1986: My Happy Life in Provence

Chapter 19 Buying a Car
Ronan finally understood why the new car had no market in Provence.

How can a new car's bumper be as easy to hit as a used car's bumper?
He couldn't bear to see his shiny car rubbing shoulders with those rusty old cars.

If you can't change it, join it.

Come on, let's destroy it together!
After considering multiple conditions, Ronan chose a 1982 Citroen Dyane.

One reason is that its mileage is relatively short among all the vehicles sold, with only more than 7 kilometers.

Secondly, this is a vehicle that can be used for both travel and cargo transportation. Whether it is transporting grapes in the autumn or selling things in other villages in the future, it has plenty of storage space.

The third reason was that the second-hand car was priced at 19800 francs, which was within Ronan’s affordability and he didn’t even need a loan.

Buying a car requires a lot of procedures. After paying the deposit, Ronan waited at home for Nelson's notice to pick up the car.

During the waiting period, Ronan did not go digging truffles again.

Before the end of the truffle picking season, he will continue digging truffles for a long time. In order to earn more money, he may not have any chance to rest. It is a good opportunity to make relevant preparations in the next few days.

The first thing to do is to get some food to take with you while you're truffle hunting.

It is no exaggeration to say that Ronan feels like vomiting when he sees bread now and cannot eat a single bite.

Apart from gatherings at friends' houses and eating out at restaurants, he hadn't gained [Happiness] from eating in many days, which used to be his favorite way to gain points.

There are now more than 130 points of happiness in the system, and he can make money by digging truffles for more than a month. He doesn't need to think about the next means of livelihood for the time being. By the end of February, he will definitely have saved a lot of [Happiness], so there is no need to worry.

At this time, he opened the system and found a target skill.

[Level 1 Construction: 0\100]

[Level 2 Planting: 0\500]

[Level 2 Collection: 0\500]

[Level 1 Cooking: 0\100]

Ronan was very generous and upgraded the [Cooking] in the system to level 2.

He did not seek help from his parents to improve the relationship between the two sides because the nearest Chinese supermarket to Lourmarin village is in Avignon, and Ronan's current cooking conditions are not enough to support him in making the delicious food that his parents are good at.

And he also needs to improve his cooking skills so that his parents won’t get mad at him when they teach him how to cook.

But this does not mean Ronan gives up Chinese food.

The cooking knowledge gained from Level 2 [Cooking Skills] told him that making dumplings would be no problem at all under the current conditions.

Provence lacks pastures, so there are few farmers raising cattle, which makes beef more expensive. Ronan went to the butcher's shop and bought two pounds of mutton, and went to the vegetable store to buy some onions.

In the past, Ronan's mother always said, "Making dumplings is the easiest way," but Ronan didn't understand.

How can it be easy when you have to knead the dough, cut the vegetables and prepare the stuffing?

But when you actually do it, you will find it is so simple!
After upgrading [Cooking], making dough became a piece of cake for him, as if it was a spiritual imprint engraved in his blood. While waiting for the dough to rise, cutting vegetables, mixing stuffing, and seasoning were also very easy.

By the time the filling is ready, the dough is almost done rising.

Half an hour later, the steaming dumplings were in my mouth.

"This is what it means to eat!" After taking a bite, Ronan almost shed tears, not only because the dumplings were too hot, but also because of the touching feeling brought by the familiar food.

The system also expressed affirmation of Ronan's speech.

[Taste delicious mutton dumplings and increase happiness by 3 points]

[Taste delicious mutton dumplings and increase happiness by 2 points]

I don’t know if it has something to do with personal taste, but the happiness brought by Chinese food is a level higher than that of local food.

Xiao Hei was extremely anxious, drooling as he circled around Ronan.

The person ate two bites and the dog took one bite, and in less than ten minutes more than forty dumplings were gone.

Xiao Hei sat upright, waiting expectantly for the next dumpling to arrive. It was obvious that he was not full yet.

Ronan stroked its head, smiled and tied on his apron:

“We need to pack at least 300 more.”

The dumplings can be frozen after being wrapped and cooked whenever needed. This will be the food for him and Xiao Hei for the next week.

On the fourth day after paying the deposit, Nelson completed all the formalities, handed over the balance and took delivery of the car. Mr. Ronan finally joined the car-owning group.

Nelson's last words as he saw Ronan off were:
"Don't do maintenance if you can avoid it. Don't waste money on the car. It can't break down." Ronan stepped on the accelerator and fled in panic.

The horrible Provencals!
The next day after picking up the car, Ronan left the village of Lourmarin before dawn.

It was already bright when we arrived at the destination at around seven o'clock, and it was not yet half past eight when we hiked to the secret garden.

This extended his truffle digging time by three hours.

From 8:30 in the morning to 3:30 in the afternoon, it is nearly twice as much as before.

Of course, the harvest also increased exponentially, with more than a dozen truffles dug out a day.

But since I spent one day looking at cars, four days waiting for them, and one day making dumplings at home this week, I only had one day to go truffle hunting.

This resulted in a sharp drop in his "brilliance" at the market on Friday.

Many people who had witnessed the grand event last week couldn't resist their curiosity and came to see Ronan's stall again.

"How many truffles did that amazing guy from Lourmarin dig up this week? Not another sixty, right?"

The result was disappointing to them.

11 yuan.
Did he dig those sixty pieces last week himself?

Pierre was worried that the situation last week would happen again, so he brought people over to maintain order, but he found that Ronan's stall was deserted.

He patted Ronan on the shoulder:

"We rely on nature for our livelihood. Don't be discouraged. At least you are better than many people."

Ronan smiled and said:
"I told you it was because of good luck, but you didn't believe me and insisted on asking me for advice. Do you believe me now?"

Being misunderstood, Ronan had no intention of explaining.

This week, too many people asked him for the secret of digging truffles, and even some villagers from other villages came here specifically for this purpose, which seriously affected his life.

"I knew you were lucky!"

Pierre told Ronan a lot of jokes and only left after making sure that Ronan was not affected or hurt.

As soon as he left, Zoe spoke:

"I made a lot of money in these two markets. I'll treat you to lunch at noon."

"Huh?" Ronan turned his head in confusion.

Hey Hey hey!
Don't feel sorry for me. How could I deserve pity?

These 11 truffles can be sold for at least 2000!
There is a saying in Provence: As long as the sun doesn't show up, disaster is bound to strike.

The weather has a very noticeable impact on the residents of Provence.

They expect sunny days every day, otherwise they will be depressed, and the cold air that comes with February is a brutal personal attack on them.

The impending cold wave has kept almost everyone indoors. Of course, there is one exception, and that is the old tavern where drunkards gather, but here too, there are sounds of sighs and groans.

"You sigh too? I can't think of anything that can make you unhappy." Pierre put his hat on the table, rubbed his hands, and said to a man who looked about four or five points like Theo.

This man was taller and stronger than Theo, and was also dressed in standard Provencal farmer's attire. He was none other than Theo's brother Lucas.

Lucas said to Pierre in a sarcastic tone:

"Today is Friday, aren't you going to the market to stand guard for your 'little brother'?"

Lucas won the truffle competition, but the farmers in the village were more attracted to Ronan who could find truffles without using hunting dogs, which made it difficult for him to balance himself mentally.

Pierre laughed dryly:
"That guy just got lucky. He only dug out 11 pieces last week. He doesn't need to go this week."

He quickly diverted the awkward topic:
"Tell me, why are you sighing?"

Before Lucas could speak, a farmer ran in in a panic and shouted:

"Ronan asked us to come over and help!"

"What's wrong with Ronan?" Pierre asked with a frown.

“Ronan’s stall had a whole box of truffles on it, and the entire main road was blocked!”

(End of this chapter)