1986: My Happy Life in Provence

Chapter 154 Lourmarin's best 'spokesman'

The news that Ronan was going to open a restaurant on the commercial street was like a bird with wings, flying into every household in Lourmarin at the fastest speed.

Of course, this cannot be achieved without the government's 'help'.

While they were promoting the various subsidies for the commercial street, they also spread the news that Ronan had "happily" signed the contract - they communicated and signed the contract on the same day, and he also booked the largest and best shop on the entire street.

"The villagers may not trust us, but they will not trust Ronan." Blanco worked peacefully, no longer worried about the matter. "Who is the happiest person in the village? Who has the most 'unique' vision? Pairs of sharp eyes are watching."

"Do you need me to 'tell' Ronan something?" Sylvie is the person in charge of this 'commercial street' project.

Since Ronan is so important, his attitude is crucial.
We need him to help us call on the villagers!
Blanco smiled and said:
"Ronan is a smart guy. He's smarter than you think. Relax, Sylvie. We'll hear good news soon."

Ronan only told his parents that he had signed the contract for the commercial street, but did not mention that there was a 'purchase' clause in it, for fear of causing unnecessary pressure on his parents.

Unexpectedly, Luo Tianhai still fought back.

The father and son had a brief chat about the theme of the restaurant and quickly reached a consensus that they must open a Chinese restaurant.

There are thousands of restaurants in Provence, and this is the only thing they can do to make it 'special'.

The division of labor was then decided. Luo Tianhai was responsible for all internal business matters, while Ronan was responsible for the "integration and improvement" of the menu decided by Luo Tianhai, decoration, and all external publicity work.

The part that Ronan is responsible for cannot be carried out now, at least it has to wait until the house is handed over.

But Luo Tianhai started preparing from the day Ronan signed the contract. He looked around for suppliers in Provence, compared prices, and tried dishes. He was extremely busy every day.

In the yard, Kafu's men were working with a lot of clanging sounds, and in the house, Luo Tianhai was cutting vegetables, frying, stir-frying, and deep-frying. It was very lively, but a little tiring for the ears.

In recent days, Ronan has been spending more time in the vineyard.

It's not that I think my home is messy.
He was just carefully calculating how much the eight acres of land could produce this year.

At the turn of spring and summer, the flowers in the vineyards bloom.

Wait another month, in July, the flowers will turn into grape fruits. After that, the farmers have nothing to do but wait for them to mature.

However, in June, we can already make an accurate estimate of this year's production based on the blooming conditions.

Ronan's [Planting] skills were not high, and he had only a little knowledge of planting. He was afraid that his estimates were inaccurate, so he invited Pierre, the most powerful farmer in Lourmarin, to the vineyard.

At 4 p.m., Pierre showed up in Ronan's vineyard.

"Is this my second time in your vineyard?" Pierre walked skillfully along the ridges, observing and finding topics to talk with Ronan.

The first time was to catch snails.

Oh, those yummy little things!

"Third time." Ronan followed Pierre, "When I first arrived in Lourmarin, you came to see me fertilizing."

Ronan remembered that when he went to the fields for the first time, the farmers watched him for the entire afternoon and were so nervous that he had to drink while driving the tractor.

Pierre suddenly realized something and made an exaggerated expression, then he moved his hands to grab the steering wheel:

"I remember you were a pretty good tractor driver."

Ronan shrugged.

"I'm driving better now, but you guys don't come to see me anymore."

These people only come to see his house and his car, not to see him working.

Pierre laughed and said:
"Everyone assumes you're an 'old farmer' and isn't that curious anymore."

Working in the fields is what farmers have to do every day. If a stranger comes, it is enough for him to watch once. Who would have the time to watch others farming?
Ronan turned around and raised his eyebrows at him:
"But the fact is, this year will be the first 'harvest season' in my life. Please help me see how much I can harvest."

Pierre was very skilled and professional in doing professional things. He congratulated Ronan after less than a fifth of the tour:
“This is your year of harvest.”

Ronan asked in surprise:

"Really? How many pounds can you collect?"

Pierre stopped and lit a cigarette:

"You take very good care of them. The least you can get on a vine is four bunches of grapes, and the most you can get is eight. The total yield from eight mu of land should be around 4 kilograms."

Ronan patted the grape leaves beside him happily:
“That’s great.”

In fact, Ronan doesn't have much idea about grape production.

But it would be more intuitive to exchange them for wine, so that Ronan would have an idea.

Farmers in the old tavern said that the Moli Winemaking Cooperative has two modes when harvesting grapes in the fall. One is to settle the settlement directly into money, and the other is to settle the settlement into an equal amount of wine.

There are 4-8 bunches of grapes on a vine, which means that on average each vine can be exchanged for a bottle of wine, and Ronan has more than 2700 vines.

That's 2700 bottles of wine.
"What a pity, Moli Winery doesn't make rosé wine." Ronan said regretfully.

There's no use having so much red wine.

Seeing Ronan's eagerness to try, Pierre said with a complicated expression:

"Honestly, this doesn't count as a lot of money for you, does it?"

To professional farmer Pierre, Ronan's 8 acres of land looks like "playing house".

In 1986, the utilization rate of machinery was very high, and skilled farmers could manage dozens of acres of land every year.

What is Ronan so happy about?
Ronan carefully arranged the grape leaves that he had knocked crooked:
"They bring more 'psychological satisfaction', which can be regarded as a kind of 'rural sentiment' among city dwellers. They feel that if they come to live in Provence, they should plant something."

Pierre smiled and shrugged: "I only feel happy when I calculate how much money they can bring me."

Ronan said happily:
“There is definitely some satisfaction from money.”

Pierre returns along the same route:
"Let's plant again next year. The price of Grenache is not too high."

Ronan showed a longing look:
"I may not plant grapes next year, I may plant something else."

Pierre looked back at him with a look of astonishment:

"But grapes are the most popular right now. Planting other crops is not as profitable as growing grapes."

Ronan pulled out a newly grown weed:

"As I said, this area gives me more 'psychological' satisfaction. There are so many things that can be grown in Provence, and so many famous things. I want to experience them all."

Pierre smiled and shook his head without saying anything.

Ronan chased after him in surprise and asked:

"You didn't refute or question me?"

God, did this farmer not drink today?

Is this still the sarcastic and playful Pierre he knew?

Pierre blew out a puff of smoke:
"It turns out that every 'questionable' decision you made was correct. Before I question you, I need to ask myself - does your face still hurt?"

Before Ronan could react, Pierre had already hooked his arm around his neck and asked ecstatically:

"What will your restaurant look like? Will there be Roman columns? Can you reserve a 'special seat' with the best location for us?"

Thankfully, the restaurant already had its first customers before Ronan even started promoting it.

While renovating the bathroom and modifying the car, Ronan tried his best to avoid going out and dared not go anywhere, because no matter where he appeared in the village, he would be asked related questions by the villagers.

But the amazing thing is that this time, such a big event as Ronan signing the commercial street contract did not cause any big "waves".

No one asked him why, and not many people said he was a fool. Everyone was more concerned about how the restaurant would be decorated in the future and what it would sell.

Recall carefully
It seems that since the "drastic" renovation of the backyard, these nosy Provencal people no longer asked questions or taught Ronan how to do things in an "expert" tone.

They assumed that this boy from Paris must have his reasons for everything he did.

Ronan's fellow farmer brothers would even spread the news in an 'exaggerated' manner.

"Is it hard to understand that Ronan opened a restaurant? That guy has been selling wine and food at the market for several months, just to prepare for opening a restaurant. He is very smart and has started planning a long time ago." Theo pointed his thumb behind him and said goodbye to the villagers. "I won't say more. Ronan asked me to go to his house to talk about opening a restaurant. He said that the business must be very hot and he is in need of manpower, so he wants me to help."

"Drinking and drinking, all you do is go out and drink every day!" Fabian's wife impatiently threw down the embroidered quilt in her hand, as if she wanted to part ways with this man.

Fabian shrugged calmly:

"But I'm going to Ronan's house for a drink today, and if you don't want me to, I won't go."

"Go to Ronan's house?" Fabian's wife seemed to have found a new spark in her man. "The government has approached my brother Torre several times, hoping that he can open a handicraft shop on the commercial street. He wants to ask Ronan to confirm whether the project can make money? Is there any hidden danger?"

Fabian said confidently:
"You don't need to ask Ronan. I can tell you directly that the commercial street will definitely make money. Ronan is the best money-maker I have ever seen. Otherwise, why do you think I would go out drinking every day? I just want to hear some ideas from him that can make life better."

Fabian's wife ran excitedly to call her brother and waved to Fabian:
"Go quickly, go quickly, don't rush back."

Every Monday, the quilt makers in Lourmarin village would send their work to Pires' house, who would then take them to the market to sell.

Cornell had just delivered the embroidered quilt to his mother today, and he was anxious to leave.

"Cornell, you've been slacking off lately," Cornell's mother said seriously. "You used to spend a lot of time studying and improving yourself, but now you just want to go out whenever you have time."

Cornell nervously explained:

"Mom, I found a way to improve myself faster, and Ronan is the one who can help me become better and better."

Cornell's mother taught her son:

"You can't put your hopes on your friends. That's too passive."

"But Ronan is my best friend!" Cornell said excitedly, "I have learned a lot of good qualities and knowledge from him, which cannot be taught in books."

Mom, there are always beautiful women around Ronan, I have to follow him all the time.

Fabian's wife couldn't help but interject:
"Akonina, what Cornell said is right. Being with Ronan will give you more opportunities to get rich."

Pires' bald head suddenly popped out of the window:
"What did you say? Ronan is going to make a fortune??"

The chain reaction caused by Ronan signing the contract with the commercial street continued to ferment in the village of Lourmarin, and people began to take the initiative to find Sivir to ask for details.

Blanco's beard was crooked with joy when he heard his subordinates' report:
"Ronan is the best 'spokesperson' for Lourmarin. All future government projects and 'support' must be led by Ronan!"

Ronan had no idea that "huge wealth" had already fallen on his head, and he was still supervising Doku making furniture in the quarry.

"Are you sure you want to make the sofa like this? This is too weird." Doku's expression was extremely complicated.

Ronan's fame has not spread to the D7 highway. There are still people who question him here, and the questioning is continuous.

Ronan said with a smile:
“It would be so cool to have it in my backyard.”

Duoku curled his lips in confusion and put on his mask again:
"I'd really like to see what your backyard looks like."

(End of this chapter)