1986: My Happy Life in Provence

Chapter 13 Try your luck
[Taste the authentic Luberon specialty wine and increase happiness by 2 points]

This voice made Ronan stunned for a moment.

When drinking wine produced by the Moly Winemaking Cooperative, the system also refers to it as "Luberon specialty wine".

Isn't 'Luberon wine' a type of wine?

Moreover, when drinking the wine produced in cooperation with Moli Brewing, the system only gave one point of happiness, but this time it gave two points.

Ronan guessed that the happiness level given by the system was related to the taste and quality of the wine.

He drank four cups in a row and only stopped when his system misfired.

This is a protection mechanism of the system. If you do the same happy thing a certain number of times in a short period of time, you will not gain experience.

"I like your drinking style." A look of approval appeared on Theo's face.

There is a saying among farmers: Those who drink openly will also do things openly.

Who doesn’t want to make an open-minded friend?
Ronan's reaction stunned him even more.

He asked cheerfully:
"Any other recommendations? I'd like to try something different."

Ronan has found a new way to increase his happiness - drinking!
It doesn’t matter if there is a protection mechanism, just drink it with different flavors.

With the same alcohol tolerance, it is of course more appropriate to drink wine that can gain a higher happiness level. The task of this humanoid exploration machine is given to the drunkard Theo.

Tell me, is there any other good wine?
Theo had a better impression of Ronan:
"The moment I saw you drinking on the tractor, I knew we would be friends! Here are a few that you will definitely like"

That night.

Ronan's jacket had been misplaced and his shirt buttons were crooked.

He and Theo hooked their arms around each other's shoulders, danced and sang popular songs, and of course, held their favorite red wine glasses in their hands.

The other guests in the old tavern cheered them on as if they were watching a singer's performance, and shouted "One more song".

Theo's eyes were reduced to a narrow slit, and he staggered from side to side trying to keep his balance:

"Ronan, you are the best singing farmer in Lourmarin!"

Ronan drank the red wine in the glass and shouted happily:

"No, I want to be the best truffle hunter in Lourmarin!"

Pierre, returning to the village after finishing his work for the day, whistled:

"The best truffle hunter is not sure, but there is a new drunkard in our village!"

This boy is really obedient. He actually chose such a 'Provence' style way to integrate with them.

Pierre liked the young man more and more.

There are less than 1000 villagers in Lourmarin. Ronan went to the old tavern to drink for two days, and soon everyone knew him as a drunkard.

Vieri met Ronan who was awake and joked:
"Not going to drink today?"

Ronan greeted him with a smile:
"I have something important to do today."

Vieri shrugged with a wicked smile:

"I thought drinking was your thing."

Ronan took the car keys from him without explanation:
"There can be more than one important thing to do. Please tell Louis thank you. I will return the car before dinner."

The two men said goodbye to each other, and Ronan got into the driver's seat of the old hatchback Citroen and drove away from the village of Lourmarin.

After drinking for two days, he successfully collected 100 points of [Happiness] and upgraded [Collection] to level 2.

As my skills upgrade, many ways and methods of picking crops appear in my mind, and the part about truffles does not require the assistance of animals and can be done by one person.

He immediately called Louis to borrow a car and tried his luck.

The Luberon Mountains are full of oak trees, and treasures may be found under each oak tree. However, the places near the villages must have been found by other hunters. Ronan's destination is a "sparsely populated" place.

He drove for more than two hours and walked for another hour before finally finding a "target area". The oak trees here were not dense, but there were no footprints along the way, so Ronan began his search.

First, he carefully checked the areas under each oak tree for circular, barren areas.

According to the knowledge in my mind, truffles contain a herbicidal element, and it is difficult for grass to grow in the area where they grow.

Finally, after more than twenty minutes of thorough searching, an oak tree that met the requirements appeared!

Ronan broke off a nearby pine branch and trimmed off the excess leaves, leaving only a few at the end, turning it into a small brush.

Then he walked carefully through the area, brushing the ground with a brush made of pine wood as he went.

Suddenly, as Ronan was sweeping across an area, a frightened fly flew straight out and almost hit Ronan in the face.

Ronan quickly inserted the pine branch to the place where the fly flew out, knelt on his knees, and began to dig down devoutly.

He could clearly hear his own heartbeat, because all the phenomena discovered up to this point met the conditions for truffle growth.

The aroma of truffles not only attracts humans, but also flies, which like it so much that they will lay their eggs in it!
After digging about ten centimeters, Ronan smelled an exciting odor.

He then became more careful and dug about ten centimeters before finally seeing a black object.

"That's you!"

While excited, Ronan did not forget the key points of digging truffles.

Pulling it out directly will damage the truffle and affect its value.

He dug up all the soil around it and made sure that the truffle was not stuck or pressed by any rocks or tree roots before picking it up.

This is a black truffle the size of a tennis ball. It is one of the larger ones on the market, as many truffles are only the size of peanuts.

"It's definitely half a pound." Ronan weighed it twice and shouted excitedly, "This is 500 francs!"

Seeing that this trick worked, Ronan continued searching.

Five more pieces were found later, but none were as big as the first.

It would take quite some time to go back, so Ronan memorized the location and returned the same way.

This place has become his secret garden, and there will definitely be opportunities to come back again in the future.

After returning the car to Louis's house, Ronan went to the old tavern again.

He sat at his old seat at the bar and ordered a glass of red wine, and heard Pierre and his group talking about truffles not far away.

Ronan was a little curious and walked towards them with a glass of wine.

But on the way, Theo, who was so drunk that he couldn't walk in a straight line, hugged his shoulders.

"They are talking about the truffle competition over there. Don't go over there. It has nothing to do with us."

Ronan clinked his glass with his own and said with a smile:
"It just has nothing to do with you, and it doesn't include me."

Theo laughed a few times, then staggered and began to speak loudly:

"Our good friend Ronan actually still has unrealistic fantasies about the truffle competition. Let me count what everyone wants him to buy tomorrow! I'll go first, I want to order a glass of white wine from the Nestle Wine Cellar!"

Theo's behavior attracted the attention of everyone present, and many people followed him to order drinks.

This is the rule in the village. The farmer who wins nothing in the competition has to treat everyone to drinks.

"Thank you Ronan!" Pierre led the cheering.

Amidst the waves of cheering, Ronan slowly opened the bag that he hadn't yet sent home:

"Thanks to Theo's suggestion, I decided to ask him to treat me to a glass of white wine from Nestle Wine Cellar tomorrow!"

Although the pub was dark, countless heads came over.

It tastes like truffles!

(End of this chapter)