1986: My Happy Life in Provence

Chapter 224 A New Lourmarin

Lourmarin is really lagging behind.

It was so backward that women didn't know any other way to make money except sewing and embroidering quilts.

Lourmarin was also too poor.

Ronan was so poor that he had to rely on guests from other villages to survive.

When he and Luo Tianhai discussed recruiting workers, their first thought was that women should be given opportunities.

Only when the villagers of Lourmarin become prosperous can Ronan's restaurant truly operate stably.

Women in Paris can work, so why can women in Lourmarin only sew quilts at home?
Ronan even felt that the women of Lourmarin were more capable than those in Paris and that they were fully capable of taking on the responsibility of supporting the family financially.

As soon as he said this, the reaction at the scene was even stronger and more exciting than before.

Nicola, who received a direct invitation from Ronan, asked uncertainly:

"Really? Can I really do that?"

"Of course." Ronan said with a smile, "You and Leah work very well together. I believe that your joining will definitely make our desserts faster and better."

Nicola hugged Leah excitedly:

"Honey! We can work together now, God! I can finally use the word 'work'."

Leah patted Nicola on the back and said:
"I'm so happy for you!"

Another party, Flossie, did not respond directly to Ronan, but asked her husband Freddie:
"Can I go?"

Freddy was even more excited than his wife. He hugged Flossie tightly:

"Of course, Flossie, you don't have to envy Leah anymore. You will also be a 'career woman' in the future. I am so proud of you."

Freddy's to Ronan:

"Flosi is very good at cutting vegetables and handling meat. She will be a very capable assistant to you."

Ronan smiled and shrugged:

"Oh, that's great. The kitchen needs someone like Flossie."

Then he smiled and asked the others:

"There are still 18 positions available. Does anyone want to recommend themselves?"

The men rushed to push their wives and daughters out.

"Flajini learned to paint when she was young. She can learn how to plate from you."

"Assong-san is so patient with children, you could make her a waitress!"

"Trimarin always keeps the house in perfect order. Can we let her try to be the foreman?"

Luo Tianhai was surrounded by the crowd. He raised his hands and shouted loudly:

"Don't get excited, don't get excited! I'll help you find the most suitable position. Please line up first. Thank you!"

The scene was extremely noisy, but the prompt sound reached Ronan's ears clearly, and it inspired a happy smile from the bottom of his heart:
[Other people's happiness increases your happiness by 5 points]

[Other people's happiness increases your happiness by 6 points]

[Other people's happiness increases your happiness by 6 points]

A quiet corner a few meters away.

Pierre filled Lucas's glass and shook his head with a smile:

"Ronan always does things that are 'unthinkable'. My God, he provided 20 jobs to the women of Lourmarin at one time. Can you believe it, Lucas? This is Lourmarin."

Lucas squinted his eyes and looked at the lively crowd over there, and said in a complicated tone:
"My biggest feeling after coming back this time is that Lourmarin is different now. This sense of strangeness has reached its peak."

Pierre raised his glass and placed it in front of Lucas:
"I swear that as long as you stay in Lourmarin, this feeling will continue to appear in your life, because Ronan will continue to create new 'miracles'! Lucas, welcome back to Lourmarin. A brand new Lourmarin!"

The human resources issue was resolved and Ronan saw his friend off, but his first day of business was not over yet.

While he and Luo Tianhai were recruiting workers, Zoe was helping Feng Zhen calculate today's income.

With so many employees, can they make money?

Luo Tianhai can't get rid of his "stinginess".

I just hired someone lavishly and immediately started to regret it.

"The labor cost alone is more than 5 every month. I should reduce it and control it to within 15 people." Luo Tianhai went up the stairs to the second floor.

The second floor is undecorated, but Ronan has set up a 'lounge area' here with a table, four chairs and a simple bed.

Anyone who is tired can come up and take a rest.

Ronan followed his father:

"Money is not saved, it is earned. Go up there first to see the situation. If the pressure is too great, then find a solution."

Luo Tianhai sighed:
"It can only be the."

The father and son came to the second floor and found two women drinking happily.

There were two empty bottles of pink wine lying on the cement floor, and each person was holding a bottle in their hands. They were talking, laughing, and playing like sisters.

Luo Tianhai and Luo Nan each checked on their women.

Feng Zhen saw Luo Tianhai coming and chattered:

"Hey, Lao Luo, I told you we should dig a swimming pool in the backyard. If we dig it now, we'll have to wait until next year to use it. You're such a cheapskate, you're really pissing me off."

Feng Zhen's alcohol tolerance was not very good, so Luo Tianhai snatched the wine away:

"Why are you learning to drink from a bottle like Ronan? What about the bill? Have you settled it?"

Feng Zhen put her body weight on her husband:

"There are no cups upstairs! I'm here to tell you something. Do you think our swimming pool is Roman style or... Zoe, what is that style you just mentioned?"

Zoe on the other side had already "jumped" to Ronan, laughing and saying:
“Post-modern luxury!”

Ronan asked with some distress:

"Are you too tired? I'll take you home first."

Zoe only drinks like this when she's extremely tired, like when she was a mermaid a while ago.

Ronan guessed that she must be exhausted after being busy in the kitchen for a whole day.

Zoe suddenly hugged Ronan's head tightly and said in a frustrated tone that seemed like she was about to cry:
"I don't have the chance to support you anymore, Ronan. Actually, I really want to support you, and I'm very rich now."

Ronan kissed Zoe on the cheek and coaxed her:

"You can always support me."

"But you are richer than me! How much money should I spend to support you? But I don't have that much money," Zoe muttered cutely.

Ronan, noticing something was amiss, leaned over the table to look.

"Have you finished the calculation? How much did you sell today?" Feng Zhen shouted excitedly:
"20997! We sold 2 in one day, son!"

Luo Tianhai cheered briefly, but immediately became serious:

"But today's business hours are long, but tomorrow they can't be like that. We'll open at 10 a.m. and close at 7: p.m. sharp."

It was so chaotic today that customers were brought in and no one remembered to close the shop.

Ronan couldn't stop smiling:
"But if we optimize our manpower, the table turnover rate will also increase, so it might be about the same."

"Not only that!" Feng Zhen turned around on the spot, like a peacock with its tail cocked, "Have you forgotten that everything except drinks is 50% off today?"

Zoe also jumped down and said in a hoppy manner:
“And it’s off-travel season!”

The two women hugged each other happily:
“I made money, I really made money!!”

Since the beginning of the restaurant's preparation, Luo Tianhai has been operating the restaurant strictly in accordance with a set of management concepts learned from Paris.

Under this concept, costs are controllable and profits are transparent.

According to Luo Tianhai's estimation, under ideal circumstances, the restaurant's net profit should be between 15% and 20%.

That is to say, if Ronan's restaurant can sell 2 francs of turnover every day, the monthly profit will be between 9 and 12 francs.

Ronan certainly knew that it would be difficult to maintain the figure of 2 francs per day, because the "trial operation" was only 7 days, because the publicity would eventually fade, and because it was not yet the travel season.
But he firmly believed that a daily turnover of 2 francs was by no means the upper limit for the restaurant, because the "spring" of Lourmarin really arrived unknowingly.

After Ronan's restaurant opened, several shop owners on the commercial street who had temporarily closed their shops for the winter all reopened their businesses.

Although the restaurant's subsequent traffic was not as exaggerated as the first day, people still came here every day.

"I heard that even the editor-in-chief of Michelin magazine went to the new restaurant in Lourmarin on its opening day. She's a big shot who eats with big stars every day, so the restaurants she's been to shouldn't be bad. Do you want to try it?"

"Did you know there's a Chinese restaurant in Luberon? Yes, you heard right, Chinese food! My colleague went there and said it was delicious. Should we try it this weekend?"

"The market in Mena Village is so popular that all the places to eat are full as soon as it ends. How about we go to nearby Lourmarin for lunch? The owner of the pot-baked pork stall we just ate at the market said their restaurant is there. How about we go there and try some more Chinese food?"

As long as Ronan's restaurant has customers, the shops on the commercial street will have customers.

If you drive so far to eat and don't go shopping before leaving, wouldn't it be a waste of the gas money?
The people of Lourmarin have gradually become accustomed to seeing strangers in the village even during the off-season.

But people in other parts of Luberon are not used to this situation.
When interested people heard directly or indirectly that there was a commercial street in Lourmarin that was busy with customers even during the off-season, they all turned their attention to it.

In the week that Ronan's restaurant opened, two shops on the commercial street that had been vacant for several months were rented out one after another.

The smaller one sells clothes.

The larger shop will be used as a hotel in the future.

Although it is small, it is not a family hotel. It is the first proper hotel in Lourmarin, which indicates that the tourism supporting facilities in Lourmarin are more complete.

After receiving the news, Blanco immediately edited this important information into the application materials for the new budget to be submitted to the Vaucluse Tourism Bureau next spring.

That's right, preparations for this matter must begin now.

After being rejected four times in a row, Blanco was determined to fight to the end and get the budget this time.

But determination and confidence are far from enough; we also need important persuasive means.

“Besides Lourmarin’s upcoming first hotel, are there any other big things to look out for in the near future?”

At the weekly meeting, Blanco asked his capable subordinates.

He has been too busy recently and has no time to go out and understand the situation. These staff members are his eyes.

Claude, the head of the Tourism Management Center, smiled and exchanged glances with his colleagues:
"If we talk about big things, it must be Ronan's restaurant."

Blanco was delighted when he heard the name 'Ronan', and said with a smile on his face:
"Of course I know that Ronan's restaurant is a big deal in the village. I have already included a long description of that Chinese restaurant in the application materials. I am asking about other things."

Sylvie shrugged.

"Blanco, I'm afraid the big thing you're talking about is not the same big thing as the big thing we're talking about."

"Hmm?" Blanco snorted in confusion, "What happened there again?"

Claude glanced at his watch and asked Blanco:
"Why don't you take me to see it today?"

Ronan's restaurant doesn't open until 10 o'clock.

But after 9 o'clock, there were quite a few people inside.

In the lobby, Louis was giving a lecture to seven waiters:
"When greeting guests, avoid using cold words like 'hello' and 'seek someone else'. Always express an attitude of 'I'll do my best to help you solve your problem.' Communicating with people is actually very simple. Let's practice now—"

Around these people, there were a dozen girls watching.

Although they were not in the queue, they listened very carefully, as if they also wanted to be excellent waiters.

"Click——"

Sylvie took this photo and took Blanco to the kitchen:
"Go back and take a look."

There were no more onlookers in the kitchen because there was not enough space. Even Blanco and his friends could only stand at the door and watch.

Next to the stove, Luo Tianhai demonstrated the importance of "fire control" to two women in their forties.

A woman wearing a headscarf and with a wrinkled face perfectly replicated Luo Tianhai's movements and was immediately praised.

"Assong-san, you did exactly the right thing, that's it!"

Assun-san said nervously and excitedly:
"Thank you, Mr. Luo, thank you."

Next to the sink, several women skillfully cleaned a pot of hot pot.

The big basins, which are thicker than their waists, are as obedient as toys in their hands, but their faces are always filled with happy smiles while doing physical work.

"Flajini, after you wash them, cut the vegetables according to the method I taught you yesterday."

Ronan was teaching a woman how to "dishes" while speaking to a few people on that side.

The woman named Flakini rubbed her hands nervously:
"Mr. Ronan, we are not yet proficient in that cutting method. Don't waste the vegetables."

Ronan looked up and said with a smile:
"It's okay, just practice a few more times and if you don't cut it well, leave it for us to eat at noon."

"Okay, okay Mr. Ronan!"

Soon from the kitchen came the uniform sound of knives hitting chopping boards.

Sylvie didn't want to ruin this wonderful atmosphere, so she whispered to Blanco:

"Ronan has given women in the village the opportunity to work. That's the biggest thing recently."

These women, who had been dealing with children and housework all day long, stepped out of their homes, picked up knives and pots, and took on the responsibilities of the family in another way, breaking the cognitive stereotypes that had existed in Luberon for hundreds of years.

Is there anything bigger than this?
Blanco picked up the camera from Sylvie's neck and silently recorded the beautiful scene of the women in the kitchen working happily.

He said with relief and gratitude:

"I will include these photos as a separate item in the information I will give to the Vaucluse Tourism Office."

"What is the name of this item?" Claude asked puzzledly.

"It's called beautiful Lourmarin." Blanco clenched his fist excitedly. "We finally have a 'scenery' that other villages don't have."

(End of this chapter)