Renovations

The next morning, Robson, the Hansa Trading Company's manager in Paris, had just boarded his light carriage to the company when he heard a newsboy shouting, "Come quick! Come quick! The Moulin Rouge is under renovation and will be closed for two weeks. An earthquake has struck Turkey, killing and injuring countless people. The First Consul has received the envoy of Saint-Domingue..."

Robson didn't care at all about the earthquake in Turkey. Maybe the earthquake would kill a lot of Turkey, Arabs, or other people, but that had nothing to do with Robson. He and Lufthansa Trading couldn't reach that far yet. They had no business with Turkey whatsoever—who cares if they die!

As for the matter of Saint-Domingue, it did concern him somewhat, as the coffee he enjoyed came from Saint-Domingue. However, the trade in coffee and sugar was largely controlled by France, Spain, or Britain companies; Hansa Trading Company had no say in it. So, in reality, it wasn't much of his concern. But since the First Consul had received Saint-Domingue's envoy, it meant that the two sides wouldn't break off relations for the time being. It seemed he could continue drinking his coffee. That was somewhat of a good thing.

But the fact that the Moulin Rouge would be closed for two weeks really affected him. He had planned to entertain some business "friends" there in a few days, but now it seemed he would have to reschedule.

Thinking this, Robson called out, "Newsboy, newsboy, give me a newspaper, one with news about the Moulin Rouge being closed for renovations..."

The news that the Moulin Rouge would be closing for renovations for a week immediately attracted widespread attention. Many people even became worried. They weren't worried that the Moulin Rouge would be like some unscrupulous clubs, using "closing for renovations" as a pretext to abscond with members' money and disappear to the New World. If the Moulin Rouge really did that, they would be overjoyed—because they were all in the same business as the Moulin Rouge. However, they knew very well how profitable the Moulin Rouge was; only a fool would do something so stupid.

What they worried about was what the Moulin Rouge would look like, and whether they would follow suit after it was finished. The Moulin Rouge was now the fashion vanguard of all of Paris, no, all of France, and even all of Europe. Although the Austria, Britain, and Russia royal families outwardly scorned the Moulin Rouge style, calling it "frivolous, decadent, and immoral," it was said that whenever the Moulin Rouge released a new style of clothing, a week later you could see similar styles in the courts of Austria and Britain, three weeks later you could find the exact same piece in the palace of the Turkey Sultan, and five to six weeks later you could see almost identical clothing in Saint Petersburg.

Besides its clothing, the architectural style of the Moulin Rouge was also imitated throughout Europe. Although the upper class in Europe still described the Moulin Rouge's decor as "frivolous, decadent, and immoral," if you pay attention to their newly built buildings and their renovations of old palaces, you will find that the Moulin Rouge influence is quite strong.

The Moulin Rouge was simply too expensive; only the wealthy, or even truly wealthy, could afford to enter. This created an opportunity for those doing similar Moulin Rouge. Naturally, the Moulin Rouge became the model for those doing similar business. Although no matter how they imitated it, they could never shake the Moulin Rouge, if they could imitate it closely enough, they could at least gain an edge over their competitors.

"I wonder how much the renovation of the 'Moulin Rouge' will cost. I had made some money and was even thinking of... but now I'm afraid even if I throw it all in, it might not be enough! That damn 'Moulin Rouge,' just make your money properly, why are you playing these tricks? Isn't this just ripping me off!" Caderousse, who was also making a living in Montmartre Heights, immediately threw the newspaper at his feet and cursed after seeing the news.

He also owned a nightclub called Royal Gemstone. Of course, its business couldn't compare to the Moulin Rouge, but the monthly profits were still decent. After covering daily operating expenses and the costs of dealing with people in both the legal and illegal worlds, he still had a considerable amount of money left over. Caderousse was planning to buy a small estate in his hometown in Italy this autumn and then show off to his acquaintances. However, it now seems that this beautiful dream will have to be postponed again.

Like Caderousse, the other nightclub owners were also watching the Moulin Rouge's moves closely, using all sorts of connections to find out what the Moulin Rouge was up to, and trying to quickly pool their funds so they could keep up with the Moulin Rouge's pace.

"We're just a bunch of unlucky guys who ran into a tiger in the forest. The Moulin Rouge is that terrifying tiger. Every time that tiger moves, we have to run like the wind. Anyone who falls behind will die. Our way of survival is to be faster than everyone else. So running a nightclub in Montmartre Heights is very lucrative, but it's also incredibly hard work. Even when you're sleeping, you have to keep one eye open and stare intently at the Moulin Rouge. That's how I've survived all these years." It's said that a fellow nightclub owner said this to his son when he handed over his business entirely to him.

However, finding out the secrets of how the Moulin Rouge plans to renovate before Moulin Rouge reopens is no easy feat. It's not that information is unavailable, but rather that there's simply too much information.

In fact, before any move by the Moulin Rouge, all sorts of rumors fly around. Some of these rumors are obviously unreliable, but others sound quite plausible. However, if someone actually jumps on the bandwagon based on these rumors, they often find that they are not on the same track as the Moulin Rouge at all.

However, completely ignoring these reports is also not an option, because some of them are indeed true. Having prior preparation will at least give you a head start.

This time, rumors and far-fetched predictions about the renovation of the Moulin Rouge are flying everywhere. Some say the Moulin Rouge has covered the entire performance hall with gold leaf; some say the Moulin Rouge has improved the lighting, equipping each lamp with a crystal lampshade; some say the Moulin Rouge has created a room where the ceiling, walls, and floor are all mirrored; and some say...

This time, almost no one rushed to buy in, but everyone was busy contacting manufacturers of gold leaf, crystal products, and mirrors. As a result, the prices of these products rose somewhat in the futures market.

Some even tried to sneak into the Moulin Rouge, which was under renovation, but of course, they failed miserably. After all, the Moulin Rouge was not just an ordinary den of iniquity, but also a secret outpost of the Ministry of Truth. If such a place could be easily infiltrated and its secrets discovered, the Ministry of Truth would be laughed at by the Ministry of Police.

However, there was one thing that could not be kept secret: people noticed that a thick cable was being run into the "Moulin Rouge." Therefore, the decoration of the "Moulin Rouge" must have been closely related to electricity.

And so new legends emerged: some said a large fountain would be built in the Moulin Rouge; others said a Moulin Rouge, electrically powered, rotating stage would be constructed; still others said electric Moulin Rouge dancers would be used; and so on...

While most of these legends are probably unreliable, there is absolutely no doubt that the renovation and alteration of the "Moulin Rouge" was closely related to electricity.

Others have also noticed that the "Palace of Bliss" has begun closed renovations, and a very thick cable has been installed there as well. However, obtaining information about the "Palace of Bliss" is probably even more difficult than obtaining information about the "Moulin Rouge."

As everyone speculated, time gradually passed, and the tall cloth curtains surrounding the "Moulin Rouge" were removed, finally revealing the newly renovated "Moulin Rouge" to everyone.

"It doesn't seem like there's been much change?" many people asked, puzzled.

Indeed, the exterior of the "Moulin Rouge" hasn't changed much. The most eye-catching feature is still the huge red windmill, except that some glass ornaments have been added to its edges. These ornaments reflect a reddish glow in the evening sunlight.

In the small square in front of the "Moulin Rouge," there really is a fountain, just like in the legend. In the center of the fountain is a marble sculpture depicting the secret rendezvous of Troy Paris prince, and Helen, the Sparta queen, surrounded by a ring of small fountains.

Aside from the fact that the water from the small fountain didn't scatter but instead sprayed out as small bubbles, this fountain didn't seem to have anything particularly special about it.

Besides, near the main building of the "Moulin Rouge" and the red windmill, there are stone-like objects on the ground. However, the objects facing the "Moulin Rouge" and the red windmill are actually thick, transparent glass. Looking closely inside, one can see some glass bottle-like objects. Then it was discovered that the outer shell of these stones is actually iron, just painted a similar color to stone. Moreover, these "stones" have many holes drilled into them, the purpose of which is unknown.

But there's no need to rush to inquire now, because the Moulin Rouge will reopen in an hour.