National Tide 1980.

"Hey, this is a great idea! We really don't need to rely on wine merchants and brokers like other wineries do, and separate production and sales. We have our own natural sales channels. Ning, your Chinese restaurant in Japan, Mr. Carton's Maxim's restaurant, and our business in Saint-Tropez can sell at least three or four hundred bottles a day. The annual production of your winery and mine is only 150,000 bottles, which can fully meet the daily needs of these restaurants, and we can consume most of it ourselves..."

The winery manager, dressed in farmer's clothes, took Ning Weimin and his friends to the winery to see the wine cellar.

Then he took them into the wine tasting room in the front corner.

Alain Delon, who had just been shocked by the 200,000 bottles of fine wine stored in the wine cellar, said as he walked that he strongly agreed with Ning Weimin's idea of ​​producing and selling his own wine.

Even though he had no idea that Ning Weimin had already made a fortune by supplying cigarettes and alcohol to the Tangong Restaurant when he was in the capital, he could still see the beauty of this self-circulating model.

Why let the middlemen take the money?
This is the profit that should have remained in their hands.

"And that's not even counting your old castle in Saint-Tropez. I mean, if we really decide to open a hotel there, then the output of our winery can be completely consumed. The point is that, in that way, we will have more opportunities to gain recognition from those high-class guests, and the reputation of our own wine will increase, and the price will also rise. This is simply wonderful..."

When they arrived at the place, they saw diamond-shaped wine racks standing in rows along the wall, and heard the winery manager tell them that they could take any wine from the racks to taste.

Alain Delon rubbed his hands excitedly, and it was unclear whether he was excited about the scene he had just thought of, or about the all-you-can-drink buffet he was about to enjoy.

"Why not? I remember that castle. From the outside, it is indeed in the 19th century style. The key is that the location is really good. It is very large and occupies the best position on the hill. It has a panoramic view of the Bay of Pampelonne and is only three minutes away from the sea and the center of Saint-Tropez. If the owner of the castle was not Lacamier, who is well known for his eccentric temper and has never sold the family business, anyone who dares to mention this matter will be considered as an insult by him. I am afraid that someone would have bought the castle and done it. The people who built the castle were not fools. So if you can open a hotel there, it will definitely be a good choice. Those wealthy people who come here for vacation will definitely flock to this unique resort. Guests can bask in the sun and enjoy the beautiful scenery of Saint-Tropez in a quiet, warm and comfortable environment. When they are happy, they will naturally have a few drinks, and your wine will become famous because of this."

Probably for the sake of more legal service fees, Lawyer Henry strongly agreed with Alain Delon's idea.

At the same time, he was not polite in his actions. While he was talking, he went straight to the point and picked up two bottles of wine very skillfully.

He blew away the light dust on the bottle and confirmed that it was the best first-class wine from Jinpo Winery, and then he smiled.

He immediately turned back to the rosewood bar in the middle of the house and couldn't wait to open it with a wine opener.

Who says you need to sober up?

The French don't really care about drinking.

The lawyer poured wine for everyone and took the lead in picking up the glass in front of him. After several people clinked their glasses, he drank half of the glass in one gulp.

The other two then drank together.

A kind of wine aroma that penetrates into the body through the mouth and nose, and everyone smacks their lips in satisfaction, NICE!

Although Ning Weimin has not tasted the legendary "exquisite wine" Romanee-Conti, the quality of Jinpo Winery's own wine is better than he imagined.

The wine was light and mellow, enough to make him have similar fantasies.

This was definitely the best wine he had ever tasted in his life, and he thought it could be appropriately called "the silk of wine".

No wonder the guy who bought Romanee-Conti also took a fancy to the Jinpo Winery with six different kinds of soil.

That's right, with just this one sip of wine, he had already made up his mind that it was time to make up some stories for his winery.

Such wine has enough potential to gain a place in luxury red wine, which is worth his effort.

Similar to him, I don’t know if it was because of the wine or because he was inspired by the lawyer’s words.

Alain Delon's face turned slightly red, and he had more ideas.

"Well, why not? My friends, you have enlightened my mind, and now I have a brilliant idea. We shall be very proud of it."

As he said this, he looked at Ning Weimin's eyes which were gleaming with anticipation. He could hardly suppress his smile and could not wait to speak out what was in his mind.

"Given that the current situation has changed again, Ning, how about we just go all out and do something big this time? I've decided that I'm not going to buy the L'Oreal stock you suggested me to invest in. I plan to invest all the money from the stock in the castle hotel. I plan to build a swimming pool overlooking the bay and the most beautiful private garden, and also convert the rooms there into the most luxurious guest rooms. We will use the best of everything, not according to the five-star standard. We will do our best to make it luxurious and build a palace hotel that is higher than the five-star standard. Like hand-woven carpets, marble floors, gold bathrooms, brilliant wallpapers, living rooms must have advanced audio-visual equipment, we will also provide 24-hour catering services and Havana cigars, but the most important thing is to have a casino so that the rich can have fun. Believe me, for those rich people who come to San Pedro, as long as we treat them like gods, they will gamble like gods, or gamble like the kings living in the Palace of Versailles. Based on my understanding of the rich, few people will not take the bait. We will make a fortune..."

Ning Weimin was stunned and surprised when he heard that Alain Delon was going to open a casino.

However, the lawyer made Ning Weimin understand what it meant to be birds of a feather. The parent actually started to encourage gambling right away. "Oh, my God. Alan, you are a genius. You are absolutely right. The rich people who are not short of money love to waste their time on gambling. They are eager to win money at the gambling table. Maybe it is to cover up their other bad habits, maybe it is to show their desire to conquer fate, or maybe it is to show their superiority over their peers. It doesn't matter. What matters is that they will gamble here when they come. And many people like to place big bets. Compared with the room rate of at least tens of thousands of francs a night, they still care about a bet of one million. I really can't imagine how wonderful that picture is. Although it is not easy to apply for a gambling license, my friends, as long as you are determined, I will do my best to pave the legal issues for you..."

Hearing him say this, Ning Weimin couldn't help it. "No, no, we can't do this. I don't want to open a casino."

His firm opposition, with almost no hesitation, immediately put an end to the enthusiasm of the two friends.

They all stared with wide eyes and open mouths, puzzled as to why he would refuse.

"Why? It's such a great idea. Our casino hotel will become the brightest pearl in Saint-Tropez," said Alain Delon.

"Yes, why? Even I am attracted by this business. I have to say, if you really want to do it, I will not buy stocks. I will get involved no matter what." said the lawyer.

"Why? Because this is a casino. Although it is very profitable, it is too negative and belongs to the gray industry..."

Ning Weimin spoke truthfully about what he was thinking.

However, due to the difference in understanding, his words not only failed to convince the other party, but instead had a funny effect, causing the two Frenchmen to laugh together and interrupt him before he even finished speaking.

"Haha, don't be funny. Don't tell me that this business makes you feel guilty. I know that people in your country have more traditional moral concepts, but they don't have such mental cleanliness. My friend, you are in France now. You have to adapt to the concepts of the people here. It is legal to open a casino in a resort like Saint-Tropez. As long as your procedures are complete, even the police will serve you."

"Yes, I heard you right. Young sir, don't you know that the rich people who come to Saint-Tropez every year always go to nearby Morocco to gamble away the days and nights? It's because there has never been such a decent place in Saint-Tropez. The people in those small towns always come up with all kinds of rules and regulations, opposing this and that. And you are so lucky that the castle you were given is just outside the town. If you open this casino hotel, no one can object. It would be a waste not to do this."

6◇9◇Book◇Bar

"Oh, Henry, you have to forgive him. He is like a pure child, not yet contaminated by the world. Otherwise, he would not be so uneasy about what happened with Catherine. If he hadn't told me, I wouldn't have known that this was the first time he had fooled around like this. In my opinion, he is probably the only man in the world who is loyal to his marriage and has no lover."

"Haha, what a rare saint, it's incredible. But he is a foreigner after all, and he is still young, so it's completely understandable that he doesn't understand the essence of life. In addition, we are also wrong. As friends, we should have told him more about France. Otherwise, this young man would not have asked a question like 'What is the average price of an apartment on the Champs-Elysées?' This kind of thing is enough to make me laugh for a whole winter..."

Alain Delon and Henry completely treated Ning Weimin as a joke at this time and made fun of him, talking about all his recent embarrassing moments.

However, Ning Weimin was not angry. There may be differences in opinions, and the main determining factors are the different perspectives and cognitions of the problem.

It is a common problem in Western society to pursue quick success and instant benefits. Compared with others, these two friends are already good.

At least they have moral bottom line and are willing to live a law-abiding life. He can't ask for more from these two friends.

What's more, all the properties used for business in Saint-Tropez belong to him and he is the main investor.

In the end, no one else has a say on what to do except him.

Therefore, he, who has the veto power, was not in a hurry at all. He explained calmly, "Don't laugh. I am serious about my refusal. I admit that I don't know enough about France. I also know that this business is very profitable and I will definitely make a lot of money if I open a casino. But even so, I must tell you clearly now 'no', and at the same time I will explain my reasons clearly."

Ning Weimin's attitude is sincere but not oppressive, and he pays attention to other people's feelings.

But the serious tone of this sentence and the seriousness it expressed were enough to change the attitudes of the other two people.

Alain Delon and the lawyer looked at each other. They were now both sure that Ning Weimin was not joking, and they were not angry either.

"Listen to me, friends. I personally don't know much about running a casino. But at least I know that the business you are going to do is huge, but the risks are equally huge. The risks I'm talking about are not about how much money others will win in the casino, or how many scammers you will encounter. What I'm worried about is that the casino industry is an industry that is prone to trouble because of its bad reputation and easy money making."

"For example, someone might intentionally come to the casino to launder money under the guise of gambling. If we get into this kind of trouble, the consequences will be disastrous. If we refuse, we will offend people. Who knows if they are drug lords or other criminals? If we agree to them and are caught by the government, what should we do? Not only will we face huge fines, but we will also face imprisonment. The punishment for economic crimes is sometimes much more severe than that for criminal cases. Mr. Lawyer, you are not unaware of this, right?"

"In addition, even if the casino industry is legal, there will be many restrictions. In the long run, this industry will definitely become more and more difficult to run, and the regulations will become more and more detailed. Who says that such huge profits have a negative impact on society? And because it is easy to make money, we are destined to be treated as fat sheep by the French government. The government will inevitably impose heavy taxes, but no matter how much tax we pay, our reputation will not be good. In essence, we are doing this to make money for the government, taking the investment risks ourselves, but getting relatively small profits, and bearing the infamy. Isn’t it unprofitable?"

Ning Weimin's words were all facts, which inevitably made Alain Delon fall into deep thought.

But despite this, it still failed to dispel the lawyer's greed.

Henry seemed to want to test it again. "But what does that matter? I'm talking about a business worth billions. Even in this situation, we can still make a lot of money. As long as one-tenth of those who go to Morocco to gamble come to our casino, it will be enough for us to be prosperous. Within a year, after deducting all costs, even if we pay taxes to the French government, we will still make a profit of half. At worst, we can quit after a few years, and it will still be worth it."

"No, no, that's not the case. What I mean is that if I get involved in such a business, it might ruin all my other profits." (End of this chapter)