1986: My Happy Life in Provence

Chapter 156: A Trip to a Specialty Restaurant in Provence
Huhu is a sheep with very distinct personality traits. Zoe often says that it seems to be more intelligent than a dog.

It doesn't like to stay in the sheepfold all the time and will go into the house to interact with people.

Later it developed into leaving the yard and strolling around the village of Lourmarin.

Ronan had seen it twice near Zoe's house. Every time it saw Ronan, it would bleat a few times like a human, as if to say hello, but today it seemed like it wanted to kill someone directly.

It lowered its head and walked into Zoe's studio as if nothing had happened, looking here and there. After a while, it got between Ronan and Zoe, pushed Ronan away with its tail, and then bleated at Zoe.

"It still doesn't like people getting too close to you?" Ronan asked with a smile, lowering his head.

Zoe touched Huhu's head and it stopped barking immediately:

"Yes, no one."

Ronan just didn't believe it and went around to Zoe's side.

Huhu turned around and hit Ronan's thigh.

"It's quite powerful." Ronan started a roundabout strategy and approached Zoe from another direction.

"Don't tease it." Zoe packed up some protective tools and took Ronan out.

As soon as the two men's arms touched, Ronan's butt was hit hard.

He stopped, lowered his head and taught Hu Hu:
"Do you know that I was the one who carried you into the car?"

"BAA Baa baa--"

"If I hadn't found you grazing on the hillside, you would have been roasted whole."

“Mee-mee-mee—”

"Your fate started because of me. If it weren't for me, who would she know you as?"

“Mee-mee-mee-mee—”

"Okay." Zoe pulled Ronan hard.

Why are you quarreling with a sheep?
"This sheep is going too far!" Ronan said seriously.

"It only comes into the house once or twice a day," Zoe said with a smile.

Ronan looked up and asked Zoe angrily:
"Why, do I have to hide until it comes into the house?"

After saying this, the sheep and the man started arguing with each other, and the fight was fierce.

Leah came to mediate and separated them.

Ronan went out to vent his anger, and Zoe pointed at Hu Hu's head and said:

"That's my man. You are not allowed to bully him. Do you understand?"

It bleated a few times, and I couldn't tell whether it agreed or continued to scold.

Zoe sighed bitterly.

The future of this man and this sheep gave her a headache.

The decoration of the backyard will take more than half a month, which includes several hundred square meters of ground construction and customized stone furniture.

And during the past half month, Ronan has not been idle either.

He built a long table in the donkey shed that could be used outdoors, and also made some small wooden decorations.

While working, he was also thinking about a question:
"Do you want to start making the furniture for the restaurant now?"

The decoration of the restaurant is very large, so you must buy some ready-made furniture, but some of it can be made by yourself.

It is now the end of June and there is still one month left until the handover date.

If you make furniture after the decoration has begun, it will definitely be too late.

It is most reasonable to use the month before the house is delivered to make furniture.

But in this case, Ronan needs to decide on the restaurant's decoration design in advance, as the furniture and decoration styles complement each other.

But he had no idea
Opening a Chinese restaurant does not mean that it must be decorated in a purely Chinese style. An "Oriental" restaurant popping up in a small medieval village like Lourmarin still looks a bit abrupt, especially the outdoor courtyard.

With the Luberon scenery, Lourmarin Castle and ochre-colored Romanesque buildings, the decoration with southern French style is definitely the most suitable and the best looking. It would be a bit lacking if it were paired with "pavilions and towers".

But Ronan also wants the restaurant to have some unique theme style to differentiate it from other French restaurants. So how to balance these two points?
When he was unsure, Ronan first called the experienced Mr. Jacques.

When I informed him that I was going to open a restaurant, I also asked him for advice on decoration.

Jacques was not surprised to learn that Ronan was going to open a restaurant.

If it were him, he would also choose to "infinitely magnify" what he is good at.

But for decoration
"I suggest that the decoration style should be as conservative and safe as possible. Before the restaurant becomes famous, it still depends on the natural flow of tourists. These tourists come here for the name of 'Provence'. Decoration that is too 'bold' may scare them."

Ronan recalled the decoration style of Mr. Jacques's restaurant and found that it was indeed very "conservative". The decoration was gorgeous and noble, but it was "established" whether it was placed in Bonnieux, Marseille or Paris.

Of course, this may also be due to the fact that he cooks French cuisine, and Jacques himself is a conservative person. He always dresses in black trousers and white shirts. He does not seek to stand out, but only to avoid mistakes.

After consulting the conservative Jacques, Ronan contacted President Ines.

This fashion elite has a bold and avant-garde style, and she should be able to give Ronan some different advice and opinions.

Ines was very happy and excited to receive Ronan's call.

She couldn't forget the mushroom soup hotpot she had eaten once, but she was too embarrassed to ask to "disturb" him again at his house.

When she learned that Ronan had actually opened a restaurant, she said "that's great" three times in a row.

Finally, I can eat openly!

"I agree with part of your opinion. The outdoor dining area should consider the surrounding environment and atmosphere, but the interior can be designed with some 'special' elements. Mixing and matching is also a fashion."

“You mean, indoor and outdoor can be two styles?”

“Of course it can be two styles. Wouldn’t it be great to have two different dining experiences, indoors and outdoors?”

Ines' words gave Ronan a new idea. He said gratefully:

"Thank you Ines, I think I understand."

Ines continued to say to him:

"What Jacques meant by 'safety' is a safe style, but it doesn't mean that there can't be 'bold' embellishments and decorations. If you don't want to make mistakes and want to have your own characteristics, then work on the 'details'."

After talking to Jacques and Ines on the phone, Ronan made a preliminary judgment.

For the courtyard donated by the government, he will adopt a decoration strategy that is more in line with the characteristics of Provence, in order to unify the architecture and scenery.

But the 140-square-meter indoor area can be slightly differentiated.

Ronan only plans to use the first floor as a restaurant, and the second and third floors as residences.

Tourists like to eat outdoors while enjoying the view. They will sit outside even when the temperature is around 10 degrees Celsius, so they only eat indoors during the winter months.

Winters in Provence are very short, so there is no need to leave too much space.

"Do we need to reflect 'characteristics' in 'safety'?" Ronan stroked his chin. "Should we first confirm what 'safety' is?"

Ronan has been in Provence for half a year and has been to many restaurants, big and small. However, in Ronan's opinion, these restaurants are all "old-fashioned", even Jacques's two-Michelin-star restaurant is no exception.

There's nothing that can be done about it. It's 1986 and 'old' is the main theme.

This is a restaurant, not a private residence, so Ronan cannot make any bold designs and must consider the characteristics of the times.

But was there nothing new in 1986?
Thinking of this, he picked up the phone again.

He thought of someone who could help him.

"I'm so happy that you can come to my restaurant." Arthur's happiness was not fake. He ran to a place 30 meters away from his restaurant to greet Ronan.

Ronan smiled and said to Artois:
"I'm sorry to bother you today."

Ronan planned to take a look at the decoration styles of the newly opened restaurants in Provence to find some inspiration, but he did not have the resources in this regard, so he thought of Artois.

Every time Artois's small circle meets, they talk about similar topics, and they are very concerned about new developments in the industry.

In addition, Ronan had another purpose in looking for Artois.

He found that this person was very concerned about "Chinese food" and asked him the recipe of sweet and sour pork more than once. At the gathering of the Pink Wine Lovers Association, Jerome reminded Ronan not to be afraid of being "copied" and "imitated" by his peers, because one person could not promote Chinese food at all, so he deliberately told Artois the news that he was going to open a Chinese restaurant.

As expected, Artois enthusiastically invited Ronan to his restaurant for a chat and promised to take him to see the "specialty" restaurants that had recently opened.

"Come in first, let's talk while drinking." Arthur warmly welcomed Ronan into his restaurant.

This was Ronan's first time visiting Arthur's restaurant. His first impression upon entering was that the decoration style of this restaurant was consistent with that of most restaurants in Provence, with dark wooden furniture, white walls, and a standard French restaurant style.

The two of them sat down by the window, and Arthur thoughtfully poured Ronan a glass of pink wine:

"When will it open?"

Ronan raised an eyebrow in surprise.

He had never drunk pink wine in Artur's presence. Did this guy hear any news?
"It's still early. The renovation will start in August."

Arthur said with some surprise:
"That was not a good time. The tourists left when it opened."

In August, the huge number of tourists will return to the city.

Ronan shrugged indifferently:

“They will come again.”

Arthur suddenly laughed:
"It's really okay. You can ask your 'friends' to help you. There should still be customers."

Ronan looked up at him.

Arthur sat opposite Ronan:

"I heard that even Gabriel, the preserves king of Apt, went to your house for Chinese food."

Ronan smiled and shook his head:

"You are really well informed."

Arthur spread his hands:
"I'm not well-informed and therefore not qualified to help you, am I? Tell me, what kind of restaurant do you want to see?"

Ronan was not at all curious about where Arthur heard the news from. All he needed to know was that there was someone behind him:

“I want to see some new restaurants with unique decoration styles.”

Arthur raised his red wine glass:
"You're so lucky, there happens to be a very unique one in Apt."

The first restaurant that Arthur took Ronan to visit was nearby, and the two could walk there.

"I really didn't expect that you would put so much effort into the decoration." Arthur casually brought up a topic to chat with Ronan.

"Just to find out first." Ronan said calmly.

"I thought you would be busy developing new dishes at this time, dishes as excellent as sweet and sour pork." Artur still can't forget the texture and taste of sweet and sour pork.

"It's also being done at the same time, but it's my father who's doing it." Ronan said slowly.

"Your father?" Arthur asked unexpectedly, "Aren't you the chef?"

Ronan smiled and shrugged:

"It seems that your information is not comprehensive enough. My father is an excellent Chinese chef. It is not that he was the one who taught me how to make sweet and sour pork."

Arthur looked delighted.

It turns out that there is a "teacher" behind Ronan.

So can I learn the recipe of sweet and sour pork from his father?
"Is your father in Paris?" he continued.

Ronan shook his head:

"No, he has come to Provence."

Arthur helped Ronan push open the door in front of him, and said in a joking tone:

"I really hope I can have the chance to meet your father and try the food he cooked."

We must find a way to go to Ronan's house and get in touch with his father!
Ronan turned around and smiled at him, then made a gesture of invitation:
"There will definitely be a chance. When my restaurant opens, all the dishes there will be made by him."

Arthur: “.”

After entering the restaurant, Ronan's eyes lit up.

It is indeed different from the style of other restaurants in Provence.

The walls are made of cement in a simple but by no means simplistic shape, and the furniture decoration is mainly natural and fresh.

Was this style already used in 1986?
The owner of this restaurant is Artur's friend. He warmly received the two and introduced his decoration concept to them:
"There is a trend of 'crypt' style restaurants in Monaco, which are very popular in the local area. Based on this, I added the basic elements of French cuisine to 'complement the strengths and weaknesses', and found a famous designer in Paris to realize it."

"What are the advantages and disadvantages?" Artois looked around.

"Tourists in Provence love the 'sunshine' and 'fresh air' here. The light and colors don't make them feel depressed." He pointed around, "Do you feel the depression of the cave here?"

Ronan touched the table and said:
“And also simplicity and simplicity.”

Ronan recalled the two popular restaurants in Aix that he had visited when picking up Zoe.

There are no complicated tables and chairs, nor exaggerated decorations, everything is so natural.

Aix is an important part of European culture.

The restaurant style there represents the most fashionable 'popular elements' of the moment.

"That's right!" The boss said to Arthur with a smile, "The friend you brought here knows a lot."

Ronan smiled happily.

This trip was not in vain, he learned something.

The second restaurant Arthur took Ronan to was on Ile Sorgue.

"It's actually here," Ronan said, looking at the door, "I've passed by before."

He and Zoe passed by this place on the day they went to the flea market, but its facade was plain and did not arouse their interest.

"Don't be fooled by its plain front, you will be surprised inside," said Arthur with a smile.

What Arthur said was not false.

When Ronan entered the restaurant, he seemed to have arrived in a new world.

The restaurant is not very big, but the owner ingeniously placed a tree in the middle, and the roof and walls are also covered with green plants.

"My decoration budget is very small, and I can't compete with other restaurants in terms of luxury, so the furniture and accessories I chose are all cheap styles, but my wife likes forests, and she hopes that there will be 'forest' elements in my restaurant." The boss said self-deprecatingly, "So I bought a tree and put it in. It only cost more than 200 francs, and those green plants are not worth much. I originally wanted to perfunctorily please her, but I didn't expect the effect to be surprisingly good."

Ronan looked thoughtful.

His renovation budget was not high. Even with the 1 francs given by the Lourmarin government, it was still "stretched to the bone", so he also did not have the luxury to compete with other restaurants.
It seems that with just a few inexpensive but important touches, the visual impact of a restaurant can be completely changed.

"How is it?" Artois asked Ronan after leaving the restaurant.

"I've gained a lot today." Ronan said happily, "You helped me a lot."

Arthur nodded with satisfaction:

"Let's go and see the next one."

"Oh, no, no, no." Ronan glanced at the time, "I should go home."

Arthur's mind moved, and he suggested:
"I really enjoyed chatting with you today. Why don't we go to your house and continue chatting?"

Ronan said apologetically:

"Not today. I have some friends coming to my house for a party today."

Although he has not yet fully decided on how the restaurant will be decorated, he had already thought of the design of the courtyard.

The outdoor kitchen in the dining area is set up.

Feng Zhen invited Louis and others to her home for dinner.

Ronan wanted to go home quickly to see how his friends responded to the outdoor kitchen and dining area he designed.

(End of this chapter)