1986: My Happy Life in Provence

Chapter 134 You are already a qualified hunter!
There are some formalities required to buy and sell a used car, but the salesperson assured Ronan that she would complete all of them as quickly as possible so that Ronan could drive his beloved convertible as soon as possible.

Ronan was convinced of this.

The Marseilles are indeed not as simple as the Luberon people, but their professional abilities are unmatched by the Luberon people.

For example, car trading and hunting exams.

Marseille’s exam efficiency is several times faster than Apte’s!
Before applying for the exam, Ronan consulted the examination authorities in Apt and Marseille.

Apte's hunting exams are held on fixed dates and can only be taken on Mondays and Fridays.

The practical and theoretical exams need to be conducted over two days, with a week or month interval between them. They were unable to give a clear response, only explaining that they needed to follow the notifications of the 'French Biodiversity Office' and the 'Hunters' Federation'.

The hunting test here in Marseille can be taken on any day of the year and can be completed in one day.

As long as you don’t make obvious mistakes in the practical test in the morning, you can take the theory test in the afternoon, and half a month later - congratulations, you become a legal hunter!

"Don't we need to follow the instructions of the French Biodiversity Office and the Hunters' Federation?"

On the third day in Marseille, Ronan arrived at the examination agency's office early in the morning.

But he was curious.
Why are hunting exam rules different in different regions?

"Of course, mate," the receptionist shrugged, smiling. "But we are the French Biodiversity Office and the Hunters' Union."

Ronan also shrugged.

Regardless of whether this answer reflects the Maasai's "cunning" or "exaggeration", Ronan is quite satisfied anyway.

Before the exam officially started, the staff member introduced the exam rules to Ronan.

The practical and theoretical examinations are worth 31 marks in total.

The practical exam is worth 21 points, the theoretical exam is worth 10 points, and the total score is 25 points or above to pass.

"If there's no problem, let's get started?" the man made a final confirmation.

"Let's start." Ronan agreed nervously and excitedly.

The exam started in the office.

Ronan was taken to an enclosed space containing tools, weapons, and some equipment.

"Now, please take your weapons and equipment and gather outside." After the staff member said this, he retreated to the door and observed Ronan's next move.

Ronan first put on an orange fluorescent vest, which is a must when hunting in France.

He chose the lightest-looking shotgun in the weapons cabinet.

The focus of the test is safety; good looks and great power are of no use.

He then put the gun body, magazine and bullets into different positions in the weapon bag.

France stipulates that these three items must be stored separately during the transportation of weapons and must be placed in safe "containers" such as weapon boxes or weapon bags. If there are other accessories, they must also be disassembled for storage and transportation.

After doing all this, Ronan walked outside to the SUV with the weapon bag.

The staff member smiled and opened the trunk door, motioning Ronan to put the gun in, and reminded him that the first stage of the exam was over:
"Congratulations, you have completed your first test of the day."

Ronan smiled and raised an eyebrow.

Cornell said it was easier to get a hunting license in France than a driver's license, and now he believed it.

It was not hunting season, so Ronan was taken to a forest north of Marseille for simulation training.

On the route specified by the staff, Ronan encountered fences, ditches, bushes and abandoned vehicles, and he had to pay attention to the condition of the gun, the direction of the muzzle and the position of his fingers at all times.

About 20 minutes later, Ronan walked out of the dense forest and appeared in a spacious plain area, where two people wearing fluorescent clothes were already waiting.

The staff member who had crossed the dense forest with Ronan passed him and went to meet up with his colleagues:
"The last item is a shooting test, but don't worry, we will guide you."

Ronan thought he had heard wrongly.

Is it the last test yet?
But I didn't do anything.
And why can we still give guidance?

Is this an exam?

The last practical test is 'target shooting'.

The examinee must successfully assemble the firearm, load the ammunition safely, and shoot at a target about 10 meters ahead.

The shooting is divided into 3 groups, with 6 targets in each group.

There are pictures of various animals on the target, and one of each group is a species that cannot be hunted. At the same time, there is a "human-shaped" obstacle in front of the target that moves left and right.

Points will be deducted for hitting a 'human-shaped' obstacle or an animal target that cannot be hunted.

"Like a game." Ronan raised his gun and muttered softly.

In fact, the first half of the test - installing the firearm and loading ammunition - was completed under the 'command' of the invigilator, because Ronan was holding the gun they provided, and they were not sure whether the candidate was familiar enough with this firearm.

Ronan only needs to complete the target shooting part at the back, but even so, there is a 'shortcut' to this test.

If all the "outrageous" misses are missed, you should be able to get full marks, right?

But this was Ronan's first time firing a gun, so he still wanted to give it a good shot.

The first set of targets appeared, and the animal that could not be hunted was a water bird, located in the middle.

Ronan's target is the hare on the far right.

He had made a strategy in advance.

Pull the gun, close one eye, align the front and rear sights, and aim directly at the bull's eye. This is the moment!
The crisp sound of gunfire echoed all around, startling countless birds. "Great, great!" There was sparse applause behind him.

Ronan came back to his senses and asked:
"Did I hit it?"

"You almost hit the wild duck." One of the staff members said encouragingly.

wild duck?

Ronan turned his head and looked over.

I was shooting a hare, wasn't I?
When shooting for the first time, problems are bound to arise.

But it doesn’t matter, there are two more shots to come.

In the second group of targets, Ronan still aimed at the one on the far right.

He had made a strategy in advance.

Adjust your body posture and then your breathing.

Inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale. After the third breath, hold your breath for 1 to 2 seconds. At the end of the exhale, gently pull the trigger. Now is the time!

The second clear gunshot occurred, but no birds flew out because they had already escaped.

Then the surroundings fell into deathly silence.

Ronan put down his gun and looked back at the examiners.

Where's the applause?
"That was a dangerous shot," one of them said. "You almost hit the standee."

"What?" Ronan took off his headphones with a complicated expression.

But he remembered that at the moment of firing, the moving human-shaped stand was at least 2 meters away from the target on the far right.
He looked at his hands speechlessly.

Is it still necessary to buy antique guns?
After the thrilling moment of the second shot, the three examiners were more nervous than Ronan during the last group of shooting.

There were also kind people who reminded Ronan the key points of shooting.

But as soon as the third set of targets appeared, gunshots rang out.

Ronan fired a shot at the ground and turned back to ask them:
"Is it over?"

Ronan was surrounded by warm applause:
"Congratulations! Congratulations on passing all the practical tests!"

The theoretical exam in the afternoon was still very easy.

Ronan read the "Hunting License Examination: Official Handbook of Theoretical Questions 1986" four or five times and memorized all the contents above.

Apart from the most important issue of "safety", he hardly used his brain.

There are 10 theoretical test questions, each worth 1 point, but one of the questions about "safety" is an 'elimination question'.

Even if you get all the other questions right but get this one wrong, you will still fail the exam and will need to re-register for an appointment to take the entire exam, including the practical portion.

The "safety question" Ronan encountered this time was about the shooting environment.

Question: In this situation, is it risky to shoot into the water?

There is a picture next to it, showing a man standing by a pool with water plants and bushes on the water.

"No, there is a risk of bullets bouncing off the water surface. In such a complex water environment, the risk is even greater." Ronan gave his answer.

After handing in the paper, the staff member who accompanied Ronan throughout the exam shook his hand vigorously:

"Goodbye Mr. Ronan, we will send you the license within a week."

"A week? Isn't it half a month?" Ronan remembered very clearly that the operator said half a month when he consulted.

Why does Ronan remember it so clearly?
Because Apte was unwilling to give this time, their reason was still the same - they needed to follow the notices of the 'French Biodiversity Office' and the 'Hunters' Federation'.

The man said passionately:
"We have already seen your strength. There is no need to verify anything further. You are already a qualified hunter."

"Thank you." Ronan smiled and left.

Damn it, he actually started to like these Maasai people who were good at reading people's expressions and speaking sweetly.

Getting a hunting license took up Ronan's entire day.

The next day, after having an equally strong-flavored Marseille breakfast, Ronan drove out to do another important thing in Marseille - buying a dog.

He decided to buy a Provence Wirehaired Hound to keep Xiao Hei company.

Although he didn't know much about this kind of dog, everyone around him praised it highly.

Pierre said it was the best hunting dog, Theo said owning such a dog was like owning a gold mountain, Fabian said it was the most suitable for guarding the house, and the most exaggerated was Henry who said this Wirehaired Hunting Dog had an IQ similar to that of a 12 or 3 year old human.

But unfortunately, there were no wirehaired pointers in Lourmarin, and Ronan had never seen one when he lived in Paris.

On the way to the dog farm, Ronan couldn't help but wonder - what does this kind of dog look like?

About an hour later, he finally found the answer.

In a house outside Marseille, Ronan met Benito, who was known as the father of the 'Provence Wirehaired Hound'.

"I'm the first person to breed wirehaired pointers in Provence." Benito led Ronan to the backyard and pointed to a group of puppies huddled together and squirming. "Here are they."

Ronan was distracted for a moment.

Is this the kind of dog Pierre and the others are talking about?
God, they look so silly.

(End of this chapter)