1986: My Happy Life in Provence

Chapter 240 The Protagonist of the Story

In order to discuss such an important matter as installing a heater, Ronan did not leave in a hurry after sending Zoe home, but followed her into the quiet room so that the damn northwest wind would not blow away any word.

"You want to live in Commercial Street—" Ronan asked boldly, mustering up the courage, "I mean, do you want us to live in Commercial Street after we get married?"

Ronan thought that a farmhouse that was close to nature and more suitable for raising animals would be Zoe's choice.

But the house on Commercial Street is more conducive to Zoe's socializing.

It's time to discuss their future plans.

Zoe smiled and took off her coat, saying in a brisk tone:
"It seems that what I discussed with you was the heating problem?"

Ronan chased her and asked:

“This is a spin-off topic from heating.”

Zoe made a 'relax' gesture:

"Now is not the time to make a choice, but no matter where you live after marriage, several houses will have to install heating, right? If you want to install it, install it in all of them. Don't worry about it. I will get it done as soon as possible."

Ronan leaned against the wall and began to imagine the future:
"What style do you think we should decorate in? Are you tired of French country style? How about we change to Baroque or Neoclassical? I heard you and your friends discussed-"

"Are you planning to get married???"

The two turned around when they heard the sound and saw Louis, Leah and Vieri all gathered at the door, and asked expectantly.

Zoe explained that it was just her habitual 'little trick' to tease Ronan, but the idea of getting married took root in Ronan's heart.

It was Zoe who took the initiative to get together, so the woman can't take the initiative in getting married, right?

In order to speed up the marriage process, Ronan went to the government building to find Blanco again after the Lourmarin market on Friday, hoping to know how much it would cost to buy the shop on the commercial street.

But Sylvie's reply was the same:

"Blanco went on a business trip to Avignon and hasn't come back yet. Can you wait a few days?"

Ronan asked her unexpectedly:
"You've been gone for so long? More than a week, right?"

Sylvie said seriously:
"Yes, Blanco went to Avignon for something very important and he had a lot of things to do. Otherwise, he wouldn't have left his wife alone in Avignon. You know, he loves his wife very much."

Ronan nodded and asked Sylvie:
"Then do you have any data that you can give me for reference? Hasn't anyone else asked about the repurchase?"

Sylvie smiled and shook her head:

"No, not one. Others may not care about the buyback clause at all. There are only a few rich people like you in the village, Ronan."

Ronan kept waving his hands:
"I am not a rich man, don't talk nonsense."

Lucas, who spent 900,000 francs on buying the land and has 500,000 to 600,000 francs in annual operating expenses, is a truly rich man.

Sylvie smiled and sent Ronan to the door of the government building:
"Why are you being so modest with me? Okay, as soon as Blanco comes back, I will ask him to come to you immediately."

"Thank you." Ronan turned away and immediately changed his expression. He muttered softly, "Are there any new rumors in the village recently?"

He just came to inquire about the market price of the shop and never mentioned buying a house.

Just ask, is it a 'rich person'?

And this is the fourth villager who called him a 'rich man' today.

That day, in order to shut his friends up, Ronan showed everyone in the restaurant the amount of truffles he had dug out in a day.

Of course everyone knows that Ronan is not showing off his wealth, he just hopes that they will respect his choice.

And these witnesses would not be so irresponsible as to say to everyone they met:

"Do you know that Ronan dug 3 kilograms of truffles in one day? 3 kilograms of truffles! He can earn more than 5000 in one day!"

But these nosy Provencal people could not help but share the shock they experienced that day.

I'll feel uncomfortable if I don't tell anyone!
So, Lourmarin has recently developed a strange 'chatting style'.

"Cornell, why didn't you go to work at the winery this winter? Didn't you go there every year before?"

Cornell combed his hair into the shape of 'Ronan' and said disapprovingly:
"I've been helping Ronan deliver truffles to other restaurants recently, so I don't go to the winery to work anymore. Maybe one day Ronan will buy the winery and give it to me. There's no need to waste my time."

"What? You said Ronan wants to buy a winery?!"

"Raymond Penny's work was sold at an auction house in Aix for 12 francs. Would anyone really pay that much for his work? He is not famous at all."

"Maybe they are raising the prices themselves? I heard that some artists in Provence do this."

"You can't be so shameless, right? Isn't this using art as capital?"

Seeing a table of female artists arguing about a topic, Batty interrupted their conversation at the right time.

"Ladies, fame and works are not completely linked. What if Raymond Penny also has a close friend who appreciates his talent? My good friend Ronan once wanted to buy my artwork for 20 francs, but I gave it directly to Ronan. 'It's easy to find a good friend, but it's hard to find a good friend.'"

"Ronan. Ronan, the owner of this restaurant?" asked the female artist.

Batty sat down and said:

"Of course, there's another rich guy named Ronan in Lourmarin?"

Several questions from female artists:
“Are you an artist too?”

Mr. Batty leaned forward and said:
"Bati, a weaving artist and Ronan's teacher."

"Wow! You are Ronan's teacher?!"

One evening, Ronan came back from truffle digging and sat in the restaurant to eat. Immediately, several villagers and unfamiliar artists surrounded him and asked him about his stories of buying wineries, artworks, jewelry, and xx.

Ronan noticed that several farmers were looking evasive, and he immediately found out the culprit who did the evil thing!
After dinner, he sat down among the farmers and said earnestly:

"Don't make up stories about me anymore."

Cornell's final stand:

"It's a story made up by your teacher Batty. He deceived many female artists. The damn guy hid away immediately out of guilt when he saw you. He was still here just now."

Cornell dislikes Batty very much.

Are beautiful young girls meant to be deceived? They are meant to be loved! Fortunately, he did not compete with Cornell for Astrid, the white moonlight. Otherwise, Cornell must teach him a lesson!

Ronan asked with a half-smile:

"He also made up the story that was spread among the villagers?"

Cornell protested quietly:
"I admit that we have exaggerated a lot, but you are indeed a rich man, that's a fact."

Ronan raised his hands and made a "let me go" gesture:

"Let's talk about someone else next time. Talk about Lucas or Thomas. They are both richer than me."

Fabian explains for Cornell:
"But they say the villagers don't like to hear it, and you say your villagers love it. The same goes for the artists. Do they know who Lucas and Thomas are?"

That damn northwest wind shows no sign of stopping.

Every night the strong wind would slam the roof tiles and the wooden windows of the bedroom, trying to break in. The people of Provence were deprived of even the joy of creating humans.

You have to give us something interesting to do, right?

There were a few cheers coming from the door, and they looked over and found that it was Zoe.

Ronan went to the door to find Zoe, and when he stood up, he reminded the farmers again:

"Remember what I said and don't use me to tell stories anymore."

Zoe came to Ronan about the heating.

Men buy things quickly. They pay right away after briefly explaining what the item is, how to use it, and what’s good about it.

Women are very selective when buying things.

Zoe has been tasked with installing the heater for a week and has just figured out the pros and cons of several types of heaters. Today she came to discuss with Ronan which type of heater to install.

"The most efficient thermal method is a natural gas wall-mounted boiler, but there is no natural gas pipeline in Provence yet. I heard that it is under construction, so maybe it will be available next year or the year after." Zoe said anxiously, "Natural gas will definitely be the best way to heat in the future, but do we have to wait two years?"

Ronan curled his lips:

"I'm afraid that what you heard about next year or the year after is the fastest time. I doubt the efficiency of the Provencals."

Let's not get our hopes up that the people of Provence will get natural gas to Lourmarin on time, if 'soon' means any time today and 'tomorrow' means some day in the next week.

Zoe nodded in agreement:

"Then let's look at the several types that can be installed directly now. Do you want to hear about the several methods of burning coal and wood? Their common advantage is that they are cheap, and their disadvantage is that the thermal efficiency is low."

Ronan shook his head:

"Those with low thermal efficiency are not considered. If heating is installed, heating capacity is definitely the primary consideration."

Behind the young couple, several farmers drinking wine curled their lips together in tacit agreement, as if to say:

Listen, the wood-eating machine has become an 'advantage' in the mouths of these two people!

In Luberon, residents are strictly prohibited from cutting down trees, and oak and pine wood for fireplaces and wood stoves must be purchased.

Taking a rural stone house of 80-120 square meters as an example, 1.5 to 2 tons of firewood will be burned in one winter, and this is on the premise of using it economically.

If the average daily burning time exceeds 10 hours, this consumption will increase.

The price of 1.8 tons of bulk firewood is about 1500 francs, and the price of chopped firewood will double that.

For a family like Henri's, 1500 francs was enough for them to get by for a month.

Ronan and Zoe actually said it was cheap?!

The young couple continued to discuss their heating plan.

"Many people in Provence use solar heating, but it is very dependent on the weather. If it is cloudy, the effect will be very poor. However, it can be used in combination with other heating methods." Zoe introduced the second type of heating to Ronan.

Ronan thought for a while:
"It's not that good either. Let's find something more stable."

Zoe said seriously:

"I think so too. Moreover, the price of heating equipment with this technology has not changed in the past ten years, and has always been between 8000 and 12000 francs. This shows that its technology has not been updated and must be very backward."

The farmers at the back table stopped talking and laughing.

Is equipment costing 8000-12000 francs still outdated?
Ronan recalled the news he got from Simon at the beginning of the year:
“Is it true that the best way to heat now is a cast iron heater?”

Zoe knocked on the table:
"Yes, this is the best way to heat your home in my opinion - oil heating. Install an oil boiler at home and heat it through cast iron radiators or floor heating pipes. The thermal efficiency can reach 70%, and the temperature can be controlled. The only drawback is that it is a bit expensive."

Ronan thought of his previous experience:
"Simon gave me a price. It's 45000 francs for the area of my house."

The farmers all turned their heads to look.

How many?

Are you going to spend my year's income on a few cast iron radiators?
Zoe raised her eyebrows proudly:

"Dad helped us talk to Simon, and he was willing to sell it to us for 28000 francs, which included the boiler, oil pipes, pipelines, radiators and labor costs. Dad said this price was already a 'fire sale' price."

"28000 francs?" Ronan said excitedly, "Is it so cheap? Then let's order this!"

The farmers turned around and looked at Ronan in surprise:
Is 28000 francs cheap?
Are we using one monetary unit?

Zoe, who was sitting opposite Ronan, said happily:
"Okay, I'll call Mr. Simon as soon as I get back and tell him that we're ordering three oil-fired heating systems."

The farmers all turned their heads and looked at Zoe in horror:

what did you say?
Three sets? ?
Batty appeared out of nowhere, sat down at the farmers' table, and whispered:

“We are still too conservative.”

Cornell slapped the table in regret:
"What's a winery? Ronan and Zoe can consider buying a castle together!"

Fabian stood up and left the restaurant:
"I'm leaving first. Pierre hasn't been here for two days. I'm going to visit his house and tell him some new stories."

Not using Ronan to tell a story?
Impossible, that's absolutely impossible!

This is the protagonist of the story that all Lourmarin people love to hear the most!
(End of this chapter)