said hello energetically.

Chen Chuan glanced at Marion beside him.

Marion said: "St. Julian's is in the south, not far from here. It's a close neighbor."

Chen Chuan nodded and said to Wang Facai: "I'm in Saint-Estèphe. I heard from my friends in France that it's not far from your place. Do you want to come here to eat?"

Chen Chuan thought of the sumptuous lunch that Marion had asked the castle chef to make, but neither of them finished it. Anyway, meeting is fate, Chen Chuan doesn't mind inviting two friends on the trip to eat together.

If they would like to come and eat together.

"Is there a restaurant where you are?" Wang Facai asked.

"Yes, not only does it have a restaurant, but it also has a private chef." Chen Chuan smiled, "Authentic French food, it should taste good."

Chen Chuan saw Wang Facai and Da Yinghua discussing whether to come. What worried the two was the transportation problem. There was no public transportation here. They were on a sightseeing bus with a group and could not move by themselves.

Marion on the side asked softly: "Mr. Chen, do you want me to pick up these two beautiful ladies?"

But the two people discussed it and decided not to come. According to the character of Neon people, they are most afraid of trouble others.

Hang up the video call. Chen Chuan felt sorry for those two people and missed a big meal.

"It seems that I have to enjoy such a sumptuous meal exclusively." Marion said with a smile.

The two of them walked down from the top floor. The spiral tower stairs looked very high and had a full sense of ceremony.

There are exquisitely decorated rooms everywhere. The entire castle is a huge maze with 27 bedrooms, which is enough to hold a party and stay here at night.

The living room on the first floor is as large as a basketball court. One side is the living room, an area for guests to chat, and the other side is the dining area. There is no partition between the two areas, and the layout is clear at a glance.

This castle has obviously been renovated. Floor-to-ceiling glass windows are used as walls in two directions. The light outside the window is shining. It is the scene at noon, and the sunlight is slanting on the water of the outdoor swimming pool.

The western dining table in the dining area can accommodate at least 30 people. At this time, there are 6 service staff alone. These are some necessary personnel retained after the castle butler team was dismissed.

If two people sit at opposite ends, the conversation will basically rely on shouting.

So Marion chose to sit on the left side of Chen Chuan.

The waiter pulled out a chair and the two of them sat down.

The food hasn't been served yet, but it's full of ceremony.

Standing close to Chen Chuan was a young man. He was holding Tuwell’s 30-year-old home-brew red wine in his hand.

Chen Chuan actually couldn't drink wine from this production area.

The wine produced in Saint-Estèphe is too astringent. Not only him, but also other people in China are not used to this taste.

Even though the promotion said that the wine here was rich in berry aromas, as well as aromas of truffle, dried flowers, raspberries, and blackberries, Chen Chuan only tasted strong tannins and even a heavy earthy aroma.

After the wine is opened, the waiter pours the wine into a large open glass bottle, which is called "aeration". About ten minutes later, another third of the wine was poured into Marion's and Chen Chuan's glasses.

Then the dishes started to be served, which were essentially appetizers of salad, soup and meat sauce, which looked very creative and imaginative as ordered by the chef. In addition, there are a variety of seafood and small portions of pasta, which highlight the small portions.

The main course is meat, the local classic Bordeaux confit duck, foie gras, lamb, steak, pork and lobster, pan-fried seabass, pan-fried salmon, etc.

Since the original owner here was not a top-notch rich man, the 250,000 Euro box of caviar and white truffles were not included in the ingredients.

Even so, the food is very generous.

"Bon appétit!" Chen Chuan said in French, which is equivalent to the Japanese saying "I'm starting" before a meal.

The two of them ate the food and chatted casually.

Speaking of these six "servants", or "butlers", Chen Chuan thought that in modern society, with the increase in labor costs and the awareness of equal rights, the concept of "servants" no longer exists in these big castles.

However, actual cleaning, manor repairs, kitchen and other chores inside and outside still require manpower.

"Another rich man I know has 55 servants in her home." Marion said, "But when we get along, they are more like friends on the surface."

However, generally speaking, in European and American countries, due to social development, labor costs, visa issues, etc., there are very few servants as a group. Most of them are housekeepers from the upper class and part-time nannies from middle-class families. In Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America, servants are real and widespread.

Chen Chuan felt that it was quite uncomfortable to be watched by six people while eating.

The conversation between the two started from the concept of servants, and talked about Eastern and Western culture, social structure, customs, food gossip, and the way men and women interact, etc.

When it comes to dating between men and women, Chen Chuan learned from Marion that French young people's view of love is quite casual. Even if they are in a relationship, the two of them will go about their own business on weekdays. They won't contact each other for a few days, and then they will become ambiguous. Something happens a few times, then there is no contact for a few days, then something happens a few times, and the cycle repeats. This is different from domestic. Young people in China, if they are in a relationship, they will act in the same way, eating together, playing together and sleeping together.

Dessert after the main course is a light and fluffy mousse, as well as a multi-layered king cake, crispy and delicious, with a lot of butter, French brûlée and cream puffs, paired with a sip of noble rot-type sweet white wine.

The unique aroma of botrytis spreads from the nose to the mouth, and the balanced acidity makes the wine rich but not greasy. Taste the sweet wine, feel the temperature of the afternoon sun shining through the glass window, and listen to the French woman on the side telling you about hot and cold knowledge. , dining time is pleasant and leisurely.

After the meal, have another cup of coffee and smell the rich aroma of coffee.

Marion answered a phone call. She answered several times, hung up the phone, and said to Chen Chuan: "Manager Louis is here. His tone was cautious. He must have heard that you are here. Do you want to see him?"

Chen Chuan nodded. Sooner or later, he would meet with the management left by the previous owner. If he was suitable, he would stay. If not, he would let him go and recruit new people by himself.

This is how he operates the industries given away by the system.

Not long after, a middle-aged man with a big belly but a smile like Garfield walked in. He looked about fifty years old, of medium build, wearing jeans and a brown suit jacket, with a simple face, like a kind and happy tease. Uncle.

Chen Chuan had also imagined what kind of person the manager of such a winery would be like. His impression seemed to be the kind of uncle who kept exercising, maintained a good figure, and exuded handsomeness. Unexpectedly, he was a Garfield cat.

Uncle Garfield looked a little nervous.

Marion introduced: "Hello Louis, this is the new owner of Tuwell Manor, Mr. Chen Chuan."

"Welcome to Tuwell, Mr. Chen, I am Gaston Louis Anthony, the manager and winemaker here, and I have been working here for ten years." Louis said in English.

In fact, French people, especially older people, are quite repulsive to English. On the street, if you ask a French aunt for directions in English, she will pretend not to understand even though she clearly understands...

"Hello, Louis." Chen Chuan stood up and stretched out his hand.

There is a tradition of kissing on the cheek in France, but it is usually between women or between men and women. Although it is also done between men, it is relatively rare. Chen Chuan also had no interest in having a few kisses with this uncle Garfield.

Lewis saw Chen Chuan's outstretched hand and quickly took it.

Chen Chuan felt the message in his mind:

Name: Gaston Louis Anthony

Age: 51

Health: Excellent

Specialties: Brewing

Chen Chuan looked at the uncle and felt that he was a little nervous. It stands to reason that someone who can manage a winery worth tens of millions of euros and has seen the wind and waves must have something fishy about being so nervous.

"Do you want to make a formal report, or sit down and have a cup of coffee and have a casual chat?" Chen Chuan asked.

Louis was stunned for a moment and realized that Chen Chuan spoke fluent French, so he smiled flatteringly and said: "Mr. Chen's French is very good. I... To be honest, I have something to report to you. If it is convenient, please tell me. Sir, go to the wine cellar."

Chen Chuan glanced at Marion, who also looked confused.

She was the accountant responsible for auditing the winery, and she didn't know there was any strange situation. Seeing Louis acting like this, it seemed like something bad had happened, and she became nervous.

If the situation was relatively serious, then she was derelict in her duties, because she and Chen Chuan reported that everything went well during the winery audit. Because of his trust in her, Chen Chuan signed the sales contract without coming to the winery to inspect it in person.

"Louis, what's the matter?" Marion asked nervously.

"Let's... go to the wine cellar and talk." Louis said.

"Okay, I just want to visit the wine cellar." Chen Chuan said.

Chen Chuan and Marion took Louis' car to the wine cellar.

The 6-kilometer journey was smooth, with no other vehicles or traffic lights, and we arrived in a short time.

The wine cellar was underneath. Chen Chuan followed Louis down. It was like a wartime air-raid shelter, like a maze.

There are various photos hanging on the walls of the tunnel. Most of them are celebrities from all over the world who come here to visit and take photos with the owner. There are also a few familiar celebrities in China. Chen Chuan estimates that his own photos will also be hung in the future.

Inside the wine cellar, cement, stainless steel and wooden elements are perfectly combined. There is no paint and no other odor, only the rich aroma of oak barrels and red wine fermentation.

After passing through criss-crossing tunnels and arriving at a hall, Chen Chuan was shocked by the scene in front of him. At a glance, he saw endless oak barrels arranged neatly.

Louis wiped his sweat with a handkerchief, took three clean red wine glasses, took out the red wine from an oak barrel with a long straw-like tool, and divided it into three glasses.