1986: My Happy Life in Provence

Chapter 265 You can really hold it in, my friend!

Jacques and Ronan went straight back to Bonnieux after parting.

But before Ronan returned to Lourmarin, he went to another place - Avignon.

Today, I sold more than 8 francs worth of truffles at the Carpentras Truffle Market. I can finally pay off the mortgage that I had been holding up for a whole year.

In France in 1986, both state-owned banks and cooperative institutions could provide housing loans to residents, but the policies were slightly different.

State-owned banks include large national banks such as Banque Nationale de Paris and Société Générale, as well as local banks such as Credit Agricole and Credit Lyonnais that cater to rural customers.

In addition, professional mortgage institutions are also the choice of many home buyers.

Ronan chose this type of mortgage institution at the time - Crédit Agricole Land.

The reason for choosing this place is not only that the interest rate here is 1% lower than the market, but also that there is no penalty for early repayment and the processing time is fast.

The penalty set by the Banque Nationale de Paris is 1-3% of the loan balance; local banks also have an "interest compensation" policy, which will be calculated based on the remaining interest for 6 months to 1 year.

Ronan guessed that he would have to repay the loan early, so he took this item into consideration.

However, there is a downside, which is that this type of mortgage agency is not common in Provence, and only Avignon has a branch in the Vaucluse department.

But Ronan was willing to spend the few dozen francs for gas.

Early repayment requires submission of a paper application, and Ronan came to Avignon to write the application.

Within 1-2 weeks, the bank will call Ronan to inform him of the specific date for repayment. He can just bring a copy of the loan contract, identity certificate and proof of repayment funds to handle the matter.

The person who handled Ronan's business was a young female teller.

After seeing that Ronan wrote the repayment amount as 'the remaining amount', he looked at him several times in surprise.

"It's amazing that I paid off my mortgage in one year."

Ronan shrugged and said with a smile:
"In fact, I should have come to handle it half a year ago."

It's just that he spends money too lavishly.

I kept renovating the house and even opened a restaurant in the middle, otherwise I wouldn't have paid so many extra months of interest.

The female teller covered her mouth and laughed softly twice.

What a man with a sense of humor.

Although the French Land Credit Bank does not charge penalty for breach of contract, they have many other "little tricks".

As soon as Ronan submitted his application certificate, the female teller started selling products.

"Are you interested in finding an apartment in Marseille? It's a great place to take your family on vacation in the summer, and you can get one with a down payment of 30."

"Or take a look at the little estate at Châteauneuf-du-Pape for just 120 million francs."

Ronan waved goodbye to her gratefully:
"No thanks, I don't want to owe the bank any more money."

Walking out of the bank, Ronan felt that the sky was a little bluer.

From today on, every penny earned belongs to him, and the real "accumulation" stage has begun!

Ronan is a person who can't sit still.

The restaurant's business in December was very good, with local villagers, people from other villages and artists all coming in. The turnover was not as good as that in October, but it was certain that it would exceed that in November.

After upgrading [Collection], the daily harvest from the mountains has nearly doubled. I have brought back 6 kilograms of truffles for several days in a row. Even if the market price has dropped a little, it is easy to make nearly francs a month.

After paying off the mortgage, Ronan still had more than 2 francs of "pocket money" in his hands, and he began to think about that professional carpentry workshop again.

I called Cafu three times in a row and finally got him to come.

"What have you been busy with lately? Your wife said she went to bed and you haven't come back yet." Ronan started complaining as soon as he saw Cafu.

Cafu's wife used to be a telephone operator, but now she is an answering machine.

Even the person next to him couldn't see the busy man Cafu, so Ronan left three messages in a row before finally calling him over.

Cafu drank the red wine as if it were beer, gulping down the entire glass. When one glass wasn't enough, he poured another one and took another big sip before he came to his senses:

"I'm so thirsty, my throat is almost smoking every day."

Ronan asked with amusement:

“Meet a talkative client?”

The period before Christmas is the peak season for decoration in Provence, and Ronan guessed that Café must be entangled by some big boss.

He heard from Cafu's guys that they often encountered clients who asked more than a hundred questions a day.

Cafu wiped his mouth:

"Decoration clients are easy to deal with, but selling things is hard."

He knocked on the table and said to Ronan solemnly:
"I found a seller for those rattan lamps and accessories I gave you." "Just found it?" Ronan asked, unable to hide his disappointment. "Is it difficult to sell? I've given you those samples for a long time."

Cafu once asked Ronan to make him a batch of woven lamps and ornaments, but that was a long time ago.

It took so long to sell it, which shows that the market's acceptance of this technology is limited.

"No, no, no, that's not it. Listen to me." Cafu quickly explained, "Selling Christmas wreaths takes up a lot of my energy. You know, I also have to decorate the house. I only recently started selling your other samples, and the feedback has been very good!"

Ronan's expression immediately changed from gloomy to bright:
"How good is it?"

Cafu's mood suddenly became high:
"I'm currently renovating two holiday villas. Both clients agree to decorate an area or corner of the house in a style similar to your restaurant. They also like your lamps and accessories. Ronan, I've been going out early and coming back late these days just to contact clients I've worked with before and sell them samples. Guess what?"

"What's the matter?" Ronan couldn't help but lower his voice and focus all his attention on Cafu's mouth.

Cafu suddenly slammed the table, startling Ronan:

"I asked 10 customers, and 6 of them expressed interest. God, this feedback is great. Rich people like this kind of new and expensive things. I wanted to ask a few more customers before letting you do it, but since you are here today, you should quickly arrange someone to start working on it."

"How much in total?" Ronan asked.

Cafu gave Ronan a list of seven lamps of different styles and a dozen accessories.

Ronan nodded:

"It's easy. It can be done in a week."

Ronan just doesn't have the time. With just a few of them, he can finish them by himself in a week.

Cafu took another sip of his wine:

"Haven't you taught too many people how to make lamps? I advise you to start training them quickly."

Ronan also took a sip of wine:

"I'm teaching it slowly, but the volume hasn't picked up yet. There's still time."

After completing the Christmas wreath orders, Batty has begun teaching the women to make difficult decorations such as lights, but the scale is not yet large.

But it's enough to handle these orders.

Cafu thought about it for a moment and told Ronan something that surprised him:
"I plan to concentrate on selling woven accessories after I finish the projects I have on hand, and bring my brothers with me. Today there are more than a dozen of them, but maybe next time I'll find you there will be hundreds of them."

Ronan's mouth gradually opened wide:

"Have you thought it through? You are such a good craftsman, do you want to change your career?"

Cafu nodded firmly:
"More and more people are buying houses in Provence, and more and more hotels, restaurants and resorts are being built. Even if we work ourselves to death, we can only renovate a few houses each year. All the money we earn is hard-earned money, and we are always hurt. I have talked with my brothers, and we have enough confidence in the decoration market in Provence. We all think that changing our thinking will make the future more promising."

Ronan pondered for a few seconds and asked a serious question:

"I respect your choice, but if you all start selling knitwear at once, what if it doesn't sell well? What will you eat and drink, brothers?"

Cafu is a very loyal person.

Many of his friends have followed him out to make a living since they were teenagers.

If this career change fails, Ronan believes that Cafu can sell the house to give money to his brother.

My friend, calm down!

Cafu chuckled twice, then looked around:
"How could you starve to death? You have no confidence in yourself, my friend. Do you know how well the wreaths you designed are selling in the Apt Market? Customers and distributors are still placing orders after Christmas! I have one more thing to tell you this time. I will sell wreaths all year round. Give me a gift when you make 500. Let's decide on the style. By the way, do you have any grape vines? Make the samples today and I can start selling them this afternoon."

Ronan: "."

You really know how to breathe, my friend!

I was worried about you for nothing.

How could you hold back on telling me such important news until now?
There are a lot of processed vines on the second floor of the restaurant, but no decorations.

Ronan said that once he finished the sample he would have it sent to Apt to Cafu, and then he would contact him by phone to see which style he wanted.

When seeing Cafu off, Ronan said with regret and deep emotion:

"If you don't work as a craftsman, what should I do? It's very difficult to find another construction team as efficient as yours in Provence. Those wealthy business owners will be heartbroken, right?"

Cafu put his arm around Ronan's shoulders and patted him twice, his tone full of gratitude:

"I may not be tempted if a wealthy businessman offers me francs to help him, but as long as you say the word, whether it's repairing water pipes or building a villa, my brothers and I will be there at your beck and call. This is my promise to you, Cafu."

Cafu and his brothers not only have confidence in the Provence decoration market, but also in Ronan.

Have you ever seen anyone renovating their homes four or five times in a year?

Anyway, Cafu and the others have never seen it, nor have they heard anyone else mention it.

They believe that by cooperating with this lucky young man who is down-to-earth and making his life better and better every day, they will be able to make a new name in Provence, far surpassing the level of a craftsman!
(End of this chapter)