Chapter 511: Count Herbert



According to Count Herbert's annual income, although he is not a rich man in Germany, he is much richer than the ordinary middle class. Don't forget, the basic cost of maintenance of such a large castle, including the attached farm, is as high as 60,000 euros per year, and if you add in the cost of the staff, this amount is even more than 1 million euros.

This is not a small amount of money, 1 million euros, which is a lot of money anywhere in the world, and it will probably take a few years for the Count Herbert to make this expenditure with the annual income of Count Herbert. Because of this, in order to make up for the lack of income, Count Herbert could only rent out the castle's to some dignitaries in order to obtain some extra income, so as to share his financial pressure.

This practice is not uncommon in Europe, especially with the rise of tourism in recent years, and the aristocracy of such a Yu is not Count Herbert alone.

Of course, although the aristocracy likes money, there are also nobles who are reserved, and they also have high requirements for guests when choosing guests. But that's the case, those rich people who can afford it still spend a lot of money to live in the castle, in order to feel the precipitation of history and the life of European aristocrats back then. Zhou Liwen and his wife are one of them, and they only live here for about a week, but the expenses for this week are completely comparable to the cost of the most luxurious hotel in Europe.

Hans, who was Count Herbert's old butler, said to be a butler, was in fact almost a playmate with whom Count Herbert had grown up. Zhou Liwen once talked to old Hans, he was born here since he was a child, his grandfather was a loyal attendant to Count Herbert's grandfather, and in middle age he began to serve as the butler of the earl's house.

During World War II, Hans Sr.'s father went to the front with Count Herbert's father and never returned from the brutal fighting on the Western Front. Soon after the war, the old earl died of serious damage to his health due to excessive grief, and after the young Earl Herbert inherited the family business, the old Hans took over the position of his grandfather's butler.

The elder Hans had the same deep affection for this castle as Count Herbert, and in their eyes, it was not only a home, but also a representation of everything of their ancestors, the root of the family and bloodline. It is precisely because of this that for so many years, the castle has been so well cared for under the careful care of Count Herbert, if it were not for the decrease in income over the years, with Count Herbert's eccentric character, he would never have made the decision to receive guests to subsidize his income.

"What about Mr. Earl? Why didn't you see him today? After saying thank you to the old Hans, Zhou Liwen took a sip of coffee, of course, German coffee is not as good as the world's top coffee, not to mention that Count Herbert and old Hans are used to drinking black coffee, this kind of coffee is bitter and astringent, and young people who are used to Starbucks will not touch it at all. However, Zhou Liwen likes it very much, because the reason is very simple, the aftertaste behind the bitterness is mellow and sweet, and it is easier to refresh himself by drinking black coffee, and he has a better appetite for Zhou Liwen, who often stays up late to sleep.

They know Zhou Liwen's identity, because each guest must provide a detailed identification list, otherwise the host has the right to refuse. In the past two days, with the contact, Zhou Liwen's gentle personality and Lin Yaxuan's softness made Count Herbert and Old Hans very satisfied, especially Zhou Liwen's refusal to refuse black coffee made them happy, and they got along quite well.

"Sir has gone to town." Old Hans replied with a smile, but there seemed something unnatural in his smile.

"Went to town?" Zhou Liwen was stunned, he also saw Count Herbert during the dinner last night, and sat down together after the meal, listening to him talk about some history of medieval Europe. This morning, I haven't seen Count Herbert, and Zhou Liwen thought that Count Herbert was unwell and got up late, who would have thought that he would go to the city.

Count Herbert had three children, and his daughter was a professor at a university in Berlin and was a well-known scholar. One son is an entrepreneur who serves as the president of the family business and takes care of the family's business, while the younger son is an artist and rarely stays in one place for a long time.

Unlike his children, who yearn for the outside world, the traditional and stubborn Count Herbert has always guarded this castle and rarely goes to places like the city. But why did he suddenly go to the city this time? There was no warning at all, I didn't hear him mention it last night, did something happen?

"The Count is in town?" Zhou Liwen couldn't help but ask, although he knew that it was a little inappropriate to ask these private questions in the West, but for this stubborn old man, Zhou Liwen had a good impression of it, and he couldn't help but ask.

"It's ......." Old Hans hesitated.

"I'm sorry, I can apologize if it was inconvenient to say, but Hans, as a guest who cares about my host, I did it with good intentions.

"You are a kind person, thank you for your concern." Old Hans nodded in understanding, then sighed and said, "Sir's company is in some trouble, so I went to the city to deal with it." Don't worry, he'll be back soon. ”

"Trouble? Need help? Zhou Liwen asked.

"No, no, no, just a little trouble." Old Hans replied with a smile, Zhou Liwen sighed blankly, didn't care, and then chatted with Old Hans about some other topics, and then continued to shop.

In the afternoon, after Lin Yaxuan woke up from a nap, Zhou Liwen went with her to see the basement of the castle and visited the wine cellar of Count Herbert. Seeing the well-arranged wine kiln, Lin Yaxuan asked some questions to the old Hans who accompanied them with great interest, and even deliberately wrote down some of the design features of the wine cellar that were arranged back then. According to Lin Yaxuan, we can learn from it, and renovate the wineries in France in this way in the future, maybe many years later, their wineries will be able to make world-famous wines.

For Lin Yaxuan's whimsical idea, Zhou Liwen just smiled, making good wine is not just as easy as a wine kiln, from the cultivation of grapes, the level of winemakers, the quality and manufacture of oak barrels, and some uncertain weather, temperature, humidity and other factors are all indispensable. Moreover, even if you follow the same process as Château Lafite, it is impossible to make exactly the same good wine.

When it came time for dinner, Count Herbert still didn't come back, and Zhou Liwen didn't care, just thought that he was going to stay in the city for a few days or something. Who would have thought that the next morning, Zhou Liwen got up early in the morning and planned to go around the neighborhood, and as soon as he got downstairs, he saw Count Herbert sitting alone in the study at the edge of the hall, the light in the study was on, and the old man looked tired and his eyes were red, as if he hadn't slept all night.

...

...