National Tide 1980.

Chapter 1285: Empire Territory

How much money does Ning Weimin have?

This is a question many people want to know.

Especially when he came and went in a hurry, decades ahead of time, and showed the French how the Chinese spent their money in a domineering manner, too many people became interested in his wealth.

But in France, he would only tell the answer to one person, besides his wife, Keiko Matsumoto.

That was his big boss, the master who had supported him all the way, the emperor of the Pierre Cardin Empire.

…………

The capital of the Caton Empire is located at 82 Rue Honorie in Paris.

In terms of location alone, there is probably no other house in the whole of France with such a prominent address.

Because the headquarters of the Carton Empire is just a small dark green building facing the street on two sides.

The only thing that can indicate that this is a fashionable place is the two big white characters on the wall: Pireer Cardin.

But the location of this small building is unique. It is at a crossroads, on Avenue Honorie in the 8th arrondissement, and is only one street away from the presidential palace, the Elysee Palace.

About twenty meters away, diagonally across the road, is the French presidential palace, the Élysée Palace.

Because the street is narrow and there are no cars, people entering and leaving the Presidential Palace, whether intentionally or unintentionally, can see the green building and the Pireer Cardin on the wall dozens of meters away.

Similarly, from the gate of the Carton Empire, you can also see the gate of the Presidential Palace at a glance.

There are also two sentry boxes next to the door, with four guards standing on both sides, looking solemn and majestic.

The four men were all dressed as ancient soldiers, wearing silver helmets, shiny armor, and long boots.

The most special thing is that each guard has a red tassel more than half a meter high on his head.

The red tassels fluttered in the European breeze, revealing the ancient charm and majesty of French soldiers.

It was as if they were also guarding the dignity of the Caton Empire that was enough to look down upon the French fashion world and that could not be despised.

This is not a joke, Pierre Cardin's headquarters has its own glory and pride.

You know, this is not only a bridgehead for masters to promote their clothing concepts and fashion art to the world, but also the first stop to occupy the market.

Similarly, it is this old building that has witnessed the rise of the "Carton Empire" and it has most directly recorded every step of this fashion empire.

Decades ago, a penniless and hungry young man from Venice came here. From a young boy he grew into an old man with gray hair. He also promoted his clothes all over the world and created a fashion brand that could influence the world.

From having nothing to owning his own fashion empire, Pierre Cardin's life is so legendary.

Although half a century has passed, he still misses this place.

In fact, whenever he was in Paris, the master would go in and out of here at least four times a day.

In this seemingly ordinary place, the natural and simple artistic style pursued by Cardin is everywhere.

If you push open the door, you can really understand what kind of place this is.

Although there are only twenty sets of clothes hanging in the store, the decoration style inside the store is simple and bright, exuding a sense of gentleness and tranquility.

The three or four waiters in the store are all dressed very elegantly and respectfully. They often treat customers like emperors and provide very thoughtful and considerate service.

Of course there won’t be too many customers, but most of them will try their best to savor the food.

They did not seem like buyers of clothes, but rather like they were appreciating pieces of art in an elegant and holy art hall.

In fact, the main function of this store is not for sales, but more importantly for display.

Pierre Cardin, a fashion leader, displays its new products here every month. The factory also organizes production and then sells them to the world.

  This also shows that art and career do not necessarily come from luxury and extravagance. Simplicity and indifference can also create and nurture genius!

Of course, if it were to rely on its financial strength, Pierre Cardin would now be fully capable of building itself one of the world's most advanced modern skyscrapers.

Then enjoy the most comfortable living facilities created by mankind so far.

However, he did not do so, but continued to go in and out of the old building every day, beautifying people's lives with his extraordinary thinking and conceiving a blueprint for tomorrow's future for his empire.

Rather than saying that this is an extraordinary attitude towards life, it is better to say that it is the master's true character and his original intention.

Not far from the headquarters of the Cardan Empire, there is another old building, which is the emperor's home.

Unlike the common imagination that emperors must live in magnificent palaces, the mansion where Pierre Catton lives is very ordinary.

The building is not tall, with an old, small door that is tightly closed. Pierre Cardin has been going in and out of this small door for dozens of years. He walks to and from get off work every day, about twenty minutes at a time, which is just right for his outdoor activities.

There are two owners of the house, one is Pierre Cardin himself and the other is his sister.

Pierre Catton was a bachelor and never married. He only had one unforgettable but unrequited love affair with the French actress Jeanne Moreau.

After he turned sixty, he brought his widowed sister to live with him.

From then on, for many years, the brother and sister lived on two floors respectively, met twice a day, morning and evening, and led a quiet family life like ordinary people.

During the day, Pierre Cardin's sister was home alone.

At night, the siblings spoke directly to each other in the Venetian dialect of their hometown.

Over the years, Pierre Cardin has developed the habit of not discussing business matters at home.

Therefore, "childhood" became a common topic of conversation between the two siblings.

When "childhood" flows continuously from the distant past to the owners of this high-rise building, the happiness that the old days brought to the two siblings is difficult for others to share.

Pierre Cardin spent most holidays in this old building.

On weekdays, the master likes to stroll, walk, sit alone and meditate in his own small garden with lush flowers and leaves.

This is a master of design, whose daily life couldn’t be more ordinary, and whose daily life couldn’t be more ordinary.

Simplicity is always truthful. Those who can savor the true flavor of life in simplicity and keep their original intentions unchanged may be truly outstanding great men.

Of course, the reason why the emperor is called the emperor is that the imperial territory owned by the master is definitely not limited to these two insignificant small buildings.

In fact, you don’t have to look far away. Just pay attention around the Presidential Palace not far from Pierre Cardin’s house, and you will find a group of buildings connected to each other.

Although the height of these buildings is restricted, they are quite large and impressive.

Not only do they add glory to the Presidential Palace with their great fame and unique historical and cultural heritage, but they are also the most economically valuable real estate owned by the master.

In fact, from the modern supermarket in the northeast corner to the important town in the southwest corner, almost all the buildings were under Pierre Cardin's control, with only the northwest corner being the only empty space. It was even known that even the Maxim's restaurant on Royal Street, 600 meters away, belonged to the master.

This means that three of the four sides of the Elysee Palace, the French presidential palace, are occupied by a fashion master who made his fortune with affordable ready-made clothes.

No matter how much fertile land there is in the French Republic or how many beautiful places there are along the Seine, Pierre Cardin chose to buy property around the Elysee Palace in Paris.

Since he came to Paris, this was his only choice when it came to buying property.

Over the years, he has built almost the entire foundation of his life's work outside the walls of the Presidential Palace.

Gradually, the Presidential Palace was surrounded on three sides.

There is no other example like this in the world.

So when Ning Weimin and Matsumoto Keiko, accompanied by Takada Mei, rushed here by car from Paris Orly Airport.

Although I just took a quick look at everything the master had while passing by here.

Just through Takada Mei's brief introduction, I got some basic information about the master industry.

It was inevitable that they were both stunned and shocked beyond words by everything they saw and heard.

None of them had expected that the wealth that the master had built from scratch in Paris after half a lifetime of hard work could be displayed in such an amazing and concrete form.

Yes!

I am afraid that no matter how much wealth there is in the world, such as gold, silver, and jewelry, they cannot make people feel the pressure of wealth more than these real buildings, which can refresh their cognition and make people admire them with all their might.

Because this is the core area of ​​​​the center of Paris.

If you draw a circle from west to east that includes this place, you will find that with this place as the center, the surrounding areas within several kilometers are all Paris' most famous buildings and cultural heritage.

The Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe, the Parc Monceau, the Sacre-Coeur, the National Theatre, the Parc Belleville, the Picasso Museum, the Louvre, Notre Dame de Paris, the Parc Bercy, the Petit Palais, the Grand Palais, the Palais Bourbon... all surround this place like satellites.

If we compare Beijing with Paris, it’s a fairly appropriate analogy.

This place is just like Tiananmen Square and the surrounding areas of the Forbidden City in Beijing, and it has all the geographical advantages.

In terms of geographical location alone, even Kang Shude's Ma Family Garden is slightly inferior.

  In an area like this, is it even necessary to say how much the real estate is worth?

As long as you have a basic understanding of real estate prices in Paris, you can easily estimate the value of these properties by eye.

It's worth at least tens of billions of francs.

Hundreds of billions!

  What’s more, even if they are the richest family in Beijing, the Ma family, what happened during their most glorious time?

But it only occupies the entire Weijia Hutong.

Even during the time of the Empress Dowager Cixi, Na Tong, the chief eunuch of the Imperial Household Department who ranked first on the list of the richest officials in the capital, and Zeng Chong, the second-ranked deputy chief eunuch, were not much different from the Ma family in terms of level.

That family only once owned a Jinyu Hutong, and the Zeng family only once owned a property in Qinlao Hutong.

This is the ceiling for the rich in Beijing. It is a blessing to be able to own hundreds of properties in an alley, and there is no more.

However, Pierre Cardin completely broke Ning Weimin's cognitive ceiling of real estate wealth in Paris, France.

This old man has bought almost all the buildings on several streets in three directions of the Elysee Palace.

Think about it, if you want to give the master a nickname, you can call him "Pi Sanjie".

If you compare it to this...they are far behind.

So it is no wonder that in this era when there was no Forbes ranking, Pierre Cardin was already qualified to be one of the top ten richest people in France in the eyes of the media.

Even his bold statement like "I don't need a bank, I am my own bank" is not surprising at all and does not seem arrogant.

Just think about how much rent he could collect every year from so many properties, and you will know that the master is not showing off in "Versailles" at all, but is just making a normal statement respecting objective facts.

Not to mention that the master also has a lot of income from brand licensing.

The "PC" brand has entered into many fields around the world, including catering, clothing, department stores, etc., and can bring rich economic returns to the masters.

In fact, even the Yves Saint Laurent store on this street is the master's tenant and has to pay rent to him every year.

I have to say, ginger is still spicy.

In this era, Pierre Cardin, who was at the peak of his career, far surpassed Yves Saint Laurent, a rising star who also served as Dior's chief designer, in terms of both asset amount and brand effect.

Even Ning Weimin not only possesses enormous wealth, but he has also seen what a luxury house is and what the mansion of the richest man is.

But even he had to bow and show respect before the emperor of the Caton Empire.

And it comes completely from the heart, just like what the saying goes, admiration is like a surging river that never stops.

Because for Ning Weimin, who was summoned here by the master, he finally understood what it meant that there are always people better than you, and understood what it meant that the real person never reveals his true face.

He even felt a sense of déjà vu from these buildings and the low-key atmosphere of these streets, just like when he first walked into Ma's Garden.

He really didn't expect that even with his cheating skills, he still couldn't surpass the real genius.

Just like that, the smugness he had when he first arrived disappeared. With a heart full of admiration and humility, Ning Weimin and his wife got out of the car with Takada Mei and walked into the headquarters of Pierre Cardin under the watchful eyes of the guards of the Elysee Palace in the distance.

Since Pierre Cardon is called the emperor, he naturally has his own ministers.

In Pierre Catton's work and life, besides his sister, there are three people who are extremely important to him and are always by his side. They can be defined as his "close ministers".

The first one is actually the Japanese Ms. Takada Mei, the president's assistant who went to Cannes to help Ning Weimin and Matsumoto Keiko.

She has worked for Pierre Cattin for more than 20 years. She is an "old revolutionary" of the company and Pierre Cattin's closest colleague. She participates in all activities, big and small, both at work and in life.

The second person was Ms. Maris, the manager of the high-end clothing department. Ning Weimin saw her as soon as he entered the store.

She is about 1.80 meters tall, wearing a pair of large black-rimmed glasses on her nose. She used to be a fashion model for Pierre Cardin for many years.

However, time is merciless. When his charm faded, he had to leave the stage and go to the head office to adapt to a new role.

When she saw Ning Weimin and Matsumoto Keiko accompanied by Takada Mei, she roughly guessed their identities.

Since she was not a customer in the store, she didn't like to talk much. She just greeted him politely, got to know each other briefly, and then left it to him to do as he pleased.

The last one is Mr. Saint Brice, who is over 1.85 meters tall.

It was this gentleman who temporarily replaced the busy Master Pierre Cardon to receive Ning Weimin and others today.