1986: My Happy Life in Provence

Chapter 160 Another pillar industry in France

Ronan was warmly received as soon as he entered the government office building.

"Is there anything I can help you with, Mr. Ronan?" A staff member who was about to go to the bathroom saw Ronan coming and, without caring about his own personal problems, quickly walked up to him.

He was not the person in charge of reception, but Ronan was a villager who was highly valued by the government from top to bottom.

"Is Blanco here?" Ronan asked.

The staff member was stunned.

He is just a small clerk, how could he know what the village chief is doing?
"I'll take you to the reception room first and then help you confirm it." He gave reasonable advice.

"Okay, thank you." Ronan said politely.

After settling Ronan down, the staff member endured the discomfort in his lower abdomen and knocked on the office door of the market management center.

"Sylvie, Ronan is here."

The employee couldn't directly confirm the village chief's whereabouts, but Sylvie could.

Moreover, Ronan's cooperation with the government is a commercial street project, so it is appropriate for the market management center to receive him.

Sylvie looked up and asked in surprise:
"where is he?"

Ronan is a powerful tool for attracting investment in the commercial street, and she was looking for an opportunity to talk to Ronan.

"In the reception room." the staff member said truthfully.

"I'll go find him right away." Sylvie stood up immediately.

"But he asked where the village chief was." The staff continued to explain the situation.

Sylvie paused:
"He might want to ask about the progress of the commercial street. I'll go meet him first."

Blanco is very busy with official duties every day, so we can't ask him to take care of every small matter.

This makes it seem like the people who are doing the job are too incompetent.

Sylvie left the office with the staff member.

On the way, she suddenly thought of something and said to her colleague:

"Can you help me get Ronan a cup of coffee?"

Ronan is the most important villager in Lourmarin and must not be neglected, but Bran's order prohibits the presence of alcohol in government office buildings, so he can only settle for the next best thing and prepare coffee for Ronan.

The kind staff member hesitated for a moment and agreed:
"Ok."

Just pour a cup of coffee, quick!
You can hold off on going to the bathroom.

In the tea room, the staff member unexpectedly met Blanco who was making coffee.

Although Sylvie had already gone to meet Ronan, he still said to Blanco:
"Village Chief, Mr. Ronan is here."

Without waiting for him to continue, Blanco asked nervously:

"What's Ronan doing here?"

"I don't know, but Sylvie went to receive him in the reception room."

Blanco immediately put down the cup:
"I gonna go see."

The man picked up a clean coffee cup and sighed:

"Mr. Ronan is really very generous. I haven't told him that he wants to see you yet."

The next second, Blanco appeared in the tea room again, pointed at him and said:

"Go find a bottle of pink wine, chilled, and send it over as quickly as possible."

The staff member stood there in a daze.

Where can I find chilled rosé in a government office building?
And I really can’t hold it back anymore!
Ronan didn't know what went wrong.

He was looking for Blanco, but it was Sylvie who came.

But this plump woman who had been "difficult" to deal with him before changed her usual behavior and started to ask him about his well-being as soon as she came in. She also introduced the construction progress of the commercial street to him as if she were a leader. Ronan was so embarrassed to mention Blanco's matter for the time being that he could only start a passionate conversation with her.

"The construction progress is normal. You will get the restaurant key in another 20 days." Sylvie looked back at the door of the reception room.

Why hasn't the coffee been brought yet?

Don’t you know that this is the most important villager in Lourmarin!

She had to continue to 'report' to Ronan:
"Five of the 11 buildings have been sold to investors, all of whom are villagers from this village. We have you to thank for that."

"Thank me?" Ronan blinked innocently, "But I didn't do anything."

Sylvie had a look on her face that said, "You are too modest, kid."

"The villagers said they were attracted by what you said about the commercial street making money. We are very grateful to you for doing this for the government."

Ronan spread out his palms and rubbed his face vigorously several times.

The rumors in Lourmarin were far-fetched.

Who said this for him?

Ronan glanced at the time on the wall, pointed at the door and asked:
"Is Blanco busy?"

Sylvie stammered:
"Yes, the village chief is dealing with important matters."

As soon as he finished speaking, Blanco pushed open the door of the reception room.

He raised the two empty glasses in his hands and said excitedly:

"Look what I found? There are two wine glasses in my office!"

Seeing the empty table, his face immediately fell and he muttered quietly: "Hasn't it been delivered yet?"

Ronan looked at Sylvie in confusion.

Is this what you said is important?

Sylvie said with a twitching mouth:
"Blanco has too many things to do every day"

There was another sound of a door opening, and the staff member came in trotting, put down the pink wine, and immediately turned around and left, not giving anyone a chance to give him orders.

"What's wrong with him?" Ronan asked puzzledly.

The corners of Sylvie's mouth twitched even more, and she laughed dryly a few times:

"Hehehe, maybe there's something going on. Everyone is very busy."

Oh my God, why are there so many 'weird' things?
The next second, Sylvie's mouth twitching moved to her pupils.

Blanco opened the rosé wine, poured it into two glasses, and said to Ronan in a joking tone:
"I was thinking this morning that I would go to your house for a drink sometime. I've seen the bathroom, but I haven't had a chance to visit your beautiful yard yet."

Ronan took the glass with a smile:

"You're a filmmaker who has worked in Cannes, how could you not have seen a beautiful courtyard?"

Blanco sat down and took a sip of pink wine with enjoyment:

"That's different. Cannes doesn't have the beautiful scenery of Luberon. What's the matter with coming here today?"

"I want to ask you something." Ronan's expression turned serious. "Does Lourmarin have any special products?"

Blanco smiled and glanced at Sylvie:

"Our 'feature' is you, Ronan. You are always used as a selling point in all media interviews."

Ronan shook his head:

"It's not this specialty. Roussillon has ochre ore, and Isle de la Sorgue has a second-hand goods trading center. Does Lourmarin have any special industries?"

Blanco's smile disappeared instantly, and he asked solemnly:
"What do you want to know?"

Ronan's index finger tapped rhythmically on the table:
"I was chatting with a friend today, and she reminded me that those 'star' villages in Provence seem to have a very important pillar industry. If we think further, Apt is the world's candied fruit capital, and Cavaillon is the melon hometown, but Lourmarin does not have a similar 'name'."

Ronan has visited many famous villages and towns in Provence, and each place has many stories to tell, but on the way here he kept asking himself, what would he say if he were to introduce Lourdes to others?

Are there any special crops here?
Are there any special delicacies here?
Is there any special stone here?
Without Lourmarin there is nothing.

Sylvie looked at Blanco in shock.

How does Ronan know our most 'core' pain points?

This has always been a key issue that Lourmarin avoided talking about, but never gave up on solving.

Blanco's expression has never been so serious:
"You are quite right, Lourmarin has no name, and that is our biggest problem."

He dipped his finger in a little rosé and drew a topographical map of Lourmarin on the table:
"To the north of me are the Luberon Mountains, to the south are Neolithic ruins, to the west are limestone mines, and to the east is a pine forest, but none of these natural landscapes are within the scope of Lourmarin."

"The villagers grow grapes, olives and cherries in this valley, but these crops are not outstanding compared to other growing areas. Most of the older women in the village can make quilts, but quilts are a traditional skill of Marseille. We still cannot make it a feature of Lourmarin."

Blanco said bitterly:
“In Lourmarin, we can’t find ‘what I have that he doesn’t have’ or ‘what’s the only one’.”

“But we never gave up searching or ‘making’.” Sylvie looked at Ronan and said, “The museum on the commercial street is one of our efforts.”

Blanco took over the topic and continued to explain to Ronan:
"The entire commercial street can be privatized, except for the museum. We hope to closely link it with the future of Lourmarin. Before it is officially completed next year, we will identify a 'characteristic' road and make a round of development attempts."

"So you rejected Astrid's proposal for cooperation." Ronan finally connected the dots.

Blanco looked at Sylvie in confusion.

Sylvie explained to him:
"A strong buyer came this morning and wanted to buy both the shop and the museum, but I refused."

Blanco nodded:

“That’s definitely not for sale.”

"What direction do you have now?" Ronan asked.

Astrid reminded him that if he wanted to make a lot of money, he had to learn to take advantage of the situation. If Blanco and the others had some clues now, he could start making some preparations in advance.

Blanco smiled and shook his head:

"No, so I asked you that day if you had any good suggestions."

Ronan crossed his arms and looked thoughtful:

"There's still time. If there's any good direction, I'll contact you anytime."

He now has a 'common interest' with Lourmarin.

Even if he can't take advantage of the situation, he hopes that Lourmarin will develop better and better so that his restaurant can be popular.

When Ronan walked out of the government gate, he was holding a bottle of wine in his hand. Blanco forced him to take it away, and Ronan had no choice but to agree.

Before parting, he asked Sylvie:
"Did Astrid say she was going to buy the museum and the shop and do something?"

They don’t really sell leather goods, do they?
There is nothing to hide, Sivir told Ronan:
"Perfume, she hopes to build a perfume-themed museum."

Ronan raised his eyebrows:
"Her family is actually in the perfume business"

France is known as the 'Perfume Kingdom'. Perfume is a very important industry in France, and Provence is the birthplace of French perfume.

Seeing that Ronan seemed to be interested in the perfume industry, Blanco gave him some basic knowledge:

"In the 16th century, the leather industry was the main industry in France. In order to improve the smell of leather, craftsmen began to make fragrances, and the perfume industry gradually prospered. Therefore, the companies that make perfumes in France now were all leather goods companies hundreds of years ago."

The wine bottle in Ronan's hand was almost thrown out.

This can be contacted
Are you really making leather goods?
(End of this chapter)