1986: My Happy Life in Provence

Chapter 140 The Fun of Everyone in the Village

In France, children usually live separately from their parents after they start their own families.

Ronan once asked Louis if there were any cheap houses in Lourmarin or nearby in case of future need.

But when he heard the price, he was so scared that he didn't dare to say a word.

Those shabby thatched houses on the mountain were sold for 20 francs.

A "mansion" like Ronan's, surrounded by fields, would cost you 40 francs, so don't even think about it.

The three-story building in front of me is exactly the same as other houses.

Can people live on the top two floors?

"Can it only be rented?" Ronan stroked his chin and fell into deep thought.

Seeing that Ronan didn't move, Zoe stepped back and stood beside him:

"What are you looking at?"

Ronan came back to his senses and quickly left the buildings that had given him wild thoughts:

"Nothing, let's continue our 'night tour'."

Behind him, Zoe frowned slightly:

"Why is he blushing again when I didn't tease him?"

Wherever Ronan went, people would ask him about his car, so he simply hid at Pires' house.

First, he was too lazy to listen to gossip, and second, he wanted to keep an eye on Pires and tell him to stop talking nonsense.

After that, the door of the Pires' warehouse was never opened again, and no one had ever seen what was inside.

The predictable result is that the controversy over modified cars has become even bigger.

It may have been an exaggeration to say that everyone knew about it. There were still some elderly people and children in the village who didn’t know that Ronan’s house had three bathrooms.

But this time, every villager really knew that Ronan had spent 9000 francs to modify a 1961 Citroën DS18.

Many children even cried and wanted to go and see it.

"Don't cry, don't cry. If you can't see now, you will be able to see the day after tomorrow." Countless mothers comfort their children in this way.

Two days later, more than 100 villagers gathered at Pires' house.

Because today is the day when Ronan's car modification is completed.

"Is the news reliable?" Como ignored the store and ran here to watch.

Pierre nodded firmly:

"Absolutely reliable. You know, shutting up Pires is as hard as getting him to stop drinking. Even though Ronan made him swear not to reveal any details about the car, Ronan didn't mention when the repairs would be completed. Pires himself said it was this afternoon."

After saying this, Pierre leaned against an old tree and lit another cigarette.

At his feet, there were seven cigarette butts of the same brand.

Theo got tired of waiting, stood up from the ground and walked towards the castle:
"I'll go over there."

Who says this is the only lively place to see in the village?
Cornell called to him from behind:

"Don't want to watch it? What if it's really improved? Don't you want to be the first to sit on it?"

Everyone in the village knows that Theo likes cars.

He can choose not to touch women, but he cannot choose not to touch cars.

Theo said disdainfully:
"I've driven cars that cost hundreds of thousands of francs, and this one, including the repairs, cost me 12000 francs. I'm just waiting here to laugh at that Ronan!"

Theo has always had a problem with being stubborn. Henry muttered in the corner:
"That's not what you said in the old tavern. You said you'd never driven a DS-18 before and wanted to give it a try."

"Henry you--" Theo looked at Henry warningly.

"Open the door, open the door!" Several clear children's voices were heard.

The door of the Pires' warehouse slowly opened, and a bright yellow convertible turned on its headlights, as if greeting everyone.

Pierre put out the half-smoked cigarette:
"Oh my God, isn't it?"

None of them had thought that Ronan would change the paint color of the car.

Didn’t Ronan buy a dark gray DS18?
Cornell, Henry and a few others ran over and surrounded Ronan's car. "The interior is different too!" Cornell said excitedly.

They had all seen the car at Ronan's house when he first bought it.

The seats used to have many holes in them and were extremely dirty, but now they have been replaced with brand new black leather seats.

Not only that, the steering wheel, dashboard and radio were all replaced with new ones.

Theo's eyeballs nearly flew out of their sockets again.

This set of seats and interior is in sports car style!

Sitting in it must feel the same as sitting in a sports car worth hundreds of thousands of francs.

Hell, he hadn't even driven a sports car yet, and Lucas couldn't afford one!
Ronan put his arms on the car window and asked Theo with a smile:
"Aren't you the most knowledgeable about cars? Please give us some comments."

In order to calm himself down, Theo casually lit a cigarette and continued to say stubbornly:
"Okay."

"Not bad?" Ronan laughed.

"No, no, no, Mr. Ronan, I think this car is amazing!" Henry said excitedly, "It's even better than the sports car that parked at your door last time!"

Ronan patted the car door:
"Come up Henry, I'll take you for a spin."

"Okay, Mr. Ronan!" Henry adjusted his captain's hat and sat in the co-pilot seat like a knight.

The other villagers who were watching were extremely envious and used all the praise words they knew to evaluate Ronan's new car.

Ronan asked a few more people to get on the bus, then waved to Theo with a sly smile:
"Goodbye."

Lourmarin today is like a lively carnival.

A yellow convertible has been speeding back and forth on the main road since 2 pm, carrying villagers of different genders and ages. It is now almost 4 pm and it has not stopped yet.

There were 80-year-old men, three-year-old children, and even pregnant women on the bus. But there was no farmer named Theo.

A few farmers who had taken a drive returned to the old tavern and praised Ronan's new car while drinking cold beer.

"The total value of that car is 12000 francs? I would believe it even if you said it was 12 francs." As soon as Fabian finished speaking, a bright yellow shadow rushed past the door of the old tavern, accompanied by a child's loud scream.

Everyone looked back and saw several children around seven or eight years old sitting in Ronan's car.

"Another 'baby carriage' has been sent out." Pierre turned to look at Theo and taunted him with a sly grin, "All the children in the village have ridden in it, and it's not your turn yet?"

Theo's teeth are almost broken:

"That's it. I didn't think much about sitting there."

damn it!
He wanted to sleep with Ronan's car in his arms.

Henry was the first person in the village to be invited on the bus. Ronan's "favor" gave him more confidence:
"Oh, you're drooling."

A tough guy!
"Henry!" Theo pointed at Henry again.

Henry looked back at Theo with his neck stretched out and said angrily:
"Mr. Ronan's 9000 francs have brought joy to the whole village. I won't allow you to accuse him of being a fool again!"

Pierre laughed and said:
"Henry has someone to back him up now. He won't be afraid of you anymore, Theo."

Cornell smiled and looked down the street:
"After Ronan moved in, Lourmarin became much more lively. There weren't so many fun things to do before. I could only drink and stare blankly at the outside world every day."

Fabian also looked out the window:

"Yeah, every day is much more interesting."

"Ronan brings more than just fun." Pierre pointed at Cuomo with his chin. "I heard a lot of people have been applying for stalls at the market management center lately. They all want to make money like Ronan, designing bathrooms, modifying cars, and living a different life."

He looked at Theo:
"Everyone has changed, but you refuse to change. You're still as stubborn as ever."

Theo just drank silently and said nothing.

"Here it comes again, here it comes again." Cornell shouted, pointing out the window.

Another yellow shadow flashed by.

This time Theo could no longer remain calm because he saw his mother who needed a wheelchair to move in the car!
When the mother saw Theo looking at her, she waved to him.

Theo ran out like crazy, chasing the car and shouting:
"Ronan! Your modified car is better than all of Lucas' cars. Please let me ride in it once! Ronan! Ronan!!"

(End of this chapter)