1986: My Happy Life in Provence

Chapter 267 Strict Mother

Ronan respects Batty as a teacher.

Whether it is technical ability or his way of doing things.

Cafu will continue to sell wreaths, but the style has not yet been decided.

A few days ago, Ronan wanted to complete this task independently, but after understanding Batty's thoughts, he decided to pull Batty to complete it together.

To be honest, Ronan has limited energy and too many things to do, and now is the time when he needs help the most.

And Batty is exactly the kind of 'partner' Ronan needs.

Ronan went to Apt and bought many kinds of decorations and ornaments that could be matched with the vines, and then made an appointment with Batty to work on the new style design.

Batistuta's reaction made Ronan even more certain that he was not just shouting slogans that day, his words and actions were highly consistent.

"Why not call everyone here to discuss it together? I think women also have the ability to design styles. People who understand life also love life. I'm serious, Ronan. Don't underestimate them." Batty said with great seriousness and certainty.

Ronan shook his head 'guiltily':

"In Lourmarin, you are definitely the biggest leader of the 'equal rights movement'. When I get back, I'll tell Zoe not to use this as an excuse to stop me from speaking."

In this way, the style of the new wreath became a matter of discussion and consultation among all the women in Lourmarin who were skilled in weaving.

According to the artists, Ronan and Batty were brainstorming with the women.

Faced with Ronan and Batty's respect, the women's first reaction was 'flattered'.

When have they ever been treated like this?

When they were sewing and embroidering the quilt, they would embroider whatever pattern Pire gave them.

If you embroider it wrong, the quilt will be ruined.

It turns out that they can also decide what the things they want to make look like, instead of being a machine that only knows how to do the work?
Batty's decision paid off!

The women put all their enthusiasm into the discussion, spoke up bravely, and in one afternoon they worked out more than 30 styles and methods of making wreaths.

It is no exaggeration to say that after seeing those styles, Ronan also decided to hang a few at home.

After being flattered, the women's second reaction was gratitude and touching.

Ronan not only taught them the craft for free, but also kept placing orders for them. In the eyes of the simple Provencal women, these were tangible help that could be materialized with money.

To express their gratitude, they would occasionally bring their husbands and children to the restaurant to show their support to Ronan.

The women made money, and Ronan also made money. It should have been a happy thing for everyone.

But there is a person in the village who is very anxious and scratching his head.

"Did Pire come to your house today?"

"I came, and I came yesterday. But I really don't have time to make it for him. Hualei makes a lot of money, and Ronan is so nice to us. How can I go back to make quilts?"

"That's right. Who in Lourmarin hasn't had Pires talk about him behind his back? His mouth is worse than Henry's. He came to ask me for help, but he made it sound like I owed him something. He said that if I didn't come to make the quilt, all the work would go to Akonina."

"Not only did I not help her, I also asked Rom Aza to come and make the lei with me."

"How could you be so mean! Not only did you not help him, but you also poached his people?"

"How can this be bad? Rom Aza and I have been good sisters for decades. Of course I have to think of her when something good happens."

"Hahaha, you're right. Then I'll bring Musla over to join us!"

When an order for Christmas wreaths is made, more than 100 women are involved in Lourmarin.

But by mid-December, when Ronan organized a second round of wreath orders and arranged for everyone to learn more complex weaving skills, nearly 12 women participated.

There are only about 230 adult women in Lourmarin, which is more than half.

Batty has no problem teaching people, and he is willing to teach, but it becomes difficult to manage when there are too many people, especially when issuing orders to everyone.

After working for a few days, Batti became even thinner.

It is quite a headache to organize the Lourmarin women to make wreaths in a reasonable and efficient manner.

When faced with this situation, Ronan immediately thought of Pires.

How did this guy organize women to sew quilts in an orderly manner for decades?
One night, after Ronan returned from truffle digging, he took Batty to Pires' house, wanting to learn from him.

It can be seen that the residents of Lourmarin have become wealthy.

Because there were three cars parked in Pires' yard.

As we all know, people in Provence never repair their cars, so the three cars that appear here must have been lined up for 'modification'.

No matter whether it is a big change or a small one, they have plenty of money anyway.

"Pires, it looks like business is good recently. You must have made a lot of money, right?"

Ronan didn't see Pires' men in the yard. It was only when he walked to the door of the warehouse that he saw his iconic big butt sticking out.

Pires was fiddling with something in the warehouse.

"Oh my god!" Pire was startled and ran out from behind a machine, shooing people away while complaining, "Get out! Get out! These are all spare parts. If you lose them, it's your fault."

Ronan pointed at the machine with a wicked smile and asked:
"The distiller is also an accessory. Can it be installed on the car?" "What? Distiller?!" Batty peeked into the warehouse with excitement. "There are actually private distiller's now? Where is it? Show me what it looks like!"

Pire hurriedly closed the warehouse door, stood firmly at the door, and said quickly:
"The cars that come in are so dirty that sometimes I need some strong 'detergent' to clean them up. Is that a problem?"

When talking about distilleries in Provence, one has to mention pomace brandy.

That's right, it's the Provencal 'hole' that makes you want to eat a big piece of meat after drinking it.

During the long journey from grapes to wine, which can take months or even years, they must be cared for by a machine called a 'branch picker'.

The grapes are pulled and tugged by the machine, their stems fall off and their fruits crack, before they can continue to go to the storage barrels for soaking and fermentation. At the same time, they must be pressed by a fruit press. Finally, the aromatic wine juice is drained out, leaving behind a thick, almost solid residue of skin and flesh, which is the 'pomace'.

Fruit residue is ugly, even disgusting. Apart from being used as fertilizer, it is hard to imagine what other uses it has.

But one day, a smart guy who made great contributions to the world's wine industry discovered that the little juice remaining in the pomace could still be used to make delicious wine after distillation. This is pomace brandy.

How could the farmers let go of such a good opportunity as they could produce distilled liquor from the garbage that the winery doesn't want?

This is simply a miracle of the world!
Moreover, this miracle has developed into an "industry" in Provence over a period of time.

Turning pomace into fine wine requires a distiller, but not everyone has one at home, but that’s not a big deal.

In Provence, people would push a cart with a distiller on it and go from village to village, distilling wherever they went. Wherever the cart went, it left behind smiling faces.

With just a little money, you can distill a large barrel of wine.

Of course, there are also people who own private stills. For a long time, owning a private still was a symbol of financial resources and strength.

But after 1916, no one dared to brag about their strength on this basis. And no one dared to mention this word.

That year, the government gradually realized that there was an untapped source of tax revenue in Provence.
But how can this be done?
After that, the government intervened strongly in the affairs of distilled spirits, and legislation stipulated that only registered companies such as cooperatives were allowed to produce distilled spirits, otherwise it would be illegal.

There are also those who have passively "got a piece of the cake" and are always paying attention to the movement of every drop of distilled liquor, and are more active in writing letters of denunciation than they are in brewing their own liquor!

As a result, mobile stills quickly disappeared from the public eye.

Even if someone still has a private still, they would explain that it is a decoration rather than for private brewing.

Of course, that’s an excuse only honest people would use.

Pires is a man whose mouth works faster than his brain, so he must have said whatever he thought of.

"What? Don't you know that alcohol above 50% alcohol is very useful for cleaning glasses?" Pires continued righteously.

Ronan smiled and spread his hands, signaling him not to be nervous:
"Why don't we go somewhere else to talk? I'm afraid we'll put too much pressure on you if we stay outside the warehouse."

After Pires locked the warehouse three times, he took Ronan and Batistuta to the small workshop where he stored his car repair tools, but did not invite the guests in:
"My wife and two daughters are sewing quilts. If we go in and talk, it will affect their progress. Please don't mind us chatting here."

Ronan said it didn't matter, and said straight to the point:
"Pires, I want to ask you this time, how did you manage those women in the past? Can you share some experience with us? I think you should know that I have been teaching them to do other things recently."

The slight sense of guilt that Pires had felt was gone, he was so angry that he almost jumped up and said angrily:
"How dare you bring this up with me? Do you know how hard my life has been lately? I can't even collect 30 quilts a month. I'm so anxious!"

Ronan and Pires once spent half a month together modifying the car, so they can be considered acquaintances.

He said with a playful smile:
"Don't get excited. If it's you, don't make quilts anymore. Come with me and make wreaths. Vlajini said that your hands are more skillful than women's. Only Aknina in the village is better than you. You will definitely make more money by making wreaths. What do you think?"

Pire snorted coldly:
"Embroidered quilts are a unique craft that has been passed down in Lourmarin for hundreds of years. It is a precious treasure left to us by our ancestors. I will never give it up. As long as I am still here and as long as Akenina is still here, embroidered quilts will always exist in Lourmarin."

You old man don't want to give up the 100 franc difference for each quilt, Ronan complained in his heart.

Although he thought so, he still sent an invitation to Pires in a very sincere tone:
"Embroidered quilts are a specialty of Marseille, not Lourmarin. We can definitely have our own set of unique handicrafts. Believe me, it won't necessarily be less than what you make as a quilt 'hub'. Now is still the starting stage, there are opportunities and chances everywhere. Be flexible, Pires."

"Impossible, absolutely impossible!" Pire took off his hat, revealing his bald head. "Don't even think about making me give up embroidering the quilt!!"

Pires's mouth was more effective than the loudspeaker at the door of the old church in the center of the village.

In less than two days, the news that Ronan went to Pires' house to persuade him to make a wreath spread to everyone.

Of course, Pires is rumored to be a 'victim'.

He said that Ronan "forced" him to give up the hundreds of years of craftsmanship passed down by his ancestors and do weaving.

Hearing such rumors, the villagers just laughed and delivered a fatal blow:
"Henry has even kept quiet, so is there no one who can control Pires's mouth? Ronan is giving him face by trying to persuade him! But he is such a shameless guy!!"

Ronan had no way to deal with Pires' stubbornness.

It is not easy to change the minds of these core figures in the embroidery group.

However, Ronan did not change his position.

Love comes or not, should I still beg you to make money?

It was just a method of managing women that he and Batti needed to slowly explore and improve.

Ronan extended an olive branch to Pires, but was thrown back.

But one day, Cornell's mother, Akenina, the most important figure in the Lourmarin embroidery world, suddenly visited Ronan's house.

Please note, it is Ronan's house, not the restaurant.

Ronan looked confused as he invited Aknina into the house.

What did this strict mother come to see me about?
(End of this chapter)