1986: My Happy Life in Provence

Chapter 164: The Home Field of Men
Early bird gets the worm.

Tourists who leave early have plenty of time to enjoy the Migration Festival.

The sheep would be driven to the main road of the old town of Saint-Remy at 10:8, but Ronan and his group set out too early and parked the car at around o'clock.

"You must not park your car in the city of Saint-Remy today. Your car will become a seat or 'footrest' for tourists to watch the sheep." Louis said with experience, "or a picnic mat, which is terrible."

Provence is full of experts.

Today, Freddy is once again a Saint Remy expert, planning the schedule for the celebrations:
"We'll go through the main city from here and find a cafe near the gendarmerie in the north to watch the festival. We can also visit the special market held for the Migration Festival along the way."

There are markets held on fixed dates throughout Provence, as well as special markets held around a themed festival.

Ronan heard from Zoe that around the lavender festival in Hautes-Alpes, there would be a 3-kilometer-long lavender-themed market.

Whether it is food, drink or use, everything has the scent of lavender.

You can even see lavender-flavored baguettes and country sausages.

As a half-Provencal, Ronan introduced the special market information he knew to his parents, and then asked Alan beside him:
"Today's special market should be similar to the special market for Lavender Festival, right? The theme is all sheep?"

"Oh, no, no, no, that's not it." Alan, who was wearing traditional clothes, shook his head. "The special theme here is 'nomadic'."

He introduced the Paris family with some excitement:

“It’s a very unique and interesting market. I swear you won’t see it anywhere else.”

Feng Zhen held her husband in one hand and her son in the other, and could not help but quicken her pace:
"Go and see."

She loves going to the market the most.

Buy, buy, buy, buy!
Freddy led a group of people through several alleys and came to a street with a lot of tourists.

The street is lined with makeshift market stalls consisting of large tables, each with customers stopping to watch.

"Is this the place?" Feng Zhen looked around excitedly, then frowned and said, "Why are all these things for sale?"

Leah came over and asked Feng Zhen:
"A few of us would like to go to the Military Police Station to look for some activities. Would you like to come with us?"

"Let's go." Feng Zhen held Leah and said in a disappointed tone, "This place is not suitable for us."

Luo Tianhai, who was walking slowly with his wife with his hands behind his back, called out to them from behind:

"I'll go with you."

However, after walking a few steps, he stopped in front of a stall on the right and asked the stall owner with great interest:

"what is this?"

Luo Tianhai, who claims to be "well-informed", has never seen this thing before.

The material looks like copper, but the shape is unique and it’s hard to tell what it’s used for. There are also different sizes.

The stall owner, who was also wearing southern French clothing, introduced Luo Tianhai:
"Sir, these are cowbells and sheepbells. The Alps are the birthplace of cowbells and sheepbells. Would you like to buy one?"

Luo Tianhai picked one up curiously and looked at it:
"Cowbells and sheepbells? This is the first time I've seen this."

Ronan also came to the stall, saw the things being sold, and asked Zoe behind him:
"Should I buy one for Huhu?"

Zoe smiled and shook her head:

"The sheep bell is for the owner to find the location of the cow or sheep. I don't think Huhu would like to wear it."

"Alan, Freddy, shall we buy a few of these?" While Ronan failed in his shopping, Louis in front of him found his desired target.

Ronan went to the stall where Louis was and found that what was being sold there was his nightmare - French petanque.

But it was not the pure steel ball he was familiar with, and it seemed to be quite old.

"Gentlemen, these are bowling balls made 70 years ago. They have regular shapes and are worth collecting. Would you like to buy a few?" the stall owner enthusiastically promoted.

"It's the old guy!" Freddy came over excitedly.

Alan asked the stall owner:
"how much is it?"

The stall owner made an 8 sign with his hand:
"80 francs, one cue ball, one mother ball, you can choose any style you want."

Ronan lowered his voice to remind Louis, who was eager to go back and play a round:
“It’s unlikely to be an antique at this price.”

Louis said without even looking up:

“But it’s a cool shape, isn’t it?”

Ronan: "."

Turning around, Ronan saw Luo Tianhai walking towards him carrying a huge cowbell.

"Why buy a cowbell? We don't have any cows at home." Ronan asked in surprise.

Luo Tianhai said with a smile:

"It can be placed at home as a decoration. I think it looks nice, don't you?"

Ronan sighed.

It seems that this is the home ground of old men.

Sure enough, the men reaped a great deal at the market.

Louis bought some bowling balls, Luo Tianhai bought a cowbell, Freddy bought a set of horse harnesses, Alan bought a leather apron, and old Carl got a new walking stick.

Zoe was probably the most active girl shopping around. She would watch the owner's demonstration in front of the linen stall and carefully study how to put on horse harnesses.

Seeing that she was just looking but not buying, Ronan took the initiative to say:
"Which one do you like? I'll give it to you."

Zoe laughed softly:

"Why are you stealing my lines? You're the only one who didn't buy anything." Ronan looked around:

“There’s nothing here that particularly attracts me.”

Zoe looked up and asked:
"What do you like?"

Ronan had once given her an expensive plate made from a deposit of ochre mineral, and Zoe had always wanted to give him something in return.

Ronan shrugged.

"I do not know either."

"Come on, kids, we've found a great viewing spot!" Feng Zhen and Leah waved to Ronan and Zoe.

Saint-Remy has a permanent population of only over 6000 people, but it is many times larger than Bonnieux. Even if you don’t know anyone there, you can still find a good viewing spot - a cafe near the main street.

The group booked a private room on the second floor, and outside the window was the empty street.

But this time Alan did not order any wine or food, he just asked for some local Provence snacks and desserts.

He explained to the Paris family:

"It only takes half an hour for the sheep to circle the city center twice. We just left after watching them."

"Only half an hour?" Ronan was a little surprised.

The goat race lasted the entire morning.

Isn't half an hour too 'perfunctory'?
Louis curled his lips:

"If it takes too long, they will miss their flight."

Seeing the puzzled look on the Paris family's faces, Alan kindly explained:

"After leaving here, these sheep will be taken to the high mountain pastures in the Alps by truck. It is not an easy task to organize thousands of sheep to take the truck. They may be busy until dark."

"Where are we going next?" Ronan asked expectantly.

He was so curious, what exactly did Zoe mean by "carnival"?

The honest Alan winked at Ronan playfully:
“It could be anywhere.”

"Here he comes!" cried Freddy. "Here comes the shepherd."

Everyone stood up and gathered around the window, and saw at the end of the road, three old men in traditional shepherd costumes, their sheepdogs and a dense army of goats.

"God, there are so many sheep." Feng Zhen stood on tiptoe, eyes wide open.

Although I was mentally prepared, I was still shocked by the scene before me.

There are more sheep downstairs than people!
"Recently, only 3500 sheep walk on the streets of Saint-Remy every year, but decades ago, the busiest Migration Festival had more than 1 sheep coming here to participate in the carnival." Louis crossed his arms across his chest, as if the scene had already appeared in front of him.

"I haven't even met ten thousand people at the same time in Paris." Luo Tianhai muttered to himself.

"Why are there donkeys?" Ronan saw something different among the sea of sheep.

"In the past, a migration took more than ten days, and the donkeys had to carry the shepherds' supplies, so donkeys were an absolutely indispensable part of the migration festival." Old Carl said, touching his newly bought crutch.

The herdsmen who appeared with the sheep were all "dressed up in their best clothes", and they kept waving to the pedestrians on both sides along the way, showing confidence and generosity.

"This is the real 'big star'!" Feng Zhen said enviously.

These shepherds were definitely the focus of St. Remy today!

Leah said to Feng Zhen with a bright smile:
"Today, each of us is a 'big star'."

As Freddy said, the sheep were only on the street for half an hour before they went to 'board'.

"Is that all?" Ronan stuck his head out and asked with an unsatisfied look.

He looked down and found that after the street was empty, there was obvious agitation among the crowds watching on both sides, and everyone was more excited than when they were watching the flock of sheep.

A few seconds passed and no one in the room answered his question.

Ronan turned around and found that everyone was crowded at the door.

Old Karl put his cane under his armpit, blocked the door and said:
"Ladies and gentlemen, today I have to take advantage of my seniority and I have to find a good position."

Freddy rolled up his sleeves:
“Karl, you are old, I advise you not to do ‘impulsive’ things.”

Louis didn't want to argue with them and tried hard to squeeze out from the gap between Freddy and Carl:

"Damn it, let me out now."

Old Karl handed the other end of the cane to his wife:

"As usual, see you in the middle arena in two hours."

Ronan found that the men were obviously very 'excited' today.

Isn't it that not only the market is men's home ground, but the entire carnival is also a 'paradise' for men?
Alan suddenly rushed out of the box, holding his wife's hand:

"Come on guys, the party is about to begin!"

Alan seemed to have turned on some magical switch.

After he rushed out of the box, the whole building was filled with the sound of countless shoes hitting the ground, and it seemed that thousands of sheep appeared again.

Then Louis, Freddy and Old Carl also rushed out of the room with their wives, fearing that they would fall behind.

Ronan was about to chase after him when he suddenly heard passionate music coming from all directions, and then someone grabbed his hand forcefully.

"Let's go, my dance partner." Zoe smiled and pulled Ronan out of the room.

(End of this chapter)