1986: My Happy Life in Provence

Chapter 103 The safest place in Lourmarin

The impact of tourists on other villagers is limited.

As long as you don't go out and stay at home, there is not much difference between peak travel season and ordinary days.

But the impact of tourists on farmers is fatal.

The day before, they could barely find one or two tables in the old tavern to squeeze in and drink. The next day, when they finished their farm work and wanted to go for a drink, they found that the old tavern no longer had a "place" for them.

I can't drink in the old tavern. What's the point of life?
"The peak tourist season in Lourmarin is much earlier this year. In the past, we didn't have a place to drink until around the National Day in July." Fabian said puzzledly as he looked at the tourists in the house.

The real peak travel season to Provence is in July and August, when the teams heading south will completely "conquer" Provence.

Easter in April and Labor Day in May are two warm-ups before the summer peak.

There weren’t that many tourists visiting Lourmarin during the Easter holiday this year, but the number of visitors suddenly increased during the Labor Day holiday.

Pierre sighed helplessly:

"Two more months of peaceful life are lost."

Henry bared his teeth and cursed:

"These tourists are 'robbers'! They have made Mena Village and Gold a mess, and now they are here to destroy Lourmarin! Damn them! No one welcomes them!"

Pierre smacked his lips, looked at Henry and said:
"Why didn't you scold the tourists away when they went to your wife's stall to buy things? Go in now and scold them, saying that they have taken away your 'peaceful life'! Don't always look at the whole world with dissatisfaction."

The farmers were already annoyed, and Henry's endless complaints made people even more annoyed.

Henry didn't dare to talk back to Pierre, and since he couldn't drink anyway, he left the old tavern in a huff.

On the way back, he couldn't help but think of the flowers at Ronan's house.

With so many tourists coming this year, shouldn't we take some reinforcement measures?
Henry changed his route and went to Ronan's house. Ronan was busy in his donkey shed. The floor and table were full of wood and boards.

"Mr. Ronan, the 'robbers' arrived in Lourmarin early. They will destroy everything here. We must increase the level of protection." Henry looked around and said, "There is wood here. I think we can build some stronger fences to protect the flowers."

"That makes sense." Ronan stopped what he was doing.

He also felt it was time to do some 'strengthening' measures on the house.

Thor will arrive in Lourmarin tomorrow, and he doesn't want to hear Hei's singing as a constant companion while he is reminiscing with his old classmates, so he has been preparing for this for a day.

Henry smiled happily.

Mr. Ronan took my advice!
"I'll make the fence." Henry looked for the right tools.

"No need." Ronan moved a cut wooden stake to the ground. "Building a fence is too much work. We don't have that much time."

"What should we do then?" Henry asked dully.

Ronan pointed to a dozen wooden stakes on the ground and said:
"Make some more 'warning signs'."

"No, no, no, that's not enough. You don't understand those 'robbers'. I have been fighting wits and courage with them for more than ten years. Some people will become blind in front of warning signs!" Henry said angrily.

Ronan handed Henry the red paint he had prepared in advance:

"Perhaps we could try to cure their 'eye disease'? You write it."

"I write?" Henry laughed dryly. "My handwriting is not good."

Ronan handed him the brush very solemnly:
"It's better not to look good. It's more intimidating."

Thor did not let Ronan pick him up at the train station, but took a bus to Lourmarin village by himself.

The person who took him there was a truck driver from the next village.

“Your friend’s house looks nice,” the driver said, looking at the two-story stone house surrounded by vineyards in the distance.

What a beautiful house. Thor is a big man with a loud voice:

"What a great vacation spot. It seems I chose the right place."

The driver suddenly slowed down, looked carefully at a warning sign on the side of the vineyard, and spoke in a low voice:

"Man, I advise you to be careful on vacation."

Thor also looked at the content on the sign, which read in blood-red font - There are wild boars nearby!

It was the ugliest handwriting Thor had ever seen in his life. It seemed like Satan had crawled out of hell, dug out a human's heart, and wrote the vicious curse with his blood.

"Why are there wild boars here? Isn't there a village nearby?" Thor, a city man, didn't understand.

There are experts everywhere in Provence. The driver gave Torco a brief introduction to the biodiversity of Provence:
"Provence lacks water sources such as lakes, so animals from the mountains often come to the village to drink water. But you don't have to worry. Wild boars will usually leave automatically after eating and drinking enough. What you need to watch out for are snakes. Every year there are cases of villagers and tourists being attacked by snakes."

The car turned a corner and they saw a new 'warning sign'.

It said: Attention! Viper Inside!!

Handwriting from the same person - Satan.

“Hahahaha—” the driver said in a light tone, “You really picked a good place, buddy.”

Thor stretched his strong arms from outside the carriage into the carriage:

"Before coming here, I thought the scariest thing I would have to face would be wasps. It is said that it is very difficult to escape once you are entangled by them, so I specially bought a hat to protect against wasps."

The driver lit a cigarette:

"Wasps are indeed difficult to deal with, but the most difficult thing to deal with in Provence is the Tarasque, a monster with six legs, a cow's chest, a thorny turtle shell, a scaly tail, and a head like a lion with horse ears and an old man's face. Everyone who encounters the Tarasque dies."

The Tarasque is a legendary creature that exists among the folk of Provence.

"Haha..." Thor laughed twice, making a sound similar to the mooing of a cow, "I'm not afraid anymore if you say that."

"The Tarasque really exists, but we don't know where it lives. Everyone in Provence knows this." The driver did not allow anyone to refute.

About 100 meters ahead, a third "warning sign" appeared on the roadside - there is a hornet's nest ahead! Please close the windows and detour! !

The driver stepped on the accelerator and the car stopped in the middle of the road because he saw a fourth 'warning sign' about 100 meters ahead.

He looked at the destination of this trip with shock, a stone house that looked quite old.

Oh my God, have we found the lair of the Tarasque? !
When Ronan found Thor, he was walking alone on the asphalt road with a small suitcase.

He immediately put down the "Hunting License Examination: Official Handbook of Theoretical Questions" in his hand and greeted him enthusiastically:

"Why did you walk here? Don't you have a car to take you here?"

Thor, who is nearly 1 meters tall, showed the "shyness" of a 9-meter-tall Thor, and walked closely to Ronan:
"Why would you buy such a dangerous house? This is terrible."

Ronan was waiting for Thor's reaction.

The villagers of Lourmarin will not believe what is written on those 'warning signs'.

Thor was frightened, which means that other tourists living in the city should also be frightened.

His 'conspiracy' succeeded!

Ronan happily took Thor's briefcase.

"Congratulations, you have come to the safest place in all of Lourmarin."

　Thanks to [無櫬] for the reward, and also to the friends who voted for the monthly ticket and recommendation ticket recently. Thank you for your support~

　　
　
(End of this chapter)