1986: My Happy Life in Provence

Chapter 109 Gourmet

Cavaillon's melons are the most famous in France.

Not only Freddy praised it highly, but also scholars and literati since ancient times have been fond of it. The most famous of them is the famous French writer Alexandre Dumas.

Alexandre Dumas liked Cavaillon's melons very much, and in 1864 he discussed with the leaders of Cavaillon the idea of exchanging books for melons.

When he heard that the library at Cavaillon could not afford his books, he promised to donate all of his 194 works up to that time to the library for free. In the following years, he donated hundreds of books to the Cavaillon Library.

Dumas made all this with only one request - that he be given 12 melons every year when they were on the market.

Until his death in 1870, Dumas received melons from Cavaillon every year.

There is also a rumor that Alexandre Dumas could not write unless he could eat Cavaillon melons, so he only wrote in the months when the melons were on the market, and spent the rest of the year traveling around the world.

In order to taste the melon that Dumas loved so much, Ronan and others drove to Cavaillon, the 'western gateway' of Luberon, more than 30 kilometers west of Lourmarin.

Ronandao's first impression of Cavaillon was that it was more like a city.

When he asked Zoe for confirmation, he got confirmation:

"Cavaillon is a town with more than 20,000 people."

"Wow, what a big place." Ronan exclaimed, coming from a small place.

Zoe glanced at him.

You, you, do you still look a bit Parisian?

"Are there many places in Provence famous for their delicious food?" This time Ronan exclaimed from the bottom of his heart.

There are billboards on the road constantly reminding people that Cavaillon is the melon capital, and there is also Apt, the world's candied fruit capital where Ronan once visited. How come Provence has so many "food capitals"?
Zoe did not refute this time:

"That's a bit much. There's also Le Puy, which is famous for its green lentils, and Castelnaudary, which is famous for its casseroles."

Zoe mentioned several place names that Ronan had never heard of, and then sighed:
“The people of Provence love to eat.”

Ronan smiled and shrugged:

"You said that Provence is full of gourmets."

Leah has a familiar melon merchant and is said to have bought melons from him for more than ten years.

Led by her, a group of people chatted as they walked towards their destination.

"Melons are divided into three seasons, a total of five months. The first batch of melons are ripened in a heated greenhouse and are on the market around early May. The second season is from mid-May to mid-June, during which time the greenhouse is not heated. The sweetest and juiciest melons are produced in the longest third season, and they grow under the open sun. We will come back then." Leah introduced as she spoke. When we got here, we were at her home turf.

"Is there anything special about the melons here? Just that they taste good?" Ronan asked as he followed behind.

"Cavaillon melon is also called 'ten-line melon'. A good melon should have exactly ten lines on it," Leah continued.

"So accurate?" Ronan asked in surprise.

Leah quickened her pace and said with a smile:
"You'll see it in a moment."

Soon, Leah brought a few people to a farmers' market.

She turned many turns and finally stopped in front of a stall selling melons.

"Look, look for yourself, is there ten patterns on it?" Leah said, pointing at the melons.

Ronan counted each one carefully and found that each one had exactly ten lines:
"Amazing."

“Not every Cavaillon melon has ten stripes, but the ones with ten stripes are definitely the best, so Mom must come here to buy them every year.” Zoe began to pick melons.

This trip was not easy, so they want to buy more.

Leia demonstrated to Ronan:

"There are some tips for picking melons. The tail and body of the melon should be the same color as other parts. If there are small cracks around the melon, it means the melon is ripe. Choose the ones that feel heavy in your hand, tap them with your fingers to see if they make a crisp sound, and finally, put your nose close to them and take a sniff—"

Ronan picked up a melon and held it to his nose.

Zoe helped him turn around and said with a smile:
"Smell the tail, not the top."

Ronan smelled it and found that it indeed had a distinctly fresh and sweet smell:

"You also know how to pick melons?"

“I come here every year with my mother.”

“So you like Cavaillon melons, too?”

“Our family loves it and comes here at least twice a year.”

Ronan kept this in mind. This was the first time that picky eater Zoe said she liked something.

Leia's family of four bought 4 melons, while Ronan's family of only two people, Thor and him, also bought 12.

"If you can't finish it, it won't be fresh anymore." Leia advised Ronan to buy less.

Ronan smiled and said:
"Thor is a big sugar jar, and he particularly likes sweet things and snacks. He will definitely be able to digest these melons before he leaves."

In fact, Ronan seriously underestimated Thor's love for food.

As soon as he took his first bite of Cavaillon melon, he had already thought of the menu for the next three days.

Why the next three days?
Because he will be leaving in three days.

"Melon with Parma air-dried ham, melon, avocado and celery salad, melon mixed with feta cheese, melon roast pork, melon roast chicken, melon roast beef, sweet soup or dessert, drizzled with chocolate and honey, it's great!"

Thor left the kitchen excitedly:

"I'm going to buy the ingredients now and cook tonight. Thank you for buying me so many delicious melons."

Ronan rubbed his chin in shock.

Thor is also a gourmet!
In the evening, Thor cooked a lot of traditional French dishes, the highlight of which was the melon with Parma air-dried ham.

When Thor eats something he likes, he is like a child. He will keep eating and eating until his mouth is full.

Ronan remembers being laughed at by his classmates in high school because his mouth was always bulging when he ate.

I didn't expect that after so many years, this habit has not changed.

"Are you almost done with the book?" Ronan had been busy going to the market these days and hadn't read for a long time. He didn't know what Thor did during the day.

Thor said incoherently:

"No."

"How many books are left?" Ronan asked casually.

Thor made a "hmm" sound of thinking:
"Two and a half."

Ronan looked up. The last time he read in the yard, the book Thor was reading was only half finished:

"You haven't watched it in the past few days?"

Thor chuckled a few times:

“It’s so much fun here.”

Ronan couldn't help but ask:

"What did you do?"

Thor counted on his fingers and said:

“I watched tourists quarrel, saw a large truck crash into a telephone pole, saw a tractor fall into a septic tank, and even found a car to take two friends to the train station.”

Ronan was startled:
"When did you become friends? Why haven't you mentioned him before?"

Thor tilted his head:
"I met them in a cherry orchard. The news was a lie. The cherry pickers were not Italians, Spanish, or Africans. They were all French students. The work was too hard. Two girls couldn't do it anymore and had no money, so I helped them get a car and paid for it."

Ronan thought of some classic scenes and asked with a smile:
"Did you leave a phone number?"

Thor took another big bite of food and said with a bulging mouth:
"No, I hope they can get home safely."

Ronan put down his knife and fork and looked at his old classmate carefully.

When they were in school, he and Thor were not close.

After living together for a few days, he still felt that Thor was 'strange'.

His school experiences did not leave any negative impact on him. He is still kind to strangers, loves life, and even occasionally shows some traces of his childish innocence.

After a few seconds, Ronan lowered his head and continued eating:

"I'll take you to the train station the day after tomorrow."

There is no public transportation in Lourmarin, and it is unreliable to hail a car to get to the train station.

Thor tried hard to swallow the food in his mouth and said with a smile:
"No, I can go by myself. Just pretend I don't exist. I'm used to being alone."

(End of this chapter)