1986: My Happy Life in Provence

Chapter 199 Lighting Ceremony
In addition to the weather changes in September, another obvious change is that farmers have become more reliable.

People spent less time drinking and more time hanging out in their own vineyards.

Every morning you can see farmers among the neatly arranged vines, checking the plump and juicy grapes all over the mountains.

The upgrade of the Moli Winemaking Cooperative this year has made everyone pay special attention to their grape harvest, and they may be able to earn as much in one year as they would in two years.

The one in the most tense state among them is Pierre.

The best farmer in Lourmarin is everyone's "benchmark". When Pierre starts to harvest grapes, farmers in the whole village will take action immediately, which means that the best time to harvest grapes has arrived.

One afternoon, Ronan was pulling the vines to the restaurant and saw Pierre standing in the vineyard outside the village. He stopped and called to him:
"Go back to the village? I'll take you back?"

Pierre waved his hand behind Ronan's back:
"I'll stay a little longer, you go back first."

The sun was shining brightly and there was nothing to do. What was Pierre doing in the vineyard?
Ronan got out of the car and walked to Pierre. He found that Pierre was looking at the sky, then at the bunch of grapes in his hand, and muttering something under his breath.

"What are you doing?" Ronan asked.

Pierre frowned:
"I'm wondering if I should start picking them now."

Ronan tilted his head back slightly:
"Can we wait a few more days?"

Ronan's [Planting] skill told him that it would take another ten days for these little things to grow to their fullest.

Pierre said in a complicated tone:
"They should have been allowed to ripen a little longer, but the weather in September is unreliable. If a storm comes, the grapes won't be able to produce juice anymore."

September is still the rainy season in Provence, and the weather is unpredictable.

Ronan looked up at the sky and sniffed hard:
"There shouldn't be any rain in the next few days."

Pierre's forehead wrinkles became more obvious:

"I also checked the weather forecast every day, but it's still not safe."

Sweat kept dripping down Pierre's neck. It was obvious that he had been standing in the scorching sun for quite some time.

Ronan patted him on the back and pointed at his car:
"Let's go back first. It's no use standing here."

Pierre suddenly hugged Ronan's neck and left the vineyard with a smile:
"I get overly anxious when September comes. I wake up every day thinking I should pick them."

Although Pierre was smiling again, Ronan knew that the pressure on him was not relieved because he refused Ronan's invitation to drink.

When he dropped Pierre off in the village, Ronan said seriously:

"I'll help you keep an eye on the weather. I mean, let my friend in Paris help us keep an eye on the weather."

Pierre waved to Ronan, and instead of going home, he lit a cigarette and walked in another direction.

Ronan recognized that it was the direction of another vineyard he tended.

"Oh." Ronan sighed, started the car and continued driving to the restaurant.

The Henrys were making rattan chairs much slower than Ronan expected.

Ronan originally thought that the three of them could finish the task in more than a week, but now more than a week has passed and only a little more than half of the progress has been made.

The main reason was that Henry and Lisa's hands were terribly clumsy, and it seemed that all their dexterity had been sucked away by Josephine.

Josephine could tie two chairs a day, but Henry and Lisa could not finish one in a day even if they worked together.

This made Ronan realize that geniuses are still rare in the world, and perhaps most of them are people like Henry and Lisa.

Every day, after Josephine tied her own two, she had to support her husband and daughter. Sometimes Ronan couldn't stand it anymore and persuaded her, saying:

"Take some rest. You hardly got any rest today."

Josephine's wrinkles smoothed out, and the vines were like obedient balls of thread in her hands:
"I have been doing handicrafts for more than ten years. It is very simple and not tiring at all."

Ronan took a small stool and sat opposite them:
"Decades? You've been quilting since you were Lisa's age?"

Josephine smiled and said:
"More than that, I started sewing when I was a teenager, following my mother and grandmother."

Ronan looked at Josephine, then at Lisa:
"Have you ever thought of doing something else instead of just sewing quilts?"

Josephine laughed dryly twice:

"How could we do anything else? The only way a woman could help support her family was by sewing quilts, and the women of Lourmarin have been doing this for generations."

Lisa said shyly:

"We have no chance of working unless we leave the Luberon."

The business system in Luberon is all based on the family, and people rarely hire people who are not related by blood, unless they are very, very good friends.

But Henry had few friends.

Josephine looked at Ronan enviously:
"But Zoe is an exception. She's a lucky kid, and so are you."

Ronan smiled happily, picked up the soaked and dried grass on the ground and started to weave ornaments.

Henry became nervous, thinking that Ronan thought they were too slow and wanted to do it himself, so he said nervously:

"Mr. Ronan, please go do something else. We can leave later in the evening so we can speed up the process."

Ronan smiled and shook his head, comforting Henry:
"It's okay. I'm not in a hurry. You don't have to work overtime. The progress is not slow right now. My carpentry work is almost done. I'll do something else today."

Josephine stopped what she was doing, looked at what Ronan was holding and asked:

"This is--"

Ronan spread it out for her to see:
"Wheat straw. Treated wheat straw."

Josephine squinted her eyes and looked over:
"Is it also used to tie chairs?"

Ronan shook his head: "No, I plan to make a few lights to see the effect."

"Lamp?" Henry put down the vine in his hand, picked up the straw in front of Ronan, and asked in disbelief, "Mr. Ronan, you said this thing can be made into a lamp for the home?"

Henry racked his brains but couldn't connect the two things together.

Ronan patiently explained to him:
"Yes, bamboo would be more suitable, but they are not available in Provence."

Bamboo is distributed in parts of Asia, Africa and North America. This plant with high water and heat requirements is not found in Europe.

The Asia-Europe trade at that time did not involve this category, so Ronan had to settle for the next best thing and use "grass" which was more common in the Provence region.

Seeing the Henry family's curious and incomprehensible expressions, but not daring to ask more questions, Ronan smiled and said:
"When it's finished, please help me check whether it matches the rattan chair."

When learning the craft in Valensole, Ronan asked Batty to teach him several ways of weaving lamps, but he couldn't tell which one was more suitable without the right environment, so Ronan decided to make several of them this time to see the effect.

Waiting with the Henry family to see the results were Cafu and his 'football team' buddies.

They had seen rattan chairs before, as the wealthy people in Provence had bought such expensive items from the Italians, but they had never seen a lamp made of woven straw, and had never even heard of the straw weaving technique.

This is because they do not have the opportunity to be exposed to much 'Chinese style'.

More than a month ago, Ronan and Cafu were chatting about the restaurant's decoration. Ronan insisted on having some Chinese elements. Cafu's eyebrows rarely relaxed, and he gave Ronan suggestions many times, saying that those bright red things that represent festivity may not be suitable for Provence.

Just like the people of Provence don't understand Chinese food, they know too little about China and think that 'Chinese red' is the only element.

While Ronan was making the lamp, Cafu would come over to take a look every hour or so, for fear of missing any step.

But after watching it for two days, he asked Ronan seriously:
"When are you going to dye them red?"

Ronan smiled and said:
"Chinese elements are not just red, you are so funny man."

Cafu pouted:

"But all the Chinese elements I've seen are red."

Ronan pointed behind him:
"Help me turn on some light bulbs."

"Is it done?" Kafu asked, stretching his neck. "Is there really no red element?"

Ronan urged silently:
"Go and turn on some light bulbs, and call Henry and the others over. I'm going to hold a 'lighting' ceremony."

The 'lighting' ceremony took place in the indoor area of the restaurant.

Henry moved a few rattan chairs in advance, and Cafu's men also brought a few wooden tables made by Ronan from the backyard, and simply decorated the entire room.

And above their heads were scattered several lamps woven out of grass by Ronan.

Henry held the cigarette in his hand for a long time, and he forgot to light it. He kept looking up and looking around:

“They weren’t even lit up yet, but I already thought they looked great.”

After saying that, he put the cigarette in his mouth.

Cafu quickly took the cigarette out of Henry's mouth:
"This is made of grass. Don't smoke it yet. What if it catches fire?"

He continued to yell at Ronan:

"From now on, smoking must be banned in restaurants. I'll make some signs for you in a few days."

Ronan leaned against the wall, crossed his arms and said with a smile:
"These are processed grasses. They can't be ignited. Why don't you try?"

Cafu shook his head again and again, and said reluctantly:

"They are so beautiful, it really makes me sad, they are like works of art."

Ronan turned on the main light switch on the wall, and all the lights in the house came on:
"Then use electricity to 'ignite' it."

Several lights were turned on at the same time, which brought a different atmosphere to the restaurant even though it was daytime.

Henry jumped up and said:

"Mr. Ronan, this is so beautiful!"

God, can grass really be made into a lamp?

Mr. Ronan is a magician!

Josephine kept turning around and observing each light:

“They go well and look great with the rattan chairs.”

Cafu squinted his eyes for a while, then turned to look at Ronan:
"I think I will definitely recommend the 'Chinese style' to my other customers in the future. If they need this kind of lamp, can I contact you?"

Ronan was immersed in great satisfaction and had no time to think about other things:

"It depends on my mood."

Cafu pretended to be angry and waved his fist:

"You have to promise, damn it! Maybe I can upgrade from a craftsman to a designer!"

In the evening, when Ronan and his family went out for a night tour, they once again held a "lighting" ceremony.

After dark, this place looks even more interesting.

Zoe looked carefully at the lamps, the table and the rattan chairs, and said to Ronan with a smile:

"I think I can start making utensils for you."

(End of this chapter)