1986: My Happy Life in Provence

Chapter 237: The Truffle Business Full of Traps

Ronan taught the kitchen staff how to plate each dish, and also taught the Provencal women how to cut vegetables using Chinese knives.

No need to be in the restaurant all the time before launching new dishes.

It can be said that he successfully completed the "manpower release" and can now be a good boss behind the scenes.

Luo Tianhai and Feng Zhen also defined Ronan as a "brainpower" talent. There was no need for him to hang out in the kitchen and restaurant every day. He should do something more meaningful.

However, they still had some "opinions" about Ronan continuing to go into the mountains to pick truffles.

"The weather is getting colder and colder, and it's been windy lately. It's so hard to go into the mountains." Feng Zhen said distressedly, "Son, can't you do something else?"

Ronan put his equipment into his backpack one by one and said without raising his head:

"Truffle picking makes a lot of money, and the weather is nice right now, so it's not hard."

Luo Tianhai crossed his arms and said disapprovingly:
"If you want to make more money, you can plan a few more restaurant events. There's no need to do this kind of hard work. You made over 2 francs picking truffles in two months, which averages out to 10 or 5 francs per month. It's not much."

Luo Tianhai knew that truffle picking was profitable, but when he thought about how they were warm and cozy in the restaurant while his son would have to crawl around in the cold outdoors alone for the next few months, he couldn't help but want to "devalue" this job.

Life had finally gotten better, and he didn't want to see his son suffer anymore.

Ronan put on the coat and boots that Zoe had carefully matched for him, and put on his schoolbag:
"I made 5 to 6 a month because I was still a 'newbie' then. Now that I have experience, I should be able to dig more."

Luo Tianhai touched Xiao Hei's head and said:

"But you don't have a dog. It's hard to improve yourself, right?"

Luo Tianhai heard from Theo that his brother Lucas could earn 10 francs a month by digging truffles at his best, and more than 30 in the whole winter at his worst, but that was because he had a top-notch truffle dog.

Ronan has no dog and relies on himself. In the first two months of this year, he not only renovated the kitchen, but also paid off his 2 yuan mortgage. This should be the limit and cannot be exceeded.

Ronan smiled and pointed at himself:

"I am the 'dog'."

The "secret base" where Ronan dug truffles at the beginning of the year was in a mountain forest more than 60 kilometers north of Lourmarin.

At that time he didn't know which village the place belonged to, nor did he know what the area was called, and there were not even any road signs on the road.

That was the place Ronan found while driving around.

Truffle hyphae form a symbiotic mycorrhizal relationship with the roots of several tree species and rely on absorbing nutrients from these plants for survival. Therefore, truffles may appear wherever there are these trees in Provence.

This year Ronan learned a lot more about Provence, especially in terms of geography.

It turns out that his "secret base" has left the Luberon and almost left the Vaucluse
This area is called Frasier, with only about 20 residents within a radius of more than 90 kilometers. Even in the sparsely populated Vaucluse department, it is considered a "remote" area.

So Ronan accidentally found a very good 'secret garden'. Its remoteness meant that there wouldn't be many people competing with him for territory, and the entire forest was his 'prey'.

After half a year, Ronan parked his car in a familiar place again, and he actually felt a sense of joy of "reunion after a long separation". This was the beginning of his happy life in Provence. He came here forty or fifty times in more than two months.

But this time he brought enough equipment, as well as loving 'box lunches' prepared by his parents, and the conditions were much better than in January and February.

This time, Ronan did not travel a long distance to the dense forest area to start working. As soon as he entered the woods, he began to pay attention to whether there was any bald spot under his feet.

In January and February, his truffle-picking process went like this:

First, find a place where there is no grass at all. Then, squat down and use a brush to sweep the area to see if there are any flies flying out. If there are, aim at the target and start digging. If there are no flies, find the next area. Repeat this process.

During the whole process, the most physically and mentally demanding and time-consuming step is the "carpet search". Basically, within half an hour, the waist and knees will start to protest.

But the ability brought by the third level [Collection] enhanced Ronan's sense of smell. He could distinguish the smell of most plants within half a meter.

Now that you have found the target area, all you have to do is squat down and smell it.

Moreover, he had done an experiment a few months ago - the nose can not only tell whether there are truffles under the soil, but also lock the approximate location of the truffle based on the changes in the smell, so it doesn't matter whether there are flies to provide coordinates.

A 'carpet search' would take at least 1 or 2 minutes, but sniffing it only takes 1 or 2 seconds, which greatly improves efficiency.

So there is plenty of time now to expand the search area.

Wearing light clothes and boots, Ronan's movements became much more agile, and his speed in the woods was not much slower than on flat ground.

After walking for four or five minutes, he found a target area between a rock and a tree on the right.

It is covered with green plants all around, with only that area being noticeably 'bald'.

Ronan squatted down to the area, put his nose down and took a deep sniff.

Although there were countless smells intertwined together, the smell that could suppress the smell of all things was still too prominent.

“It’s truffles!”

Ronan sniffed around, quickly locked onto his target, and then carefully dug up the soil with his hands.

Soon, a truffle half the size of a palm appeared in his hand.

Although the whole set of actions is not very elegant after the technological iteration, Ronan still wants to make a sincere comment - the efficiency has been greatly improved, and it only takes one or two minutes from discovery to shipment.

How much can you dig in one day? !
Ronan happily puts the first truffle of this year's truffle picking season into the bag:

"There must be 300 grams, this is——"

Every time he dug up truffles, Ronan would habitually convert them into francs to make himself happy, but today he couldn't do it.

The price of truffles varies every year, and he has not yet learned the price this year.

"Let's find some time to ask Lucas when we get back." Ronan happily looked for his next target.

I heard from Theo that Lucas has brought Margaret to Shandong University for half a month.

In October, Ronan was busy running around the restaurant every day, and his figure could be seen everywhere.

Today, no one, whether regular customers, farmers or artists, is used to not seeing him for most of the day.

"Is Ronan out on business?" Pierre asked Feng Zhen behind the cashier with a glass of wine.

Normally, Ronan would tell his brothers before he went to do something, and sometimes he would bring someone with him, but Pierre had not heard who went with Ronan today.

When Feng Zhen mentioned her son, she began to worry again. She sighed:

"No, Ronan went into the mountains."

"Into the mountains?" Pierre was startled, then he immediately exclaimed, "He went to pick truffles?"

His voice was so loud that several farmers in the restaurant heard it.

"What! Ronan went into the mountains to pick truffles?"

"Oh my god, is he going truffle hunting again? I thought he wasn't going this year."

"How much does he have to do?"

Batty also came over with a glass of wine and asked Feng Zhen:
"Ronan also knows how to dig truffles?"

Feng Zhen nodded:

"He went there to pick them for a while at the beginning of the year. He's quite talented."

Batty pointed around:

"But he doesn't manage the restaurant anymore? It's doing so well now."

Batty's words ignited Feng Zhen's inner dissatisfaction, and she said in a not very good tone:

"His father and I didn't want Ronan to go into the mountains, but he insisted on going. He left early this morning. Hey, it would be great if he could do something quiet like you guys, but he had to go into the mountains."

She has been worried all day today. It's so dangerous in the mountains!

The artistic atmosphere in the restaurant is becoming more and more intense. In addition to drinking and chatting, some people will bring their drawing boards.

In fact, Feng Zhen wanted to cultivate Ronan's artistic cells since he was a child. She let him learn the electronic piano and always took him to see musicals, but he didn't learn anything.

After finally getting in touch with "art" under the guidance of his daughter-in-law, he gave up halfway again.

Feng Zhen handled about four or five hundred thousand francs last month. To be honest, the fifty or sixty thousand francs were not that tempting to her.

She would rather Ronan do something else that was not so strenuous.

Batty's brows also frowned.

When Ronan was around, female artists would often come and talk to him, and Batty could also shamelessly make some new friends.

Ronan was not in the restaurant today, and he only made one new friend in the morning.

No, this is absolutely not possible!

He said to Feng Zhen in a serious tone:

"Now that I see Ronan, I want to talk to him. Weaving is a skill that requires diligent practice. How long has it been since he last practiced?"

Feng Zhen's eyes lit up:
"Yes, yes, yes, we have to talk to him and tell him not to go!"

"What are you talking about?" Theo pushed the door open and asked curiously, "Who are you talking about? By the way, where is Ronan? We can't find our dog again. Let him take Xiao Hei with me. Xiao Hei won't listen to anyone except him."

Feng Zhen sighed and looked at Pierre helplessly.

Pierre shrugged his shoulders and said to Theo regretfully:

"I'm afraid Ronan won't be able to go hunting with you in the future."

Theo immediately raised his voice:
"why?"

After half an hour.

The Provence 'Anti-Truffle Picking Alliance of Ronan' was established in a Chinese restaurant on Lourmarin Commercial Street.

The interim president is artist representative Batty, and the vice president is farmer representative Theo.

Batty comforts Ronan's mother:
"Please rest assured, I am a professional in educating people. Tonight I will definitely get your misguided son back on track and make him like quiet activities again." Theo vowed:

"I will ask Lucas to give Ronan a lesson. The truffle market is very bad this year, with prices dropping by nearly 25% compared to last year. Lucas said that based on experience, prices will only drop even lower in the next few months. Ronan should really put his time and energy into the restaurant."

Two groups of people who had no intersection gathered together because of Ronan, and they jointly planned from which angles and with which strategies they would use to dispel Ronan's plan to enter the mountain.

Feng Zhen was so happy that he couldn't stop smiling. These people would definitely be able to convince Ronan!
But she still felt it was not safe enough, so she picked up the phone and dialed a number:
"Hello? Zoe, what are you doing tonight?"

More than 6 o'clock in the evening.

In Ronan's restaurant.

Lucas, who was called by Theo, introduced to everyone the "diving" price of truffles this year.

But besides farmers, there were also guests and artists surrounding him.

"Why did the price of truffles drop so much this year? I remember that the price of truffles goes up every year."

Truffles are a very favorite food of the French. Although the price reduction is good for the general public, they still want to hear the story of the best truffle hunter in Lourmarin.

Lucas is undoubtedly a truffle expert, he analyzed in a professional tone:

"The price of truffles in France remained stable from the end of World War II until 1975. In 1976, the price saw its first major surge, doubling by 1.5 times. This was due to a rare drought that caused a 30% drop in wild truffle production. In 1980, demand in the Japanese market began to emerge, and inflation pushed up costs. Truffles saw their second price leap, reaching a price of more than 1000 francs for the first time."

"From 1980 to 1986, the production was stable and the market demand was flat, but the price of truffles rose at a fixed price every year. In just six years, it rose from 6 francs to more than 1000 francs. There were too many bubbles in it." Lucas lit the cigarette in his mouth, "But this year the bubble burst. There are too many traps in the truffle business."

Theo often heard Lucas say that there were too many traps in the truffle business, and he frowned and said:
"Lucas, why don't you stop doing the truffle business and do something else after you finish that experimental forest? Damn it, this is too much of a mental exercise!"

Lucas shook his head in self-mockery and said nothing.

After finishing that experimental forest, do something else?

Now it’s a question whether we can hold on until the experiment in that forest is finished!

The sharp drop in truffle prices this year has disrupted all his plans, and his funding chain is about to be broken.

If you persevere, there is still hope of success, but the most you will earn is a little less next year or the year after.

But if he stopped the experiment, he would have nothing.

Lucas knew that the truffle business was full of traps and he always talked about it, but he still jumped in.

If there was an alternative, he would never have insisted on doing the experiment of artificial cultivation of truffles at the beginning of the year.

But there are no ifs now, but Ronan still has ifs.

Pierre said to Lucas seriously:
"Then you should try to persuade Ronan later."

Lucas nodded solemnly:

"I'll talk to him nicely. Do something else. He's still so young and capable."

At 7 o'clock in the evening, Ronan opened the door of the restaurant in the dark:
"I'm starving, what are we having for dinner?"

"Did you fall?" Feng Zhen came out from behind the cashier counter and nervously checked Ronan's body.

Ronan looked down at himself and immediately smiled.

He was now worse than a beggar, his body was covered in dirt, especially his legs and arms, which he got from crawling around and smelling the dirt.

He said awkwardly:
"No, I just rubbed it by accident."

"How can you be so dirty?" Feng Zhen dragged Ronan out without waiting for him to stand firm, and brushed the dirt off his body on the street, talking all the time, "Is it really hard to walk in the woods? You look like you've been rolling in the dirt!"

Oh, it’s too dangerous!

"I'll be careful tomorrow." Ronan cooperated and kept spinning his body.

"Tomorrow! Tomorrow!!" Feng Zhen returned to the restaurant angrily.

Ronan followed his mother in and wanted to explain things to her, but the situation in the restaurant really scared him—a bunch of familiar people with complicated expressions were blocking the door.

Ronan squeezed in between Theo and Batistuta:

"Why are you two together? Get out of the way."

Theo chased Ronan and said:
"We suggest you not to go into the mountains again. Auntie is worried, and we friends are worried too."

Ronan said with a smile:

"I'm an adult now, don't worry about me, I'm fine."

Batty kept chattering in Ronan's ear:

"You've been too lazy lately. How many days have you not practiced? Instead of focusing on improving your skills, you spend every day doing other things."

Ronan poured himself a glass of wine and shrugged:

"I'm sorry, 'teacher', knitting is just my hobby, picking truffles is my job, and hobbies should give way to work."

"But this job is not easy to do this year." Batty pointed at Lucas who was drinking inside and said, "The guy said that the price of truffles has plummeted this year, 25% lower than last year, and it is likely to become cheaper in the next few months."

Ronan frowned and came to Lucas:
“How much can you sell this year?”

Lucas looked very bad:
"1500 francs per kilogram. This is the price I sell directly to restaurants in Nice and Marseille. If you don't have a purchasing channel, you will sell it for less."

"Why is the market so bad this year?" Ronan sat down and asked frustratedly.

Lucas analyzed the situation he had just explained to Ronan again, and then he said earnestly:
"You and I are different. I don't know anything except truffles, but you have many skills, you are smart, and you have such a good restaurant. Don't get stuck in that awful industry."

Ronan showed an expectant expression:

"What about the next few months? Is there a chance that it will go up?"

For Lucas, the price of truffles has been reduced by 25%, but for Ronan, his income may be reduced by one third, which is simply devastating news!
Lucas shook his head:
"I have talked to many of my peers and the conclusion is similar. Prices in the next few months will only be lower, not higher. The best case scenario is that they will remain unchanged."

"Oh my God!" Ronan held his forehead in pain.

Lucas sighed and gave Ronan some advice from the bottom of his heart:
"The market is different this year. Run the restaurant well. You will definitely make more money than digging for truffles."

Feng Zhen whispered in Ronan's ear:

"Son, now that the price has dropped so much, you can only sell 20,000 or 30,000 yuan a month. Our family really doesn't need your 20,000 or 30,000 yuan!"

Friends around him all used their own reasons to persuade Ronan not to act on his own.

Ronan felt overwhelmed and was forced to take out the bag of truffles hidden in the cash register.

At this moment, all the people surrounding him were his own people, either his good brothers or his good friends, so he simply stopped hiding anything.

Ronan put the bag down and said helplessly and distressedly:
"This year's prices have really had a big impact on me, but I dig so much that I still have to go to this mountain."

Theo quickly opened the bag, and then a series of cursing, gasping and drooling sounds broke out around him.

Batty almost put his entire head into the bag:
"Are you kidding me Ronan?!"

Lucas lifted up the thin Batty and asked in disbelief:
"You dug all the stuff in this bag in one day?"

Ronan shrugged.

"Found a nice secret base."

Batty felt dizzy, as if he had hypoglycemia. He held onto the table and said:
"Forget about knitting Ronan I won't let you practice anymore."

How much would the effort of making a lantern cost in terms of truffles?
Theo cursed and lit a cigarette:

"I know you're good at making money, but I never thought that you're so good at making money that the income from this restaurant is only enough for your pocket money, right?"

The atmosphere at the scene suddenly changed.

The Provence 'Anti-Ronan Truffle Picking Alliance' was disbanded on the day it was established. Everyone gathered around Ronan and excitedly listened to him tell the story of the 'Secret Garden'.

After watching the excitement, Cotillard returned to his seat and made a "I'm dying" expression to Thomas:

"Ronan has such great abilities, why does he want to open a restaurant?"

Thomas smiled:
"Cotillard, do you remember the rumors we heard about Ronan when we first met him?"

Cotillard shook his head:
"There are so many rumors about Ronan, I don't know which one you are talking about."

Thomas looked at Ronan in the crowd:
"Rumor has it that he is a rich young man from Paris who wanted to make his parents' retirement life more colorful, so he rented a shop for his father to open a restaurant to 'kill time'. I guess this rumor is partly true. Ronan never thought of making money from the restaurant."

Cotillard rolled his eyes in envy:

"Anyway, he's a rich man!"

It's not just Cotillard who is envious.
No one could remain calm in front of that bag of truffles.

But their envy reached its peak when Zoe arrived.

"Are you here to see me?" Seeing Zoe coming, Ronan left his friends behind and excitedly went to meet her.

Now Zoe dresses up beautifully every day. Today she dresses in a 'mature' style, which makes Ronan feel moved.

Zoe wiped the dirt off Ronan's face lovingly and asked with a smile:
"Why is it so dirty?"

Ronan looked down at his extremely dirty clothes and said apologetically:
"I'm sorry for soiling the clothes you gave me."

Zoe took off Ronan's dirty coat and threw it casually:
"It's okay. If it gets dirty, I'll buy you a new one. I sold another handicraft today for over 5 yuan."

"Really?!" Ronan shouted excitedly, happier than if he had made money.

All the men and women in the restaurant were defeated.

Not only can Ronan make money, he also has a beautiful girlfriend who can also make money!

God, are you going to let people live?

(End of this chapter)