1986: My Happy Life in Provence

Chapter 239 Bad Weather
In November, northwest winds often blow in the Luberon Valley, and the temperature fluctuates.

Thomas, Cotillard and Ronan no longer chatted frequently in the open air. If they had something to do, they would go to each other's shops to find someone.

However, this situation only happens to Thomas and Cotillard. They go to the restaurant to find Ronan every now and then. This is the first time that Ronan has taken the initiative to come to them.

"What is it, my friend? Have you made up your mind to go to church and pray with me?"

Ronan saved Thomas' career and is Thomas' friend and benefactor.

Thomas's way of being good to people is to persuade them to enter the arms of the Lord as much as possible.

Every time he saw Ronan, he had to preach to Ronan.

Ronan said apologetically:

"Sorry Thomas, I still think it's better to pray at home. I'm used to doing this with my parents."

Thomas shrugged regretfully:

"Well, then why don't you come with me to the evening class tonight?"

Ronan waved his hand at Thomas, signaling him to stop for a moment:
"We should find a more formal occasion to discuss this topic. I want to ask you today, do you know the owner of the coffee shop across the street?"

That boss is even freer than Gabriel.

The Candy King comes to the store every month. Well, most of the time he just stops by to take a look.

But after the owner of the cafe took the key, he really disappeared completely and never showed up again.

Thomas pointed at the cafe and asked:

"You mean Pascal?"

Ronan shrugged.

"I don't know his name, but he was the 'strong' looking man standing next to you and Cotillard the day you got the key, holding a pipe in his hand."

Ronan thought it was rude to describe a stranger as 'fat'.

Thomas smiled and said:
"That's Pascal, he's fatter now."

Ronan asked unexpectedly:

"Have you seen them recently?"

Thomas explained:
"He lives in Gold. I went to Gold once in September to do some errands for my family when the store was closed. I met him there once."

Thomas and Gabriel are from Apt, and Cotillard is from Aix, so it is not surprising that Pascal is from Gordes.

These four shop owners from other villages all come from places with developed tourism.

Gordes is a village in the "Golden Triangle" that is as famous as Meine and Bonnieux, and when it comes to bird's nest villages, many Provençal people think of Gordes first - it is the most famous and beautiful bird's nest village.

Ronan asked expectantly:

"Does Pascal plan to come to Lourmarin soon?"

Driven by Ronan's restaurant, the cafe now has customers every day.

Whenever there is a long queue at Ronan's restaurant, it is the first 'beneficiary'.

The cafe serves meals as well as desserts, and truffles are needed there, too.

Ronan's current strategy is to ask anyone who can be of use.

Thomas didn't even think about it and shook his head firmly:
"No, in fact, Pask is just like you. He doesn't make money from running a restaurant. He has a large olive grove in Gold. That's his main job."

"A farmer too?" Ronan couldn't connect Pascal's size with the olive grove.

Thomas spread his hands:
"I guess Pascal is not a farmer. He has a very large olive grove with many employees."

Ronan laughed awkwardly twice.

Well, another rich man.

"Ask him something all of a sudden?" Thomas asked.

Ronan explains:
"I want to sell my truffles directly to restaurants, and I wanted to ask Pascal if he's willing to cooperate, but it seems that the chances are slim."

Thomas suddenly crossed himself:
"Thank God. I was still talking to Him this morning. You have helped me so much, but I can't give you anything in return. I feel a deep sense of powerlessness. Now I can finally help you. I will help you contact Pascal and try to facilitate your cooperation."

Ronan said gratefully:

"Don't force it, just ask."

Thomas smiled and said:
"Wait for my news."

The next night, Ronan met Arthur who came to the restaurant for dinner.

In fact, Ronan suggested that they meet at Apt's restaurant. After all, this was a matter of asking for favors, and it would not be appropriate to ask others to come.

But Arthur refused the proposal on the grounds that he was "craving for the food at Ronan's restaurant" and insisted on coming to Lourmarin to find him.

Seeing that Arthur changed the dishes, Ronan knew that he had finally learned how to cook the previous dishes.

The atmosphere of the entire meeting was very harmonious and pleasant. Ronan answered every question from Arthur and carefully tended to this 'fruit' waiting to bloom, and Arthur did not reject Ronan's proposal for cooperation.

He agreed on the spot to purchase truffles from Ronan, and then called on six or seven restaurants to designate Ronan as their truffle supplier.

These restaurants can consume 30 kilograms of truffles per month, with the purchase price being 1500 francs per kilogram, and they need to be delivered twice a week.

After cooperating with Arthur, Ronan's monthly truffle surplus is only about 20 kilograms. Although he has not found a buyer yet, he can put them on the market and sell them slowly while continuing to look for new delivery channels.

At this moment, Ronan couldn't help but think of the ambitious goal he had set for himself at the beginning of the year - like Olivier, to have an upstream channel that could consume an entire artificial truffle cultivation forest.

If he has these channels now, would he still have to work so hard to find ways around?
Ronan, who originally thought that he was a "big shot" in some aspects, immediately put his feet on the ground: "You are still a long way to go, keep working hard."

The truffle channel problem has been temporarily solved, and Ronan can now relax and focus on digging truffles.

But the weather played a trick on him.

It’s only early November, and the northwest wind has been blowing for a week. The villagers said that this is the kind of horrible weather that can only be seen in December.

The people of Provence don't like any bad weather, and this seemingly endless wind made everyone's mood colder and colder. Even the local radio station in Provence was reporting that a villager from xx village committed suicide because of the strong wind, and was discovered by his family, but attempted suicide again during treatment.

On the way to Frasier, countless gentlemen bowed to Ronan along the way - they were all trees bowing their heads in the wind.

A plastic bag flew across the sky, then a piece of tattered clothing flew across the sky, and fallen leaves kept hitting his car like hidden weapons.

Ronan parked the car and almost fell asleep when he opened the door.

He liked rainy days, but he couldn't think of any reason to like windy days.

Strong winds are bound to be accompanied by a drop in temperature.

The feeling is not so obvious in sunny places, but you will feel cold immediately after entering the woods, and the temperature feels even lower in the dense forest.

Ronan even felt that the temperature here might have reached around 10 degrees or 5 degrees.

After a whole day of digging truffles in the sunless jungle, Ronan was freezing cold. On the way home, he kept imagining the beautiful scene of taking a hot bath and then sleeping in a warm big bed.

But when he returned home, he unexpectedly found that the house was not warm at all.

"Why is it so cold? Did you forget to close the window during the day?" Ronan didn't even want to take off his coat.

Feng Zhen also wore a thick coat:
"It has been this temperature for the past few days. I told your father yesterday that I would add extra quilts to the bed at night."

Luo Tianhai said to Ronan:
"You didn't go into the mountains a few days ago, so you didn't feel it very clearly. You must have been freezing all day, right?"

He stood up and studied the fireplace with interest:
"I'll chop some wood tomorrow morning and we'll light the fireplace."

"Sure, sure!" Feng Zhen also went over to take a look excitedly, "I haven't used the fireplace yet, let's light it up!"

Paris fire laws do not allow fireplaces to be used indoors.

This is something they can only see on TV, and they have been curious about it since their first visit.

Luo Tianhai opened the door excitedly and went out to look for tools:

"I'll go chop some wood now. Ronan has left the wood he didn't use last year in the donkey shed."

Feng Zhen put on another coat and followed Luo Tianhai out:
"I'll go with you. Let me try a few chops, too, will you?"

Ronan took another sip of hot water and shivered uncontrollably:
"In another two months you won't be in the mood to play."

During the months when the restaurant was being renovated, Ronan went to Zoe's house every day to have dinner with her.

After the restaurant opened, Zoe often came to the restaurant for parties and also went there for meals.

It can be said that in the previous few months, the young couple saw each other every day.

But after Ronan went into the mountains, they no longer had the chance to meet during the day and could only meet at night.

Although the wind was stronger and the temperature was lower at night, Zoe still insisted on going out for a night tour with Ronan.

She said the feeling of night outing is different from being at home.

At home they will be surrounded by their parents, and only when they go out for a night out will they feel like they are in love.

But this year's love life won't last long.

Ronan held Zoe's hand tightly, fearing that she would fly away like those plastic bags and rags:
"The temperature has dropped. Don't go out tomorrow."

Zoe, who is a big shot in the Provence artist circle, hid in Ronan's arms like a little bird to avoid the strong wind:
"How come winter is here so soon?"

Ronan said with fear:

"It's only November now, but February in Provence is scary. It's much colder than Paris."

Zoe suddenly pulled Ronan's hand, and Ronan stopped and looked at her.

"I want to install a better heating system for my home. Didn't you ask about this at the beginning of the year?" Zoe looked at Ronan and asked.

Ronan suddenly picked up Zoe:

"I said we were a good match. I was still thinking about it when I came out. I have to solve the heating problem."

Although the winter in Provence is short, it is really cold.

His parents are old and shouldn’t have to go through the hardships he went through at the beginning of the year.

Zoe hugged Ronan's neck:
"Don't worry, I'll take care of this matter, you can go to the mountains with peace of mind."

Ronan shook his head:

"No, you don't know how evil that old man is. I have to bargain with him."

Simon, who sells heaters and toilets, is the most unscrupulous businessman Ronan has ever seen in Provence.

He vowed to recover all the money he lost in the toilet!
Zoe pouted mischievously:
"We can also look for other people, and if he has the heart to throw away all the big orders, then he can continue to be greedy."

Ronan smiled and said:
"There aren't a few big orders, just two."

Zoe stood on tiptoe and gently touched Ronan's mouth:
"Wrong! There are three of us. We also have a house for our wedding."

(End of this chapter)