From Wage Slave to Tycoon

Chapter 96: Chapter 93: This Is an International Metropolis? Who Are You Kidding

Su Chen spent nearly two hours just to get through the entire Eastern art gallery, where he saw many precious Huaxia artifacts...

When he emerged from the gallery, Su Chen’s face was completely expressionless. Even Jiang Hui and the others following him could feel a distinct chill emanating from him.

After leaving the Louvre Palace, Su Chen headed straight for his car. He no longer had any desire to continue sightseeing.

"Let’s head back," Su Chen said from his seat in the car, closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Yes, sir!"

When Su Chen returned to the manor, he was surprised to find that Sicong was also back.

He looked at Sicong, who was sitting on the sofa and staring blankly at the ceiling, and asked, "Hm? Weren’t you going to watch the tournament? How are you back so soon? Is the game over already?"

At the sound of Su Chen’s voice, a flicker of emotion finally entered Sicong’s vacant eyes.

He let out a long sigh.

With a bitter smile, Sicong said, "Heh... the LPL region suffered a crushing defeat. All three of our teams were knocked out in the first round. LGD, our top-seeded team, was hit especially hard. They were beaten so badly they completely lost their will to fight."

"IG lost, too?"

"Yeah." Sicong nodded silently. He never thought his "money-is-everything" strategy would fail so completely.

The memory of his club losing the elimination match left a sour taste in his mouth. He was in no mood to stick around after that, so he’d come straight back. Someone else could take care of the other club members.

"Don’t dwell on it. Winning and losing are just part of the competition. Besides, the gaming scene back home is only just starting to improve. A lot of kids with real talent are being held back by their families. Their skills just haven’t had a chance to be seen yet."

"What you need to do now is focus on making the e-sports industry bigger and stronger," Su Chen said, gently patting his shoulder. "Make everyone understand that competitive gaming isn’t just a frivolous hobby—it can be a real profession."

Sicong looked at Su Chen, taken aback. He’d never expected him to say something so insightful.

"You’re right. The e-sports industry is just getting started. A temporary loss will only make us try harder!" Sicong’s expression was now full of fighting spirit, as if he had just adopted the future of the e-sports industry as his life’s mission.

Sicong abruptly changed the subject, looking at Su Chen curiously. "Oh, right. Weren’t you going to explore Paris? You wanted to experience the charm of the ’City of Romance,’ didn’t you? How come you’re back so soon?"

"Don’t even get me started. I was fine until you brought it up, and now I’m just getting angry again!"

"’City of Romance’? More like the ’City of Filth,’ if you ask me. There are people taking a piss or a dump all over the streets. Every breath you take stinks of urine. Who could possibly be in the mood for sightseeing in a place like that?"

"Uh... really? This is Paris we’re talking about. It can’t be that dirty, can it?" It had been several years since Sicong’s last visit, and his memory of Paris was still that of the romantic city of old.

Hearing Sicong’s skepticism, Su Chen shot him a look and said, "Why don’t you go see for yourself? Go get a taste of a ’world-class metropolis’!"

Sicong immediately shook his head. He had no desire to go breathe air like that. He just couldn’t believe Paris had changed so much in only a few years; it was a little depressing.

Su Chen slumped weakly against the sofa. He had wanted to experience having coffee on the Left Bank of the Seine, to live out a scene from a Jay Chou song, but he never imagined his first impression would be this terrible.

"Sigh... I’ll just stay put at the manor for the next few days. Once the private jet airshow is over, I’ll buy my plane and head home," Su Chen remarked with a tinge of melancholy.

"The airshow isn’t for another four or five days!" Sicong said. Then, as if he’d just had an idea, he sat up straight and asked, "Hey, Old Su, doesn’t this manor have a hundred-acre vineyard? Why don’t we go take a look?"

"A vineyard?" ’I guess I do have one of those,’ he thought.

Su Chen immediately called for the manor’s butler.

The manor’s butler was a man named Bui. He was nearly fifty years old and an authentic English-style butler—an arrangement that seemed popular among the wealthy in Europe.

"Sir, you wished to see me?" Despite his age, Bui’s movements were remarkably brisk.

"Yes, Bui. Is the vineyard on the estate far from here?"

"Not very far, sir. It’s about a ten-minute drive. The grapes have just ripened, and in fact, the harvest began today. Were you planning on visiting the vineyard?" As the estate’s butler, he was kept informed of all such matters.

He was also responsible for reporting on the processing of the grapes, but since Su Chen had only arrived yesterday and had gone out early this morning, Bui hadn’t yet had the chance to update him.

"Yes. Since I have nothing better to do, I might as well go have a look. I’m curious to see how wine is made."

Upon hearing this, Bui immediately went to arrange for transportation.

It was worth noting that the estate came equipped with ten cars. Nine were Mercedes-Benzes, and one was a Rolls-Royce reserved for Su Chen’s use.

Since the road to the vineyard was unpaved, Bui specifically arranged for three Mercedes G-Wagens. The party of seven boarded the three vehicles and headed straight for the vineyard.

...

"Wow, this view is incredible!"

Even Sicong, who was accustomed to beautiful scenery, couldn’t help but marvel at the vineyard before him.

In addition to the beautiful view, the air was filled with the fragrance of grapes. Su Chen took a deep breath, feeling a sense of profound relief wash over both body and soul.

"Old Aik, the master is here to inspect the vineyard!" Bui called out toward the vineyard, his voice carrying a thick, authentic Gaulish accent.