1986: My Happy Life in Provence

Chapter 21 Desire to Win or Lose

Zoe is not from Mena Village, so setting up a market stall is not as smooth as in Lourmarin Village. It takes 3-5 days for them to respond, and the application may not be approved.

The markets in the Golden Triangle are extremely popular and you can’t just attend if you want to.

Ronan told Zoe not to feel pressured and to continue asking in other villages if it didn't work. She would definitely be able to find a place to set up a stall. It wasn't like they had to go to Mena Village.

While waiting for news from the Mena Village Market Management Office, Ronan continued to pick truffles in the mountains.

He would take more than 30 dumplings with him every day. When he was hungry at noon, he would eat the dumplings with hot water. Life was no longer as hard as before.

But the arrival of cold air brought the temperature to minus 2 or 3 degrees Celsius, and biting cold winds blew every day.

Digging truffles requires maintaining a squatting posture for a long time, and his waist and legs have been unable to bear it in the past two days.

"If there were massage skills in the system, I would learn it without hesitation." Ronan rubbed his waist while limping and squatted down again.

At 3:30 in the afternoon, he stopped searching and returned to the village of Lourmarin.

Last night Louis called him and said there was a party tonight, so Ronan drove directly to Louis' door.

Before he even entered the house, he heard unfamiliar voices and laughter coming from inside.

These two voices did not belong to any of the people Ronan thought should be here.

Is there some new blood in the party?

As soon as he entered Louis's house, Ronan smelled a strong smell of alcohol, so strong that he thought he had opened the door of an old tavern instead of Louis's house.

"Did the wine spill?" Ronan asked seriously to Zoe who opened the door for him.

"That's about right." Zoe made way for Ronan to enter.

Entering the living room, Ronan stopped in surprise:

"Theo and Pierre! Why are you here?"

In addition to these two unexpected figures, Ronan also saw a strange man.

He didn't know who this man was, but he could tell from his clothes that he was also a farmer, just dressed more 'exquisitely' than Pierre and Theo.

Winter is the season when farmers water themselves with wine. No wonder there is such a strong smell of alcohol when there are three 'drunkard' farmers here.

When Ronan thought about this, he completely forgot that he was also an alcoholic.

Pierre introduced this stranger to Ronan in his usual style:

"This is Lucas, Theo's brother. You would never have thought that the brother of the biggest drunkard in Lourmarin would be the richest farmer in the village."

The word "rich" is enough to make Ronan put down his body.

He extended his right hand with a smile on his face:

"Hello."

Lucas held Ronan's hand with a half-smile:

"Hello, the best truffle hunter in Lourmarin."

Ronan couldn't help but feel ashamed
You Provencal people can't talk without a title, right?
What a bad habit!

Ronan always sat next to Louis when he came before, but maybe it was because of the arrival of new guests and the shuffling of seats, but Mrs. Leah arranged for Ronan to sit next to Zoe.

After a busy day in the forest, Ronan sat down and wolfed down his food.

In the past, when I was hungry, I thought I could eat a whole cow, but that was just a metaphor. Now it is a fact.

Now he can not only complete the entire process of a Provencal meal, but also have a few drinks with the cheese when he gets home.

This is growing up!
[Increase happiness by 1 point by tasting raisin butter bread]

[Increase happiness by 1 point when eating herring steak]

[Taste cream oyster soup to increase happiness by 2 points] [Taste ham and mushroom burrito to increase happiness by 1 point]

[Taste brown sugar vanilla waffles to increase happiness by 2 points]

Along with the continuous reminder sounds in your ears, there are also scattered chat sounds.

"Lucas is the person I admire most in the village. He only needs to work for a few months each year to earn several years' income for others. By the way, Lucas, where did you go to buy a house recently?" Louis raised the wine glass in his hand to Lucas.

"Buying another house? Didn't you say you regretted buying that property in Avignon? And you said city life is shit." Pierre then looked at Lucas.

Avignon is the capital of the Vaucluse department, where housing prices are much more expensive than in Luberon.

Lucas spread his hands to show that he was innocent:
"I sold my house in Avignon and bought an apartment in Marseille."

"My God!" Pierre expressed his disgust beyond words, "Marseille is even worse!"

Lucas laughed twice:
"I bought a Marseilles point boat and went there in the summer to experience the life of a boatman."

Most ships have a pointed end and a blunt end, but a Marseille point ship has two pointed ends. It does not stir up waves and leaves no ship marks when it is sailing, making it ideal for leisure and vacation use.

Because it has no keel, there is no need to dock at the pier. It is better to tow it ashore, but the maintenance cost is high.

Each Marseille Pointe boat is unique, handmade and costs more than a brand new car.

Ronan slowed down his chewing and looked at Lucas, who was "shining" in the crowd. This man exuded the scent of a "rich man", no wonder everyone praised him the whole time.

However, Ronan is well aware that the truffle business is indeed profitable.

Noticing Ronan's gaze, Lucas looked back at him:
"Are you going truffle digging today too?"

As a veteran truffle hunter, he could keenly smell the earthy scent on Ronan.

Ronan nodded:
"Yes."

"What was the harvest?" Lucas asked seemingly casually, but many people at the table noticed that there was a fire of 'desire to win' flashing in his eyes.

Ronan shrugged his shoulders easily:

"not bad."

Not bad, it means there is gain, and it is not a small gain!

Others might just feel envy and jealousy when hearing this, but for Lucas, who won the championship but did not get the corresponding status, his anger could not be suppressed:
"Can you tell me how you find truffles without the help of hounds? I have heard of some methods, but they are old methods that people over 60 or 70 years old have heard of. Do you have some new tricks?"

Ronan's smile gradually faded:

"Can I choose not to tell?"

The 'Secret Garden' is not meant to be shared, so can I tell you my secrets for picking truffles?

Are you not deranged by the Marseilles and the compliments?
There was a brief awkward moment in the restaurant, and everyone thought Ronan would deal with it with a joke, which would also be considered giving face to Lucas.

Wouldn't the proud Lucas be angry about this?
As the host, Louis was about to say something for Ronan, but Lucas spoke first:

"Is this guy really from Paris? Isn't Paris a hypocrite full of excuses? Ronan, are you sure you don't have Provence blood? Oh, no, no, Ronan is Chinese! Hahahaha——"

Lucas raised his glass to Ronan:

"I must have been drunk to ask such a stupid question. We must drink a lot when we meet for the first time!"

Ronan also put on a warm smile:

"I hope Louis's has enough wine."

The hearts of everyone present finally settled down.

Fortunately, nothing bad happened.

You see, if only someone were willing to be tolerant, wouldn't the matter be resolved?
hiss.
The person who gave in was actually Lucas?
(End of this chapter)