1986: My Happy Life in Provence

Chapter 166 Unexpected Ability

Ronan sat in the newly decorated outdoor rest area, ate some fresh seasonal cherries and drank a sip of rosé wine. Although the temperature was over 35 degrees, he still felt that life was extremely comfortable.

Decorating the yard taught him to enjoy life while he can.

If he wanted to save money for opening the restaurant and renovate the yard next year, then now he could only lie in the stuffy bedroom, waiting for the sun to set.

As if to encourage Ronan's decision, every time he came to the backyard to rest or daydream, the system would give him some "rewards".

[A comfortable nap increases happiness by 5 points]

Having tasted the "sweetness", Ronan felt it necessary to use up the experience in the system. Blind accumulation would not bring him anything.

After another two days of accumulation, his experience points have now exceeded 2, and his happiness level has "skyrocketed."

"But which one?"

This is the problem Ronan now faces.

His eyes moved back and forth between [Construction] and [Cooking] in the system. These were the two skills he thought were more worthy of upgrading.

It is now mid-July, and in about 7 days we will be able to get the keys to the restaurant and start the renovation.

Ronan had already booked Cafu’s time, but he hadn’t finished the furniture yet.

Upgrading [Construction] can speed up the production of furniture, and may even provide great help in the upcoming renovation.

However, Luo Tianhai has been trying out dishes for almost a month, so it is necessary to upgrade [Cooking].

After all, only by capturing the customer's stomach can you capture the customer's wallet.

"Dad, have you decided which dishes you will sell in the restaurant in the future?" Ronan asked Luo Tianhai at the dining table that night.

Ronan's family has a very lively meal every day.

From Cantonese cuisine to Sichuan cuisine, from Shandong cuisine to Zhejiang cuisine. But after so many days, Luo Tianhai only decided on one dish to sell.

"Mushroom soup. I told you a long time ago that I would sell this dish in the future." Luo Tianhai said to Ronan.

Ronan shrugged awkwardly:

"I 'invented' this dish. What I meant was, have you tried any dishes recently?"

Luo Tianhai slowed down his eating speed:

"It's not as simple as you think. When opening a restaurant in France, you can't give customers dozens of choices like in China. They won't know what to eat. The dishes written on the menu must be 'carefully selected' and reflect the highest level of Chinese cuisine and the restaurant."

Feng Zhen also helped Luo Tianhai many times, and explained to Ronan from a "financial" perspective:
"We also have to consider the cost. We just arrived in Provence and need to find a supplier that is both cheap and good. We also need to understand the prices here. The cost is different and the 'method' of each dish is different. It takes time to explore."

"Mom, are you an expert too?" Hearing these words from Feng Zhen made Ronan feel extremely unfamiliar.

In order to prove that he is more professional, Luo Tianhai added:

“The cost of ingredients should strictly follow the principle of four points.”

"What is the rule of four?" Ronan asked his father.

The one who answered was mother Feng Zhen:

“Divide the price of the dish by four, and you’ll get the red line for the cost of the ingredients.”

"God." Ronan raised his glass to toast his parents. "What would I do without you? Thank God I have a pair of experienced parents!"

Luo Tianhai knew that his son was anxious to ask this question, so he comforted Ronan:
"I'll try to 'improve' the version first to reduce your stress."

Ronan waved to his father:
"No, I'm improving very quickly, you can prepare at your own pace."

His father's rich experience gave Ronan a great boost of confidence, and he felt that he did not need to worry about internal operations at all.

"You're trying to be brave again. Have you forgotten how exhausted you were that day?" Luo Tianhai looked at Ronan with a smile. "You should focus on the decoration and promotion for now. Don't worry about the dishes. I will give you enough time to improve them."

Feng Zhen also echoed:

"That's right, it's not your turn yet, son. To put it bluntly, you're not as useful as Freddy right now."

Freddy was the first supplier identified by Luo Tianhai.

With Freddy's help and introduction, Luo Tianhai got to know many suppliers of other categories, and is now carefully selecting from them.

"Okay." Ronan nodded silently.

In this case, there is no need to rush to upgrade [Cooking].

Feng Zhen smiled and picked up a piece of meat for her son:

"You, please focus on Zoe first."

Zoe is going to Aix for several days.

In addition to participating in the exhibition, you also have to participate in the early exhibition layout and the later art salon.

Ronan sent her and a dozen pieces of equipment over and brought them back a few days later.

Since receiving the notice to participate in the exhibition, Zoe's temperament has changed and she has become much more confident.

In the past, Ronan felt that there was a shining soul under her low-key appearance, but now Ronan thinks that Zoe is "dazzling" from the inside out.

Going to Aix again, Zoe changed into fashionable clothes that she would only wear when going to the "big city".

She was wearing a white belly-baring camisole underneath a light blue casual shirt, and her long golden hair was casually draped on both sides of her body. Every time Zoe used her hands to gather her scattered hair back, Ronan couldn't help but want to turn his head to take a look.

"We are on a mountain road now, please drive carefully." Zoe patted Ronan's arm as a punishment.

Ronan turned back to look at the road:

“You are becoming more and more sexy now.”

God, temperament really changes a woman.

Ronan couldn't imagine what Zoe's temperament would be like if she really became a famous artist in the future.

Shouldn’t he be on par with celebrities?
Zoe had a faint smile on her face:
"If I heard this in another situation, I would praise you for being more and more eloquent, but in this situation, for our safety, I need to shift your attention to other things."

She leaned against the junction of the seat and the car window, looked at Ronan's profile and asked:

“How are you going to decorate the restaurant?”

Ronan looked ahead and said:

"The courtyard is designed in the southern French style, and the decorations are made of stone. I will still go to Duoku to customize it. I will make the table myself, but I haven't decided on the chairs yet. Do you think it would look good if they were all made of wood?"

Zoe is also engaged in a profession related to "beauty", and her aesthetic taste is very good.

Judging from the way she is dressed now, she doesn't look like a girl from the countryside in southern France at all. Ronan would believe her if she said she was from Paris.

He was going to listen to Zoe's opinion.

Zoe thought for a while and said carefully:
"Can we have more elements? I think the iron chairs and wooden table would be nice, and you can put a nice tablecloth on the table."

Ronan fantasized in his head:
"It's really a good picture, but I don't know any furniture store that specializes in iron art." Zuo said without thinking:

"I have a friend who makes iron decorations. I'll contact her when I get to Aix to see if she's willing to take your order."

"Is it expensive?" Ronan asked.

"That was my best friend in college." Zoe bit her lip sexily, as if looking at her prey. "She should give me a friendship price."

Ronan didn't see Zoe's expression and said seriously:

"I'll go to her studio with you sometime."

"Okay." Zoe smiled happily. She liked all activities that she could do with Ronan. "What about indoors? What are you going to do?"

During the night tour, she heard Ronan say that he planned to design the interior and exterior of the restaurant in two different styles.

Ronan smacked his lips:

"I'm planning to find some 'Oriental' decorations to decorate the interior, but I haven't decided what they are yet. Is there a place in Provence that sells these things?"

There are many Chinese people in Paris and they are concentrated.

But there are much fewer Chinese activities in Provence.

Ronan only knew that there were Chinese supermarkets in Avignon and Marseille, and he had no idea about anything else.

Zoe frowned and thought for a moment:
"I will help you ask."

"Thank you." Ronan turned his head to look at Zoe.

Zoe smiled brightly and said:

“If we can’t find it, we’ll make it ourselves.”

Ronan curled his lips bitterly:

"Made of wood?"

Is this too much trouble?
Zoe smiled and sat down, no longer looking at him, and said confidently:

"I know more than just woodworking, rope work, ceramics and glass. Please try to let me show you more of my talents."

The corners of Ronan's mouth curled up uncontrollably.

Confident Zoe is so charming!

The experienced Luo Tianhai took away some of Ronan's pressure to "improve the dishes".

Zoe can also be a great help in restaurant decoration.

Therefore, Ronan felt that there was no rush to upgrade [Construction] and [Cooking], and he could wait until August to see the situation.

So he turned his attention to several other skills.

October is not far away.

Upgrading [Collection] will definitely increase the speed and efficiency of digging truffles, which is a shortcut to getting rich. However, that seems to be a more distant thing. Ronan is confident that he can accumulate enough experience to upgrade before that.

But this reminded him that he had not yet purchased the professional equipment needed for hunting and picking truffles in the mountains in winter.

With a hunting license, he can go deep into the forest. Even if he doesn't have money to buy an antique gun, he will need an ordinary gun.

But these also have nothing to do with upgrading skills.

[Hunting] is definitely not within Ronan's consideration.

[Fishing] and [brewing] were not even within Ronan's consideration, and there was no scenario for their use at all.

From this perspective, Ronan seems to have only one choice.
Upgrade [Planting]?
As a farmer, Ronan's [Planting] skill is indeed too low.

Grapes can be picked in mid-September, but a day earlier or later will have a huge impact on the fruit. Experienced farmers determine the harvest time based on real-time conditions, and it is indeed necessary to improve their capabilities in this area.

And there was another reason that pushed Ronan to focus on "planting" - the artificial truffle forest that Lucas invested all his money on.

There is no doubt that the possibilities in the truffle business are endless.

Opening a restaurant and trying to contact Mr. Luronte are both for the purpose of getting in touch with the large number of high-quality catering resources in Provence and preparing for the future truffle delivery business.

From a personal perspective, Ronan didn't want to see the proud Lucas lose everything. He was a man Ronan respected and the older brother of Ronan's good friend Theo.

For both public and private reasons, Ronan should try to revive the project.

The only thing he was unsure of now was whether upgrading to Level 4 [Planting] would give him the ability to artificially cultivate truffles.

"How do you know if you don't try? Besides, I have so many ways to gain happiness now, and 2000 experience points will be earned soon."

Ronan has made up his mind. He will first use 500 experience points to upgrade [Planting] to level three, and then carefully feel the changes in his body.

First of all, his planting technique has become more "sophisticated".

Agricultural techniques such as seed soaking, drip irrigation, and mulching come to mind, and each crop has different high-quality planting methods to judge.

The second ability is to determine the condition of a crop by looking at its appearance.

For example, he now looked at the flowers in the Roman column area and knew that Henry had not come to water them for at least four days.

This ability already allows Ronan to find the best time to harvest in September.

However, he continued to consume 2000 experience points and upgraded [Planting] to level 4, becoming the one with the highest level in the system.

[Level 3 Construction: 0\2000]

[Level 4 Planting: 0\5000]

[Level 3 Collection: 0\2000]

[Level 3 Cooking: 0\2000]

[Level 1 Fishing: 0\100]

[Level 1 Hunting: 0\100]

[Level 1 Brewing: 0\100]

[Usable experience: 577]

Ronan searched his mind expectantly, and after a few seconds he sighed helplessly.

There was no additional information about artificially grown truffles in his mind, it seemed that the level was not high enough.

The first newly added capability is the ability to identify terrain and soil.

The second ability surprised him.

Ronan looked up at the sky and took a deep breath.
“It smells like rain.”

(End of this chapter)