1986: My Happy Life in Provence

Chapter 259 Cedar Road

Chapter 259 Cedar Road
The next day was the weekend, and Ronan took Vieri to the market in Mena Village to sell things.

As the seasons change, so too does the Luberon region's largest and most famous market.

There are fewer stalls selling fruits and vegetables, and more stalls selling handicrafts, clothing and daily necessities.

This is because the stalls at the Mena Village Market are in short supply, and farmers who have no fruits and vegetables to sell will find ways to display some things to keep their position.

However, there is one type of food that appears more frequently at the Mena Village Market in winter: seafood.

Henry said he only saw two or three stalls selling seafood at the market in Bonnieux, but Ronan saw four or five stalls on the way here, and they looked particularly fresh.

Zoe loves seafood, so Ronan decided to buy some to eat at noon. After they were full and satisfied, they went hiking in Bonnieux in the afternoon.

The winter market was not crowded, and Ronan had brought enough people with him. He took the time to leave his stall:

"You guys stay here for a while, I'm going to buy some seafood."

Isabel, who was pouring pink wine for the customer, looked over in confusion:
"There are seafood in the restaurant. They were all delivered early in the morning. What else do you want to buy?"

Vieri said in a 'little adult' tone:
"Ronan is going to buy Zoe her favorite oysters, sea bass, and red shrimp, which are not available in these restaurants."

Isabelle glanced at Vieri:

"How do you know what's in the restaurant?"

Vieri quickly gave the customer the change, and said in a tone of 'this is not normal':
"I've heard Ronan calling suppliers."

"How many times have you heard it?" Isabel looked him up and down.

She heard it every day but never remembered it. The restaurant needs to purchase so many ingredients every day!

"Okay, okay, you guys take good care of the stalls, I'll be back soon." Ronan squeezed out from the gap between two stalls and trotted to the seafood gathering area.

Vieri muttered in disgust:

"That's disgusting."

Isabel frowned.

Why is Zoe's brother so weird?
His tone was sarcastic, his words were unpleasant, and he always looked unhappy.

"What's so disgusting about this?" Isabel couldn't help but ask him back, "Ronan and Zoe have such a good relationship. Do you know how many people envy them? How can you find it disgusting?"

Vieri ignored Isabel's question and went to the middle of the road and shouted:
"Misters, ladies, and girls, would you like to try the Chinese pot-fried pork and boxed lunch? They taste best with the special rosé wine of Provence! You can come and try them, and if you like them, you can go to our restaurant in Lourmarin!"

Isabel bared her teeth at Vieri's back and said in a voice only she could hear:
"You still don't have manners. Boys of this age are the most annoying!"

Ronan didn't buy too much seafood because he and Zoe were going hiking in the afternoon and he was worried that eating too much would affect this activity that he and Zoe had been looking forward to for a long time.

Leah and Luo Tianhai didn't have time to make complicated dishes for them.

The first course was a 'simple' seafood cold cut.

Zoe calmly placed the sea urchin that Vie liked to eat in front of him before starting to eat.

Vieri glanced at Zoe, said nothing, and ate quietly.

After a minute or two, he suddenly muttered "thank you" under his breath.

Zoe put down the oyster shell, wiped her mouth gracefully, and said without any expression:
"Thank you Ronan, Ronan bought it."

Ronan lowered his head and curled his lips.

This pair of siblings.
The second course is the 'simple' grilled sea bass with thyme and lemon.

Ronan thought this was made by Leah because the dish was very "Provence", but he never expected that this was a new dish developed by his father Luo Tianhai after eating a seafood dinner that day.

Luo Tianhai came out to ask them:

“How’s this dish?”

Zoe exclaimed:
“No Provençal person can resist its taste, I swear.”

"Great!" Ronan gave his father a thumbs up.

Luo Tianhai laughed and said:
"You never stop learning. Next time you upgrade your recipe, you can add this dish to it."

The restaurant is now officially on track.

Luo Tianhai knew that what Ronan was going to do next would be related to pink wine.

At the last seafood dinner party, the men all said that rosé wine and seafood go very well together, so Luo Tianhai began to research new seafood dishes.

In the future, there will be more types of seafood in the restaurant so that it can cooperate with Ronan.

Luo Tianhai came out, took a quick look and went back. It was dinner time and the kitchen was very busy.

As soon as Luo Tianhai entered, Leah brought today's main course:

"I don't have time to cook properly, so let's just eat something simple."

Looking at the tempting seafood pasta in front of him, Ronan thought:

What kind of 'geniuses' are there in my restaurant?
Is this just a simple meal?
These dishes would be considered "signature dishes" in other restaurants!
With such good hardware conditions, Ronan decided that he must devote some of his energy to seriously consider the future development plan of the restaurant.

After lunch, Ronan drove Zoe to Bonnieux, not far from Lourmarin, and started their hiking trip.

For the French, hiking is a ritual of "measuring the land with feet and savoring life with heart", and their love for these kinds of sports can be said to be "deep in the bones".

Looking back at its history, this sport is actually closely related to artists.

In the 19th century, poets and painters such as Rousseau and Van Gogh began to seek inspiration through walking, creating the tradition of "walking as philosophy". This period is also known as the French "Romanticism" period.

A report released by the French Hiking Federation in 1986 stated that approximately 600 million French people take part in hiking at least once a year, covering all age groups.

This activity, which is regarded as "freedom and exploration", is highly consistent with the slow life concept of the Provençal people, and therefore has become more popular in Provence.

In the Vaucluse department alone, there are nearly 40 famous hiking routes, whether you want to see canyons, mountains or forests, there are plenty of routes to choose from.

There are two closest hiking spots to Lourmarin, one is Bonnieux and the other is the red earth city of Roussillon.

The ochre canyons of Roussillon are suitable for summer visits, so Ronan and Zoe's purpose of this trip was to visit the Bonnieux Cedar Route, which is more suitable for winter.

In fact, there are three hiking routes to choose from near this neighborhood in Lourmarin, and each route is quite distinctive. Ronan was very worried when making a plan because he wanted to try all of them.

Finally, at Zoe's suggestion, they chose to go to the Cedar Forest.

"I guess you won't have much time for hiking later, so if you're going, just go to the best place." Zoe said briskly while sitting in the passenger seat.

"Is that cedar forest particularly beautiful?" Ronan asked curiously.

Zoe shook her head:

"The view after you walk out of the forest is beautiful. Standing there you can overlook the Cavaillon Plain and the Caronque Canyon. You have no idea how spectacular the view is."

"I'm starting to look forward to it." Ronan said with a bright smile.

There is a cedar forest on the north side of Bonnieux Village. From a distance, it looks like it is embraced by the cedar forest.

The starting point of the hike is at the entrance of the D36 highway in the north of Bonnieux, where the altitude is about 200 meters. The entire hiking route is about 5 kilometers. The Luberon Viewing Platform at the end is 700 meters above sea level. Under normal circumstances, it takes 2-3 hours to go back and forth. It is a medium-difficulty hiking route in Provence.

"There's a road here." Ronan joked after entering the entrance, "I wish there were such a good road on my way to dig for truffles."

There seemed to be a green tunnel in front of him, his nose was filled with the aroma of cedar resin, and his body and mind were relaxed.

Zoe grabbed Ronan's arm and reminded him:
"It's just that the road is being repaired in the first few hundred meters. It's very difficult to walk in the back."

Ronan smiled and looked her up and down:
"So you bought a full set of hiking equipment?" After Ronan and Zoe decided to hike, the first thing Zoe did was to buy equipment.

Zoe tiptoed briskly:

"Shopping makes people happy. You don't know how stressed I've been lately."

Not only Zoe, but all the artists in Lourmarin are preparing for the 'Land Art' event.

Ronan hadn't been to Zoe's house for a few days and asked her:

"Have you decided what to do?"

Zoe grumbled in dissatisfaction:
“I have quite a few ideas, but I don’t think they are good enough. They are very distinctive among new artists, but they are not good enough when compared with real artists. I need to think about it again.”

Ronan comforted her:
"Not in a hurry."

Zoe shook her head and said:
"Anyway, the pressure is huge. It's not as simple as I thought. I've been in a bad mood lately."

Ronan looked at her with a wicked smile:

"Then let me tell you something that might make you feel better?"

Zoe looked over expectantly:

"what's up?"

Ronan cleared his throat and said solemnly but humorously:
"I decided to build a professional woodworking workshop in my backyard, at least 100 square meters. I need a lady with high aesthetic taste and profound knowledge to help me fill it up. I wonder if you——"

Zoe jumped onto Ronan in a flash, her frustration instantly disappearing, and she asked excitedly:

"Oh my god, is this true? I'm going to have my own platform!"

Ronan hugged Zoe and said:
"Yes, you can also have your own planer combination machine, tenoning machine, etc. We can have a whole mechanical workshop!"

Zoe has an inexplicable obsession with machines and tools, which makes her happier and more joyful than buying clothes.

She jumped down and ran happily into the cedar forest in front of her:

"I also want to install the best dust removal system and upgrade the protective equipment!"

Ronan smiled and followed her.

He knew that this workshop would bring endless fun to both of them.

Look, how happily my girl is smiling!

The first kilometer of the hike is all filled with century-old Atlas cedars. Zoe said that these were planted specifically by the Provence Forestry Bureau in the late 1th century to prevent soil erosion.

As the terrain rises, you can see peaks, caves and natural arches formed by weathering of white limestone in the middle 2-3 kilometers. This is a must-see place on tourists' travel lists.

When you reach this area, it's not easy to walk on the ground. There's a lot of moss on the ground, and occasionally there's bushes blocking the road.

Seeing these bushes, Ronan thought of Bruno. He wondered how the old man was doing now and whether he could return to Paris to celebrate Christmas.
But he had never heard any farmer complain about Bruno's swearing, so it must have been going well.

You can take some time to go back and find out about him.

After walking for about an hour, they finally arrived at the end of the cedar hiking line - the Luberon Viewing Platform.

Ronan wanted to find a place for Zoe to sit down and rest for a while, because the lack of exercise female artist had complained of being tired several times along the way.

Medium difficulty means that it is no longer suitable for everyone and has a certain degree of difficulty.

But before he found the place, Zoe pulled him to a bronze direction sign on the side.

Zoe pointed to the sign that said 'Lourmarin' and said breathlessly:

"Lourmarin is in this direction, and the locations of the surrounding villages and mountains are marked here."

She then continued to lead Ronan forward. From Ronan's point of view, they had already reached a 'dangerous' area:

"Go back quickly, there is no road here."

The ground was covered with rubble, and Ronan had no idea why Zoe brought him here.

"We'll be there soon." Zoe pulled Ronan stubbornly forward.

Ronan carefully held Zoe to prevent her from falling, and asked with a helpless smile:
"How do you have the strength again?"

The pine forest in front of them had disappeared, and Zoe suddenly opened her arms, as if to embrace everything in front of her:
"Because of this scenery, if it weren't for seeing it, I might not have the motivation to hike with you."

The Karonque Canyon appeared at their feet like a "miracle of nature", connected to it was the Cavaillon Plain a little further away. This beautiful picture stretched to the end of the sight.

For a moment, Ronan couldn't tell the boundary between heaven and earth.

He smiled and asked Zoe beside him:

"If I want to see this view again next time, will you accompany me?"

This is so beautiful!

Zoe came out of her excitement and said hesitantly:
"It depends. You can also let Vieri accompany you."

"Haha, you're not jealous anymore?" Ronan asked jokingly.

Zoe turned around and returned the same way:

"Why would I be jealous of him? He's my brother."

Zoe's stamina was really not very good, and coming up here had already consumed all her energy.

"Remember when I went to eat at Michelin with you a few months ago, we also climbed a long way."

She was referring to the dinner at Monsieur Jacques's.

Ronan wanted to laugh when he mentioned that time:
"Do you know how hard you pulled me that time? My arm hurts."

Zoe said speechlessly:

"Why don't you say you're not a 'gentleman' at all? You walked away without me holding on to you. You didn't even bother to control me. I was almost exhausted that day."

Amid Zoe's exclamation, Ronan 'gentlemanly' carried her on his back:

"I won't walk this time. I'll carry you down."

The female artist smiled and hugged Ronan's neck to keep her balance:

"Is this the first time you carried me?"

Ronan recalled.

It seems true.

"It seems that we still have a lot of things to unlock?" Ronan said with a smirk, turning his head.

Zoe lay on Ronan's shoulder and closed her eyes happily:
“It will be unlocked slowly”

[Increase happiness by 35 points when having intimate contact with the opposite sex]

Ronan secretly raised an eyebrow.

After a year of "harmonious" coexistence, he had gotten used to the occasional system notification sounds, and often even ignored them.

I haven't upgraded my skills in several months, and so many happy things have happened recently.