1986: My Happy Life in Provence

Chapter 188 Two Major Creeds in Life
Luo Tianhai was determined to do this "troublesome" thing of selling lunch boxes.

His wife and son have repeatedly advised him that it is best to "take it step by step."

But Luo Tianhai just wanted to quickly verify whether his cooking skills could be developed in Provence, so he insisted on trying a few more dishes, and eventually ended up selling boxed lunches.

But a real man should take responsibility for his own actions.

He gets up early and doesn't bother anyone. He just needs to bear the hardship himself.

Unexpectedly, I got up at 3 o'clock. My wife and son were both on the first floor.

"Good morning, Dad." Ronan was washing dishes in the kitchen.

"Your son has cut the ingredients for you. See if anything else is missing?" Feng Zhen prepared all the seasonings.

Luo Tianhai felt mixed emotions and didn't know what to say for a moment.

I walked around the kitchen twice but couldn't find any work I could do.

"You don't have to help me, I'm fine on my own. Go upstairs and have some sleep. I'll call you around 5 o'clock." Luo Tianhai said stubbornly.

Ronan put the pot away and said with a smile:
"Hurry up and stir-fry. The food is big and hard to cook. I'll learn from you."

Feng Zhen stuffed the spatula into Luo Tianhai's hand and said impatiently:

"I'm telling you, don't be so hypocritical, just take a nap in the afternoon and get back to work!"

Luo Tianhai felt that the shovel in his hand was no longer a shovel, and the pot in front of him was no longer a pot.

They are the 'fuel' that drives him to work hard for his family.

This "fuel" ignited a raging fire in his body, burning him all over.

However, this raging fire was "extinguished" by reality within a few hours.

The markets in Provence usually start at 8 am and end before 12 noon.

After having breakfast, you won’t feel hungry for a short time.

Wine is something that the French will drink as soon as they open their eyes, and they can drink it at any time.

The target audience of sweet and sour pork is women and children. They eat it as a "snack". It doesn't matter if they are full, so it's just right to have it as a snack.

But people who are full have no interest in the big meal 'box lunch'.

Every customer who comes to buy sweet and sour pork and rosé wine will go to the lunch box area to take a look, but they just look around, ask what this is and what that is, and then leave.

By 9:5, Ronan had sold out 3 bottles of rosé wine and a large pot of pork, and the boxed lunches only suffered minor injuries, with a total of sold.

"It's the first day of selling, so we need to give everyone some time to accept it." Feng Zhen comforted Luo Tianhai while pouring pink wine.

Ronan also took time to encourage his father:
"Don't worry, it's not time yet. People will buy it later when they get hungry."

The reason for 9 o'clock is that it is too early and the tourists are not hungry yet.

The reason for 10 o'clock is that hungry people haven't gotten here yet, so wait a little longer.

But at nearly 11 o'clock, Luo Tianhai finally realized that he had made a mistake after watching customers passing by one by one with bread, sausages, cheese or barbecue in their hands.

"I thought things were too simple."

Taste is not the only determining factor, but also how to encourage these people to 'try' new things.

Ronan's sweet and sour pork and pink wine became popular little by little thanks to his unique "slogan", and there are always people queuing up to buy them, which can continuously attract new customers.

But Hefan does not have such conditions. It does not have a fixed customer base and does not have a catchy "slogan".

Luo Tianhai thought that he could succeed in one go just because he had good skills, which was too much of a stretch.

Ronan noticed that his father hadn't spoken for a long time, so he walked over and said to him:

"Don't worry, we'll sit down and think about how to adjust it when we get home. We can figure it out slowly by trying it out."

Luo Tianhai waved his hand at him:

"You are already very tired every day, and you got up so early today. Go back to sleep in the afternoon. You still have to go to Mena Village tomorrow. I can take care of it myself."

Ronan smiled and said:
"Let's discuss it together. We can go to Mena Village tomorrow and make adjustments. How long will it take you to figure it out by yourself?"

Luo Tianhai said stubbornly:
"Don't worry about the lunch box job. I can do it myself."

"Let's talk about it later." Seeing that there were more people queuing up, Ronan hurried back to continue making sweet and sour pork.

The turning point came after 11 o'clock.

There were obviously fewer tourists on the street, and it was time for lunch, so everyone started looking for a place to have lunch.

Finance Feng Zhen went to Luo Tianhai to count the money and said encouragingly:
"More than 300 francs, that's pretty good."

With the help of the traffic of sweet and sour pork and pink wine on the other side, the lunch box business here is not booming, but acceptable.

Luo Tianhai’s lunch boxes are not priced high, ranging from 20 to 45 francs depending on the dishes chosen.

We have sold more than ten copies, don’t be ungrateful.

Although he was prepared, there was still a hint of disappointment in Luo Tianhai's tone:
"I won't sell this tomorrow. I'm thinking of getting something else."

Feng Zhen smacked her lips:

"What did your son tell you? Let's sit down and discuss it together when we get home. Don't try to handle everything by yourself."

The couple was talking when the fat boy Cornell appeared in front of the stall:

"Give me one, thank you."

Luo Tianhai and Feng Zhen were both stunned.

People in Lourmarin don’t have the habit of eating out, and Cornell had just gone to their house for dinner a few days ago. Is he craving for it again?

"I'll give you one, free of charge." This is Ronan's friend, and Luo Tianhai doesn't want to charge him.

Cornell put the money down firmly:

"It's definitely not possible without money, this is a business!"

Ronan heard the conversation and asked Cornell, "Why did you come out to buy food? Didn't your mother cook lunch today?"

Cornell explained to Ronan:

"My sister and her kids are back from Milk, and I plan to let them try Chinese food."

Ronan said to his father:

"Sell it to him. Cornell has a large family, so give him more."

It’s not good not to ask for money, but it’s okay to give more.

"Thank you." Cornell went home happily with his bulging lunch box.

A few minutes later, Theo came running in panic:

"Give me one now, I ruined Anna's lunch!"

Theo's wife went to her parents' home in Cassis these days. Theo was reluctant to let "Little Sun" leave, so he asked his wife to leave the child in Lourmarin.

Feng Zhen said worriedly while serving food to Theo:
"I told you not to make a complicated dish like stewed lamb tripe for Anna. You can just make a sandwich."

Theo went to Ronan's house yesterday and asked how to stew lamb tripe, saying that he wanted his daughter to see her father's cooking skills. The Ronan family had foreseen this outcome.

Theo threw down the money and ran away:
"Anna doesn't eat everything!"

Luo Tianhai was looking at Theo and sighing. The government employee that Sylvie had arranged to maintain order for Ronan also came over and ordered one.

"I heard from Pierre that the Chinese food you cook is very delicious. I'll go back and try it with my family."

Not everyone has the opportunity to dine at Ronan's house.

Most people can only hear the taste of Chinese food from other people's mouths.

Cornell and Theo's performances don't seem exaggerated.

Then buy it and try it?
It was deserted in the first few hours, but at the end of the market, several villagers came to buy lunch boxes. They were all introduced by the mobile "promoter".

Feng Zhen rolled her eyes at Luo Tianhai as she passed by him:
"You want to carry it yourself, but can you handle it? These are all guests brought by Ronan's friends!"

Luo Tianhai sighed bitterly.

He just wanted to help his son share some of the pressure.

After returning home, Luo Tianhai obediently sat down with his wife and son to hold a "review" meeting.

He used to have only one motto in life - everything his wife said was right.

Now add one more thing – do whatever your son asks you to do.

Work honestly and down-to-earth for your son and stop trying to be stubborn!
"Are we going to Mena Village to sell lunch boxes tomorrow?" Luo Tianhai asked Ronan for his opinion.

Ronan thought for a while:
"You can continue to sell them, but you have to change the way you sell them. It's not suitable to sell lunch boxes in the morning because not many people buy them and they get cold after being left out for so long."

Those dishes were cooked at night, so even if they were kept warm enough, they wouldn’t last until noon.

Luo Tianhai nodded:
"The heat preservation effect is not that good. If the lunch is still hot, more portions can be sold."

A few tourists didn't want to eat in the restaurant but left after hearing that the food was not very hot.

Ronan patted the armrest of the sofa:
"Tomorrow morning, my mother and I will go to Mena Village. You can come with a hot lunch around 10 o'clock. This way, we don't have to get up early."

"There are just two of you who can't handle it in the morning." Luo Tianhai protested.

Ronan patiently explained:
"Vieri is at home on the weekends, and Leah can come to help at any time. It's easy to find people. Just focus on selling lunch boxes and don't worry about anything else."

Luo Tianhai is no longer the confident Luo Tianhai from yesterday. He waved his hands and said:

"I've discovered that this lunch box won't sell well in a short time, so I'd better help you honestly."

Ronan pointed at the money on the table with his chin:
"It's selling really well today, over 600 francs. I didn't make that much when I first started selling sweet and sour pork in Lourmarin."

Luo Tianhai frowned and said:
"But these are all guests brought by your friends. No one in Mena Village has ever eaten Chinese food. No one has promoted it. Even if there are more people, it will be useless."

Luo Tianhai finally understood everything.

The situation with boxed lunches is completely different from that with rosé wine and sweet and sour pork.

The reputations of the first two have already spread.

If you want to popularize something new in Provence, you can only rely on word of mouth among acquaintances. No other method is as effective as this.

Out of a hundred tourists who come to see, maybe only five will buy. But if those who are recommended by acquaintances come, everyone will buy.

Ronan smiled and patted his legs:

"No one in Mena Village has eaten it, so we try to find people to eat it. If no one promotes it, we try to find people to promote it. Customers are accumulated slowly."

Feng Zhen and Luo Tianhai asked in unison:

"What are you going to do?"

The next morning.

Mena Village.

People who often visit the Mena Village Market should know that they can often hear a special shouting sound while walking in the market.

"Sir, Miss, Madam, would you like to try the specialty pink wine of Provence? I swear it's something you can't taste anywhere else!"

At the beginning, only a yellow-skinned stall owner would shout this slogan.

Later, more and more people shouted it, and it has become a feature of the market in Mena Village.

But when they came to the Mena Village market again today, they heard another "special" shout.

The hawking voice is not directed at tourists, but at the stall owners.

The person shouting was also a yellow-skinned man, but he was a little older than the previous one.

"Hey, I'm the owner of the stall next door that sells pink wine and sweet and sour pork. Are you hungry at this hour? Do you want to try our new Chinese lunch boxes? They're delicious and not expensive. We're in the same business, so I can give you a discount. I can also deliver them to you so as not to interrupt your business."

(End of this chapter)