1986: My Happy Life in Provence

Chapter 217: Ronan's Rich Friends
"Margaret is so beautiful." Ronan praised sincerely.

As wire-haired dogs, the Masai is like a walking sloppy "rag", while Margaret's fur is extremely smooth.

Although he had never touched it, Ronan could imagine how it felt just by looking at it - like a girl's hair.

Xiao Hei touched the places that Ronan didn't dare to touch.

After Margaret sniffed its butt, Xiao Hei also "reciprocated" by sniffing its head and rubbed it in a friendly manner.

"How old is your dog?" Lucas crossed his arms.

"He'll be one year old in just over a month." Ronan replied with a smile.

He is still a child, but a very charming one.

Lucas laughed from his nose:
"Margaret is over six years old."

Ronan curled his lips.

It seems that it is very difficult for Xiao Hei to marry into a wealthy family.

But Ronan was too interested in Lucas's wirehaired dog.

Truffle hunting is a very 'selfish' profession. People do not travel in groups but work on their own.

This results in the absence of the 'teaching by example' that occurs in other industries.

People in the same industry will not share their "secret gardens" with each other, and naturally they will not share their truffle digging skills. After all, truffles are priceless black gold.

In fact, the "no grass grows" method used by Ronan is very simple and basic, but without guidance, everyone may never imagine in their lifetime that flies can be the key coordinate of "wealth".

I heard that in Provence, a good truffle hunter can earn millions of francs in a winter, which is higher than the income of a big boss who runs a company in Paris.

Those legendary figures must have mastered many truffle-digging techniques, but in Lourmarin, which is "backward" in many aspects, the villagers only know that truffle dogs are the only way to find truffles.

The [Collection] skill in the system can enhance Ronan's ability to find truffles, but he also really wants a truffle dog as powerful as Margaret.

"Does Margaret have children?" Ronan asked with interest.

Lucas snorted disdainfully:
"No dog is worthy of Margaret."

Ronan: "."

My father was firm in his attitude, but our Queen took off her crown.

Although Margaret did not show the same enthusiasm as other Provence bitches, there was no wariness in her eyes when she looked at Xiao Hei, and there was even a little curiosity.

Taking advantage of the fact that Lucas was concentrating on seasoning and had no time to be distracted, Ronan whispered to Xiao Hei:

"Don't leave the lady alone, go play with it."

Xiao Hei tilted his head and remained silent for a few seconds, then obeyed his father's order and went to sniff each other's butts with Margaret.

In order to create as many opportunities as possible for his son to get promoted, Ronan kept chatting with Lucas to attract his attention.

"Did you come back by yourself? Your wife and son weren't with you?"

Lucas cooked skillfully and said with a smile:
"Lourmarin starts to get colder in October, so they want to grab a few more days of the 'summer' and come back later."

October in the Luberon has its own distinct characteristics.

The valley is still hot during the day, just like in summer, but the temperature drops rapidly after the sun goes down. Some villagers with elderly people at home will even light a fire.

People in Provence don't like rainy days. They like to embrace the warm sunshine, and families who can afford it would rather stay in a warmer place.

Thinking that Lucas might have to be a "single father" for a while, Ronan said enthusiastically:

"If you don't want to cook, just come to my house or my restaurant. You haven't tasted my father's cooking yet, have you?"

Lucas asked casually in a calm tone:

“When will it open?”

"Next Wednesday!" Ronan said excitedly.

After two months of renovation and preparation, his restaurant is finally opening.

Lucas put the beef into a mini ceramic dish and pointed his chin at the pot:

"Before that, try my cooking. I'll go feed Margaret and you can serve the food for both of us."

"Okay." Ronan washed his hands skillfully to help.

Lucas put Margaret's food bowl back to its familiar spot and called out:
"My dear daughter, come and eat."

When I turned around, I saw two dogs standing behind me.

Margaret looked at Lucas innocently, as if asking:

Dad, can I treat my friends to dinner today?

Lucas stared at the gigolo for a few seconds and sighed silently:

"I'll go get another basin for your friend."

"Margaret loves your dog." After feeding his daughter and her new friend, Lucas returned to the kitchen.

Theo's dog also tried to approach Margaret and was bitten on the ear.

And it's unbelievable that Margaret actually shared food with the dog that Ronan brought today.

"My dog likes Margaret, too." Ronan said innocently, "Blackie gets irritated when he sees other dogs, but he seems much calmer around Margaret."

Lucas was completely indifferent to the "signals" Ronan expressed.

There is no way that his precious daughter would have anything to do with an ordinary Doberman Pinscher, absolutely not!
Lucas picked up a bottle of red wine and asked about the topic he was interested in:

"You seem to have done a lot in the past six months?"

Ronan laughed:
"I did a lot, but it's not just me. A lot of things happened in Lourmarin in the past six months. You missed a lot."

Lucas opened the red wine, picked up the glass and poured it:

"If you have nothing tonight, can you give me some extra lessons?"

Ronan held the rim of his cup and asked awkwardly:
"Then let's start with the wine. I'm not used to drinking red wine now. Do you have any pink wine at home?"

Lucas suddenly burst into laughter:
"It seems that a lot has happened to you. You actually like 'Lady' wine?"

Ronan shook his head helplessly:
"It's a long story and I've been worrying about pink wine lately."

After the opening time was confirmed, Ronan immediately notified the people from the 'Vaucluse Pink Wine Lovers Association'. While everyone congratulated Ronan, they also asked Astrid indirectly whether she would go and when she would go.

When Ronan informed Ms. Astrid, the emotionless pink wine drinking machine said that she was looking forward to seeing the beautiful atmosphere of "pink wine on every table" in Ronan's restaurant.

"Pink wine on every table" was of course a joke, but Astrid was reminding Ronan not to forget his boast.

A good pink wine atmosphere can attract Astrid's attention, but where can Ronan find so many people who love pink wine?
To put it bluntly, not everyone would want free pink wine.

So in addition to dealing with the chores before the opening, Ronan has recently been thinking about how to create a better pink wine atmosphere in the restaurant on the day Astrid visits.

As long as he can appease this "big Buddha", those big shots in Provence will definitely come to his restaurant to show up. Lucas found two bottles of "abandoned" pink wine from his warehouse:
"Then why not start with pink wine."

He sat opposite Ronan, his eyes sharp:

"Tell me how you turned a small rosé wine stand into the largest restaurant in Lourmarin."

Ronan's words are simple, without the usual exaggeration and outrageousness of the people of Provence.

What Lucas heard was not some magnificent struggle story, but just the little happiness of a young man who was positive and gradually making his life better and better.

Although development is slow, everything Ronan said is moving in a good direction step by step.

After listening to everything, Lucas had two big feelings.

First, Ronan has a "hardworking" quality that the people of Provence do not have. No matter when and where he is, all he thinks about is how to make his own life and the lives of those around him happier.

The second feeling is that they both have the ambition to make progress, but Lucas chose to take one step at a time to achieve a huge success, while Ronan chose to be down-to-earth and slowly find his own way.

"Okay, that's enough for today. I should go." Ronan saw that the clock hands were between 9 and 10. It was getting late.

Lucas inexplicably felt a little bit of reluctance.

Who doesn't like listening to a story told by a 'successful person'?
Lucas guessed that those people in the village who invited him for drinks and meals as soon as they saw him had the same mentality.

But the "successful person" in their eyes also raised his head awkwardly.

Successful people always respect each other. Lucas sent Ronan to the door, patted him on the shoulder and said:
“I will definitely go on the opening day.”

"Okay." Ronan said with a smile.

It wasn't just Lucas who was 'reluctant', Margaret also showed the tender side of the 'Queen'.

She squatted at the door, whimpering constantly, and tried to run out several times, but was calmed down by Lucas.

After leaving Lucas's home, Ronan patted Xiao Hei's head:

"I will support your 'sister-brother relationship'. Let's work hard together."

Xiao Hei snorted, as if complaining:
I am really worried about this family.

Now even beauty has to be contributed!

"What are you holding in your hand?"

Luo Tianhai saw that Ronan came back from dinner with something in his hand and asked curiously.

Ronan handed him the bag:

"This is a gift that Lucas brought back from Marseille for everyone. It's authentic Marseille soap."

"Marseille soap?" Feng Zhen put aside her favorite melodramatic love drama on TV, took out the things in the bag and looked at them left and right, and suddenly said excitedly, "It's really pure Marseille soap. Who is your friend? So rich? This one costs several hundred francs."

The ancient Gauls did not pay much attention to personal hygiene, and they would simply rub their bodies with wood ashes or goat suet a few times as a bath.

Marseille played a major role in the quantum leap in the history of personal hygiene in France.

In 1371, the technology of making soap first appeared in Marseille.

However, the style of Provence hundreds of years ago was the same as it is now - focusing on a slow and leisurely pace.

It took several generations of Marseille merchants to discover that soap making could be a way to make money.

In 1688, Marseille soap became famous, and by 1906, Marseille was producing 14 tons of soap per year.

By 1986, Marseille was no longer the only soap-producing region in France, but Marseille soap had a peculiarity not found in other regions - it was completely natural and extremely pure.

According to regulations, it must be 72 percent oil (olive, coconut or palm oil) and cannot contain artificial additives.

Traditional Marseille soap is very mild and not prone to allergies. It is suitable for babies and people with sensitive skin, and is also suitable for clothing made of delicate and sensitive materials.

Silk, lace, fine wool, sheer underwear and linen handkerchiefs can be washed with Marseille soap, which not only cleans them thoroughly but also does not damage any hair.

In addition, Marseille soap is completely biodegradable and harmless to the environment.

In Europe, Marseille soap is even known as the "Queen of Soap". Its production method is more like boiling soap than making soap, and it is boiled in a large steam pot.

Nowadays, there are a lot of inferior soaps that deliberately imitate the unique shape of pure Marseille soap in an attempt to pass them off as genuine. However, before buying soap, as long as you read the words on it carefully, you will not be easily fooled by these cube-like imitations.

If the cube of soap doesn't have "guaranteed" printed on it, it's not the real deal.

One side of the soap should be engraved with words such as "Contains 72% oil, extra pure", one side should be engraved with the weight of the soap, and the other two sides should be marked with the manufacturer's name.

This kind of "soap" can not only be used to wash clothes, body and hair, but some people also use it to brush their teeth.

However, ordinary people are reluctant to let it "have multiple roles", because the smallest piece of pure Marseille soap costs more than 200 francs.

Ronan's friend actually brought it back as a 'gift' for the villagers. How generous!

"It's the friend who lent us the jeep before." Ronan explained to his parents.

"Oh, that one." Feng Zhen nodded, "He is indeed a rich man."

"By the way, someone just called home and said they have something to talk to you about." Luo Tianhai reminded.

"Who is it?" Ronan asked.

Luo Tianhai recalled:
"Gabriel."

Ronan checked the time.

For the big boss, 9 o'clock was not too late, so he called back.

Gabriel's enthusiastic, high-pitched voice soon came into the receiver:

"Hi, my friend! Will you be home tomorrow? I'm going to Lourmarin tomorrow. How about giving you the opening gift I prepared?"

"Opening gift?" Ronan's brain started to work quickly.

"Yeah, forget that 'retro gun' topic we talked about?" Gabriel said with a smile.

Ronan raised his voice:
"Are you kidding me? Are you really going to give me a vintage gun?"

Hearing the words 'retro gun', Luo Tianhai silently sat down next to Ronan.

Men are young until they die.

The thing Luo Tianhai regretted most was that he did not go with Ronan to take the hunting license exam.

Just thinking about the feeling of firing a real gun makes your blood boil.

If it is a retro gun, it will be even more exciting!
Feng Zhen also came over.

Retro guns are very expensive. Ronan has so many rich friends?
Gabriel laughed briskly a few times:

"Not a handful, my friend. But a pair! A one-of-a-kind pair!"

The Paris family's eyes widened at the same time.

God, is this true?
(End of this chapter)