1986: My Happy Life in Provence

Chapter 148 This is spending money on my woman!

Ronan and Zoe got out of the car and moved slowly towards the Playboy.

About twenty meters away, the little guy ran towards them in small steps and bleated, like a lost child who finally saw his mother.

Zoe finally straightened her hat:
“Maybe I wrote the number 7 because I have a connection with it.”

Zoe loves small animals and has the ability and conditions to take care of it, so Ronan loaded "Playboy" into the car and returned to Bonnieux, hoping to contact the jockey and buy it "legally".

The organizing committee helped them contact the jockey, and the two sides agreed to meet in a cafe.

The jockey was very happy to see his warrior still alive, but he rejected Ronan and Zoe's proposal.

He believes that this 'maverick' sheep can continue to demonstrate its value.

Ronan is not a master of bargaining, his shopping experience in Provence was quite "bad", and Zoe also has no potential in this area.

They came to the door of the cafe regretfully and said goodbye to the "Playboy", but Louis, Freddy and Alan who heard the news entered the cafe one after another.

Old Carl came late:
"Don't worry kids, our luck is bad, but our 'strength' is unquestionable."

After saying that, he gracefully opened the door and joined the battle.

Zoe looked at the jockey in the cafe:
"I feel a little sorry for him."

Ronan turned around and said with a complicated expression:
"Indeed, his expression is similar to that of the driver who was attacked by the magic music."

About 10 minutes later, Freddy handed the rope to Zoe:
"I changed my mind. This is a smart guy. He found the best owner for himself."

Ronan didn't know what means these men used, but the gloom on their faces caused by the loss of the bet was wiped away.

This is probably because they not only managed to get the 'Playboy', but also charged the same price as an ordinary sheep.

We drove back to Lourmarin again.

This time, everyone's face was filled with happy smiles.

What a successful group activity!
Playboy went home with Zoe, but this incident gave Ronan a reminder - although only part of the backyard would be decorated this time, he had to consider its final appearance in the future.

"I hope to make reasonable use of this space, taking into account meeting guests, leisure, dining, breeding and planting."

Cafu arrived at Ronan's house on the agreed date, and after a preliminary assessment of the workload here, he asked with little interest:

"What do you want to do?"

His job is only ground engineering, which is really too little.
Ronan pointed to an area near the house and said:

"This is a reception and leisure area."

Cafu nodded indifferently.

Ronan took Cafu to the thick trees again:
“This is the outdoor kitchen and outdoor dining area.”

Cafu tilted his head and said nothing.

Ronan came to the center of the backyard:

“The house needs some color, and I hope there will be a flower garden here in the future.”

Finally he walked to the edge, pointed at the large area and said:
“Farming area.”

Kafu came over listlessly and lit a cigarette:

"Raising rabbits?"

Ronan shrugged.

"I haven't decided yet, but I'll save some space for now."

Cafu laughed dryly twice:
"To be honest, man, you have too little work. It probably took me less time to pave this place than it did to get the machine here."

"Oh, no, no, no—" Ronan shook his head, "Not paving."

"Isn't it paved?" Cafu pointed behind him with his strong arm, "Then why did you ask me to come? The current state can also be used. Many people eat on uneven ground."

Ronan spread his hands:

"Do you think I am expressing my 'fantasy' by saying so much? I want to tell you——"

He turned around, looked at his backyard and said:

"The floors of different functional areas should be made to look different."

Kafu put down his cigarette and frowned.

This is not Apt, nor is it Aix.

I actually met a guy in the Luberon Mountains who could use such advanced terms as "functional zoning"?

Ronan returned to the 'reception area' and pointed to the ground and said:
"I hope this is rubble stone."

The stones in Luberon are of many types and cheap, which is the best decorative material Ronan can think of.

Ronan continued pointing above his head:
"I also want to put a 'roof' on it to provide shade. In fact, I can do it myself, but it will be faster with more of you. This time I will only install this area. Please quote me the price for these works first."

Cafu put the cigarette in his mouth again and asked in surprise:

“Are you going to open a family hotel?”

There are many family hotels in the Luberon Mountains. Some people will decorate their homes as beautifully as hotels and rent out three or four rooms to tourists. Ronan shook his head:

"No, it's just me and my parents living here."

Cafu glanced at Ronan's parents and couldn't help but exclaimed:
“Cool idea.”

"Name a price." Ronan sat on his beloved hammock.

Cafu looked back at the 'visiting area' in embarrassment and carefully assessed:

"Hey, buddy, it's the off-season for renovations in Provence now. Our prices are relatively cheap. Are you sure you want to just do this one area? Maybe by the time you do other areas, the prices will have gone up again."

Ronan smiled and shrugged:

"Dude, this is my off-season for making money, so I don't have that much budget to let you do the whole thing."

Cafu intertwined his arms like tree roots and said with a frown:
"Just the floor, sunshade and wall of that area. 1800 francs, but if you add the floor work of other areas, I can give you a friendly price of 4000 francs, and make it all the way you want. But only local stone is allowed, other materials are too expensive."

Ronan stroked his chin and thought for a moment.

This is indeed a friendly price. At the beginning of the year, it spent a total of 7000 francs on kitchen renovation and road repairs.

But he had to be careful with his money, as he still had to go to Doku to buy stone furniture.

"Sorry, man." Ronan stood up from the hammock and shook his head regretfully.

"Wait a minute!" Feng Zhen called Ronan in Chinese.

Luo Tianhai said "wait a moment" to Cafu and took his son to a farther place:

"I've discussed this with your mother, and we'll pay for the backyard renovation this time."

Ronan hurriedly explained:
"I have money—"

Luo Tianhai patted his shoulder:

"Your mother and I haven't made a lot of money, but after all, we have worked for so many years and saved a lot."

"That's your retirement money." Ronan shook his head.

Luo Tianhai and his son stood side by side, looking towards the Luberon Valley in the distance:

"We already have the best retirement environment, so why do we have to keep so much money? Besides, that money was originally saved for you. Now you have a house and a car, and there is nothing else we can do to help you."

Ronan racked his brains to find various excuses, but they were all rejected by Luo Tianhai. Finally, he used his father's deterrent power and said with glaring eyes:
"Your mother has 'high hopes' for this backyard. She has so many thoughts on it. I'm not decorating a yard for you. I'm spending money on my woman. Don't argue with me. Do you hear me?"

Ronan sighed in distress, and turned his head to hear his mother talking to Cafu about where to dig a swimming pool. He had no choice but to agree temporarily:
"You can pay for the project, but I will take care of the furniture and soft furnishings. You don't know what I want to design."

"Okay." Luo Tianhai agreed with a smile.

When the father and son returned, Feng Zhen held one of them in each hand and introduced to them the idea she had just come up with with Cafu in an excited tone like a young girl:
"We can build an oven in the outdoor kitchen so we can bake our own pizza. We can also use stone bricks to build a four or five meter long workbench. I saw people in the movies have bars in their yards. My friends all love to drink, so why don't we build one too?"

Luo Tianhai said lovingly:
"Do it, do it all, I'll do whatever you say!"

Luo Tian smiled as he watched his parents show off their love.

He will definitely try his best to make them continue to be happy.
In the end, the Ronans and Cafu reached a big cooperation of 7000 francs.

Cafu made money, Feng Zhen was about to have the beautiful backyard of her dreams, and everyone was happy.

Cafu said he would come with some men in three days.

Thinking of Cafu's 'Provence speed', Ronan immediately drove to the quarry next to the D7 highway.

The familiar 'big shopping mall', the familiar smell of stone powder, Ronan is familiar with every place here.

But the owner of the stone quarry, Doku, was not familiar with Ronan. He had no recollection of having served such a customer.

"It doesn't matter, just forget it if you don't remember. I'm not here to reminisce about the past, I'm here to order things." Ronan had reason to believe that it was the white powder that flew into Doku's brain and affected all the brain nerves except the stone.

Not only does this guy always put things in the wrong place, his memory is also extremely poor. How could he make so many exquisite stone "artworks"?
"Customized?" Doku asked excitedly, shaking off the white powder growing on his beard.

"Yes." Ronan showed Doku the engineering drawings that he and Cafu had briefly reviewed. "I need a U-shaped 'sofa' of this size, and a matching table and an L-shaped bar."

After Ronan described his needs, he continued:
"Made of off-white cold stone."

He hopes that the stone furniture in his home will have a unified style.

Doku unexpectedly said:

"You know a lot about stone. You even know that the specialty of Provence is cold stone?"

Ronan smiled politely:
"You told me that before."

Doku laughed and led Ronan out of the workshop:
"What a lucky guy! Very good cold stones have been mined recently. They should be just enough to make what you want. Let's go and take a look."

Ronan followed Doku through the area filled with piles of ready-made works to the raw materials area.

Looking at the angel fountains and ancient Roman-style statues, Ronan fell into reverie again - why don’t I have an ancient castle?
These big guys are really eye-catching.

He suddenly slowed down as he passed several carved columns.

There's no place to put those big things at home, and they're not suitable for that, but this thing seems like it can be 'designed' into it.

The addition of my parents has brought the backyard design to a new level, so why not 'improve' it a little bit?
(End of this chapter)