1986: My Happy Life in Provence

Chapter 176 Thank you, please pay me the performance fee

How small is this world?
Ronan actually met Gabriel, the Apt candy merchant with a moustache, in the contract office.

Gabriel was very satisfied with Ronan's reaction and hugged him warmly with open arms:
"When I heard them say you rented the first store here, my expression was the same as yours now, so I swear I must see this expression on your face too! Do you know how hard it was for me to endure? Hahahaha - Ronan, we are neighbors now!"

"Why did you come to Lourmarin to open a shop?" Ronan patted Gabriel on the back twice. They hadn't seen each other for a long time.

Gabriel leaned over and whispered in Ronan's ear:
“I will expand as much as possible in Provence, and I haven’t set foot in Lourmarin before.”

"I see." Ronan smiled and stood beside Gabriel. "Who has been 'signed' now?"

"The first signing hasn't started yet." Gabriel said to Ronan excitedly, "Let's go outside and chat for a while. It will take a while before it starts here. Don't disturb everyone."

"Okay." Ronan and Gabriel left arm in arm like good brothers.

Gabriel and Ronan's "old friends reminiscing about the past" plot confused everyone in the room, especially the other three shop owners from other villages.

Without the staff saying anything, the signing room automatically divided into two camps.

On one side were the fashionable and elegant shopkeepers from other villages, most of whom came from big towns like Apt and Aix; on the other side were the villagers from the village, who were simply dressed and obviously a little nervous.

The people of Lourmarin are simple and honest. The villagers feel uncomfortable at the thought of facing the camera. Moreover, they are all familiar people who have lived together for decades. They have no desire to talk and all stand quietly aside.

As soon as the shop owners from other villages arrived, they started chatting enthusiastically, and during the conversation, they discovered that there was actually a "celebrity" from Provence among them.

Gabriel was known as the King of Apt candied fruit. He was a very famous businessman in Provence and his business even expanded overseas.

The other three were just trying to make some "deep friendships" with Gabriel, but they didn't expect him to run off with another shop owner.

Hey, no, something's wrong!

"Didn't they say there were only four shop owners from other villages?" asked a female shop owner with hair curled like a lion and a strong rock vibe.

The other male shop owner wearing glasses looked at the other two people:

"Are there Lourmarins among us?"

The man who went out with Gabriel was well-dressed, well-mannered, and yellow-skinned, and certainly not a villager from Lourmarin.

Then it could only be that there was some 'misunderstanding' among the three of them.

Finally, a slightly plump middle-aged male shop owner said, smoking a pipe:
"I have only been to Lourmarin five or six times, and the café will be run by my wife's brother in the future. This joke is not funny at all."

The rock girl also argued:
"I'm from Aix."

Several shopkeepers in Lourmarin heard their conversation and kindly reminded them:
"Ronan is a villager from Lourmarin."

"Is that person a villager from Lourmarin?" The rock girl's afro shook violently. "Why are there yellow-skinned villagers here?"

A Lourmarin villager said with a smile:
"In the future you will understand that Ronan is not only a native of Lourmarin, but also the most special one."

Shop owners from other villages soon realized the specialness of the young man named Ronan in Lourmarin.

Before the signing ceremony began, Lourmarin's village chief, Blanco, gave a short 'speech'.

They unexpectedly discovered that the village chief had excellent manners and speech, and it was obvious that he had seen the world.

Blanc himself is also a part of the 'Lourmarin Image Change Plan'. In a tone that couldn't be more ordinary, he told the interesting stories of his encounters with French superstars, and expressed very tactfully that he still maintains close contact with Cannes.

And the veteran filmmaker forced Ronan to sit next to him during the final photo session and was polite to him throughout.

That shouldn't be the attitude of a village chief towards normal villagers, nor should it be the attitude of a worldly-wise filmmaker towards an ordinary shop owner.

"That guy named Ronan is not ordinary." The male shop owner with glasses said to two other colleagues from other villages after recording the "signing ceremony".

"He is very familiar with Gabriel, and the village chief seems to respect him very much. Have you heard of his name before? What does he do?" the rock girl asked the other two.

"No." The slightly plump middle-aged male shop owner said, "But we can find out if we go and ask."

After saying that, he took the initiative to walk to Ronan:

"Hey man, what kind of store are you opening on the high street?"

Ronan said politely:

“Open a restaurant.”

The rock girl tilted her head in surprise and said jokingly to the middle-aged male shop owner:

"You two will be 'rivals' from now on."

There is not much difference between a cafe and a restaurant, both are places where you can eat.

Ronan smiled and shook his head:

"There will be no competition. I run a Chinese restaurant."

"Chinese restaurant?" The bespectacled shop owner thought Ronan was joking. "Don't be ridiculous, man. There is no Chinese restaurant in Provence. No one knows Chinese food."

Ronan spread his hands:

“So I opened it.”

"Hey, I've signed!" Gabriel came out of the office and immediately pestered Ronan, "Can I go to your house for lunch? How about making me some Chinese food?"

"Of course, no problem." Ronan pointed outside the door, "I'll go tell my dad and ask him to go back and prepare now."

"Then I won't be polite!" Gabriel and Ronan walked out arm in arm like good brothers.

The three shop owners were completely devastated.

Who is this Ronan?
Inside an office in a government office building.

"Have the media arrived?" Blanco asked Sylvie.

Sylvie replied:

"We are here and taking a break. We will arrange interviews with the store owners as soon as the 'signing ceremony' is over. People from the TV station have also arrived and are filming in the village."

Blanco nodded:
"Then let's proceed according to the prior arrangement."

"Okay, I'm out then." Sylvie left with the documents.

"Wait." Blanco suddenly stopped Sylvie, "Don't forget to give Ronan some special status. Ronan is the face of Lourmarin, and we need to help him maintain this face. We need to let those shop owners from other villages know that Lourmarin will never mistreat those who love it."

Sylvie blinked:
"Don't worry, village chief."

This is what I am best at.

Ronan thought the number of media coming today was similar to the last time he went to the market to shoot, but he didn't expect it to be a huge upgrade. In addition to the magazines that came before, Ines's magazine also sent people.

Michelin Magazine is the largest magazine organization in southern France, and even Gabriel was a little surprised.

"The Lourmarin government attaches great importance to the commercial street project and has invited so many media and TV stations."

Ronan stood with him inseparable:
"Of course, this is the most important project in Lourmarin."

Gabriel said happily:
“It seems that this investment is a clear decision.”

Ronan and Gabriel were like two middle school students who didn't like to study. They chatted secretly in a place where the "teacher" couldn't see them. They had no idea how much effort Sylvie had put in to give Ronan a little "specialness" a few meters away.

"Let's interview Ronan next?" the media asked, holding the outline Sylvie had given them in advance.

Several shopkeepers from other villages pricked up their ears unconsciously when they heard the word 'Ronan'.

Sylvie cleared her throat and said in a loud voice:
"It doesn't matter whether you interview Ronan in the morning or not. We will have to conduct more detailed interviews with him in the afternoon at the fountain, commercial street, Château de Lourmarin and vineyards. Let's interview the others first in the morning."

The material for the afternoon was requested by the Tourism Bureau. As the "feature" of Lourmarin, Ronan recorded a short video for tourists to take everyone on a tour of Lourmarin. Not only Ronan appeared in the video, but also several Lourmarin villagers. Everyone in the village knew about this.

The interview in the morning and the interview in the afternoon were two different things, and Sylvie deliberately mixed them up.

The pupils of the three shop owners from other villages trembled.

what?
Can Ronan get more exposure?
These promotions are so important!

Maybe it can bring traffic directly to the store!

The performance was almost over, and Sylvie muttered again:
"Why don't you collect some too? The more materials the better."

She shouted a few meters away:

"Ronan, come over for the interview!"

"Coming, coming!" Ronan temporarily left Gabriel and sat in the interview chair.

A female reporter raised her chin at Ronan:
"meet again."

Ronan stared at her for a few seconds:
"It's you, I almost didn't recognize you."

This was the female reporter who had once harassed him at the market.

"I won't be too 'polite' to you today." The female reporter said jokingly.

"Can you be more rude than last time?" Ronan straightened his suit and said, "Let's get started."

"That's Daisy from the South of France Travel Guide." The rock female shop owner said, grabbing her hair. "Does Ronan have such a good relationship with the media?"

"Such a powerful person, why have I never heard of his name?" The male shop owner with glasses frowned.

"Guys, the point now is not who Ronan is, but why he is so favored by the Lourmarin government," said the plump middle-aged male shop owner. "I don't think it has anything to do with his being a local villager. Other Lourmarin villagers didn't get this kind of treatment. I don't think it has anything to do with his background. Gabriel didn't get this treatment either."

They were extremely impressed by the Lourmarin government.

A village chief who has close relationships with celebrities and a group of well-trained staff.

And they are willing to spend money!

In Provence, anything you want to do requires government support.

How did Ronan get this special treatment?

Soon, they got their answer.

"What motivated you to rent a shop here?" the reporter asked Ronan.

Ronan said in a rhythmic tone:

"Because I believe in the vision of the Lourmarin government. They must have their reasons for developing a commercial street project here."

"I heard that you consulted and signed the contract on the same day. Don't you need to think about it again?" the reporter continued to ask.

Ronan shook his head:

"I have great confidence in the Lourmarin government. They are a group of professional and responsible people, and they have considered a lot for the villagers. Under their leadership, the future of Lourmarin will definitely get better and better."

Sylvie felt embarrassed after hearing this and signaled to the reporter that enough was enough and they could stop.

Ronan was addicted to acting, and suddenly bowed in Sylvie's direction:
"Finally, I would like to thank the government for its hard work and dedication during this period. Thank you for your hard work!"

The morning activities ended and everyone left the government office building.

Several shop owners from other villages were exchanging contact information at the door, and suddenly heard some "familiar" words.

They looked in the direction of the sound and found that it was a local TV station in Provence interviewing a yellow-skinned middle-aged woman.

"Lourmarin has good air, good environment, good government, and good villagers. I don't want to go back to Paris at all. I even want to introduce my friends in Paris to buy houses here."

After the woman spoke eloquently for a while, the staff smiled and said to her:
"Okay, the interview with Channel 3 is over. Let's go to another place to record the one with Channel 5."

"How many more are there behind?" Feng Zhen asked excitedly.

"There are still three more. If we can't finish recording in the morning, we can continue in the afternoon." The staff said with a smile.

"No, no, no, I have to finish recording them even if I don't eat." Feng Zhen shouted in a certain direction, "Son, I have too many interviews. You don't have to wait for me for lunch."

Ronan and Gabriel walked together arm in arm and waved to their mother:

"understood!"

The rock girl suddenly turned around and walked towards the government building:
"I think my previous answer was not good enough. I can record some more footage."

"Me too, I was too careless before."

"Then come together, I'll help you re-record it."

the next morning.

Blanco finished reading yesterday's material and asked Sylvie excitedly.

“You didn’t force these shop owners from other villages, did you?”

Sylvie shook her head repeatedly:
"No, we didn't say anything, but they suddenly imitated Ronan and fell in love with Lourmarin. The media complained to me, saying that these people kept talking and disturbed their get off work."

Blanco slapped the table happily:
"Okay, okay! Go give Ronan another 5000 'decoration fund'. We have to pay him this 'performance fee'. He has helped us a lot!"

(End of this chapter)