1986: My Happy Life in Provence

Chapter 213 Another market?
The so-called Old Church Square is actually just a relatively open space in front of the church in the center of the village.

When movies were shown in the summer, if one or two hundred villagers came, things would start to get chaotic. The village couldn't accommodate more than 800 people.

Zoe told Ronan that he only needed to stay within the coverage area of the loudspeakers in the Old Church Square to hear clearly what Blanco was saying, and there was no need to squeeze into the square.

Villagers who live near the old church can hold 'meetings' while drinking at home.

The meeting place Ronan chose was Coman's restaurant.

It was Blanco who brought him here and hoped that he would help design a "primitive style" restaurant here.

Sitting here, you can clearly hear the "crackling" sound of the loudspeaker being tested.

There are no customers in the restaurant during the tourist season, and even fewer customers when the tourist season ends.

Boss Coman was still sitting outside smoking heavily. This guy who never put down his cigarette seemed to always have something to worry about.

His wife was making clanging and banging noises in the kitchen. Ronan only ordered three bottles of cold beer. He didn't know what she was busy with.

"Did you drink too much pink wine yesterday?" Luo Tianhai asked Ronan.

Ronan lowered his voice and said:
“No pink wine here”

Luo Tianhai frowned slightly.

The so-called "open the door to welcome guests" means that even if you don't like rosé wine, you should prepare two bottles.

Thinking of this, he began to look around with a 'scrutinizing' eye.

It was Feng Zhen’s first general meeting. He was so curious about everything that he couldn’t sit still. He went out to chat with strangers on the street, and it seemed like they were having quite a good conversation.

Ronan took a sip of cold beer and thought idly:
What is Blanco's purpose in suddenly organizing this general meeting?
Are you going to talk about the pink wine issue?

But it had only been a few days since their last chat. Major events concerning the fate of the entire village must be announced only after sufficient research and preparation.

"What else could it be?" Ronan walked to the outdoor table and chair area with the cup, observing everyone's reaction.

The villagers seemed to have not yet recovered from yesterday's joy, and everyone had a smile on their face.

After watching the whole process, Coman was the calmest.

He seemed like an expressionless statue, created for the sole purpose of consuming cigarettes.

Seeing Ronan looking at him, Coman said in a cold tone:

"Whatever is said has nothing to do with me. It's a waste of time."

But if I don't 'waste' time, you will just sit here and smoke, Ronan complained.

Since there was nothing to do anyway, Ronan and Coman started chatting:
“When was the last time you had a general meeting?”

Koeman thought for a moment:
"Two years ago."

"Because of what?"

Coman changed his hand to hold a cigarette:

"We mobilized the villagers to set up stalls at the market, but there were only 20-odd stalls, and it was impossible to buy vegetables."

Ronan nodded silently.

It seems that the mobilization was very successful. When Ronan set up a stall for the first time in winter, there were already 70 stalls in Lourmarin. Although it was still not as good as the 300 stalls in Mena Village, it was much more than in the previous two years.

There are now 100 stalls in Lourmarin, and Ronan believes that this number will continue to increase when tourists visit Provence again next spring.

"I don't know what to say today." Ronan shrugged.

Coman smoked another cigarette:

"Maybe it's to encourage everyone to plant more crops next year. I heard that sales were pretty good this year."

Ronan whispered to himself:

“But farming won’t make Lourmarin more tourist-friendly.”

5pm sharp.

Blanco's voice came from the loudspeaker. Although it was some distance from the old church, Ronan had already seen his amiable appearance in a suit with a 'speech' in both hands.

Then, children playing and fighting on the road, women gossiping and men chatting about the world also stopped and listened carefully to what was being said on the loudspeaker.

"Dear brothers and sisters, the wind of the Luberon Valley and the sunshine of Provence are witnesses - today, in the 3184 acres of vineyards around Lourmarin, not a single fruit was left behind! We successfully completed all the picking work before the heavy rain!"

Several children on the street cheered loudly. Their parents did not stop them, but instead showed satisfied smiles on their faces that matched the cheers.

"Four days ago, Pierre and Ronan came to me and said that there might be heavy rain in Provence in a few days. The government immediately contacted the nearby pickers, and they raised the price by nearly 3 times due to time issues. When I racked my brains to help the villagers find the manpower problem as soon as possible, all the villagers took out their rusty scissors at the same time!"

"At the sound of dawn, I saw 71-year-old Marina driving a tractor into the mist, 65-year-old Paul and his four grandsons forming a 'scissors choir' to support their neighbors, and even old Karl, who had difficulty walking, went to tie up baskets. These days, your sweat has soaked every piece of Lourmarin land, and the bronze bells on the church spire are beating the rhythm of the labor songs!"

"These four days of national action have taught me that when the storm comes, the real 'heroes' are all around us! As long as we work together, no matter how strong the storm is, it can't stop us! As long as we are united, the rocks of Luberon can also be squeezed into honey! In the future, no difficulties can stop Lourmarin's steps forward!"

Blanco is a great speaker.

Influenced by his rhythmic and infectious voice, the villagers raised their heads proudly, as excited as soldiers who had won a battle.

"To celebrate the success of this 'Harvest Campaign', I declare that this year's votive celebration will be held ahead of schedule this weekend, when -"

Ronan couldn't hear what Blanco said next.

Because there were huge cheers and screams all around, and some people excitedly threw their hats into the sky. He wanted to ask Coman what was going on, but found that Coman had actually left his seat, threw the cigarette he had smoked two puffs on the ground, and went to the kitchen to find his wife. From the back, he looked "cheerful" like a young man in his twenties.

The Paris family looked at each other in confusion, not knowing what was going on.

What is a votive celebration?
And what happened to these people??

The votive celebration will be held on Sunday.

But at the Lourmarin market on Friday morning, there was already a 'festival' atmosphere.

Everyone's purchases have increased a lot compared to the past, especially the stall owners selling clothing, whose business has increased more than three times compared to usual. Every child is pulling their parents to find their favorite new clothes, and the market is full of villagers preparing for the ceremony.

Leah, who came to help, educated the Parisian family about the special significance of the votive celebration for the people of Provence.

There are many well-known 'patron saints', or patron saints, in France's local mythology.

Each village in Provence also has its own patron saint. According to custom, celebrations are held in the village on the day of the saint's birth, known as the 'votive celebration'.

In many villages, the Votive Celebration is a more lively occasion than Christmas.

However, in Lourmarin, the votive celebrations are never as lively as in other villages because the birthday of the saint who protects Lourmarin falls in winter.

Winter days are short and temperatures are often below freezing, which is not a good time for gatherings.

Every native of Lourmarin envies the lively votive celebrations in other villages.

With the development of the times, in recent years, the vow fulfillment celebrations no longer strictly adhere to the past regulations. Some villages will advance or postpone the festival, but the date of the vow fulfillment celebration in Lourmarin has never changed.

This year is the first time in hundreds of years that Lourmarin has moved the votive celebration forward to autumn.

"I guess Saint Sebastian won't mind if we celebrate his birthday a few months in advance." Ronan smiled and shrugged, "Because this time it will be a big one for him."

Even Zoe, who usually has a calm attitude towards everything, has started to get "excited" these days. I believe that other lively villagers will make Sunday extremely lively.

Leah shook her head:

“It’s not just the scale that has gotten bigger, the rules have also changed.”

"What has changed?" Feng Zhen asked curiously.

Leah smiled and said:
"In the past, Lourmarin's votive celebrations were private events, and only villagers from the village could participate. I heard from Louis that this year Blanco went to other villages to post advertisements, calling on everyone to come and participate in the festival on Sunday."

Ronan tilted his head and smiled.

Blanco never let him down.

This is indeed a good way to promote Lourmarin and let more people know about it.

Luo Tianhai looked at the villagers at the market:

"It's a holiday now, why don't you pack some sweet and sour pork and Chinese food to take back?"

Before Chinese festivals, people will definitely stock up on food.

Don’t people in Provence have this habit?
Leah asked them doubtfully:

"Has no one informed you yet?"

"Here I come! I'll talk to Ronan in person!" The plump Sylvie leaned against Ronan's booth with a look of 'I'm so tired', "Give me a glass of pink wine!"

She drank a whole glass of pink wine in one breath and said to Ronan:

"Blanco asked me to invite you to the Sunday specialty open-air market."

"Open-air market?" Ronan and Luo Tianhai leaned over at the same time.

Can we sell it one more day on Sunday?
And people from other villages will also come?
Sunday morning.

The Paris family finally understood why the villagers cheered when they heard the news that day.

On a plain a few hundred meters away from Lourmarin, a small amusement park suddenly appeared, and not far away from it, a red and white striped tent representing the circus was set up.

A few hundred meters away from the circus, on the other side, workers were building a simple stage. It seemed that a big country star was going to visit Lourmarin. Next to the stage were several shooting game areas.

In the middle of several leisure areas, there is a circular open-air market.

When a family in Paris pushed their cart to find their own stall, Feng Zhen stretched her neck excitedly and looked around:

"Sylvie said that the stalls at the Votive Festival only sell snacks and treats that represent the highest level of Provence. Let me see what they have."

The scale of the bazaar during the vow-fulfilling ceremony was several levels higher than that of ordinary ceremonies. The government invited many popular stall owners from other villages to participate. Ronan was one of the representatives representing Lourmarin.

"Oh, there is chichi!" Feng Zhen said, pointing at a stranger's stall.

Chichi is a type of fried noodle dish, very similar to Chinese dough sticks, but eaten with sugar.

In Provence, where healthy eating is valued, this kind of snack is not common. Perhaps on festive days like the Votive Celebration, parents would agree to let their children eat some junk food.

"The kids go crazy when they get here," Luo Tianhai said with a smile.

There are things to play and things to eat, this is simply a paradise for children!
"Adults will go crazy if they come here." A gentle voice appeared beside the family of three.

Blanco took off his hat, leaned forward slightly, and asked politely:

"Ronan, can I have a few minutes of your time?"

(End of this chapter)