1986: My Happy Life in Provence

Chapter 211 A Year of Harvest!
The Ronan family kept expressing their gratitude to everyone.

Thank you for coming to help, thank you for putting aside your work for a while, and thank you for being willing to work outdoors in such high temperatures.
Louis was annoyed and pointed at Freddy and Alan behind him and said:

"When I was still a farmer, Leah went to the fields with me every year, and when it was harvesting season, these two guys would come to help. It's not a big deal to thank them for."

Leah skillfully cut bunches of grapes:
"In the past, the whole village would be mobilized during the harvest season. You would help one day, I would help the next day. But this year, there was an emergency, so everyone seemed more united."

Zoe's head popped out from behind a vine:
"I started picking grapes when I was very young. Vieri is probably the only one here who has never been to the fields."

Vieri's face was covered with dirt:

"My father's dream is for me to be a farmer in the future. I will definitely come. This is such a good training opportunity."

Alan shook the sleeves of his shirt, which did not match his body shape, and said with a smile:
"We are more familiar with grapes than you are. Who in Lourmarin hasn't picked grapes?"

Freddy wore a giant straw hat:

"Alan and I have already discussed this. Ronan must come to help in his first year of growing grapes. But thanks to the rain, we are all here together."

Ronan looked around at everyone gratefully:
"After we finish this harvest, I will invite everyone to go on a group trip."

Money is not important, what is important is the kindness.

Louis took off his hat and wiped the sweat off his face:

"Why don't we choose your restaurant as the location for our group outing? It will be almost time for the restaurant to open after we harvest the grapes, right?"

Ronan doesn't have time to go out and play. He will be busier and busier in the coming days.

Freddy asked excitedly:
"Can I have a private seat? One reserved just for me?"

"Go away, Freddy!" Alan cursed with a smile, "Ronan's restaurant must be packed. How much money will it cost to reserve a special seat for you? Can you afford it?"

"I was just joking. Alan, are you from Provence?"

"I was just wondering if you're from Provence. You've only picked so few grapes in such a long time? Is this your first time in the fields?"

"Are you blind? I picked that row on Flossie too!"

The addition of friends made the boring physical labor less unbearable, and before we knew it, the rows of purple vines gradually turned back to green.

As evening approached, the ladies moved crates of grapes into Ronan's van and Freddy's truck, filling both compartments to the brim.

"The carriage is full, we can go make another delivery." Zoe shouted to Ronan in the vineyard.

Ronan's family had no place to store the grapes, so they had to sell them every time the grapes were full.

Ronan said to Luo Tianhai:
"Dad, you and Freddy go to the Morley Brewing Co-op."

Ronan is the main force in picking grapes, let the older people do the 'easy work'.

Luo Tianhai asked Freddy:
"Do you know the way?"

He had never been to the Morley Brewing Co-op.

Freddy walked towards the truck:

"We don't need to find the way. We just need to follow those big guys. Let's get in the car."

After Freddy and Luo Tianhai left, Louis explained to everyone:
"Every year when the harvest comes, trucks and vans can be seen everywhere on the streets of Lourmarin, with mountains of purple grapes piled up on their backs for the Dumoly Wine Cooperative."

Ronan looked in the direction of the village of Lourmarin.

He had reinforcements, but what about the other farmers?
Around 7 o'clock in the evening, the women in the family prepared dinner and went to the vineyard to call everyone to eat, which indicated that the hard work of the day was finally over.

A group of people who have been roasting outside all day come indoors, and the temperature in the room immediately rises because everyone is emitting heat.

Zoe pulled open the collar of Ronan's shirt and found that the inside had clearly turned into two colors, the upper one was a dark brown neck, and the lower one was a whiter collarbone.

Ronan pushed the straw hat back, revealing a clear dividing line, and his hair was pinned into the shape of the straw hat.

"Are you tired?" Zoe rubbed Ronan's head twice with concern and helped him smooth out his hair.

With more people, everyone had plenty of time to rest, except Ronan, who worked from beginning to end and rarely rested.

Ronan lowered his head and asked Zoe:
"How are you? Are you tired?"

Zoe shook her head:

"How am I so fragile?"

"How's everyone? Are you feeling okay?" Ronan looked at everyone else worriedly. He found that except for the three people from Paris, everyone was in high spirits.

Alan drank cold beer while looking out the window, as if he was waiting for something.

Louis simply sat at the door, muttering to himself:

"Why haven't you come back yet?"

"What are they doing--" Ronan was at a loss and kept observing everyone's reactions.

Zoe patted Ronan on the chest and explained to him:
"They don't have time to be 'tired' now. There are more worthy things attracting their attention."

"What is it?" Ronan asked dully.

Suddenly, a rapid but rhythmic whistle sounded at one end of the asphalt road. It seemed that the "scouts" had discovered important information and were notifying all departments to pay attention.

"I'm back!" Louis stood up excitedly.

Alan, Leah, Nicola and Flossie all followed the horn and rushed out. Freddy and Luo Tianhai's cars appeared in everyone's sight one after another.

"How much?" Louis asked loudly without waiting for Freddy to get out of the car.

Looking at his anxious look, he seemed like the father asking the nurse outside the delivery room whether it was a boy or a girl.

Freddy parked the car in front of Ronan's house and opened his arms excitedly:

"Ronan's batch is 13.9 degrees, which is perfect quality! The grapes sent by several other Lourmarin people are also above 13.5 degrees! Everyone will be in for a treat next year!"

"Great, great!" Several Lourmarins cheered excitedly, not looking like they had just been doing heavy farm work for half a day.

Luo Tianhai got out of the car and explained to Luo Nan and Feng Zhen:
"This Chateau Moly will supply wine to the residents of Lourmarin at a low price. The grapes are of good quality, so the wine they will drink next year will be good. You didn't see the excitement when the pointer showed the alcohol concentration. It was like a 'party'."

Zoe smiled and added to the Paris family:

"In the past three or four years, the villagers have been drinking grape wine with an alcohol content of about 12.5%. This 1 degree alcohol concentration is enough for everyone to have a 'party'. After all, this is Provence, where people start drinking in the morning."

Ronan asked Luo Tianhai:

"Did you see any acquaintances over there? How are the quality of their grapes?"

Luo Tianhai recalled:

"I haven't seen the ones that always come to our house, but the grapes of other villagers are of good quality."

Ronan planned to call a few familiar farmers after dinner to ask about the situation. The progress here was very fast. With more than a dozen people harvesting 8 acres of vineyards, it would take two days to complete the harvest.

If someone is too busy, Ronan will provide support on the third day.

But before he finished his meal, he got the news first.

Theo's wife Rebecca came to Ronan's house with their daughter Anna, and immediately smiled when they saw the people in the room:

"Theofei asked me to tell you personally, don't worry, he will be done with his work soon and will come to help you, but it looks like it won't be necessary."

Ronan asked her:

"How's Theo doing? Are there enough people?"

Rebecca said calmly:
"Theo's cousin and his two cousins' families come to help every year, so we have enough manpower."

A little later, Henry, with a tanned face, appeared outside the door:
"Mr. Ronan, how is your progress here?"

Ronan gave Henry some cheese to take back:

"Louis and the others are here to help me. We'll be done picking them tomorrow. How's yours?"

Henry not only has no friends, but also no relatives. Ronan is most worried about him.

Henry lit a cigarette happily:

"Josephine can do the work of three people. We have been picking grapes for decades and are very skilled in teamwork. Besides, I don't have much land to take care of this year."

"That's good, that's good." Ronan finally breathed a sigh of relief.

After repeatedly confirming that Ronan didn't need Lisa's help, Henry dragged his tired body home.

Henry's house didn't have a phone, so if I wanted to confirm the situation, I had to make a trip.

But Pierre had a phone at home and often called Ronan. Ronan was not expecting it when he showed up at Ronan's door in an old pickup truck covered with wooden pallets.

"Why are you here? Are you calling me for something?" Ronan brought Pierre a can of cold beer.

Pierre drank half a 500ml can of beer in one breath, burped loudly and said:

"There are a lot of people helping out this year. Even Blanco brought people out to pick grapes. There's a larger truck lying idle in the village. I'll drive it here for you. Your truck is too small."

Ronan knew that Pierre must be aware of the situation of all the farmers:
"Is everyone okay?"

Pierre sighed deeply:

"The time is still too tight, only three days."

Ronan pushed him away:

"Then go to someone else's house. I have Freddy's truck here. You can drive it away and let someone else use it."

Pierre suddenly clamped his arms around Ronan's neck, revealing a look of triumph:

"If you hadn't reminded me, it would have been very bad, but now it is still a bumper year! Did I trick you, kid?!"

Pierre's condition wiped out all the uneasiness in Ronan's heart.

The fact that such a responsible person can make a joke shows that the situation is under control.

Then he felt relieved!!
After seeing Pierre off, Ronan drank three glasses of pink wine in a row and finally relaxed.

Louis seemed to have guessed the reason, and said with a smile while spreading his hands:
"The whole village has been mobilized, right?"

Ronan said with a bright smile:

"Yes, everyone came to help."

Louis raised his glass and motioned for everyone to drink together:
"A good harvest is never just a matter for farmers. It concerns the lives of every villager. Let's raise our glasses, friends, and congratulate us on winning this tough battle again!"

(End of this chapter)